These are times of
challenge, times of caution and precaution, and times of sheltering in place
and appropriate social distance.
We are in a time of
suffering.
Suffering leads to
change. Suffering restricts us from certain actions. And suffering
creates opportunities for other actions. All of our lives have changed dramatically.
1 Peter is a book that
deals with suffering. God’s people were suffering tremendously as they
were persecuted for their belief in Jesus Christ. The recipients of 1
Peter were experiencing unjust suffering. In other words, they were not
suffering due to some willful error or sin on their part. They were
suffering because they lived in a world cursed by sin. All suffering in one-way
or another is the effect of living in a world that is affected by sin. When
sin entered the world by one man, Adam, things changed dramatically and
suffering entered the human existence. That world, our world, is only
made right by one Man, Christ Jesus and His finished work upon Calvary’s cross.
Christ suffered on our behalf to give us power to pass through this world of
suffering in a way that benefits others and glorifies our Heavenly Father.
The book of 1 Peter is
not just written to those suffering in Peter’s day, 1 Peter is written to you
and me for our time, for this time of suffering. The message of 1 Peter
not only tells us how to endure suffering, but it tells us how to do good and
even experience joy and fulfillment while we endure unjust suffering.
How can we endure unjust
suffering while at the same time doing good and having both joy and fulfilling
purpose? We can do so as we realize and live out the great hope of
salvation in Jesus Christ. The first 12 verses of 1 Peter tell us the reason
we can endure suffering. The remainder of the book, the next 4½ chapters,
tells us how to live in times of suffering based upon that reason.
All of the commands of the
Bible are preceded, literally or conceptually, by the fact statements or
reasons of the Bible: the why, then the what; the reason, then the command; who
we are through Christ, then how we are to therefore live for Christ. What a
blessing God’s word is to us. What God has done, and then how we are to respond.
We see the fact
statement in 1 Peter 1:3-5:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to
a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does
not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time. We do not have a dead hope. We have a living hope. This
hope is confirmed by and rests in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead. This is a fact. We have a living hope. This is a fact
that not only brings us through a time of suffering; this is a fact that
propels us forward to productive service while living a purposeful, joyful
life.
Verse 13 of 1 Peter 1
builds a bridge between the fact statements of the first 12 verses and the
remainder of the book. 1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore
gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully
upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”
Verse 13 tells us how to use the information in verses 1-12 to
accomplish all of the commands that are to follow. And most importantly
for us today, March 29, 2020, 1 Peter 1:13, tells us what we must do in this
time of suffering. All of us must be about this work.
1. We must be
mentally prepared for action.
2. We must be
mentally focused.
3.
We must set our hope entirely on Christ.
1. We must be
mentally prepared for action.
1 Peter 1:13a “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind”
In summary, this vivid phrase means we are to be
always prepared for action, for strenuous activity. In our day we might
say something like, let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work. In this
instance “gird up the loins of your mind” means to roll up the
sleeves of your mind and get to work.
Christianity addresses the whole of the human
experience, the physical and the nonphysical. Some religions call upon people
to clear their minds, to empty their minds. Not so for the Christian,
God’s word commands us to engage our minds. To rightly live out our
faith, our minds are to be actively engaged and be at work to solve problems
and address issues. This very day, the Apostle Peter, inspired by the
Holy Spirit commands you and me to roll up the sleeves of our mind and get to
work.
We must be at work in God’s word. We must
be reading the Bible daily. We must be studying and searching for truths that
deal with the issues of our day. And then we must apply the truth of
God’s word to our present day suffering. Answer these questions for yourself:
How can you apply the truth of “love your neighbor as yourself”? How can
you grow as a believer in Christ? How can you encourage that person that
is so very low at this point in their current suffering? How can you love
God as your Father more transparently and intimately? What lessons of
scripture apply to you in these challenging days? What lessons of
scripture apply to our nation and our world as we face the Coronavirus? Please
take the time to write out your answers to these questions. Roll up the
sleeves of your mind.
We are to be mentally prepared for action.
But as well:
2. We must be
mentally focused.
1 Peter 1:13b “be sober”
Does this forbid physical drunkenness due to
alcohol or drugs? Yes it does. But more importantly, it instructs
you and me to prohibit our minds from wandering away from the truths of
God. Because when our minds wander, they inevitably wander to the fallacies
of this world. Today, more than ever, our minds cannot wander. We
need focus.
If you have attempted to reason with someone
severely intoxicated, then you know the frustration of dealing with a mind that
cannot focus, cannot properly reason, and cannot make valid decisions. The
opioid crisis in America has resulted in the chaos of wandering minds: lives
ruined, marriages lost, businesses destroyed, finances destroyed – all because
people were unable to be mentally focused to make wise decisions. A mind that
wanders because it is not sober is soon a mind that habitually wanders at will.
Wandering causes a complete inability to focus on the matter at hand.
Today is a day to be sober-minded. To be
sober-minded we must have our eyes properly directed toward Christ, toward the
Cross, and always on the glory of heaven. But, we must as well have our feet
on the soil of the here and now. We must deal with the issues of the
Coronavirus, with our eyes on Christ. My dearly beloved brothers and
sisters in Christ, we must always process the here and now in the Light of
Christ, His Cross, and the glory of heaven. Therefore, as Christians, we
must be the level-headed ones. We must have a cool, calm, Christian, common
sense. We need to get the facts to the best of our abilities and process
those facts according to God’s word. Knowing God’s will in a given
situation comes about most often when we keep our minds focused. Let us
with a calm confidence make ourselves aware and then humble ourselves to God,
His word, and His will. Remember our mantra. Well, remember one of
our many mantras, “do what you know, then strive to know more.”
1.
We must be mentally prepared for action.
2.
We must be mentally focused.
3. We must set our
hope entirely on Christ.
1 Peter 1:13c: and
rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at
the revelation of Jesus Christ;
The hope in this passage is not uncertainty or
wishful thinking. The hope spoken of here is a confident expectation of a
future blessing based upon on facts and Divine promises. This hope is a
conviction so strong that it causes you and me to act on that conviction.
And that strong conviction of future blessing must rest entirely on Jesus
Christ. Jesus was born of a virgin. He did live an early life of
humility. He did live without sin, although tempted in every way that we
are. He did perfectly fulfill the law and please His Father. He did die
in my place and in your place for the forgiveness of sin on Calvary’s
cross. He did rise again on the third day. He was seen, and
touched, and spoken to by many for 40 days. He did ascend into heaven in
the presence of many witnesses. He ascended into heaven to be seated at
the right hand of the father. And He is coming again. And all the grace
involved in bringing all of that about will be fully revealed when Jesus comes
again that second time -- 1 Peter 1:13c: and
rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
We serve a Risen Savior Who is coming
again. He is our Hope. That type of conviction not only brings us great
joy as we concentrate on the future blessing of heaven and the present blessings
of this life. That type of conviction also prompts us to reorder our
priorities according to God’s agenda, God’s will, and God’s passions. This
reordering of our life to God’s purposes inevitably leads to ethical changes in
our lives. He changes us. Some have said “we live in a world not
worth living for, but in a world that is worthy of me dying to change.” That
is a beautiful way of summarizing the life of Christ. Our world will be totally
changed and perfected as He comes again. That is our hope. Until
that time, we are to exist in this living hope and work purposefully to change
our world for God’s glory.
This hope, this firm conviction of future blessing in Christ Jesus
does change us and propel us forward in active service for God’s glory as we
work to change the world in which we live. But this living hope as well
brings such joy, peace, and fulfillment right now. Many of us need this
truth right now, March 29, this living hope brings joy, peace, and fulfillment
right now. This firm, lively, living hope causes us to spontaneously cry
out with the Apostle Paul, “ For to me, to live is Christ, and to
die is gain.” We experience this joy, peace and fulfillment to some degree
every day. But this joy, peace and fulfillment becomes enhanced as we
come closer to the end of our Christian lives. I’ve seen this hope vividly
expressed as I’ve prayed with dear brothers and sisters in Christ as they are
but days from going to be with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As I
would take their hands in mine and begin to pray celebrating the firm, living hope
we have in Christ and eternal heaven, it is as if their hands start to preach
me a sermon. At the mention of “seeing Jesus,” “going to heaven,” or “spending eternity
without sin, illness, and death” their previously weak hands gain strength and
begin to squeeze my hand. They begin using a Spirit-filled sign language
to say, “Praise the Lord I am going home, I’ve been passing through this world
and now I’m going home.” Joy, peace, and absolute fulfillment is present,
is alive, at that moment and soon will be theirs forever and ever. Our hope
must be set entirely on Jesus Christ.
1 Peter is a message from God to those suffering severe persecution
in the early days of the church. But this is a message from God, through
the Apostle Peter, for you and me in the midst of suffering caused by the
Coronavirus that has changed our world. Because of who we are in
Christ Jesus, let us be about the important work of this time.
1. We must be
mentally prepared for action.
2. We must be
mentally focused.
3. We must set our
hope entirely on Christ.
I love you in Christ our
Lord,
Pastor Campbell