Sermon Tone Analysis

Regardless of the Cost

You probably have never heard of Aida Scripnikova.

She was born in 1941 in St. Petersburg, when the Russian people were fighting to free themselves from their invaders, the German armies.

The enemy was eventually driven out, but for many decades there was no true freedom in her homeland.

In the fall of 1961, Aida came to know Jesus Christ as her personal Savior.

She was nineteen years old.

With her new faith came the impulse to share it with others.

So she purchased some postcards with a beautiful picture on one side and then she wrote a poem on the reverse side.

The poem expressed her perception of life and the need for people to find God.

Aida then took her postcards, stood on the Nevski Prospect (which is the equivalent in St. Petersburg of Fifth Avenue in New York City), and handed out the cards to people who passed by.

She was, of course, arrested.

In April of 1962 Aida was tried by a Communist court.

She was exiled from St. Petersburg and lost her job as a laboratory assistant.

She was arrested again in 1965 and sent to a labor camp for a year.

In 1968 she was arrested again and sent to a labor camp for an additional three years.

I do not know if Aida Scripnikova had ever come across , but it is apparent that she obeyed the instinct of her heart.

In the midst of unrelenting persecution she shared the message of Jesus Christ, regardless of the cost.

In so doing, she lived out the implications of .

This chapter continues the dominant theme of the letter: the reality of a fleshed-out faith in the midst of oppressive circumstances.

Believers in Jesus Christ should direct their hearts and minds toward living out the will of God, regardless of the cost.

True believers must pay a price, but, in light of eternity, it is worth the cost.

Regardless of the Cost

The early Christians of experienced severe persecution and opposition because of their commitment to Jesus Christ.

This chapter addresses why that is the case and how to respond to persecution in a manner that would honor Jesus.

Before we begin, I want to clarify our view of suffering.

When we speak of suffering we often imagine physical hardship.

However, the spectrum of suffering is much broader.

Suffering encompasses all kinds of trials in our life; from physical torture and death to verbal and mental abuse to oppression of our faith and even simply just not getting what we want.

We often use particularly difficult illustrations of suffering to make the point that God is with us even in the worst situations, but this is only accurate if we remember that God is with us in every form of suffering we experience.

Living for the Will of God (vv.

1-6)

Living for the Will of God (vv.

1-6)

Pain and suffering are never easy to deal with.

They become almost unbearable when they are inflicted upon us from other people.

The model of Jesus becomes our inspiration and our guide as we, along with these early believers, face opposition to our faith.

In order to make this inspiration a reality in our lives, we must have the same perspective on suffering that Jesus did.

Obeying God is the most important motivation in your life.

(vv.

1-2)

As a matter of fact, the suffering that Christ endured was, in part, because of the righteous life that He lived.

In verses 1-2, believers, in similar fashion, should arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are to adopt the same attitude Christ had toward His suffering.

We are to be willing to suffer because we have chosen to live righteous lives.

We are to think as Christ did about obedience and suffering: to be convinced that it is better to do right and suffer than to do wrong.

For whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin does not suggest that the believer, because they suffer for doing what is right, will never stumble or sin again.

A Christian does not, through suffering, magically vault to the level of moral perfection.

These verses indicate that believers take seriously their struggle against sin and their commitment to obedience.

By following this counsel, you demonstrate to others that obeying God is the most important motivation in your life, more important by far than avoiding hardship and pain.

Sin must remain in the believer’s past.

(v. 3)

In addition, verse 3 says quite bluntly that our past experience of sin is sufficient, that we have experienced enough sin to know what it is.

The Greek perfect tense, “suffices”, emphasizes that the kinds of activities listed in verse 3 are over; this part of our lives is a closed chapter.

The descriptions illustrate a person who knows no restraints, has no checks and balances for life.

Believers may continue to struggle with the temptation of these kinds of activities, but they must remain a part of our past history.

Non-believers resent the believer’s life.

(v.

4)

Moreover, unbelievers, who will continue in these activities, will be surprised when you do not join them.

Unfortunately, their response does not remain neutral.

The Greek here for “surprised” also suggests that they become offended.

They malign the believer.

In other words, they defame and injure the reputation of the believer, primarily through verbal abuse and slander.

Non-believers of every era tend to resent the convicting purity of the believer’s life, and as a result, the Christian becomes the victim of their slander.

Through this slander they seek to somehow justify their own behavior by painting the non-participant believer in a negative way.

The last word will be with God.

(vv.

5-6)

Although this may be true, verses 5-6 tell us loud and clear why we should stand against an ungodly life: the coming judgement.

It will be universal, for it will encompass all the living and the dead.

Unbelievers will have to give an account of their lives but will not be able to withstand divine scrutiny.

God is ready to judge, so this judgement could come suddenly, without warning.

Those people who practice these things and who abuse Christians for failing to live the same way may seem to have the upper hand for the time being, but the last word will be with God.

He is already prepared.

A time is coming when the world as we know it will come to an end and God will judge the world.

Living for the Will of God in the Church (vv.

7-11)

Living for the Will of God in the Church (vv.

7-11)

Since the end is near, live in love toward others.

Minister to them with your spiritual gifts.

As you serve others, God will be praised.

In the church where there is a lack of love and common purpose and where the spiritual lifeline of communication to God is broken, the forces of opposition will weaken and eventually destroy the church.

In these verses Peter emphasizes how crucial it is that local churches be strong in fellowship with firm links of life and loyalty between members and also between the members and God.

Living for the will of God is an urgent and immediate call for all believers.

(v.

7a)

Verse 7 starts out by stating that the end of all things is at hand.

Christians typically take a statement like this to refer to the day that Jesus returns and, therefore, believe there is still time for us to decide to do God’s will.

However, this statement should be taken more personally as well.

When is YOUR “end of all things?”

We cannot assume that we can do the will of God later, we do not know that there is a next year for us, a next week, or if our next breath will fail.

Living for the will of God is an urgent and immediate call for all believers.

Demonstrate a willingness to forgive others and to depend on God’s grace.

(vv.

7b-11)

First on the list of believer’s priorities, in verse 7, is purposeful prayer.

Our prayers must be self-controlled and sober-minded.

This suggests that believers pray intelligently, that they think about and evaluate their situations in life maturely, truthfully, and correctly as they pray about them.

In other words, believers are to take prayer seriously.

The second priority, in verse 8, is forgiving love.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly burns into our minds the supreme importance of love as the controlling factor in all relationships.

This kind of love, “agape” can be commanded because it it a decision of the mind, not a feeling into which a person falls.

The goal of agape love is always to seek the good of the other person.

The evidence of agape love is action, not words.

The extent of agape love is sacrifice.

True agape love is constantly being stretched to the limit by the demands made on it.