Series: 1 Peter
Sermon: “Unpacking the Fear of God”
1 Peter 1:17-21
A sermon for October 20, 2024
Pastor John Bright
1 Peter 1 “17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
When I start teaching a new book in Bible Study, I like to ask the “newspaper questions” – Who? What? When? Where? Why?
When was 1 Peter written? Peter was martyred by Nero in 64-65 AD. Because he writes about the persecution the Early Church faced, it was probably written after 62 AD when Nero began a great persecution of Jesus Followers.
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It’s a good thing we can fear. It helps with self-preservation. I remember way back when I was a teenager being curious on the highway. What would it be like to max out the speedometer of my mother’s Ford LTD? Around 95 mph, the steering was getting really loose, so I backed off. I never had the desire to go that fast again. 😊 A few years ago, I had the chance to ride on the track at VIR (Virginia International Raceway) with a racecar driver who competed at South Boston Speedway. He to told me we probably got up to around 120 mph on the straightaways. I was very relaxed the whole time – I was in a car designed to go fast and had a driver who was very experienced. I really enjoyed it!
I believe that the Fear of God is a healthy and helpful kind of fear.
What is the Fear of God? v. 17
“17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;”
There are two different meanings for the “Fear of God” – one for us and one for them. “For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe are exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe.”
https://www.gotquestions.org/fear-God.html
Got that? Those who are lost should fear an eternity in Hell that Jesus Followers will be spared. Those who are saved should fear turning away from the will of God. I will not lose our salvation for choosing to do it my way instead of God’s way. Remember my view of the process of sanctification: Every day, there are a percentage of decisions I make to follow God’s will and God’s way. There are also a percentage of decisions I make to follow my will and my way. Over time, I want one percentage to go up and the other to go down. That’s as simple as I can make it and I need it simple to make it work!
The awe and reverence that makes up the Fear of God for believers is a healthy and helpful kind of fear. Imagine that you are standing before a judge in courtroom. That’s how the Bible describes God. Back in Genesis 18, God (could this be Jesus?) and two angels visit Abram on the way to judge/destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abram bargains with God about how many righteous people will prevent God’s judgement. Genesis 18:25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
In Psalms we read of God as the Judge: Psalm 75:2-7
“2 God says,
“At the appointed times,
I judge fairly.
3 When the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve in fear,
I make its pillars secure.” (Selah)
4 I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”
and to the wicked, “Do not be so confident of victory.
5 Do not be so certain you have won.
Do not speak with your head held so high.
6 For victory does not come from the east or west,
or from the wilderness.
7 For God is the judge.
He brings one down and exalts another.” New English Translation
Later in 1 Peter, we will cover 4:17 “17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” What will be judged? v. 17 “ And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work.”
Jesus makes that abundantly clear when He described the judgements upon the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46. What we do matters, as I told you multiple times while we went through the book of Philippians. Let me remind you what matters according to Jesus – Matthew 25: “34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’”
If you are unwilling to care for others by taking care of their physical needs, you run the risk of judgement according to James 2:15-17 “15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
As we continue through 1 Peter, I will return to the attributes of God. God is altogether Holy, so His desire is for that same holiness to be growing in every Believer. Try to imagine that God could know your every thought and motive. Try to imagine that God can see everything you say or do. WAIT A MINUTE – WE DON’T HAVE TO IMAGINE! That’s the reality of our lives as Believers who desire to please our Loving, Heavenly Abba Daddy. The healthy fear of awe and reverence that makes us want to be more like Jesus every day – that’s a fear that shows how thankful and grateful for what God had done for us. Our holiness is a response that grows out of a desire to be closer and closer to God.
The Fear of God is at the heart of redemption v. 18-21
“18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
Peter is comparing redemption like we have through the blood of Jesus to how the Jewish people in that day looked for redemption. In Exodus 30:14-16 we read about the offering for atonement: “14 Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the Lord. 15 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves. 16 And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.”
That would be the “silver or gold” – so what is the “your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers”? That would be the ceremonial law that had been developed through the centuries by the Jewish people. There are folks who sit in worship every Sunday who think that they are saved by being born into a Christian home and having perfect attendance in Sunday School. Some folks think they can give money to the local church or the SPCA and earn their way to Heaven. How shocked will those folks be when they die and awaken in Hell? Jesus told us what it would be like – there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30), it is a place of eternal torment where the fire never goes out (Matt. 13:49-50), and there will be agonizing thirst that can never be quenched (Luke 16:22-24).
Peter is very clear that redemption to eternal life with God comes through the sacrifice of a perfect lamb without blemish – Jesus Christ. There was a price paid for you to be saved. That price is the life of God’s only begotten Son. This means of redemption is clear from Romans 3:21-25 “21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (although it is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed— 22 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24 But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. 26 This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness.” NET
Stop right there – HOW AMAZING IS THE GRACE OF GOD THAT SAVED A SINNER LIKE YOU AND ME? A God that can love you and me like should be given the awe and reverence that is a healthy and helpful Fear of God. We have been redeemed by the atoning sacrifice of the Cross of Calvary. That blood was so powerful it ripped the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies in the Temple so that the mercy seat on top of Ark of the Covenant was accessible to every Believer – PRIASE THE LORD!
In awe and reverence, with a big THANK YOU LORD – we Fear the Lord who is altogether the Righteous Judge of the World. The same God is altogether Merciful to those who have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. How can those two attributes of God that seem to be opposing one another be able to be manifest together in Almighty God? I describe them as two sides of the same coin.
Earlier I asked you to imagine you were in a courtroom standing before a judge. Now, think about being charged with a crime that carries the death penalty. Every person comes into the world with original sin – our new denomination still holds to his belief. The penalty of that sin is eternal death without the atoning sacrifice of Jesus’ blood. Back to the courtroom – the judge reads the verdict and you are declared not guilty. Do you throw yourself on the mercy of the court? Of course not! You only ask for mercy when there is the threat of judgement. It’s the same thing with God – we only need God’s mercy if we are subject to God’s judgement. One last scripture about judgement: Revelation 20:11-12 “11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.” As we sing our closing hymn, “Nothing but the Blood”, give thanks for what God has forgiven you right down to this very day. Amen.
Homework:
• Look up all the Bible verses on your teaching sheet. Consider what it would be like to have Fear of God with gratitude rather than a sense of dread.
• Most folks don’t like being told what to do! Do you? Whether it’s the speed limit on the road or the HOA for your complex – there are always folks putting limits on what you can and can’t do. God offers us the freedom to follow His will or go our own way. Which would you choose?
• Pray the scripture for October 27 – 1 Peter 1:22-25 “A Loving Congregation”
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TEACHING SHEET
October 20, 2024
Sermon Series: 1 Peter
1 Peter 1:17-21
“Unpacking the Fear of God”
When was 1 Peter written? Peter was martyred by Nero in 64-65 AD. Because he writes about the persecution the Early Church faced, it was probably written after 62 AD when Nero began a great persecution of Believers.
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I believe that the Fear of God is a healthy and helpful kind of fear.
What is the Fear of God? V. 17
“17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;”
There are two different meanings for the “Fear of God” – one for us and one for them. “For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe are exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe.”
https://www.gotquestions.org/fear-God.html
Every day, there are a percentage of decisions I make to follow God’s will and God’s way. There are also a percentage of decisions I make to follow my will and my way. Over time, I want one percentage to go up and the other to go down. That’s as simple as I can make it and I need it simple to make it work!
Genesis 18:25, Psalm 75:2-7, 1 Peter 4:17 “17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” What will be judged? v. 17 “ And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work.”
Matthew 25:31-46, James 2:15-17
Our holiness is a response that grows out of a desire to be closer and closer to God.
The Fear of God is at the heart of redemption v. 18-21
Exodus 30:14-16
Jesus told us what hell would be like – there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30), it is a place of eternal torment where the fire never goes out (Matt. 13:49-50), and there will be agonizing thirst that can never be quenched (Luke 16:22-24).
Peter is very clear that redemption to eternal life with God comes through the sacrifice of a perfect lamb without blemish – Jesus Christ. There was a price paid for you to be saved. That price is the life of God’s only begotten Son. Romans 3:21-25 HOW AMAZING IS THE GRACE OF GOD THAT SAVED A SINNER LIKE YOU AND ME? A God that can love you and me like should be given the awe and reverence that is a healthy and helpful Fear of God. We have been redeemed by the atoning sacrifice of the Cross of Calvary.
Think about being charged with a crime that carries the death penalty. Every person comes into the world with original sin – our new denomination still holds to his belief. The penalty of that sin is eternal death without the atoning sacrifice of Jesus’ blood. Back to the courtroom – the judge reads the verdict and you are declared not guilty. Do you throw yourself on the mercy of the court? Of course not! You only ask for mercy when there is the threat of judgement. It’s the same thing with God – we only need God’s mercy if we are subject to God’s judgement. Revelation 20:11-12
Homework:
• Look up all the Bible verses on your teaching sheet. Consider what it would be like to have Fear of God with gratitude rather than a sense of dread.
• Most folks don’t like being told what to do! Do you? Whether it’s the speed limit on the road or the HOA for your complex – there are always folks putting limits on what you can and can’t do. God offers us the freedom to follow His will or go our own way. Which would you choose?
• Pray the scripture for October 27 – 1 Peter 1:22-25 “A Loving Congregation”
