First Peter
How Shall We Then Live in a Post-Christian Culture
“The Call to Live in Fear”
1 Peter 1:17-21
Review
The passage to be considered this morning falls, contextually, in what we are terming as the section addressing the sanctification of believers (1:13-2:12). In 1 Peter 1:13, after having explained the greatness of our salvation in 1 Peter 1:1-12 (i.e., what God has done in salvation), Peter says: “therefore.” That is, in light of this great salvation we are to live in consistency with this great salvation. In the two previous sessions we have learned that we are called to live in hope (1:13) and called to live in holiness (1:14-16). This week we learn that we are called to live in fear (1:17-21).
Textual Comment
Before we read this passage, I want to make one of those “rare” textual comments. At the beginning of verse 17, the “if” of the New American Standard Bible is rightly rendered “since” by the New International Version:[1]
“Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”
The problem with the NIV translation is the translator’s omission of the very important word “and” which is found in the NASB:
“And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth.”
The best of both translations would catch the positive emphasis of both:[2]
“And since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”
Why is the “and” important? The “and” is important because it clearly links verses 17-21 to the two major commands Peter set down in verses 13-17:
· Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (verse 13). That is, live in hope!
· Be holy yourselves also in all your behavior (verse 15). That is, live in holiness!
The importance of this textual comment will become more apparent as we delve into the text.
Transition
With that comment behind us, we come to the third command of the Christian life in 1 Peter. John Piper writes the following about this third command: “With each of these commands we move farther and farther away from the temperament of the modern world. And with each succeeding week I know I can count on less and less natural sympathy for what I say. For the first commandment, ‘live in hope,’ I doubt that anyone had their defenses up thinking: ‘No way is he going to convince me that hope is a Biblical way to live.’ For the second commandment, ‘live in holiness,’ the receptivity was still pretty high because we believe that God is holy even if we're not so sure we know what it means or what is really expected of us. But the third commandment, ‘live in fear,’ can most assuredly create almost universal suspicion for what I am about to say. Not that you don't trust me. It is just that the fear of God isn't in the acceptable air we breathe today. It's not part of our culture.”[3]
Or saying it in a different manner -- Children have no fear of their parents. Students have no fear of their teachers. Citizens have no fear of lawful authorities. It’s simply not politically correct to fear anything including God. In fact, it isn’t even popular within the church. And yet Peter tells us to live out our lives in fear. Surely this kind of fear does not come naturally for us or for Peter. A careful study of our text can provide helpful understanding of the type of fear which compliments our faith and our hope in God.
Our study will show that our text falls into three parts. Verse 17 introduces the subject of fear with a command to live in fear, and one reason is set down as a basis for fear – fear living as though our faith were not in God. Verses 18 and 19 set down a second basis for our fear — fear living as though Jesus’ blood is not precious. Verses 20 and 21 set down a third basis for fear — fear living as though we do not understand the work of the Father in our salvation.
Fear Living as Though Our Faith were Not in God[4]
Let us look at the first reason set down as a basis of fear. The One we call our heavenly Father impartially judges everybody on the same kind of evidence — namely, what do our lives (our deeds) say about our heart? There won't be different rules for different people. There is one thing that saves (faith) and there is one standard of judgment (life/deeds). If this is true, Peter says, there is a very appropriate reason to fear as we live our lives. Namely, a fear of living as though our faith (our hope!) were not in God. Here's the link between verse 17 and verse 13 -- between living in hope and living in fear. What we are to fear, Peter means, is not hoping in God (cf. Rom. 11:20).
Let me explain. When we are tempted to conduct ourselves in a way that would show that our hope is in money rather than God, we should fear. When we are tempted to act in a way that would show that our hope is in the pleasure of pornography instead of God, we should fear. When we are tempted to rely upon ourselves rather than God, we should fear. This is the same spirit that Jesus condemned when He said: "If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better to enter life with one eye than with to be cast into hell" (cf. Matt. 5:29). As John Piper says: “Fear living in ways that betray your lack of satisfaction in God.”
Let me try and make this applicable to each of us. This lack of fear (not hoping in God) is commonly missing in modern Christianity and it is one of the main reasons why the church is such a carbon copy of the world. We think that grace means there's nothing to fear in our behavior. We think that the sanction of judgment has no place in our lives. And as a result, 1 Peter 1:17 is simply blanked out in our superficial adaptation to culture. But God is gracious and calls us back today to fear this kind of behavior that leads to destruction. That is, failing to live with our faith in God.
Fear Living as Though Jesus’ Blood is Not Precious[5]
The first reason given as a basis for fear – fear living as though our faith were not in God – is followed by a second reason in verses 18-19.
“Conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed (or ransomed) with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
In effect Peter says: "There's an infinite ransom paid (the blood of Jesus) to rescue you from your old ways of life. So, conduct yourselves in fear." In fact, what Peter specifically stresses in verses 18 and 19 is the surpassing value and eternal durability of the ransom paid for God's people. He says that gold and silver are "perishable" — they are not durable, they don't last. And he says that the blood of Jesus is "precious" — it's infinitely valuable. And the point in connection with fear in verse 17 is: "Fear conducting yourself as though the ransom were not precious.”
But we learn even more about this type of “fear” in this passage. In verse 18 we learn that the design of the ransom — the redemption — is to rescue us from our futile way of life. Do you see that? Verse 18: "You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life. . . but by the precious blood of Christ." The aim, purpose, and/or design of the ransom is not forgiveness but what? Transformation. The aim in this verse is victory over the power of sin in your everyday life, not forgiveness from the guilt of sin (as true as that is). The reason Jesus shed his infinitely precious blood was to change our conduct (cf. Tit. 2:14). So in effect when Peter says: "Conduct yourselves in fear, knowing that you were ransomed from bad conduct by the blood of Jesus," he means, fear conducting yourself in way that shows that the blood is not precious to you. That is, if in our conduct we are tempted to act as though the preciousness and the permanence of the blood of Jesus were impotent to hold us back from sin, then we should fear. Because if our lives bear constant witness to the powerlessness of the blood of Jesus, then Jesus is not really our hope and joy. And we do not belong to him. And that is a fearful prospect. Fear the behavior that would show you don't trust in the all-satisfying preciousness of the love of Jesus.
Fear Living as Though You Don’t Understand the Work of the Father in Salvation[6]
The first reason given as a basis for fear (fear living as though our faith were not in God) is followed by a second reason in verses 18-19 -- fear living as though Jesus’ blood is not precious. The third reason given as a basis for fear is found in verses 20-21.
“20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
Which person of the trinity is emphasized in these verses? The answer is God the Father. Robert Deffinbaugh finds the emphasis on God the Father both interesting and instructive. Quite frankly, he believes that the Father is perhaps the most neglected member of the Trinity. This is even though He is the One to whom both the Son and the Spirit are and will be in submission (see 1 Corinthians 15:20-28). We usually find much emphasis and attention focused on the Son and on the Spirit in sermons and books but we do not see nearly as much focused on the Father.
Peter’s words should serve as a corrective to us. Why? In verses 20 and 21, Peter portrays salvation in a very significant way. He portrays the Son of God as the “Servant” whom the Father has sent to redeem His chosen ones. It is the Father who chose or predestined (“foreknew”) the Son. It is the Father who sent the Son to save us, for our benefit. It is the Father who raised Him from the dead. It is the Father who glorified Him. And for this reason, our faith and hope are ultimately in the Father. As such, we are given the third reason for fearing -- fear living as though you don’t understand the work of the Father in salvation. We must underestimate nor take for granted the role of the Father in saving us.
Transition
Before we close, I want to make sure you see that this paragraph ends in verse 21 where it began in verse 13. Namely, it speaks about hoping in God. Verse 13 began the paragraph by commanding: "Fix your hope completely on the grace being brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." In other words: "Hope fully in the grace of God!" Verse 21 ends the paragraph by saying that God has done everything through Christ so that His people might put their faith and hope in God. Why? For this reason: so that you would hope in God and not sin. So that you would trust what God can do for you rather than what you can do for yourself.[7]
Note: Is the fear of God incompatible with faith and hope? No. Faith requires fear. How can we place our trust in a God whom we do not fear? The fear of God is rooted in who God is, in His holiness, power, majesty, justice, and mercy. How could we trust in a God who is not infinitely greater that we are? I suggest we can only trust in a God whom we fear. Likewise, hope is related to fear. Hope looks forward in time, and fear does as well. Hope looks forward to those things we desire, and to some extent, fear looks forward to those things we should dread. Hope draws us toward the things of God, and fear should repel us from those things which offend God.
Conclusion
We have considered three reasons that Peter gives for his call to fear as part of our sanctification process. To drive home this point a little more clearly, I want to make four closing comments. First, I want to borrow an appeal from John Piper. I want to plead that you recognize that growing deeper and stronger as a Christian comes not by choosing to embrace only those Biblical teachings you are already comfortable with and already understand — you don't grow that way -- but rather you grow deep and strong by embracing the teachings you are not comfortable with and that are hard to understand. It is by embracing these “uncomfortable” and “hard to understand” teachings we can truly be counter-cultural and can most effectively advance the work of the Kingdom of Christ.[8]
Second, our text should serve to instruct us as fathers and parents. Our children should learn to fear us, as parents, in a healthy and godly way, just as they must learn to fear God. I see hardly any healthy fear of parents in our culture, or any fear for those in authority. I see far too little fear of parents in the church today. If fear of God and of parents is biblical (and it surely is), then let us strive to promote the fear of God in our lives and in the lives of those under our authority.[9]
Third, I believe we must also seek to apply the teaching of our text in evangelism. Some would tell us we should evangelize by stressing the “love of God” and not the “fear of God.” We simply cannot proclaim the cross of Christ without emphasizing both. Why would our Lord promise that the Holy Spirit would “convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8) if men were not to fear the wrath to come? Why would Paul say that the “terror of the Lord” was an incentive to his evangelism and ministry (see 2 Corinthians 5:11)? Men and women need to trust in Jesus Christ because they rightly fear the wrath of God. And having come to faith in Him, they need to continue to live out their lives in fear, just as Peter commands in our text.[10]
Finally, the more precious the price paid to rescue you from a life of sin, the more horrible and fearful it is to take that price and make it a permission for sinning. John Piper writes: “It would be like a girl who is kidnapped from her wealthy father. The kidnappers demand a huge ransom and the father liquidates all his assets, selling his house and his possessions right down to his wife's wedding ring. He brings all that he has to the appointed place and sets the ransom down in a field and walks away. Soon the daughter walks out and gets the ransom and takes it back to the kidnappers. Then she puts her arm around one of them and as she walks away looking over her shoulder at her father laughing and hollering: ‘Sucker!’ We would all say that the girl committed a fearful and treacherous act. Likewise, Peter is warning us against the horrible danger of trying to do that with the ransom of God. He knows that there are people who try take the ransom of God from sin — the blood of Jesus — and turn it into a means of sinning. The very ransom that verse 18 says was paid to free us from a futile way of life some people try to use to fund that very life of sin. That must not be!”[11]
[1] In the Greek text, the grammatical form is known as a condition of the first class, which means the “if” is assumed to be true and thus is often to be understood as “since.”
[2] Robert Deffinbaugh, “The Glory of Suffering: A Study of 1 Peter”
[3] John Piper, “A Sojourn on Earth in Confident Fear”, By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
[4] Adapted from John Piper, “A Sojourn on Earth in Confident Fear”, By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
[5] Adapted from John Piper, “A Sojourn on Earth in Confident Fear”, By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
[6] Adapted from Robert Deffinbaugh, “The Glory of Suffering: A Study of 1 Peter”
[7]Adapted from John Piper, “Christ Appeared that We Might Hope in God”, By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
[8] Adapted from John Piper, “A Sojourn on Earth in Confident Fear”, By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
[9] Adapted from Robert Deffinbaugh, “The Glory of Suffering: A Study of 1 Peter”
[10] Adapted from Robert Deffinbaugh, “The Glory of Suffering: A Study of 1 Peter”
[11] Adapted from John Piper, “Christ Appeared that We Might Hope in God”, By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
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