The Gospel Demands

A Father’s Role by Voddie Baucham taken from What He Must Be by Voddie Baucham, copyright 2009, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org. Page 59. Voddie Baucham

The gospel IS OUR LIFE.

The gospel IS CHRIST

Why are we not more passionate for it?

Why are we not more surrendered to it?

As we enter a new year, The Spirit compels us to the gospel.

As each new day begins, the Spirit compels us to the gospel

As the clock ticks each new second, the Spirit compels us to the gospel.

Outline

Big Idea: The gospel demands our all. Will we surrender to it?

The Gospel demands...

Our contentment - 1 Peter 1:3-5

Our rejoicing in suffering - 1 Peter 1:6-9

Our embracing of the good news - 1 Peter 1:10-12

Our pursuit of holiness - 1 Peter 1:13-16

Our walking in fear - 1 Peter 1:17-21

Our earnest Love - 1 Peter 1:22-25

Sermon Body

Big Idea: Big Idea: The gospel demands our all. Will we surrender to it?

The Gospel demands...

Our Contentment - 1 Peter 1:3-5

1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV

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, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

So often, we find ourselves in periods of discontentment

Job is not what we desire

Marriage/relationships are not all that we hoped

Finances are tighter than we desire

Earthly possessions are sub par.

We have not achieved what we long for yet

Our appearance is not what we desire

Lacking popularity/acceptance by others

Life is too hard

Too much hurt

Too busy

Sorrow and grief

Sickness invades

Death overtakes

Lonely

Etc

What happens is that our present, temporal, earthly circumstances grow bigger in our view than that which God has provided eternal provision for.

Our earthly and immediate circumstances remove our focus and gaze from that which is eternal.

The temporal becomes more important to us than the eternal.

The solution, the cure….is to fix our gaze on what is eternal and all that God has provided for us.

Colossians 3:1-4

Colossians 3:1–4 ESV

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Verse 5 and following goes on to admonish us to put aside the passions of the flesh and put on the passions of the Spirit.

Point being, the cure for overcoming the passions of the flesh is to be more satisfied with the provisions that God has given to us than being overcome by the desires of the flesh

The cure for discontent is all areas of life is found in being satisfied in the person of God and all that He promises and has provided for us.

Consider this text in 1 Peter. Look at what God has provided for us.

We are born again

HE HAS CAUSED US….

New life; New person; New identity.

We have been made into new person, a new being. We have been given a new name, a new identity, a new belonging.

For beings created FOR relationship, for connection…this is essential.

Sure, the physical world is broken and the picture of how this works in reality is often messed up because the physical families we are placed in do not often represent well what this is supposed to look like, but the mere fact that when you are born INTO a family, you are given a new sense of belonging, an identity, a life should not be missed even if the physical is bad about representing it.

Contrasted with being dead as Ephesians 2 describes.

HE HAS MADE US ALIVE….according to HIS GREAT MERCY.

What we deserved was death.

His mercy did not give us what we rightfully deserved.

HE, though, is the source of this new life. Has nothing to do with us. It is all a gift from him.

We are BORN AGAIN TO…..

A Living Hope

Living

Active

Present

Imminent

Life - has substance, being.

Hope

Confident expectation

We have an ACTIVE, LIVING confident expectation in the person and promises of God.

The Hope we have in Him, is not some wishful thinking…not some uncertain longing and desire that may or may not come to pass.

Our hope is a CONFIDENT EXPECTATION of something that WILL come to pass.

It is secured and made possible by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead….a seal and guarantee more sure than anything else we could ask for.

What is our hope? What is this hope that is living and sure?

We have an inheritance

Imperishable

Undefiled

Unfading

Kept in heaven BY GOD’s POWER

What is it?

Colossians 1:3-8

Colossians 1:3–8 ESV

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

“Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you…..”

What does the gospel message herald?

The message of reconciliation with God. The message of a rightfully restored relationship to God upon our repentance and faith in Jesus and His satisfactory death for the penalty of MY sin.

This inheritance, which is kept for us, is the promise of this rightfully restored relationship and the future hope of the FINAL salvation…

1 Peter 1:5

1 Peter 1:5 ESV

who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

We are kept, by faith, for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last times

Final salvation - deliverance from the presence of sin.

We already are saved from the power and penalty of sin. Jesus’ death assures us of that.

Justification - salvation from the penalty of sin

Sanctification - ongoing salvation, deliverance from the power of sin

Glorification - future salvation from the presence of sin.

The salvation spoke of here is the final salvation (glorification) of deliverance from sin’s presence.

There is coming a day when we will know deliverance FROM THE PRESENCE OF SIN and will be able to enjoy an intimate relationship with God UNHINDERED by sin and its affects.

THAT is the inheritance we have guaranteed to us, that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, and kept in heaven for us.

THAT MAKES ALL THE SUFFERING, discontent, and struggle of this life worth it.

We have been given a LIVING HOPE….

A hope that is assured

The reality of salvation from sin’s penalty

The ongoing reality of salvation from the power of sin

The future promise of salvation from the presence of sin

And the confident expectation that one day we will know a perfect, unhindered relationship with our creator in heaven free from the affects and influence of sin.

THIS IS OUR LIVING HOPE.

This is what we have to look forward to, what we have to cling to.

But that is the focus we SO OFTEN lose in the midst of this life’s crisis’s and struggles.

This LIVING HOPE....This ever present assured expectation of what is to come IS THE REASON WE CAN REJOICE in suffering and be confident of its eternal benefits.

The Gospel demands...

Our Rejoicing In Suffering - 1 Peter 1:6-9

1 Peter 1:6–9 ESV

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 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. 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, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Why can we take joy in our trials when the world cannot?

Because we understand the temporary nature of them AND we understand the eternal benefit of them.

Two realities of which the world, without hope, knows nothing about.

The promised hope

Of our eternal inheritance

Of future glorification

Of unhindered, unfettered intimacy with God in heaven free from sin

Of going to our eternal home

KEEPS US joyful in the midst of suffering, trial, and difficulty. We know what is coming and we know our current circumstance is temporary.

What is it to endure 80-100 years of misery for an eternity of joy?

And in fact, the suffering we endure here and now will make the eternal enjoyment of what is prepared for us EVEN GREATER.

Listen, the trials we endure, are part of the NECESSARY testing processing to validate the authenticity of our faith AND to strengthen that faith, hardening it a resolve stronger than any amount of abundance and blessing can do.

The challenges we face will strip the dross and weakness from our faith, cleansing it of impurities and imperfections.

They will force to face the reality of what we truly believe and will cling to.

They will either MAKE OR BREAK our professed faith.

But when we have had to endure suffering and trial for what we believe, we will be ever more resolute in standing by them because once you have had to suffer for what you believe, it becomes that more precious to you.

Life has gotten complicated and hard for us all. And it is going to get harder still.

BUT we can rejoice because there is a great hope that captures our hearts and strengthens our souls.

We HAVE A SURE AND FIXED salvation awaiting us.

Listen beloved, when the trials of this life threaten to overwhelm, to wear us down to exhaustion and abandoning the course, LOOK UP, and be reminded of the great hope we possess.

Will you keep an eternal perspective and keep you gaze focused and fixed upon eternity and this living hope that we have been given?

Will you embrace this good news given unto us?

The Gospel demands...

Our Embracing of the Good News - 1 Peter 1:10-12

1 Peter 1:10–12 ESV

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 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.

John MacArthur shares the following story in his commentary on 1 Peter

1 Peter: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Chapter 4: Salvation’s Greatness (1 Peter 1:10–12)

The story began one summer’s day toward the end of the nineteenth century when an English city boy was on a visit to rural Scotland. That afternoon the boy went swimming in a small countryside lake. After swimming quite a distance from shore, a severe cramp seized him so that he could not continue swimming. He was in great pain and soon cried out at the top of his voice for help. A farm boy working in a nearby field heard the city boy’s screams and ran as fast as he could to the lake. There the farm boy threw off his shirt, dived into the water, swam to the imperiled city boy, and brought him safely to the shore.

Several years later the two boys met again. The city boy, still filled with gratitude that the other boy had saved his life, was thrilled to see the farm boy again and asked him what career the boy had decided to pursue. The farm boy said he had chosen a career in medicine. Since the city boy’s parents were quite wealthy and were greatly indebted to the other boy for saving their son’s life, upon hearing of the farm boy’s career choice they immediately promised to pay for his medical education. They followed through on their promise and the young man went on to have a brilliant career in scientific investigation.

In 1928 that farm boy, then both a physician and bacteriologist, discovered the famous wonder drug penicillin. In 1945 he shared the Nobel prize with two other scientists for the discovery and development of that antibiotic. That Scottish farm boy turned scientific researcher, who died in 1955, was Alexander Fleming.

The rescued city boy also gained great renown. During World War II he contracted a life-threatening case of pneumonia. He recovered at a hospital after receiving penicillin, which meant that indirectly the one-time farm boy Alexander Fleming had saved his life twice. The city boy’s name was Winston Churchill, the famous wartime British prime minister and world statesman. Interestingly, just like Fleming, Churchill won a Nobel prize. But in his instance, he won the 1953 award in literature for his incisive writings on the history of the Second World War.

It is wonderful to save a life, and even more wonderful to save someone’s life twice, especially when the one saved was such an influential person as Winston Churchill. But the hard-working, selfless contributions of Alexander Fleming are nothing compared to the greatness of saving people’s eternal souls. That great salvation is the heart of the apostle Peter’s concern in this passage. He wanted his believing audience to focus on that full, final rescue from sin, Satan, death, and hell that God so graciously chose to give them through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Peter celebrates salvation’s greatness by reminding his readers that no matter how difficult the circumstances or how severe the persecution, they can confidently hold to the hope of eternal salvation.

The story or salvation is nothing other than miraculous and glorious.

The OT saints obtained this gift but by looking FORWARD to one who would come. They NEVER saw the fulfillment of this salvation because they lived and died before Christ came.

We look BACK upon the completed fulfillment of this prophecy.

That is what these verses speak to.

We can look back and see the glorious fulfillment of something that OT saints ever saw a promise of but never the completion.

Listen, THIS IS TRUTH.

What are you going to do with?

Will you accept, embrace, and devote yourself to it ALONG WITH EVERY IMPLICATION OF WHAT THAT MEANS?

Truth is, we all have a choice whether to accept, believe, trust, and surrender to the new delivered unto us.

The things we have seen today in the text of scripture ARE INDEED TRUE whether you choose to accept them or not, but you may well choose NOT to accept them.

The problem for many is this…we want to accept the truth of salvation without the responsibility of what that demands upon our lives.

It means pursuing different passions

It means emphasizing different priorities

God does not offer this salvation MERELY to give us a better future after death.

God gives us this salvation TO OFFER US A DIFFERENT LIFE NOW.

And yet the priorities we invest ourselves in every day often show no reflection to how our lives have been transformed by this salvation so great.

The way we live, the passions we pursue, the ways we spend our time, the priorities we keep....do they really show the reality of salvation’s presence in our lives?

This why Peter goes on and declares....

The Gospel demands...

Our Pursuit of Holiness - 1 Peter 1:13-16

1 Peter 1:13–16 ESV

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 obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

In light of this salvation, so great and awesome...

In light of this living hope...

In light of this imperishable, undefiled, unfading, reserved inheritance...

In light of this future salvation....

In light of this present salvation...

In light of this past salvation...

Pursue holiness.

Church, can we honestly say that EVERYTHING we do, everything we desire, everything we read, listen to, watch, everything we eat, everywhere we go, every interaction we have with others, every relationship we pursue, every thought we think....IS TRULY INFORMED, MOTIVATED, AND DRIVEN BY A DESIRE FOR HOLINESS AND REJECTION OF THE OLD MAN?

I cannot.

But we should be able to.

This salvation, so great and true, that is given to us....ought to compel, motivate, and stimulate us to holiness.

And yet, we toy with sin.

We drink alcohol knowing there is a fine line between drinking and drunkenness

We watch TV and movies though they be filled with sexual immorality, vulgarity, violence, and wickedness.

We eat whatever we want, regardless of whether is is healthy for the temple of God that is our bodies

We justify and rationalize profanity in our speech

We refuse to cut off the arm to save the body

We refuse to do the hard things to cut off the flesh and live to the Spirit.

We waste our lives on useless, meaningless hobbies, pursuits when the King of Kings is asking us to go be ambassadors for his kingdom.

Listen, I am not condemning every hobby, pursuit, and act of recreation. I am condemning a temporal perspective that has forgotten the eternal glory of salvation and its demands upon our lives.

SURE we can use things like sports to make connections, to share the gospel, and reach others.

BUT ARE WE REALLY DOING THAT?

Are we intentionally and purposefully viewing our sports AS A MEANS OF GOSPEL interactions OR are we viewing it primarily as a means of temporal satisfaction of our fleshly passions while maybe occasionally remembering to share the hope of the gospel?

Are we viewing those sports as a means to grow in Christ likeness, to grow in holiness or do we just play like the rest of the world and fail to BE HOLY and pursue holiness in our pursuit of sports?

And this is just one example....

IS HOLINESS OUR GOAL IN ALL WE DO?

Salvation, this incredible living hope of an eternal inheritance, of a future salvation from the presence of sin DEMANDS a PRIMARY GOAL of holiness…an INTOLERANCE of sin.

Truth is, when your heart has been truly gripped by the holiness of God, you will conduct yourselves in fear.

The Gospel demands...

Our Walking in Fear - 1 Peter 1:17-21

1 Peter 1:17–21 ESV

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, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 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.

Fear - awe, respect, admiration.

Fear - terror

Both are true

Both are applicable.

Hebrews 10:26-31

Hebrews 10:26–31 ESV

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Listen…Someone who continues in their sin, willingly, knowingly after knowledge of that sin comes to light, brings the judgment and wrath of a holy God down upon them.

Someone who is aware of their sin, but only half heartedly fighting it, or who is unwilling to make the radical changes, to pay the radical cost to break the hold of sin over their life, brings the judgment of God down upon them.

This text may well refer to those who profess only but do not possess saving faith and for sure, judgment and wrath is all that is in store for them.

For those who do possess, judgment and wrath are not yours but discipline, rebuke, and correction certainly are.

Hebrews 12:3-11

Hebrews 12:3–11 ESV

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Whether it be judgment or discipline, neither is pleasant.

ASIDE FROM THESE

Fear involves respect, honor.

When one’s heart has been enraptured by the gospel, by this salvation so great and true, one’s heart IS MOVED to respect, to awe, to wonder.

Romans 8:31-39

Romans 8:31–39 ESV

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul’s response to the gospel, was awe, respect, worship, and submission.

Listen, our submission and obedience to God is driven MORE by our respect, our awe and wonder of God than it is out of fear of judgment.

Can it be, that more Christians not living lives of true submission and surrender because they do not really stand in awe of God? They do not really respect God? They do not truly have a reverence for him?

Peter admonished us to conduct ourselves in fear, in terror, in awe, in reverence for God BECAUSE of this gospel, this salvation that he has provided to us.

When our lives have been gripped by the gospel, a healthy fear of God will be the result.

As will earnest love for one another.

The Gospel demands...

Our Earnest Love - 1 Peter 1:22-25

1 Peter 1:22–25 ESV

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 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 flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Given the cost of what it took to redeem us, our lives are to be different.

Our lives are to be marked by love.

Love for one another is the natural fruit of the gospel impact on our lives.

Authentic love, biblical love. The kind of love that selflessly chooses for another’s highest good.

The kind of love that puts others first at great cost to oneself.

The kind of love that sent Jesus to the cross.

Church, how are we loving others?

Are our lives marked by selfless giving of ourselves for the needs of others? Are our lives marked by a selfless investment in the good of others?

Is that love driven by our fear and awe of God?

Conclusion

Big Idea: The gospel demands our all. Will we surrender it?

The Gospel demands...

Our contentment - 1 Peter 1:3-5

Our rejoicing in suffering - 1 Peter 1:6-9

Our embracing of the good news - 1 Peter 1:10-12

Our pursuit of holiness - 1 Peter 1:13-16

Our walking in fear - 1 Peter 1:17-21

Our earnest Love - 1 Peter 1:22-25

The Gospel demands are all.

It demands we accept every part of the gospel

It demands our life be transformed by its power and presence

It demands we embrace EVERYTHING about which the stands.

Which means our lives reflect a different perspective, attitude, goals, and priorities.

The great danger we as the church we face, now as in all ages, and that great trap we have fallen into is embracing only the parts of the gospel we want and ignoring the implications of what that means for our life.

If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. Augustine

If we only accept the parts of the gospel, that appeal to us and ignore the demands it places on our life, it is not the gospel we love or follow....but a lie.

If you want to be gospel follower, a Christ follower, heed the call of the gospel.

Let’s grow, church, together to become more like Jesus, as we surrender to the gospel, for the glory of God.

Make 2022 a gospel year.

Make every day a gospel day.

Application and Discussion Questions

What things often cause the most discontentment in your life? (Encourage to make personal)

Job is not what we desire

Marriage/relationships are not all that we hoped

Finances are tighter than we desire

Earthly possessions are sub par.

We have not achieved what we long for yet

Our appearance is not what we desire

Lacking popularity/acceptance by others

Life is too hard

Too much hurt

Too busy

Sorrow and grief

Sickness invades

Death overtakes

Lonely

Why is contentment so hard to achieve?

The world, the adversary, the flesh entice us with wanting more. Sin entices us with wanting more. The presence of the old nature and the adversary WANT us to be satisfied in things outside of God. They WANT to make a good thing (or a bad thing) the main thing.

Contentment is hard to achieve because sin persists and the adversary knows how to entice us away from God.

How is 1 Peter 1:3-5 the solution for our discontentment?

It offers us the TRUE, lasting and total source of contentment, joy, and satisfaction.

Why can we rejoice in suffering?

Because it is temporary.

It is light in the face of the coming glory (2 Cor 4:17)

It increases the enjoyment of the future coming glory

It works for our sanctification now

The eternal benefit of suffering far outweighs the momentary suffering

What makes the message of salvation so glorious and miraculous?

Eternal God sought us, wants us, invites us to come

Eternal God became the substitute payment for my sin

Eternal God adopted me, created rebellious thing, to be his son, heir, co-heir with Christ.

God planned it from the beginning and nothing deterred his plan

How does/should this affect our day to day living?

It ought o alter our passions, our interests, our pursuits, our priorities.

It ought to change our longings.

It ought to instruct our activities, and doings.

It ought to defeat our despair, comfort our grief, overcome our temptations, and fill us with joy and peace.

What does it mean to be holy?

To be set apart for special use

To be pure, righteous, and without sin

How do we know we are serious about holiness? How do we know when we are not serious about holiness?

Our attitude, conduct, actions, and priorities will reflect our desires.

The cost we are willing to pay to avoid sin. The limitations we are willing do endure to avoid temptation.

The way we spend out time, talents, and resources

The things we fill our minds and hearts with

What does it mean to walk in fear? What does it mean to fear the Lord? How do do this practically?

To live obediently and submissively to God and His commands.

To live with respect of God and seeking to honor his commands and will at all costs because we love and honor Him.

Why is earnest love for others an evidence of our love for and devotion to God?

Love for God will produce love for others.

Authentic love for others shows we love God and know His love for us.

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