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1 Peter 4:7-11 Standing Faithful, Standing Together

1 Peter has shown us how we stand faithfully for Christ in a hostile world. As Peter closes the main body of his letter in 4:7-11, he continues that instruction by showing us what faithfulness looks like toward one another. The world and the culture will always oppose the church of Jesus, and Peter has shown us what standing faithfully looks like in the face of that opposition. Now, in these verses, Peter turns our eyes inward as he shows us how we stand together. The only way the church faithfully endures the slander and opposition of the world, glorifying the name of Christ, and testifying to His gospel, is to do so together. So Peter shows us what the church must be toward one another as he counsels us to prepare ourselves for suffering. When Peter began the main body of his letter in 1:13 he said, "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." Here he closes this section showing that it is as a united body of believers that we engage in this preparation. Again, he calls us to be sober-minded for our prayers’ sake. He says that we must love one another and serve one another if we are to stand faithfully, giving a defense for the hope that is within us. Peter’s teaching in this section perfectly embodies our vision at FBC for making disciples and growing as disciples. We can only do so as we worship, connect, and serve. Our unity of love and service to one another is one of the most important aspects of growing in Christ, and it is absolutely essential in our calling to make disciples.

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1 Peter 4:1-6 Arm Yourselves For Suffering

What does it mean to arm yourself for suffering? That’s a catchy title for a sermon, but preparing to endure the disdain, slander, and persecution of the world doesn’t sound like a very fun activity. Yet, that is what Peter has been teaching us all through this letter. 1 Peter 4:1-6 shows us how we, as exiles and foreigners, are to prepare ourselves for the slander and opposition of a worldly culture. Just as a soldier prepares and trains before going into battle, Peter tells his readers to arm yourselves with the same perspective on suffering that Jesus had. And Peter doesn’t just give us the command and leave us to figure out the details. In these verses, he shows us what we are to arm our minds with so that we might stand faithful, choosing to live for Christ rather than sin against him by compromising with the world. As suffering for following the word of God becomes more and more prevalent in our own culture, there also comes an increasingly strong temptation to fit in, to compromise, or sacrifice biblical truth for the sake of expediency. It’s easy to say we would never do such things, but too often as we sit comfortably in the ease the Lord has given, our mentality becomes one of entitlement and self-protection. Instead of training and preparing ourselves, we become complacent and easily stumble over the smallest temptations. In this text, Peter shows us how to arm ourselves - how to train our minds in preparation for the persecution that Paul says inevitably comes to every person who desires to live a godly life (see 2 Timothy 3:12).

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1 Peter 3:18-22 The Suffering Servant's Victory

Peter encourages his suffering readers by pointing to the victory which Christ's suffering accomplished. They are already partakers in this victory though they are suffering in the world. He compares their life in this world to that of Noah to show that God delivers His people.

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1 Peter 3:13-17 Faithful In A Hostile World

Peter shows us what we need to stand faithfully when the world is hostile toward our faith and a biblical worldview

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1 Peter 3:8-12 Tools For Living The "Good Life"

Here Peter ends the current section instructing believers in how to “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (2:12). He has given instructions to Christians living under worldly governments (2:13-17), under worldly authorities (2:18-25), and to husbands and wives in the home (3:1-7). In 3:8-12, Peter finishes this section by giving general commands to all Christians in whatever situation we find ourselves. These exhortations apply to every believer in every circumstance.

By giving these directives, Peter shows us the tools we need to stand faithfully for Christ and have “good conduct” before a hostile world so that we will be a testimony to the glory of Jesus. But also, Peter will show us that even in trials and suffering, we may have the blessing of one who “love[s] life and see[s] good days” (v.10) because of the Lord whom we serve.

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2 Corinthians 1:19-22 The "Yes" of All God's Promises

It is so easy to lose focus on the gospel when we experience trials or when we are forced to recognize how sinful we really are. The gospel is our salvation and our power for living. Though we constantly fail and continually strive for holiness, our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. Unless we keep our eyes centered on the salvation and new life given by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, it is inevitable that we will lose heart and succumb to despair. So this Sunday, as we take a week off from 1 Peter, we will look at 2 Corinthians 1:15-22 (focusing on v. 19-20). In this passage Paul says that in Jesus, all the promises of God are "yes." 

When you find a promise from God and ask "is this promise really for me today?"- if you are in Christ, God’s answer is yes. Jesus has fulfilled and accomplished all that we need to be right with God and stand sure in our relationship with him. He is God’s once for all answer - all the promises find their "yes" in Him. 

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Genesis 26:1-23 The Promise of God's Presence

Although Isaac fails in the same way as his father Abraham, God protects him and provides for him, showing that He is faithful to His promise in all things.

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1 Peter 3:1-7 Glorifying Christ In Marriage

We have seen Peter instruct believers in how we live faithfully under government and authorities, but in chapter 3:1-7, he turns his attention to the home. What does living faithfully for Christ in the home look like? As Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, describes the roles of both husband and wife, we do well to remember that he also speaks as one who is a Christian husband, living in a culture that is hostile to his faith. 

We all come to this text with presuppositions. Perhaps we have even been hurt by someone wielding an improper application of this text. But marriage is the first institution created by God in Genesis 2, before the fall. Marriage is intended to be a picture of the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church (Eph. 5:22-27). Therefore, we must come to the text and hear from God what it means to live faithfully in the home, so that we might "proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

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1 Peter 2:18-20 Enduring Suffering Under Unjust Authorities

1 Peter 2:18-25 addresses Christian servants (slaves, bond-servants) in the Roman Empire, which would have been most of the earliest readers of his epistle. While there isn’t a one to one correspondence between slaves serving in first century Rome and believers today in South Central Kansas, it is a huge mistake to think there is no application for us. The most common employee / employer relationship in the Roman Empire was between master and bond-servant, and all of us, at one time or another, have had to serve under an unjust or unreasonable authority.

Peter speaks to those who are miraculously delivered by the saving grace of the King of kings. These believers are given an eternal inheritance that cannot be defiled or fade away - it is kept by God Himself for them - But, when they looked around, they were still subject to unjust and worldly people. They still served in their jobs and they were suffering under worldly and wicked masters. Peter’s admonition to them is surprising. Be subject to them! This, Peter says, is a gracious thing in the sight of God. How do we do such a thing? How can we possibly do so?

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1 Peter 2:13-17 Serving God Under Government

1 Peter 2:13-17 begins Peter’s specific instructions for the churches in Asia Minor. In the following sections, Peter will show believers what "abstaining from the passions of the flesh," and "keeping our conduct among the Gentiles honorable" actually looks like in different situations. This passage regarding how we live for Christ under government is not an easy one for us today. It was exponentially harder for those to whom it was first written. As we seek to understand God’s word on this subject, we will try to answer several common questions that arise when we talk about "being subject." However, the most important question that needs to be answered in each of our hearts is, "What is God saying to me through this?"

Peter doesn’t write to make sure the churches are being good boys and girls. He isn’t writing to ensure that he keeps everyone in line. He isn’t even writing to help them assimilate into this world. Peter writes specifically for the believers to live in such a way that Christ is glorified and honored in this world. So that "by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people" (v. 15), and "when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation (v. 12). Bringing glory to Christ’s name must be what drives all that we do.

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1 Peter 2:11-12 Serving God In A Hostile World

Beginning at 2:11, Peter will get real practical and specific about what it looks like to serve God in a hostile world. He goes into great detail describing how Christians are to live faithfully in the different spheres of life in this world. 1 Peter 2:11 through chapter 3 are tough lessons for us to hear. But these truths are essential because God alone has the authority to define how we are to serve Him in a hostile world. Because we haven’t been in 1 Peter for a few weeks, we will take some time and review what we have learned in this letter so far, and then look at a broad overview of what 2:11 through chapter 3 will look like in the coming weeks.

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