Salvation Series

Sermon Brief

Date Written: May 18, 2007

Date Preached: May 20, 2007

Where Preached: OZHBC (PM)

Sermon Details:

Sermon Series: A Study on 1 Peter

Sermon Title: Salvation and You

Sermon Text: 1 Peter 1:1-2

Introduction:

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

In these 2 verses there is a lot of information that we need to look at and learn about. Much of which we would simply gloss over unless it is made known to us…

First we can see that Peter approaches this letter to these people in the traditional style of the 1st century… in which he first introduces the author of the letter, who it is to and then uses a greeting to greet those he is writing to…

He introduces the letter by immediately informing them WHO is writing to them. Peter was his name, but we see that Peter also uses a phrase that immediately gives credence to his letter and authority to his teaching… and that is that he was an apostle of Jesus Christ…

But the authority did not come from his claim of being an apostle, but that it was known by all that he had been with Jesus and it Jesus had given him the task of ‘feeding His sheep.’

Then we see that Peter moves onto the recipients of this letter and it was to believers… believers who were scattered throughout several Roman provinces.

Peter uses the term ‘scattered’ or ‘dispersion’ which was in direct reference to how the Jewish nation had been scattered after the fall of Jerusalem… and these believers had been scattered or had come to know Christ because of believers who were scattered had witnessed to them…

Another aspect of these believers that is revealed later in the letter but ties directly to the term ‘scattered’ or ‘dispersion’ is the fact that they were being persecuted for WHO they were… these people because they were Christians and it was in direct relation to the persecution of the Jewish nation because of WHO they were after being scattered throughout the world.

Looking at the 5 provinces that Peter mentions we can see that 3 of those provinces were represented on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 when Peter preached his first sermon!

Galatia and Bithynia were also hotbeds of Christian movement because of Paul’s missionary efforts throughout Asia Minor.

But the main focus I want to get at tonight is what Peter leads off this letter in teaching those to whom he is writing to… and that is the subject of Salvation.

Salvation is at the very core of Christianity. It was for OUR salvation that Christ came to us as a man and lived among us as a servant. Jesus, Himself said that His mission was to seek and to save the lost…

In fact the name of Jesus means, “Savior” The message proclaimed by the angels on the night of His birth was “for there is born unto you this day in the city of David… A SAVIOR!”

In fact, when we look at the entire Bible we can see it is an account of salvation’s history. The coming of Jesus was not a mistake or afterthought of God. Jesus’ role as Savior had been determined before the creation of the world.

And we find that Peter begins his teaching in this letter to these scattered and suffering saints by sharing about the basics of salvation. It is here where Peter is so expressive in using words such as ‘elect’, ‘living hope’, ‘abundant mercy’, all throughout this letter and his teachings.

Peter teaches that salvation is assured for all of those who have trusted in Christ Jesus, and this wonderful knowledge results in a great and genuine hope.

First we see him addressing his letter to, “the elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…”

This concept of an elect people or a chosen people comes from the covenant God had made with the Jewish nation. In Duet 7:6 we read, “you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples of the face of the earth…”

Now Peter was correlating this ‘chosen’ status to these Christians who had accepted Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives!

Later we see him reminding these Gentile believers that, “you once were not a people, but now are the people of God…”

Peter begins by reminding these chosen ones that they are strangers in the world in which they now live… they are scattered and dispersed.