Sermon Tone Analysis

What This Means For You

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Born Again to a Living Hope

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

The early church had a living hope.

A key word in this epistle is “hope” (1:13, 21; 3:15).

In the Bible, hope is not uncertainty or wishful thinking, but a confident expectation of future blessing based on facts and promises.

In other words, biblical hope has reference to something that is certain but not yet fully seen or experienced.

“Living” indicates the undying and permanent character of this hope.

Applied to the church it emphasizes that we are a heavenly people () who for the moment are passing through a foreign land.

The church is “elect exiles” (v.1) - Applied to the church it emphasizes that we are a heavenly people () who for the moment are passing through a foreign land.

Mounce, R. H. (2005).

A Living Hope: A Commentary on 1 and 2 Peter (p. 9).

Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers.

He hath begotten us again, and this deserves our thanksgiving to God, especially if we consider the fruit it produces in us, which is that excellent grace of hope, and that not such a vain, dead, perishing hope as that of worldlings and hypocrites, but a lively hope, a living, strong, quickening, and durable hope, as that hope must needs be that has such a solid foundation as the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

The hope of a Christian has this excellency, it is a living hope.

The hope of eternal life in a true Christian is a hope that keeps him alive, quickens him, supports him, and conducts him to heaven.

Hope invigorates and spirits up the soul to action, to patience, to fortitude, and perseverance to the end.

They believed they had an eternal life.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the ground or foundation of a Christian’s hope.

The resurrection of Christ is the act of the Father as a Judge, of the Son as a conqueror.

His resurrection demonstrates that the Father accepts his death in full discharge for our ransom, that he is victorious over death, the grave, and all our spiritual enemies; and it is also an assurance of our own resurrection.

25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

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.

You need to be sober in your thinking.

Be sober, be vigilant against all your spiritual dangers and enemies, and be temperate and modest in eating, drinking, apparel, recreation, business, and in the whole of your behaviour.

Be sober-mined also in opinion, as well as in practice, and humble in your judgment of yourselves.

As we would say, “fasten your seat belt” or “roll up your sleeves.”

Peter asks us to prepare for vigorous and sustained spiritual exertion, which is the way that we set our “hope fully on the grace that will be brought … at the [final] revelation of Jesus Christ.”

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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,

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

We need to have a faith that is rooted in eternity that leads to living a holy life, which leads to a fervent love for others.

Not purity and pollution codes, or distinctions between clean and unclean foods, but one’s interactions with other people are now the sphere for mirroring God’s holiness—as mercy or generosity expressed freely and unrestricted by the way one has been treated by others.

Here, the “word” (i.e., “gospel”) becomes the “seed/sperm” that creates a new and better lineage for the addressees (see also 1:3).

Just as OT Israel was set apart by God from the surrounding nations to be holy, so also the church is to be set apart from sin to the service of God (2:9; Lev.

19:2).

The Christian’s standard of and motivation for holiness is the absolute moral perfection of God Himself (v.

16; Matt.

5:48; Eph.

5:1).

They are made in His image and are to reflect Him.

2 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

Get rid of all hypocrisy, get rid of anger, and stop blaming.

Have lips of praise and encouragement.

The number one apologetic is your life, it’s a holy life with an eternal perspective that’s radically loving.

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20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure?

But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed.

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

We are living in a day where what Christians need to be and become are first and foremost godly, loving, kind, and winsome.

9 Let love be genuine.

Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

10 Love one another with brotherly affection.

Outdo one another in showing honor.

11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

16 Live in harmony with one another.

Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.

Never be wise in your own sight.

17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.

18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Talk It Over

Christian Influence

Share with the group.

What Christian influenced you by their life the most?

What attracted you to become a follower of Christ?

In Our Families

The family was God's first earthly institution.

Before there was a government, and long before God instituted the church, He ordained marriage and the family as the basic building block of society.

In Our Church

In Our Culture

The church will really change society for the better only when individual believers make their chief concern their own spiritual maturity, which means living in a way that honors God's commands and glorifies His name.

Such a concern inherently includes a firm grasp on Scripture and an understanding that its primary mandate to us is to know Christ and proclaim His gospel.

A godly attitude coupled with godly living makes the saving message of the gospel credible to the unsaved.

If we claim to be saved but still convey proud, unloving attitudes toward the lost, our preaching and teaching—no matter how doctrinally orthodox or politically savvy and persuasive—will be ignored or rejected.

The church will really change society for the better only when individual believers make their chief concern their own spiritual maturity, which means living in a way that honors God's commands and glorifies His name.

Such a concern inherently includes a firm grasp on Scripture and an understanding that its primary mandate to us is to know Christ and proclaim His gospel.

A godly attitude coupled with godly living makes the saving message of the gospel credible to the unsaved.

If we claim to be saved but still convey proud, unloving attitudes toward the lost, our preaching and teaching—no matter how doctrinally orthodox or politically savvy and persuasive—will be ignored or rejected.

In Our Families

Embracing This Apologetic

What does God want to do in you and in those around you as you begin to embrace this new apologetic?

Be a living example.

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

In both cases, the goal of Paul’s life is attained when Christ is magnified in his body, whether by life or by death.

The key to magnifying Christ in life and in death is to find him more precious, more valuable, more satisfying, more joyful, more boast worthy than everything we lose in death — “to die is gain” — and everything we have in life — “to live is Christ.”

Point them to the word.