Ransomed by the Blood
Father’s Day 2023
A study through Peter June 18th 2023
It’s Father’s Day. For many, it’s a day to celebrate Dad. Whether it’s young kids making him breakfast, or older children taking him out for lunch, dinner, dessert, barbecue, burger-joint, or wherever he may choose, food is often a part of Father’s Day. There may be gifts, such as socks or ties or shirts or hats (I love hats!), a new wallet (with which to dole out cash to the kids one day…), a day to go on an adventure, go bowling, axe throwing, a sporting event or whatever dad (or the kids) like to do. It’s all about thanking him for being ‘DAD’
My father is no longer here, but he’s ‘HERE’ in so many memories of a dad that was faithful to the Lord, faithful to his wife, to us as a family, to his church, to his friends and community. And I thank God so much for the dad I had.
For many people it’s not a day to celebrate, because perhaps their father was not the kind of man that was…kind. Memories of dad can be harsh or even hurtful or triggering. I understand. My prayer is that when anyone has painful thoughts when it comes to how they were treated by their father, that they would endeavour in their life to do two things: forgive the man who hurt them, and live their own life in contrast to what was demonstrated to them by their earthly father, and know that they are loved by their Heavenly Father and choose to love others the same way we are loved by God.
With that in mind, we are going to carry on in the 2nd part of our journey through the writings of a man named Peter and see what it means to live as a follower of Jesus, the Son of the Living God, our Father – the One Who loves us so much we could never thank Him enough.
Turn to 1 Peter in your bible with me, chapter 1 and verse 13. We’re going to read the passage and then I’d like to make just a few observations from what we hear from God’s Word.
1 PETER 1:13-25
Called to Be Holy
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
• Whenever a passage begins with therefore, we have to ask ourselves what the therefore is THERE for… Heard that reference from Bernard Mukwavi just yesterday at the BCBC annual celebration.
• It’s there because of our salvation, it’s there because of what Jesus did in bringing us Good News. It’s there because we have this living hope in Christ… Therefore…
• Get ready for something to happen – prepare your minds – start thinking about what we need to be thinking about – about DOING SOMETHING with what we’ve been given.
• We aren’t saved to sit on our keester and simply wait for Jesus’ 2nd coming. We aren’t to sit back and watch as the world goes to hell in a handbasket.
• No, we are saved to serve. We have a purpose. We cannot and definitely should not remain the same as we were before we came to understand the gospel and have Jesus as Lord of our lives.
• Is He our Lord? Do we believe Him when He commands us to GO and make disciples? Have we truly died to ourselves and now have Christ living in us? If that is the truth, then what are we all doing? What ACTION is evident in our daily life – not just our coming to church, studying the Word, worshipping Him, giving our offerings – rather, what are we doing DAILY to honour God the Almighty Who saved our souls??
• That is where our hope needs to be set – in sharing that same grace demonstrated to us with others who don’t know Jesus yet!
• We do this AS OBEDIENT CHILDREN. If we are children, we are not the Father. If we are God’s children, we are to obey our Heavenly Father, amen??
• We are not to be like we were when we didn’t know Him, when we lived in rebellion to Him, when we ignored His Word, lived for ourselves, chased after the things of this world, got caught up in the failing morality of society, sought to accepted by others rather than realizing we have been purchased by the blood of Christ!
• He says we are to be HOLY, why? Because God is holy. And because God is our father, we are to honour Him by living our lives to be like Him
• Like Father like child…
• We call God FATHER, not like we do our earthly fathers. We must respect God not as the token Sunday morning sugar daddy who answers all our prayer requests for ourselves…
• No, we have a holy fear of Him who will judge every living soul for what we have done with the life our FATHER gave us! While we live on this earth, while we have breath in these bodies, while we are in exile from our eternal home with Christ – we serve Him, living a holy life worthy of the grace demonstrated to us.
• Look at verse 18 again
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
• We were ransomed – that means a price was paid for us. It means we WERE held hostage. Held by the futile ways of our sinful lives. Sin had a grip on us, it took us away from the paradise God originally intended for us
• The picture is so powerful! Think of a child taken from their parent and held for ransom
• Unless the asked-for price is paid, the child dies
• What parent would not be in anguish over the suffering of their child!
• Would we not be willing to pay whatever price to get our child back?
• Would we be willing to take their place?
• THAT is exactly what our Saviour did for us, His children!
• Paul writes in his letter to the church in Corinth (2 Cor 5:21) that ‘for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’
• God (Jesus) took our place, God (Jesus) paid the price; the wages of sin is death and Jesus, God, our Creator, DIED so that we can have life
• THAT my friends, is GOOD NEWS
• And THAT is the kind of love our father shows us
• THAT kind of love is what we are to demonstrate to the world
• All THIS, all flesh, all the stuff of life here – is like grass that withers and fails
• So what purpose is there in chasing after it?
• Instead we should be chasing after Jesus, the Word of God, that lasts forever!
• We should be dedicating our lives, bought with the blood of Christ, to serving Him and bringing this Good News to the world
• God, our Father, loves us so much that He gave us this Good News, this living Hope, eternal life – to us, Who, even though we were lost and trapped in sin, did not forget about us, but instead CAME to us and ransomed Himself for us and BOUGHT us with the precious blood of Christ.
• Like Father, like children!
"Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
