HYMN
All Glory Be to Christ (#133)
We began our time together by reading through 1 Peter fro the beginning as a refresher of what we went through before. A comprehensive list of truth propositions from chapters 1+2 is available below.
OBSERVATIONS
1 Peter 1:1-2
Believers are alien. Our stay in this world is short. This is not our home.
Believers are chosen (elect of God).
The Spirit sanctifies us.
Believers are chosen to obey the Lord and receive His forgiveness.
1 Peter 1:3-5
God initiates our salvation. God regenerates us.
Believers are born again.
We have a living hope.
Heaven is far better. The good life is in the future.
God powerfully preserves us.
God had mercy on us in salvation - He was not obliged to save us.
Jesus Christ has been resurrected. He alone is our hope.
Jesus is the Son of God.
1 Peter 1:6-9
Trials don’t ruin us. We ought to rejoice when we endure trials, anticipating our future inheritance in heaven.
Faith is precious to God. Genuine faith outweighs money.
Our faith endures trials.
We love and believe in the unseen Christ. Although we don’t see God, we see Him through His work. But, we will one day see Christ.
We are saved by faith.
Our joy is a great & extraordinary joy; it is not mild or tepid. It is not circumstantial, but is deeply rooted.1
1 Peter 1:10-25
The coming of Christ is not haphazard.
Believers are to have a ready mind
We obey the Lord as obedient children.
Christians rightly identify former lusts. Worldly lusts belong to the former life.
We imitate God and strive to be holy.
God’s judgment is impartial. His righteous character is never compromised.
We were redeemed from the futile way of life from our forefathers.
Our ransom was expensive (which is an understatement!).
Christ’s ransom was planned eternally.
We believe in God through Christ.
God is the one who resurrects and glorifies Christ.
Faith and hope go hand in hand.
Conversion means obedience.
Purification is internal, in our souls.
Regeneration comes from exposure to the spoken Word of God.
For the sake of time, we quickly read up through 1 Peter 2:15 , and then continued through our study.
STUDY & DISCUSSION (PDF diagram available below)
1 Peter 2:15-17
The expectation is that Christ’s followers will be slandered by the world. But believers demonstrate their faithfulness to God through good works (submission to governing authorities is a part of that).
Scriptural references to insubordination to governing authorities:
Ezra 4:15 - a charge against God’s people
Acts 17 - accusation of Jews against Christians for stirring things up in their proclamation of Jesus as King.
Also in 1 Peter - 1 Pet. 2:12; 3:16-17
What are some examples of accusations that the world levies against Christians today?
Intolerant & haters
Harmers of children
Sexist
Brainwashed & brainwashing others
Judgmental & self-righteous
The Christian’s case & defense against such accusations are good works. We see this interplay between persecution/slander against Christians (Matt. 5:11) and our good works (Matt. 5:16) in the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount: “let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
The good works won’t just happen by themselves. We must be prepared for action! How can we do this? We must prepare our minds for action with truth (“girding up", 1 Pet. 1:13), humble ourselves in prayer, and edify one another in truth & fellowship.
Christian freedom is for good works.
Scripture repeatedly tells us that we are free, i.e., from the law & sin. The purpose of that freedom is so that we can honor God and bear the fruit of good works.
Galatians 5:1,13
Romans 6:17-23
John 8:31-32
Verse 17 elaborates on these good works: “honor all, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king”.
The first imperative literally “honor all” (not “honor all people”) is inclusive of God. The subsequent three imperatives specify how we are to honor all.
Love the brotherhood (which is the church, translated as “brethren” in 5:9). We are called to love one another as fellow brethren. This love isn’t just for us to know and experience; this is meant to be our testimony to the world.
1 John 4:11-12
John 13:34-35
John 17:20-21
Fear God. This fear is not mere respect or awe, but actual fear of who God is as the impartial judge of all men (1 Pet. 1:17), and thus a fear of God for who He is. There will be a day of reckoning and judgment, and we will all be at God’s mercy. The fact that God is the unchanging and impartial judge who judges all according to their deeds should put a humble and trembling fear in our hearts. Other passages we considered with regard to the fear of God were:
Proverbs 1:7; 3:7 (turn away from evil)
Ecclesiastes 12:13 (has to do with accountability before God)
Philippians 2:12 (accompanied by trembling)
Matthew 10:28 (contrasted from fear of men)
Honor the king (the supreme human authority on earth). Christians are to not only submit to human authority but to honor the person of authority. The erratic and mentally deranged Nero would’ve been the emperor at this time and yet Peter calls believers to honor him. We ought never give excuses as to why we can slander or defame the supreme leader of this country. We can positively show honor by:
Praying for our leaders, and
Condemning slander, but instead commending them for good/righteous deeds.