reading the word of God from 1 Peter chapter
chapter
2 beginning at verse 11 and concluding
with verse 25 1 Peter
2:1 it sounds like the beginning of a
wedding dearly
beloved I beseech you as sojourners and
pilgrims abstain from fleshly lust which
wor against the soul having your Behavior
Behavior
honest and you can translate that word
if you want to
beautiful having your behavior beautiful
among the
Gentiles that whereas they speak against
you as
evildoers they may by your good works
which they Shall Behold glorify God in
the day of
visitation submit yourselves to every
ordinance of man for the Lord's sake
whether it be to the king as supreme or
unto Governors as unto them that are
sent by him for the punishment of
evildoers and for the praise of them
that do
well for so is the will of God that with
well-doing you may put to silence the
ignorance of foolish
men as free and not using your Liberty
for a cloak of maliciousness but as a
Servants of
God honor all men love the Brotherhood
fear God honor the king servants and
this means household
slaves be subject to your masters with
all fear not only to the good and gentle
but also to the
perverse for this is thankworthy if a
man for conscience toward God endure
grief suffering wrongfully for what
glory is it if when you are buffeted for
your faults you shall take it patiently
but if when you do well and suffer for
it ye take it patiently this is
acceptable with God for even here unto
were ye
called because Christ also suffered for
us leaving us an example that ye should
follow his
steps who did no sin neither was guile
found in his
mouth who when he was reviled reviled
not again when he suffered he threatened
not but committed himself to to him that judgeth
judgeth
righteously who his own self bore our
sins in his own body on the
tree that we being dead to sin should
live under righteousness by whose
Stripes you were
healed for ye were as sheep going astray
but are now returned unto the shepherd
and Bishop or overseer of your
souls the overall theme of First Peter
is the the grace of God chap 5 and verse
12 Peter tells us this the key to this
book is hung at the back door by
sylvanus a faithful brother unto you as
I suppose I have written briefly
exhorting and testifying that this is
the true grace of God in which she stand
now if there's a true grace of God
there's also a false grace of God and
one reason why Peter wrote this letter
was to correct this attitude that some
of the people had that they could be
saved by God's grace and live any way they
they
please there are three basic parts to this
this
letter in chapter 1 verse 1 to chapter 2:
2:
10 he talks about God's grace and
salvation the whole theme of H of
chapter 1 the first half of chapter 2 is
God's grace and
salvation in the passage we read today
211 through
3:12 it's God's grace in
submission you'll notice the emphasis on
the word submit verse 13 submit
yourselves Verse 18 household servants
be subject to your Masters uh chapter
3:1 ye wives be in subjection to your
husbands verse 5 being in subjection
under their own husbands so from 211 to
3:12 he talks about God's grace in
submission because submission always follows
follows
salvation then 3:13 to the end of the
book the end of the letter he deals with
God's grace and
suffering if you'll read this section at
your leisure you'll find over and over
again the word suffer verse 14 chapter 3
if you suffer for righteousness sake
Verse 18 Christ hath once suffered for
sins chapter 4 Christ has suffered for
us he that hath suffered In the Flesh
down in verse 13 partakers of Christ
suffering over and over again in these
last two chapters it's suffering so when
you read first Peter you remember the
first part of the book God's grace and
salvation the middle of the book God's
grace and submission and submission is
the result of Salvation and suffering is
the result of submission the last part
of the book God's grace and
suffering now the result of this
submission ought to be a Godly life this
paragraph that I read emphasizes living
a Godly life verse 12 they speak against
you as evildoers that they may by your
good works verse 14 for the punishment
of evildoers for the praise of them that
do well verse 15 so is the will of God
that with well doing you may put to
silence the ignorance of foolish men
verse 20 but if when ye do well and
suffer for it you take it patiently
so the whole theme Here is doing well
living what Peter calls a beautiful life
verse 12 having your behavior beautiful
among the Gentiles that the Greek word
there is one of the great words of
description of character it talks about
finess of life it talks about beauty of
Life Grace of Life a charm of Life some
people's lives are very angular they're
very abrasive and every time they run up
against you they peel some bark off of
you Peter's not talking about that he's
talking about the kind of Godly living
that is beautiful and comely and fine and
and
graceful and this of course is the
result of submission now this raises a
question and I think Peter's answering
this question why in the world should I
bother to
live a Godly
life that's a good practical question
he's talking here about living in a
world that's a difficult world even our
lord Jesus when he came on Earth was
crucified for living a Godly life now
why should I live a Godly life I can
compromise if I want
to no problem I can figure out ways of
compromising I can sneak in and out of
the will of God I can
rationalize so can you perhaps some of
us are doing it why should I seek to
live a Godly life why have good works
why have well-doing why seek seek to
cultivate a beauty of life well he gives
us three very wonderful reasons why we
should they're so down to earth and
practical they could only have come from
a fisherman like the Apostle Peter verse
11 we live a Godly life a beautiful life
for our own sake verse
12 for the sake of the
unsaved and then 13- 25 for the Lord's
sake now that's as practical as you can get
get
in verse 11 he says to us you should
live this kind of a life for your own
sake let's begin with
you let's take care of number one quote
unquote for your own sake then having
discussed that in verse 11 he moves on
to verse 12 and says look you ought to
live a Godly life for the sake of the
unsaved he calls them the Gentiles this
doesn't mean that the Jews were better
than or different from the term Gentiles
back in that day meant the outside crowd
the unsaved people then he gets to the
highest reason of all verse 13 submit
yourselves for the Lord's sake and he
develops that so we'll take these three
reasons and think about them tonight
then examine our own lives and see
whether or not we're building a
beautiful life verse 11 we should live a
beautiful life for our own sake dearly
beloved I beseech you as sojourners and
pilgrims abstain from fleshly lust which
war against the soul what he's saying
here is this because of the love of God
for us dearly beloved because of the
work God has for us to do we're
sojourners and pilgrims and because of
the battle that we are in Waring against
the soul if we're going to take care of
ourselves we had better live a Godly
life dearly beloved when we live a Godly
life we are responding to the love of
God did you know that the first person
who is called beloved in the Bible in in
the New Testament is Jesus
Christ when Jesus came to the Jordan
River and was baptized God the Father
spoke from heaven and God the father
said this is my beloved
Son now when I got saved I was put into
Jesus Christ if I'm in Jesus Christ
whatever God the father says about him
he says about me
I'm accepted in the
Beloved and so God looks down upon you
and me tonight who are born again saved
people and he says you are dearly
beloved now if I am his beloved Son you
are his beloved Sons and Daughters our
submission we love because he first loved
loved
us if you love me keep my Commandments
the highest motive for obedience is love to
to
God several times in these letters the
Apostle Peter uses this uh little word
beloved 211 dearly beloved I beseech you
over in
4:12 beloved think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial that's going
to try you when he gets to his second
letter we call second Peter chapter 3
and verse one he just falls into this
thing over and over again The Second
Epistle beloved I now write unto
you down in verse 8 but beloved be not
ignorant verse 14 wherefore beloved be
diligent verse 17 ye therefore beloved
seeing that you know these things you
see over and over again Peter is saying
look you're the recipients of his love
now as the recipients of his love
accepted in Jesus Christ there's only
one way to
live that's to abide in his love and
obey his
word I used to wonder at a little
statement over in
Jude when I began to study my Bible
seriously and I got to the little letter
of Jude I thought to myself what is this all
all
about but uh verse 21 of the little
letter of Jude he says this keep
yourselves in the love of
God and I read that and I said keep
yourselves in the love of God so I got
another translation said the same thing
keep yourselves in the love of God said
how how's this happen doesn't God love
everybody you know if I'm saved surely
I'm in the love of
God well then you fall in
love then you find out hey there is a
special special sphere of relationship
in love Judah is not saying keep yourself
yourself
saved Jude is not saying keep
yourself so that you pleas God he's
including that what he's saying is so
live your life that you're in the love
of God so that God can really share his
love with you I think that Jesus had the
same thing to say in his Upper Room
discourse John chap 14 verse
21 he says this he that has my
Commandments and keeps them that means
obeys them he it is that loveth me and
he that loveth me shall be loved of my
father and I will love him and will
reveal myself to him he's talking here
about a deeper
relationship so we should obey God and
live Beautiful lives for our own sake to
enjoy God's love keep yourself in the
love of God then he tells us in verse 11
not only should we enjoy God's love but
we should fulfill God's purpose we are
sojourners and pilgrims we must never
forget that far too many
Christians are living their daily lives
as though they belong to this
world far too many decisions are made
with reference to the values of this
world Peter says if you want to live a
beautiful life just keep reminding
yourself this world is not my home I'm
just a passing through my treasures are
light up somewhere beyond the
blue the people that Peter was writing
to were going through suffering because
of their faith their their unsaved
friends thought they were crazy they
think it's strange said Peter that you
aren't running with them to the same old
places doing the same old dirty things
you used to do but I'll tell you why you
aren't doing that Peter tells us you are
sojourners and pilgrims you are resident
heaven now the unsaved World lives for
this world and lives on this
world we Christians don't live on this
world though we are a part of this
globe we've been called from this world
and I want you to know something a 100
years from
now the approval of this world won't
mean a
thing but whether or not we live to
please Jesus Christ is going to mean
something and so we live a beautiful
life for our own sake to enjoy God's
love and to fulfill F God's purpose as
sojourners and pilgrims we're like
Abraham we pitch our tent we build our
Altar and we dig our well and God moves
us along and we pitch our tent we build
our altar we dig our well that's all
Abra Abraham didn't build a house now
I'm speaking in spiritual language I'm
not saying it's wrong to own a house
what I'm saying is he lived as though
nothing in this world really counted now
lot was just the opposite lot had to
move into Sodom and live for Sodom and
get the approval of Sodom and the wealth
of Sodom and all of it burned up abstain
from fleshly lust which wore against the
soul we should live a beautiful life for
our own sake to enjoy God's love and to
fulfill God's purpose and to succeed in
God's Victory I don't know about you but
we're fighting a battle fleshly lust
that war against the soul and some of
you say well Pastor we're a little old
older now these things don't bother us I
would remind you that David was not a
college student when he committed
adultery and Noah was not enrolling in
drunk let him that thinketh he standeth
take heed lest he
fall we're involved in a battle not only
are we sojourners but we are soldiers
and the word he uses is abstain some
folks don't like that word some folks
say now as Christians we should be
tolerant and we should just have a sort
of a balance in our life just enough sin
to please the world and just enough
Holiness he says no that's not the way
we do it we
abstain now he doesn't name things here
he didn't give us a list of things from
which to abstain he says those things
that cultivate fleshly lusts stay away from
from
them just abstain Jesus said if you're
right man makes you to sin cut it
off don't wrap your knuckles just cut it
off now he's talking spiritually of
course he's saying when something in my
life makes it easy for me to sin get rid
of it and so I should live a beautiful
life and you should live a beautiful
life for our own sake that we might be
victorious soldiers that we might be
sojourners and pilgrims that we might
enjoy the love of God but he moves in
verse 12 to another
reason he says not only does my conduct
affect my own soul but my conduct
affects other people having your
behavior beautiful among the unsaved
that whereas they speak against you as
evildoers they may by your good works
which they Shall Behold glorify God in
the day of visitation now what's the day of
of
visitation there are those who say the
day of visitation means when God comes in
in
judgment but I don't think the unsaved
people are going to glorify God in the
day of judgment now they are going to
have to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is
Lord to the glory of God the Father
every knee is going to Bow and every
tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord I
think this day of visitation is what
Jesus talked about when he wept over the
city of
Jerusalem he said oh Jerusalem Jerusalem
how often would I have gathered you
together but you knew not the time of
your visitation what is this visit ation
you know what I think Peter is saying
here he's saying Christians you've got
neighbors who lie about you you've got
men and women at work who lie about you
there are people who are undercutting
your reputation they are speaking evil
of you your first tendency is to fight
back say all right I can fight fire with
fire he said don't do that just keep on
living a good life keep on doing good
Works keep on living a beautiful Godly
life because one of these days God's
going to visit those people and they're
going to get
saved and they're going to get saved
because of your witness and then they're
going to come and glorify God because of
the life that you live now I've
experienced that you've experienced it
I'm sure there are people we have prayed
for and witnessed to and they've
criticized us they've laughed at us they
have done things against us and it would
have been so easy for us to say hang it
nose but you kept on
praying kept on
loving kept on living a Godly life and
one day those people got
saved God used your witness and they
came and said you know what we want to
thank you for the life that you live we
want to thank you for your consistency
for your prayers we don't know how you
ever put up with us but we want to thank
you for it that's what Peter talking
about we should live a Godly life not
only for our sake but for the sake of
the lost you see the Lost World's
watching us oh you see nobody watches me
don't kid
yourself don't kid yourself they're
watching us they know what we're doing
they're listening to us they know what
we're saying they're watching for
inconsistencies they want to use you
they want to use me as a weapon to fight
against somebody else who witnesses to
them the unsaved world watch es
Believers and they have every right to watch
watch
us after all we're
Witnesses after all we're lights let
your light so shine before men that they
may see your good works and glorify your
father in Heaven that's what verse 12
says that whereas they speak against you
as evildoers they may because of your
good works in the day of visitation
glorify God we have every right for them
to watch us we're the salt of the earth
we have every right we're a city set on
a hill
in fact one of the best ways to win
people to Christ is let them watch us
let them listen to what oh you say there
are things I've done then we shouldn't do
do
them I recall when I first became a
Christian back when I was a
teenager and um we had some very dear
friends they are still dear friends
although I haven't seen them for years
but I know they pray for me regularly
and they prayed they prayed for me when
I was saved if it hadn't been for their
faithful prayers I don't know what would
have happened but after I became a
Christian they tried to guide me in the
Christian Life and I had certain things
in my life that I didn't think were too
wrong but uh they were concerned about
the direction I was going in so they
prayed about it and God dealt with me
and we got rid of those things and they
said to me you know one thing you've got
to remember it may not hurt
you but it might hurt somebody
else and I said oh but that's a kind of
a narrow way to live I mean do I have to
determine my life by what it will do to
some unsaved person they said yes
because the winning of a lost soul to
Christ means much more than the pleasure
of our own lives that's true I'm glad I
learned that early I haven't always
practiced it God knows but I'm glad I
learned it early we should live a
beautiful life not only for our sake but
for the sake of the
lost now sometimes the Lost honestly
accuse the Christians
I remember Abraham went down to Egypt
and he lied and he got spanked for it
and Pharaoh said what kind of a person are
are
you same thing happened to
Isaac same thing happened to
Jacob David after David had sinned the
prophet said to him because of your sin
you have made God's name to stink among the
Heathen more harm is done by a good
person doing
bad than by a bad person doing bad and
you and I have got to be very careful
because unsafe people are listening to
us and watching us they know if we pay our
bills they know whether or not we take
care of our
property they know what kind of work we
do in the office they know and they use
it as an excuse not to trust the
Lord think of how embarrassed we would
be standing before the Judgment seat of
Christ discover that instead of being
Witnesses we've been excuses for unsaved
people live a beautiful life for the
sake of the unsaved but the great reason
and here we wrap it up verses 13- 25 for
the Lord's sake submit yourselves to
every ordinance of man for the Lord's
sake now Peter says that these
ordinances are ordinances of man Paul in
Romans 13 says their ordinances of God
and both are true he's talking here
about about serving the lord why should
we do what we do to serve the
Lord and yet there are Christians who
law I confess to you that uh all of us
have been tempted at one time or another
to sneak around the law he says you
don't do it in verses 13 through 17 he
talks about the will of God now what's
the will of God that I submit myself
to every ordinance you say but Pastor
suppose the ordinance is contrary to the
Bible Well Peter answers that back in
the book of Acts he says we ought to
obey God rather than
man the city of Chicago passed an
ordinance against my preaching the word
of God I'd preach the word of God
because they have no right to pass that
kind of an ordinance he's talking here
about the will of God submit yourselves
to every ordinance of man for the Lord's
sake whether it be to the King now we
don't have Kings today we have a
president Governors we have those people
who are sent to punish evildoers for the
praise of them that do well sometimes
you think that's backwards don't you
sometimes in the city of Chicago you
wonder if they aren't praising those who
are evildoers and criticizing those who
do well but they're supposed to do it
the other way around why for this is the
will of God what's the will of God with
well doing you may muzzle the ignorance
of foolish men men somebody came to
Socrates one day and said did you hear
what so and so is saying about you yes
what are you going to do I am so going
to live that nobody will believe
it that's what Peter is saying friend of
mine if you start running around putting
out every fire that somebody starts you
better get a lot of fire
extinguishers and you better find
somebody to subsidize you while you're doing
doing
it Peter says it's the will of God that
you live a Godly life and that's
silences the mouth of the accusers by
the way there are some people who if
they were praising me I would be afraid
I'm glad they're accusing me then he
talks in verses 16- 20 about the
approval of God 18- 20 about the
approval of God servants be subject to
your masters with all fear there were 60 million
million
slaves in the Roman Empire
and these were educated people they were
prisoners of War who were captured in
other countries they could take
shorthand they could read four or five
languages they were brilliant people
many of them and here they were slaves
in some
household and they got to be saved they
were Christians and Peter writes to
these slaves he says look I know you're
slaves he says don't Rebel don't make a
down you household slave aves you be
subject to your own masters with all
fear not only to the good and gentle but
also to those who are hard to get along
with now maybe you're not a slave you
may feel like one you say there's
somebody in my office who's so hard to
get along with somebody in my apartment
it's just impossible to live with maybe
somebody in your family who's impossible
to live with he says you be subject now
why verse 19 this is thank worthy you
know what that word is in the original
language Grace
he the same thing down in verse 20 this
is acceptable it's a word Grace let's
read it that way for this is
Grace if a man for conscience toward God
endure grief suffering
wrongfully doesn't take any Grace to suffer
suffer
rightfully if I open my big mouth and I
say the wrong thing and I get into
trouble I can't say oh Lord I'm
suffering for your sake I'm suffering
because of my
stupidity some Christians has never
learned the difference between the
offense of the Cross and being an offensive
Christian what glory is it if when
you're buffeted for your faults you
shall take it patiently anybody can do
that but if when you do well and suffer
for it you take it patiently this is
great you see what he's saying is not
only is it the will of God for us to
live a beautiful life for the Lord's
sake but it is the approval of God God
say I'm going to give you
Grace we sang oh to Grace how great a
deor verses 21- 25 he brings it to the
Pinnacle he's been saying to me in verse
11 I should live a beautiful life for my
sake I'm the object of God's love I'm a
pilgrim and a Sojourner I'm a Warrior
fighting against the Flesh in verse 12 I
should live a beautiful life for the
sake of the unsaved they're watching and
listening and God will visit them
someday and our good works will help to
win them and then in 13- 25 he's saying
we should live a beautiful life for the
Lord's sake it's the will of God it's
the grace of God and 21- 25 it's the
example of God our lord Jesus gives us
the example of how to suffer
reproach when we're doing what's
right it always amazes me when a
Christian comes and says pastor I've got
a problem what's your problem Oh I work
in this office I work harder than
anybody else I keep better papers I am
more accurate I'm trying to serve God in
trouble and my reply sometimes is and
what did you
expect I had a friend who got fired
because he worked too
hard he was working here in the city of Chicago
Chicago
he was a ministerial student and he was
going through college and he was working
in this warehouse and he the boss came
to him one day the foreman came and said
look you're you're showing up the rest
of the
guys now we start our work and then when
nobody's watching we kind of sneak off
he said I can't do that I'm a Christian
he was
fired I don't think he suffered for
it what do we do what he tells us what
we do even here unto were you called
called to what called to suffer
later on Peter is going to say don't
think it's strange when God allows the
furnace to get turned on that's not
strange expect it there's a brand of
theology going around today that says if
you live a Godly life you'll never have any
any
problems my Bible says yay and all that
will live Godly in Christ Jesus are
going to suffer
persecution he tells us here that this
is the way you were saved you were saved
and I was saved because of a person who
was willing to suffer un justly look at
it because Christ also suffered for us
leaving us an example that you should
follow his steps you School teachers
ought to learn what that word example is
it was an educational term back in
Peter's day it's the word for a copy
book back in Peter's Day when the kids
went to school they were taught how to
write and they copied it from the top of
their book I've seen over here in the
Historical Society over here in the
historic IAL Society I have seen the old
copy books they used to have there would
be an alphabet across the top and you'd
write it in there that's what this word
is I had an awful time learning how to
write I began to print in seventh grade
and I haven't written since my printing
is not much better than my writing but
at least I can read it but we had to
learn how to write by copying and they
gave us a whole long list of A's and so
we copied that's what Jesus
did Jesus said now when you read Matthew
Mark Luke and John you're seeing what
you ought to copy notice how I dealt
with my enemies notice how I dealt with
people who opposed me and do what I did
he left us a copy book that we should
follow his steps who did no sin neither
was gu found in his mouth we're told
here who the person of our Salvation is
the Lord Jesus
Christ a sinless person a suffering
person he's the only one who could save
us now now suppose he had not suffered
unjustly he couldn't save us Peter seems
to be saying here don't follow the
example of the world follow the example
of Jesus Christ he is the person of our
Salvation he tells us in verse 23 how he
did this who when he was reviled reviled not
not
again when he suffered he threatened not
now you and I don't threaten outwardly
we don't say boy I'll get you maybe we
do but deep inside sometimes we say I'll
pay you
back in fact there are some people who
will spend the rest of their adult lives
paying back their
parents mother or dad or somebody did
something they shouldn't do and so they
spend the rest of their adult lives
paying them back never hurt their
parents they only hurt themselves Jesus
did not
revile when he suffered he threatened
not but committed himself to him that
judgeth righteously I didn't realize
until the other day that that word
committed means he kept committing
himself not just once we have the idea
that in the garden our Lord once and for
all said Lord here I am he did but at
every step of the way he kept committing
himself to God when they slapped him in
the face he committed himself to God
when they pulled out his beard he
committed himself to God when they
mocked him with a robe and with a
scepter of of a reed he committed
himself to God
how was he able to pray father forgive
them he committed himself to God you see
you and I think that because we walked
an aisle or did something it's once and
for all settled oh no while they're
lying about us we commit ourselves to
God while they are abusing and accusing
us we're committing ourselves to God the
person of our
Salvation Jesus Christ the price of our
Salvation verse 24 who his own self bore our
our
sins in his own
body you know if nothing else should
Inspire us to live a Godly life it's
right there he was willing to take my
sins in his own body on the cross where
on the tree that's the place of our
Salvation not the Jordan River your
baptism didn't save you not Mount sini
the law didn't save you the
tree what's the purpose of our Salvation
that we being dead to sin should live
under righteousness that's what he's
been talking about well-doing living a
beautiful life doing well doing
patiently what God calls us to do by
whose Stripes you were
healed Peter seems to suggest here that
people before they're saved are
sick spiritually sick morally sick and
because of Christ's death on the cross
they were
healed for ye were a sheep going astray but
but
now now you got to take your concordance
someday and Trace the but Nows in the
Bible very interesting he's saying in
times past here's the way you lived but
now you have returned unto the shepherd
and the overseer of your souls now if he
is your Shepherd follow him if he is your
your
overseer obey
him so the big question is not what am I
doing the big question is why am I doing
in are you in the job that you're in for
your sake for the sake of the lost and
for the Lord's sake why are you living
where you're living or moving where
you're moving is it for your sake will
it help you spiritually is it for the
sake of the Lost is it for the Lord's
sake the question is not what am I doing
it's why am I doing it and most of us can
can
rationalize we have excuses and we have
arguments and we can slice them very
thin and God still looks at our hearts
and he says all right do you want my
approval or don't you will you submit or
won't you now if you'll
submit I'll be your Shepherd and I'll
guide you I'll be your overseer and I'll
take care of you if you won't submit you
got to take the consequences so to put
into one simple sentence all he's been
saying in these 14 verses is this
surrender or else that's what it boils
down to for my
sake for the Lost World's sake for the
Lord's sake surrender
surrender
submit to the
shepherd and to the bishop of our
souls gracious
father I pray that some word from your
word tonight will start us thinking
perhaps even arouse
resentment that will face something in
our lives that needs to be dealt with
Lord we like to talk about surrender and
sing about surrender but when it comes
to that place where life touches our
motives sometimes we
resist and so father we do want to be
submissive we want to be submissive to
you as the
Lord we want to be used in your will oh
Father We Fear more than anything else
living a life outside of your will just
to please ourselves and so guide us and
help us to take whatever steps are
necessary to be
submissive to your will for in
submission we find
fulfillment in finding our Master we
find our
freedom our fulfillment oh may it be so
with each of us tonight I pray in jesus'
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