1 Peter 1:17-21
Lord’s Day, May 3, 2020
First Christian Church, Owensville, IN
Bart W. Newton, Preaching Minister
Below is only a skeleton outline of main points, Scriptures and quotations of the message presented via Facebook Live on May 3, 2020.
(Abbreviations for Bible translations that may be quoted: ESV = English Standard Version; NLT = New Living Translation; CSB = Christian Standard Bible; GW = God’s Word; Amplified Bible = AMP; KJV = King James Version; New King James Version = NKJV; The Message = MSG; KNT = Kingdom New Testament)
17 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, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 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. (ESV)
In verses 17-21, the Apostle Peter provides at least five motivations for growing and practicing holiness:
• Our perfect heavenly Father will impartially judge His children (v. 17).
• Vv. 17-18a, MSG: You call out to God for help and he helps—he’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, he’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God.
• Deuteronomy 32:4: He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is! (NLT)
• Romans 14:12: All of us will have to give an account of ourselves to God (GW)
• 1 Corinthians 3:12-15: 12 Anyone who builds on that foundation [of Jesus Christ] may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames (NLT)
• Ephesians 2:8-10: 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (ESV).
• “Reverent fear” does not = fear of condemnation, but the respect and awe that an obedient child has for his/her father. (V. 14, “As obedient children….)
• “Obedient children are not perfect children, but they may expect grace for what they do wrong. Rebellious children are another matter. Certain partial and biased fathers may tolerate rebellion, but the impartial father will not treat a rebellious child in the same way as an obedient one.” -- Allen Black 1 & 2 Peter, p. 47
• Hebrews 12:28-29: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (NIV84)
• “There are appropriate and inappropriate senses in which a child may fear a parent. The Christian should not live in fear of condemnation, but should have confidence before God. Nevertheless, we should live in…’reverent fear’. Furthermore, we should realize that if we were to turn back to the world, we would return to ‘a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire’ (Hebrews 10:27)” –Allen & Mark Black, 1 & 2 Peter, TCPNIVC, p. l48.
• Our current residence is temporary (v. 17b)
• Exile = temporary residence
• Our old life before knowing Jesus and obeying His Good News cannot begin to compare to our new life in Him in terms of value and purpose (v. 18).
• Paraphrase: “Live holy (distinctively God-like) lives because you know the tremendous price that was paid to be a child of God.”
• A ransom was the price paid to purchase a slave’s freedom.
• John 1:29: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!’” (NIV84)
• 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body” (NIV84)
• V. 20, GW: He is the lamb who was known long ago before the world existed, but for your good he became publicly known in the last period of time.
• God the Father sent God the Eternal Son because He has a personal interest in each one of us (v. 20).
• Ephesians 1:5-7: 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins (NLT).
• God the Father has proved His trustworthiness through the resurrection and glorification of Jesus (v. 21)
• V. 21, NLT: Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
• Our heavenly Father is a trustworthy, impartial judge of His children who spared no expense in adopting us as His own.
• It was through the eternal Christ that we came to know God the Father.
• In return, His children are to revere him, love Him, obey Him, and give Him full allegiance!
• In 1859 Frances Ridley Havergal saw a picture of the crucified Christ with this caption under it: “I did this for thee? What has thou done for Me?”
• She quickly wrote a poem, but threw it in the fire in the fireplace because she was dissatisfied with it, but somehow it came out unharmed.
• Later, her father suggested she publish it.
• In 1873 it was put to music written by Philip P. Bliss and today we sing it:
I gave my life for thee.
My precious blood I shed;
That thou might ransomed be,
And quickened from the dead.
I gave, I gave, My life for thee,
What has thou given for Me? (Warren Wiersbe, Be Hopeful, p. 41)
• What kind of answer can each of us give?
Before we receive the communion meal, let’s first pause and ask God a couple of questions:
• What would Jesus have me obey or put into practice from God’s Word shared this morning?
• With whom would God have me share these Scriptures and His story?