Living Hope (1 Peter chapter 1)
INTRODUCTION:
This is the first sermon in a series of messages from First and Second Peter. As you might guess, the writer of 1 Peter is PETER. Peter was one of the 12 apostles, and more than that, he was part of the inner circle with James and John. The account of Peter in the gospels shows us a bold, rough fisherman who was ready to fight for Jesus. He was the first to confess Jesus as the Son of God. He was also the one who denied Jesus three times before the crucifixion. After the resurrection, Peter’s relationship with Jesus was restored, and he never wavered again. Peter was called by God to preach primarily to the Jews … just as Paul was, later, called to preach to the gentiles.
Major parts of the New Testament letters were written by Paul. Paul had a primary message of FAITH. In Peter’s two letters, his main theme is HOPE. And John’s three letters have an emphasis is LOVE. This brings to mind I Corinthians 13:13 "Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love. " These three great themes are of eternal value! In 1 Peter we’re going to focus on a LIVING HOPE.
The Key verse for this letter is 1 Peter 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” This message of living hope was given to people who appeared to have NO reason for any hope! 1 Peter was written to Christians who had scattered throughout Asia because they faced violent persecution from Rome.
1. Present Suffering- vs. 5-9
A lot of Peter’s readers were refugees – they were on the run – similar to what is happening today in Iraq and many other countries -- where Christians have to leave everything behind and run for their lives. So when Peter refers to them in verse 1 as exiles or strangers in this world, this had a literal meaning. These folks were suffering the loss of everything … in some cases, even of their lives.
These are people who had little reason for hope, but Peter said that through their faith, they were shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. And he went even further … In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. (vs. 5, 6)
Two things stand out to me here – One is that we are SHIELDED by God through all kinds of trials, and the other is that what we are suffering in this life is only for a little while. It reminds me of that old saying, “This, too, shall pass.” This attitude requires an eternal perspective.
One of the biggest question folks have about God is “why does God allow pain and suffering?” There are many answers to this question, but none of them are COMPLETE answers. Peter explains in vs. 7: These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
God certainly brings good out of evil because He uses our trails to perfect our character in a way that will last forever. But the only really clear FACT we have about suffering is that we can’t avoid it. Jesus said, In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world. John 16:33
We have no control over suffering, but we DO have control over our response to suffering. Here in chapter 1, Peter lays out the kind of response that will give us a LIVING HOPE. Peter says that in response to suffering we can Love, Believe, and Receive. Look at verse 8-9: Though you have not seen him (Jesus), you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
A LIVING HOPE is found in a living relationship with our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ! This kind of HOPE isn’t a week “I hope so” kind of hope. It’s inexpressible and joyful confidence --- because in our present suffering we KNOW that we have a foretaste of our Future Glory!
2. Future Glory – vs. 10-16
Have you ever known someone who had everything going for them --- their life was about as good as it gets --- good job, good family, and good health --- and yet they were always complaining and negative and HOPELESS? And on the other hand, have you known someone who had all kinds of financial and family and health troubles, but in spite of everything, they were always thankful and encouraging and full of HOPE? What makes the difference? It’s all about where you SET your Hope.
Verse 13 says, Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. Having LIVING HOPE means keeping our mind SET on Jesus --- and particularly on that future event when Jesus will return to earth and all our hopes will come true.
Which reminds me that I’m teaching a class on the book of Revelation at 9:00 Sunday mornings. One of the best ways to set your hope on future glory is to read the book of Revelation. This book gives us the sure hope that no matter how much suffering we experience in this life, we have already won the victory in Jesus Christ.
Peter says something really interesting about prophecy in vs. 10-11. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.
The Old Testament prophets looked at scriptures that spoke of both a suffering Messiah and a glorious powerful Messiah. They struggled to figure out how all these prophecies could come to pass --- but they never saw the fulfillment.
Now Peter was writing in between two events. The prophecies of the suffering Messiah had been fulfilled. All that remains in the future is the certain return of the reigning, conquering Messiah.
It’s good for us to search intently with the greatest care the prophecies of the Second Coming. But it’s a big mistake for anyone to claim they have it all figured out. No one understood Jesus’ first coming until AFTER the events came to pass. That’s when they could see how amazingly … and literally … prophecies had been fulfilled.
The same will be true when Jesus returns. No one is going to have it all mapped out for us ahead of time. But when Jesus comes again, we will see that every prophecy has been amazingly … and literally … fulfilled! Until then, beware of teachers that draw detailed charts and name dates. I know preachers that set dates … and after that date goes by, they just set a new date. I’ve also met people who think the “left behind” movies and books show exactly how everything has to happen.
People who interpret prophecy and who create books or movies based on prophecy may understand some of the truth, but their theories are just that --- theories. No one’s interpretation is going to be 100% right. On the other hand, the prophecies in scripture are absolute truth --- 100%. This was true of prophecies about the first coming, and it will prove true of the prophecies about the second coming. We need to study prophecy with a proper amount of humility. After all, Peter said in verse 12, Even angels long to look into these things.
3. Live Out Your Life – vs. 17-25
In Verse 17, Peter writes: Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. Peter talked about our current suffering and our future glory, then it’s like he said, “So in the meantime … here’s how to pass the time.” While we wait for future glory, we still need to live here on earth, and in this last part of chapter 1, Peter tells us how to live out our lives.
(That phrase is interesting --- we just finished a series called “Out-live your life.” And now we’re talking about how to “Live out your life.”)
We are to live out our time as foreigners. This goes back to how Peter started the letter, writing to exiles in this world. When I think about what that means, I think about trips I made where I was a foreigner … in India or Russia or Africa. While I was in a foreign country, I had a great time. It was fascinating to see these other countries … and I enjoyed the work I did and the folks I got to know.
But I never got confused and thought I was a permanent citizen of India or Africa or Russia. I always remembered where my real citizenship was … and I always knew I would eventually be going home. That’s the mindset we need while we live out our lives here on earth. We are foreigners to this worldly culture. Our true citizenship is in heaven. That’s where we get our way of thinking and living. That’s where our loyalty lies. We don’t need to try to fit in with the culture around us. In fact, we should stand out as different.
Peter tells how we are to live out our lives in vs. 22-23: Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
How are we to live out our lives? We can sum it up in the command to love one another deeply, from the heart. The next sentence explains WHY we can love each other this way … because we have been born again! We have been born again into a new citizenship … making us foreigners here on earth and true born citizens of heaven!
CONCLUSION:
We are born again … not of perishable seen but of imperishable. The Greek word translated “seed” is “sperma” from which we get the English word “sperm.” God didn’t just adopt us; he gave new birth to us with His own spiritual DNA. We didn't just join an organization … or give mental assent to a certain philosophy … or verbalize a human creed. We were born again of incorruptible seed, making us God's children quite literally and eternally.
I want to end the sermon the same way Peter ended this chapter … with a beautiful poem that comes from Isaiah 40:8.
“All people are like grass,
And all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And then Peter says:
This is the word that was preached to you.
(I Peter 1:24-25)
Human flesh is like the grass and passes away in short order, but the word preached to us that resulted in our salvation stands forever. It will never pass away. This is our LIVING HOPE!
