Part 3 – 1 Peter
By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett – Asbury Free Methodist
June 2, 2024 – 1 Peter 1:13-2:3
About 25 years ago, I took a three-month sabbatical. Lynda and I packed up our then 1 year old daughter Amy and our three-year-old son, Ethan, into our Ford Windstar van and drove out to Vancouver. (I know – a one and three-year-old in a van to Vancouver. – what were we thinking?) We rented a house from a lovely couple who worked with InterVarsity. I attended Regent College, and we, as a family, explored Vancouver.
For over a month, that house became our temporary residence.
We had to learn new things. I put the garbage out the first week, but the garbage truck didn’t take it because, apparently, I put it out wrong. I learned the bus system to get from the house to the school. Lynda learned where the parks and the beaches were. Temporary residents.
Life is different living in someone else’s house. I was playing catch with my three-year-old son in the living room, and we knocked over a photograph in a picture frame – and broke the glass. It wasn’t an expensive picture frame – and if that were our own house – I would have just bought something to replace it. But it wasn’t my house, so I went to a glass shop and had them cut a piece of glass to fit into the picture frame. You do things differently when you are a temporary resident.
We enjoyed our time in Vancouver – but it was never home. We looked forward to a time when we would get back to our space.
If you can imagine the idea of being a temporary resident, then you can start to get a handle on what our scripture is trying to say today.
In fact, this is how the NLT translates verse 17
1 Peter 1:17 (NLT)
17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favourites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”
There is so much packed into the passage that we are going to look at – but if you keep the idea of temporary residents in mind, it will help you get a handle on what is going on here. Peter is going to tell us how to live in this world as temporary residents.
Here is our reality as Christians. This world is just our temporary residence. Compared to eternity, it is just like spending a month in Vancouver. In the big scheme of things, it’s not that much time.
Now, Peter was writing to Christians in the Roman Empire. Some of the people the letter is directed to are slaves. Life was hard. Some had faced or could face persecution. Life was scary. These Christians were an unwanted minority sect living in the territory of hostile overseers.
It may have been easier for some of them to see themselves as temporary residents than it is for some of you. We live in a land where we still have freedom of worship. We live in a town that is both beautiful and prosperous. For many of us, life is good. If you are there – it may be more difficult to see this world as your temporary residence – but it still is.
I know that life is not easy for some of you. Your prayer is Maranatha – even so Lord, come quickly.
Whether your life is good or challenging – you are a temporary resident. So here is how we are called to live.
1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
In the temporary residence of this world, we are to be alert and sober. The word “sober” means more than just “not getting drunk.” It carries with it the idea of not getting overwhelmed with emotions. I think we would express this – don’t get caught up in the drama of this world, but have ready minds.
Then it goes on to say, set your hope on grace. Trust in God’s unmerited favour that is towards you. That is grace is going to be fully revealed when Jesus comes back. Whether you come with him from heaven or raptured from this earth – you are going home. Temporary resident, set your hope on going home.
None of us are promised tomorrow. But the older you get, the more you realize this world is your temporary residence. For those of you who are old enough for your mortality to become clearer, this becomes even more important. Set your hope on God’s grace.
1 Peter 1:14 (NIV)
14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
How else do we live as temporary residents? Don’t conform to evil desires. It doesn’t say that you won’t have evil desires. But don’t conform to them. He goes on to say.
1 Peter 1:15–16 (NIV)
15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Usually, when we talk about being holy – we talk about it as being an inner state that is reflected in our actions. That is the primary idea of Christian holiness throughout the New Testament. But here, Peter says something a little different. He puts an emphasis on your conduct, your actions.
What does it mean to be “holy in all you do?” The basic meaning of holiness is “to be set apart.” I have a mug at home that I use to have coffee with almost every morning. It is my mug. Nobody uses my mug except for me. It was given to me by one of my kids. It is set apart for my exclusive use. (Well, than and Lynda doesn’t drink coffee.)
When Peter says, “Be holy in all you do,” he is saying you are God’s mug. You are set apart for his use and his use only. You are set apart for his purposes. You don’t conform to your old evil desires because you are now God’s – and your life is lived for him. Whether you are resting or working, alone or with people, engaging with your hobbies or your friends – your life is lived for him. You are God’s.
1 Peter 1:17 (NIV)
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.
He is talking about how Christians will be judged when they go home. As Christians, God is our Father – however, this judgment turns out – He is still our Father. You will be welcomed in heaven. But he doesn’t play favourites with his kids. He likes you just as much as he likes me – and he will judge us impartially. Paul tells us about that judgement.
1 Corinthians 3:11–15 (NIV)
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
Paul is saying that there is a way of living that is only of temporary value. Paul calls that wood hay and stubble. Or to put it another way, you are not being God’s mug – You are not set aside for God’s exclusive use. Everybody and everything gets to use your mug, or you are using your mug not for God’s purposes but your own.
Paul is also saying that there is a way of living that is of eternal value. He calls it gold, silver and precious jewels. Only God uses your mug.
Now, people who don’t know the ways of God might be tempted to think that people like me – I’m a pastor doing God’s work – I must be racking up the gold. People like plumbers or carpenters – their jobs are just wood. Everything they build is temporary – and most things will be gone in a hundred years – so they are not racking up the gold.
But that isn’t the way it works. Be holy in all you do. Be God’s mug in all you do. Or to put it how Paul puts it, “Whatever you do in word or in deed, do all to the glory of God.” Jesus said that there is spiritual value in giving a cup of water if served with the right motive. A carpenter can be racking up eternal gold if he is working as unto the Lord. A minister can build with wood, hay, and stubble if he is working for himself.
What Peter is saying is that God is going to judge you, and he is going to judge me impartially. This is not a judgement as to whether or not you will get into heaven. This is a judgement that will test the quality of your work – and reward you accordingly.
Do we know what these rewards look like? Not really. But you know that God is good, and he is generous and that you will be more than fairly compensated for living for him.
So, how do we live as temporary residents?
1 Peter 1:17 (NIV)
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.
We live in reverent fear. This does not mean that we are to be afraid of God. But we are living in a way where we respect him. His opinion matters the most. Why do we live in reverent fear?
1 Peter 1:18–20 (NIV)
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
You live in reverent fear because you were purchased by God – you became God’s mug – not with mere silver or God. You were purchased by the currency of the blood of Christ. Jesus gave his very life to redeem you. He purchased you from the kingdom of darkness and brought you into the kingdom of light. He paid the debt of your sin, and he gave you his life. His death on the cross did everything that was needed to make you who were under the domain of sin and Satan be bought and brought into the Kingdom of God.
So, why should you fear God, respect God, care about what he thinks about you, care about how he is going to judge you because he spent such a high price making you his very own.
Peter goes on to say,
1 Peter 1:21 (NIV)
21 Through him (Jesus) you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Through Jesus, you have put your faith and your hope in God. You have reached out to God because of Jesus, and God has made you his very own. Jesus gave you access to God the Father. Without Jesus, you wouldn’t have known God.
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So, let me sum up this first part. You are a temporary resident, a foreigner in this world. So, be holy in all you do. Be set apart for God in all you do. You are God’s mug – don’t let anyone or anything else use you. Be exclusively, God. Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do for the glory of God.
And you are going to be judged by that criterion. You will be rewarded for being exclusively God’s. But if you try to conform to this world or be self-serving – no matter what good things you do – it is wood, hay and stubble. In the end, it is not going to matter. The reason why it matters so much is that God spent so much, namely the life of Jesus, to make you his.
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Understanding that you are God’s, how does one live as a temporary resident.
1 Peter 1:22 (NIV)
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.
Purify yourself by obeying the truth – is one of the ways the bible talks about believing in Jesus. One of the signs that you have believed in Jesus is that you have a sincere love for other followers of Jesus. The word that Peter uses is that you have sincere brotherly love (Philios) for each other. But he says I want your love to go deeper. “Love one another deeply from the heart.” The word he uses for love is agape. I am going to choose to do what is in your best interest regardless of how you respond to me. Love that way from the heart.
How do you love that way? 1 Peter 1:23 (NIV)
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
You can love that way because you have been born again. You are spiritually alive because God’s Spirit lives in you. You have the imperishable seed of eternity in your heart. Not only that but your brothers and sisters in Christ have that imperishable seed of eternity in their hearts. It was placed there by the living word of God. It was spoken into being by the command of God. Because of that, commit yourself to seeing and valuing and loving each other deeply from the heart.
Sometimes that is not easy. People are people. I know Christians with whom I have a lot in common. I know others who I don’t. But Peter is saying – because of what Jesus has done for them and what Jesus has placed in them – love deeply from the heart. They were spoken into being by God himself.
1 Peter 1:24–25 (NIV)
24 For,
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.
Peter goes on to remind us – that life is short. The grass is green for a short time, but then it withers. You, the people around you, have a short lifespan. This world is just our temporary residence. But because of the word that God has spoken into his people, they have the imperishable seeds of eternity spoken into their hearts. So, in this short time, love people deeply from the heart.
And you,
1 Peter 2:1–3 (NIV)
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
If you are going to (agape) love your brothers and sisters, then you have to deal with the darkness in your own heart toward others. , rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Forgive who you need to forgive, die to your old nature – deal with your bad heart towards others.
Instead, go in search of pure spiritual milk. Grow up in your salvation. Peter says, I have just outlined how good God is – and you have experienced that the Lord is good – so live life well.
How about you? Do you live as if this life is all there is, or do you live as a temporary resident? Do you conduct yourself in a holy way – are you God’s mug. You know that if God has exclusive rights to you, then whatever you do for the glory of God will be credited to you. But whenever your cup gets used for other things – nothing of eternal value happens.
So, fear God because he has spent so much to buy you back from the kingdom of darkness. Live for him. Do that by loving others deeply from the heart.
Peter has just summarized how to live the Christian life. I would urge you – live as temporary residents.