Faithful christian living 1 Peter 1v13-21

Well, in August 2014, Kevin Garrett, who we just mentioned, was arrested by local authorities and placed in detention.

As a follower of Jesus, along with his wife Julia, they sought to serve the people of Asia, bringing practical aid and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those that they met.

On Thursday of this week, Kevin was released after nearly two years' imprisonment and reunited with his family.

When I met Kevin a few years ago, he shared this verse about his work and ministry.

It comes from Philippians.

He put it up on a screen and he read,

For it has been granted to you, on behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also suffer for him.

And Kevin then went on to explain that both he and his wife Julia knew that to serve Christ where they were would mean opposition and persecution.

They understood clearly that to be a follower of Jesus Christ meant that in some way you will get hit.

Now that's the big message of 1 Peter.

Have a look at chapter 1, verse 1.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God's elect, that is God's chosen people who belong to God,

but are strangers in the world and have been scattered throughout.

Peter is writing to believers who, on the one hand, belong to Jesus,

but as a result of their belonging to Jesus, do not belong in this world.

In fact, look at the end of verse 6 of chapter 1.

They have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

They have been misunderstood.

They've been excluded.

They've been accused wrongly.

They've been abused and mocked.

Because they love Jesus, opposition and persecution is their daily experience.

Now, this is something we have to face up to ourselves.

If we are followers of Jesus, this will be our experience.

We might not have to leave our home or country.

We might not suffer prison like Kevin.

But to be a Christian means we will get hit.

One writer put it like this.

We have become outsiders, just as Jesus was an outsider.

We are marginal in our culture because Jesus is marginal.

The cross is the ultimate expression of marginalization.

And to follow Jesus, to follow his example, is to experience marginalization and hostility.

So the big question we want to ask ourselves today is, how do we live in this kind of culture?

How do we survive in this kind of world?

Well, rather than conform our beliefs to fit in or compromise our behavior to be accepted,

we are to live our lives as God's children in this world.

Two big things we're going to look at.

Here's the first one.

The commands to live as God's children.

Look at verse 13.

Therefore, so in view of the hostility we face, in view of the trials and the struggles,

verse 13, prepare your minds for action, be self-controlled,

set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

That's the big command of verse 13.

Set your hope.

Be clear of your hope.

You see, living life as a Christian now is going to be tough, but the future is glorious.

So we set our hope on that grace that is to come.

Now we've got to understand that hope in the Bible is not how we understand hope.

I hope that Chelsea will win the league, or I hope that it's going to be dry tomorrow.

Those things are uncertain and not guaranteed, especially if you're a Chelsea supporter.

However, the hope that is to come, the grace that we are to receive,

is absolutely guaranteed and totally assured.

That's what hope in Scripture is.

It is guaranteed.

That's what he told us in verse 3.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In his great mercy, he has given us new birth, this new beginning, a fresh start,

into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

and into an inheritance that can never perish, never spoil, never fade,

and it's kept in heaven for you.

Because Jesus rose from the grave, defeating our death, our future hope is guaranteed.

Later today, Mayo are going to play Dublin in the All-Ireland Final.

Now suppose Mayo knew they were going to win.

Somehow, they just knew that victory was theirs.

It was guaranteed.

They would still have to go out and play and compete and tackle and score.

But no matter the hits they take, no matter the intensity of the fight,

even if they went behind in the score,

they would keep on going because they knew victory was assured.

Well, that's how it is for us.

Our future is guaranteed.

So as we live in this hostile world,

no matter the hits that we take,

no matter how fierce the battle,

we can keep on going because our victory, our future, is sure.

Now the danger is,

and what can happen to us is this.

We can take our eyes off our future hope.

We can become overcome by the struggling and the trials and the difficulties as a Christian.

And we can begin to drift and opt out.

So he gives us this command,

set your hope on the grace that is to come.

How do we do that?

Well, look at verse 13 again.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action.

Engage your thinking intentionally and deliberately.

Start thinking about what God has promised us.

Saturate your thoughts with the glory that is to come.

In other words, we are to fill our minds with the truth of God's amazing promises.

We are to prepare our minds, verse 13,

and be self-controlled or some of the translations have it,

be sober-minded.

To be sober-minded means to be in control of your thinking.

Rather than being influenced by the world around you,

we are being influenced by what God has to say in his word.

I watched a chick flick once.

Only one of them.

Fifty first dates, if you can remember it.

I think I was there.

I can't remember anyway.

We'll not go there.

Bad, bad, bad to go there.

And in it, anyway, the story of it is,

is a wife who has an accident and loses her memory.

She can't remember who she is or those who love her.

So every morning when she wakes up,

she plays a video.

And in the video, her husband speaks to her,

reminding her of who he is,

that he is her loving husband,

and that she's got a wonderful daughter who she loves.

And he explains all these things, all these truths to her.

So as she begins each day,

she's reminding herself of the truth of who she is,

and she's able to live out her calling and her life as she should.

Now that's what he's telling us here.

Our minds are to be filled with the truth of God's word.

We need to play the video of the gospel story over and over again to our minds.

We need to tell it to us.

We need to meditate upon it.

We need to hear God say to us,

You are my child.

I have loved you and chosen you from before the creation of the world.

I have died for you.

I have given you an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

You have a glorious future.

Set your hope on the grace that is to come.

So that's the first command.

Be clear of your hope.

And the second one is this.

Be holy like God.

Look at verse 15.

But just as he, that is God who called you, is holy,

so be holy in all you do,

for it is written,

Be holy because I am holy.

Now, holy in this context means to be separate and distinct.

So if God is holy, that means God is set apart.

God is different from everyone else and everything else.

He's full of purity, full of beauty.

There's no influence of evil and there's no hint of sin.

Now, do you see what we're called to?

If we are God's children, we are to become like God.

In other words, we are to pursue a life of holiness.

Verse 16.

Be holy because I am holy.

Now, in your Bibles, you'll see there's probably a little letter at the end of it

and you'll see there that it's actually a quote from the book of Leviticus.

Leviticus, that book in the Old Testament,

one of the books that we usually tend to avoid because to us,

well, it's a book full of strange laws that God gives to his people Israel.

He's rescued them from slavery and then he gives them all these laws

about what they can eat and what they can't wear,

where they can go and what they can't do.

And through all of these laws, God's people are being trained every single day.

They're being reminded every single day that they were different.

They now belong to God.

So when they sat down to have their food, their breakfast or their lunch,

when they got dressed in the morning and put on certain clothes,

when they went out to work, the things they could touch and not touch,

they couldn't get through any part of the day

without this reminder that they were separate,

that they were different, that they belonged to God.

So as they went out amongst the nations,

all this training would remind them that they were to behave as God's people.

They were different.

Now the same principle applies to us.

We are God's people

and we are to train ourselves to be holy.

We are to be separate and distinct,

not by the food we eat or the clothes we wear,

but by our behaviour.

Look at verse 14.

As obedient children,

as obedient children,

do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance,

but just as he who called you be holy,

so be holy in all you do.

We're to be different by our behaviour.

When you watch a great match on television,

like Dublin and Mayo this afternoon,

you watch the skill of the players.

They don't have to think about what to do.

In the intensity of the battle on the pitch,

it all becomes instinct.

It's almost habit.

It's habit.

Because they've been putting in the hard training through the months and through the winter,

they just perform.

It's just natural.

Now, in the same way,

as we pursue a life of holiness,

as we train ourselves to become like God,

when the hostility comes,

in the midst of the opposition and the fight on the pitch,

as it were,

we will obey.

It will become our natural instinct.

It will become our habit to obey Christ.

Rather than conform to the standards of this world

and fit in and live that way,

our habit will be naturally to obey Christ.

In other words,

if we are not training ourselves in holiness,

if we are not seeking to obey Christ,

when the hostility comes,

when the trial comes,

we will conform.

We'll buckle under the pressure.

And we'll begin to modify our behaviour

so that we do fit in.

And we are accepted.

So two very clear commands to God's children.

Be clear of your hope.

Get your minds in gear

and remember what is to come.

And the second command,

be holy like God.

Train yourself,

discipline yourself

to become holy like him

so that you can stand strong

in the heat of the battle.

The second big idea is this,

the motivation to live as God's children.

You see,

training to be holy,

preparing our minds for action,

sounds like hard work.

And I hope we sense that.

It is hard work.

It's going to be tough.

And because we're called to do this,

we need the right kind of motivation

to follow these laws,

to follow these commands.

So we have two motivations.

Here's the first one.

Our future judgment.

Look at verse 17.

Since you call on a father

who judges each man's work impartially,

live your lives as strangers here

in reverent fear.

Yes, God is our loving father

who chose us before the creation of the world,

who loves us deeply,

is also our judge.

He is our father

who judges each person's work impartially,

completely fairly.

One day,

every single one of us here

will have to stand before the father

and give an account for our lives.

Everything that we've ever said,

everything that we've ever done,

everything that we've ever thought,

our most public deeds

and our most private acts

will all be unveiled

and laid out before the father.

And we will have to give an account

for our life.

Why we did this

and why we didn't do that.

So because of God's coming judgment,

look at the end of verse 17.

Live your lives as strangers here

in reverent fear.

The fact that there's a future judgment

should motivate us

to live rightly today,

to follow out the commands

that he has given us.

In Matthew 10,

Jesus sends his disciples out into the world

to be his witness.

And as he does,

he says this.

He says to them,

I am sending you out like sheep

among wolves.

That it's going to be dangerous.

It's going to be hard.

And then he said this.

Do not be afraid of those

who can kill the body,

but cannot kill the soul.

Rather be afraid or fear the one

who can destroy both hell,

both soul and body,

in hell.

You see,

we fear what people think of us.

We fear,

what will people think of me

if I say what I believe?

We fear how people are going to treat us

if we talk about our faith in Jesus.

No,

says Peter.

Live your lives as strangers here

in reverent fear.

Don't be fearing the world.

Don't be fearing people's opinions of you.

It doesn't matter what people think of you.

Rather,

fear our Father

who is judge.

You see,

being God's children

does not give us this license

to live as we please

and think it doesn't matter.

It does matter.

God takes seriously

that calling.

He says,

I've called you

to be holy,

to live different,

to be my children

in this world.

So as children of the Father,

we want to take that seriously.

We want to please our Father.

We want to do what's right

as a demonstration

of our love for Him.

That we belong to Him.

So be motivated

by our future judgments.

But also,

as we look towards

our future judgment,

we should also look back

to our past redemption.

look at verse 18.

For you know

that it was not

with perishable things

such as silver or gold

that you were redeemed

from the empty way of life

handed down to you

from your forefathers,

but with the precious blood

of Christ,

a lamb without blemish

or defect,

chosen

before the creation

of the world.

Now that's referring back

to a great event

in the Old Testament.

The Exodus.

That great act

of salvation

when God

redeemed

His people

from slavery

in Egypt.

God came

and He rescued them

from their cruel bondage

to Pharaoh

so that they could

come out

and belong to God

and be His people.

And central

to that redemption

was

the blood

of a lamb.

Let's remind ourselves

of that story.

Keep your finger

in 1 Peter

and go back

to Exodus chapter 12.

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

The story here

is what's called

the Passover.

Exodus chapter 12.

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

So God

has

heard their cry.

They're in slavery

and He has come

to rescue them.

And at the heart

of their rescue,

the heart of their redemption

was the blood

of a lamb.

Chapter 12

verse 3.

So God

speaks to Moses

and Moses speaks

to the people.

Verse 3.

He says,

Tell the whole community

of Israel

that on the tenth day

of this month

each man

is to take a lamb

for his family

one for each household.

So every family

takes a lamb.

Now read down

at verse 5.

The animals

you choose

must be year old males

without defect,

without blemish.

And you may take them

from sheep

or the goats

if they hadn't lambs.

Take care of them

until the 14th day

of the month

when all the people

of the community

of Israel

must slaughter them

at twilight.

Then they are

to take some

of the blood

and put it

on the sides

and the tops

of the door frames

of the houses

where they eat

the lambs.

Now why would you

go putting blood

all over your front door?

It seems rather gross

to us in our age

to think of getting

a paintbrush out

and slapping blood

all over it.

Well let's see

the reason.

Verse 12.

On that same night

God says

I will pass

through Egypt

and strike down

every firstborn

both men

and animals

and I will bring

judgment

on all the gods

of Egypt.

I am the Lord.

The blood

that they've painted

on the doors

will be a sign

for you

on the houses

where you are

and when I see

the blood

that you've put

on the doors

I will pass

over you

and no destructive

plague will touch

you

when I strike

Egypt.

Go back

to 1 Peter.

You see

the people knew

that they were

just like

in some sense

the Egyptians.

They were rebellious

and sinful.

They too

deserved God's

judgment

but God

in his grace

provided a way.

So we can picture

the scene

the father of the house

takes the lamb

and he slaughters

the lamb

he slits the lamb's throat

and as he does so

he's saying

this lamb

dies

instead of me

and my family.

As the blood

dripped onto the floor

it was a reminder

that the lamb

loses its life

so that they

might have life.

Judgment falls

not on the people

but on the lamb

a substitute.

Now says Peter

take all that picture

with us

and come back

to 1 Peter

and verse 18

and 19.

This he says

is what God

has done for us

in Christ.

We are people

who deserve

judgment

but Christ

the ultimate lamb

who was without sin

without blemish

without defect

has died

in our place.

When Jesus

went to the cross

as the drip

as the blood

dripped to the ground

he was giving

his life for us

so that we

might have life.

The judgment

falls

not on us

but on Jesus

the substitute.

All of this

means

look at the end

of verse 18

this means

that we have

now been

redeemed

from the

empty way

of life

handed down

to you

from your forefathers.

As we were born

into this world

we were born

with a sinful nature

a heart

that's rebellious

to God

and he's saying

I've now rescued

you from that

from that empty

way of living

and I've given you

a new way to live

you've now become

my children.

You see

when we face

hostility

in this world

when we feel

like outsiders

when we are

shut out

because of our faith

when we're

misunderstood

because of the

stand we take

when we're

accused wrongly

when we experience

this opposition

and persecution

we will be

tempted to look

for an easier

way

but remember

he says

to give up

and to go back

is actually

to go back

into an empty

way of life

the acceptance

that the world

offers

is empty

it will never

satisfy you

the belonging

that the world

gives you

is false

there's nothing

there for you

it's going back

into slavery

it's going back

under a harsh

master again

but Christ

has freed you

from that

and given you

a new life

therefore

verse 21

through him

you believe

in God

who raised him

from the dead

and glorified him

and so your faith

and hope

are in God

we've been rescued

from an empty

way of life

so don't go back

to it

it will destroy

you and kill

you

rather look

to the life

that Christ

gives you

which satisfies

you and fulfills

you

and gives you

that glorious

inheritance

so as we think

about these

commands

that we are

to live

to set our

hope

on what is

to come

to be holy

like God

we need our

motivation

our future

judgment

and our

past redemption

it's a little

bit like

driving a car

and I'll finish

with this

illustration

you picture

yourself

driving on

down the road

as you're

driving

you're looking

out the front

you're looking

through the screen

to what's coming

but at the same

time you always

have an eye

on your little

mirror to see

what's happened

behind

or what's going

on

and if you

keep looking

out there

and you keep

looking back

then you'll

drive safely

and it's

going to go

right

now in the

same way

that is what

we are to do

as we journey

on with

the Lord

we are to

look towards

our future

judgments

but we are to

look back in the

mirror to our

past redemption

we are to look

back and remember

all that Christ

has done for us

so that we can

keep on going

not in fear

of the sense

that he's never

going to accept

me but he will

accept me

because of

Christ

and because I

will face him

as judge

I will seek

to love him

and please

him

so we have

our focus

on the future

and on the

past

and that will

give us the

motivation

to keep going

forward

as God's

children

let's pray

together

thanks

to him

and

to be

Thank you.