1 Peter 1:17-21

1 Peter 1:17–21 KJV (WS)

17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: 18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

Introduction

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Christian Life, Change In

Soon after a family moved into their new house, it began to show the effects of their slipshod lifestyle. The yard was littered with trash. The lawn withered for lack of care, and, even when replanted, died out again. To enter this house was to enter a shambles. It never was clean or in order.

Another family eventually bought the house and moved in. They painted the house, cleaned up the yard, and replanted the lawn. The results were completely different. What had happened? There was a dramatic improvement in the appearance of the house because there was a change in those who lived in that house.

Live as sojourners. v 17

We are again reminded of the great privilege we enjoy as Christians.

We talked on Sunday about the wondrous nature of our God.

Peter knew about the awe-inspiring power of God, and yet this same God welcomes us into His family.

He claims us as His children.

We get to call on the God of the universe and we are free to call Him Father.

The Jews considered God to be a father to the nation.

Peter is writing to a mixed audience, though.

Through Jesus, now the gentiles can come to God as Father.

We appeal to God for help as a child does with their father.

Father is not His only role, though.

Our Father is also the righteous judge of all.

We can not convert God into an indulgent grandfather figure who refuses to acknowledge the sins of his grandchildren.

We do enjoy a special relationship with God our Father, but that doesn’t change the fact that He is the judge of all.

If you are a Father, you understand the need for balance in your relationship with your children.

You love them with a magnitude that can not be expressed, but it is this love that necessitates that you also act as judge in their lives.

We can learn something about the judgment that God displays in this verse.

We first have to determine who God is judging here.

He is the judge of all.

But, in this context, Peter is speaking of God’s role in judging His followers.

Christians are Christians because their sins have already been judged.

What more reason do we have for a judge?

Well, there are different kinds of judgment, and not all of them are seeking cause for punishment.

The word for “judgeth” in this passage refers to the act of judging in order to find good.

God judgeth every one of his followers, regardless of their status in life, to see what rewards he can give them.

This is a good example for fathers.

Don’t just be on the lookout for the things your kids do wrong.

Judge them and reward them for the things they do good.

Paul refers to this reward-giving judgment as the Judgment Seat of christ.

This is a future event.

The future reckoning of God with His people should lead us to another conclusion.

This should dictate how we spend our time on earth.

Peter refers to our sojourning.

We do not belong on this earth.

A sojourner is a temporary resident.

In Peter’s day, sojourners were viewed more favorably than new-comers, but nor as highly as citizens.

We are sojourners in this world.

The fact that we are again reminded that there is a coming judgment, should cause us to live as resident aliens.

We do not belong, we do not live for the goals and motivations of this world.

Instead, we live in fear of our father and judge.

We know that our Father loves and will correct us when necessary.

We know that our Father is keeping track of our service and intends to reward his children that do his will.

Fear of God is not a bad thing.

When men demand a God whom they need not fear, they demand an idol that doesn’t exist.

Fear is often talked about in the OT, but is also a needed feature of NT living.

We fear God because He loves us too much to let us live our lives in an unholy manner.

We are too valuable to him.

We cost him too much not to care for us.

Live as redeemed. v 18-20

Do not forget that your redemption was costly.

When you think of precious metals what do you think of?

Probably gold and silver are pretty close to the top of your list.

They’ve been close to the top of everyone’s list for thousands of years.

The most precious metals on earth only have value among men and only for a time.

During the time that Peter was writing, however, inflation had caused the value of gold and silver to plummet.

What had once been worth a lot was now worth a little.

What had once taken 1 gold coin to purchase now cost 5.

Sound familiar?

Peter reminds his readers that they were not redeemed with such items.

They were purchase with incorruptible resources.

More about that in a second.

First, I want to say a word about the idea of, “Redemption”.

To us “redeemed” is a theological word.

We sing about.

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it.

I stand redeemed.

We rarely stand still and consider the full force of this picture.

Romans kept around 60 million slaves.

Back then, a slave could purchase his own freedom, if he could save up the funds.

This was rare.

More commonly, though, a master would sell his slave to someone who would pay the price demanded and then set the slave free.

This is redemption.

To be redeemed is to be ransomed and set free.

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Redemption

A pastor of a church in Boston met a young boy in front of the sanctuary carrying a rusty cage in which several birds fluttered nervously. The pastor inquired, “Son, where did you get those birds?”

“I trapped them out in the field,” the boy replied.

“What are you going to do with them?”

“I’m going to play with them, and then I guess I’ll just feed them to an old cat we have at home.”

When the pastor offered to buy them, the lad exclaimed, “Mister, you don’t want them, they’re just little old wild birds and can’t sing very well.”

The pastor replied, “I’ll give you two dollars for the cage and the birds.”

“Okay, it’s a deal, but you’re making a bad bargain.”

The exchange was made, and the boy went away whistling, happy with his shiny coins. The pastor walked around to the back of the church property, opened the door of the small wire cage, and let the struggling creatures soar into the blue.

What was the price of our ransom if it wasn’t gold and silver?

The price of our redemption was not found in the traditions of our ancestors.

Some might immediately assume that Peter is speaking to his Jewish readers about the law.

Peter is writing to a mixed audience.

He has the whole round of pagan beliefs in view.

None of these manmade traditions could redeem a lost soul.

The only effectual payment for our sins would need to be drawn out from the veins of the Lamb of god.

Peter tells us that the precious blood of Christ was the payment for our sins.

He is speaking to believers, they know and believe that Jesus died for them.

He highlights the fact the blood of Jesus was precious.

Animal blood is not precious.

Jesus blood was precious, sinless blood.

Ransoms are never cheap.

Mark 10:45 “45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

No ordinary death would suffice as our ransom.

It has to be a bloody death.

Jesus’ death was reminiscent of the sacrifices that had come before.

Yet, it was also wholly unique.

None of those lambs could serve as a permanent substitute for the sins of man.

Jesus’ death fulfilled that role.

He is the permanent substitute.

So, he’s not just some lamb.

Jesus stands alone.

He does not belong to a class of lambs which are blemish-less and spotless.

There is no other lamb as Jesus.

How precious that his blood was shed for us.

This was how it was always supposed to be.

Do not forget that the offer of redemption was planned.

Vs 20 contains a unique greek construction.

Greek authors could use the two words Mev and de to communicate the thought “one one hand…on the other hand.”

This feature is present in this verse.

On the one hand, Jesus was foreordained to die before the foundation of the earth, on the other hand he wasn’t manifest until the last times.

Christ’s death was an appointment not an accident.

That’s why Peter said it was foreordained.

God had foreseen man’s fall before it happened.

He had already come up with a remedy.

He knew before he created Adam what He would do and who he would use to do it.

We have to remember that God is not subject to time.

For him, there is no before or after.

Christ’s sacrifice was seen by God as eternally present.

In the last times, though, this sacrifice was manifest.

It was already settled as a part of God’s plan.

When it actually happened it was made manifest.

For something to be manifest it means it was made public.

In this case it’s god’s plan that is made manifest in the death of Jesus.

Through his death we can be redeemed.

This doesn’t leave us without a need for response.

Live with faith and hope. v 21

Peter is writing to people who have believed the gospel.

They believe that God raised Jesus from the dead.

They believe that Jesus is not just some teacher or prophet, they believe that He is the Son of God.

Why is this important?

So that, as believers, our faith and hope might be in God.

Not in the the things of this world; we are just sojourners.

Not in the the wealth we might attain; it cannot redeem us.

Not in the traditions of our ancestors; they are vain.

Our use of the words “might be” is not the same as when this was translated.

I might be there.

I might not be there.

The way this is supposed to be understood is that our faith and hope is capable to be and is in God.

There are lots of ways to live this life.

For the Christian, we live by the Gospel.

Live as sojourners.

Live as redeemed.

Live with faith and hope.

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Redemption

The story has been told of an orphaned boy who was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, died in the flames. The boy’s cries for help were finally answered by a man who climbed an iron drain pipe and came down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck.

Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town’s wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. As they talked, the lad’s eyes remained focused on the floor.

Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hands from his pockets, revealing scars on them. As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition. This was the man who had saved his life and whose hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man’s neck and held on for dear life. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue.1117