Ransomed

1 Peter 1: 17 – 23 / Ransomed

Intro: 2 men were playing golf one day when a funeral procession happened to go by. The first man turned and faced the procession, took of his hat and stood in solemn attention until the hearse had passed. Then he turned back to his putt. The other man said, “That was really nice of you to honor the dead in that way.” The first man said, “It was the least I could do. She was a good wife.” --- There is no doubt about that man’s lifestyle and what he valued.

I. These words from Peter are as applicable to us today as they were to the Jewish Christians of Peter’s time. Peter is telling them they need to change their lifestyle.

A. VS. 17 – “Live your lives as strangers (sojourners) here in reverent fear.” A sojourner is a temporary resident, a pilgrim, someone who has come for a short visit with a purpose not just to see the sights.

B. We must stay focused on the business at hand and not be distracted since our life is just a temporary stay on this earth.

C. What are we contributing as we go through our life? --- Pass your sojourn in reverent fear. --- Don’t live a careless, haphazard life that displeases God. We can’t continue deliberately sinning and then casually say, “I’m sorry.” --- Constant carefulness.

II. Because we belong to Christ Jesus, we must live as a new person, redeemed from our past caught in the grips of the tyranny of sin.

A. As a new person in Christ, our lifestyle must be different from non-Christians. We must not be in bondage to out of control habits that cause our lives to be miserable for Christ has set us free from those sins.

B. Do you know who you are in Christ? If you do, do you accept what God has done for you in the death and resurrection of Christ? If so, you must begin to live that way.

C. VSS. 18 – 19 – you are “redeemed (ransomed) from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers.” You are not a defeated person. (“I am more than a conqueror through Christ” – Romans 8:37)

III. If you know who you are in Christ and that Christ has redeemed you and set you free from sin and death, “your faith and hope are in God.” (VS. 21) You should then be living a Christ-filled life.

A. A life filled of obedience and holiness. (Hagios – different from ordinary things.

B. A life of reverence – the attitude of the mind that is always aware that we are in the presence of God.

C. A life of (Philadelphia) brotherly, (agapao) all-giving love.

Conclu: The way most people live is empty, frivolous, and trifling and they know it. The word LOVE is thrown around so much it has become trivialized. In the language taken from the slave market Peter suggests that Christ’s death has purchased us for God. --- We are accustomed to saying that Christ delivered us from Hell,; but that is not what Peter says. He says that the blood of Christ has ransomed us from a worthless lifestyle. It is Christ who brings direction and purpose to our lives.