Click here for the audio message of 1 Peter 2:11-25
The first portion of 1 Peter chapter 2 deals with Christ as being the Cornerstone of the Christian’s life. He is the perfect example of life. All Christians should model their life after His.
With Christ we can come into the presence of God. We are the priests. We are the Holy Nation. We are God’s chosen people. We are His children. We should read, study, and apply His Word in our life.
Peter begins our portion of Scripture today by continuing that theme of following the example of Jesus. We are to live a righteous life in this fallen, hostile world. We are foreigners here, our true home, our true citizenship is in Heaven.
This earth is just a temporary place for us to carry out God’s work until we are all called to our eternal home. While we are here, however, we do have some obligations if you will.
First, Christians have an obligation to strangers. In verse 11, Peter tells us to abstain from fleshly lusts. We are to not only abstain from them but we are to stay away from them completely.
In order to have an impact on the world we, as Christians, must show that we are indeed different. We must avoid the desires of this world, not only from an external standpoint, but internally as well.
Fleshly desires are all encompassing. These things, these desires, these lusts literally wage war against the Christian. It is a desire for health, wealth, beauty, fun, and so on. These desires, especially when taken to the extreme, will destroy the Christian’s joy, peace, and ultimately their usefulness to God.
Our behavior should not follow after the lusts of the world. Instead it should be excellent, pure, noble. The world should recognize that we are different. The world saw Christ was different, some believed and some persecuted Him. We should expect the same.
Our second obligation in this world is to the government. We are to submit ourselves to the government. We are under the civil law and authority. God has placed these governments in charge to protect the good people and punish the evildoers.
Therefore, when we live obediently and submit to the authorities we are honoring God and He is glorified through our conduct. The only time a Christian should disobey the government is when it tries to force a Christian to do what is against the law of God explicitly state in Scripture.
Christ submitted Himself to the governing authorities. He paid His taxes and obeyed and submitted to the government with regards to worldly, civil activities.
Our third obligation is to our masters. Today we would say, “Employees, be subject to your bosses.” Just because we are Christians doesn’t make us any better than anybody else. We are all still sinners in need of a Savior.
There are certain social structure in place in society, such as the employee / employer relationship. We are not to rebel against that structure no matter how unfair it may be. This is a difficult thing for most of us to deal with.
Luckily, here in the United States and especially in Pennsylvania, we are considered “at will” employees. Meaning, I can leave my job any time and my employer could fire me at any time too. It is at will employment. I willing work for my employer and they willingly employ me.
Some places around the world are not like that. Some places still have a caste system in place that says if you are born into a farming family you will be a farmer. There is no choice.
Either way, we are to submit to our masters. Again, the same holds true as with the government. If our boss asks us to do something against the word of God we should not do it. Furthermore, if our boss asks us to do something that is against the law of the land we are not to do it either.
Whenever we submit ourselves, we do it voluntarily. We do this for our testimony for Christ. Especially when we are treated unfairly. We are to take our treatment knowing that God sees and knows all and we are under His care.
That is certainly what Christ did. As a human person, He didn’t want to be persecuted and be nailed to the cross. His prayer in the garden shows that. He prays, if there is another way, lets do that instead, but not what I want, but your will be done.
Christ was and is the perfect example of patient endurance in unjust suffering because He was sinless. Christ suffered not simply as the Christian’s pattern, but far more importantly as the Christian’s substitute. To bear the sins of His people.
Christ bore the punishment and the penalty for believers and satisfied our Holy God. This is the heart of the Gospel. Christ died for you.
We are to honor all people. We are to have a respect for human life and treat people accordingly. We are to love other believers. We are to fear God. We are to receive Christ into our lives as the perfect example to follow.
Think about how you act in this world. Do you act in a Godly manner? Or do you seek revenge when others try to hurt you or your family.
Make no mistake about it, if you are living a Christ like life, you will be mistreated. Just remember that God sees and knows all. Pray for the strength to resist the temptation to seek your own revenge.
Pray for the person offending you. Pray that God will open their eyes and their hearts to see the error of their ways and to receive Christ into their life. We are to love our enemies.
Are you following Jesus’ example?
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us your Word and not just Your Word on paper, but Your Word in the flesh. Help us to truly live as you would have us to live. Strengthen us to be submissive to those in charge, ruling over us.
Help us to extend that great mercy and love that you gave us to others. Help us to resist the temptation to seek revenge on our own. Guide us in our journey as we strive to follow Christ closer and closer each day.
AMEN.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Jesus Christ the Cornerstone
Click here for the audio message of 1 Peter 2:1-10
Our Scripture this morning really focuses on Christ and the role He plays in our life. Last time we saw that we are a new creation in Christ. The Christians new life cannot grow unless we get rid of the sin in our life.
So we need to get rid of all malice, that is evil stuff that comes from inside our hearts. We get rid of hypocrisy. We get rid of envy. We get rid of slander. So we get rid of all that stuff.
But we don’t just leave that area of our heart empty. No. We fill it with the Word of God. To grow in our faith we must have a desire for God’s Word like a baby desires milk.
We read the bible. We study His Word. We apply what we learn from Him to our life everyday. And we grow, from babes to mature men and women.
We eliminate sin, desire God’s Word and grow in our faith. We need to remember the life God has given to us, not just our earthly physical life, but out eternal spiritual life as well. We ask God to help us remove that sin in our life and give us the strength to resist the temptations of this world.
When we are saved we get a taste of God’s grace in realizing what Christ did for us on the cross. And we can come to Him as a living stone. When we come to Him, we come with the intention or desire of staying with Him.
We don’t come to Him just to help us through a certain situation and then once everything works out we go back to our old lifestyles. That is not the case at all. We come to Christ and desire to follow Him for the rest of our lives. We remain in His presence.
As we know Christ is to be the Cornerstone of our lives. When building a house you spend a lot of time on the foundation so the rest of your house will stand. Our Spiritual houses our built on Christ.
We are called living stones. We are so closely united with Christ that the characteristics of His life should be evident in our lives. We build our life on Him. Christians are little Christ’s. When people look at us and our lives they should see Christ.
Christ is the perfect model or example of a life to follow. He is perfect. He lived like us, yet without sin. Even though we will never reach perfection in our earthly life, we are to still strive toward that goal.
Then why does Scripture tell us that Christ can be a stumbling block and a rock of offense? How can this be? How can Christ cause someone to stumble?
Christ is the way to our salvation and eternal life. But when someone rejects Christ, then they are rejecting the Gospel and Christ will be a stumbling block to them. They will either trip over the rock or the rock will crush them. Either way they will be judged for their rejection of Christ.
Peter tells us that, as believers, God has given us a special role to play. We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We are God’s own people so that we may tell others about His grace, His mercy, and His love.
We know that God chose the nation of Israel to be His chosen people during the Old Testament times. But they rejected Him so God chose us, followers of Jesus Christ to be His chosen people. We are to carry out His work in this world now.
We are a royal priesthood. Again Peter draws from the Old Testament priests. Only the priests were allowed into the Holy of Holies, which represented the presence of God. When Israel rejected their Messiah, they temporarily forfeited this privilege. I do believe they will get this privilege back again during the tribulation, however.
Today, the Church, the body of Christ is a royal priesthood. We all have access to the presence of God. We serve God and one day will rule with Christ.
God calls us His own. We are children of God. He hears our prayers. He cares for us. He watches over us. He calls us His own. We belong to Him and He wants us! We are the people of God.
God usually spreads His grace and mercy on everybody. The sun shines and the rain falls on believers and non-believers alike in this world. But we as believers have experienced His unique and saving mercy and grace at our salvation.
What a wonderful thought that is. And I think sometimes we forget about it or maybe even take it for granted. Maybe because many of us received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior so long ago.
Maybe we have lost some of that enthusiasm and commitment you had when you first became a follower of Christ. And I think part of that has to do with our society today. Everything seems so complicated. We are in such a rush.
There are so many demands placed upon us. We run out of time. We get tired. And usually it is God’s work that gets shoved aside. We need to rekindle that love, that enthusiasm, that commitment for Christ.
We need to spend time in God’s Word. We need to spend time in prayer. We need to eliminate or at least minimize the worldly distractions. We need to constantly evaluate our life from God’s perspective.
Ask yourself, Is what I am doing glorifying God? Is there something else that I can do that would glorify God more?
Look at your priorities and make sure your life is built on that Cornerstone.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for sending us Jesus Christ and making Him the Cornerstone of our lives. Help us to grow and pattern our life after His. We thank you for making us your special people.
Help us to carry out Your will here on earth. Strengthen us and guide us as we journey in our faith.
AMEN.
Our Scripture this morning really focuses on Christ and the role He plays in our life. Last time we saw that we are a new creation in Christ. The Christians new life cannot grow unless we get rid of the sin in our life.
So we need to get rid of all malice, that is evil stuff that comes from inside our hearts. We get rid of hypocrisy. We get rid of envy. We get rid of slander. So we get rid of all that stuff.
But we don’t just leave that area of our heart empty. No. We fill it with the Word of God. To grow in our faith we must have a desire for God’s Word like a baby desires milk.
We read the bible. We study His Word. We apply what we learn from Him to our life everyday. And we grow, from babes to mature men and women.
We eliminate sin, desire God’s Word and grow in our faith. We need to remember the life God has given to us, not just our earthly physical life, but out eternal spiritual life as well. We ask God to help us remove that sin in our life and give us the strength to resist the temptations of this world.
When we are saved we get a taste of God’s grace in realizing what Christ did for us on the cross. And we can come to Him as a living stone. When we come to Him, we come with the intention or desire of staying with Him.
We don’t come to Him just to help us through a certain situation and then once everything works out we go back to our old lifestyles. That is not the case at all. We come to Christ and desire to follow Him for the rest of our lives. We remain in His presence.
As we know Christ is to be the Cornerstone of our lives. When building a house you spend a lot of time on the foundation so the rest of your house will stand. Our Spiritual houses our built on Christ.
We are called living stones. We are so closely united with Christ that the characteristics of His life should be evident in our lives. We build our life on Him. Christians are little Christ’s. When people look at us and our lives they should see Christ.
Christ is the perfect model or example of a life to follow. He is perfect. He lived like us, yet without sin. Even though we will never reach perfection in our earthly life, we are to still strive toward that goal.
Then why does Scripture tell us that Christ can be a stumbling block and a rock of offense? How can this be? How can Christ cause someone to stumble?
Christ is the way to our salvation and eternal life. But when someone rejects Christ, then they are rejecting the Gospel and Christ will be a stumbling block to them. They will either trip over the rock or the rock will crush them. Either way they will be judged for their rejection of Christ.
Peter tells us that, as believers, God has given us a special role to play. We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We are God’s own people so that we may tell others about His grace, His mercy, and His love.
We know that God chose the nation of Israel to be His chosen people during the Old Testament times. But they rejected Him so God chose us, followers of Jesus Christ to be His chosen people. We are to carry out His work in this world now.
We are a royal priesthood. Again Peter draws from the Old Testament priests. Only the priests were allowed into the Holy of Holies, which represented the presence of God. When Israel rejected their Messiah, they temporarily forfeited this privilege. I do believe they will get this privilege back again during the tribulation, however.
Today, the Church, the body of Christ is a royal priesthood. We all have access to the presence of God. We serve God and one day will rule with Christ.
God calls us His own. We are children of God. He hears our prayers. He cares for us. He watches over us. He calls us His own. We belong to Him and He wants us! We are the people of God.
God usually spreads His grace and mercy on everybody. The sun shines and the rain falls on believers and non-believers alike in this world. But we as believers have experienced His unique and saving mercy and grace at our salvation.
What a wonderful thought that is. And I think sometimes we forget about it or maybe even take it for granted. Maybe because many of us received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior so long ago.
Maybe we have lost some of that enthusiasm and commitment you had when you first became a follower of Christ. And I think part of that has to do with our society today. Everything seems so complicated. We are in such a rush.
There are so many demands placed upon us. We run out of time. We get tired. And usually it is God’s work that gets shoved aside. We need to rekindle that love, that enthusiasm, that commitment for Christ.
We need to spend time in God’s Word. We need to spend time in prayer. We need to eliminate or at least minimize the worldly distractions. We need to constantly evaluate our life from God’s perspective.
Ask yourself, Is what I am doing glorifying God? Is there something else that I can do that would glorify God more?
Look at your priorities and make sure your life is built on that Cornerstone.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for sending us Jesus Christ and making Him the Cornerstone of our lives. Help us to grow and pattern our life after His. We thank you for making us your special people.
Help us to carry out Your will here on earth. Strengthen us and guide us as we journey in our faith.
AMEN.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
New Life in Christ
Click here for the audio message of 1 Peter 1:13-21
Last time in our study we saw that God wants us to be saved. He doesn’t force us into salvation, but He provides it for us to receive or reject. When we receive that salvation, we no longer need to fear death because of the hope that we have for eternal life through Christ.
We can rejoice in the knowledge of our salvation. Trials and troubles will come to us to prove our faith – to make us pure. It may not always be an easy journey, but we know we will have a safe arrival. God is with us and will strengthen us through those tough times.
In our Scripture this morning, Peter continues the theme we saw last week, only now he writes about the believer’s new life in Christ. Think about your own life. Many of us probably grew up in Christian homes and have always attended church. But there are probably differences in the way you act today because of your growing and maturing relationship with Christ.
When you received Christ into your life you were a new creation. You were born again. You have a new life in Christ. We are to prepare ourselves for God. We should reject the evils of the world and focus on what God wants us to do.
We are to be sober minded. We are to study the Word of God diligently and apply it in our lives. We are to live by His Word. We are to live in joy by following His Word. We are to live a Holy life because He is holy.
To be Holy or to live a Holy life is to be as much like God as we can be. Even though while we are on this earth we will never reach perfection, it is still our goal. This involves treating God with respect and reverence.
Holiness is God’s number one attribute. In the Hebrew language a word was often repeated to emphasize its meaning. We sometimes do similar things in the English language.
For example, when a child is about to do something dangerous, we might shout “No, No, No.” In Isaiah’s vision (Isaiah 6:3), he hears the angels praising God by saying “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.”
God is Holy, we should be Holy. We should be motivated to live righteously as God is righteous. Living a righteous life in a fallen world is very challenging, but we must be strong in our faith.
Peter tells his readers that God judges each according to His deeds. Everyone will experience eternal life or eternal death. God will judge all according to their deeds, but for believers not just their deeds, but their heart attitude as well.
Why did they do these deeds? Were they done to look good to others or were they done to glorify God? What was the person’s heart like? God knows our hearts. He knows what our motives are. He knows us better than we know ourselves. That is why He sends trials and troubles into our lives, to prove to us what our motives are.
Through our troubles we must remember and understand the price that Jesus paid for our salvation. We are redeemed by Him. We cannot save ourselves. He paid the ultimate price for our sins. Because of His sacrifice, we are no longer under the curse of the law.
John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
The only way we can have a right relationship with this world and the people in it is if we have a right relationship with God. God loved the world and gave his Son to it for salvation. We are also to love the world, not in a material or worldly way, but in a Godly way.
We should love the world so that we too want to do whatever we can do to save it. The way we do that is going into the world and making disciples of Jesus Christ. We get our strength and our ability to do this from God.
We get this through a right relationship with God, when we are reborn through Christ. Trying to explain what it is like to be born again is a challenging thing to do. It is something you need to experience to fully understand.
It is a complete change in your life. You have a change of mind, of your heart, of your entire lifestyle. The old worldly things no longer matter like they did before. You no longer want to do the “bad” stuff you used to do.
In John chapter 3, Jesus explains the rebirth to Nicodemus. Being born again means having the Spirit of God working in your life. I don’t know how it all starts or when, but I just know it does.
Even after our rebirth, after coming to Christ for eternal life, we still live in this fallen world. We still have those fleshly desires and temptations to contend with. Those old habits are hard to break.
But the key is knowing and remembering that we are a child of God and that He is there ready to help us through our temptations and troubles. We need to rely on Him for the strength to get through whatever we are dealing with.
We must always remember to thank Him for the opportunities that He gives us and for the blessings that He provides for us. When we do indeed fail, we must return to Him and ask for forgiveness and the strength to resist that temptation in the future.
As a believer you have a new life in Christ. When we received Christ into our life, the Holy Spirit took up residence within us. That means we are attached to God for eternity. We will live with God and God lives with us for the rest of our lives. We share the life of God.
We will want to do what He wants and we must be Holy because God is Holy.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you being a part of our lives and for the gift of eternal life through Christ. Help us to recognize your hand in our lives each and every day. Help us to be righteous as you are righteous. Help us to be Holy as you are Holy.
Transform us each day to grow in your likeness.
AMEN.
Last time in our study we saw that God wants us to be saved. He doesn’t force us into salvation, but He provides it for us to receive or reject. When we receive that salvation, we no longer need to fear death because of the hope that we have for eternal life through Christ.
We can rejoice in the knowledge of our salvation. Trials and troubles will come to us to prove our faith – to make us pure. It may not always be an easy journey, but we know we will have a safe arrival. God is with us and will strengthen us through those tough times.
In our Scripture this morning, Peter continues the theme we saw last week, only now he writes about the believer’s new life in Christ. Think about your own life. Many of us probably grew up in Christian homes and have always attended church. But there are probably differences in the way you act today because of your growing and maturing relationship with Christ.
When you received Christ into your life you were a new creation. You were born again. You have a new life in Christ. We are to prepare ourselves for God. We should reject the evils of the world and focus on what God wants us to do.
We are to be sober minded. We are to study the Word of God diligently and apply it in our lives. We are to live by His Word. We are to live in joy by following His Word. We are to live a Holy life because He is holy.
To be Holy or to live a Holy life is to be as much like God as we can be. Even though while we are on this earth we will never reach perfection, it is still our goal. This involves treating God with respect and reverence.
Holiness is God’s number one attribute. In the Hebrew language a word was often repeated to emphasize its meaning. We sometimes do similar things in the English language.
For example, when a child is about to do something dangerous, we might shout “No, No, No.” In Isaiah’s vision (Isaiah 6:3), he hears the angels praising God by saying “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.”
God is Holy, we should be Holy. We should be motivated to live righteously as God is righteous. Living a righteous life in a fallen world is very challenging, but we must be strong in our faith.
Peter tells his readers that God judges each according to His deeds. Everyone will experience eternal life or eternal death. God will judge all according to their deeds, but for believers not just their deeds, but their heart attitude as well.
Why did they do these deeds? Were they done to look good to others or were they done to glorify God? What was the person’s heart like? God knows our hearts. He knows what our motives are. He knows us better than we know ourselves. That is why He sends trials and troubles into our lives, to prove to us what our motives are.
Through our troubles we must remember and understand the price that Jesus paid for our salvation. We are redeemed by Him. We cannot save ourselves. He paid the ultimate price for our sins. Because of His sacrifice, we are no longer under the curse of the law.
John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
The only way we can have a right relationship with this world and the people in it is if we have a right relationship with God. God loved the world and gave his Son to it for salvation. We are also to love the world, not in a material or worldly way, but in a Godly way.
We should love the world so that we too want to do whatever we can do to save it. The way we do that is going into the world and making disciples of Jesus Christ. We get our strength and our ability to do this from God.
We get this through a right relationship with God, when we are reborn through Christ. Trying to explain what it is like to be born again is a challenging thing to do. It is something you need to experience to fully understand.
It is a complete change in your life. You have a change of mind, of your heart, of your entire lifestyle. The old worldly things no longer matter like they did before. You no longer want to do the “bad” stuff you used to do.
In John chapter 3, Jesus explains the rebirth to Nicodemus. Being born again means having the Spirit of God working in your life. I don’t know how it all starts or when, but I just know it does.
Even after our rebirth, after coming to Christ for eternal life, we still live in this fallen world. We still have those fleshly desires and temptations to contend with. Those old habits are hard to break.
But the key is knowing and remembering that we are a child of God and that He is there ready to help us through our temptations and troubles. We need to rely on Him for the strength to get through whatever we are dealing with.
We must always remember to thank Him for the opportunities that He gives us and for the blessings that He provides for us. When we do indeed fail, we must return to Him and ask for forgiveness and the strength to resist that temptation in the future.
As a believer you have a new life in Christ. When we received Christ into our life, the Holy Spirit took up residence within us. That means we are attached to God for eternity. We will live with God and God lives with us for the rest of our lives. We share the life of God.
We will want to do what He wants and we must be Holy because God is Holy.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you being a part of our lives and for the gift of eternal life through Christ. Help us to recognize your hand in our lives each and every day. Help us to be righteous as you are righteous. Help us to be Holy as you are Holy.
Transform us each day to grow in your likeness.
AMEN.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Hope
Click here to listen to the audio message of 1 Peter 1:1-12
This morning we start our look at the book of 1st Peter. We know that this letter was wrote by Peter to those Christians who were being persecuted around the area. The Christians were being persecuted because the Roman Emperor, Nero, decided to burn down the city of Rome to build new buildings.
Of course, during the burning of Rome many Roman citizens lost their homes, businesses, and even their lives. The people obviously became furious at Nero. Of course Nero looked for a way out and found it with Christians.
The Roman people already had some hated of Christians because they were associated with the Jews and seen as hostile toward the Roman government. So Nero decided to blame the Christians for the burning.
Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes this letter to those Christians being persecuted to strengthen them through their trials. The purpose of the letter is to teach these Christians how to live victoriously through the trouble they were experiencing, without losing hope or becoming bitter and continuing to trust the Lord and wait for His return.
Peter as we know was a fisherman and considered by many to be the leader of the disciples. I believe Peter had a strong desire to follow Christ and that is what made him appear as a leader. He certainly played an important role in the early Church. We also know that Peter’s brother Andrew is the person who brought Peter to Christ.
According to tradition Peter watched his wife be executed and then he himself was executed upside down on a cross.
After the introduction, Peter starts his letter by blessing God for His mercy, giving us hope for eternal life through Jesus Christ. Peter tells his readers to look past the temporary struggles and troubles they are experiencing.
He reminds them of their heavenly inheritance: eternal life, joy, peace, perfection, and being in the presence of God, along with whatever else God has planned for us in Heaven. This is an imperishable inheritance. It will not rot, decay, disappear, be destroyed or fade away.
God wants us to be saved. Paul gives us a clear picture of this in First Timothy chapter 2 verses three and four. “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
God wants us to be holy, pure, and righteous. He knows we are not perfect, but God will continue to work in our lives when we ask Him to. God’s plan is for good in our lives and we need to trust in Him and His plan for us and others.
We are to rejoice in our salvation and consider it the ultimate blessing from God. This is not a type of emotion that changes with how you’re feeling at any particular moment. Rather this is an intense joy that comes from a daily, growing, eternal relationship with God.
This is the ultimate blessing or prize if you will. We as Christians don’t need to strive for earthly accomplishments or rewards. We have an eternal reward waiting for us in Heaven.
Peter tells us in verse 7, the trials we may experience in our life are for us. They let us know if our faith is pure. The trials aren’t for God. He already knows our hearts. The trials are for us to prove that our faith is pure.
When a Christian comes through the trial still trusting in the Lord, then they know their faith is real. It is pure. It has been tested by fire if you will. It is like the saying, you have talked the talk, now will you walk the walk. It is living out your faith and obedience to God.
Having hope in Jesus Christ is what gets us through those trials. The hope of the Bible is not the hope of the world. Many of us might say something like, I hope I get a nice Rolex watch when I retiree after 50 years of service to my employer.
That is a worldly hope. We think or wish for something. You know, I hope I get a new bike for my birthday. This is not the hope of the Bible. The hope of the Bible is the knowledge of the sacrifice of Christ. This is knowing that you have eternal life, not simply wishing for it.
I know of an older man that was hooked up to all kinds of machines to keep him alive. He didn’t want to die. I suspect it was because he was afraid of death. We as Christians do not need to fear death. It is not the end for us. We have the hope, the knowledge of eternal life with Christ.
If Christ had not conquered death for us, then sure we would have every reason to fear death In fact, if we had to work for our salvation, I am not sure I could do it. When I think about the people that believe they can work their way into Heaven, I think of a Muslim professor I had in college.
He followed all these rules, daily prayer, fasting, trip to Mecca, and so on, just for a chance to get into what they call heaven. He could live his entire life according to these rules and still not get into his heaven.
We don’t need to worry about that. We do not work for our salvation. The price has been paid. We have the assurance of our salvation. The hope that we have in our salvation allows us to live without fear of death. We can live each day for God.
Think about some of the trials you have experienced and think about how you reacted to those times of trouble. Then look back and see how God was there helping you through it all. Think of all the blessings that God has given to you.
The next time a trial or troublesome situation arrives in your life remember that God is giving you an opportunity to live out your faith. Trust in Him and He will not let you down.
You may not understand why all of these bad things are happening to you, but just trust that God knows what He is doing.
Trials and persecutions are a part of life, but God will take care of you.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. We thank you for giving us those times of trouble in our life so that we may prove our faith. We thank you for seeing us through those difficult times as well.
We thank you for that great joy and hope of salvation that you have freely provided to us. Help us to make your will our will each day as you strengthen us to do what you want us to do.
AMEN.
This morning we start our look at the book of 1st Peter. We know that this letter was wrote by Peter to those Christians who were being persecuted around the area. The Christians were being persecuted because the Roman Emperor, Nero, decided to burn down the city of Rome to build new buildings.
Of course, during the burning of Rome many Roman citizens lost their homes, businesses, and even their lives. The people obviously became furious at Nero. Of course Nero looked for a way out and found it with Christians.
The Roman people already had some hated of Christians because they were associated with the Jews and seen as hostile toward the Roman government. So Nero decided to blame the Christians for the burning.
Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes this letter to those Christians being persecuted to strengthen them through their trials. The purpose of the letter is to teach these Christians how to live victoriously through the trouble they were experiencing, without losing hope or becoming bitter and continuing to trust the Lord and wait for His return.
Peter as we know was a fisherman and considered by many to be the leader of the disciples. I believe Peter had a strong desire to follow Christ and that is what made him appear as a leader. He certainly played an important role in the early Church. We also know that Peter’s brother Andrew is the person who brought Peter to Christ.
According to tradition Peter watched his wife be executed and then he himself was executed upside down on a cross.
After the introduction, Peter starts his letter by blessing God for His mercy, giving us hope for eternal life through Jesus Christ. Peter tells his readers to look past the temporary struggles and troubles they are experiencing.
He reminds them of their heavenly inheritance: eternal life, joy, peace, perfection, and being in the presence of God, along with whatever else God has planned for us in Heaven. This is an imperishable inheritance. It will not rot, decay, disappear, be destroyed or fade away.
God wants us to be saved. Paul gives us a clear picture of this in First Timothy chapter 2 verses three and four. “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
God wants us to be holy, pure, and righteous. He knows we are not perfect, but God will continue to work in our lives when we ask Him to. God’s plan is for good in our lives and we need to trust in Him and His plan for us and others.
We are to rejoice in our salvation and consider it the ultimate blessing from God. This is not a type of emotion that changes with how you’re feeling at any particular moment. Rather this is an intense joy that comes from a daily, growing, eternal relationship with God.
This is the ultimate blessing or prize if you will. We as Christians don’t need to strive for earthly accomplishments or rewards. We have an eternal reward waiting for us in Heaven.
Peter tells us in verse 7, the trials we may experience in our life are for us. They let us know if our faith is pure. The trials aren’t for God. He already knows our hearts. The trials are for us to prove that our faith is pure.
When a Christian comes through the trial still trusting in the Lord, then they know their faith is real. It is pure. It has been tested by fire if you will. It is like the saying, you have talked the talk, now will you walk the walk. It is living out your faith and obedience to God.
Having hope in Jesus Christ is what gets us through those trials. The hope of the Bible is not the hope of the world. Many of us might say something like, I hope I get a nice Rolex watch when I retiree after 50 years of service to my employer.
That is a worldly hope. We think or wish for something. You know, I hope I get a new bike for my birthday. This is not the hope of the Bible. The hope of the Bible is the knowledge of the sacrifice of Christ. This is knowing that you have eternal life, not simply wishing for it.
I know of an older man that was hooked up to all kinds of machines to keep him alive. He didn’t want to die. I suspect it was because he was afraid of death. We as Christians do not need to fear death. It is not the end for us. We have the hope, the knowledge of eternal life with Christ.
If Christ had not conquered death for us, then sure we would have every reason to fear death In fact, if we had to work for our salvation, I am not sure I could do it. When I think about the people that believe they can work their way into Heaven, I think of a Muslim professor I had in college.
He followed all these rules, daily prayer, fasting, trip to Mecca, and so on, just for a chance to get into what they call heaven. He could live his entire life according to these rules and still not get into his heaven.
We don’t need to worry about that. We do not work for our salvation. The price has been paid. We have the assurance of our salvation. The hope that we have in our salvation allows us to live without fear of death. We can live each day for God.
Think about some of the trials you have experienced and think about how you reacted to those times of trouble. Then look back and see how God was there helping you through it all. Think of all the blessings that God has given to you.
The next time a trial or troublesome situation arrives in your life remember that God is giving you an opportunity to live out your faith. Trust in Him and He will not let you down.
You may not understand why all of these bad things are happening to you, but just trust that God knows what He is doing.
Trials and persecutions are a part of life, but God will take care of you.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. We thank you for giving us those times of trouble in our life so that we may prove our faith. We thank you for seeing us through those difficult times as well.
We thank you for that great joy and hope of salvation that you have freely provided to us. Help us to make your will our will each day as you strengthen us to do what you want us to do.
AMEN.
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