"Stand Firm"
[I Peter 5:12-14]
October 14, 2007 Second Reformed Church
Peter begins his first letter praying "May grace and peace be multiplied to you." And he ends his letter, as we heard, "I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. ... Peace to all of you who are in Christ." Peter began his address to Christians who were on the run from the armies of Nero with a prayer that grace and peace might be multiplied among them, and through the letter, he affirms to them that they have received God’s Grace and they have peace through Jesus Christ.
What about you this morning? Do you know that you have received the Grace of God? Do you have the Peace of Jesus Christ?
Peter said that in writing this letter he exhorted and declared that "this is the true grace of God." Well, what is grace? Grace is the unmerited favor of a superior to an inferior that changes the inferior party. Grace is something that God gives His people that changes them. And Peter says, "this is the true grace of God." What "this" is he talking about? Well, he's talking about the message of the entire letter -- the main doctrines that he has exhorted and declared to them. There are at least four:
First, it is a True Grace of God that God has chosen us to be His people out of all of humanity and has brought us from death to life through Jesus' Bloody Death on the cross. And through His Death, since He also rose and ascended back to the Throne of the Son of God, we have a living hope. We have a sure, unbreakable promise that just as Jesus rose from the dead, and He raised us from spiritual death, when Jesus returns to the earth, we will all be physically resurrected and brought into the restored Kingdom to be with Him, in His Glory, forever.
This is God's Grace: He has saved us out of the road to Hell. He has raised us from spiritual death to spiritual life. He has replaced our despair with a hope that He guarantees. We have been changed and we will be changed.
Second, it is a True Grace of God that God tests our faith through our suffering for His Sake, and we, like gold and silver, are purified, made holy, and matured. Suffering for our sin is not a Grace of God; it is the wages of sin. But God sends us adversity in His Name to cleanse us that we might be spotless and enter into His Glory.
This is God's Grace: He will not suffer us to remain in our sin. God will do everything necessary, though it is painful for a time, to root out, burn out, melt out our sin, until we mirror His Son, Jesus, perfectly, when we will also be perfected and holy for His Sake.
Third, it is a True Grace of God that God has send God the Holy Spirit to indwell us that we might endure suffering for His Name in joy and also be willing, able, and joy-filled in doing the good works He has for us to do that He would receive the glory.
This is God's Grace: God has given us the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit that we might endure suffering for His Sake in Joy -- that we might look at the sure hope that we have and truly believe that nothing we could suffer on this earth is anything compared to what God is bringing us to and the glory that shall be revealed. And in response, God gives us the inclination and the ability to do what is good in His Name. When once we were incapable of doing any good, He has made us willing, able, and joy-filled to do His Will.
And fourth, it is a True Grace of God that we have been given and receive both of the promises of suffering in His Name when the time is right and glory in His Name when the time is right.
This is God's Grace: God has made us to trust in Him and His Timing. We believe that He has a plan that He is infallibly carrying out, and the time that He has scheduled for our suffering is the right time, and the time He has scheduled for our being lifted up and received into glory is the right time.
Peter says that they and we are to stand firm in this True Grace of God. Believe these things. See that they are true throughout Holy Scripture. See that these things are true in the lives and deaths of the saints. See that they are true in your own life, and then we can stand firm, because God chose us, Jesus saves us, the Spirit purifies us and leads us in all good.
Peter says, "Be prepared to suffer for the Name of Christ, but don't worry about Nero and his armies. Don't worry about whatever it is that makes you wonder if God is big enough for your problem. Trust in God; in joy, live for Him. Because He raises you; He sustains you -- so you can stand firm on His Grace to you, and since true joy is found in Him, as Martin Luther wrote, and we sang last week: "let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill: God's truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever." In Jesus, we have everything that is eternal. Everything else will be swept away anyway, so why do we fret and clutch and worry?"
Let us stand firm.
Let us confess with Peter and the early Christians that we are God's people. We belong to God. So let us look for and look forward to that hope which is to come. Jesus is coming. We shall be raised. The creation will be restored.
Let us understand that God is making us holy for His Glory. Let us work hard towards holiness. With everything that we are, body, mind, soul, and spirit, let us press on towards that goal, denying sin and the devil, and following after our God of Grace.
Let us understand that we are God's people in the world. We are not shut off in a cave somewhere; we are not under glass in some museum; we live in the world and work in the world amidst people of all types and many of whom have not receive salvation alone in Jesus -- the Only Salvation. So let us speak the Gospel and live it out that people would be able to look at us -- at our actions -- at the way we live amidst the authorities of the world and see that we are Christians -- that we have received God's Grace.
Let us understand and believe and confess that our Almighty God is completely in control -- Sovereign -- and everything that occurs is working together to glorify Him and for the good of those who love Him. So let us seek, in whatever condition we find ourselves, as John Piper puts it, to make "Jesus look really, really good."
Let us understand that the end is near and that is a good thing. Once the end has come, all evil, all sorrow, all suffering will be removed from the Kingdom, never again to infect and afflict the creation and God's people. We will live in a world without end, and Jesus will be our Light, the Glory at the center of the Kingdom.
And as we wait on the living hope, let us understand that we are God's people in the Church as well. We are a people, a building, a temple, a body -- we are in need of one and all of us to accomplish the work of our God, and we all have work to do. Some of us have roles of leadership, all of us have roles of service. Let us relate to each other in a way that shows that we love our body, just like we love our physical body. Let us work together for the good of the Gospel and not show ourselves to be fractured and fragmented, when our God is One.
Peter gives the example by saying that "she who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings" -- this is probably a church in Babylon, sending her love to the Christians of Israel who are now scattered throughout the world due to the Roman persecution. Christian Churches ought to love each other and be like-minded in our Christian service.
And then Peter says, "and so does Mark, my son." This is probably Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark, who had a falling out with Paul and joined Peter's missionary work. Christians ought to love each other and work together to the Glory of Christ.
And the love that Christians show each other is not just to be lip-service -- "Greet one another with the kiss of love." Christians ought to show their love for each other in a physical way, according to the culture. For us, this would be hugging, shaking hands, and for some, kissing, depending on the relationship we have with one another. But Christians ought to show their love through touch of some kind. There are no untouchables amongst the Bride of Christ.
The final assertion is this, to those who have received the True Grace of God, to those who stand firm in the faith -- in those doctrines that are the True Grace of God -- for these, we have peace.
Paul puts it this way: "Rejoice in the Lord always; and I will say: Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:4-7).
What about you this morning? Do you know that you have received the Grace of God? Do you have the Peace of Jesus Christ?
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for Your Grace, for changing us, giving us joy, and glorifying Yourself through us. May You be pleased to cause us to stand firm on Your Grace. Living for You, in love of You and others, not in fear, but in joy and hope. For the Romans are still on our heels, but You shall soon descend in glory, just as the apostles saw You ascend into heaven. Come, Lord Jesus. For it is in your Name we pray, Amen.
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