1 Peter 1.1-21

Trying to fit in

If you have been coming to church for a little while and have been reading the Bible you would see that one of the predominant messages that seems to get rattled off is about persecution. Or the ill treatment and hostility towards Christians.

And we get told that we should expect it. We should expect ridicule and we should expect to stand out. But if we look around here in Australia, for ordinary lives here in Guildford, it isn’t always the case is it.

But we do have this truth in our hearts that Jesus Christ died for our sins so we look at those around us who love this world and this world only and we think - if only I just was able to fit into that group I could have an opportunity of dodging persecution and converting them from the inside out.

If only I went to this party and showed my mates that I was cool enough to drink, that might open up conversations about Jesus. Once I show them I am cool and culture isn’t a problem for me, maybe then I can convert them.

Or, you begin to think that you would have a better chance sharing the gospel with a non-christian if you were dating them.

Or, you begin to think if only I am more successful at this sport here I could have a greater opportunity to tell people about Jesus.

I wonder if this sort of thinking has crossed your mind.

I know it has mine and every single time it happens I know I am lying to myself.

I wanted to go to the parties and drink not because actually thought I would win them over enough to share the gospel with them. I just wanted to fit in. I just wanted to drink.

I wanted to pursue this fitness goal to stand out in the gym or cycling on the road to share the gospel with the very best cyclists. In actual fact, I just loved riding my bike.

I wanted to wear certain bits of clothing because at one stage baggy jumpers were in and the next week skinny jeans were in so I needed to change to adapt to culture. I needed to fit in.

And suddenly my thoughts have drifted away from persecution. Away from a difficult life. Suddenly, my hope is not based around the gospel, my simple hope is that I would just fit in.

And that is why 1 Peter is so important for us over the next 5 weeks. What 1 Peter does is that it reminds us of why we are called to be aliens and exiles in this world. 1 Peter reminds us of what our only hope is and where it is located. What 1 Peter offers is relief for those of us simply trying to fit in.

It is a really compact and dense letter at times, but offers everything we need to live as Christian today. So let’s dip into

Introduction ()

1 Peter lets us know that Peter, an apostle of Jesus wrote the letter.

An apostles was a person personally told by Jesus to go out and preach the message of Jesus to everyone. They were key to starting up the early church.

And who does he write to?

Verse 1, God’s elect, exiles scattered through the provinces.

What this tells us that this group has been especially chosen by God to be his people. There was nothing that these people could do to be chosen, God simply chose them to be his people. This is Christians called today.

The word exile is tricky isn’t it. An exile is a person who has been forcefully sent away from their home land. The are not where they want to be. In fact wherever it is, what ever province that they are in, that is only a temporary place. They are like refugees. The only thing that we need to understand about this use of exile though is that the home place that we have been exiled from, and the home place of the people Peter writes to is not necessarily where they have come from. The term in the way it is used here is more describing people who are aliens in a foreign land and who are only there for a short period of time. The way Peter describes these people and us who are reading this letter today is in cosmic terms - the sort of descriptions where we think not just our home in Guildford, or North Parramatta, or Korea or Tonga, but our eternal home in heaven.

We get a feeling that he is talking like this because of what follows. He describes them being chosen in the foreknowledge of God, or the awareness of God before the world even began, through the work of the Spirit to be obedience to Jesus. We worship a God who is three persons but one God and here we see that God chosen us, the Spirit set us apart by moving in out hearts to know God and this has been done so that wherever we are, we live to be obedient to Jesus as our king. Not culture, not society, not likability, as our King. Jesus is our king.

Why should Jesus be our King? Well he made all this possible by the sprinkling of his blood. This takes us back to the cross, where Jesus bled and died to pay for our sins. Our King went to the cross for our sins. Jesus is our saviour and our Lord.

So this is who we are - we are to be these aliens because we have been set apart by God - but for what purpose? How does this provide hope to us now when we feel under pressure?

Let’s read on

Peter describes the hope we have to live for as a living hope - which is an odd expression isn’t it. But it makes sense when we see what he ties it to in verse 3.

1 Peter 1:3 NIV

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

This living hope is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We have a hope that is cosmic in nature and not just limited to this earth here because Jesus ensured that death for us is not the end. The hope that we have is that after death we will taste the resurrected life just as Jesus does. If you believe in Jesus you are united with him. You are in Him and he is in you forever. So this means that the biggest obstacle we can ever face, death, is no longer an obstacle. We have a literal living hope because our hope is not just an idea, it isn’t a whim or a dream, our hope is a person. Jesus gave himself for us and in doing so secured an inheritance what will never spoil or fade or rust or go out of fashion. And this inheritance, it is waiting in our true home, heaven - perfectly secure.

We are exiles here on earth, but we are not exiles from the place where we have come from. We are living on earth knowing that this life is only temporary and and trail or test that comes our way, whether it be temptation to date or temptation to drink, temptation to dress loose or tight, temptation to need the coolest friends or temptation to just fit in. All of those trials simple refine our faith in Jesus. They simply test if our faith is true. Abraham was tested. Israel was tested. Even Jesus was tested. All to prove that our faith is even more valuable than gold. Gold will eventually fade away and you cannot take gold wiht you when you die. But the inheritance secured by us will never fade. Our hope is secure.

Why should our anxiety be lifted from trying to fit in? Why should we stop avoiding hard conversations that will test our faith? Why should this be good news to us?

Because our citizenship is not here on earth, it is in heaven. Our need to fit in has been resolved because Jesus came and he bought you in to this family by faith. All you gotta do is believe that he died and rose for you and you are saved.

And even if we miss out on social status, or hold off on sensuality, or stay away from drinking and partying, what does verse 8 remind us of? We believe in Jesus and because we know of the great treasure he has given us we are filled with an inexpressible joy. You can’t put an emoji on that! In comparison to all the other riches here on earth, you simply cannot but that sort of joy. It’s amazing it’s incredible. And you know why you can’t buy it? Because salvation is not for sale. Salvation has nothing attached to its price tag that we can save up for. It’s a gift from the heavens. Verse 10, it was the grace that was to come to us. All of human history, all the prophets pointed forward to the sort of joy was can have because we are saved.

The best news here is that you don’t fit in on earth because you have been chosen for heaven.

And that is why it tells is in verse 13-21 what we are to be like. We are to be holy because we follow a king who is holy. Think back to verse, 3 and the king we are obedient to.

Friends, let us not fool ourselves.

1 Peter 1:14 NIV

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

Now that we know the the riches of heaven, and that we are not living for any other king except for Jesus, how are we to respond. What are the evil desires from our old earthly lives that we are still hanging onto.

Is our desire to be accepted dominating our knowledge that we are accepted? Is the pull drink and our hope to be liked dominating out heart? Is it that the best new release songs that all our friends are listing to, are they selling us these desires? Our our ears being filled with longings to kiss and be kissed?

This is not a message to go and change everything we are doing. 1 Peter is not about that. 1 Peter lets us know that there is a relationship with God set before us. 1 Peter lets us know that there is a God who loves us. And 1 Peter lets us know that we are to let the world know that this God, who calls us to be holy is better than any other desire the world can offer us. 1 Peter challenges us that once we realise what Christ has done for us - how could we live for any other hope.

Let’s pray.