5 Rock-Solid Truths To Obtain Peace

Honor and a Privilege

Open your Bibles

If you don’t have a Bible…

*Before you read, give context (1000 miles, Rome, Fire, Nero, Blame)

Waves of persecution spreading outward from Rome, Peter writes…

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According to the last phrase, Peter expected his words to bring peace to a group of people on the verge or great trial and injustice.

He was writing for that express purpose=>provide comfort and give fellow Christians rich doctrinal truths onto which they could hold during their intense suffering.

If Peter’s words were helpful for them, they should be helpful for us when we face…

I’d like to share 5 Rock-Solid Truths That Provide Peace

The first reason we can have peace is because Peter is a Rock-Solid Messenger

A Rock-Solid Messenger

Why should we be so interested in what Peter has to say here?

Why does his letter from 2000 years ago make any difference in my life today?

First, we need to know Peter has a powerful pedigree

A Powerful Pedigree

3 years. God-Man. Saw countless miracles…teachings…even walked on water…after deny

He was not only a disciple, he was part of Jesus inner circle & the undisputed spokesman and leader

Since Jesus chose Peter and affirmed his leadership as a pastor => confidence

So Peter also had an authoritative appointment

An Authoritative Appointment

Peter calls himself “An apostle of Christ Jesus.” Apostle – one sent forth on a mission/ w/ message

To be an apostle…3 criteria 1. Called, 2. Walk with, 3. Physically see

Peter doesn’t write out of arrogance or superiority, but leadership and trust. He even tells his readers…chp 5

“I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!”

The fact that Christ appointed Peter as an apostle means that He designated Peter to communicate His Words to God’s people.

Peter is not just a letter, but it is a divine message.

A Divine Message

When Peter was writing letters to fellow Christians, he was not merely communicating his opinion.

He was communicating the very words that God wanted those fellow Christians, and us, to hear.

This message isn’t so much Peter’s letter, as it is the very words of God inspired by the Spirit and articulated by an human author.

But they are God’s message

It is because of God’s selective qualifying and appointing that we can peacefully trust this message from Peter.}

The second reason we can have peace is because of a perspective-changing reminder.

A Perspective-Changing Reminder

One of the words that stands out… “Aliens”

This means “foreigner, stranger or sojourner.” It has a very distinct implication, and Peter used it for a...

He was reminding his readers that they are:

Temporary Residents on Earth

And if we are temporary residents, then our trials, our pain and our suffering are temporary also.

Peter is reminding the people that their focus cannot be on the things of this earth.

Vacation analogy (Bahamas-School systems, Vermont-garbage can pick up schedule) It’s not your home!

The things of this earth, while important, pale in comparison to the things of God above.

We must adjust our focus upward because...

Permanent Citizens in Heaven

Peter’s original audience would have understood that he was reminding them of their eternal home.

By the use of one word, Peter brilliantly and subtly reframed their view to give them an eternal perspective.

It is the gloriousness and permanence of our future home that should give us great peace in the face of trials.}

Another reason we can have peace is because of an eternity-defining choice.

A Eternity-Defining Choice

As we seen in verses 1 and 2, to be chosen according to the foreknowledge of God means something very specific.

But first, let’s discus what it doesn’t mean...

What is does mean is:

God First Chose Us

God’s foreknowledge means that before God ever created the universe, He predetermined to call a group of people to Himself that they might be in a loving and perfect eternal relationship with Him. And He also predetermined to redeem them by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.

God chose you long before you ever chose Him.

Scripture backs up this idea over and over again

“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

“But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

The reason we know that God first chose us is because if He did not, we would never choose God.

We Would Never Choose God

Paul establishes this for us in . He writes: “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”

A few verses later he says that “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

The implications of these verses are incredible. No man or woman, past, present or future, in any place, could ever earn their salvation. No one, and Paul meant no one, would ever seek for God, if God did not first choose us and call us to Himself.

And the reason that this should bring us incredible peace is because God’s sovereign choice is unbreakable.

God’s Choice is Unbreakable

Verse 5 says, “Protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

If God chose you for relationship, and chose you to obtain an…

If God chose you for relationship…He will not let your salvation slip away…faith fail…you will endure to the end.

He will not let your salvation slip away…faith fail…you will endure

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 10

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 10

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

says “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My

Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them

out of the Father’s hand.

Your status as God’s son or daughter rests on God’s great power, not...

Your status as God’s son or daughter rests on God’s great power, not...

God faithfully keeps the one’s He has chosen.

That’s why Pastor Virgil says, “Once saved, always saved…if you are saved.”}

The fourth reason we can have peace is because of a life-altering transformation.

A Life-Altering Transformation

So, now that we know what it means to be chosen according to the foreknowledge of God, what does it mean when it says “By the sanctifying work of the Spirit”?

It means that the Holy Spirit first initiates regeneration.

Initiates Regeneration

Regeneration is the theological term for that moment when someone goes from unbelief to faith…spiritual death to spiritual life.

The Holy Spirit initiates this transformation in one of God’s chosen people when the gospel of Jesus Christ is faithfully preached!

That’s why we must all be evangelists!

This is precisely what Paul means in when he writes, “For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”

It is through hearing the gospel that the Holy Spirit convicts the sinners heart and takes the heart of stone, which we were all born with, replaces it with a new heart of flesh

And this new heart desires the things of God…craves to know God’s Word…Submits joyfully…

Instead of being destined for destruction, it is now destined for heaven}

The Holy Spirit also empowers holiness

Empowers Holiness

While He doesn’t instantly transform us into perfectly obedient people, He does start us on the road to holiness.

And in this process of becoming more and more like Jesus, we work in cooperation with the Spirit.

We call it sanctification, which means to be set apart, or to be holy.

Dr. John MacArthur compares sanctification to a farmer growing crops. Ultimately it is God who brings the rain, and created soil, and controls the growth. But that doesn’t mean the farmer can sit back do nothing. He has to labor rightly so that the seeds and the soil will be ready to receive the rain and the sun and will grow.

So we must also diligently labor as the Holy Spirit does His sanctifying work in us.

These truths should give us peace because not only does the Holy Spirit initiate our change, and empower our holiness, but he also will complete the process on the other side of eternity.

Completes the Process

One day we will be perfectly righteous and obedient in heaven with God.

That’s why Paul says in , “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”}

The fifth and final reason that we can find peace in the words of is because of a blood-secured covenant.

A Blood-Secured Covenant

Those who were chosen by God, and sanctified by His Spirit, were destined to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood.

“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”

And so to properly understand this phrase, we need to first examine

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Here is what we need to know

1. It is the shedding of blood binds the two parties in this covenant agreement

2. Blood on the people symbolized their commitment to obey God’s commands

3. Blood on the alter symbolized God’s commitment to reveal His law and forgive…

So why does Peter reference this event in his letter?

By accepting the shedding of Christ’s blood as payment for our sins, and entering into the New Covenant, we are bound by the covenant to obey Jesus Christ.

Bound to Obey Jesus Christ

Now, being bound by a covenant to obey may not sound all that peace-inducing until the look at the other end of the agreement

Though we are bound by the covenant to obey Christ, He is bound by that same covenant to forgive and justify us when we fail to obey Him perfectly.

Bound to Forgive and Justify Us

When we accept Jesus as Lord and as Savior, we receive total remission of our sins.

Past, Present, Future

We who are redeemed and justified are bound to obey His commands

We also now stand as righteous before God because not only have our sins been forgiven, but the perfect righteousness of Christ is placed on our account.

God looks at us and sees His Son.

When He searches the record of our iniquities, He finds a blank page.

And when He looks to see the quality of our works, He sees only Christ’s perfect righteousness.

This is the amazing grace that the we all sing about.

So as I begin to close, how do we take all of this home with us?

How do we take these 5 truths and apply them to our own lives.

I’d like to tell you...

But I think the best thing I can do is boil this down into one over-arching thought.

The only way that we could ever have any amount peace in during the trials and hardships of life is to no longer be enemies of God.

That’s why you see grace and peace mentioned together in the New Testament time and time again.

Abundant, consistent, overflowing peace is only possible when we have been reconciled to God.

And the only way to be reconciled to God is to accept the grace He gives through the sacrifice of His Son Christ Jesus on the cross.

You see, Peter knew the pain, and the suffering, and that injustice that were headed like a tidal wave toward his brothers and sisters in Christ. And he wanted them to know exactly what he knew, which is this:

Peace in the fullest measure can be ours, only because God’s grace was poured out for us in the fullest measure on Calvary.

At this time I’m going to invite Pastor Virgil up to begin our invitation.