Exemplify Christ By Whose Blood Our Hope Is Sure!
It has been said that, in every stage of life, there are three types of people: those who watch things happen . . . those who make things happen . . . those who wonder what happened! For those of us who have reached “the overtime stage” of life’s journey, Life Review is a therapy that works well.
While some folks wonder what happened, I, like Peter, had rather ponder where we were before we arrived at a certain level of spiritual maturity vs where we are now – helping to make things happen for the better by patiently pursuing God’s ultimate “prize” promised to those who persevere.
In his first epistle, Peter addressed the importance of recalling our past so that we might realize that the true Christian ideal is not to be “happy” as defined by many in terms of the material but to be “holy” as depicted by Jesus in terms of the spiritual.
The theme “Be encouraged to endure by a hope that is sure” highlighted Peter’s opening remarks from which we derived a timely admonition: Rather than dwell on negative aspects of our lives, it’s better to focus on the positive outcome of our faith in God!
With that ultimate goal in mind, we continue our current perseverance phase of senior living with a deep desire to exemplify our Savior, by whose blood we were made secure – a reminder conveyed by Peter to Christians who were living under Roman domination toward the end of the first century – I Peter 1:14-25 . . .
What I hear Peter saying to believers living under duress, stress and distress:
God through Christ has given us choices: continue to live in ignorance, or, conform to a life of reverence . . . stay cozy with the foolish, or, seek company with the faithful . . . convey contempt for God as prodded by Satan, or, steadfastly obey God’s directives as exemplified by His Son Jesus Christ . . . Christ-less living, or, Christ-like living . . . separation from God, or, separation unto God. All of these choices have consequences of eternal significance!
Before yielding to the temptation to “cave in” to pressures under which we may live – with assaults coming at Christians from all directions - there are certain basics of our Faith that we need to be reminded of:
Peter reminded Christians of the divine imperative of holiness - separation unto God. As a general rule, we don’t like to talk about “holiness” or “separation”.
There is no suggestion in the Bible that a holy person is one who cannot, or does not, sin; the emphasis is always on “living in the world but not of the world”, and striving to be like Christ who IS holy as a motivation for choosing to yield not to temptations we are constantly bombarded with to be like the world – the world of secularism, agnosticism, mysticism, atheism.
The choices we make are a matter of the heart and the mind. William James got it right in one of his observations: “The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” For, the Bible says, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he, so does he. Now folks:
We are not talking about a “holier-than-thou” attitude – quite the opposite. God is more interested in WHO we are than what all we do. Has it ever occurred to you that we are human beings, not human doings? Furthermore, people don’t care how much we know; they want to know how much we care. So, Peter’s parting admonition is essentially this:
LOVE has got to be the theme of seeking to be holy as He is holy! “By this shall it be known that you are my Disciples: You love each other!”
Q: Why not just be holy . . . just get right with God . . . just do right toward one another . . . just focus on the things of God and, in doing so consistently, enjoy the good feeling that comes over you when “the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”?
Peter reminded Christians of what we were. He dared label the ordeal once endured prior to the ransom paid to set people free “slavery” – literally and spiritually.
Talk about a life of emptiness that leads to a dead-end! There is no peace of mind . . . salvation of the soul . . . real meaning in life . . . better tomorrow - if there is no freedom from the slavery of men, or, of sin! The command is clear: “Come out from among them and be separate!”
How? Well, of a certainty, we are not talking about separatism that arms itself to do battle militarily. Our battle against Satan is of a spiritual nature that takes the form of holy living! Satan hates it, opposes it, and flees from it! So,
Peter reminded Christians of what Christ DID. Paid the debt and set us free! Redeemed repentant sinners. To redeem means “to buy back” or “to pay a ransom required for setting captives free from enslavement”. Jesus shed his blood to get us out of “slavery to sin” and set us free to live for and with God - forever.
In calling Jesus a “lamb” Peter reminds us of an Old Testament teaching that is very important to our Faith – the doctrine of substitution – the just for the unjust, the innocent voluntarily giving one’s life for the guilty. That is what Jesus DID!
No wonder the redeemed and the angels in heaven sing, “Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive glory, and honor, and praise!”
Peter reminded Christians of when God originated His plan. Before creation God’s plan of redemption was known – therefore, it was not a divine reaction to a revolting human development . . . not an unexpected turn of events . . . not a freak accident that no one saw coming . . . not an afterthought.
No, a redeemer from God had long been sought by prophets, priests, kings – for good reason: There was no way humanity could be saved apart from God who already knew that, but chose to make it known “when the fullness of time came”.
Folks, we need to be reminded, especially in these latter days, that God’s plan includes you and me. All that happened from creation until now - as told in the Bible and as learned and lived by those who have gone before us – applies to each and every one of us in one way - how will we respond? Peter’s final reminder:
He reminded Christians who to trust (verse 21) . . . The essence of God’s plan is this: When we sincerely surrender to God through Christ, in humility and faith, we are saved by God’s grace through our faith, and thereafter we actively live by faith - understanding that real faith is obedience to Jesus Christ the Lord.
To trust and obey is to live a Christian life of holiness . . . a life of hope that was authenticated by the Resurrection.
In a world under duress . . . in distress . . . stressed to its limits . . . filled with despair, Christians endure with a hope that is sure due to trust in, and obedience to, Jesus Christ, who says to each and every believer, “Follow Me and I will show you the way and I will be with you all the way”!
In my reading, I came across a story about a Brazilian Indian Tribe being ravaged by a contagious disease. A Christian missionary arrived and decided that the tribe’s only hope was to cross a nearby river for inoculations at an infirmary on the other side. But, the Indians believed the river to be inhabited by evil spirits, and that going into the water meant certain death.
To overcome the tribe’s superstition, the missionary explained how he had crossed the river, and arrived unharmed. No luck. He led the people to the bank, walked out into the river, splashed water on his face. They still hesitated. Finally he dove into the water, swam beneath the surface, and emerged on the other side. The Indians broke into cheers and followed him across.
Jesus explained to his followers that duress, despair and ultimately death, are like rivers we all must go through before we get to the other side, and that Christians need not fear and lose heart. At first, folks did not believe him. He touched a little boy and brought him back to life. He whispered life into a little girl’s dead body. He let a dead man spend four days in a tomb, then called him out. People were still not convinced.
He had to submerge himself in death before people would believe that their disease of despair and that death itself had been conquered. But after he came out on the other side of his death experience, appeared to them soon after his resurrection, then ascended out of their sight into heaven from whence he had come, it was time to celebrate and spread the good news – which they did, and which we do.
Each and every Sunday, our message aims to reassure believers that the word of the Lord endures forever, and that all who believe and receive the Word that “became flesh and dwelt among us” can be sure of their salvation. Of a certainty:
Christ the author and finisher of our faith will lead us safely Home when we “crossover” to the place Jesus has prepared for those who trust Him. Amen.
