Heb. 12:14 stresses the essentiality of sanctification.  It says, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”  Sanctification is the purpose, Paul says, for which we are saved. 1Thess. 4:7 “For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.” Now Peter never uses the word sanctification, per se.  He does however refer to the sanctifying work of the Spirit in us, back in chapter 1vs2.  But I believe that the general thrust of Peter’s epistle is the subject of our sanctification.  His central thesis is found in

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Last week, we ended our study in the preceding verses by expounding the text found in vs 16, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”  This is God’s command to the church, as it was His command to the Israelites.  God first said it in Leviticus 11:44.  Then Peter updates it under the new covenant to the church, so that it becomes the commandment for our sanctification.  We are made holy and righteous positionally due to our justification. We are credited with the righteousness of Jesus Christ to our account.  But then we are becoming holy practically through the

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As we began our study of 1 Peter a couple of weeks ago we first looked at the surety of our salvation in vs1-5, as Peter tells us we are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood, 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, and protected

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I have titled today’s message the Proof of Your Faith.  It comes directly from our text today, in vs 7 in the NASB.  Other translations render it “the trial of your faith,” or better, “the genuineness of your faith.”  Others have called it the character of your faith.  I think I could add one more, which is the evidence of your faith. I have often found myself as a pastor, thinking of an individual who may have given a profession of faith at some point in their life, but yet I find myself wondering if in fact they really are

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As we begin this new study in the epistle of 1st Peter, I want to forego a lot of the preliminary background information that might be customary when beginning a new book.  Peter is a very practical book, and though there is a tremendous amount of important doctrine contained in it, it is not presented as many of the other epistles, with chapter after chapter of doctrine and then a small amount of application at the end.  Peter’s epistle presents doctrine and immediately application, which is kind of a reflection on his personality.  Peter was a man of action.  And

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This is the last message I will preach in the book of John.  I think that we have been in John for a little over one year and four months. But that means today is the seventieth message.   And it’s with a certain sadness that we finish this book today.  There is no more satisfying sermon series in my estimation, than studying one of the gospels.  John however, ends his gospel a little differently than some of the others.  He doesn’t focus on the Savior ascending into heaven as one might expect, but rather he ends with a focus

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In last week’s sermon, we said that the last section of chapter 20 taught five principles of the gospel.  And one of those principles was the abiding presence of Christ.  That is an essential doctrine of the gospel; that Jesus Christ is alive – that though He died on the cross, He arose from the dead, and ever lives to make intercession for us.   That’s an important doctrine, because it reveals that Christ has procured two essential things for the Christian life.  One; that the death of Jesus Christ provided the payment for the penalty of our sins.  But

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In today’s passage, we are continuing to look at the first day of Christ’s resurrection from the dead.  He arose early in the morning on the first day of the week, which is, of course, Sunday.  In the preceding verses we saw Mary Magdalene and John and Peter’s response to the resurrection.  But in presenting the chronology of the events on this most important of days, John does so in such a way as to teach a lesson.  He is teaching, in this last section of chapter 20, the gospel, and he does so by showcasing for us the first

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Secret Disciples, John 19:38-42                                                                 Psalm 56 We live in a culture today when death is portrayed in movies and television with all sorts of blood and gore and people are unmoved by it.  But on the other hand, in reality, in our day to day lives, we go to great lengths to avoid seeing death.  If the average person even saw a steer killed and butchered they would

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For most Christians, the events surrounding the crucifixion of Christ are very familiar.  We’ve all probably heard many messages on the crucifixion and even possibly seen movies or plays depicting it.  Not to mention, there are four gospel accounts of the crucifixion in the New Testament.  However, not all the gospels recount the exact same details.  One gospel might include some things which others leave out.  In John’s gospel, he includes some details which others have not, and also, he has left out some events that others included.  So the tendency among preachers and expositors preaching on this text is

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