Redeemed Living.

Steve Gentry

[0:09] We’ll go ahead and have a seat. Welcome to Village Church. [0:11] This is your first time here. [0:13] My name’s Steve, one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:15] And as always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:19] If you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to First Peter, Chapter one. [0:22] We’re going to be starting in verse 13 this morning.

[0:26] Thus far in the book of First Peter, as we make our way through it, [0:30] we’ve met the author and the recipients and we’ve understood the context. [0:34] Peter wrote this letter to Christians [0:37] enduring persecution because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. [0:41] He doesn’t tell them to react to persecution by laying low, rather. [0:46] He focuses on the sovereign power of God in salvation

[0:50] and the future blessings that await them as they endure in their faith. [0:56] With the power of knowing the word of God [0:58] as fulfilled by the death and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ. [1:03] Peter is focused on how they know and understand [1:07] both God’s work in the gospel of Jesus, but also how that perspective [1:12] will aid them through difficult days that do lie ahead for them

[1:17] and certainly lie ahead for you. [1:19] Verse 13, though, begins to make a shift to answer a question. [1:24] It’s an age old question. [1:26] How then should we live in light of these truths? [1:30] The foundational knowledge that builds faith has been the focus thus far. [1:35] And now Peter shifts to apply that knowledge to the type of life

[1:39] that this should cultivate for them to live if they hope to grow in faith [1:45] and if they hope to endure through suffering without compromise. [1:50] You know, Christianity is a confessional faith. [1:53] What that means is that it is rooted in our belief. [1:57] It is a belief system as to what is true and what is false. [2:02] Since God has spoken and we believe his word,

[2:07] then we must live in light of that word. [2:10] The question has to become, how should we live in light of his word? [2:16] The confession of faith does not cultivate a static life [2:20] of just a simple agreement to a list of facts. [2:24] Instead, it becomes a dynamic movement of living in light of the faith [2:29] that we claim to have, that we claim to believe about this objective

[2:34] reality that God has created and yes, that God reigns over. [2:39] In other words, you are redeemed to live for a purpose. [2:43] Your faith in Jesus Christ is meant to foster a lifestyle [2:48] empowered by God’s spirit in which you pursue holiness every single day. [2:53] That’s what growing in faith looks like. [2:56] As you follow Jesus, you will become more like him.

[2:59] And as you become more like him, you will be set further [3:03] and further apart for the purposes of God in your life. [3:06] That’s what discipleship is all about. [3:09] That pursuit builds faith that is indestructible in the face of adversaries. [3:15] The sovereignty of God, then, works out in real time. [3:18] As we trust God with our lives that he’s going to accomplish in his will

[3:26] through the obedience of our command, excuse me, to his commands [3:29] every single day of our lives. [3:32] That is the Christian life. [3:33] And if we are not obedient to his commands, then we are not living [3:36] the Christian life. [3:38] So I want to start reading in verse 13.

[3:41] Therefore, preparing your minds for action, [3:44] being sober minded, set your hope fully on the grace [3:50] that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. [3:54] As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions [3:59] of your former ignorance. [4:01] But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.

[4:07] Since it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy. [4:11] And if you call on him as father who judges impartially [4:16] according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear [4:21] throughout the time of your exile. [4:24] Number one, this morning, I want you to understand that hope cultivates [4:28] obedience, hope cultivates obedience.

[4:33] You know, your actions reveal your beliefs. [4:37] And so if you do not have any action behind a claimed belief, [4:41] what’s the outcome? [4:43] Well, you don’t really believe what you claim to believe. [4:46] The word, therefore, is typically a conjunction that means [4:50] since this is true, here is the application.

[4:52] And of course, in this context, that is exactly what the apostle Peter is doing. [4:57] Peter is saying that since everything that I have written [5:00] in the previous 12 verses, make sure you are thinking straight [5:06] so that you can put it into action. [5:08] And the term here for action is not a general idea for action, rather. [5:14] It’s a military term that speaks to a decisive type of activity

[5:20] expected of those who would be faithful to the gospel call. [5:25] And so what does he say first? [5:26] Well, the first thing that he says is ensure you are thinking straight. [5:30] Why does he say that? [5:32] Because everything that he has said so far in the letter of first Peter [5:36] is meant for them to understand what they are enduring,

[5:39] why they are enduring it, what’s the source of all of this [5:43] and how they can endure through it. [5:45] All of it has been of the mind. [5:47] All of it has been this is how you should think about this. [5:51] And you must be thinking about this through the filter [5:55] of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[5:58] Peter had an expectation that these people had minds [6:02] saturated with the gospel above absolutely everything else. [6:07] And as we noted two weeks ago, the reader must set his life in line [6:12] with what he believes is going to be his future reward. [6:18] The gospel makes promises that there is future reward for faithfulness to God [6:23] in light of what he’s promised in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

[6:27] And we order our lives as though that is true. [6:30] Well, that remind that requires having a specific mindset. [6:35] Too many, though, believe that actions [6:39] are inconsequential to the gospel of Jesus Christ. [6:44] This is the idea that as long as I believe the right things, [6:49] my actions don’t matter that much.

[6:52] That is what cheap grace is. [6:54] That cheapens the work of Jesus Christ, that cheapens the Christian life, [6:59] that cheapens everything that scripture claims to be true for our lives. [7:06] Scripture is filled with the admonition [7:10] that since the gospel is true, your actions have great consequences. [7:16] It’s the thought that conduct has no impact in your faith

[7:21] that leads so many astray. [7:23] And Peter seeks to destroy that idea in these few verses. [7:27] If you believe the right things, friends, your actions will follow those beliefs. [7:33] If your actions do not follow those beliefs, [7:38] then you’re lying about what you actually believe. [7:41] You will, for better or worse,

[7:45] build your life around what you actually believe. [7:49] And the fruit of your actions, the fruit of your investments, [7:54] the fruit of what you actually do day in and day out [7:59] will ultimately bear the truth of what you believe [8:04] the world is all about, what you believe your life is all about, [8:08] and what you and who you believe God actually is.

[8:13] Just because someone claims Jesus is God, first of all, [8:16] you got to make sure they’re talking about the right Jesus.

[8:20] But then, second of all, you cannot assume [8:24] that simply because someone says, I believe Jesus is Lord, [8:30] that they mean it at all. [8:32] Your life is going to back that up. [8:35] So often I hear claims of faith, I hear claims of conversion, [8:40] I hear claims of transformation from people that no one has ever heard of

[8:44] to the highest rungs of fame and power. [8:47] And my response is always the same. Give it a minute.

[8:54] I’ve seen people celebrate conversions that six months to a year later [8:59] are totally denied by that person. [9:02] I’ve seen people claim faith in Jesus Christ, [9:06] and then everybody says, absolutely, and then come to find out [9:10] it’s not actually the Jesus of the Bible that they claim belief in. [9:13] It’s some made up, cult Jesus that we would reject wholesale.

[9:19] Your faith, the greatest evidence of your faith [9:23] is the day in and day out endurance in the faith.

[9:29] Is does what you live for actually line up [9:34] with what you claim to believe? [9:37] The connection between hope and action, [9:40] as I said, is clear throughout all of scripture. [9:43] One of the most inspirational texts I’ve heard it quoted [9:46] thousands, if not tens of thousands of times in my life is Isaiah 40, 31.

[9:53] Text reads from the prophet. [9:55] But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. [10:00] They shall mount up with wings like eagles. [10:02] They shall run and not be weary. [10:04] They shall walk in not feign. [10:05] This may even be, you know, one of those life verses for you.

[10:08] This may be an anchor verse of the faith. [10:11] But have you thought through [10:14] the fact that this text is about hopeful endurance? [10:18] It’s not just about some pie in the sky hope that doesn’t impact your life at all. [10:24] Note that Isaiah qualifies the hope [10:28] with the consequences of what waiting for the Lord will actually look like.

[10:33] He says it is strength that moves you forward. [10:36] It’s not static hope that leaves you where you are. [10:40] Instead, the word pictures mount up with wings. [10:43] Running with strength, walking without exhaustion. [10:47] These metaphors directly connect hope with followed actions [10:53] that prove the hope actions that move forward

[10:58] towards the purpose that God has for your life. [11:03] The conduct of your life is going to determine the destination of your life. [11:10] I can tell you, if you drive I-95, [11:15] you will not go east, nor will you go west. [11:18] You will go north or you will go south. [11:22] Those are the only options on that road.

[11:27] Where you are headed determines where you go. [11:32] So it is with the Christian life. [11:35] Peter then tells them that the consequence [11:38] of activity in their life is going to have future ramifications. [11:43] If you’ll remember back between verses three and five, [11:46] Peter already established that region that the regeneration

[11:49] every Christian experiences makes us alive to a future [11:54] hope that God himself has secured in eternity. [11:59] Now, what Peter does is he’s connecting lifestyle to that hope. [12:03] He wants us to understand that faith bears fruits of obedience. [12:10] Verse 15 is both popular as well as challenging. [12:15] He’s reminding Christians that the Leviticus calling to holiness

[12:21] was not nullified in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. [12:25] Instead, it’s the condemnation for disobedience [12:30] that has been removed. [12:32] But more so the ability to strive forward [12:35] towards holiness is given because of the Holy Spirit [12:40] that indwells every single follower of Jesus Christ.

[12:43] And so I live my life without any fear of condemnation. [12:46] And what that does is it propels me forward to the fact [12:50] that I can pursue holiness without fearing failure.

[12:56] Success is my only option. [12:58] If I had in that direction, [13:00] there’s no fear of condemnation in my life. [13:02] There is only hopefulness through forgiveness [13:07] to move forward in obedience. [13:10] That’s something that the unbelieving mind cannot comprehend.

[13:15] The unbelieving, the antinomian mind cannot comprehend [13:18] that total forgiveness, total removal of condemnation [13:24] removes fear of failure in pursuing holiness [13:27] rather than license to unholiness. [13:31] As if you ever hear someone say, I’m forgiven in Christ. [13:34] I can be as immoral as I want to.

[13:37] One thing’s for certain, that’s not a Christian. [13:41] One thing that I can tell you, they are not bearing the fruit [13:44] that scripture says Christianity bears. [13:47] If you use the holiness, the righteousness, [13:51] the power of Jesus Christ as an excuse for sin, [13:55] then you do not know Jesus Christ

[13:59] because the Holy Spirit speaks through Peter. [14:01] And he says, pursue holiness. [14:05] Have you not read, be holy as I am holy? [14:10] Peter reminds us of the words of the law of God in Leviticus. [14:16] The warning is that if you do not move in that direction, [14:21] then what does he say?

[14:23] He says, the father brings judgment. [14:26] The father brings judgment. [14:29] It’s a fascinating thing that in verse 17, [14:33] is if you call on him as father who judges him partially [14:37] according to each one’s deeds. [14:41] And note this, conduct yourselves with fear

[14:44] throughout your time of exile. [14:45] And I love the juxtaposition that Peter makes here. [14:49] See, he talks about their time of exile, [14:51] but that’s not what he says to fear. [14:53] They’re enduring persecution in exile, but he says, [14:56] he doesn’t say fear your persecutors.

[14:57] He doesn’t say fear suffering. [14:59] He doesn’t say fear the adversaries that are come [15:01] going to come against you. [15:02] Who does he say to fear? [15:04] He says, fear the father.

[15:07] It’s like the words of Jesus in the Book of Luke, [15:10] where he says, don’t fear those who can kill your soul [15:13] and then are powerless against you. [15:15] I’ll tell you who to fear. [15:16] Fear him who after killing your body [15:18] can condemn your entire soul for eternity.

[15:21] Speaking of God. [15:23] But we struggle to want to understand the fear of God. [15:28] We want him to be Uncle Fluffy. [15:32] We want him to be that cool uncle that comes [15:34] and he’s got nothing but jokes and he’s nothing but a good time. [15:38] He’s a real nice guy.

[15:40] That’s not understanding who you are in light of who God is. [15:45] God is holy. [15:46] God is righteous. [15:47] God is the judge. [15:49] And he is coming to judge the wicked for all eternity. [15:54] But redemption is available in Jesus Christ and redemption

[15:57] changes your life and redemption regenerates you and redemption [16:01] puts you on a path by which you have both the responsibility [16:06] and the power to be obedient to the commands of God. [16:12] But how does it work that we live in light of that? [16:18] I think Hebrews one, one through two notes what the calling of faith [16:22] actually is.

[16:24] He says, now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, [16:27] the conviction of things not seen. [16:29] And we often stop there. [16:31] And then we have a definition of faith that we neither understand [16:35] nor can put into practice. [16:37] But in verse two, he says, for by it or by faith,

[16:43] the people of old received their commendation. [16:47] And what follows after verse two is what’s called Faith’s Hall of Fame. [16:52] It’s a recounting of Old Testament saints [16:55] and what faith produced in their lives. [17:01] There is hope in faith [17:03] that brings a conviction of things that you have not seen yet.

[17:09] But the focus of the chapter of Hebrews, chapter 11, [17:13] is that conviction of that is most clearly seen [17:18] through the impact that it has in your life. [17:21] So if you lack conviction of things not seen, [17:26] it means that the claim of hope is counterfeit [17:30] because it didn’t impact your life.

[17:32] And how do we know that? [17:34] Because of everything that he says after that verse in Hebrews, chapter 11, [17:38] he talks about the people of old receiving commendation [17:43] because of the conviction that was obvious through their obedience [17:47] to the call of God in their lives. [17:49] And what is commendation?

[17:51] Commendation is God looking and saying, I am pleased. [17:55] And what is God pleased by? [17:57] Faith that bears fruit. [17:58] And that’s what every Old Testament Saint [18:02] kind of teaches us. [18:03] If your faith is not applied to your life,

[18:06] it’s very simple conclusion. [18:08] You don’t actually have faith. [18:10] God gives us hope, and it’s seen in our conduct. [18:13] It is the opposite of the faithless as revealed in Jude 18. [18:18] And so put a great juxtaposition again between Hebrews 11 [18:22] and what we see here in Jude 18 and Jude 18, the half brother of Jesus writes.

[18:26] And he says, they said to you, and the last time there will be scoffers [18:31] following their own ungodly passions. [18:35] And so here you have the fruit of unbelief. [18:40] The fruit of belief. [18:42] I obey the commands of God, the fruit of unbelief. [18:46] I follow my own ungodly passions.

[18:50] This is the faithless scoff at the hope of the faithful [18:55] and the fruit of their faithlessness [18:57] is seen in the fact that they build their lives on sin. [19:02] The faithless are disobedient because they have no hope of future reward. [19:08] As the faithless will look to you and they will say, is it worth it? [19:13] Is it worth the sacrifices that you make?

[19:17] Is it worth going [19:19] the opposite direction of the culture around you is going? [19:22] Is it worth being vilified? [19:24] Is it worth the persecution? [19:26] Is it worth sacrificing so much [19:29] that everyone in the material world says great gain is defined by?

[19:35] And their conclusion, of course, it’s not worth it. [19:38] You fool. Why? [19:42] Because they have no hope of future reward. [19:44] They can’t imagine that God is in heaven securing my reward, [19:49] that the spirit is empowering me to be in the right direction, [19:53] to posture myself towards the calling of God, to obey in real time

[19:58] the commands of God, because the Lord has great reward for me secured [20:04] in heaven, according to Peter. [20:06] And the faithless look at me and they say, you fool, because they have no faith. [20:10] They have no hope. [20:13] Verse 17 is vital. [20:15] It warns that our conduct matters

[20:20] because faith bears the fruit of obedience. [20:25] But he’s not done there. Look at verse 18.

[20:28] He says, knowing that you were ransomed from the feudal ways [20:32] inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things [20:36] such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, [20:40] like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. [20:43] He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, [20:47] but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you

[20:51] who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead [20:56] and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God. [21:03] Number two, this morning, once you understand God has a purpose [21:05] for your redemption. [21:07] God has a purpose for your redemption that is not just an eternity. [21:13] It is now it is present.

[21:16] It plays out in real time. [21:20] And the way that that works out is the text is saying [21:23] you were purchased to live for Christ. [21:28] That’s what ransom is all about. [21:31] It’s talking about the activity of your belief in verse 18. [21:35] It is the knowledge that’s where he starts again.

[21:38] Notice saying the mind and what you believe is so vital [21:42] because without your beliefs, none of this is going to happen. [21:45] The knowledge of the gospel that leads to faith in Jesus [21:49] is how you can both know God as well as your purpose in life. [21:54] Thinking properly is important. [21:58] Some of you need to change the way you think.

[22:01] And it’s bearing fruit in your life. [22:03] It’s why you’re a mess. [22:05] So you can’t be happy. [22:08] I modern era is so funny. [22:11] We know so much. We have so many pills. [22:14] Yet we refuse to be happy about anything.

[22:18] And we look on someone who is happy. [22:20] There’s suspicion.

[22:22] I don’t know what you’re so happy about.

[22:26] That’s the unbelieving mind. [22:28] If you refuse to be happy. [22:31] Well, the Holy Spirit’s not cultivating that in your life. [22:35] The Holy Spirit cultivates joy. [22:36] The Holy Spirit cultivates peace. [22:38] The Holy Spirit cultivates a steady mind, friend.

[22:42] Is greater than any pill you can get prescribed. [22:45] It’s more powerful than anything in this world. [22:48] And Peter connects it again. [22:50] He says the way that you think, the knowledge that you have [22:55] of the gospel of Jesus Christ will change the way that you live. [23:02] He says you have to reject lies.

[23:05] You have to believe the truth. [23:06] And you have to apply that truth to the way that you live. [23:10] All that he’s doing between verses 18 and verse 21 [23:14] is expounding on everything that he said in the first 12 verses [23:20] so that the gospel can have an impact in your everyday life, [23:27] because obedience emerges from repentance.

[23:31] And that is the turning from a life of sin [23:35] and embracing the calling of God on your life in scripture. [23:39] That’s why he starts talking about the ransom that Christ paid. [23:43] And that’s why he talks about the fact that this eternal plan of God, [23:46] as we said in verse 20, this eternal plan of God was manifested [23:50] in real time through the actual physical activity of Jesus Christ.

[23:57] And that is what is going to turn you from a life of sin [24:01] to embracing the call of God on your life in scripture. [24:06] The term that he uses for ransom is translated as redeemed [24:10] in other translations of scripture. [24:12] We’re using the ESV because they are synonyms. [24:15] It’s part of the definition.

[24:16] The literal word for redeem is used here. [24:21] But the reason they translated as ransom is because it is not just talking [24:25] about redemption proper as a noun. [24:27] He’s actually trying to talk about the activity. [24:30] It’s a verbal form of what Jesus actually did. [24:34] And so the verb tense is how he redeemed you.

[24:39] He wants you to understand that he paid a price. [24:42] He paid a penalty or in common vernacular, [24:46] he paid a ransom for you. [24:50] And so it’s specifically referring to Jesus’s activity [24:54] of making the payment demanded to return you [24:59] from one form of slavery so that you could live another form of slavery.

[25:04] He’s talking about you going as a as a propitiate from [25:10] slave to sin to slave to Christ. [25:14] He wants you to understand [25:15] that your servanthood is no longer for sin. [25:18] Your servanthood is now for Jesus Christ. [25:22] And his point to begin with is that your sin

[25:26] was not a static reality in your life. [25:30] You were not just condemned still. [25:35] Your condemnation did not work out in your life where you didn’t do anything. [25:40] It wasn’t a zero sum game. [25:42] He’s saying your condemnation worked out in real time that you did bad things. [25:47] Your condemnation worked out.

[25:49] Well, it may not have reached the level of some people’s immorality. [25:53] Is it still your condemnation worked out in real time [25:57] to where you disobeyed the commands of God somehow [26:00] and that disobedience had consequences for your life. [26:03] You were dynamically sinful. [26:07] I know some of you, your hubris cannot accept that.

[26:11] But the fact is, you were disobedient to God. [26:14] You deserve hell. [26:16] You deserve the judgment of God, as he said already said. [26:21] God judges impartially according to each person’s conduct. [26:25] And you might be thinking, well, that’s a good thing, [26:27] because I’m not as bad as Freddie.

[26:30] I don’t know who Freddie is. [26:31] I hope your name’s not Freddie.

[26:37] We say I’m not as bad as that guy. [26:39] That’s why the word impartial is very important. [26:41] He’s not comparing you to Freddie.

[26:45] Who’s the one that said, be holy as I am holy? [26:47] Well, God said that. [26:48] You know what God said, be holy as I am holy? [26:50] Here’s the real bad news, because he’s comparing you to himself.

[26:55] And when God compares any one of us to himself, [26:58] we’re not going to come out shining. [27:01] Nobody’s going to say, well, you’re pretty impressive [27:05] compared to God. [27:06] You are not impressive [27:09] compared to God.

[27:10] You’re pretty filthy. [27:13] But he says the good news is [27:15] the same impact that condemnation had dynamically in your life. [27:21] Good news. [27:23] That’s the impact that the gospel of Jesus Christ has through faith. [27:27] It is not a static reality.

[27:29] It is a dynamic reality of righteousness, [27:33] obedience, where you pursue the holiness of God in your life [27:38] with no fear of failure. [27:41] Why? Because Jesus ransomed you. [27:44] Jesus paid the price necessary [27:48] to free you from continual sinfulness.

[27:53] And now he said, reject [27:57] the futility of the former ignorance [28:00] and embrace the knowledge that God has given you. [28:04] We now live for the eternal reward of holiness [28:08] rather than the transient nature of idolatrous sin. [28:14] Since the ransom paid for you was the life blood.

[28:19] That’s why he says the blood, because he’s talking about the very life [28:23] leaving the body of God, the sun, the very life [28:26] blood of God, the sun. [28:28] The only reasonable conclusion.

[28:32] Is that I am not my own. [28:35] I’ve been purchased with a price [28:38] and the purchaser is God, the sun. [28:42] Therefore, who do I belong to? [28:44] Do I belong to myself? [28:46] No, that would be terrible.

[28:48] That would be hellacious. [28:50] I belong to God. [28:52] I am his. [28:54] He bought me. [28:55] He chose me. [28:57] He elected me.

[28:58] He has changed me. [29:00] He has made me his very own. [29:03] And now I wake up every morning [29:06] and I might not feel as good as I used to, [29:09] but I wake up every morning and I can be guaranteed [29:12] that my morning has a purpose.

[29:13] I can be guaranteed that my life matters. [29:16] I can be guaranteed that my obedience is a feudal. [29:19] I can be guaranteed that my life is not arbitrary. [29:22] God does have a plan for me. [29:24] God does have righteousness for me. [29:26] God does have commands for me.

[29:28] And I live to seek and pursue the purpose of God’s mission [29:33] through Jesus Christ every single day of my life. [29:39] Because I was ransomed by the very creator of all that is. [29:45] You see, friends, the application of this [29:50] is all over scripture. [29:52] Titus, 214, Paul writes to Pastor Titus,

[29:56] and he says, Christ has purified you at great cost to himself. [30:01] He says, he, Jesus, who gave himself for us [30:04] to redeem us from what lawlessness. [30:08] Why? To purify for himself [30:12] a people for his own possession. [30:15] I belong to Christ.

[30:17] And what does he want me to do? [30:19] He wants me to be zealous for good works. [30:24] His zealous means I have passion for it. [30:27] I have a passion for pursuing the purpose of God. [30:30] And how do I know what those good works are? [30:32] Well, good news, he’s given me a book.

[30:35] You don’t belong to sin. [30:37] You belong to Christ. [30:39] And he gives you purpose and he gives you passion for those good works. [30:43] Therefore, live to obey Jesus. [30:46] There is a temptation [30:48] to treat salvation as static, as I said,

[30:53] an application, since it is static in belief. [30:58] It is static in belief. [30:59] That is also clear through scripture. [31:01] But why? Because the price that Christ paid is a once for all price. [31:07] He doesn’t continue to die on the cross for me. [31:11] He already did that.

[31:12] He already paid the penalty. [31:14] He already was put in the grave. [31:17] He already rose from the dead. [31:19] And so this idea that he has to keep making a sacrifice for me [31:22] as they keep laying his life down for me, as though the cross is still active. [31:26] And this is what the Catholic idea of the Eucharist is.

[31:30] By the way, we’re Baptist, no lent. [31:33] But the real point is, that’s not in my notes. [31:36] I just thought I’d fill you in. [31:38] All ashes on your forehead do is mean you need some soap. [31:41] Now, the key you need to understand is [31:45] Christ is not on a continual death ritual for you.

[31:50] Hebrews says it is a once for all penalty. [31:54] It’s been done. [31:56] The Holy of Holies is open. [31:58] There is no more sacrifice to ever be made for my sin. [32:02] That’s static. [32:03] It’s unchanging.

[32:05] It’s immovable. [32:06] It’s incorruptible. [32:08] Nothing is insecure about the price that Jesus has paid. [32:15] But the consequences of the price [32:19] Christ paid is very dynamic. [32:22] It’s growing. It’s moving.

[32:25] It defines not only who I am, [32:29] but it defines who I am becoming. [32:33] That’s why he says we are zealous for good works. [32:36] It means that the faith I have in the finished work of Jesus [32:41] is a consequence that I will feel every single day [32:44] as I continue to grow in my faith.

[32:47] Yes, friends, I trust that his work is finished. [32:50] And because I trust that I move forward in obedience [32:55] in light of that finished work, because holiness [33:00] grows by pursuit. [33:03] None of this is going to happen by accident. [33:07] The real life of Jesus points to our real lives.

[33:12] Physical resurrection. [33:15] Jesus rising from the dead, walking in front of people again [33:19] points towards not just my future resurrection, [33:24] but my present transformation in this life [33:28] that has real applications. [33:31] There is a temptation to spiritualize faith to a level

[33:34] that you create a sacred secular divide [33:37] that God does not intend for us to have. [33:41] You live a spiritual life on one side. [33:44] That’s what you’re here for. [33:46] But then you have a physical life on the other. [33:49] And the two shall never meet.

[33:52] God is Lord of all friends. [33:54] And because of that, the divide does not exist in the life of faith. [33:59] God does not just want part of me. [34:02] God wants all of me. [34:04] He doesn’t just want my thoughts. [34:05] He wants my life.

[34:07] He doesn’t just want my prayers. [34:08] He wants my activity. [34:10] He doesn’t just want the spiritual side of me. [34:13] He wants the physical side of me as well. [34:16] Therefore, the sacred secular divide must come down in your life. [34:20] You’ve got to stop this idea that you get all the Jesus

[34:23] that you need on Sunday and then on Monday, it’s all about you. [34:27] You’ve got to submit to the Lord, [34:30] invading every single part of your life. [34:34] First Thessalonians four, seven through eight shows this connection. [34:37] This is for God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. [34:43] Therefore, whoever disregards this disregards not man, but God

[34:46] who gives his Holy Spirit to you. [34:49] This is one of those texts that you can pass over and just spiritualize [34:52] very quickly. [34:52] But if you will remember what he’s doing is he’s connecting [34:56] Old Testament thought. [34:59] You see, throughout the law of God in the Old Testament,

[35:02] physical impurity is shown to have spiritual consequences. [35:08] That is a revelation to us that our physical lives belong to God. [35:14] And you certainly can make yourself spiritually impure [35:18] by physical impurity. [35:20] Your actions matter and have real physical consequences. [35:24] God has called us to holiness.

[35:26] And the physical consequences of that calling are real. [35:30] So the practical things of life matter and posture us [35:34] towards either holiness or they posture us towards sinfulness. [35:39] If you treat your earthly pursuits as though God is not involved, [35:45] what he’s saying in First Thessalonians is that you are rejecting God. [35:52] So, friends, does your life line up with God’s commands and callings?

[35:57] Are you pursuing holiness? [36:00] Or do you think that the material world is somehow detached [36:03] from your spirituality? [36:04] Friend, your life must reflect [36:08] that your faith and hope are in God. [36:11] Otherwise, you are pursuing impurity.

[36:15] But he’s not done. Look at verse 22. [36:18] He says, having purified your souls, [36:21] by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, [36:26] love one another earnestly from a pure heart. [36:28] Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed, [36:32] but of imperishable through the living and abiding word of God

[36:36] for all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. [36:41] The grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. [36:46] And this is the good news that was preached to you. [36:50] Number three, this morning, I want you to understand that God’s sovereignty [36:53] impacts your everyday life. [36:56] God’s sovereignty impacts your everyday life.

[37:01] Obedience matters in God’s plan. [37:05] You know, the old retort that, well, if God is sovereign, [37:08] then my actions don’t matter as foolish, it’s unbiblical. [37:14] Verse 22, Peter makes this subtle, [37:17] but fairly obvious inference about Jesus’s work. [37:21] Now, keep in mind that these are people enduring hardship

[37:25] because of the gospel work in their lives. [37:28] And Peter is encouraging them to endure. [37:31] Now he has expounded on the gospel and the action that will flow from their faith. [37:36] Now he goes to ground level.

[37:40] He says, your actions matter. [37:43] And the greatest example that your actions matter [37:47] are your relationships. [37:49] He’s not moving on to a new subject. [37:52] He’s giving an example about how does the sovereignty of God, [37:57] the holiness of God, the gospel of God, how does that impact my everyday?

[38:01] And he says, well, let me ask you a question. [38:03] Do you know any people?

[38:07] But he’s more specific in this. [38:08] He wants to know, do you know any Christians? [38:13] You see, friends, there are always two choices. [38:17] Inside the boundary of relationships [38:21] that have a foundation of the gospel. [38:25] When you have people in your life and you have the church in your life,

[38:30] relationships always emerge from it. [38:32] And you have two people who claim, I’m building my life [38:35] on the foundation of the gospel. [38:38] And Peter’s point is, if that’s true, [38:42] then you will love them like Jesus. [38:44] If that’s true, you will have a brotherly love for other people

[38:49] that the world cannot have for other people. [38:55] This is you can either strengthen one another in faith [39:00] or you can tear each other apart in sin.

[39:06] This is those are your two options.

[39:09] This is the Christian. [39:11] Who’s been ransomed? [39:13] The Christian who’s been purchased, [39:17] the Christian who belongs to God. [39:21] Well, I have a fruitful faith. [39:23] And then he gets down in the nitty gritty.

[39:26] That’s offensive. [39:28] And he says, if you’re a Christian, [39:30] there will be fruit of you building other Christians up in their faith.

[39:37] I’ve been in church for. [39:39] Well, how old am I today? [39:41] That’s how long I’ve been in church. [39:42] I’ve been in church my whole life. [39:44] There’s never been a day in my life [39:45] when I haven’t known the name of Jesus Christ.

[39:47] There’s never been a day in my life [39:48] where I’ve walked away from the Church of Jesus Christ. [39:51] That’s a blessing to me. [39:53] But I can tell you, [39:55] there are a whole lot of people in the church that wake up every day [39:59] asking themselves, who can I make feel bad today?

[40:04] And you say, I’ve never done that. [40:05] Well, the proof’s in the pudding, honey.

[40:08] Are you tearing each other apart? [40:11] Are you building each other up? [40:14] Do you exist to make yourself feel good [40:19] by making someone else feel bad? [40:22] Or do you exist to build other people up [40:26] and give God all the glory for it?

[40:29] And Peter makes and this is insane, according to the way we measure things, [40:34] because you receive this and you say, Peter, I don’t think you know [40:37] what I’m enduring. [40:38] I don’t have time to worry about other people [40:42] when I’ve got persecutors coming after me. [40:45] And Peter says, that’s the best time,

[40:47] because other people might need your help with those persecutors. [40:52] Are you living for yourself? [40:54] Are you living for other people? [40:55] See, the world is going to tell you to live for yourself.

[41:00] But God will tell you. [41:03] Put the needs of other people in front of your own. [41:06] Not even in the face of persecution. [41:09] That’s what I love about Peter. [41:11] Peter’s a simple man. [41:12] You’ve read all about him in the four Gospels.

[41:14] He made every mistake known to mankind. [41:16] He put his own needs in front of the needs of Jesus Christ himself.

[41:22] And Peter’s looking at him and says, that’s not the way a ransomed person acts. [41:26] A ransomed person lives to make disciples of Jesus Christ [41:31] and love other people by making sure that they have every tool necessary [41:38] to endure in the faith. [41:42] We just read first Thessalonians four, seven through eight [41:45] knocked down the sacred secular divide.

[41:48] Don’t be impure. [41:49] Chase purity so that you can have the reward of God. [41:52] But look at what he says in verse nine. [41:54] Paul does it, too, just like Peter. [41:55] Now, concerning brotherly love. [41:59] Well, they does that.

[42:00] You have no need for anyone to write to you. [42:03] That is called sarcasm. [42:06] I love the Bible for it. [42:09] For you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. [42:15] These people want to sit in circles and pontificate. [42:18] Well, should we really love?

[42:20] Is that person lovable? [42:21] Is this person lovable? [42:22] They’re the right type of person to be loved. [42:24] Let’s think about this for a few years. [42:28] And Paul says, stop talking, dummy. [42:31] Is Jesus has already shown you how to love other people.

[42:34] It does require great sacrifice. [42:37] And if you’ve been ransomed, you’ll make it.

[42:41] He says you have no need for anyone to write to you. [42:43] Why would he say something like that? [42:45] Is Paul saying love doesn’t matter? [42:46] Of course, he’s not saying that. [42:48] Of course, love matters. [42:49] Paul point Paul’s point was that loving other Christians is obvious

[42:54] because the work of Jesus Christ to redeem us showed great love [42:58] because he sacrificed himself. [43:01] He lowered himself to the suffering on the cross for the sake of believers. [43:05] And if you are a Christian, it would be disobedient for you [43:10] not to sacrifice for the good of other people, [43:12] because that’s what love demands.

[43:16] Your present activity has eternal consequences. [43:20] People are tempted to use God’s sovereignty [43:23] as an excuse for sedentary Christianity.

[43:28] As an excuse that your actions don’t somehow have consequences, [43:31] as an excuse that other people don’t need you [43:35] as an excuse for why you tear other people down. [43:39] And by the way, you can tear other people down maliciously, [43:42] but you can also tear other people down by tempting them towards idolatry.

[43:47] That’s another type of self therapy that we give ourselves. [43:50] We try to make ourselves feel better about our own sin [43:53] by trying to coax other people into our sin with us. [43:57] Hell awaits you. [44:00] If you look back at verse 20, [44:03] Peter returns again to the idea of God’s sovereignty

[44:08] is that Jesus was foreknown before the foundation of the world [44:11] made manifest in present time. [44:14] The point of this insertion is to make you understand [44:18] that God’s sovereignty, of course, has present application every single day. [44:23] God, of course, planned the gospel for the foundation of the world. [44:26] And yes, he made it manifest in real time.

[44:29] This is no fairy tale. [44:31] This is no mystical analogy. [44:33] God’s eternal plan happened in front of real people [44:37] in a real place with real consequences for real application [44:41] in your very real life. [44:43] And he’s saying since Jesus lived a real life,

[44:48] so must you. [44:50] You need to engage every single day with the truth of God [44:54] first in your own mind, then outside of your life [44:59] and into the lives of other people through discipleship. [45:03] God’s word, friends, demands a return on investment. [45:09] He closes chapter one by talking about the endurance of God’s word.

[45:14] He says God’s word will outlive every temporary thing in this world. [45:18] That’s reality. That’s objective truth. [45:21] The gospel is trustworthy because God’s word is trustworthy.

[45:26] In Second Timothy one, Paul reminds us [45:30] that temporary sufferings. [45:33] Do discouraged, do discourage us rather. [45:37] He says, therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, [45:41] nor of me, his prisoner, [45:44] but share in suffering for the gospel. No.

[45:49] And you’re asking too much, Paul. No. [45:53] But he says, you share in it [45:56] by the power of God who saved us and called us. [46:01] Here it is. A holy calling. [46:04] Not because of our works, [46:07] because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us

[46:11] and in Christ Jesus before the ages began.

[46:16] And first, Peter, Peter wants them to realize [46:19] that on the other side of the temporary is the eternal. [46:24] No hardship disqualifies God’s promises. [46:28] In Second Timothy, what Paul does [46:31] is he binds together present obedience [46:36] with eternal sovereignty.

[46:39] He says, God called us to holiness. [46:43] In our works reveal where our trust is anchored. [46:50] If you avoid hardship.

[46:55] This is your discounting the purpose of God in your life. [46:59] This is the Christian faith demands that there are times [47:02] when you run headlong into it because you trust God [47:07] and you love other people. [47:11] God called us to holiness [47:14] and our works reveal whether our trust is in him.

[47:19] Is it anchored to God’s eternal word [47:23] or is your life anchored to this?