This is a relatively somber and difficult passage that we have before us today. Peter devoted an entire chapter to the subject of false prophets. If it was an appropriate warning for his day, how much more is it relevant to us today when the church at large has practically abandoned the truth in favor of political correctness?  I believe  the key to understanding this entire passage is found in the phrase at the beginning of vs 10: “those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority.”  Everything in this passage is predicated on this description.  Peter is speaking of false prophets and those that follow false teaching.  And there are two key attributes that define both the false prophets and those that follow them, and that is they walk according to the lusts of the flesh, and they despise authority. 

Peter isn’t writing anything new.  He’s just restating what he has said from the beginning, even from his first epistle.  That there is a true knowledge of God which leads to transformation, sanctification, and glorification.  And there is a false knowledge of God which claims spiritual life, and promises the blessings of spiritual life, but which by-passes the path of sanctification, or holiness, which the gospel teaches us is inherent in the true knowledge which leads to salvation.  In other words, false prophets teach that you can live in the lusts of the flesh, whereas the true knowledge teaches that you die to  the flesh so that you can walk in the Spirit.  If you’re claiming Christianity but walking according to the lusts of the flesh, then Peter is indicating that you are not truly saved or at least very deceived.

And tied closely to that, is the other attribute which is that they despise authority.  God has established certain authorities that citizens of His kingdom are to submit to.  But those that are not really citizens of the kingdom of God despise such authority.  And I will tell you what authorities he is speaking of.  He’s talking first of the authority of the Word of God.  Submitting to what the Bible says is not a negotiable part of the Christian life.  In fact, it’s impossible to walk in the Spirit if you disregard what the Word of God says.  Because the Holy Spirit is the author of scripture and He cannot deny Himself. 

The life in the Spirit is what Peter referred to in chapter one as partaking of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption of the world by lust.  False prophets though teach, either by rote  or by example, that you can live in the Spirit and still walk in the world.  And this type of false teaching is damning and destructive, and that’s why Peter is so worked up about it, and spends so much time identifying them, so you don’t become deceived yourself.

And another area of authority is in the area of leadership in the church.  Show me a person who thinks that they don’t have to submit to the authority of a local church, and particularly the leadership of the church, and I will show you a person who is out of God’s will, at the very least, and very likely may have never truly been saved.  To say you are independent, that you don’t need to be under the sound teaching and discipline of a godly church, is to despise authority that God has given for your edification, sanctification and maturity.

Paul speaks to this necessity in Ephesians 4:11-12 “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Godly pastors are given to instruct, rebuke, correct, teach and lead the flock of Christ, and to despise that authority is to effectively put yourself out of the flock, like a lost sheep who has wandered away from the fold, and is easy prey for the wolves in sheep’s clothing to take advantage of.

Now several characteristics of those who teach false knowledge are given for us here in a lengthy passage which might be better studied in smaller bits than what I am going to attempt to do today.  But I feel like the entire chapter is one subject, and so I hope to be able to present it more or less as Peter did, in one sitting.  I’m not sure if it will serve us too well to spend too much time on each attribute, but taken as a whole I think presents a more comprehensive picture and a more impactful warning.  So we will look briefly at each attribute in the order that Peter gives us.

The first characteristic of these kind of false teachers and their followers is presumption and pride.  A presumption is an arrogant assumption of truth, when in fact there is no support for it.  Presumption is often accompanied by pride that you have a knowledge which in fact is not true knowledge at all.  And in this principle, Peter gives us an illustration of presumption from these people’s false knowledge of the spiritual world and the spiritual warfare that we are engaged in. 

Notice the second part of vs.10:  “Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.”  If you have spent any time watching some of the fake healers and false prophets on television, (which I am not recommending by the way) then perhaps you have heard them refer to binding Satan.  The Bible doesn’t teach us to bind Satan. 

In fact, doing so can result in a powerful lesson in humility as evidenced in Acts 19, which talks about the seven sons of Sceva who attempted to bind the satanic spirit in a man, and yet they did not truly know the Lord.  And the demon said, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”  It was evident that the demon did not recognize the Spirit of Christ as being in them and so they were overpowered by it.

Jude speaks to this same principle in Jude vs 8 “Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”  But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.”

Beware of those people who disregard the proper authority that God has established in the church, and yet claim some sort of supernatural authority, especially in regards to the spirit world. Pride in supernatural “abilities” or claims of such, are marks of false prophets, and notice that there is built into this warning a measure of destruction.  Vs12 “But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong.”  They claim to be spiritual, to have supernatural gifts, but in fact they are living in sin, and thus will suffer the wages of sin, which the Bible says is death.

There was a young man in a certain church in the 70’s, who seemed to evidence supernatural powers in regards to the spirit world.  And this church experienced phenomenal growth as a result of this man’s abilities to do things which were purported to be of the Holy Spirit. In fact, I believe he was a practitioner of spiritism and hypnotism.  The Bible says to test the spirits because there are many spirits which are gone out into the world to deceive and destroy.  And in this man’s case, after a few years of ministry, it became evident that he had been living a secret life of homosexuality.  And not only his ministry was destroyed, but he lost his life to the AIDS epidemic.

Notice Peter references the outcome of false teachers in vs 13, “suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong.”  This is the key, as I told you a few minutes ago.  It’s simply walking in the flesh, living in sin.  Walking in the flesh is the antithesis for holy living in the new life in Christ, and it’s a sign that such false prophets are teaching a false knowledge.

Now the next group of attributes attest to that.  Peter says their practices are sinful. Regardless of what they say, it’s what they do that really defines their spiritual condition.  First, notice they are partiers. Now I realize that word has 21st century connotations, but nevertheless, that’s what Peter is saying; they carouse with you, they revel in the daytime.  Vs.13, “They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you.”

What that speaks of is a type of sin that is not ashamed.  It’s bold, it’s arrogant.  It’s not done under the cover of darkness, but it’s done in public.  It’s saying, “this is how I am, and this is what I do, and I don’t have to be ashamed of it.  Instead I am proud of the way that I am.”  I’ve even heard some go so far as to say, “this is how God made me.” As if to blame God for their sin.  One of the more visible manifestations of a false prophet or a false disciple is that they don’t call sin, sin.  They don’t acknowledge sin.  They don’t preach about sin.  And that’s because they practice sin and they like it.  They love the darkness rather than the light.  And so they try to twist scripture to condone their sin, and they try to change laws to legalize their sin, and they try to change church doctrine to approve of their sin.  Peter likens that to partying in the daytime, in plain view.

Now this predilection to sin is further borne out by the next verse, vs 14, “having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children.”  This reference to adultery is not necessarily speaking of marital adultery, though it could include that, but as James says in James 4:4, it’s a lust for the world.  James says, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”  They love the world, and that constitutes adultery towards God.

To love the world means that you love the things the world offers, you love the money that is the currency of  the world, and you love the things that money can buy.  And if you look at the lifestyles of the false prophets and their disciples, it’s evident that they love the things of the world – the mansions, the private planes, the custom made suits, etc.  And the irony is that they are so bold in their lusts that they even try to pervert the gospel so that it supports their lavish lifestyle, and they claim that that is a blessing from God. I heard one false prophet on television not long ago try to defend asking for millions of dollars because he claimed that God wanted him to have a private plane.  They claim that God wants to give them riches, and so they are just believing what God has promised them. They teach the prosperity gospel, which claims that God wants you to live luxuriously in this world.  That’s what Peter means by saying, they have a heart trained in greed. Instead of having a heart trained in righteousness, they have trained it in greed.

The next characteristic of false prophets and their disciples is found in vs15 “forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the [son] of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, [for] a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.” 

Notice first the phrase “forsaking the right way.” Again, this phrase reiterates that the major characteristic of a false prophet is that they live in sin.  The sin that is identified here is the sin of loving money, even if it comes through unrighteousness.  Now it’s a temptation to try to preach a message about Balaam at this point, who is a prototype of a false prophet.  There is a lot that can be learned through looking at his life and how he ended up being destroyed by his sin. But time will not allow me that luxury this morning.  I would encourage you though to read Numbers 22 when you get a chance for yourself.

But allow me if you will the opportunity to give you the Cliff notes version this morning.  Balaam was a prophet who lived during the time of the wilderness journeying of the children of Israel.  And a king named Balak tried to hire Balaam to curse the children of Israel.  But when Balaam tried to do so, God restrained him and prevented him from cursing, and in fact he ended up prophesying a messianic blessing on them instead.  And there is a part of that story which Peter references here, which is when Balaam’s donkey spoke to him to prevent him from being killed by an angel for attempting to circumvent God’s will.  

Now some people have a problem with that part of the story.  Incidentally, just last week on the news there was a story of how archeologists found an inscription with the name Balak on it, presumably from this very king. Anyhow, there are still many people who don’t want to believe this story because of the reference to a donkey speaking.  I heard a story of a skeptic one time who was speaking to a Christian, and said, “You believe all those stories in the Old Testament?” He said, “Yes I do.” Do you believe that the donkey of Balaam spoke?” He said, “Yes I do.” He said, “I’d like to see you make an donkey speak.”  And this Christian was quick to reply, “I’d like to see you make a donkey.” The real difficulty skeptics have is in believing in a Creator God. 

The problem with Balaam was that he loved the wages of unrighteousness.  He loved money, and even though God told him not to curse Israel, he still found a way to get paid to curse them.  It turns out that even though God prevented him from cursing Israel, later on he gave advice to Balak that the way to get Israel to be cursed was to let the young women of his nation seduce the young men of Israel.  And when the men of Israel ended up taking these foreign women as wives, they managed to seduce Israel to worship idols. And so God brought a curse upon the people as a result.  So Balaam got paid for unrighteousness. 

The other part of the story though is when God renewed the Israelites, and they finally went in and wiped out that enemy kingdom, they also killed Balaam the prophet who was at that point living with them.  And so Peter says, he received the wages of unrighteousness, which is death.  Peter says, false prophets and their disciples are to be known by their love of the wages of unrighteousness.

The next characteristic of false prophets and their followers is that they make false promises.  They promise things that they can’t deliver.  vs. 17 “These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.  For speaking out arrogant [words] of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error,  promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.”

Jesus said that He was the source of living water which satisfies men’s souls.  True knowledge is equated to the water of life.  It gives life. But false prophets Peter says are like clouds without water, wells without water.  They have the appearance on the outside as things from which should come water, but inwardly they are dry.  They are like the fig tree which Jesus cursed because it did not have figs, yet it gave the signs of figs.

False prophets promise a more abundant life, but because they don’t follow the truth they don’t have life to give.  I’ve used the analogy many times about a medicine which can cure a disease.  But if you start taking out certain vital ingredients, it no longer has the power to cure, but is merely a placebo; something that merely appears to be medicine,  but is lacking the ingredients necessary for healing.  Such is the gospel.  If you avoid calling out sin, if you avoid repentance, if you avoid teaching about holiness and righteous living, the end result is medicine that no longer has the power to heal.

Peter says that they entice the naive by arrogant words, prideful words, words that promise to “empower” them, but actually it only leads to more enslavement.  Notice he says they promise them freedom but actually they themselves are enslaved to corruption, which means sin.  Sin always seems like freedom. It’s often packaged as such.  And yet how many of those “harmless few drinks,” end up in enslavement to alcohol? How many times does a recreational use of drugs, just for fun, end up in enslavement?  How about the freedom of sexual permissiveness?  How often does that end up in some form of enslavement? Peter says, “by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.”  And I would ask you, to whom are you enslaved?  Are you a slave of Christ, or a slave of the devil?  A slave of Christ lives a life characterized by righteousness, whereas a slave of Satan leads a life characterized by sin.

Jesus said that the truth would set you free, but the opposite is also true, that a lie will make you a prisoner.  And  that imprisonment is what he is referring to in the last few verses.  Vs 20, “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.  For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.  It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,” and, “A sow, after washing, [returns] to wallowing in the mire.”

Notice the word “escaped” there in vs 20.  Many of these folks thought that through religion they could escape the defilements or the captivity of sin.  They were attracted by the light of Christianity, by the hope of Christianity.  But they don’t really accept the truth of Christianity, but just see it as becoming a better person, or turning over a new leaf, or getting religion.  As Paul said in 2 Tim. 3:5, they have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. In other words, they are attracted to some form of moral reformation, but they have stopped short of a spiritual transformation. They have some degree of knowledge about Christianity, but there has never been a transformation.  

And Peter says that though they appeared to escape their sin initially, eventually they are again entangled in their sin, and then it overcomes them and even destroys them.  They will go back to the corruption of their sinful life just like a dog returns to his vomit, or a sow returns to wallowing in the mire.  That’s a tragic indictment of those that follow false teaching. The truth will set you free, but only the whole truth, not a partial truth. The missing ingredient for the life that Christ promised is not in moral reformation, it’s not in intellectual knowledge of Bible facts, it’s a spiritual rebirth which is originated by God through the power of the Holy Spirit, resulting in a new heart, a new outlook, new desires, a new submission to God that comes through the Spirit of God who lives in you and gives new life to you.  

Make no mistake, the life that Christ speaks of, the true way of Christianity can only come through a spiritual rebirth.  Then and only then will you be able to live the life of righteousness that God expects from us.  That supernatural rebirth is spoken of in  Ezekiel 36:25-27 which says, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.  “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”  Having the Spirit of God within us is the only way to be free to walk in the ordinances of God.

The same thing is spoken of in Jeremiah when God speaks of the laws of God being written on your heart. Jer 31:33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”  

The false prophets and false disciples who are living in sin, who have tried to redefine sin, or avoid sin, cannot live the life that God has called us to live, because they are trying to do so in the flesh, and the works of the flesh are in opposition to the works of righteousness.  But, as Peter has so aptly reminded us here today, the fruit of the righteous is righteousness.  If you are truly God’s people, then you will be holy, because He is holy.  And the telltale signs of the false prophets are that they continue to be enslaved to sin and corruption of the world.  I trust that today’s message helps you to better recognize the false prophet and the false teaching that is so prevalent in the world.  Remember Jesus and the apostles all warned that false prophets will arise from within the church, from within the ranks of Christianity.  They may look like Christians on the outside, but examine their works, and be careful of their words by which they entice the unwary and naive.  

One of the most popular artists of all time, and one that is particularly favored today, was a man by the name of Vincent Van Gogh. In 1885, at a time when society was embracing science’s view of evolution and long held beliefs in the Bible were under attack, Van Gogh painted a picture which he called Sill Life with Bible. In the painting, against a dark background there is a large, open Bible on a table with a candle beside it which has burned out. In front of the Bible is a small book, painted in yellow, of which the title is legible. It is a book written by Emile Zola, called The Joy of Life.

According to Van Gogh’s own interpretation, the Bible belonged to his father, who had been a Protestant minister, and he had painted the picture a few months after his death. Next to the Bible, he placed his own copy of “La joie de vivre” by Émile Zola. Van Gogh saw that novel as a kind of ‘bible’ for modern life. Placed together, the two books symbolize the different philosophies between Van Gogh and his father. Obviously, at some point Van Gogh had been exposed to the truth of the Bible earlier in his life, but in his view, the light of the Bible had gone out, and was replaced with a humanistic philosophy that seemed to offer a life of joy.

Sadly, however, for Van Gogh this humanistic philosophy never produced the joy of life he hoped for. He spent much of his years on earth in depression which he tried to drink himself out of. And just five years after completing that painting, he committed suicide.

Proverbs 14:12 says there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death. However, in contrast to the way of death, Jesus said He was the way, the truth and the life, and that the truth would set you free. But as we talked about last time, the enemy of truth is the devil, and he has been working against the truth since the beginning of creation. His purpose is to distort the truth, to malign the truth, to tempt man to think for himself, to make his own decisions, and ultimately, to disregard the authority of God’s Word. And he does so ultimately to deprive men of learning the truth that leads to salvation, in order to ensure their destruction. So Peter is giving us a contrast between the true knowledge which leads to life, found in chapter 1, and the false knowledge which leads to death, as described in chapter 2.

And as we discussed last week from the previous passage, the absolute authority and sufficiency of God’s Word is critical for the life of a Christian, that we would become mature and sanctified in the truth by obedience to it. So the strategy of the devil is to undermine and attack the Word of God which he does on two fronts simultaneously. The first line of attack is from the world; by the philosophy of the world, by the science of the world, and by the culture of the world. And that attack has proven to be very effective at attempting to destroy the credibility of the Word to the world at large, the vast number of people who are unsaved. As a result the world scoffs at those who believe that the Bible is actually God’s Word or has any relevancy whatsoever.

The second line of attack from the enemy is from within the church. The church, like most institutions, is more vulnerable to attacks from within than from without. And so to accomplish this insider’s job, the devil uses false prophets and false teachers to deceive and defraud the church. And having already talked about the necessity of the Word, and the divine inspiration of the Word, now Peter turns his attention to warnings about those who are working inside the church to attempt to undermine the authority and sufficiency of the Word. And so as we look now at chapter 2, Peter spends virtually the entire chapter on this subject of false teachers and false prophets and the resulting false knowledge which leads to destruction. As I have pointed out before, it only takes a minor difference in a compass reading to set a ship far off course. A couple of degree difference in a course setting on a ship leaving the port of Baltimore for London will result not only in completely missing the destination, but also very likely end in shipwreck as well. And the devil knows this quite well, and that’s why he strategizes to distort and deceive through false knowledge.

So in our study his week, in these first 9 verses, Peter gives us the first two major points of his warning against false knowledge. In the first three verses, he tells us nature of false prophets. And then in the next five verses we will look at today, he gives us three illustrations of God’s judgements against false teachers. Let’s look first at the nature of false prophets.

The first characteristic of false prophets is that they come from within the church. Look at vs 1, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you…” False prophets arise from within the ranks of the church. This is what makes them so readily received and makes their teachings so deceitful.

Jesus said in Matt. 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” What Jesus is indicating there is that false prophets appear to be sheep on the outside, according to their appearance and associations, but inwardly, they are opposed to the truth, and working against the truth.

So how do you recognize that someone is a false prophet if they look like a believer, they claim to be a believer, and they are ostensibly from within the church? Maybe if they do some sort of miracle, or claim some supernatural power, then we can believe them. Well, Jesus warned against that as well in Matt. 24:24 “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” That’s a prudent warning, especially today when the church at large seems to have many that claim to perform signs and wonders as evidence of a movement or revelation from the Lord. I would remind you that the false prophets of Pharaoh were able to duplicate the signs that Moses did. And I believe that many of the so called manifestations of the Spirit in the church today are not of the Spirit of Christ at all, but rather the anti Christ.

I will tell you the way to test the prophets. By the Word of God. God’s Word is the test, if they are distorting the truth, or disregarding certain scriptures, or claiming an experience or knowledge that supersedes what the scriptures say, then they are false prophets and you cannot trust what they have to say.

God spoke to the people of the Old Testament through Jeremiah saying in Jer. 14:14 “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.” Notice, God said they come in the name of the Lord, that is from within the church.

The second characteristic of false prophets is that they teach destructive heresies. Vs 1, “there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.” The end result of their teaching is destruction not only for them but for those who follow them. Now that may take the form of spiritual destruction as Jesus described in Matthew 7, saying that many who performed miracles in Jesus name, who said “Lord, Lord,” at the end of the age when they appear in judgment Christ will say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” Or it may be a reference even to Christians, speaking of destruction of their life here on earth either by discipline from the Lord, or by the inherent consequences of disobedience to God’s laws. As I quoted Jesus saying while ago, “there is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death.”

Paul spoke of someone in the church who was living in disobedience to the commands of God, and he turned him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit might be saved. 1Cor. 5:5 “I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” God will judge His people. Peter said, it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God. Thus Paul warned the church when taking communion that if they did so without repentance from sins they were engaging in, that for that reason many of them were sick and a number sleep. That means the judgment of God was upon the church for coming to the assembly with unconfessed sin in their life. That is still a principle that is active today in the church, by the way. God wants you to confess and repent of your sins, that you might be healed and that you might have communion with Him. And His discipline will be enacted towards those that are His children so that they may share in His holiness.

Notice that the destructive heresy that Peter is referring to has to do with denying the Master who bought them. What the word Master indicates there is the right of the Lord to rule over them. There are many who are willing to accept the deity of Christ, to let Christ die for them, to let the Lord forgive their sins, but they are not willing to let the Lord rule over them. The heresy is that they deny the right of sovereign lordship of Jesus Christ. That means they will not submit their lives to His authority and rule.

The issue with such people is not theological, it’s ethical. It’s morality. We have seen yet another major denomination succumb to the influence of false teaching, this latest example being the United Methodist church who just a few weeks ago only narrowly avoided formally adopting a pro LGBTQ agenda for laity and the clergy in their international conference. But for all intents and purposes the denomination accepted it here in America and it will undoubtedly result in either a split in the denomination, or it will cave in to the pressure from the homosexual advocates in the next election. And I’m afraid that will result in not only the destruction of the denomination, but such a decision will destroy many people that follow such teaching as well.

The third characteristic of false prophets is that they will deceive many. Vs.2, “Many will follow their sensuality.” Many people will follow them because they are popular. Many of the largest churches in the world are adherents of false doctrine. A lie is often more palatable than the truth. It’s more acceptable to believe a lie than then truth because it better suits our nature. The lie is what we want to believe, because it’s what pleases our flesh, it’s what appeals to our senses, to our lusts, and it is more conducive to the culture.

Notice Peter says that they follow false teaching because it appeals to their sensuality. False prophets often couple their teaching with an appeal to the senses. It sounds good. It’s set to sentimental or sensual music. It feels good. It’s good to look at. When Satan came to Eve to deceive her, he appealed to her sensuality. Specifically, Gen 3:6 says, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make [one] wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” Notice how much emphasis is given on an appeal to the senses as justification for disobedience to God. And that’s part of the appeal of false teaching. It appeals to the lusts of the flesh.

They don’t want to accept any moral restrictions to their sinful desires and their sexual indulgences.  Jude says about false prophets in Jude 4, “They have turned the grace of our God into licentiousness.”   That means they live immoral lives and they say, “Well, it’s all covered by grace.”  That’s licentiousness. What they don’t want is the Lord getting in the way of their lifestyle. Verse 7 of Jude, he says, “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these, indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh.”  He’s speaking of homosexuality, as well as just blatant immorality.

Because of their love of sensuality Peter says the way of truth will be maligned. In other words, they speak ill of the truth. They are hostile to the truth. What that really speaks to is the tendency among those in rebellion to call what is good, bad. To call what is love, hatred. To say what is right is actually wrong. To say that those who follow the truth are actually the embodiment of some sort of sexism, or bigotry, or chauvinism, or racism, or any other type of ism that maligns those who believe the truth of God’s word.

Because the truth convicts them, it makes them angry. They end up hating the truth and loving their sin. I think that is very evident today in the culture. The world is increasingly hate filled towards anything or anyone representing the truth. They don’t even know why they hate them so much, but the very mention of conservative values cause them to practically foam at the mouth in their hatred. That’s a common characteristic among those that do not want the Lord to rule over them. That want to subvert the word of God to suit their own lifestyle and they hate anyone or anything that opposes them.

One final characteristic of false teachers is that they are greedy. Vs 3, “and in their greed they will exploit you with false words.” Greed may mean that they are trying to take advantage of you financially, and so they seduce you to follow them with false teaching. Or it may include greed for power, for control, for prestige, and so they tell you what you want to hear in order to subvert you to follow them.

I would suggest that the majority of the false prophets I see on television seem to be motivated by greed. They live wanton, luxurious lifestyles, flying private planes and living in mansions overlooking the ocean. As I told some of you a few weeks ago, Benny Hinn has a multi million dollar mansion overlooking the Pacific next to the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Laguna Nigel, CA. I had a business partner many years ago who took our capital and flew to see Benny Hinn for a private prayer consultation. Benny Hinn charged him $10,000 a session. Can you imagine? That’s greed. And greed is the mark of a false prophet.

Peter says they exploit you. That means they take advantage of you. They are in the business of building an empire for their own profit, and they seduce you by the enticement of a false gospel that appeals to your senses and fleshly lusts. And they do so, Peter says, by false words. A false gospel. By twisting and skewing the gospel for the purpose of taking advantage.

But the truth is, Peter says, that such false teaching doesn’t lead to freedom, it doesn’t lead to joy, it doesn’t lead to life, but rather it leads to destruction and judgment. Vs. 3, Peter says, “their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” What he means is that the principle of God’s judgment against false prophets is still in effect. It’s not been done away with in the New Covenant. God will still bring every word, and every action under judgment.

Now in the next 5 verses, Peter gives us three illustrations of that judgment and destruction which happened in the past, as an indication of the certainty of the judgment which will come even today upon those who deceive and lead people astray. First, he speaks of God’s judgment against errant angels. Vs 4, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment…”

Angels are supposed to be messengers of God. And in this first illustration, Peter is referring to the angels who sinned in Genesis 6, when the sons of God looked upon the daughters of men with lust and took them and raised up a demonic offspring. Jude, which parallels Peter’s epistle to a great degree says this: “[Jude vs 6] “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.”

The message is clear. Even angels who transgressed against the boundaries set forth by God to protect men and women will suffer the judgment of God. Those angels in particular are set forth as an example to the rest of the angelic world being held in captivity in the deepest pit of hell for 6000 years. And I believe that the judgment against them is so harsh because in the process of their sin, they took advantage of a weaker, more naive person and corrupted them. I believe as well that false teachers who claim to be messengers of God will be consigned to the hottest part of hell.

The second illustration is regarding the ancient world at the time of the flood. Vs 5 “and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly…”

The status of the world at that time is described in Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” This really speaks to the subject of apostasy. Peter tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. For 120 years Noah preached to all who came to see the ark that he was building far from the sea. Noah must have certainly seemed as crazy as any preacher of the gospel seems today, talking about a 2000 plus year old book and yet the Lord still hasn’t come back, and He seems to be silent and not concerned about the events of the day.

But as Peter reminds us, the day of judgment did come against the ungodly, and when it came it came swiftly. The door was shut, and those who were outside perished in the destruction by water. Peter tells us in chapter 3 vs 1-7 that there is coming another day of judgment, but this time it will be by fire and not water, and the heavens and earth will melt with an intense heat. The Lord is not slow about His promise, but is patient towards you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

There is a third illustration of judgment and destruction, found in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Vs 6 “and [if] He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing [them] to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly [lives] thereafter.” Everyone is familiar with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are an example of what the Bible refers to as gross immorality.

Jude 1:7 says, “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these [that is the angels mentioned in the previous verse] indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”

Remember that false teachers and their followers are characterized by sensuality, by sexual immorality. And so Peter is saying that God’s judgment fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of how His judgment will come against those who promote such things.

However, I do not want to close this message on such on a note of only judgment this morning. I hope you realize that the subject matter at hand is instructed by the text before us. And it is a somber, sobering text that serves as a warning to the church. But inculcated in these three illustrations of God’s judgment, are also three vignettes of God’s deliverance and mercy. In two of the pictures we see that God calls some in history righteous. In vs 5 Noah and 7 others are called righteous and as a result God rescued them from the destruction that came upon the world. And then in vs 7, we see Lot, who even though he was living in the midst of a very evil people, he was called righteous by Peter no less than three times, and again, God rescued him from the destruction that came upon the city.

These three vignettes portray the hope of the gospel. That those who by faith and obedience trust in Christ will escape the judgement that is coming upon all mankind. Faith in Christ means that through the substitutionary death of Christ God credits Jesus’ righteousness to us, and our sins upon Him, that we might be made righteous before God. That’s the hope and promise of salvation. And that gracious gift of salvation is available to all who call upon Him in truth.

Notice that the title Lord which Peter gives here is not the Hebrew acronym for Yahweh, or Jehovah. But it’s kyrios, meaning Lord and Master, Sovereign, the One to whom someone belongs. The One who not only comes to judge but to save as well. By His grace we are called to follow His truth, and grow in respect to our salvation by sanctification in the Word. Our hope for life is found in submission of our life to Him as our Lord and Savior. In submission to Him we find joy and the abundant life of which He spoke. I trust that you have accepted and believed in Him, and will follow Him in obedience, and not be deceived by the strategies of the devil which serve only to deceive and destroy.

Peter is writing to the church at large near the end of his life, in order to shore up the foundations of the church, to strengthen the walls of the church, against the assault of the enemy of the church.  And the enemy always assaults the church in the area of the authority and sufficiency of the Word of God.  The Word of God is always under attack.  It has been since the beginning of the church, and it is even more so today.  

Back in Peter’s day, the assault of false doctrine took the form of Gnosticism.  Gnosticism comes from the Greek word gnosis, which means knowledge.  They professed a false knowledge concerning God which came not from scripture, nor from divine revelation, but from a philosophical and experiential viewpoint.  Thus, Peter makes reference repeatedly in this epistle of knowledge, but especially the true knowledge of God which comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

We have a similar situation in the church today, when the truth of God is set aside for the sake of human philosophy, for the sake of science, and for the sake of spiritual experiences.  So we have today in operation in the church at large, a form of Christianity, which seems to reference many of the same terms and names and so forth, yet i effect it denies the authority of the Word of God.

Now Peter has just addressed a list of virtues that he said were to be applied diligently to our faith.  In other words, he gives a list of things that characterize how we are to live as Christians.  And that’s important, because both in his day and in ours, there is a tendency to think that you can have spiritual knowledge of God, and that alone is sufficient.  There is no need to worry about what you do, only about the spiritual realm.  In fact, one of Gnosticisms’s heresies was that you didn’t need to be concerned  about sins of the flesh.  The flesh was separate from the spirit, and so as long as you were spiritually connected to God, you could do anything in the flesh and it didn’t matter.  And I’m afraid that the same attitude is prevalent today as well in some evangelical circles.  The theological term for this type of thinking is called antinomianism. It’s believing that since salvation is by no merit of your own, when you are saved, your sin no longer matters, or is even recognized.  It’s just a new twist on an old heresy; Gnosticism.

The fact is, God has decreed that without sanctification, that is the process of becoming holy, becoming like Christ in our behavior and attitudes, no one will see the Lord.  (Hebrews 12:14) But make no mistake, there is a constant battle going on in the Christian’s life between the flesh and the Spirit.  Paul cried out in Romans 7:24 “Who will deliver me from this body of death?”  The answer of course is that Christ delivers us from the body of death through the resurrection.  That is when we are finally, truly free from the body of sin and given a new glorified body without sin.  But in the meantime, while we are still in the body, we are told to crucify the flesh on a daily basis, and walk not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.

Now in order to walk in the Spirit, we must walk according to the word of God.  To be obedient to God’s word is counter to the natural inclinations of the flesh.  So to yield to the Spirit and walk in the Spirit, means to walk in agreement with the Word of God.  The word of God is our shield against walking after the flesh.  Psalm 119:11 says, “your word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

As the old adage goes, “This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.” And so Peter follows through on his list of virtues, the virtues of sanctification,  by emphasizing the importance of staying in the word of God.  Sanctification, remember, is the life of a Christian.  It’s the abundant life, the fruitful life of a Christian.  The Christian life is not intended to be an initial spasm followed by chronic inertia which is so characteristic of so many  in evangelical churches today.  But it’s to be a progressive, maturing way of life, in which we follow the example set by Christ, becoming more and more like Him in the process.

Concerning this life of sanctification, Jesus said in John 17:17  “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”  So as Peter indicates here, reliance and dependance on the Word of God is necessary for a life of sanctification.

And Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  That’s the way we live as Christians,  living by the word of God, being obedient to it, walking in it, and trusting in it’s promises and in the process it keeps us from falling and leads us into the paths of righteousness.

So to Peter’s point, he gives us 7 characterizations of the word of God, which serve to establish us in the truth.  The first characterization is what he calls the remembrance of the word.  In the NASB, Peter uses the word “remind” in vs 12, “reminder” in vs 13, and in vs 15 he says “to call these things to mind.”  In the KJV, it uses the word “remembrance” in all three examples, and that’s the basis for the way I make the point.  

Notice Peter speaks of his intention to remind them of the truth, and the need for stirring them up by way of reminder, and then being able to bring to remembrance these things after he was gone.  Peter says that he is fully aware that he will soon leave this world.  That the Lord had revealed to him that his departure was imminent.   Some of us might think that to know the day of our death would be a curse.  We would rather not know when.  I overheard some people saying the other day that they hoped to die in their sleep.  

But on the other hand, what a blessing it was for Peter to know that there was appointed a time for his death, and that the few days he had left were to be used for a divine purpose.  In reality, we all ought to consider our time on earth that way.  None of us know the day or the hour in which we will die.  But one thing we do know, that the Bible says “it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment.”  We ought to all live our lives in the full expectation that today might be the last day we are on this earth.  And if we truly lived that way, I believe we would live so much more differently. Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach [us] to number our days, that we may apply [our] hearts unto wisdom.”

Did you know that if the average life span is 75 years old, that is 27375 days?  Doesn’t sound like a lot, does it? I am 60 years old.  That means that I have 5625 days left, if I live as long as that standard.  That should motivate us to make sure our lives count for God.

Now how was Peter going to bring about this reminder, this remembrance to the church, especially after he was dead?  Was his ghost going to come back and haunt the church like Ebenezer Scrooge? I don’t think so.  Peter still speaks today to the church via his epistles.  That’s the means by which he reminds the church of the doctrines of the gospel for ages to come. Peter remembered the teaching of Christ, and he writes them down for us that we may be stirred up, that we might know the truth of the gospel, and that at any time we may turn again and again to the scriptures for assurance and remembrance of these essential truths. 

Having the word of God available in our language, at our fingertips, available whenever we need it, is a blessing that we far too often take for granted. This is the word of God.  Listen, we can only really come to know God by the word of God. We don’t worship the word, but we worship through the word.  When we come to worship God, we speak to Him, but more importantly, He speaks to us, and He does so by the scriptures.  And implicated in these verses, is the principle that we need to be reminded on a regular basis.  We need to set aside time to study the word, to be reminded of these eternal truths, and even to commit the word of God to memory.  It is the source of life.  As Jesus said, we live by the word of God.

The second characteristic of the Word of God is that of endurance.  The endurance of the Word. Peter relates this principle in vs 15 saying, “And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.”  In the providence of God the scriptures have been preserved for us.  Peter’s diligent was in writing it down for that generation and for future generations.  But God has preserved His word down through the ages.  And certainly, the greatest advancement of the gospel came with the invention of the  printing press in the 15th century and then the translation of the Bible into English by Tyndale in the early 16th century.  It was never the intention of God to have His word in only one archaic language which only a learned few were able to read and translate.  Now today, the word of God is available as never before on the internet, radio, television and every language known to man, and yet unfortunately, it is also under more attack that ever, and more neglected than ever.

In 1 Peter 1:24 Peter quoting Isaiah says,  “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.”  Some people think that when the Lord returns at His second coming and we are in the glorified kingdom, that there will be no more need for the word of God.  I disagree.  I think that the word of God will continue to have a place of prominence in our worship in heaven.  The scriptures speak of the eternality of the Word.  Psalm 119:89, “Your word, O LORD, is everlasting; it is firmly fixed in the heavens.”  So the Word of God is not something that was created by Peter when he sat down in AD 67 with a pen and paper.  But it’s eternal and it endures forever.  That means that it’s unchanging, it’s never going to be revoked.  It’s promises are something that will never expire.  We can trust it and count on it.

The third characteristic of the Word that Peter gives is the eyewitnesses of the Word. Vs.16, “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”  There is a pseudo intellectual type of approach to the scripture which tries to say that a lot of the early stories in the Bible like creation, or the flood, or things like that are actually not literal, true historical events, but they are analogies that were passed down verbally from generation to generation. And I don’t have time today to spend a lot of time on apologetics.  In fact, I’m not even going to attempt to defend the Bible.  I believe God can defend the Bible perfectly fine. I will say though that practically every week I read an article in the news confirming something that the Bible said and yet scholars have criticized as untrue for years.  As more archeology unearths more historical relics, the Bible is never really disproven, but the opposite is true.  For years they said there was no evidence of King David in archeological finds.  But now they believe that there are a number of evidences that he lived.  The fact is though that I don’t depend upon that sort of thing to validate my faith.  My faith validates the Bible, and archeology is trying to keep up.

Peter though is speaking of the fact that the things which he writes are because he and the other apostles were eyewitnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  I’ve noted before that according to civil law, eyewitness testimony is critical to establishing fact.  Someone can be tried and found guilty of murder and put to death on the basis of two or three eyewitnesses.  Paul relates in 1 Cor. 15 that not only did Christ appear  after His resurrection to the 12 apostles, but also to more than 500 witnesses. That’s impossible to refute. And it means that the things of which he writes are facts, they are not clever morality tales.  Peter is writing at a time when many of those people who were eyewitnesses were still alive, and so what he is saying can be corroborated. 

The fourth characterization is the confirmation of the Word. Not only were the apostles eyewitnesses of the life, death and resurrection, but even more Peter says, he, and we know also James and John, were eyewitnesses of the transfiguration, and witnesses of the voice of God speaking in confirmation of His Son.  Peter says in vs.17 “For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”–and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”  

The transfiguration was important for many reasons.  One obvious reason was that they saw Jesus Christ revealed in His glory as the Son of God. Matt. 17:2 says, “And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.” It was as if the cloak of flesh was made transparent so that the glory of God shone forth from Him, which was a bright as the sun.

The apostle John who was present at the transfiguration said in John chapter 1 vs 14,  “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  It’s amazing that John’s gospel identifies Jesus as the Word which was in the beginning with God.  I don’t know how to describe that.  I don’t fully understand it.  But we know that in some way, Jesus was the personification of the Word of God, who existed in the beginning with God, who was God, and yet who became flesh and dwelt among us.  And Peter, James and John saw the Word of God manifested in all His glory and heard the voice of God confirming that He was His Son, and with Him He was well pleased.  And of course, the other confirmation of the gospel of Christ is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  In raising Jesus from the dead, God confirmed that His life was perfect, His sacrifice was acceptable, and our debt was paid in full.  

The next characteristic is the certainty of the Word.  Peter says, we have the prophetic word made more sure.  The word bebaios in the Greek which is translated as more sure can be defined as stable, fast, firm, sure, trustworthy.  And I believe what Peter is speaking of here is the certainty of the Word.  It’s not obscure.  It’s not unclear.  It’s not the philosophy of man.  It’s not the wisdom of man.  It’s the wisdom of God.

It’s certainty is found in the fact that it was spoken by the Word made flesh, it was confirmed by God on the mountain, it was confirmed by angels, it was testified to by the apostles, it was witnessed by over 500 people, and I believe there is one other, which is that it was written down.  Jesus refers over and over again in His ministry to “it is written.  It is written.” The fact that God inspired the prophets to write down His word makes it more sure.  It’s something we can cross check against other scriptures.  It’s something we can study, evaluate, meditate on because it’s in written form.  It’s not just a verbal tradition that was passed down and added to.  That’s why the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls was so important.  It verified the fact that the Word of God had remained virtually unchanged for over 2000 years.  So it’s a sure word.

Now in addition to the certainty of the Word, Peter adds another, the illumination of the Word. 2 Peter 1:19  “So we have the prophetic word [made] more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

Peter’s illustration there speaks to the illumination of the Word by which we can see truth.  “Pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

Jesus referred to Himself as the light of the world.  He referred to the gospel as a light set on a hill, which draws people to God. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”  In the prophecy concerning the Messiah found in Isaiah 9:2 it says, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”

Salvation is only possible when the Holy Spirit illuminates our minds, and opens the eyes of our hearts to see the light of truth.  Peter says give attention to that light, until the day dawns and the Morning Star, which is a description of Christ, arises in your hearts.   Rev 22:16 says, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”  Having the illumination of Christ in your heart is the means of salvation, and enables us to understand the scriptures which are the words of life.

Then finally, the seventh characteristic of the Word is the divine origin of the Word.  Peter gives an extremely important statement here regarding the origination of the Word of God. Vs.20 “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is [a matter] of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

Unfortunately, the word translated as “interpretation” there does not give us the best understanding.  Rather than interpretation, it would be better translated as origination.  He’s not talking about interpreting the scriptures, but the origination of the scriptures. That is, it does not arise out of the prophet.  The prophets did not originate it, it came from God.

The context supports this view because the preceding verse says, “We ought pay attention to the word of God.” Why? Because it doesn’t come from the prophets. And then verse 20 says it comes from God. That’s why we ought to give heed to it. So what we have here is a statement of the origination of Scripture, its divine origination. 

Incidentally, the phrase “moved by”  as in moved by the Holy Spirit, means  to be carried along by someone else’s power.  It was often used in reference to a ship being carried along by the wind.  Inspiration is the breath of God propelling the prophet to write the Word of God by his own hand, in his own words, and even flavored by his own experience and personality, but originating from the Holy Spirit.  They were not moved to write by their own designs or their perceived need, but according to the movement of the Holy Spirit in them.

That should remind us of the statement which Jesus made concerning the Word, which I quoted earlier, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  Our belief is that every word contained in scripture is inspired by God.  And the very words of God are our spiritual food and the means by which we grow  spiritually and are matured spiritually.  And we learned previously  in our study of 1 Peter 2:2 that the goal of our new birth, Peter said, “ like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”

Our sanctification is not possible without feeding upon the Word of God.  It is sufficient for every need. The apostle Paul, who like Peter was nearing the end of his life, wrote to his son in the faith, Timothy about the importance of staying in the word.  I will close by reading his admonition to Timothy, which I hope you will apply also to yourself.  2 Tim. 3:14-17  “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned [them,]  and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;  so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum in view of Christianity is that since salvation is all by grace, that is the unmerited favor of God, since you are saved by no exertion of your own, you are kept saved, kept perfect, if you will, through no exertion either, and therefore there is no condemnation, no duty, no sin, no need to ever repent, no confession, and no need for remorse when you sin, because in effect you cannot sin.  You’re on a glory ride to heaven, so sit back and enjoy the ride.

But what neither of those views fail to take into account, is that salvation is not completed when we are justified, but when we are glorified.  If I might be permitted to remind you of what I have said so many times in the past, there are three phases to salvation; justification, sanctification, and glorification.  In the first phase, justification, God graciously credits the righteousness of Christ to my account, and counts my sins against Christ’s account.  

And let me make a side note right here.  I was talking to Dave Penning yesterday and telling him about our Wednesday night studies in Exodus.  And I recounted to him the severity of the judgment of God upon the Israelites who sinned with the golden calf.  Moses called forth the Levites and they took their swords and killed 3000 men because of their immorality in their worship of the calf.  And people today look at God in light of that and feel confused.  Because they are told the God of the New Testament is not like that any more.  God doesn’t punish people now.  God loves everyone just as you are.  And so God doesn’t punish sin anymore.  

But that is simply not what the Bible teaches.  The God of the OT has not changed.  God still hates sin, and has determined that the punishment for sin, even what we might consider a less than mortal sin, is death.  God still requires death for sin, even today.  And if any of you have ever sinned, of which I suspect is more than a few of you, then God has determined that you are condemned to death, both physical and spiritual death.  But the good news of the New Testament is that instead of putting me or you to death, God put Christ Jesus to death in our place, and let us go free.  But not that we might go back to a life of sin.  But so that we having been set free of sin and death, might live righteous and holy lives for God.

So the first phase, justification, is accomplished by faith in what Christ did for us on the cross, taking our sin upon Himself, and transferring His righteousness unto us, that we might be credited as righteous, and as vs 4 states, become partakers of His divine nature. Now I explained that last week that being partakers of His divine nature means we have received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who gives life to our spirit.  Now in Christ we have a new nature.  Having died to sin with Christ, we now live through the Spirit of Christ in us.

So as we live in this new nature, the new nature informed and given birth to by the Holy Spirit, we are to live according to the Spirit, according to this divine nature.  No longer do we live according to the old nature.  Peter said that old nature was corrupted by lusts of the flesh.  That’s not talking just about sexual lusts, but lusts for sinful passions, which could be pride, greed, hatred, etc.  But those things we are to consider ourselves dead to and live for the things of God.

This second phase of our salvation, is living out this new nature which is led by the Holy Spirit, which is born of God, which is called sanctification.  We just finished  several weeks going through 1 Peter, the theme of which is sanctification, or holy living, becoming conformed to the image of Christ. The problem with much of modern Christianity today is that we have a warped view of God, and therefore a warped view of Christ.  Many Christians today have taken the commandment of God to have no idols, to make no graven image, and have turned it on it’s head.  What I mean by that is that we have redefined God according to our own image.  The purpose of creation was that God made man in His image, in HIs likeness.  But today we find people making God into our image, according to what we want God to be like.  And so we worship a god we create in our own image, instead of the God who is unchanged from eternity past.  Modern theology  changes God into something we think is acceptable, and that is just a new twist in idolatry.

Peter is saying, in effect, that as partakers in the divine nature, we need to add the qualities of sanctification, that is the process of becoming like God, according to His nature, as informed by the Holy Spirit.  So he says, add to your faith… and then he gives us a list of qualities we are to add.  But I want you to notice, that in effect what he’s saying is add to your justification, sanctification.  Because faith is the means of justification, and this list of qualities is the means of sanctification. Then when we get to vs 11, we see the final stage of our salvation, which is glorification, as Peter says, entry into the eternal kingdom of Christ, that is the glorified realm of Christ that comes after the conclusion of this age when we will be glorified like Him.

So let’s consider these things that Peter says we are to add to our faith, what else is needed that we might be sanctified in Christ likeness. Notice first of all, that he says applying all diligence.  Diligence is simply hard work.  The dictionary defines diligence as “careful and persistent work or effort.”  So Peter says to apply these things to your faith with careful and persistent work or effort.  Hardly sounds like a Love Boat cruise to heaven to me.  Our new nature needs to be exercised in the flesh, and that takes diligence. Because, let me assure you, these things do not come naturally.  The sin nature comes naturally, this is something that takes diligence to put on.  James says that faith without works is dead. So to our faith we supply diligence.

And the first thing Peter says to be diligent about is to add  virtue.  Some versions render the word as moral excellence.  But virtue is a more literal interpretation.  Virtue has in mind being noble minded, integrity, goodness, morality.  I like the idea of noble minded.  I think that is a virtue that is lost in our society today for the most part. It was the ideal of the knights of King Arthur’s court.  But being noble minded today will find you ridiculed for being a goody two shoes, or a religious zealot, or something to that effect.  But a virtue of Christ is that He was virtuous and in Him all righteousness dwelled. His motives were always pure. His standards were always high.  He always exhibited integrity and goodness. And if we are going to be partakers of His divine nature, then we must add virtue to our character.

The second thing we need to add to virtue is knowledge.  Knowledge is simply the true knowledge which is found in the scripture.There is a false knowledge of God which comes from our own imaginations which is popular in some sections of particularly the charismatic realm today.  But true knowledge of God only comes from scripture.  As we learn about Christ, we reprogram our mind and heart by the word of God to think and act like He acts. Peter has already talked about true knowledge of God back in vs 2.  It’s the true knowledge of Christ, by which we learn the truth about God, because Jesus is the exact representation of the nature of God, according to Hebrews 1:3.  This goes back to what I was talking about earlier in regards to not redefining God according to our image.  But as we study the word of God, we learn who God is.  Not by discussing what we think God is like, or how we feel God should be, but by the knowledge which comes from God’s word. 

Then Peter says add to your knowledge, self control. In Galatians 5:22 the apostle Paul gives self control as a fruit of the Spirit. What that is saying is not that the Spirit gives you self control, but that the evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit is self control. And I think it’s important to point out that again in some churches today, they are teaching that to be filled with the Holy Spirit you have to lose control.  You have to let go.  And that gives way to all kinds of excesses of the flesh rather than to being filled with the Spirit.  Remember, being filled with the Spirit produces self control.  It doesn’t produce contortions, losing control of your body so that you are rocking or shaking uncontrollably, or losing control of your mind so that you don’t know what you are saying.  The Holy Spirit does not produce uncontrolled laughter that goes on and on and on.  That’s not of the Holy Spirit, that’s of another spirit altogether.  Because the fruit of the Spirit is self control.

 As Paul goes on to say in vs 24,25, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”  I was saying just this last Wednesday night that walking by the Spirit is simply walking according to the word of God.  It’s not having some sort of “holy goosebumps.”  It’s not being overwhelmed emotionally.  It’s simply being obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit through the word of God, which is counter to the natural inclination of the flesh.  Hence Paul says you have to crucify the flesh in order to walk by the Spirit.  And self control is the means of putting to death the lusts of the flesh.

In your self control, Peter says, add perseverance.  Perseverance is simply stick-to-it-iveness. It’s akin to diligence.  An old preacher named Bob Jones once said, “Do right till the stars fall.” That’s perseverance.  He also said “the test of your character is what it takes to stop you.”  Developing a godly character is not a one and done kind of thing, and neither is your sanctification.  It’s daily taking up your cross and following the Lord. Perseverance is getting up when you fall down.  It’s keeping going when you are tired, when you get discouraged.  Satan’s going to keep coming at you.  The world is going to keep spinning round and round and all of the troubles of this world are going to keep coming at you.  Just make up your mind right now you are not going to quit.  Persevere. 

And aptly enough, to perseverance Peter says add godliness.  That’s really what the process of sanctification is all about.  We are being transformed into the image of God, into the likeness of God.  The first creation was corrupted by the deceit of the devil through sin, in the second creation God completes what He started through the atonement of Jesus Christ.  Old things are passed away, and all things become new.  We are being shaped, formed, remolded into the bride of Christ, and as such we better become godly people, reflecting the character of God in our lives.  As cliche as it may sound, becoming godly is really a matter of asking yourself what would Jesus do, or what would Jesus have me to do in every situation.

And once again the tool that God has given us to use is the mirror of the word of God, whereby we can see ourselves in the light of Jesus Christ.  Paul said in 2 Cor. 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”   The simplest way to become like Christ is to study Holy Scripture. Because in Scripture we spend time with the Lord, and in spending time with the Lord we are given the promise that we shall be transformed to be like Him.

There are two more virtues that Peter says we are to add to godliness.  Vs. 7 “and in [your] godliness, brotherly kindness, and in [your] brotherly kindness, love.”  Those of you who have been in church awhile probably know that in the Greek there are a few different words that are usually translated in English as love.  One is eros, which is an erotic love.  One is phileo, which is brotherly love, or familial love, and one is agape, which is a sacrificial love.  It’s interesting here that godliness exhibits both a familial love and a sacricificial love.  And I think that the distinction meant here by Peter is that we are to love the brethren, that is we are to love the church, other believers.  Christ loved the church so much that according to Ephesians 6 He gave His life for her.  And so being transformed to His image, we should love one another, love the church even as Christ did. 

But I think that  agape love is indicated so that we might love not only the church, not only our family, but that we might love the sinner, even as Christ loved the world so much, that He went willingly to the cross to bear their sin. Christ hates sin, but He loves the sinner.  He loves the sinner so much that He came to seek out the lost in order to save them.  He loves the person enslaved to sin so much that He came to earth to set the captives free.  And so we too must  have compassion for the lost.  So we must have  a love for the sinner so much so that we set aside our pleasures, our prerogatives, our personal fulfillment so that we might win the lost for Christ. 

Now Peter says” if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Notice there that Peter indicates these qualities are not a once and done kind of attribute.  But he says, if these qualities are yours and increasing.  It’s a progressive sanctification. Our godliness should be increasing day by day as we walk by the Spirit.  And though we will never reach perfection this side of heaven, we should in fact, be sinning less and becoming more like Christ as we mature in our Christianity.

Furthermore note that Peter ties knowledge with usefulness and fruitfulness in that verse.  Knowledge alone puffs up, Paul tells us.  But knowledge with application produces usefulness and fruitfulness for the Kingdom of God.  They say some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.  I’m not so sure about that saying’s doctrinal stance.  I would never encourage practicality above spirituality.  But on the other hand, having a knowledge of all the doctrines of salvation and never sharing the truth of the gospel with the lost is not the purpose of knowledge. Imagine finding the cure to cancer and not sharing it and watching people die around you without ever sharing the cure.  As Christians we have the knowledge of the  truth which leads from death to life.  How can we not share it?

True knowledge of Christ produces a reproduction of His nature in our lives according to the example of Christ.  As Peter said in his first epistle; “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” 

Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice and they follow Me.”  Following Christ’s example is how we are to live now that we are saved.  But if you are lacking these qualities listed here, if you don’t apply them to your life, then Peter says you have forgotten why you were saved, and you are blind to the purpose of your salvation.  Vs 9 “For he who lacks these [qualities] is blind [or] short-sighted, having forgotten [his] purification from his former sins.”  We were purified by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ from the corruption of our sins, so that we might no longer live in sin, but in righteousness.  Never should we abuse the grace of God that we might return to that sin again.  Peter says it was “his former sins.”  Old things have passed away.  We have died to sin, and daily crucify the passions of the flesh so that we don’t return to those sins.  Peter classifies someone who returns to their former sins in the second chapter of this epistle, vs 22 as “A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”  We may have been a drunkard, or a fornicator or adulterer, but by the grace of God we are not now.  Those are former sins, and now we live according to the qualities of Christlikeness described here.

Peter concludes in vs 10, “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”

Peter conjures up that word diligent again, this time saying be all the more diligent.  Take ever more pains, make even more effort, to be certain about His calling and choosing you.  Listen, a lot of Reformed preachers would spend a month of Sundays on this verse right here talking about the mysteries of election.  I’m just going to repeat what I said a minute ago which sums up election for me.  Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice and they follow Me.”  If you have heard the call of God, and have been chosen by God, then you will recognize His voice as the Chief Shepherd, and you will follow Him.  The proof of your election and choosing is that you follow Him.  You do what He tells you to do.  You obey HIs voice.  That’s the proof of your election.  The mysteries of election, predestination and foreknowledge are the responsibility of God.  My and your responsibility is to follow Him. I will trust God with the business of election.  And like Forrest Gump said, “That’s all I have to say about that.”

The key to the progress of our sanctification though is that we practice these qualities, Peter says. “As long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.” They say practice makes perfect.  We are not perfect now, but one day we will be.  In the meantime, we practice the things that Christ showed us by example.  Back in 1 Peter chapter 2, Peter said “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” 

I’ve explained this before many times, but the word picture that Peter is using there is a type of writing book that had the letters written on the page, and the student would then trace over the lines of the letters.  And so here in 2 Peter, he is referring to the same kind of metaphor, to practice drawing over the lines laid down by Jesus, again and again.  And the more you practice these things, deliberately, diligently practice, purposefully practicing, studying HIs example and then following it, the more we will become like Christ and the more we mortify our old nature.

Then finally, Peter talks about the goal of our salvation, even our sanctification, which is our glorification. Peter says, if we are practicing such things as the qualities listed here, then  “in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”  Now at first glance that looks like it’s saying that the way to enter the kingdom of God is by practicing these qualities until you are perfect, and then you can  be assured of entrance into heaven.  But in homiletics, or the science of Biblical interpretation, the key is to compare scripture with scripture.  And we know from a preponderance of scriptures that works is not the means of righteousness.  I’m sure you are familiar with many such scriptures, but I’ll just give one from Eph. 2:8 for the sake of time, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

So if Peter’s not talking about gaining entrance into heaven by our practicing until we become perfect, then what is he talking about?  I believe he’s talking about our reception in heaven.  I think he’s talking about entering into heaven as a conqueror, to receive the reward of our King. I think it’s coming into heaven hearing the declaration of God, “Well done My good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master.” 

There is inherent in this promise the final characteristic of our salvation, when we are glorified, and we receive a new and glorified body.  In that eternal kingdom there will be no more sin, no more sin nature, no more flesh that’s been corrupted by sinful passions.  All things will become new.  Peter even tells us in chapter 3 that there will be new heavens and a new earth.  And we will be forever with the Lord, and the church will rule and reign with Christ as the bride of Christ.

I think that’s what Peter is indicating there in the last sentence, that the glories of the eternal kingdom of God will be richly ministered to you when we reach our glorification.  These glories of the eternal kingdom should be what we are looking forward to.  The coming of Christ and the glorification of the church should be our goal. Keeping our eyes looking upward is what will make walking down here so much more endurable.  And keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus and following the pattern laid down by Him will transform our lives to be a reflection of Him to a watching world. 

I’m reminded of a the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, in which Captain Jack Sparrow is seen coming into port on a ship that is rapidly sinking to the point that he has climbed up the mast and that’s all that is above the water.  And as the mast finally sinks beneath the water, he steps off with his usual bravado onto the dock at the last second.  I’m afraid that’s how a lot of us plan to make it to heaven, by the skin of our teeth, having done just enough to get in, and nothing more.  But while it may be theoretically possible to do that, I believe that the reward of those that were faithful to Christ, that have followed Christ, is much more than worth any loss of the temporal pleasures of this world.

The Bible scholar JB Meyer once said, “There are two ways of entering a port. A ship may come in, waterlogged and crazy, just kept afloat by continual working at the pumps; or it may enter with every sail set, all her flags flying at the mast-head. The latter is what the apostle Peter desires for himself and those who addresses. He desired that an entrance abundant should be ministered unto them.  And we can be certain of that kind of abundant reception into the glories of heaven, if we practice the qualities of Christ set here before us.  

On a day when millions of people across the country are celebrating Easter with special services and ceremonies both pagan and religious, it is with a sense of concern that I propose to present this message to you today.  On the one hand, I feel a pressure to conform to the common theme of celebrating Easter, as many other pastors of churches are doing.  And yet on the other hand, I feel a need to make a distinction in what I believe is the core of the gospel; mainly, as Jesus said, “They that worship God must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.” 

And I believe that though the Easter story deserves full credit for celebration, yet a simple recounting of the mere facts of the story does not necessarily make for a true knowledge of the gospel.  I believe that there are millions of people today who will in some fashion or another attempt to celebrate Easter, or observe Easter, and yet they are unsaved.  That is a troubling fact of Christianity; that one can have a form of Christianity and yet be unsaved.  

To know the story of the life and death of Jesus Christ, and to know the story of the resurrection, does not save any man or woman.  A person can know Biblical doctrine and not be saved. He can affirm the facts of the gospel and not be saved because salvation does not come from simply an intellectual knowledge of the gospel, though that is important.  But salvation comes from trusting in those truths and appropriating those truths for ones self. And so there is a danger in going through religious ceremonies and rituals and observances as an attempt to add some degree of righteousness to your account, when in fact you remain spiritually bankrupt.  As the apostle Paul said to Timothy about such people, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” 

And let me be clear; denying the power thereof means simply that you have not been converted.  You have a knowledge of God, a knowledge about Christ, even perhaps a knowledge of the Bible, but you have never been converted.  Because, see, the gospel is not just a sentimental story, it’s not even just the greatest story ever told, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation according to Romans 1:16 which says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

Faith then is the transference of facts or knowledge of the gospel to trust application and obedience of the gospel.  Faith is the transference of Christ’s righteousness to me, and the transference of my sins to Christ.  Faith is the transference from death to life.  Faith is the transference from the old man to the new man.  Faith is being  changed from darkness into light. Faith is a change from blindness into sight.  Faith is a change from deadness into life.  Faith, or true knowledge plus action, results in a transformation.

So I am not going to preach a traditional Easter message today, whatever that might mean.  But I am going to preach the gospel, of which the resurrection is an essential part of the foundation. By the way, as Christians we celebrate the resurrection every Sunday.  That’s the reason that the Sabbath is no longer our day of worship, but instead we worship on Sunday.  Because Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week, and so it’s known as the Lord’s Day.  As Sunday is the beginning of a new week, so does the day of resurrection signify a new covenant, a new beginning, a new life in Christ in which we have hope of resurrection not only in eternity when our bodies are resurrected, but even now, when we are raised out of our spiritual deadness to new life, and when we come out of the earth to walk in the power of the Spirit.

Now let me say a thing or two about the context of this letter, since we are beginning this epistle today. Peter is writing to the church at large in a time very much like the days in which we live.  The date of this epistle is about mid 60s AD.  It’s written just a short time before Peter’s death by martyrdom.  And he is fully aware that his death is imminent  as he states in vs 14. And what is foremost on his mind is a concern that apostasy in the church is on the rise and it threatens the foundations of the gospel.  It’s only been about 30 years since the death and resurrection of Christ, and yet already the seeds of apostasy are blossoming. And so Peter writes this letter to assure the church of certain fundamental truths that will undergird the church as it goes through these troubling times.

I want you to notice a common theme that appears again and again in this letter.  It’s found in the word “knowledge” or a form of that word, which appears over and over again.  Knowledge of God is mentioned in vs2,  true knowledge of Christ in vs 3, vs 5 knowledge is a virtue that we are to add to our character.   Vs 8 he mentions the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ as the substance of our fruitfulness.  And you can go on through the rest of the epistle and seek out further references to knowledge or knowing God. But I think the point can be made that Peter is warning against a knowledge that puffs up as opposed to a true knowledge which results in  transformation. 

So as Peter opens the letter, he reminds his audience of the fact that he is a servant of the church, and an apostle of Jesus Christ.  The dominant characteristic of false prophets is that they are not really serving  the church, but they are served by the church, they lord their position over the church, and they rob the church.  Peter has the heart of a servant, to tend to the flock of God, to feed the sheep the truth of God’s word by which they may grow in their salvation.  It is necessary for a true leader of the church to not only lead but to serve.  Even as Christ said, “whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”  So Peter is reflective in his position of the position which Christ held.

Apostle means someone who had been with the Lord during His earthly ministry, and had seen the risen Savior.  In Acts chapter 1, Peter stood up among the 11 and made a case for replacing Judas, and in so doing he gives the criteria for apostleship.  He said, “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”  

Being a witness to the resurrection was an essential characteristic of the office of apostle. Because facts are confirmed by the testimony of witnesses.  That is true in modern courtrooms today, is it not?  And according to Jewish law, life or death can be determined by the testimony of two or three witnesses.  So having eyewitnesses of Christ’s resurrection is essential to establishing facts, upon which we establish a true knowledge of God.

Now in Ephesians 4, the apostle Paul gives an important description of the facts of our salvation, and he correlates them as gifts given to men.  I don’t have time to give an exposition of the entire passage, but I want to read it, because I think it parallels in some respects what Peter is saying here.  Paul says in vs 8, “WHEN [Christ] ASCENDED ON HIGH,

HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”  It’s talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ accomplishing our redemption from the enslavement to sin and the devil.  That’s what the resurrection of Christ accomplished.  Victory over death, the proof of the acceptableness of His sacrifice to pay our penalty, and the promise of new life to those who were held captive by the devil to do his will.  I’m sorry for you dispensationalists out there, but there is nothing in those verses to indicate He took the dead saved people in Paradise into heaven.  That’s not what it’s talking about.  Jesus didn’t go directly into heaven when He was resurrected.  He told Mary Magdalene He had not yet ascended to His Father.  It simply is a reference to the fact that through Christ’s resurrection, our salvation was accomplished in full, and we receive new life, having been released from the bondage unto death.

And then in vs 11, Paul begins to describe those gifts; “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”  Notice Paul also refers to this “knowledge” which results in spiritual maturity.

So in a similar fashion, Peter as an apostle, reiterates the gifts that God has given to men in salvation.  And in these first four verses, we see five gifts that God has given to men.  The first gift is faith.  He says in vs1, “those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours.”  What kind of faith is that?  It’s knowledge coupled with application.  Faith is not just a  head knowledge of the facts of Jesus life, death and resurrection.  But faith is applying the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ to your life. It’s not just believing that He existed, but applying what He has done to my account.  Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

And that’s why Peter emphasizes that he is an apostle, and that our faith is the same as their faith, because we have believed the eyewitness testimony of the apostles.  Furthermore, notice that he emphasizes that we received faith.  Faith is a gift of God.  Eph. 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God.”  Faith is our responsibility, but it’s a gift of God whereby He gives us the illumination and inclination to believe the gospel. 

Ephesians 2:8 goes on to say in vs 9, that we received this faith, “Not of works, lest any man should boast.”  Peter says, we have received this faith, “by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”  2 Cor. 5:21 says, “God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin on our behalf, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”  God does not wink at our sin, but in His justice He made the spotless,  righteous  Jesus His Son bear the punishment for our sins so that we might be made righteous by His righteousness. That’s our justification. 

One more important note on this verse, is that Peter says, “our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The grammar of the ancient Greek indicates that Peter said that Jesus Christ is our God and Savior. Peter clearly belleved that Jesus was and is our God and Savior.  And that is an important distinction which needs to be made.  Because one of the ways false teachers deceive is by denying the deity of Jesus Christ.  Many who claim to be worshipping Jesus today deny that He was God.  And to deny Jesus is God is apostasy.  Jesus told the disciples, “I and the Father are One.”  So either Jesus is God, or He is a liar and a lunatic, not worthy of worship or celebration.  I believe and the Bible teaches that He is God as Peter confirmed here.

Furthermore, the resurrection proves that Jesus is God.  Jesus said in John 10:17-18  “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.  No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”  So the fact of His resurrection, attested to by more than 500 witnesses, is evidence that Jesus is God, because only God has the power over death.

Now secondly, Peter identifies another gift of God in salvation, a couplet called grace and peace.  These two words appear very often in scripture in the form of a couplet.  And always in this order.  Grace and peace.  Without first knowing the grace of God, we cannot have peace with God.  And only when we have true knowledge of God, can we have peace with God.  As the bumper sticker slogan says, “No God, no peace.  Know God, know peace.” 

Peter says in vs 2, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”  The multiplied blessings of God come as a result of an intimate, growing, maturing knowledge of God.  That’s the reason we study His word.  That we might know Him.  And the more we come to know Him, the more He reveals of Himself to us, that we might have grace upon grace.  And the more we know Him, the more we love Him, and the more we seek to live in a way that is pleasing to Him.

But the peace of God is that our reconciliation through Christ does away with the enmity we had with God before salvation.  We were enemies of God because we were enslaved to sin, but through Christ’s atonement we are now at peace with God, having become adopted into His family.  

The third gift is another couplet; life and godliness.  And once again, Peter says those gifts come through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue or excellence. Notice that Peter says it is the power of Christ that has granted unto us life and godliness.  Jesus said in John 11:25-26 “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,  and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.”

So by Christ’s divine power He has given life to those who believes in Him.  To believe is to have faith in who Christ is, and to believe what He has done in HIs death, burial and resurrection, and believe that He did it for me.   And in response to our faith, Christ gives us life.  He transfers us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God.  He transfers our sin upon Himself and His righteousness unto us.  This life that He gives is spiritual life, life that is in communion with God, that we might intimately know God and grow in spiritual maturity.  And such life will never die.  Now it is appointed for all men to die in their flesh, but in our spirit we will never die.  And because Christ was the first fruits of the resurrection, so our spirits shall be resurrected with a new body at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Because our spirit is alive, we shall never die, and even though our body will perish, our spirit will be given a new body at the resurrection.

So the resurrection speaks not just of the earthly body, but of new life.  Resurrection for the Christian is a reality now, in that our spirit which was dead has been reborn into new life.  That is the reality of the resurrection; that in Christ we have died to sin, and are born again into new life, and that life is a life of godliness.  That’s the other benefit that Christ gives us.  We cannot attain righteousness apart from the power of Christ in us.  But in that power we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us.  We can live godly, holy, righteous lives because He has saved us not only from the penalty of sin, but from the power of sin.  Sin no longer has dominion over us, but we are able to do the works of God by the power of God.

The fourth gift of our salvation Peter says is  exceedingly great and magnificent promises.  By Christ’s own glory and excellence or goodness, He gives us great and precious promises.  These great and precious promises are found in the word of God.  Our faith is founded upon the promises of God written in His word.  And His promises cannot fail because His glory cannot abide a lie, His goodness cannot allow His promises to fail.  The promises of God are encapsulated in the new covenant, which as Hebrews 8 tells us in vs 6 “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.”  Christ has written this covenant in His own blood, and it has been attested to by the resurrection of Christ from the dead and He has been exalted to the right hand of the Father, wherefrom He is able to assure that His promises will be accomplished because He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and all things have been put under His feet.  

So these magnificent promises of eternal life, of the forgiveness of sins, of the credit of righteousness in our account, of the inheritance of our reward, all these things have been promised to us, and reserved in heaven for us, and nothing can alter that.  God cannot lie, His promises cannot fail, because, as Romans 11:29 tells us, “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”  His word, His promises, are the basis for our eternal security. 

The fifth gift of our salvation that Peter delineates for us, is that by these promises “you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”  This is the best part yet.  After Jesus’s resurrection, He appeared to the disciples and in Acts 1:4-5, 7-8 it says,  “Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” [He said,] “you heard of from Me;  for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So what was it that has been promised by the Father and told of by Christ?  The coming of the Holy Spirit.  Listen to what Jesus continues saying in vs 8, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

How do we have the power as Christians to escape the corruption of the flesh and the world? By the power of the Holy Spirit.  He is the power of Christ that works in us. When you are saved, when you are justified, and given new life in Christ, when you are made righteous by the grace of God, then the final gift is that you are made partakers of the divine nature.  The Holy Spirit takes up residence in you, to lead you into all righteousness, to lead you into true knowledge of the truth, to give you the strength to live a godly life, and to give you the boldness to be witnesses of Jesus Christ.  This is the power of Christ in us; the Holy Spirit.  The same Holy Spirit who inspired the scriptures so that we might know God, illuminates our spirit so that we might come to know Him and understand the scriptures. 

Peter was a believer, but in His flesh He fell in His faith at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. But when the power of the Holy Spirit came as promised on the Day of Pentecost, this same Peter suddenly had the power of God working in Him, and He was able to stand in the middle of the street of Jerusalem and preach powerfully so that those listening were convicted to the point that they called out, “what must we do?”  To which Peter replied, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

These magnificent promises of salvation are available to you today, even to those that are far off from the Kingdom of Heaven.  If you have heard the Lord call you this morning, then these promises of salvation are for you today.  If you will just believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and repent of your sins, you can receive life and godliness, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that you may partake of the divine nature.  The invitation today is to be converted, to be changed from death to life, to be resurrected in the spirit, so that you may be given eternal life.  Today is the acceptable day of salvation.  You have heard the call of God.  Come to Christ today and be saved.

As we come to the close of 1 Peter, he has said in his letter again and again that submission and suffering are used by God as the means to sanctification. Sanctification is simply spiritual maturity.  God uses trials to work in you and conform you into the image of Jesus Christ.  Now added to that “formula” if you will, Peter elaborates by saying that submission and suffering produce humility, which is God’s will for you.  God wants you to be humble, because Jesus was humble and in humbling Himself, He was able to fulfill God’s purposes. The opposite of humility is pride.  And God’s will cannot be accomplished in you until He deals with your pride.

God’s will is opposed to your will.  Your will, your agenda, your prerogatives, your ego, your pride are in opposition to God’s will. Self love is in opposition to God’s will.  Self sufficiency is in opposition to God’s will.  A self made man or woman is in opposition to God’s will.  A person who takes pride in what they consider to be spiritual accomplishments is in opposition to God’s will.  

Peter has told us many things we are to do as Christians.  But in doing those things, we are not fulfilling our purposes, but God’s purposes. We are not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, the pride of life, but we fulfill the purposes of God. So if you are truly living a sanctified, holy life, then pride is not really going to be your problem.  Because holiness is not having your nose up in the air.  Holiness is not parading your Biblical knowledge around for everyone to see how spiritual you are.  Holiness comes out of humbleness.  Holiness is not thinking more highly of yourself than you ought.  Holiness is recognizing that you are in your flesh corrupted by the sin nature and there is nothing good in you.  Holiness comes out of humbleness, recognizing that if any good comes from you it comes because you are dying to the natural man and yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit who works in you.  It’s recognizing that any righteousness that you have is because Jesus transferred His righteousness to you and God is working in you.

So, back in vs 5 Peter begins the summation of his letter by saying, “all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” Let me emphasize that point for a moment; God is opposed to the proud.  God is opposed to the proud.  Those that think they are self sufficient in their Christian life, guess what?  God is opposed to you. Those that don’t think that they need to be in church fellowship, guess what?  God is opposed to you.  Those that don’t think that they really need to be in church all that often, guess what?  God is opposed to you.

How so?  You think you are good to go.  You think you are sufficiently full, needing nothing.  God is opposed to you.  You don’t think you need to submit to the shepherd’s authority.  God is opposed to you. And because He is opposed to you, He is not going to give grace to you.  Grace means in this instance God’s blessings on your life.  You don’t think you need to submit to God’s ordinances, or submit to God’s shepherds, or submit to God’s teaching, or submit to God’s people? Guess what?  God is opposed to you.  Don’t be surprised then at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you, which comes upon you for your testing.  Because you show by your callousness, by your pride, by your rebellion that there is dross in you which needs to be burned out.  

But if you humble yourself, as Peter says in vs 6, under the mighty hand of God, in due time He will exalt you.  In His time, after He has humbled you, after He has deconstructed you in your insolence, in your aloofness. Before God can build you up He has to first tear you down.  Because nothing in you is worth keeping.  God will not struggle against flesh forever.  Genesis 6:3, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh.”  The problem with the self sufficient Christian is that they may look healthy on the outside, but they are full of disease on the inside.  Their heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, and yet they don’t know it.  They think they are ok.  They look in the mirror of God’s word and they see the problems in other people and don’t bother to fix what is wrong with themselves.  And the problem is pride, which God must root out if you are His sheep. God is opposed to the proud.  But He gives grace to the humble. 

So therefore humble yourselves.  You can either do it yourself, or God will do it.  But one way or another God is going to humble you if you are a child of God. But do not underestimate the mighty hand of God.  The expression, the mighty hand of God is an Old Testament symbol of God’s covering power, God’s controlling power, God’s sovereignty. God is in charge. The mighty hand of God is the hand of God in charge of you.

In Exodus 3, the mighty hand of God delivered the Israelites from slavery to Pharaoh by a series of plagues. In Job 30, Job recognizes that it’s the mighty hand of God which has brought about  suffering in his life.  In Ezekiel 20 the mighty hand of God chastises and punishes His people for their rebellion.  Whether then it’s in deliverance from enslavement to sin, or in suffering for righteousness or in chastisement for idolatry and rebellion,  Peter says you need to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God as He works in you to refine you.  It is a foolish thing to resist God.  But you must submit to His authority and the authorities which He has designated so that He may shed HIs grace upon you.  Peter has already warned us in chapter 4 vs 17 that judgement will begin with the house of God.  God commanded back in chapter 1 vs 16 “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” That’s not a suggestion.  And God will work holiness in you by His mighty hand.

And we need to understand  that the blessing which He promises may not come in our time, but in His time.  And His time may not be until Jesus comes back. There is no promise in this life of having an abundance and having all of the good things in life. But there is a promise that in suffering here we are storing up treasures in heaven.

Now when we encounter the mighty hand of God in our lives, and we experience the trials and tribulations that ultimately come from the hand of God to purify us, and refine us, our natural tendency is to be afraid.  We don’t like loosing control of our situation, do we?  We don’t like letting go of our own destiny. We are afraid of submitting to another’s authority.  The thought of losing control over our lives and letting God take over causes us anxiety, because the truth is we aren’t really too sure about God sometimes.  We think we know better than God what is good for us and so we are afraid to give in.

I have shared my testimony a few times over the years, particularly about how I suffered a major meltdown about 25 years ago.  I could say it was a nervous breakdown, but that wouldn’t really cover everything that was going on.  It was financial, emotional, physical, just about everything that could go wrong went wrong.  And during the worst of that time I had a real fear that I was going to go insane. I had tremendous anxiety every day for months.  And I had always heard this saying which was when you reach the end of your rope, just tie a knot in it and hang on.  One night I was unable to sleep for several hours and was battling extreme anxiety to the point that I was basically hallucinating. And in my mind I could feel myself hanging on to this rope, swinging over a bottomless dark chasm.  And I could feel myself slipping further and further down till I got to the end of the rope, and eventually I just couldn’t hang on anymore.  I remember letting go and falling, and falling, and falling into the abyss which I believed was insanity. I think I passed out at that point.  But when I woke up the next morning, somewhere in the black darkness of that abyss, when I could no longer hang on, I found that the Lord had held on to me.

Listen, don’t let anxiety keep you from trusting in the Lord to hold onto you.  Because, as Peter reminds us, He cares for you.  You are HIs charge and He will never let you go.  You are His sheep, of His flock, and though you may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He will be with you.  His rod and staff shall bring comfort to you.  By the way, the rod and staff are instruments of deliverance and also instruments of chastisement. But either way, He cares for you. I like the word care being used there.  I think it harkens back to Peter’s description of Christ as the Chief Shepherd in vs 4. We are entrusted to His care.  The Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  And nothing can snatch them out of His hand because He cares for them.

Jesus said in John 10:27-30 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given [them] to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”  He cares for you if you are one of His sheep, and nothing happens to you without first coming through His hand.

If however, Jesus is our Advocate, then Peter warns us to beware our adversary.  The Devil is the father of lies, according to Jesus Christ.  So then we must beware lest he deceive us by the seduction of pride.  Satan’s original sin was the sin of pride.  Five times in Isaiah 14 Lucifer says “I will, I will, I will.”  And with pride he seduced Eve so that she too said “I will be like God,” which caused her fall. And he offers to us the same temptation.  To deny the Lord, and make our own decisions, to plan our own way, and to be self sufficient. Our will be done. To be lord of our own destiny, or so we think.

So be sober, Peter says, be on the alert, because your adversary the devil prowls around as a roaring lion, seeking someone to  devour.  Soberness of course, certainly covers sobriety, not being drunk or high.  But in a more general way, it speaks of the seriousness of our life.  Being serious is not considered a virtue today.  Being serious is something to be avoided.  No one really wants to seriously think about life. Start talking seriously about life, about heaven and hell and the judgment to come and see how many friends you end up having. 

No one wants to think about serious things. And the devil has so orchestrated the course of this world to keep you distracted, to keep you entertained, to keep you amused.  He has many sources of distraction at his disposal, such as music, popular media, movies, television, even friends or family can distract you from what’s important.  I don’t want to hurt your feelings if you’re one of these people, but I really think it’s a dangerous thing to constantly have music or the television going all the time.  Some people I know can’t sleep without a TV on.  The first thing they do when they get in a car is turn music on. I believe that the devil uses such things to keep your mind from thinking about serious things, such as your eternal destination.  Things such as the brevity of life and the meaning of life.

We need to be sober minded, serious minded and on the alert.  We often act like we are blissfully unaware that there is a lion stalking us, prowling around, looking for someone to devour.  Satan’s goal is to destroy you, make no doubt about it. He hates you with a passionate hatred, because you are Christ’s church.  You belong to Christ, and Satan takes out his hatred for Christ upon you. He wants to bring shame upon the Lord through destroying you. Don’t think that the ages since Lucifer fell from heaven have dulled his hatred for Christ.  It has only served to embitter him more.  He has nothing to fear from the lost, they are already under his dominion and doomed to destruction.  But he has everything to fear from a sanctified Christian living a holy life.  And so he will never sleep, and never grow tired of coming up with strategies to destroy you.

Peter speaks from the standpoint of experience. I’m sure he could never forget the day when Jesus said to him, “Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat.”  But Peter was full of confidence, full of self sufficiency, filled with pride in the strength of his flesh, filled with pride that he was considered first of the disciples.  And in that pride, Satan took him down further than he could have ever imagined, even to the point of denying Christ three times in one night.  Listen, Satan’s got your number, and it’s your pride, your self sufficiency. 

Jesus was tempted by Satan as well, after 40 days of fasting in the wilderness.  But the way Jesus resistwed him was through the word of God. Three times in response to three temptations Jesus said, “It is written.”  He relied not upon His own resources to resist temptation, but He relied on the word of God.  And that is how we are to resist Satan as well. Not in our wisdom, nor in our strength, but in the truth of God’s word we rebuke his lies.  Peter says, “But resist him, firm in your faith.”  Our faith is founded upon the promises of God, the word of God, and not in our own strength or even our own convictions if they are not founded in the truth of God’s word.

Another strategy of Satan that I think we are all very familiar with is that when things get bad, he causes us to think that no one understands, no one else has suffered in the way that I am suffering.  He wants us to withdraw from fellowship, to fill sorry for ourselves and go into some sort of cocoon of self pity.  But notice what Peter reminds us of in vs.9, “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”  There is nothing new under the sun.  Satan’s tricks are as old as creation.  He has just had thousands of years and millions of people to perfect his strategies.  So we must not fall for the lie that no one understands, our plight is worse than anyone else’s.  Peter says the same sort of sufferings are being experienced by the church all over the world.

You know, every time I start feeling sorry for myself, the Lord has me see someone who is a whole lot worse off than I am. Sometimes it’s someone who is seriously handicapped.  Other times it’s someone who has lost limbs and are confined to a wheelchair.  Whatever it is, God uses it to put my suffering in perspective. Don’t let yourself become obsessed with your troubles to the point of neglecting to see others who are also suffering.  Our job is to encourage one another, to help one another, to serve one another. 

Jesus told Peter after the statement about Satan wanting to sift him like wheat, Jesus said, “but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”  That’s what we are to be doing as well, and that is one of the blessings that comes out of trials, that we have compassion on others who are also suffering, and that we can pray for them and strengthen them.

The other blessing that comes out of our suffering is found in vs. 10, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” This is the  purpose of our sanctification which is produced through suffering, submission and humility. Peter uses four words to describe the things God is doing in your trials.  

First he will perfect you.  That word which is translated perfect would be better translated as complete.  He will finish in you what He has started.  He gave you the righteousness of Jesus Christ in justification, and in sanctification He exercises righteousness through you as you pattern your life after Christ. Sanctification is the act of being righteous.  And God produces righteousness in you through suffering and submission. Phil. 1:6 says,  “[For I am] confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it [or complete it] until the day of Christ Jesus.”

The next three words are basically synonyms  meant to reinforce one idea; that having to do with establishing, as in establishing a foundation, strengthening a building.  After all, Peter told us earlier in chapter 2 vs 5 that “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”  The purpose then of our sanctification is to make us a fit dwelling for the Holy Spirit. That we might not be moved here and there with every wind of doctrine, that we might not be swayed by the devil’s temptations, that we might not turn aside after the lusts of the flesh being distracted by the world.  God wants to establish us, strengthen us, and make us stedfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

To that end, so that Christ may be all in all, Peter gives us as a benediction, “To Him be dominion for ever and ever, Amen.”  Christ is king over all, and most especially must be king on the throne  in our hearts.  “He must increase,” John the Baptist said, and I must decrease.”

Simply speaking, I must die to my flesh so that He might live in me.  As King of Kings He has all authority and right to exercise dominion over me.  As Lord of Lords, He deserves submission from me.  And as He lives in me, I will live in Him, so that I might live with Him forever and ever.  Sanctification is simply yielding my life completely to be under the dominion of the Spirit of Christ.  Our life is to serve Him.  And He has promised that those who serve Him in His kingdom will have eternal life with Him.

Eternal life begins at conversion.  And in that new life God begins the process of sanctification, learning to submit to His authority, to share in His suffering, to humble ourselves in service, so that we might be like Him, and He might live in us as the temple of His Spirit.  Peter has written a very practical epistle, telling us how to live in this present world, and what to expect in the world to come.  I pray that you know the grace of God which has offered to you the gift of salvation, and that you have trusted in Him for your salvation and been converted.  If not, today is the day of salvation.  Come and trust Jesus as your Savior and Lord today so that you may be forgiven of your sins, and find new life in Him. 

If you were reading consecutively through 1 Peter, it almost seems as if chapter 4 would have been the logical place to end the letter.  The theme of 1 Peter has been sanctification, and at the end of chapter 4 we see basically a summary of the teaching that sanctification comes through suffering because of the reaction of the world to holy Christian living.  And in that context, Peter says that God will be the judge of such matters and we should entrust our souls to a faithful Creator.  But he also says that judgment will begin with the house of God.  

That sounds like a warning to the church to stay stedfast and vigilant as we see the day of the Lord approaching, that God is not slack concerning His promises, but will bring every work into judgment, whether good or bad.  That seems a good place to end the letter, I would think.  

So the question then is what do we make of chapter 5? Is it an addendum, an after thought, without reference to the former passage?  Well, the answer is to notice the word “therefore” which starts the first sentence.  “Therefore” ties this passage back to the last of chapter four.  In what respect?  In respect to the judgment of the church.  And in regards to the judgment of the church, God puts the brunt of the responsibility for sanctification of the church upon the pastor.

Peter more than likely has in mind a passage from the Old Testament, Ezekiel chapter 9, in which there was a similar season of judgment against the church of Israel that was announced by God. And in Ezekiel 9:6 the word says that God wanted to “begin the judgment at My sanctuary.” Ezekiel continues in vs 6 saying, “So they began with the elders who were before the house.”  The elders bore the beginning of God’s judgment against His church.  

Peter undoubtedly sees that judgment as a foreshadowing of the judgment that he speaks of here, as beginning with the house of God.  And even as in the vision of Ezekiel when the executioners started with the elders of Israel, so even in the church God starts with the elders as those with the greatest culpability. 

So Peter begins to exhort, to urge, to beseech the elders of the church as the judgment is to begin with them first. This is a urgent call to remain faithful, to be stedfast till the end, and fulfill your responsibility to shepherd the church.  

These opening verses then are directed toward the elders of the church.  And though not all in the church are elders, this is still pertinent to you.  Because you need to know what the elders job is supposed to be.  There are a lot of mischaracterizations regarding what the elder or pastor of a church is supposed to be, and a lot of expectations on the part of the congregation that are not necessarily in accordance with what God wants them  to be doing.  

The Greek word for elder is presbyteros. The NT uses the term bishop, elders, and presbyters interchangeably.  So elder can refer to all of those.  However, the best definition may be given here by Peter himself; and that is shepherd.  Paul also uses the word poimēn in Ephesians 4:11 when he speaks of pastors in the church which is translated shepherd.  And that is the description that Peter gives here as well in vs 2, “shepherd the flock of God among you.”

So the elders are simply the overseers, the shepherds, the pastors of the flock of God. The word elder, overseer, shepherd, pastor all refer to the same persons, those who are responsible to lead the church, those who are the shepherds and pastors of God’s people. They are called elders, which speaks of their seniority and maturity, or at least spiritual maturity.  Overseers  speaks of their leadership. They are called pastor or shepherd which speaks of their responsibility to feed and tend to the flock.

It’s a serious responsibility to care for God’s flock.  It is not the pastor’s flock, it is the Lord’s flock, and the pastor has been given the solemn responsibility to care for them the way that the Lord would have them to.  James warns in James 3:1, “let not many of you become teachers, for as such they will incur a greater condemnation.”  And as Peter indicates here, as well as Ezekiel, the pastor will be held responsible first for the condition of the sheep.

The primary task of the shepherd is feeding the sheep which is done by expounding the word of God. The pastor protects them in order that they may continue to be fed the truth. He guides them into the truth so that they don’t go astray into false doctrine which will cause them to stumble. He protects them from predators that would do harm to them, that would ravage the church.  Paul said in Acts 20:29 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.”  So the pastor is to be on guard against false teachers, false prophets, which try to ravage the church.

The sin of the shepherds in Israel, according to Ezekiel 34, is that they did not feed the sheep. The job of the pastor of a church is not administration, it’s not about establishing programs, it’s not about producing entertaining services, it’s about feeding the sheep. And God’s word is the word which gives life according to John 6:63,68.

Peter gives us here in this passage then four points; the role of the shepherd, the readiness of the shepherd, the reward of the shepherd, and the responsibility of the sheep. And he begins his exhortation  to  the shepherds by saying he is a fellow elder of the church.  Peter was more than just a shepherd, of course.  He was an apostle.  He is writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  But he shows his empathy with pastors and understanding of their role because he says he is an elder himself.  Jesus could show empathy with us because He became a man, He became one of us.  And Peter knows the trials and burdens of being a pastor. 

Not only though does he have empathy for them, but he has apostolic authority.  And the authority which he gives is that he is “a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed.”  That speaks of his apostleship.  The primary requirement of an apostle was that they had been with Christ during his ministry and seen the risen Lord. And so Peter is subtly reminding them of that position that he has to give them instruction, even though he considers himself a fellow elder and under the same responsibilities. 

First then, Peter speaks of the role of the shepherd. He calls upon the pastors or elders of the churches scattered abroad to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you.” The shepherd is to take care of the flock that is local, that is in his community.  I think it’s a reference to their responsibility  to a local congregation.  There may be some benefit for radio preachers or television preachers or traveling evangelists, but there is a primary role for a shepherd to his local congregation and vice a versa, a need of the local congregation to be shepherded.  A good pastor tells his congregation not just what they want to hear, but what they need to hear.  Without such a pastor, the church tends to tune in to things that they find appealing, which ultimately leaves them with a poor diet and malnourished in the doctrines which are more difficult to accept.

That raises the question though which is, what is meant by shepherd the flock of God? What is the job of a shepherd? Sometimes, it’s helpful to see what something is not supposed to be, in order to understand what they should be.  In Ezekiel 34, God speaks against the shepherds saying in vs 2, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?  “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat [sheep] without feeding the flock.  “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.”  These then are unfaithful shepherds.

Faithful shepherds however, in contrast to those in Ezekiel’s day, will feed the sheep. They will not take advantage of their position to feed themselves, to clothe themselves without feeding the flock. They will attend the sick, they will strengthen those who are weak, they will seek the lost, they will go after those who have strayed and bring them back into the fold, and they will not be domineering in so doing.

That’s a pretty high standard. And even the Lord recognizes it as such.  Thus He says to Ezekiel in vs 11 of chapter 34,  “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.

As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.”  And in vs 23, “Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd.”

God is speaking, obviously, of the Lord Jesus Christ, who Peter identifies in vs 4 as the Chief Shepherd. It is the word of Christ which ultimately feeds the sheep and tends to the sheep. He is the Chief Shepherd, and the pastor is but a under shepherd, faithfully rendering to the sheep what the Chief Shepherd has provided and following in His example.  

Peter knew better than anyone the reality of a leader falling short,  even to the point of denying Christ in a moment of crisis and failure of the flesh. But Jesus made a point to restore him, and commission him to feed his sheep, in spite of his failure of faith. God made Peter fit for the office.  And God must equip shepherds today by the gift of His Spirit who is able to make us fit for service and to equip us to do His will.

So a shepherd is to feed the flock, he is to be spiritually mature and a man of good character, he is to love the sheep even as Christ loved the church, and he is to exercise oversight, meaning to oversee, to inspect, to care for, to look diligently, to keep watch over the souls which he has been entrusted with.

Next, Peter speaks of the shepherd’s readiness. Again, there is a contrast to show how a shepherd is to exhibit readiness. He gives three negatives, followed by three positives in two verses. Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly.  Not for shameful gain, but eagerly.  Not for domineering those under your charge, but being an example to the flock.

Peter gives three negatives, or pitfalls that cause a shepherd to fall short in his position; duty, greed and a misuse of power.  I think that in the first negative which is a sense of duty, it can be contrasted to a calling. Perhaps a better description of the first negative is a pastor who is in that position because it’s a career choice.  Compulsion speaks of constraint.  Someone who perhaps is constrained by their own ambitions. They may be constrained by pride, by ambition. I believe the great problem in church leadership today is that too many  men are pastors who are not called by God, but called by men.  Jesus talked about a shepherd who was a hireling, and as such did not really care for the sheep.  They are constrained by their affections, by their ambition or their pride, they don’t have a servants heart, and they are not called by God.

The second negative which Peter gives is shepherds that are attracted to money. Even in Peter’s day there were false teachers who were in it for the money and would use their position to fleece the sheep.   In 1Timothy Paul tells Timothy that an elder should not be a lover of money.  In 2 Timothy, he said that false teachers are lovers of money.  These television preachers that are always talking about money and flying around the country in private jets an living a lavish lifestyle are the epitome of false teachers who love money.

I heard the other day that Benny Hinn has a mansion overlooking Dana Point in Laguna Nigel, Ca.  I’ve been there, there is a famous surf spot at the base of the cliff.  The Ritz Carlton is perched up on the cliff and according to this report Benny Hinn has a house somewhere near by.  That has to be a multimillion dollar property.  I had a business partner once who took money out of our capital and used it to give Benny Hinn $10,000 for a private prayer session with him. He charges $10,000 per session.  He flies around the country in his own private jet. And yet he claims to be a shepherd of the flock of God.  I can only say I don’t want to be in his shoes when he stands before the throne of God and gives an account for what he has done as a false shepherd of God’s flock.  

However, I do want to affirm that it is okay to pay the pastor.  The financial abuses of false teachers do not annul that. In fact, it’s the responsibility of the church to take care of the pastor’s financial needs. 1Cor. 9:14 says, “So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.” And Paul said to Timothy that those that are faithful in the Word and doctrine should be worthy of double honor.  But money should not the motive for becoming a shepherd.  

The third shortcoming of shepherds is a misuse of their position. They lord it over the flock, Peter says.  They are domineering.  Instead Peter says that they should be examples to the church of good behavior, of a humble spirit. In Matthew  In Matt. 20:25 Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.   It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”  The pastor should be an example in service, in humility.

So if shepherds are not to be motivated by position, or money or power, then what is their motivation supposed to be?  Peter answers that in vs 4, “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”  The reward will be when Jesus comes again. The prize for shepherds does not come in this life, but in the next one.  I have to admit that sometimes is a little frustrating.  In my flesh I want to enjoy good things in this life, just like everyone else does.  But I know that God uses my circumstances to keep me doing what He wants me to do.  I suppose that if I had what I would like to have, I would not be as concerned about the things that God would have me do.

And so like Paul said, I have learned to be content with humble means.  But it does cause me to look forward to the glory that is ahead and the reward that will be given to faithful stewards. And unlike the fading glory of this life, and the things which we must leave behind which we worked so hard for, in the next life there is laid up in store for me a glory and a reward which will never fade away. And whatever sacrifices I might have made in this life will be worth it all when that day comes.

Finally, we look at the sheep’s responsibility.  Shepherding requires sheep.  What does the Bible teach about sheep?  Sheep need feeding, tending to, caring for.  On their own they are subject to getting lost, hurt, confused, scared, or becoming lunch for a hungry lion. They have no way to clean themselves.  They have little to no sense of direction. They can’t find water or proper pasture without guidance.  And the Bible says that we are like sheep;  all we like sheep have gone astray.  Jesus said in Matt. 9:36 that the Jews were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus said My sheep hear My voice and they follow Me.  David said we are the sheep of His pasture.  David likens himself to a sheep saying that the Lord was His shepherd in Psalm 23.

After Peter was restored to the Lord after his betrayal at the crucifixion, Jesus asked him three times if Peter loved Him.  And in response to Peter’s affirmation that he loved Him, Jesus said, feed my sheep, tend my sheep.   Jesus, who is titled the Great Shepherd of the sheep in this passage by Peter, has entrusted his sheep to shepherds who will tend his sheep and feed his sheep.

And now that the shepherds have been exhorted to be faithful, Peter turns his attention to the flock. He says in vs.5, “You younger men, likewise, be subject to [your] elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”  Actually, in the Greek it is not necessarily addressed to young men, but those that are younger, or new, or youthful. So we may take that to be in contrast to the elders who are supposed to be spiritually mature, to those who are less so.

The first thing that Peter lays stress on is to be subject to the elders, or to the shepherd. Being subject to authority has been a constant theme in Peter’s epistle.  Wives are to be subject to their husbands.  Servants submissive to their masters.  All are to be subject to the government. And now we see that the church should be subject to the shepherd. 

Now that requires humility.  Because in our nature we like our independence.  Some even go so far as to say that they don’t need a pastor.  They don’t need to belong to a local flock.  And they certainly won’t submit to a shepherd’s leadership.  But that is not the attitude of humility that Peter says God approves of.  Submission requires humility. It requires humility to receive instruction.

So actually Peter quotes from Proverbs here to make his point that we need to clothe ourselves with humility. Proverbs 3:34 says, “Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor or grace.”  Pride is the original sin. Pride was the sin of Lucifer. And God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble.  Humility is a willingness to give others first place, to show others consideration, to serve others,  to not think so highly of yourself that you cannot take instruction.  If a shepherd is faithful to expound the word of God, then the humble in heart will accept it as the word of God, and not find offense in being told what God has said.  Pride is really an offense towards God.  And an unwieldiness to submit to the authority that God has ordained is rebellion not against man, or even against the church, but against God Himself.

And let us not forget, that judgment begins with the house of God.  God will hold you accountable for what you did with what you have received. And even though God places a stricter judgment upon the pastor/teacher, yet He will certainly also judge the one who is under the charge of the shepherd, but will not submit to the word of God spoken through the pastor.  God hates pride.  Let us submit to one another, and let us feast fully on the word of God, that we might grow in the grace of God.  

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,  casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 

The theme of Peter’s epistle is our sanctification.  He stated his thesis in chapter one, quoting the Lord who said, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”  Sanctification is being set apart in salvation for holiness.  By justification we are reckoned as holy by what Christ did for us on the cross.  In sanctification we live out that holiness as Christ lives in us.  It’s living holy, because He is holy, and He is Lord of our lives and lives in us and through us.  Sanctification is submitting first of all to the Lord in doing His will.  It’s being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ who is holy and blameless. 

Now this is the  goal of our sanctification.  Now that we are justified by the blood of Jesus Christ shed on our behalf, we are set apart for holy living, to be ambassadors for the Kingdom of God. And as we live sanctified lives under the authority and leading of the Holy Spirit, even as Christ lived during His time upon the earth, then we are going to experience suffering that comes from this world in response to our life, even as Christ suffered for righteousness sake.

So in that regard, Peter continues in his letter to the church writing to prepare them in regards to the suffering that will be a  part of the process of sanctification.  He wants them to know what the reaction of the world will be in regards to living a sanctified life. 

First of all, he says we should expect suffering.  Vs.12, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.”   The irony should be obvious to all.  Living righteously, living holy lives, ends up bringing on trials.  You would think that living as Christians, living as Christ lived when He was on the earth, would cause people to love us.  After all, we should be prime examples of good citizens.  We should be pillars of the community, doing good to the poor, compassionate to and helping those who are misfortunate.  We should be paying our taxes, submitting to the governing authorities.  We should be the kind of neighbors that every one would wish for.  The kind of employees that every company looks for.  We should be loved by the world.  

But Peter, as well as many of the other gospel writers, tells us that is not going to be their response.  Instead they are going to hate us.  Jesus Himself said in John 15:18-19  “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before [it hated] you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”

So don’t be surprised.  Expect it.  The world loves those who love sin, who love pride, who love  sexual immorality, who love money, who love fame.  They love the Bonnie’s and Clydes of this world.  And they despise those who live holy lives. 

That’s the problem with the “relevant church” strategy prevalent today with which we are trying to get the world endeared with Christianity.  We try to lower our standards and mimic the world’s practices hoping that the world will like us and want to become Christians like us.  That doesn’t work.  You just end up with a worldly church. 

And that’s the problem with trying to soften the offense of the gospel message.  Take out sin and don’t speak of hell or judgment, and just tell the unsaved how much God loves them just the way they are.  That is the strategy of many churches today in hopes of getting the lost to like us and want to become a Christian.  But it’s not going to work, because they are not going to be saved unless they first realize that they are sinners and hopelessly lost and condemned to die in their sins.  And that’s an unpopular, offensive message.

So when we are living out our Christianity as Christ lived in the world, then we can expect that the world will treat us the way Christ was treated.  Notice also that Peter calls this suffering a “fiery ordeal.” Some commentators have said that this was a veiled reference to the burning of Rome which may have happened shortly before Peter wrote this letter.  You will recall that Nero intentionally set Rome ablaze, and then blamed it on the Christians and began a time of severe persecution.  That may or not be what Peter had in mind.

Personally, I think it harkens back to chapter one vs 7 in which Peter talks about the proof of our faith, even tested by fire.  It’s a refiner’s fire that Peter has in mind, I believe.  It’s a trial by fire in which that which is unholy is burned up, so that which is left is pure.  Fire in the Bible is associated first of all with the holiness of God.  Moses saw a burning bush in which God spoke from telling him to take off his shoes for it was holy ground.  Fire was on Mt. Sinai, so that the mountain was enveloped with fire and smoke and the people trembled at the sight and from which God spoke.  Fire is associated with the burnt offerings which were offered for sin.  The law is full of references to the requirements for an offering by fire.  And so just in those references to fire, we can assume that the trials and ordeals which the Lord leads us through are meant to cleanse us, to refine us, to purify us so that we might be sanctified for holy purposes.

There are a number of references in scripture regarding a refiner’s fire being used of God.  Let me share a few. Job 23:10  “But He knows the way I take; [When] He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Pro 17:3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests hearts.

Isa 48:10 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

Zec 13:9 “And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'”

Mal 3:3  “He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness.

As I have said repeatedly, suffering is not the goal, but it’s the process by which the goal is reached.  And the goal is sanctification, without which, Hebrews 4 tells us, no one will see the Lord.  

Notice also Peter says these fiery trials come upon you for your testing.  Again, that testing correlates to the proof of your faith mentioned by in chapter one.  Let me read that for you again, in chapter 1:6-7  “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,  so that the 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.”

So it’s obviously not just a situation in which the world or the devil persecutes a Christian and God is helplessly standing by saying “just hold on till it’s over.”  But what this indicates is that God is using even the ungodly who persecute you, He is using the various trials which come upon you that make take all sorts of forms such as poverty or hunger, or imprisonment, or bad health, whatever form it takes, God is using it and superintending over it, to use it for good.  

Now that’s hard to fathom, especially when you are suffering in a major way and you don’t think you deserve it or you don’t understand why God would allow you to suffer in this way.  Our prayers are usually “Lord get me out of this situation quick!” But what we have to remember and even find the means of rejoicing in, is that God uses the suffering which we experience to form us into the character and image of Jesus Christ and as such His will is often to let us go through it that it might conform us to Christ.  A good illustration of that is when Joseph was unjustly incarcerated and mistreated in prison for 13 years.  When he finally was released, and he saw his brothers who had sold him into slavery many years before, he said, “you meant it for evil, but God used it for good.”  

And that’s what Peter is saying here.  God will use the trial by fire to conform you into the image of His Son.  And don’t forget, that it pleased the Father to crush Jesus, putting Him to grief. God chose suffering as the path for His beloved Son.  And He often choses suffering for us as well that we  might be like Him.  So, Peter says, don’t think it’s strange when suffering happens to you.  It’s to be expected.  Unfortunately, a lot of Christians fall because they don’t expect suffering to be a part of their Christian experience.  They were expecting to live their best life now.  Instead, they got suffering.  Peter says, don’t be surprised.  Don’t think it strange.  It’s par for the course.

So rather we are to rejoice, Peter says.  Funny thing, James said to rejoice in suffering as well. James 1:2-3 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”  The question though is how can we rejoice in suffering?  It’s painful.  It’s stressful.  It’s not an experience that we want to go through.  How can we rejoice in it?  

The answer is that we rejoice by looking beyond the suffering. That’s how.  It is said of Jesus in Heb. 12:2  “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  We don’t fix our eyes on our circumstances, on how bad we have it, on how bad we are being treated or how bad we feel, but like Jesus we fix our eyes on the joy set before us.  The joy that is ultimately our reward when Christ returns. 

2Cor. 4:17-18 says,  “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,  while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”  Paul says compared to the glory in eternity that will be ours, the present suffering is temporary, momentary and light in comparison.

So as Jesus looked beyond the suffering of the cross, He considered the joy set before Him.  In the same way, we look beyond the suffering we experience in trials, and consider that glory which is far beyond all comparison. 

The next point that Peter makes is that there are two types of suffering.  There is the suffering for righteousness, and the suffering for unrighteousness.  First the righteous suffering  is stated this way; vs 14, “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”   This is the type of suffering that will come upon a person who is living righteously, who is walking in the way that Jesus walked, who is conformed to the image of Christ.  Such a person even though they are reviled for the sake of Christ, they will have a blessing, because they are living a Spirit filled life.  They are filled with the Spirit, and thus they will enjoy the blessings of such a life.

But then Peter contrasts that with the person who is suffering as the wages of unrighteousness. He says in vs 15, “Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler.”  In other words, there are consequences to sin not only in eternal judgment, but in this world as well. God has appointed government to wield the sword of justice, and there are punishments that will be exacted by those governments for such offenses.  We have been studying the ten commandments on Wednesday nights for the last couple of weeks and we commented that all civilizations legislate much of the second table of laws.  Murder and stealing are pretty much illegal in every society and every civilization and the punishments for such are quite severe.  

An evildoer I suppose just covers everything else not covered by murder and stealing. It means a lawbreaker.  One who does evil. And there are laws and punishments for evildoers.  There is one other word though that bears mentioning, and that is translated as “troublesome meddler.” That’s an unusual term.  It has in mind an overseer, but not in a good way.  It’s someone who gets involved in things that they shouldn’t be involved in.  Someone who is stirring up trouble, looking for trouble. Trouble is one thing that if you look for it you will find.  I’m always looking for things I have misplaced somewhere.  Usually I’m looking for things because my wife has decided to straighten up my desk or something. I know where all my junk is and I can’t find it when my wife cleans up.  But you know,  if you look for trouble, you will usually find it. If you’re trying to find fault, you will find it.

Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:11  “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands just as we commanded you.”  In other words you’re not to be a troublesome meddler.  You’re not to look for faults in others. As much as it is possible with you be at peace with all men.  You’re not to stir up your society.  You’re to lead a quiet life.  You are to attend to your own business and to work with your own hands.  Stay out of other people’s business.  In 2 Thessalonians 3:11 he says to the Thessalonians, “For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all but acting like busybodies.”  Don’t stir up trouble by being a busybody.

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, Matt. 7:3-5  “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”  So there you go.  Don’t be a troublesome meddler.  It will cause suffering not only for others, but it will also cause suffering for you as well.

There are inherent consequences to sin.  Ultimately, there is an eternal consequence to all sin, but even in the world there are consequences for sin. And as Christians, there is no exemption from temptation to sin, no barrier to keep you from sin.  Though Christ will forgive you from sin, you may still have to pay the consequences of your sin here in this world.  And that is a shameful and tragic consequence for a Christian to have to face.

However, Peter assures us that as a Christian who suffers for righteousness there is no shame in that.  Vs. 16, “but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”

I am told that in the beginning when they were first called Christians, it was intended as a slur.  But in time the early church began to glory in that name.  And what Peter is saying there is that they are not to be ashamed of being called Christians, but to glorify God in the name of Christians.  That means that they have to act like Christ, since they take the name of Christ.  And that is precisely what being sanctified indicates; that we are like Christ, thus Christians.

The next point that Peter makes is that this is the appointed time for suffering.  We should expect it, we should not be surprised by it, we should not be ashamed of it, and it is the appointed time for it. Vs. 17, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER?”

We notice first of all that suffering is a measure of God’s judgment.  As Christians, we sometimes think that we are not going to deal with any sort of judgment.  But in actuality, Peter is saying that judgment begins with the house of God.   A faithful Father disciplines His children, does He not?  Heb 12:6-11 says “FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom [his] father does not discipline?  But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?  For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He [disciplines us] for [our] good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”  

There’s so much in that passage, but notice that the results of the Father’s discipline it says is holiness and the fruit of righteousness.  That’s our sanctification.  That’s what the Father is doing in our lives by allowing suffering.  As I keep saying, the goal is not suffering, but sanctification.  Suffering is the means, not the goal.  The goal is that you have all the dross, all the sin, all the world, all the pride, all the ego burned away, that Christ might shine in you.

And this is the time for such suffering to begin.  It is necessary to begin with us, that we might share His holiness and be His ambassadors to the world.  But woe to the world.  The man of the world thinks his sin is unseen, he thinks he has gotten away with it.  He thinks that he can live any way he wants and there are not going to be consequences.  But the fact is that God sees, and has appointed a time for all men to die and after that the judgment.  And at the judgment, there will be a terrible price to pay, an eternal price to pay.

It is with difficulty that the righteous are saved.  We have been saved by the suffering of Christ on our behalf. Those that reject Christ must pay their own penalty.  And what a terrible penalty it is.

The blessing that the righteous has though is that they belong to a faithful Creator.  We are as Peter says, the house of God.  We are children of God.  And even if we die in this body, yet we live in the Spirit.  Peter uses the title “faithful Creator” I believe in order to emphasize the faithfulness of God to keep His promise to us of eternal life, and to remind us that as Creator God made life, and all life has it’s being through Him.  And so we can entrust our eternal soul to a faithful Creator who will raise us up on the last day, and change this corruptible body into an incorruptible body, so that we may share in His glory for eternity.

There is a reward for those that belong to Christ.  In this world we will have tribulation.  But Peter encourages us to rejoice in it, knowing that God will use it to refine us so that we might share in HIs holiness.  I encourage you to look beyond the present circumstances to the glory set before us and keep on keeping on, having as your commitment to be found pleasing to God.  May the grace of our Lord enable you to do so and may you be found faithful when He comes.  


I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the term “preppers.” Preppers are people that are waiting, planning, and preparing for the apocalypse or something like the end of civilization as we know it. These folks are convinced that the world cannot keep going like it is without imploding or exploding, and what life is left will be forced to make do without all the luxuries and amusements and technology that we are now using. And so they are prepping for this coming time by storing up weapons, ammunition, food, water and things like that. These people are pretty serious about it. Some have built underground bunkers out of storage containers in which they have stored a year or two of supplies. And they have weapons because they want to make sure that their neighbors who didn’t prepare, who perhaps made fun of their preparations, do not end up banging on their doorstep after the proverbial dung hits the fan trying to get their food.

Oddly enough, a fair number of Christians seem to embrace this world view and have become preppers as well. I say it’s odd because I find it incongruous that those of us who claim to want to go to heaven, sometimes live like that’s the last place we want to go. There is a popular view among evangelicals especially that we need to do everything we can to hold on to this body, to this life, for as long as possible. That’s quite a contrast to Christians of the first century. They were practically volunteering for martyrdom in the belief that it not only hastened their communication to God, but that it ensured a greater reward.

I don’t know if you recognize this or not, but Peter might be characterized as a prepper as well. He talked quite a bit about the last days and what our attitude should be as we approach the end of the age. In fact, in our text today, Peter says that “the end of all things is near.” He is saying that they were living in the last days, or the last age. In chapter 1 vs 20 he said something else about it; “For He [that is Christ] was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.” A more literal translation reads, “But has appeared at the end of the times for the sake of you. So it’s a parallel statement to our text. The end of all things, or the end of the times is near.

If that was true in Peter’s day, and that sentiment is echoed by the words of other gospel writers such as Paul and the Apostle John, then how much more so is it true for us today? And how can it be true then and still be true today?

The explanation is that the end of the times, or the last times, is speaking of the end of the age, particularly the age or period of time which commenced at the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, and will be consummated at the second coming of Christ. Some have referred to this as the church age, or the age of grace, or the age of the new covenant. I’m not sure that those are the best titles, nor if there is a single title that best describes this age. Perhaps it should be referenced in view of the kingdom of God. It being the age of invitation, of salvation, in the greater realm of the kingdom of God. It’s the age between His first coming and His second coming. And the first coming resulted in salvation, in a universal invitation to repent, to believe in Jesus Christ, to be transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. And Peter is saying that this present age is coming to it’s conclusion, to it’s consummation, when Christ shall come again and claim His bride which is the church.

That consummation of the kingdom results in the fulfillment of vs 11 in our text, which says, “that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Everything in history has been heading to this future glory, when Christ shall reappear in the clouds, this time not with an invitation, but in judgment, to rule and reign not just spiritually but visibly and physically in a glorified kingdom with His church in a new heaven and new earth.

Since then we are living in the last days, perhaps metaphorically in the last hours, how should we live? What should be our focus? The early church definitely lived as if the Lord could return at any second. And the fact that it’s been 2000 years since then should not dull our sense of expectation. Peter says in 2 Peter 3:3 “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with [their] mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For [ever] since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God [the] heavens existed long ago and [the] earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one [fact] escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”

Now I am going to save the exegesis of that passage for a few weeks from now when we come to it, but it’s pretty self explanatory, I think, indicating that what seems like a thousand years to us is but a day in God’s reckoning. So it is proper for Peter to say it is the last days, and for us to be still living in the last days. Also, when you consider that the people who lived before the flood lived almost to the age of 1000 years, then it is entirely appropriate to think of the present age in terms of the last days. But the conclusion of Peter’s argument is what I want to focus on at the moment. Since all these things are coming at the end of the age, and we are living in the end of the age, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? Peter is urging us to make the most of our time because the end of time is near. All that we know of this world is temporary and will be destroyed by fire. So how should we live then in light of this?

Paul makes a very similar point in Romans 13:12-14 saying, “The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to [its] lusts.”

It’s interesting that Peter has just given a similar list of behavior that we should put away in these last days. In vs 3 Peter said, “For the time already past is sufficient [for you] to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.” This is the lifestyle of those who don’t know the Lord, who have the mantra “eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.” But Peter now gives the characteristics of those who are sanctified, who are holy, who are living in expectation of the immanent return of Christ and looking forward to it eagerly.

Peter gives us four things, four characteristics which should mark our lives as we live in these last days. He says, be sober, show love, show hospitality, and serve one another. Let’s look at each of these briefly. We who are saved, who are living sanctified lives with Christ already reigning in our hearts will exhibit these four characteristics in the last days.

First we are to be sober. Someone has well said, “The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that the Christian controls his temperament, whereas the non-Christian is controlled by it.” The Christian should live in control of his passions, exhibiting self control and sound judgment in his life and dealings with others. Thus Peter says in vs7, “be of sound judgment and sober spirit.” To be sober is not only to be not drunk or involved in drinking parties and carousing like the unbelievers mentioned in vs 3, but it also refers to being serious minded. Clear headed. We are to have our wits about us at all times. We are to be of sound judgment.

The present age has a unhealthy interest in entertainment and escapism. Much of our modern inventions like television or the internet, or sports or even music serve to be a distraction from reality. And it’s difficult in light of the variety of such things to be immune to such things. I’m not suggesting that we cannot be entertained, or see a movie or listen to music. But I am suggesting that it’s a dangerous thing to be consumed with, to have your head constantly filled with frivolous things, which can keep you from thinking about more serious and important things.

Attached to this exhortation to be sober minded, Peter says it is for the sake of your prayers. Our sober mindedness is for the sake of our prayers. Now what kind of prayers specifically is Peter referring to? Is it prayers for other’s salvation? I’m sure that is something we are supposed to be praying for, especially in light of the last days. Is it prayers for health, or blessings or things that might help us or make us more comfortable? Well, the Bible tells us to pray at all times, so those things are certainly included, though not all things are necessarily promised nor profitable. However, I suggest that there is a more probable cause for prayer which Peter has in mind here. And for that we might look back at another event in which Peter was with the Lord, of which it was said that the hour was at hand.

In Matthew 26 we read the account of Peter and the disciples who were supposed to have gone with Christ further into the Garden of Gethsemane in order to pray with Him. And they ended up falling asleep while Jesus went on further to pray alone. And in vs 40 it says Jesus came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you [men] could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

I think that Peter sees the similarities of those last days with Jesus, when they thought things would just continue along as they had been, when they did not discern the signs of the times, and unbeknownst to them it was the last days of Jesus’ time on earth. And the hour of tribulation came and they were sleeping, they were taking their rest. Jesus rebuked them saying, watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

I think that event in many respects parallels these last days of which Peter is referring. We do not know the day or the hour when Jesus is returning. And there is a real danger that we become complacent, that we become tired, weary in well doing, and we let our vigilance wane. We need some rest, we think. Church is too early. We are too tired to pray. We are too concerned with the present reality of our comforts to be much concerned about the things of the kingdom, or the time of the end. And so we don’t watch for His coming. We don’t pray that God would deliver us from temptation. We don’t keep a serious outlook and a prayerful attitude and as such we risk being found unfaithful when He returns. Or even worse, we find ourselves having fallen into temptation to sin, thinking that it will be a long time before the Master returns. There will be plenty of time to get serious about the things of God later, down the road. I think that’s the kind of attitude that Peter said we are to be careful about as we see the day fast approaching. Stay sober minded, for the sake of your prayers, that you do not fall into temptation in these last days. Don’t lose sight of the eternal for the sake of the temporal.

The second characteristic we should exhibit as we are in the last days Peter says is show love for one another. Vs 8, “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another.” Fervency in love is a love that is not complacent. It’s a love that is reaching out, seeking the well being of others. If you love Christ, then it’s presumed that you will love His body. You will love the church, love one other. But what does that mean? Does that speak of warm, fuzzy feelings? Of some sort of emotional attachment, of some sort of sentimentality that occurs when we are together?

Well, the word love there is agape. And that word should need little explanation. Suffice it to say that agape love is a sacrificial love for another. It’s love that is orientated towards others, and not self orientated. Agape love is the antithesis of sinning against your neighbor. Love is the opposite of selfishness. Love is the opposite of pride. Jesus said this attribute was the premier attribute of his disciples: you will be known as My disciples by your love for one another.

Paul speaks of this in Colossians 3, saying in vs 12, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things [put on] love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” In other words, love is what binds together all these attributes Paul lists there. Sacrificial love is what holds the church together.

And there is an additional benefit which Peter mentions there in vs 8, we should love one another, “because love covers a multitude of sins.” Peter isn’t saying that you can do a loving deed and have your sins wiped out. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can atone for sins. But what he is referring to is that love forgives injuries against us. Love forgives sins against us. That’s what Christ’s love is like, forgiving us when we sinned against Him, even if it meant suffering death to accomplish that forgiveness, for our sakes. Love is other’s orientated. Love is wanting to see other’s benefitted, to see others helped, to see others have enough. Agape love is not a reciprocal arrangement, and by the way, neither is your marriage. Love one another fervently, and forgive one another from the heart.

The third characteristic of sanctified saints living in the last days is they are showing hospitality. Vs.9, “Be hospitable to one another without complaint.” Hospitality was a very necessary trait in the early church as there were not many Holiday Inn’s around in those days. And so travelers were dependent upon the kindness of others in order to find a place to rest or to find safety on the road.

But I think that hospitality has a much broader context in Peter’s mind, and especially in our culture today. I think hospitality is simply love in action. I believe hospitality is sharing what you have with those who are in need. God has given you resources to use not just for selfish reasons, but for building up the body of Christ.

We share a meal with the church on Wednesday nights in order to illustrate this principle in a practical way. It’s obviously not to show off our house, or even our culinary skills, or to try to get people to respond in some way. We share because we have the opportunity to do something for others that expresses the love of Christ for the church. You might say that hospitality is the cost of love. In other words, it’s not just a sentiment, but an action, an action that sometimes costs you something, even to the point of sacrifice, in order to bless someone else.

The final characteristic Peter gives as a principle to live by in the last days, is serving one another. Vs 10, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” It’s interesting that Peter doesn’t give us some long list of spiritual gifts which we can take a test for to see which we might qualify for. I believe there are a variety of spiritual gifts, taking on a variety of forms. But as Paul said when speaking of spiritual gifts, he said if they aren’t accompanied by love then they are a clanging gong. They are just a loud noise to draw attention to yourself.

Please understand this. Spiritual gifts are not given for your edification but for the edification of the church. Paul says in 1Cor. 14:12 “So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual [gifts,] seek to abound for the edification of the church.” Edification by the way, means to build up, not to break down. You haven’t been given a spiritual gift to bust people’s chops. You haven’t been given spiritual gifts to show off your superior spirituality. Whatever gift you have been given is to be used to build up others, not to tear down.

I’ll never forget one fellow that came to our church a few times, and I suppose he fancied himself someone that the Lord had blessed with an abundant sense of discernment. And so one day he invited me to breakfast because he said he had some things he said he wanted to share with me. I supposed that he needed some counsel and so I agreed and met him in a nearby diner. In fact, he had something else in mind. He pulled out a yellow legal pad, and proceeded to read about 10 pages of notes that he had made concerning the style and substance and mannerisms and so forth in my preaching. At first I tried to humbly accept his criticisms about the way I stood, or how I looked or sounded, but after a while I have to admit I had enough. He managed to completely demoralize me and discourage me in about 30 minutes. And all the time he kept assuring me that the Lord had shown him all my faults and he was just trying to do the will of the Lord in setting me straight. Listen, that’s not building up the body, folks. That’s just a critical spirit. The devil does more disservice to the church using so called Christians than he does with unbelievers and atheists. Seek to abound for the edification of the church. That’s what we should be about.

That’s what Peter is saying, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Another point that should be made, is Peter says that you have received at least one spiritual gift; “As each one has received a special gift.” Probably many gifts. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you don’t have a spiritual gift. The only way that happens is if you aren’t saved. But if you’re saved, God has given you a special gift that you are to use. Peter says, put it to use in serving one another as a good steward of the grace of God.

Many years ago I used to be a fine dining restaurant manager. And I had a couple of wine stewards who worked for us. They were in charge of storing, and caring for and dispensing the wine from the wine cellar. They did not own the wine, they were just to care for the dispensing of it in the proper way. And in like manner, we do not own our gifts, they are given to us to use, to dispense, to serve others.

Now Peter breaks down this characteristic into two divisions. First are those who serve the church by speaking or teaching. Peter says that they are to speak as one who is speaking the oracles of God. The description of a steward is very apt when it comes to preachers and teachers in the church. It’s important that we speak what God has spoken. It’s important that we carefully and properly dispense the word of God. That is our job. Not to entertain, not to tell sentimental stories, not to tickle your ears, but to faithfully transmit the word of God and exhort you to listen and obey it.

Paul used this same terminology to describe his own ministry in 1Cor. 4:1-2 saying, “Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.” Our trustworthiness comes from accurately and carefully studying the word of God, and then serving it to our congregations without contrivance or addition.

The second division Peter relates to those who serve. Vs 11, “whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies.” This illustrates an important aspect in regards to spiritual gifts. Its not talking about talents. A lot of people confuse natural talents with spiritual gifts. They are not necessarily the same. God gives you a spiritual gift to give you the ability or strength to do something that you could not do in the flesh. People hear someone sing who has a beautiful voice for instance, and they say what a tremendous gift God has given them. That’s not a spiritual gift, that’s a talent. It’s possible to give your talent to the Lord to serve Him. And that’s appropriate. But it’s difficult when it’s a talent to not have pride get involved.

The key is, according to Peter, to serve by the strength which God supplies, so that He might get the glory. Serve “by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” The same thought is expressed in Heb. 13:20-21 “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, [even] Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom [be] the glory forever and ever. Amen.” 

So our gifts, and our strength and our sufficiency comes from God, that we might do His will, and be pleasing in His sight. What a contrast to the way of the world Peter has put forth in these few verses. As we see the end drawing near, let us show self control and soberness, praying at all times lest we fall into temptation. And let us show sincere love for one another, even as Christ loved the church and laid down His life for her. And let us show hospitality, sharing with one another, acting out love in practical ways for the sake of others even when it costs us. And let us serve one another, either by sharing God’s word, or by serving one another through the gifts which God has given us for the building up of the body of Christ. And may we be found holy and blameless when He comes. He is coming soon. The time is at hand.

You know, the trees are finally starting to bud as we enter Spring. Jesus said in Luke 21, ”Behold the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they put forth [leaves,] you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. “So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. “But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

The recurring theme of Peter’s epistle is sanctification.  Sanctification means to be set apart unto God.  To be holy. To live holy lives.  And the point that has emerged again and again in this letter is that sanctification is a life that is characterized by living in the spirit and not in the flesh.  It is a life of holiness, as opposed to a life of wanton pleasure.

In chapter 1 vs 2, Peter says we have been saved “by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ.” The Spirit sets us apart to be obedient to Christ.  He says in vs2 that we have been born again.  Just as Jesus said to Nicodemus, that the natural man cannot inherit the kingdom of God, so you must be born again by the Spirit, so that you are spiritual.  So that you are reborn holy, righteous. Because the natural man is fleshly, self centered, and sinful.

And now that you are born again into a new life, reborn in holiness, we are to live holy. Your behavior is to be holy.  In ch.1 vs15 Peter says “But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” This change of behavior is sanctification. It begins by a sovereign act of God in salvation, and progressively continues as we are obedient to His commandments, resulting in righteous living.

To that end Peter says in ch 1 vs 22 that you are to purify your souls in obedience to the truth.  That’s how we are to live holy, by obedience to the truth, which is God’s word.  So that our soul, which is our mind and intellect and emotions, are purified.  Having a purified mind is a tough thing to do when you are living in a corrupt world. Peter said about Lot in his second epistle that he was a righteous man who had his soul vexed because of the lawless deeds he saw while living in Sodom and Gomorrah.  We are living in Sodom and Gomorrah today, ladies and gentlemen, no doubt about it.  And as such we are in a battle for the purity of our souls as we observe the world around us.  But we do so by obedience to the truth, through the renewing of our mind in the truth.  That we might be holy, sanctified, a chosen people of God, and priests to our God in the midst of a perverse generation.

Peter establishes the source of our purification in ch 1 vs 23 saying that we are born again from the seed which is the word of God.  That is the source of purification;  our obedience to the word of God. 

So having established the method of sanctification Peter goes on to present the goal of our sanctification in ch 2, saying that we are the chosen people of God, designed to be holy, royal priests unto God, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.  

But then in ch 2 vs 11 Peter makes it clear that sanctification is not a position which we ascend to and then that’s it, but he says that there is a continual battle that the world forces of darkness is waging against your soul. He says, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.”  Let me be clear, the purpose of war is to destroy the enemy.  And if you are a child of God then the devil is your enemy and he is determined to destroy you.  Peter says he will attempt to destroy your soul through the lusts of the flesh.  Though your spirit is preserved, yet in your flesh you can still be destroyed both in your effectiveness as a light to the world, and in terms of your reward, or your usefulness.  

Peter goes on to warn in ch 5 vs 8, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”   He wants to destroy your soul. And if you give into the flesh, he will succeed.

Now the key to being victorious in this battle is found in ch 2 vs 24, when he says, “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”  When we think of the cross, we often simply think of it as Christ died for our sins so that we might be saved and have eternal life.  But notice what it says, it says, “so that we might die to sin.” That’s the key.  Just as Jesus died for sin, so we also must die to sin. 

And so Peter equates our  sanctification to the principle of submission, to doing what is right, being “harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.”  These behaviors, this attitude is a safeguard against fulfilling the lusts of the flesh.  They are the perspectives of our behavior, of our attitude of obedience, by which we can live sanctified lives unto God.  Lives that are characterized by seeking the good for others, rather than for seeking self gratification.  That’s the nature of the new life we have in the Spirit which is directly contrary to the me centered theology which is so dominant in evangelical circles today. God is worthy only because He loves me, He accepts me, He blesses me, He does what I want Him to do.  That’s a me centered theology.  But the Biblical view is that I am the problem, I am a sinner, I am fleshly, I am corrupt, and I need to die to myself so that He might live in me. 

So then Peter doubles back to that earlier principle of Christ dying for sin, so that we might also die to sin.  He says in ch 3 vs 18, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.”  This is the way to victory in this spiritual battle that we are engaged in.  Christ was victorious over sin and death and the devil, and that came about by His death on the cross in His flesh, but He was alive in His Spirit and proclaimed victory even in the halls of death, that is Hades. 

But as Christ suffered death so that He might reign victorious in His Spirit, so we do the same, dying to self, dying to our fleshly passions, in order that we might live in the Spirit.  “Therefore,” Peter says in chapter 4 vs1, since Christ has suffered death in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered death in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”

Notice the language Peter uses.  This is a war.  He says “arm yourselves.”  Take up arms.  It’s a call to the battle.  The life of a Christian is a life of self sacrifice.  It’s a life of service.  It’s a life of warfare.  The current view of some in the evangelical church that the Christian life is a life of pleasure, of living your best life now, of having fat wallets and good health, is a testimony to the schemes of the devil which wage war against the soul.  It’s a strategy to get Christians to focus on living in the flesh instead of in the Spirit.  But Paul tells us that such a self centered life results in putrefaction rather than purity. Gal. 6:8 “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

So as counter intuitive as it may seem, the way to life is through death.The way to spiritual life is through physical death.  Jesus said in Matt. 10:38-39  “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

So then the secret to being victorious in this war we are engaged in, is to die to the flesh, particularly the lusts of the flesh.  As Peter said, since Christ has suffered death in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered death in the flesh has ceased from sin.  Peter isn’t saying that the only escape we have from the flesh is to commit suicide, or to be terminated in some fashion, but to die to the sinful passions of the flesh.  Crucify the flesh.  Paul said in Gal. 2:20  “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”  We die to the flesh so that we might live by the Spirit.

Now Peter says we must arm ourselves in three ways for this conflict.  Number one, which I have already alluded to, we arm ourselves in our attitude. We need to have the same mind as Christ, the same way of thinking that He had.  We need to have the attitude which Christ had regarding the flesh, purposefully willing to die to sin.

Paul tells us in Phil. 2:5-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,  who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, [and] being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  The point is not suffering for sufferings sake, but dying to the flesh.  Christ was willing to die in the flesh.  He did not try to avoid it, but welcomed it.

This attitude is a result of the battle for the mind.  Rom 7:23 “but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.”  Putting to death the lusts of the flesh sets us free to be alive in the Spirit.  So the first way to arm ourselves is in our attitude, considering ourselves dead to the passions of the flesh.

The second way we arm ourselves is to live for the will of God. Vs 2, “so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”  No longer enslaved to the passions of the flesh.  Peter talked about this back in chapter 1 vs 14, saying, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior.”  Don’t give in to the former lusts, don’t be conformed to the lusts of the world.  But instead be obedient to the will of God.

Now what is the will of God?  He’s not talking necessarily about a career path for your life, or who you should marry or that sort of thing, but he’s talking about holiness in ch 1 vs 14.  He’s talking about sanctification. We should be holy because He is holy according to chapter 1vs18. 

That’s the will of God. Paul said in 1Thess. 4:3-7 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification;  that you abstain from sexual immorality;  that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,  not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.”  So in this new life, we should live for the will of God which is holiness.  

The third way we arm ourselves is to leave fleshly passions behind. In vs 3, it says “For the time already past is sufficient for you…”  Literally Peter is saying, “Enough!”  The time you spent chasing after the lusts of the flesh is more than enough.  It’s more than sufficient.  Let’s get on to living now for the Lord.”  

Now what are the passions that he’s speaking of? “For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.”  All of these things promise self gratification, but end up in dissolution. Sensuality are things that appeal to the flesh, appeals through the senses; touch, feel, smell, taste and sight. Eve sinned because it looked good to the eyes.  Faith though doesn’t rely on the senses.  2 Cor. 5:7 says “for we walk by faith, not by sight.”

In speaking of lusts, I believe Peter is speaking of self gratification through sexual immoralities, fornication, adultery, sexual impurity. In regards to drunkeness, carousing, and drinking parties-  I think they are self explanatory. Though I would say that would include anything that undermines sobriety such as drugs.  And idolatries include anything that you put on a pedestal, anything that you worship, anything that you serve. We aren’t so unsophisticated today as to worship an idol on a shelf, but we worship the idols of money, of fame, of possessions.  Peter says the past life was more than enough time to spend on such things.  Leave them behind now in this new life.  Every day put the passions of the past further and further in your rear view mirror.

Paul gives us a parallel to this passage in Romans 13:12-14 “The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

Now as you arm yourselves in these three ways, know that it will cost you to do so.  And there are two costs involved.  They are found in vs 4, “In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with [them] into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you.”

The first cost is that your family and friends from the past life are surprised that you are no longer engaged in the things that they are. They don’t understand you anymore. They can’t relate.  I think it’s a telling testimony of a Christian that he or she no longer has the same friends they had prior to being saved.  Not because we are no longer interested in them, or because we are not friendly, but because they no longer understand you, and they no longer feel like hanging out with you.  You’re no fun anymore. They can’t relate to you anymore.  And to that extent, I would be suspicious of a Christian who seems to have a number of unsaved friends.  As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together.  And if you’re a Christian, and you still have the same old friends you used to have, hanging out in the same old places, then chances are you’ve never crucified the flesh and are still living in sin.

It’s kind of like a man and woman when they are married. A guy that would rather hang out with his old buddies rather than be with his new wife is a man that really doesn’t love his wife the way he should. And so it is with the Lord.  If you are married to Him, as the bride of Christ, then it stands to reason that you will forsake all others and cling only to Him.  You will prefer to be with other Christians, or prefer to be in church, than to be in the world.

The other cost is that they malign you.  That initial confusion of your old friends soon turns to ridicule.  That hate your holiness because it makes them uncomfortable, even convicted.  I believe that there are a lot of times when just our testimony of being a Christian makes some people hate you.  They might try to pretend acceptance of who you are on the surface, but then something happens and it’s like a trigger and they go off on you.  And it’s very disconcerting when that happens because you don’t know what you did to deserve their outrage.  A lot of times it’s not what you did, but who you are.  They hate you without cause, except that they hate Christ. 

Jesus said in John 15:18-19  “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”

In vs six, Peter presents one final accounting.  He gives us a reminder of a final day of judgment.  This war between the flesh and the spirit will one day come to an end by the appearing of Jesus Christ.  And at that time there will be a judgment.  I think Peter is especially thinking of those that maligned us in this life, those that persecuted the church to any degree. He says in vs 5, “but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”

I like the KJV rendering of that verse, it says “Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.”  I believe Sam Elliot was in a movie called the Quick and the Dead. It was from a book written by my wife’s favorite author, Louis L’Amour.  She loves those westerns. I worry that  I’ll never measure up to those cowboys she reads about.  But anyway, there is a final day of judgment for those who are considered in this verse as dead.  That speaks of being spiritually dead.  By rejecting the life through Jesus Christ they have remained spiritual dead, and they will be condemned to eternal death in the Lake of Fire.

So because of this final accounting, our position in this life as Christians is to leave judgment to God.  There is no need to retaliate when they malign you.  In fact, our goal is to win them to the Lord at all costs, even if it means we suffer their hatred. But know that the Lord will settle the books in the end.

The good news of the gospel for us who are saved is  that Christ was judged in our place, and He took the punishment that was due to us, so that we might have spiritual life.  We have been quickened.  We have been given life in the spirit which will continue on after this flesh has fallen away. Peter referencing that says in vs 6, “For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.”

Now I don’t want you to confuse vs 6 with what was spoken of in chapter 3 vs 18 and 19.  There are two different events being talked about.  The first in ch 3 vs18 is when Christ died on the cross and in His Spirit He proclaimed victory to the demons in Hades.  This second passage speaks of those who have heard the gospel preached while here on earth, they were saved as a result, and are now living in the spirit awaiting the resurrection.

The idea that Peter references that they are judged in the flesh as men does not speak to eternal judgment, but it speaks to the principle that it is appointed unto men once to die.  All men are going to die in the flesh as a result of the fall.  But those who believe in the Lord Jesus are made alive in the spirit, and thus they will never die but they live according to the will of God.  There will come a day when Christ shall come again, and we will be raised in our spirits to meet Christ, and then receive a new a glorified body which will be incorruptible, and without sin. And that is the ultimate goal of our sanctification, that is glorification.

The question that I would leave with you today is which camp are you?  Are you of the living or the dead?  Are you living in the flesh, enslaved to the lusts of the flesh, at enmity with God and thus spiritually dead?  Rom. 8:5-8 says, “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,  because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able [to do so,  and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Or are you one who has been made alive in the spirit?  That same passage goes on to say in Rom. 8:12-17 “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh–  for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”  The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

I trust that you have been justified by faith in what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf through the cross, and that you have committed to live for Christ, trusting Him as your Savior and Lord, being sanctified and conformed to the image of Christ, so that you may do the will of God, that at His appearing you might receive the inheritance of glory which has been promised to those who are the children of God.