Standing Firm in Grace

Introduction

Scripture Introduction

Most of us here know the gospel.

We sing the hymns of “Amazing Grace” and are constantly reminded of all that Christ has done for us on the cross.

Yet, even with this knowledge in our heads we often struggle to believe it in our hearts.

As Peter closes his letter in these verses, he was conscious that the believers he was writing to were thinking these same thoughts.

And so he concludes his letter in 1 Peter 5:12-14 with some words of encouragement that all believers need to hear as we live as elect exiles in a foreign land.

Let’s read these verses and be encouraged together.

1 Peter 5:12-14 “By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.”

PRAY

Sermon Introduction

I want to take you back to the time of the Exodus.

Israel had been enslaved to Egypt for over 400 years.

The Israelites thought that God had left them, but they cried out for God to have mercy and he graciously answered their plea.

God delivered them from the most powerful nation in the world through miraculous signs and wonders.

These signs and wonders demonstrated that Yahweh alone was God and there is no other.

Immediately after being delivered from Egypt, the Israelites began their journey to the promise land.

However, they came to the Red Sea and there was no way around it.

As they began to think about the impossibility of their journey, the Egyptians arrived with Chariots to take the people back to Egypt.

Pharoah had once again changed his mind and wanted his slaves back.

Now, we need to remember that God had just delivered the people through 10 plagues that were all miraculous.

You would think that the people would remember God’s grace and power to deliver them from their enemies and that he would do it again this time.

NOPE!

Instead, they complained to Moses about how they would die in the wilderness.

The people completely forgot about the grace of redemption God had just shown them and lost the footing of their faith.

It is easy for us to think how foolish the Israelites were and that we would NEVER doubt God if we saw the amazing acts they had just witnessed.

However, we do this exact same thing when we give into temptation when we are threatened of being made fun of for our faith, when we are afraid of not fitting in, or missing out.

We do this exact same thing when we struggle to trust in God’s grace and look for satisfaction, acceptance, and peace from other people and things instead of Christ.

Living our lives as aliens from another planet in this world can be hard and the temptation to lose our faith and go along with the world is constantly upon us.

But tonight, we will see that God has provided a way to help us stand firm as exiles and not fall away.

The key point that 1 Peter 5:12-14 tells us that God’s grace will enable us to stand firm as exiles.

God’s Grace Enables Us to Stand Firm as Exiles (vs 12-14)

What is “the true grace of God?”

Before we learn how to stand firm in God’s grace, we must know and understand what the true grace of God is that Peter mentions in verse 12.

One of the questions we ask every Sunday morning is what does this passage teach me about God?

Specifically, this verse shows us that God is gracious and he has lavished his grace upon us in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7-8).

Grace: receiving something that we do not deserve.

Where do we see this grace in Peter’s letter?

Is Peter’s prayer wish for his recipients (1:2)

Was prophesied by the OT prophets (1:10)

Is part of the benefits coming to believers at the future revelation of Jesus (1:13)

Suffering for doing right finds grace (favor) with God (2:19–20)

Husbands and wives are joint heirs of God’s grace (3:7)

The diverse spiritual gifts are manifestations of God’s grace (4:9–10)

God gives grace to the humble (5:5)

God is the origin of all grace (5:10)

His grace is dependable (5:12)

Peter’s whole letter is filled with the grace of God.

The gift that we have received from God through faith is most clearly seen in the passages that explain how Jesus died for us on the cross.

When we deserved righteous judgement for our sins, God, in his grace, chose to give us salvation through Christ instead.

Jesus took God’s wrath for our sin on our behalf, he bore our sins in his body on the tree, by his wounds we are healed.

He did this so that he might bring us to God…but he also did this so that we would no longer live for ourselves but to live lives of righteousness for his glory.

So this grace has been given, not only to save us, but also to enable us to stand firm as we live as exiles in a foreign land.

Now that we know what grace is Let’s look at how God’s grace will strengthen us to stand firm in verses 12-14.

God’s Grace Enables Us to Stand Firm

Peter begins verse 12 by describing the faithfulness of Silvanus (also known as Silas).

Silas was faithful to serve alongside Peter in Rome and also Paul during his missionary journeys.

Silas was also faithful to deliver Peter’s letter to the churches in Asia Minor and is an example of faithfulness for us to follow to pass Peter’s message of hope to others that we see and spend time with.

Peter gives the purpose of his entire letter by saying he has both encouraged and testified to the church that what he has said is the true grace of God.

He then gets to the main command of his conclusion, calling the church to STAND FIRM in this grace.

This command points back to call to “resist” the devil in verse 9, as the word “resist” comes from the same root word as “to stand” in the Greek.

It means to hold one’s ground and to remain stable.

As Christians, we must not fall back or lose our footing in trusting God and relying upon his grace, especially when we are experiencing persecution and suffering from unbelievers as we live as exiles.

To stand firm in God’s grace we must remember who God is and who we are in Christ.

Peter has constantly told us throughout the letter of the goodness and faithfulness of God.

God is the one who has caused us to be born again.

He is the one who has given us an eternal inheritance.

He is the one who guards our inheritance by his power.

He is the one will keep his promises.

He is the one will judge the wicked and vindicate us when Christ returns.

He is the one who will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us and give us the unfading crown of Glory.

We must not forget who God is!

But we must also not forget who we are.

In Christ:

We are living stones that make up a spiritual house.

We are a royal priesthood.

We are a holy nation.

And most importantly, we are God’s beloved and chosen people.

Peter makes this clear in verse 13, as he mentions that even though he is writing to them from “Babylon” both the church in Rome and the his readers living in Asia Minor were the chosen people of God.

Peter describes Rome as Babylon to help his readers remember how even the Israelites, who were God’s chosen people, lived in exile in Babylon after King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem.

But, just as God was with his people in Babylon, he is with his people today as we live as exiles.

Just as God restored the Israelites back to their land, God will restore us to our heavenly home when Christ returns.

This is the true grace of God, these are the truths that we MUST stand upon if we are to withstand the trials, suffering, and persecution we will face as exiles on this earth.

One’s foundation is what will dictate whether we stand or fall.

This reminds me of when I played football in high school.

Believe it or not, I was bigger in high school and played offensive line.

My responsibility as a guard and tackle was to prevent the defender from sacking the QB.

To do this, I had to resist the defensive end’s pass rush....and the only way I could do this was having a firm foundation of lower body strength.

In football, the lowest man usually wins.

You see, if I did not stay low and have a strong lower body, If I did not plant my cleats firmly in the ground and have the strength to resist the defenders rush, I would not be able to stand my ground and prevent a sack from occuring.

Our feet must be planted on the firm foundation of Christ and our feet be cemented in by his grace to withstand the temptations we face as exiles.

God’s grace is true, which means it is reliable and dependable, therefore, we must stand firm in it!

Response

There are four ways we must respond to stand firm in God’s grace: repent, receive, remember, and rely.

Repent and Receive the grace of God.

To stand firm in God’s grace, we must first receive it through repentance and faith in Jesus.

The eternal God who is the Holy and righteous creator, who created all things and sustains all things with his powerful word, made us specifically in his image for his glory.

But, our first parents, Adam and Eve, willingly chose to reject his goodness, disobeyed his commands, and worshipped themselves instead by eating of the fruit he commanded them not to eat of.

This first sin resulted in a curse upon all creation and mankind that brought both spiritual and eventual physical death.

We have followed in their footsteps, rebelling against our good and faithful creator, seeking to worship and live for ourselves instead of him.

Our sin separates us from God and there is nothing we can do to save ourselves…we cannot be perfect and fulfill God’s law and we cannot take his wrath and survive.

Because God is holy and loves what is good, he hates evil, and will righteously punish our sin. His judgement is upon all of us and we have no hope in ourselves.

But God, being rich in mercy, sent his Son, Jesus Christ to this earth to save us.

Jesus was fully God and fully man and he became our substitute....living a perfect human life, and taking our sin and wrath upon him through dying on the cross.

Death could not hold him and he rose three days later from the grave and has now ascended to heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.

He will one day return to earth to judge the living and the dead. He will restore all things and make all things new.

Those who trust in him will be with reign with him in the new heavens and new earth, but those who reject him will suffer for eternity in hell.

Only the one who responds to this gospel by turning from their sin and placing their faith will be saved and be forgiven of their sin.

Have you had this change of mind? Have you placed your faith in Jesus?

If not, you can make this decision today…call on the name of the Lord and you will be saved.

Remember and Rely on the grace of God.

Some of you here have received the grace of God through repentance and faith, but recently you have not stood firm in God’s grace.

Instead of relying on God’s grace, you have relied upon your own strength to help you in temptation and have failed and lost your footing.

Like the Israelites, you have forgotten the grace God has shown you in Christ and how he has delivered you from your sin.

I plead with you as well to repent and turn from your sin and fix your eyes once more upon Jesus Christ.

You must remember, that Jesus has paid for your sin on the cross, through faith you are forgiven, and even though you have failed, you have a perfect savior who constantly stood firm in God’s grace for you!

In light of this truth, we must trust in him and we must rely upon him to stand firm in his grace.

We must remember who we are and who’s we are!

Picking back up with our story in Exodus 14, the Israelites had lost all hope of being saved and feared their impending enslavement or death at the hands of the Egyptians.

Yet, Moses said to the people, “fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Just as the Lord was faithful to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, he delivered them from his hand once more by opening the Red Sea for them to cross on dry land and destroying the Egyptians as they chased in after them.

The same God that delivered Israel is the same God that has delivered us from our sin in Christ, he has parted the red sea of our sin that separated us from him and brought us to himself by the blood of Jesus.

And he will be the same faithful God to help us stand firm in his grace as we face temptations, suffering, and persecution as exiles who live in a foreign land.

Repent…Receive....Remember....Rely

How will you respond to God’s grace tonight?

Let’s pray