Repentance of Sin

i. What is Sin (1:14)

ILL: Shooting an arrow

Not a big deal if you miss your mark when you’re shooting at a target

But, if you are hunting

Or worse, if you are at war it’s a big deal

Definition of sin

Word literally means, ‘To miss the mark’ — sometimes this is true: explain

To willfully refuse to aim at the mark — more often

1 Peter 1:14 (CSB)

14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance

Types of sin

Unknown sin—former ignorance

Unbelievers have a sense of right and wrong (Tree)

Unbelievers don’t have a full sense of sin without law (cf Romans 5:13)

Believers have the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin (John 16:8)

As we grow into a greater knowledge of God through the Spirit we have less and less ‘unknown’ sin

Spirit works through church/scripture

External (conformity)

conformity to sinful desires are an external expression of inward sinfulness

Internal (desire) Sin

Even as a Christian, you have a desire for the ways of the old-self

In Jewish thinking, the problem wasn’t what was inside, but what was outside.

Jesus

Not what is outside that defiles a person, but what is inside.

SOTM: to lust is to be guilty of adultery; to anger is to be guilty of murder

IOW: Internal expressions of sinfulness are still sin, even if no one sees it.

Recap: Internal sin that leads to external sin — and sometimes we don’t even know it’s sin until the Spirit of God reveals it to us.

ii. God’s work of redemption (1:18)

Why do we need redeemed?

Here’s what Peter says:

1 Peter 1:18-19 (CSB)

For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ…

What is redemption:

Redemption generally refers to the rescue of an individual from a difficult obligation by means of a monetary payment.

ILL: Redemption in Ruth—Boaz didn’t redeem Ruth by marrying her (as if she were just a helpless woman). Boaz redeemed Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi by purchasing Naomi’s land (Ruth 4). He married Ruth so that Naomi’s lineage could keep the land through Boaz and Ruth’s bloodline.

Humans have an inheritance in God’s Kingdom that is waiting for us but we were outside the Kingdom in a foreign land.

Jesus died to redeem us so that we can come back into the Kingdom and receive our inheritance.

“Empty way of life.” You cannot escape your emptiness because you inherited it from your ancestors.

explain this

Jesus alone redeems

not with the riches of this world (perishable things like gold and silver)

not with any human effort (still perishable, broken, imperfect)

not by philosophies and religion (from the minds of humans or from the worship of false gods and idols)

iii. Your work of repentance (2:1)

1 Peter 1:14, 18–19a; 2:1 (CSB)

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance…For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ…Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.

Flow of thought

Jesus redeemed you

Therefore, don’t live like you did before you were redeemed

What does that look like?

Get rid of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander

IOW Sin

External — the visible activity of sin

malicious activities

deceit and lies

slander—the way you speak about others

hypocrisy—doing things that disagree with what you profess

i.e. you say, “I am redeemed by Jesus,” but you live like you are still in the foreign land.

Internal — the motivation

Jesus didn’t just die to forgive sins

Jesus died to take away our sinfulness

That means he heals us from the inside out

We are called to ‘Act right’—to repent of outward sin—but that should flow from an inward desire to honor Jesus without hearts, minds, and lives.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul—this is the greatest commandment.