Set your hope fully on God's grace
· It seems as I get older, my convictions on some things become more obvious to me.
· Why do we need days like this one?
· Why do we need someone or some calendar date to inform me to do what I should be doing on a regular basis?
· Why are we insensitive to others?
· Every holiday, holy day and pseudo holiday that is on or placed on our calendar is commercialized
· And we are caught up in it
· I have mentioned we several times so far and when I am saying ‘we’ I am talking about the elect believer in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
· I am talking about the church, the body of believers but especially those in this country, this city, this neighborhood, this fellowship
· As wonderful as you may think this day is, why do you need it?
· What is so amazing about this day that the other 364 days could not accomplish?
· And what about the sadness and maybe even the anger that this day may bring to some because of the lost of a Mother and all of the circumstances of that lost, or someone praying or attempting to be a mother and yet to no avail, or what about the individual who has long since been put in a place and forgot about?
· As we move forward in our preaching, today is a good time to return to this first letter of Peter to the elect of the dispersion.
· Open your Bibles to 1 Peter 1:13-2:3, stand with me, and listen to what the Lord is saying.
1 Peter 1:13-2:3 (ESV)
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. 1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
· You may be seated
· Look back at verse 13; “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
· As a subject; “Set you hope fully on God’s grace”
· Hope is about expectation, so I could also say as a subject; “set your expectation fully on God’s grace”
· If you examine and study theology, you will soon or later arrive at a point where you will simply say “Now what?”
· And that is because theology, the study of our God in this case, prompts another study called ethics and from our view point again, Christian ethics; the doctrine, teaching, study of the Christian life.
· This is what is was saying earlier to get your attention
· How do we live in society as Christians?
· Specifically in Peter’s time as oppresses and excluded in an overt way
· But even in our times when most church goers would argue that ‘all is well on the home front’
· But is it?
· We, today, live in a culture that is at best morally indifferent
· A culture in which Christian views are mocked and where immorality in high places is not ignored but even rewarded in the voting booth
· We can go on but you know the picture, if not just pickup a local news paper, listen to the news on television or radio, examine what we label today as entertainment
· We hope for a better day, a safer day
· We hope for a ‘change’ as one of the candidates would have us believe
· We hope for better gas mileage, and cheaper gas prices
· We hope for a better place for our children and grandchildren
· But what Peter wrote to an exile people in the first century still applies to an exile people of the twenty first century
· And if you don’t think you are exile, speak Christ and His teaching more in the places you go, offer the Christian perspective as a solution to the situations and circumstances that you are aware of
· Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
· Therefore, or ‘for this reason’
· And we find that reason in the long sentence of 1:3-12
1 Peter 1:3-13 (ESV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
· This exhortation of hope is not based on chance, luck or accident
· But I can talk about hope, ethics because of the awareness of the theology
· Open your eyes and look at who we are and what we have because of whose we are
· Born again to a living hope, caused not by us but by God the Father through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
· That’s one of the reason
· To an inheritance unlike anything you have ever seen or can imagine
· It is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, and kept in heaven with your name on it, by the God who caused you to be saved in the first place
· That’s one of the reason
· It is good that I tell you this but you really don’t need me to tell you this because if you are saved, you are indeed sanctified, you find yourself rejoicing with joy that you just cannot explain
· Loving Jesus who you just cannot see yet
· Because deep down in the very essence of your being you know that you know that you know that your soul is saved
· That’s a reason
· A reason why your theology and you may not have a theological degree, but your theology prompts your ethics your life as a Christian
· It is in this context and only in this context that you can prepare your mind for action and not only that
· Being sober minded and not caught up in the intoxication of this life
· Set you hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ
· In other words, Peter instructs his readers to set their hope on the grace that will be theirs when Jesus returns by being fully able to think and act on the basis of their true nature in Christ, despite whatever hostility such a lifestyle might provoke from their society.
· You will not be able to make the correct ethical choices if you do not have your minds fixed on the final outcome of the result of that choice.
· It is about looking pass the moment and being reminded of all that has taken place and will take place for us to be who we are
· And the exciting part to all of this is that you can do it
· The ability is yours
· Therefore –
o prepare your minds
§ For action and
§ Being sober minded
o Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you
o At the revelation of Jesus Christ
· As obedient children
o Do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance
· But as He who called you is holy
o You also be holy in all your conduct
· Since it is written
o “You shall be holy, for I am holy” Leviticus 11:44 (ESV)
· And if you call on Him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds
o Conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile
· Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers
o Not with perishable things such as silver or gold
· But with the precious blood of Christ
o Like that of a lamb without blemish or spot
o He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you
§ Who through Him are believers in God
· Who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory
§ So that your faith and hope are in God
· Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love
o Love one another earnestly from a pure heart
o Since you have been born again
§ Not of perishable seed but of imperishable
§ Through the living and abiding word of God
· For “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flowers of grass
· The grass withers and the flower falls
· But the word of the Lord remains forever
o And this word is the good news that was preached to you
· So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander
· Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation
o If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
· Verse 13 and the ‘therefore’ actually connects with the beginning verses starting with verse 3.
1 Peter 1:3-13 (ESV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
· There is a part that we can actually ply in all of this.
·
Readings and other material for preparation
· From Scot McKnight commentary
· Peter exhorts his readers in 4 areas, each is grounded in a reflection about salvation
o He exhorts them to hope (1:13), (1 Peter 1:13 (ESV) 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.) grounded this exhortation in the salvation of 1:3-12 (notice that this starts with the word ‘therefore’)
o He exhorts them to holiness (1:14-16), (1 Peter 1:14-16 (ESV)14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”) grounding this exhortation in the assumption that they are obedient children, an expression denoting their conversion, and the character of God (1:15-16) (1 Peter 1:15-16 (ESV) 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” )
o He exhorts them to fear God (1:17-21), (1 Peter 1:17-21 (ESV) 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.) grounding this exhortation in their new relationship to God – they can address the very Judge of the Universe as their Father (v. 17), and they have been redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb of God (vv. 18-21)
o He exhorts them to love one another (1:22-25) (1 Peter 1:22-25 (ESV) 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.) grounding this exhortation in their purification (1:22) and in their regeneration (1:23-25)