Easter 3 April 18
Easter 3 April 18, 1999
Living in Reverent Fear.
1 Peter 1:17-21
A soap manufacturer said to a minister one day, “What good is all the work the church does? After the thousands of sermons that have been preached and all the hours spent in Bible study for two thousand years people still lie and cheat, fight and kill.” The minister said nothing for a while as they walked together. Soon they saw some children playing in the mud. Then the minister said, “What good is all the sap that you make? You say that it makes people clean but look at those kids. Soap has been around for thousands of years, and those children are still filthy."
“Oh,” the soap maker responded, “soap does no good until people use it.” What is true about soap is true about Jesus.
Peter’s epistle reminds us that “silver and gold” cannot buy the most important commodity in life and that the price is more than we can pay. But, it’s of no use to anyone who doesn’t use it.
1. Fears galore. Having urged us to keep our heavenly inheritance as the highest priority in life, the apostle would have us live our lives in reverent fear. There are many kinds of fear that we all experience: Fear of punishment; Fear of Injury or death; and, Fear of the unknown.
Fear of punishment is perhaps the most familiar. The child who misbehaves and the thief who steals repeat the behavior of Adam, who said to his Maker, “I was afraid because I was naked.” When exposed, the fear of punishment becomes very real.
Fear of injury or death in an accident is also high on the list. The disciples of Jesus experienced this kind of fear when they thought their storm-tossed boat would be sunk. They cry out to Jesus, who is calmly asleep, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
Fear of the unknown frequently surfaced at the appearance of angels. Luke reports, “Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, … When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.” And when the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, for the announcement of the Savior’s birth, “they were terrified.” At the tomb of Jesus on Easter morning, the guards “were so afraid … that they shook and became like dead men,” when the angel appeared. Even the women who had gone to complete the burial process on Easter morning were greeted by an angel who said “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” The unknown can send chilling shivers down ones spine.
In spite of all this, there is also a “good” fear. Peter calls it “reverent fear.” This kind of fear is the sense of deepest respect and awe that is born out of God’s love for us sinners. It is the heart’s true response to the benefits of grace, which it wants to express by keeping God’s commandments. But such reverent fear makes us strangers and aliens to the world.
2. As Strangers. Peter gets at this when he says, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.”
Sadly, we hear reports that describes us more like those dirty kids in the story. We tend to keep playing in the muddy streets of sin. Tim Lahaye, in his book, A Nation Without a Conscience says, “Recent surveys indicate that the conduct of the church isn’t too different from that of the world.” How sad this all must be to God. Such unholy living is not what our God has called us to, but from.
3. You were Redeemed. Perhaps there is nothing that portrays this better than our use, and abuse, of money. But this is nothing new. Joseph was sold to Midianite merchants for 20 shekels of silver by his own brothers. Judas betrays Jesus for the price of 30 silver coins. The guards who witnessed the empty tomb were paid a large sum of money to say that Jesus’ disciples had stolen Jesus’ body. But still, the truth is that we have been redeemed, purchased to be God’s own.
It wasn’t for nothing that this happened. Peter is writing to converts who have been called out and who have come out of a hedonistic life-style. But they did not do this for the sake of religion and a good showing, as some might think. There are many people like that. But those who have been touched by the truth of God’s unbelievably rich love and mercy cannot live such a false life. You might even say that they are people, who having found the soap for a clear conscience, used it to their benefit.
Such people are fully aware of their unworthiness before God. Yet by the “precious blood of Christ” they were made worthy and fit to be God’s own people. God’s people are not made God’s people with a “how to” list of things to do to please God. God decided “before the creation of the world” to accomplish our salvation in his own Son. That good news is like soap. It has the power and purpose to make a person clean from head to toe, from inside out in God’s sight. But, unless it is used…. Amen.