First Christian Church, Owensville, IN
August 23, 2020
Bart W. Newton, Preaching Minister
A video of the sermon from 1 Peter 5:5-11 may be viewed by clicking on the following link: “Humility before God and toward One Another” (Note: Observance of the Lord’s Supper following the sermon was not recorded due to a technical issue. Please accept our apology.”
(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)
• Review: 1 Peter 5 begins with the responsibility of church elders over the church and they attitude with which they are to shepherd.
How are elders (pastors, bishops, overseers) to shepherd and oversee the church? What is to be the serving attitude of elders?
• Elders are to serve not because they feel like they have to but because they want to (v. 2)
• Elders are to shepherd God’s people with an eagerness to serve, not an eagerness to increase financial wealth. (v. 2)
• Elders are to lead, not through the power of their position, but through the influence of their example. (v. 3) (David Faust)
A motivation for faithful shepherding: The return of Jesus.
4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
• One thing each elder and myself perhaps ought to ask ourselves each week is, “What shepherding did I do this past week? (Did I pray for the flock? Did I call and/or visit any sheep? Did I pray with any sheep? Did I encourage any sheep? Did I feed any sheep? Did I counsel any sheep? Did I try to lead any wandering sheep back to the fold? Did I and my wife practice any form of hospitality for any sheep?)
• Today’s Passage: In verse 5, Peter transitions from instructing the eldership to instructing non-elders and then everybody including the elders on how we ought to relate to one another and to God.
5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)
• “The Christian life is a curious blend of trust in God and resolute action based upon it….This is what Peter offers us in this section: the promise of divine help for those who trust in God and the command to resist the devil with all our might stand together.” – I. Howard Marshall, 1 Peter, (p. 167) See 2 Peter 1:3-11.
• At the heart of this balance is humility before God and towards one another.
• Do the following Scriptures sound familiar?
• 13 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.
• Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.
• Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives…
• Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
• Where are these from? All are from 1 Peter (2:13-14; 2:18; 3:1; 3:7). Peter continues this pattern in today’s passage, as he moves from the eldership to the rest of the flock:
5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.
• Peter is probably referring to those who are not elders—men and women—with the emphasis on the fact that most of them were younger than the elders.(Allen & Mark Black, 1 & 2 Peter &Jude, p. 132).
• One commentator noted that our culture didn’t invent the generation gap (Edmund Clowney, p. 209)!
• Keep in mind that when Peter wrote this, some of the original recipients were experiencing persecution and others would be. It was a stressful time for pastors as well as the congregations as a whole. And there may have been temptation for some of the flock to be impatient with or resistant towards the shepherds’ guidance and decisions.
• So what should the congregation’s response be to the eldership? Acknowledge their leadership and subject themselves to it.
• Hebrews 13:17: Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (ESV)
• Church leadership is challenging and weighty. The congregation ought not make it any more difficult for the leadership than it already is (provided the eldership isn’t being disobedient to God).
• One of the ways some make it more difficult for the leaders is through quiet protest by absence. “I don’t agree. I won’t obey. So, I won’t assemble until things change.” They think they are doing the right thing because it doesn’t stir the pot, but it still causes the eldership to groan.
• So, what action and attitude is required by elders and non-elders alike?
… Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
• James writes something similar:
• James 4:6: And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
• Clothe yourselves = attach a piece of cloth to yourself:
• 5b, Amplified Version: …and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another [tie on the servant’s apron], for God is opposed to the proud [the disdainful, the presumptuous, and He defeats them], but He gives grace to the humble.
• You can bet that when Peter wrote these words his mind went back to the evening of Passover, the night of the Last Supper before Jesus’ crucifixion when Peter and the disciples saw Jesus attach a servant’s cloth to Himself.
• John records it this way:
• John 13:3-8: 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.
6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”
8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” (NLT)
• In that moment, Peter humbled himself, at least for a while, as he witnessed His Lord’s own humility.
• The prerequisite for humility toward one another is humility before/under God’s hand:
Be humble before God; He cares for you (vv. 6-7).
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you…
• God has a powerful hand under which He wants us to rest and trust Him in the midst of suffering.
• Have you ever seen a caring father place his strong, loving hand on the head or shoulder of a child, only to see the child shake his head or wriggle his way out from under it?
• We do the same to God sometimes don’t we? Especially if He’s wanting us to stand with Him while we have to endure suffering. He’s waiting for the right time to lift us up, but we don’t want to wait.
• How do we humble ourselves under His mighty hand?
…, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
• We prayerfully trust Him and acknowledge our absolute need for dependence upon Him to endure.
• James 4:8a, 10: 8a Come close to God, and God will come close to you…10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
• Psalm 55:22: Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved. (ESV)
• Matthew 6:25, 33: “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?... 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (NLT)
• Philippians 4:5b-7: The Lord is near. 6 Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. 7 Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus. (GW)
• Micah 6:8: He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God? (NKJV)
• When we don’t humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand in times of suffering, we can cause more suffering for ourselves and others because we’re going against His will.
• We are called to resist the enemy but from underneath God’s mighty hand, but not the way the world does.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
Resist the devil and remember you are not alone in your suffering (vv. 8-9).
• Tests are opportunities to grow in Christ-likeness; opportunities to be refined.
• But tests are also opportunities to fail. Tests are risky.
• Many a Christian has fallen in the face of temptation and persecution.
• Edmund Clowney: “When the French [King] Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685 [ which was given by King Henry IV in 1598 and had given the Huguenots (Calvinist Christians) the right to practice their faith without persecution from the Catholic-dominated state] , a long period of persecution forced the Reformed Christians to gather for worship in the fields or mountains. Their pastors were hunted down by the King’s dragoons. Yet they preached the message of 1 Peter, urging their flocks not to take arms against the king, but to endure persecution for Christ’s sake. So few pastors remained, however, that leadership was taken by self-proclaimed prophets and prophetesses who identified the king of France with the beast of the book of Revelation, and summoned the people to holy war. The result was the Camisard rebellion, and armed revolt that became guilty of its own counterterrorism. The church took the sword and destroyed its own witness.” (1 Peter, pp. 211-212).
• I fear the same may be the practice by some of our brotherhood if things continue in our country—professing Christians taking up arms against our persecutors in the name of patriotism.
• God doesn’t want us to fail His tests but Satan does!
• So we must…
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful.
• Keep your mind clear—too much internet/tv/radio/etc. can fog your mind, even provide a digital intoxication of sorts.
• 1 Peter 1:13: Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (ESV)
…Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
• By devour he means to get the Christian to deny Christ!
• Surely Peter thought of that time when he said he would never deny Jesus even if everyone else did, only later to deny he ever knew Jesus. Surely he remembered when our Lord said to him:
• Luke 22:31-32: 31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. 32 But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” (NLT)
• Revelation 12:12: Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (ESV)
• Peter instructs us on what our response to Satan should be:
… 9 Resist him, firm in your faith,…
• This is the Christians’ resistance movement!
• Isaiah 50:6-7: I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame. (ESV)
• Ephesians 6:11: Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (ESV)
• “The danger to the Christian is that he will fail to resist, that he will not watch and pray, that he will not put on the whole armor of God and take the sword of the Spirit. That sword, the word of God, was the weapon Jesus used in his ordeal in the desert; it is ours to use in his name.” –Edmund Clowney, 1 Peter, p. 215
•( If you have Amazon Prime Video, watch the true-story movie entitled “Tortured for Christ.”)
• 1 Timothy 6:12: Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (ESV)
…knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
• The 2019 World Watch List report is based on comprehensive and investigative research of 150 countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith. Each year, our research reveals telling numbers and statistics that give us a glimpse at the depth, prevalence and widespread reach of the persecution believers endure.
• Statistics during the 2019 reporting period (from Oct. 31, 2017, to November 1, 2018).
• 245 Million: In the top 50 World Watch List countries alone, 245 million Christians in the world experience high levels of persecution for their choice to follow Christ.
• 1 in 9: Christians worldwide experience high levels of persecution
• 14%: The rise in the number of Christians in the top 50 countries on the 2019 World Watch List (WWL) who experience high levels of persecution. (from the 2018 reporting period to 2019’s)
• 4,136: Christians killed for faith-related reasons in the top 50 WWL countries.
• 2,625: Christians detained without trial, arrested, sentenced and imprisoned in the top 50 WWL countries.
• 1,266: churches or Christian buildings attacked in the top 50 WWL countries.
• 7 out of 10: In seven of the countries in the World Watch List’s top 10, the primary cause of persecution is Islamic oppression.
• 11: countries scoring in the “extreme” level for their persecution of Christians. Five years ago, North Korea was the only one.
• 18: Consecutive years North Korea has ranked No. 1 as the world’s most dangerous place for Christians.
• (Source: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/stories/christian-persecution-by-the-numbers/)
Remember God’s divine promise of victory to those who faithfully resist the devil; praise Him for His power (vv. 10-11).
10 And after you have suffered a little while,..
• A little while and then life will return to “normal” or a little while in comparison to eternity?
… the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
• At the right time, God will take His faithful children and fix them up to good as new, give them all the foundational support and assurance they need.
• He’s that powerful. So, Peter praises God for it:
11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Let’s spend some time reflecting on what God’s Word has shown us, using the acronym SPECKS:
• Sin to confess?
• Prayer, promise or praise to hold onto?
• Example to follow?
• Command to obey?
• Knowledge to retain?
• Share the passage with whom?