Wayfaring Strangers
A Study of 1 Peter
Part 2
“ it was the best of times, it was the worst of times”
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness
It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair
We had everything before us, we had nothing before us
The opening words of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities described what it was like to live as a French peasant in the years leading up to the French Revolution.
But those timeless words are also a pretty good description of what it’s like to live as a disciple of Jesus in today’s world
As His disciples
Our lives are really a tale of two cities
No---
A more proper description would be
Our lives are a tale of two worlds
One of those worlds is characterized by
Foolishness
Unbelief
darkness
despair
and
evil
And the ways of that world if followed lead to hell.
The other world is filled with
wisdom
belief
light
hope
and goodness
and if followed leads to heaven.
But here is the deal
we must, as least a while
live in both worlds simultaneously
and this situation
this circumstance
This two homes problem
Leads to all kinds of problems that have no easy answers.
But what we’re going to find over the next few months as we study 1 Peter is that finding a lasting solution to those problems begins with answering two questions:
Please open your bibles to 1 Peter
Chapter 1
Verses 1-3 again today
“This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.[a] 2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more grace and peace.
The Apostle Peter writes this letter to the wayfaring strangers on this earth
Those who have accepted Jesus and now feel like they don’t fit in, in this evil world
He goes on to explain how all our relationships change when we become believers
And as we become more spiritually mature
They will change even more
Today I want to focus on two areas where our relationships change
We will look at a third more in depth in the weeks to come
Both for today
I want to look at our relationship with the world and our relationship with God
Later we will look at our relationship with ourselves as we become stronger believers
I. Our Relationship to the World
The key word Peter uses is “strangers,”
which is sometimes translated as “aliens” or “sojourners” or even “foreigners.”
It describes those who come from another country but now live in this country.
What Peter means is that Christians are strangers residing on the earth whose home is in heaven.
Visiting a foreign country gives us a good idea of how this feels
I recall my feelings in Zambia
Many of you can relate
Surrounded by people who don’t look like you,
Talk like you,
Think like you
Or live like you.
They have a set of values you don’t share,
Speak a language you don’t speak or can’t understand
And
Eat food that seems strange to you.
You pick up the paper and you can’t read it.
You turn on the radio and it doesn’t make sense.
You’re standing on a sidewalk and you can’t communicate with anyone.
You are there
Physically
But still feel as if you are not
It’s not a question of isolation from the world.
That’s impossible and fruitless.
But he also writes to those who have not left home
But now feel like those who have
They no longer feel comfortable
They not longer feel as if they fit in
Their location has not changed
But their heart has
It’s a question of being in the world and not of the world.
That’s our condition as believers in Jesus
We are strangers in the world who have been scattered by God in many places.
We are like seeds the wind has carried in all directions.
That’s okay because God has strategically planted us where we can do the most good.
So, Just what is a Wayfaring Stranger you may ask
If you are a businessman and have decided as a Christian not to cheat, lie, or double-cross, if you’ve decided to deliver what you promise, you are a stranger in the world. You are in the world but not of the world
If you are a husband or wife and you have decided to be faithful to your spouse because you are a Christian, you are a stranger in the world. You are in this world but not of this world
·If you are a Christian teenager, or young adult and you have decided to live for Jesus in the halls of your high school or college campus. you are a resident alien. You are a stranger in the world. You are in this world but not of this world
If you are an employee on a job, big or small, full- or part-time, blue or white collar—and you have decided to do your work as unto the Lord, not as pleasing men but in order to please God—if you have decided that money will not be the determining factor in your life, then you are a stranger in the world. You are in this world but not of this world
If you are depressed and discouraged and you have said, “No, I won’t turn to drugs or alcohol to handle my problems,” you are swimming against the tide, and you are a stranger in the world. You are in this world but not of this world
If you are working at a job where coarse language, profanity, and loose talk and vulgarity are the accepted norm and you have decided not to join in, You are a stranger in the world. You are in this world but not of this world
If you come to a place where in order to get ahead, you have to compromise some of your Christian values, or you have even been asked or order to do so, and you decide not to do it, get ready for trouble. You are a stranger in this world. you are in this world but not of this world
Once again
It’s not a question of isolation from the world.
We must live and interact in this world
We must be in this world
But it is to live as Bona Fide believers in spite of this world
Listen
It’s not true that in the world everyone cheats, but in the world people cheat.
And it’s not true that in the world everyone lies, but in the world people lie.
I’m not saying that in the world everyone worships money, but in the world people worship money.
I am not saying that in the world everyone lives for sexual gratification, but in the world many people do.
That’s the world we live in as wayfaring strangers
Peter’s text was written in the first century, but it speaks directly to us today
You see
Our relationship to the world changes
When we place our faith
Trust
And hope in Christ
When we determine to ride for and live for
Jesus
All the time
When we choose not to be swayed by the world
Not to go back to the gate
When we choose to be strangers in a strange land
In this world but not of this world
Next our relationship with God changes
If you ask most people if they believe in God
They will say yes
And if you ask a few more questions
It will become apparent that they have no idea who God is
What he does
Or what it takes to be in restored relationship with Him
Many imagine God as a genie
A lucky charm
An idea
Or even try and mold God into their own image and idea of who and what he is
We become wayfaring strangers
When we truly understand
Accept
And commit ourselves to God
Peter uses three phrases to describe our relationship with God.
These three phrases constitute the spiritual biography the essence of every believer.
They are the core of our beliefs
They are where we hang our hats as believers
And they are what make us his
Right here in 1 Peter
We see the core of our beliefs
We see the trinity
The three in one
God the Father
God the Son
And God the Holy Spirit
And we see how they work together work together to complete our salvation.
Listen ---We are …
Chosen by God the Father,
Called by God the Holy Spirit, and
Cleansed by God the Son.
Let’s look at what this means
1 Peter 1:2
2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Verse 2a
2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago
I want to tell you this verse and a few more like it
Have caused church splits
Denomination divisions
And even fist fights
The idea of pre-destination is a hot topic
But it is not hard if you read and understand scripture
Let me attempt to simplify it
The word translated “chosen” or “elect” simply means “to choose for oneself.”
It was sometimes applied to choosing the best soldiers
or the choicest fruit.
In this context, it simply means that we are “God’s chosen people” when we place our faith and trust in Christ
It’s Peter’s way of saying, “In Pontus, God has his people.
In Galatia God has His People
in Cappadocia God has his people
Peter says to these harassed, persecuted and sometimes discouraged Christians,
“You are God’s elect. He chose you.”
He put you where you are.
In this time and place
For a purpose
He put you in Cappadocia for a purpose.
He put you in Bithynia for a reason.
You’re on the front line of what God is doing in the world.”
The same thing is true today.
God has his people in Grand Saline.
God has his people in Mineola
God has his people in Van and Alba
In Dallas and Tyler
God has his people in every corner of the globe.
God has his people everywhere.
And God says, “You are there for a purpose. I put you there to glorify me.
Now bloom where you are planted.”
Maybe God put you in a tight spot in some rocky soil and there’s not much sunshine.
But God knows what he’s doing in your life.
He put you there in order to bloom for him right where you are.
When the bloom finally appears, the world will see what God does in even the rockiest soil and the most hopeless situation.
Many people struggle with the concept of being chosen by God.
The word itself means to know something beforehand. The Greek word is “prognosis,” which to us means a prediction regarding future outcomes.
When a doctor gives a prognosis, it is an educated guess, but God’s foreknowledge isn’t like that.
He doesn’t make educated guesses.
He knows what is going to happen because he has determined to make it happen. It means that God makes an effective choice.
We are chosen because God decided to choose us.
Many people think that foreknowledge means that God knows in advance who is going to believe and so he elects those people to salvation.
The answer to that is
Yes and no
Think of it this way.
God freely determined to offer salvation to the ungodly. By his grace
He freely determined to offer his Son for the sins of the world.
He freely determined that whosoever will may come.
And he freely determined that whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life.
But it also means that God knew you and me before we were born, and he loved us.
He chose me for himself.
He determined to save me, and “he” !!! did it.
And if you are saved, it is because he determined to save you, and he did it.
There is an old song titled, Oh how I love Jesus
Oh, how I love Jesus,
Oh, how I love Jesus,
Oh, how I love Jesus,
Because he first loved me.
That’s excellent theology and Peter would say “Amen.”
The “because he first loved me” part is the great truth of foreknowledge.
The truth of chosen
He loved us, he called us
And as a result, he saved us
While I was still a sinner, he loved me and chose me and sent his Son that I might be saved.
And he did this for each of you as well
B. We were Called: by the Holy Spirit
Verse 2b
“and his Spirit has made you holy.”
To sanctify means to “set apart for a holy purpose”
Let me say it very simply: The Holy Spirit is the one who makes us holy.
He gives us the desire to know more
he grants us understanding,
he convicts of sin,
and he brings us to Jesus.
He is the source of all spiritual growth.
His work begins in us before we believe and continues until we go to heaven.
He completes it when we are finally glorified in God’s presence.
No one is ever saved apart from the Spirit and no one grows as a Christian without the Spirit.
This means that my salvation doesn’t start with me; it starts with God’s work in me.
I didn’t choose him; he chose me
. God always makes the first move, and if he didn’t make the first move, I wouldn’t make any move at all.
Write it down in big letters: No one is ever saved apart from the ministry and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
Salvation is of the Lord—first, last and always.
C. We were Cleansed By the blood of the Son
Verse 2c
“As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.”
This is the purpose for which we were chosen
Obedience
And cleansing from sin
Peter is using obedience the same way Paul does in Romans—as a synonym for saving faith because believing God is always the first step in our obedience to him.
And when you believe, you are washed/ cleansed with the blood of Christ.
To be cleansed by the blood of Jesus mean simply this
to believe the gospel and be saved.
It means that the blood of Jesus is personally applied to your life.
The application is very personal.
You may can go to church for 50 years and still be lost unless the blood of Jesus is applied to your life.
It’s one thing to say, “Jesus died on the cross,”
and it’s another thing to say, “Jesus died on the cross for sin,”
and it’s something else entirely to say, “Jesus died on the cross for my sin.”
If the blood of Jesus is not applied to your life you, you have no part in it.
Strange as it may sound, Jesus could die a thousand deaths, and it would do you no good until you come by faith and are cleansed by his blood.
We all need to examine our lives
And be sure we have accepted Christ and have been washed by the cleansing power of his blood
Some are disgusted or disturbed at the image of being covered with blood
But listen
When I come to Christ by faith
His blood is on me
His death is mine,
and
my sins are on him.
This is the heart of the gospel.
Here is what I want you to remember today
In this letter
we can kind of boil down Peter’s words into four truths about our relationship to the world and to God
A. What God says about us matters much more than what the world says about us. He says we are his
B. Our salvation rests on God’s choice.
C. We are not just accepted by God; we are chosen by God.
D. Our condition in the world is tenuous, but our position with God could not be better.
Think about the last one for a moment
The position created the condition.
We are strangers in the world precisely because we are chosen by God to be his people. The great blessing of my position guarantees my ongoing condition.
The only way to stop being a stranger in the world is to give up our allegiance to Christ—and we aren’t going to do that. The world can tempt us, but we will not go back.
We’ve come too far to go back now.
Once again for the thousandth time I am talking about a loss of blessings not a loss of salvation here
These things are also true
As believers, We will always be strangers in the world. And the closer we walk with God, the more alienated we will feel
We will always be God’s elect.
You get the idea from the Apostle Peter that it’s not easy to be a Christian in the world.
That’s why verse 2 ends with a wonderful phrase: “Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” Some translations say, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”
His prayer is, “May you have more and more of God’s grace and God’s peace.”
This is our compensation for being strangers in the world.
There are no limits on God’s grace or God’s peace.
We can never come to the end of either one.
Listen
We may be strangers in the world—but we have God’s grace in abundance.
We may be misunderstood and even hated—but we have God’s peace multiplied to us.
We may or may not be popular or successful or wealthy or promoted-–but God sets no limits on the grace and peace he will give us.
Close from the heart
Pray
