Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Last week I announced that we were finishing our study in 1 Peter but we only made it to verse 9

Today we are concluding this wonderful book as we look at the final five verses in 1 Peter 5:10-14.

Please take your Bibles and turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 5

I’m going to being reading back at verse 8 down through verse 14

There are some “forty different titles referring to Satan” (Dickason)

Some of them are:

Satan - “adversary or opposer” (Mat.4:10)

Devil - “slanderer” (Mat.4:1)

Evil one - “intrinsically evil” (John 17:5)

Great red dragon - (Rev.12:3, 7, 9)

Serpent of old - “deceiver in Eden” (Rev.12:9)

Abaddon - “destruction” (Rev.9:11)

Apollyon - “destroyer” (Rev.9:11)

Beelzebul - “Lord of the fly” (Mat.12:24)

Belial - “worthless” (2 Cor.6:15)

God of this world (2 Cor.4:4)

Ruler of this world (Jn.12:31)

Prince of the power of the air (Eph.2:2)

Enemy (Mat.13:28)

Tempter (Mat.4:3)

Murderer (Jn.8:44)

Liar (Jn.8:44)

Accuser (Rev.12:10)

Peter gives one title in verse 8 when he refers to him as our “adversary”

This refers to his “role of opposing believers in Christ” (MacArthur)

As we already said, he is Satan, which means “adversary” or “opposer”

As Peter gives these final words, he wants them to understand their enemy and the enemy of God

He also wants them to understand that the roar he has made in their lives was in the form of persecution

Jesus said in John 15:19, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”

You do not belong to the world

You are not their own

You are not of this world

You have been chosen for salvation by Christ from those in the world

Because of this, Jesus says, “the world hates you.”

And where does this hate come from?

It comes from Satan!

So they must accept their humble circumstances that came from being persecuted and they must be active in their fight against sin and Satan

So Peter says in verse 8 they first needed to...

LESSON

I. Be Sober (v.8a)

E.M. Bounds, says, “The existence and work of the devil is a serious matter.

It is to be considered and dealt with from the most serious standpoint, and only serious people can deal with it.

For this reason, the New Testament gives the repeated note of warning, ‘be sober’ (Winning the Invisible War, p.108).

The words “be sober” in Classical Greek originally meant “one who was completely unaffected by wine, i.e., one who avoided intoxication

Later it came to refer to “a sober manner of living demonstrated by self-control” (LFB)

This was a call for “a balance in [their] disposition, [a balance in their] thoughts, and [a balance their] actions” (Lenski)

Ephesians 4:1, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called”

So this then is referring to having “steadfastness, clarity of mind, and moral decisiveness” (MacArthur), being “serious” and “self-controlled”

But this is not the only thing they needed.

They also needed to...

II.

Be Alert (v.8b)

We said last time...

This is a command to “wake up” (gregoreo, aor.act.imp.)

It indicates “spiritual alertness, with…an emphasis on one’s focus of attention” (Grudem)

What’s are you focused on?

(‘watching’ for sin, for attacks of evil’) (Grudem)

This is a call to be “alert” “against the assaults of sin and Satan” (Hiebert)

They needed to be alert because of your adversary the devil who wanted to devour them

They also needed to be alert because our adversary is like a roaring lion

Because of this, they also needed to...

III.

Be Firm (v.9)

“But resist him”

Resist the Devil (v.9a)

This means to “oppose, withstand” or “stand up against” the devil

You do that by doing what James said in James 4:7, “Submit therefore to God.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Trust God (v.9b)

“firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

You resist the devil by being “deeply rooted in the content of the Christian faith” (Sproul)

You also resist the devil by understanding that Satan tempts and attacks all believers - 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

So they needed to be sober, alert, firm and last, they needed to...

IV.

Be Patient (vv.10-11)

“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

11 To Him be dominion forever and ever.

Amen.”

Suffering is “for a little while” (v.10a)

Peter returns to the theme of the letter (suffering)

He reminds them...

Suffering is temporary

“a little while” (oligon, adj) refers “to either the duration or degree of suffering” (Hiebert).

It most likely includes both

1 Peter 1:6, “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,”

Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

2 Corinthians 4:17, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison”

The suffering…stands in strong contrast to the eternal glory that will follow” (Hiebert)

Our comfort in our suffering comes from God who is the...

God is “the God of all grace” (v.10b)

This title only appears here in the NT

He is also called “the God of all comfort” in 2 Corinthians 1:3.

“the God of peace” in Hebrews 13:20.

And “the God of hope” in Romans 15:13.

Peter says...

God is the source and giver of all grace

We see all the way back in Genesis 3 when God didn’t give Adam and Eve what they deserved when they disobeyed Him and took of the forbidden fruit

Just hearing His tender voice in Genesis 3:9, revealed His grace to them when it says, “Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?””

God didn’t blast them He banished them from the Garden He created for them and made their provisions something they would spend the rest of their lives toiling for but even in this, He provided for them---that’s grace!