Salvation and Suffering — 1 Peter 1

0:00 Morning. Alright. So good to, to be here the the first Sunday of the year. It it already seems like so long ago since New Year's Day, doesn't it? At least for me, it does.

0:10 But here we are. Praise the Lord, together. Last night, we had a, college and career meeting and, very encouraging to see, young people committed to the Lord, wanting to serve him, so involved in God's word. Very encouraging and they want to, and their plan and and are working really hard on the the young people here, the the high school, I I guess, the the teenage group, and so excited to see their commitment, their their prayer, their preparation. So we're looking forward to what God is gonna do with all of that this year.

0:45 It's just good to be here together this morning and just see what God has for us today. We're going to start first Peter. Today's our first... I'm not going do a lot in regards to intro. We're just going to start.

0:57 Alright? How do you like that? Let's just start. So go to first Peter. Go to first Peter, and we will just read the text, and we'll just dig right into it.

1:12 Alright. So I never I never thought I'd get to the point where I I would say that 20 degrees feels warm, but but I am I am there now. When I was 38 and still living in Texas, anything under 60 was like, already starting to get terrifying. You know, it's like, no. And, so now if we hit 20, I think we will sometime later on today, I'm gonna be all excited.

1:43 You know, it's like, woah, we hit 20. So praise God for that. Alright. First Peter, everybody there? First Peter, those of you who are visiting, welcome.

1:53 Do we have any bulletins left? I think we need to make more copies. We may have ran out. So let's go with first Peter. We're gonna read the first nine verses.

2:01 We're gonna focus on them. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the father by the sanctifying work of the spirit that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood. May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this, you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.

3:14 And some of you are probably thinking, man, Lord, is it always necessary? Because the trials seem to never stop. Right? However, there it is. Verse seven.

3:24 That the proof proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And though you have not seen him, you love him. And though you do not see him now, but you believe in him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Wow. My my my job, what we wanna do here at Westlake Bible Fellowship, we wanna make sure that we go through the scriptures and that we explain them so that you can go home and say, hey, I understood the text.

4:16 I can think about what God has for me, what he wanted to communicate with me. And so my prayer has been, for the last couple of weeks, as I've been preparing this, Lord, when we're done, I pray that they understand these these verses, these nine verses, and they can go home and say, I understand them, and I rejoice in them, and I wanna take them home and live them out now. Alright? So if we look at first Peter, the overall theme is salvation and suffering. Every chat...

4:43 In every chapter, you're gonna see the the... A section where they talk about suffering or trials or, you know, things that you go through. So every chapter you'll see that. And everything is in relation to salvation. Right?

4:57 So you're saved now, and with salvation is gonna come suffering. That's the the idea of first Peter. So keep that in mind as we start to unfold this book during the next couple of... Okay. So all I was gonna do basically was show you a map of where it's located.

5:14 And so just to make it simple, it's in Turkey. Alright? Modern day Turkey. So there's Jerusalem, there's Rome, the seven churches, the area in circle, that's where he's addressing people that are in that area. So that's that's who he's addressing.

5:31 Okay. Very good. That's that's all I was gonna do, but I ruined it now. Right? So...

5:36 Alright. Here we go. Alright. So let's go. I'm sorry about all this.

5:56 And so Peter, immediately starts out by saying, you have to remember that you are in this earth and you you have to think of yourself as an alien. And if you don't, life with all of its suffering, with all of its misery, with all of its disappointments is gonna give you a faith crisis. Alright? So we were talking to someone just a while ago saying, look, there's too many people that are in in a faith crisis because they don't realize and understand this truth that we're just aliens, and this world is gonna reject what you believe. It's gonna reject the bible.

6:32 It's gonna reject Jesus Christ, and you have to understand that you're never going to fit in. Alright? And so, look, as you're suffering, he's telling this local body believers, you have to understand that you're you're an alien. Now he's gonna address that in chapter two, so I'm not gonna go too much into that. But but do note then that this is not our permanent home that we are, in in.

6:59 Okay. So notice then that the next expression is he says, chosen. Don't miss that in in verse one. So to these people who reside as aliens in all of these areas who are chosen. Alright.

7:16 The the bible then expresses that many times throughout scripture, we're gonna look at a couple of verses that the the true believer in Christ realizes that before the foundation of the earth, god already had a plan of salvation and you were part of that plan. Alright. Now, notice the the next word is this, according to the foreknowledge of god, the foreknowledge of god. So, basically is god the father's eternal predetermined, loving, and saving intention And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. So here's what Peter is saying.

7:57 You're you're in this earth right now. You're really aliens. You're not gonna really fit in. You gotta think about I had a plan for you way before I even created the earth. I I had...

8:08 I knew you beforehand, and I chose you to come and represent me in this world. So you have to keep that in mind because why you represent me in this world? This world often is going to hate you and reject you because you represent Jesus Christ. You represent Jesus Christ. Now notice then in, for example, in Ephesians, you can see that he addresses this very specifically, and I'll read it to you.

8:38 Verse four, one four, Ephesians one four, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. And so God then, before he even created the Earth, he knew that we were gonna sin. He knew we were gonna need salvation, and so he knew us. He foreknew us, and he said, I wanna choose certain people that are gonna be mine. They're gonna be as aliens on earth, and they're gonna represent me.

9:08 Okay. So to those who reside as aliens, you are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God. If you want to put it in different words, you put it this way. And I... The New Living Translation, I like the way they paraphrase it.

9:25 God knew you, he chose you, and he set you apart by the Holy Spirit. It's a good way of putting it. Alright? So notice then the text. Verse one, the latter part, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the father.

9:43 By the sanctifying work of the spirit that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood. Alright. Now, so here's the way god worked it. He knew you. He chose you and then he sent the holy spirit to to make it to make it alive in you.

10:07 So, the sanctifying work of the spirit means this, that the whole work of the Holy Spirit setting you apart for god. If I can put it in in a let let's look at the way we have it here. And, this thing is gonna just act upon me the whole time. So I'm just gonna follow my notes, and we're gonna be stuck right as far as that, but don't worry about it. Alright.

10:28 So here we go. So what sanctifying work of the spirit means this, that the spirit of god, it's a whole work of the of the holy spirit where the spirit of god convicts you of sin. Then, he produces a repentance in your heart. As you're hearing the gospel, as you're hearing the word of God, the Holy Spirit then is is giving you, that conviction that you have sinned and you need to be saved. Last night, in our study, we had a young man that's seeking God.

11:03 He's he's listening. He's trying to learn of God, and he told me, I understand who Jesus is and what he did, but I'm still struggling with the whole fact that how he died for my sin. And we, you know, we communicated where the holy spirit is gonna help you understand that truth. You just keep open, an open mind and listening as god speaks you through his word. So it's a spirit of god then who convicts us of sin, and then as you see your sin before God, it produces repentance in your heart.

11:36 Repentance means you change your mind. You change your mind. So I used to think I wasn't too bad of a sinner. I see now as the spirit of God has been speaking to me that I am. That I've offended a holy God, and I'm absolutely lost, and I need salvation.

11:53 And so I repent of my sin, of my sinfulness, and so the holy spirit then convicts of sin, produces repentance, and shows you the need of salvation through Jesus Christ. Once you are saved, he sets you apart from the world and sin for the purpose and service of god. So, that's what that word means by the sanctifying work of the holy spirit. If you want to put it in in just more practical terms, the Holy Spirit made you understand that you were a sinner, that you need to repent, and then he asked, he actually made it true in your life and he set you apart for god. So basically, he's explaining the whole work of God in regards to our salvation.

13:08 That's the main point of salvation. Your allegiance and your service is now for Christ. That's why he saved you. Ephesians puts it a little bit different because the bible gives so much light into all of this. So I'm gonna just gonna read again.

13:25 We we just read it a minute ago but you probably didn't listen to that. So so let's do it again. He chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. So so why did he save me? So that I may obey Jesus Christ.

13:44 Why? So that I may be holy and blameless before him. So so god's work in my life then is that he knew me. He chose me. The holy spirit made me understand this, save me.

13:58 Why? So that I can obey Jesus Christ. Now, this is from the heart. It's it's a work of god. We'll get to that in a minute.

14:05 I don't want to jump ahead of myself. Then he says, and be sprinkled with his blood. Now, don't let this wording confuse you. All it means is a personal application of the sacrifice and blood of Christ in your life. So the New Living Translation puts it this way, you have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

14:30 Right? So only the blood of Jesus can wash away sin. And then he says, may grace and peace be yours, in the fullest measure. Grace is God giving us what we need in order to live his life. It's not saving grace right here.

14:47 It's sustaining grace, sustaining grace. And peace is God giving us his peace through all of life circumstances. They needed to hear this because they were suffering. They needed to hear this because they were in terrible persecution because of their faith. So after he says that, now he's just in this whole intro, all he's doing is saying, look what god did for you.

15:14 Look what god did for you. He foreknew you. He knew you. He chose you. He sanctified you so you may obey him.

15:21 He washed you with his blood, and then he gives you grace to live his life and peace. Then he says in verse three, that shouldn't we then bless god and the father of our lord Jesus Christ and you would say, what? Amen. Yes, we do. Bless his name, right?

15:40 For this great salvation that he has given us. Now, then, he continues to say everything god is doing for us. Notice, what is our part in all of this so far? He changes your heart so you can obey Jesus. Everything else is the work of god.

15:58 Notice then, why do we bless god and why do we bless the lord Jesus? Because according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again. So, god is so full of mercy. Even though none of us deserve his grace, his forgiveness, mercy means that he doesn't give you what you deserve. What do we deserve?

16:17 Eternal punishment. What does he give us instead? His mercy. Right? So, no wonder Peter saying, bless him.

16:25 Bless god the father. Bless Jesus because he extended his mercy to you and and of course, we do bless him. Thank you, lord Jesus. Thank you, father. We bless you for your mercy and what did his mercy cause us to do?

16:41 To be born again. To be born again. Jesus said, you must be born again if you're gonna see the kingdom of heaven. In other words, if you're gonna go to heaven, you must be born again. Have you been born again?

16:55 See, the mercy of god is saying to you, be born again, be born from above, have this new life that I'm offering you because only then will you be able to obey Jesus Christ. Without new birth, you will not obey him. It'll just be a bunch of rules. It'll be more religion and that's not what we need. Why can we be born again?

17:18 We're born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In other words, my living hope is based on the fact that Jesus is alive. We serve a resurrected living savior and so, let's continue the progression. God knew you. He chose you.

17:39 He sanctified you. He cleansed you with the blood of Jesus and all of this so you can obey him. Bless his name. Thank you, father. Thank you, Jesus, because you're so full of mercy that you actually want us to be born again.

17:53 And why can we be born be born again? Why can we be, have new birth? Because Jesus rose from the dead, and my hope is based on that, on that fact. Alright. Well, not only, did he did he knew you, know you, and choose you, and cleanse you with the blood of Jesus, and sanctify you, and not only to give you new birth and a living hope because Jesus is alive, but notice verse four, to obtain an inheritance.

18:38 Number one, notice, so you can obtain an inheritance, go to heaven, which is heaven is what? Imperishable, it is undefiled, and it won't fade away. There's your three things. Reserved in heaven, this inheritance, despite that you're going there, it's reserved in heaven for you. Alright.

18:57 So I'm gonna obtain an inheritance. Wow. What a promise that is incorruptible. In other words, it's death proof. It is death You know, we got a phone call last night that a dear friend of mine and his wife, their little baby, not even two years old, he died yesterday.

19:14 Just like that. And I remember when he was just born. Right? We're together. Wonderful believers.

19:20 They love the Lord Jesus, but their baby died. Right? But but you know what the difference is from this world to to heaven? In heaven, it's incorruptible. It's death proof.

19:33 What... This is something that's tremendous. God is gonna give us in heaven no more pain of death, And it's undefiled. That means it's sin proof. And it doesn't fade away.

19:44 That means it's time proof. Beyond the reach of death and decay. So so what is what is it that God offers me? Incorruptible, death proof, undefiled, sin proof, does not fade away, time proof. This guy is just pouring all these blessings into our life, one after the other.

20:11 And then notice the text, please. Verse five, who are protected by the power of God. You're protected by the power of God. In other words, that's God's side. All of this truth that he just said, God is the one who keeps you protected, and and no one's gonna take it away from you.

20:33 You cannot keep anything for yourself. You cannot keep yourself safe. If it depended on you, you would lose it. You cannot keep this inheritance, you wouldn't be worthy of it. You couldn't do anything.

20:46 God does it all. You're protected by the power of God. I've been noticing through faith. What does that mean? Faith is our responsibility.

20:56 That's man's side. God's part is to protect me with his power. And and man, does he have the power to do it? Amen. Right?

21:03 My side is to have faith. Alright. So where there is faith, there will be continuance. Saving faith has a quality of permanence. We believe what God says about his choosing us, sanctifying us, sprinkling us with his blood, giving us new birth, giving us an inheritance that is eternal, that it shields shields us, he protects us.

21:25 I believe it. I believe that. Those who were chosen in eternity past are saved now... In time now and kept for eternity to come. The believer in Christ is eternally secure.

21:38 Amen. So protected means a military term used to refer to a garrison within a city. So God with his power made all these promises to me, and he's the one that's with his own power protecting me. And all I do is I believe that what he's saying to me. It's all I do.

21:59 What is my responsibility? Faith. I believe it. Alright. Now, notice them who are protected, verse five, by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

22:17 What do you call on this? Being saved. It's called a salvation. Salvation includes, if you will, all of these blessings And all you have to do is believe God. He does the rest.

22:44 I'm saved from that penalty, and then I can inherit then these blessings of heaven. I am saved daily from the power of sin as you and I allow the savior to rule our lives. Then ultimately, we'll be saved from the presence of sin at the rapture. The body is changed forever free from sin and from sickness and death. And of course, for those who died before the rapture like this little baby and other believers in Christ, they're already saved from the presence of sin.

23:15 Alright. So let's continue. Then notice this great salvation. Verse six, in this, you greatly rejoice in what? In this salvation, with all of these promises from god, with all of these blessings, you rejoice in.

23:32 Do you rejoice in your salvation? Yes or no? Come on. Let me hear an amen. Amen.

23:39 Yes, we do. We rejoice. Alright. In this, greatly rejoice even though now... Wait a minute.

23:45 Even though right now... See, at this moment, I'm not in heaven yet. So right now, here's a reality. For a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. Alright.

24:01 So, faith turns sound doctrine into sound practice. Christians are responsible to respond in faith. Abiding joy is rooted in one's living hope in Christ Jesus. So, but notice them by various trials. James also confirms that trials are to be expected in the believers' lives.

24:21 We are to respond correctly to them and as James says, count it all joy. Oh, right here. You greatly rejoice in spite of the fact that you are going through various trials. Alright. Now, you have already experienced tremendous trials that they rock you.

24:42 Yes or no? I mean, some of them are so bad that that we're like, man, I don't know what to think about god because of what he's allowing in my life. But the Bible says, look, god's gonna bring those trials in your life. We we need them. They're necessary sometime because without them, we won't get down and pray to God and say, God help me.

25:07 And that's the point. So we're gonna have trials. You need to accept that and understand that reality. Remember, these people were suffering great for their faith. And he goes, look, this is part of the Christian walk.

25:20 You better accept that. If not, your faith crisis is about to happen. You're you're you're about to stumble. If you don't accept the reality, then we're going to suffer trials. Excuse me.

25:36 So verse seven then is an explanation. Why do we have trials? Why do we have trials? That the proof of your faith. See there it is explained.

25:48 Trials prove if you will, that the the the trials prove that your faith is real, that is genuine. That is genuine. You want just a cakewalk life as a Christian, you want it to all be smooth and buttery, and then a little trial comes, oh god, you're so unfair. I can't believe this. I...

26:11 I've been serving you and this is what I get in return. Then you're gonna be proving that your faith was fake. Your faith was, you just wanted a daddy to spoil you and give you blessings, but you don't wanna live his life. So faith that endures proves that it's real. In the midst of the trial, you grow closer to God.

26:39 You draw more to him. You you cry out to God. You you you praise him. Alright. So gold is refined by fire, so is our faith by the fire of trials.

26:52 They prove that our faith is real. Do you get tested for the purpose of approval? And what is the purpose? What is the the end result? Let's read verse seven again.

27:04 That the proof of your faith be more precious than gold, which is perishable. Even though tested by fire, gold is tested by fire, then other impurities leave it. Your faith then may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So at the end of the day, what is it that matters to God? Our faith.

27:31 Our faith. Remember, we're protected by the power of God. You have to believe it by faith. In the middle of trials, your faith gets stronger, not weaker. You cling more to God, you don't pull away from God.

27:45 And the and the trial proves that your faith is real. And at the end of the day, when Jesus saves you, takes you up to heaven, you you are when the... You pass that test before another one comes, you praise and you glorify and you honor Jesus Christ. Yes. At the revelation of Jesus Christ, that is when he appears and we see him.

28:13 So, for those who die before the rapture, they already seen him. For those who are raptured, they're gonna see him. For those who, who are in the tribulation get saved, the tribulation saints, they're gonna see him when he returns in the second coming. And they're gonna we're gonna see him throughout the millennial kingdom. Now, notice verse eight, but until he reveals himself, verse eight, even though you have not seen him, you love him, and though you do not see him now, but you believe him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.

29:04 What is what is the point that even though I have never seen Jesus Christ with my eyes of faith, he's wonderful to me. I have seen him with my eyes of faith. And I know it's real. And and yes, I haven't touched him and I haven't physically seen him, but my faith tells me and it's as if I already had touched him. It it says, I already am holding him and praising him and bowing at his feet and say, lord, I I couldn't wait today that I physically see you but by faith, I was already seeing you and I already love you I already worship you, and I already appreciate you, and all my life on earth was about loving you and drawing closer to you.

29:46 Amen? It's a life of faith. You believe in him and you love him and this joy, you can explain it. You can explain the joy that there is in knowing Jesus Christ. It's a deep joy.

30:01 Look at the way he says it. He says, inexpressible. Inexpressible. It's full of glory. And I I I know it's crazy, but we come to the Lord's supper, and then you have the bread and you have the cup there, and we're just like rejoicing every time someone speaks about Jesus.

30:18 Every time we sing to his name, the the joy that that god gives you, you can't explain it. It's too deep. It's too deep. And the more you suffer trials, the the the more you draw close to Christ, the more you love them, the more you appreciate them, and the deeper it is, and the harder it is to explain that kind of joy. And so listening to a a man in in a conference, we're both speaking, and he was put in jail and beat for years for his testimony.

30:50 And when he was let out, you know, life became easier for him. And here's what he said. I I never have been able to experience that closeness with Jesus that I experienced in jail. And I I long for it. I wish I could.

31:04 I don't wanna go back to jail, but if he throws me back in, then I'm gonna have that deep walk with him again. It's too easy out here to get cold and and not be careful in my walk with the lord. But I love him deeply. And notice then obtaining, verse nine, the outcome of your faith. What is the outcome of my faith?

31:25 The salvation of your soul. The the the culmination of my faith. At that time, when when Jesus appears, either if I die or or if I get raptured or he appears, when he appears, I don't need any more faith because there is gonna be and everybody's gonna see the lord Jesus according to Revelation chapter one. Every eye will see him. No more faith, the culmination, but right now, until he comes, as you're living out your life every day in Westlake or Avon or Northview, wherever you live, your faith is what's gonna keep you hanging in.

32:03 Amen? It's a faith walk. Alright. So, at this time, the salvation program will be complete. Alright.

32:25 The foreknowledge of god the father, sanctifying work of the holy spirit, and the sprinkling of Jesus Christ. There you go, the trinity right there. It's not just in second Corinthians 13 and verse 14. It's all over the Bible. So there you go.

32:39 There's a holy trinity. What is the goal of our salvation? To obey Jesus Christ, to have a living hope, our faith to be stretched and grown, and of course, the final stage of of salvation is the salvation of our souls when faith will no longer be needed. Did you notice also the necessity of new birth? Verse 23, also in chapter one says, for you have been born again, not a seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is to the living and abiding word of God.

33:16 So twice in chapter one, he talks about being born again. Yes. Then, the overall theme of Peter is the grace of God as it relates to our salvation and the fact that we will suffer while we are on earth. How do I know that? Because look at chapter five and and look at verse 12.

33:41 I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. Stand firm in it. What is the true grace of God? That God knew me?

33:56 Set me apart to be belong to him, gave me new birth, gave me an inheritance that has nothing to do with sin, death won't bother me anymore, the body won't hurt anymore, like a transformation that is so real, and the fact that we're gonna see Jesus Christ, that faith won't be unnecessary anymore. But for now for now, what is the most precious thing for God right now? Your faith. Your faith. That you believe god.

34:29 Listen, that you believe god. There's too many young people and too many people are in faith crisis because they don't believe what god has said in his word. And they're walking away. Oh, I'm questioning. I'm quest...

34:43 God says your faith is more important than go to him. And he's gonna squeeze it out of you through a trial or whatever it takes, and then that trial is gonna show that you're real in your faith. The the the the key to all of this verse... First nine verses is faith. God did this.

35:05 God did this. God did this for you. God did this for you. What do you do? By faith, I believe in.

35:11 By faith, I see Jesus. By faith, I live out my Christian walk. Right? So how's the faith? How's the faith?

35:24 Are you believing what God has said about everything that belongs to you? And have you trusted Jesus as your savior? God demands faith. You have to trust him. Right?

35:39 Amen. I hope you're encouraged. What a tremendous chapter. What a... First, just nine verses.

35:45 And boy, you can go home and just drink in all these blessings that we just talked about in these nine verses. Right? Amen? Father, thank you for your holy word. Thank you for this body.

35:58 Oh lord, cause us to to have greater faith, and I know that's dangerous to pray because you're gonna bring trials to do that. Yeah, lord, we need them because our faith can get so wimpy, so weak, and those trials keep us on our knees and keep us seeking you and and clinging to you. Thank you for so great a salvation. Thank you that one day faith won't be necessary anymore, but we're gonna actually see Jesus Christ with our very eyes, the end of faith. We bless you.

36:35 Thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Have a blessed day.