Sermon Tone Analysis

ATTENTION

All of us might say that buying a Hummer on faith is a bad idea, if you’re expecting God to cover your bad decision.

But we do tend to take the scriptures out of context when it suits us, don’t we?

For instance have you ever heard anyone make this claim?

(DVD by His stripes we are healed)

That’s an interesting use of that passage.

It comes from Isaiah 53 and it is used by many “prosperity gospel” advocates to promote the idea that we should have no sickness and always have a gilded life.

But remember: you really have to take the Bible in context.

That’s why it is so instructive to look at a New Testament occurrence of this verse.

Peter uses this quote from Isaiah in 2:24 of his first letter where he says: “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed”

“Well, there you go,” you might be saying.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you.

Jesus took my sin, my sickness, and my negative circumstances on Himself and by His wounding and His stripes I’m healed.

Sickness go away!

Disease, be gone!

Poverty, leave me! Negative circumstances, get away from me!

By His stripes I’m healed!”

But wait just a minute.

What is the context of that verse?

Well, let’s read the context and, when you do, you’ll discover that Peter has something completely different in mind that what is promoted on your cable tv. 1 Peter 2:21 says:

For to this you were called, because Christ also (what’s that word?

Say it loud!) suffered for us, leaving us (an what?

Say it loud!) an example, that you should follow His steps:

Now if Christ is my example and he suffered and if I am supposed to follow in His steps what does that mean?

It means I will suffer!

And how did He suffer?

Well read on:

“Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed.

25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Isn’t that amazing?

The very text the “health-wealth” gospel crowd uses to proof-text the Christian’s easy disease-free, prosperous life is the very text the Apostle Peter uses to prove to that if we live for Christ, we will suffer!

Context is pretty important isn’t it?

And it is so important that we get this right!

It’s important because I rather suspect that there are many people coming to Christ for the wrong reason!

That’s right.

There are many people coming to Christ for the wrong reason.

They’re coming to Him, not because they are sinful and in need of His cleansing.

They are coming to Him because they are sick in need of healing, or poor in need of money, or going through divorce and in need of reconciliation, or out of work and in need of a job.

They will jump through the hoop of praying the “sinner’s prayer” and getting baptized, but their real motive is for their problems to be solved.

NEED

In this sense, they are misinformed.

They think that becoming a believer is, in some way, to having all the problems in their lives solved.

They think, somehow, that faith in Christ is a panacea to the ills of this world.

Salvation for them is the new entitlement program.

All they have to do is pray the prayer and voila: Everything’s better.

I’ll tell you this person is seriously misinformed!

And they are headed for tragedy.

In fact, many people who see their Christianity in this way end up leaving the faith because they discover rather quickly that the Christian life is not easy street.

In fact, as Jesus said the way is narrow and hard and few there be who find it.

There are the misinformed and then there are the distracted.

They are the believers who are in the middle of their suffering and they find themselves distracted by it.

They used to have their attention focused on the Lord, but suffering has a way of consuming your attention.

The daily grind of spiritual intimidation, or the outright fear of spiritual confrontation plagues them and they get their eyes off of Jesus and put them on solving their own problems.

Big mistake!

There are the distracted and the misinformed, but there are also the disillusioned.

These believers are disillusioned by their suffering.

They thought that when they prayed for God to deliver them from the professor who’s mocking their God that they’d ace the course, but they flunked.

They thought that when they took a stand at work and refused to cheat, they’d be commended.

Instead they’re about to lose their job.

They thought that when they confessed their past sins to their mate and cleared their conscience they’d be welcomed with open arms but the revelation is straining their marriages and they cry out to God, “Why?

Why haven’t you delivered me from this?”

BACKGROUND

Well, I’m so glad we’ve got these verse in 1 Peter 2 to turn to.

You see, Peter makes it clear: If you’re a believer and you’re suffering, you’re not doing something wrong and God has not forsaken you.

As a matter of fact, if you are a Christian and you are suffering, you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

As a believer we are not called to a life of ease, but to just the opposite.

1 Peter 1:21 makes it clear what our calling is.

Peter says, “ For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

Our calling is suffering!

Wow! That’s not very seeker-friendly is it?

What would happen if the prosperity gospel preachers preached this text in context?

I have a feeling some of the gulf-streams would land, some of the beach houses would be foreclosed, and some of the satellites would come down!

In fact, you may be sitting there this morning saying: “Come on Rusty, give me a little hope!

I don’t know if I can sit here and listen to you tell me how bad my life’s going to be for the next 30 minutes!”

Well, I want you to know that there is hope.

There is a positive side to this suffering, but you must really grasp the truth of this passage.

So lets look at it this morning.

Let me tell you about the fine print of the Christian life.

Let me give you three truths you must know if you are to fulfill this calling in your life.

The first truth is this: In this calling,

DIV 1: ACCEPTING MEANS SUFFERING

EXP

Now Peter speaks of their call to suffer in the context of what he has been saying to servants.

The slaves of that day were told by the Apostle to render their service submissively.

They were to obey their masters, even when their masters were harsh and hard to please.

It is in that context that he comes to 2:21 and says, in essence, “The reason you are to submit to your master is because Christ was willing to suffer for us, and in that suffering, (watch!)

He left us an example to follow!”

The word “example” in Greek reminds us of the schools of that day where children were learning to write the alphabet.

As might happen in our day, the teacher would give the children examples of the letters then give them something with which they could trace them out and reproduce them.

We are to allow the Holy Spirit to place the blank paper of our lives over the pattern that Christ set and trace out that same pattern in us.

And what is that pattern like?

Well, our suffering flows out of two areas in which we are to imitate Christ.

We are first to imitate Him in holiness.

V22 goes on to say, “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.”

He is quoting Isaiah 53 again in letting us know that Jesus suffered by never sinning nor trying to lie His way out of trouble with those who were attacking Him.

Being set apart for God, means that our lives will constantly come into conflict with this world.

In Jesus’case, it meant that he healed when the authorities said not to; he ate with the people the authorities despised; he touched the lepers the authorities left alone; He never sinned and surely the constant brilliance of His holy life caused those sinful souls around Him to hate Him.

And when we imitate Him we will be in the same position.

Being set apart from the world will mean that when the world says homosexuality is ok, we must object; when the world says lying is preferred, we refuse; when the world says that promiscuous dress is expected, we are modest; when the world says that living together is the only way to prepare for marriage, we refuse to get sucked in.

We imitate His holiness