Three Facts True of Every Christian

The Apostle Peter wrote his first letter to encourage believers who were scattered and persecuted. And as we begin getting to know Peter today on Truth for Life, we will better understand why his teaching can be trusted, and we'll discover three things that are true for every genuine believer. Alistair Begg begins our study in the opening verses of 1 Peter. We're going to begin this morning a series of studies in this first letter of Peter, what is one of the most practical epistles of the New Testament. Let me give to you some of the things that come across our path on a pastoral level on a daily basis which I believe are addressed, if not directly, certainly indirectly, in this 1 Peter.

For example, someone comes and says, I'm going through a particularly difficult time in my life. My health isn't good, and my wife isn't particularly well either, and we have been entrusted with the responsibility of caring for our elderly parents. How should we react to this? When something goes wrong in my classroom or my office, I seem to be the one who bears the rebuke. It's unjust that I don't like it. What should I do? Or, I'm not sure where I fit in in the church.

How can I find out, and where do I start? Or, I just came from a church which had committees for everything, but I don't understand biblical church leadership. Is there a pattern? Now, that sample of activities is adequately addressed for us in this book 1 Peter. And I want to commend to you the reading of 1 Peter—regular reading of it, systematic reading of it, memorizing of it. Let it abide in our hearts.

Because often when someone comes and presents one of those conditions, if you like, or asks one of those questions, it is followed by this question, Could you recommend a book or something? Now, I fear, dear ones, that not necessarily in our own church but broadly in Christendom at the moment, we are in danger of breeding a generation of people who are just like that, who desperately want the bottom line all the time. Give me the answer, pastor, teacher, whoever it is, in one word. Answer me now, and answer me quickly.

I need to be able to get on with this specific issue. And I want to suggest to you this morning that we are in danger of breeding crews, as it were—Christian crews—who can only fly on automatic pilot, who do not know how to navigate their way throughout the Scriptures, who have decided that Christian doctrine somehow is unimportant, that it is only important that the particular challenge of the moment is met with an answer which is instantaneous and clear, and it isn't necessary to realize why the doctrine of God's providence is important, that it is not important to know the nature of our salvation, that it doesn't really matter what the Scriptures teach about indwelling sin, that those things are sort of for theologians and for people out there and for folks that really want to get into it. I want to suggest to you this morning that the excitement of unearthing truth like that in the Bible is part of the key to spiritual maturity. Blessed is the man who doesn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful, but he is the individual whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, in his word, he meditates day and night. Now, in this introductory study, I'd like you to notice with me, first of all, who the writer was.

He introduces himself by giving us his name right at the beginning of it all, in common with the normal way of writing a letter at that time. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. And as I thought of Peter, I just wrote down the first things that came into my mind, the pictures that are riveted in my consciousness when I think of this individual. First of all, I think of him on a boat, learning obedience.

Turn with me just so you get these pictures also. Luke chapter 5. Luke 5 and verse 5. They'd been out fishing, and it's been a lousy evening, and they caught nothing.

And Jesus gives a word of instruction. He says, Put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch. And Simon answered, Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. Maybe he saw the master's eye. Maybe the way you see the schoolteacher, when you start that line, and you just see that look. You swallow twice, and you add another sentence quickly. That's what I think he did here.

But because you say so, I will let down the nets. And as you read that event there in Luke 5, you find him in a boat, learning obedience. Verse 10b, Then Jesus said to Simon, Don't be afraid.

From now on you will catch men. So they pulled their boats up on shore. They left everything and followed him. So the writer is somebody who encountered Jesus and left everything behind. We find him on a boat, learning obedience. In Matthew chapter 14, we find him in the water, learning faith. Matthew 14. Jesus comes out walking on the lake. Everybody in the boat is really freaked by it. They think it's a ghost. Jesus speaks to them, says, Hey, don't worry, it's me.

Don't be afraid. Who's the first one to speak? Peter. Lord, if it's you… Jesus was so gracious with Peter, you know. He's just finished telling him who it was. And Peter said, Well, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water.

Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me! And so his buddies must have said, Here we go again. Here goes Peter, opening his big mouth, planting his big feet. Now he's drowning. Ha-ha! Look what happened to him. And verse 31, Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him and said, You have little faith.

Why did you doubt me? Peter, in a boat, learning obedience, on the water, learning faith. John 18, in a garden, acting tough.

You remember the scene? Jesus is about to be arrested and taken off to Pilate's Hall for interrogation. And as the group of soldiers comes, led by the betrayer Judas, and arrives in the garden, who's first to action? Peter. Verse 10, John 18, Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. There he was, Peter, in immediate defense of his master.

But stay in chapter 18, and the scene changes, from in a garden, acting tough, to in a courtyard, telling lies. Verse 25, As Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, Surely you're not another of his disciples. Now, that was a crux moment for Simon Peter. He was the guy who said, Because you said so, we'll go deep. He was the one who said, No one's going to take my Jesus.

And out with his sword, and he whacks off the guy's ear. And now somebody says to him, Are you one of his disciples? And he denied it, saying, I am not. And Simon said, Didn't I see you with him in the olive grove? And of course they would identify Peter, even more than the others. The fellow with the sword, who jumps forward and makes his presence felt, he's going to be most recognizable. Didn't we see you in the olive grove?

And again Peter denied it, and at that moment a cock began to crow. So here's this little picture we build up, in a boat, learning obedience. On the water, learning faith. In a garden, acting tough. In a courtyard, running scared.

And finally, on the seashore, being restored. John chapter 21, verse 17. Jesus had already asked him twice, Do you love me? And twice he said, Yes.

He comes around the third time. He said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? And Peter was hurt, because Jesus asked him the third time, Do you love me? And he said, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you.

And Jesus said, Feed my sheep. Now, why do I take time to do that? Because it's important who wrote the letter.

It's important that we have a flavor for who is writing now. Because he's going to call the people of God to some very straightforward activities. He's going to speak to us as men and women in the routine of our days, and he's going to say, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, This is what you ought to do, or this is how you ought to respond. And it's so important for us that we realize that Peter is not writing somewhere from an ivory tower, that he was just an ordinary fisherman, that he was in the family business, that he was like individuals here in the church. And it was in the routine of his days that God reached into his life and laid hold upon him.

He was like so many of us, so quick to speak, and yet so fearful, fifty percent of the time getting it right, and yet, regrettably, the other fifty percent of the time getting it wrong. And in this great paradoxical life is an individual, and his designation here in this first verse is in light of this very, very important. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

The word there is apostello. It means to be sent by, to send. He is a sent one. He is commissioned by Christ, and he is commissioned for Christ.

He is an exclusive member of an exclusive group whose office was foundational and unrepeatable. And Peter here is made a foundational block of the church of Jesus Christ. And indeed, the letter that he is writing here, and the one that follows it, can be regarded at least in part as a fulfillment of what Jesus had said to Simon Peter concerning the fact of his betrayal. In Luke 22, you'll find it, Luke 22 and verse 31, where, as Jesus tells him of what's going to happen, he says, "'Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail, and when you've turned back, strengthen your brothers.'" And so here he is, doing exactly what Jesus said to do. His faith was buffeted badly. He was a failure, and yet he was restored. And in his restoration, he obeyed Christ, and so, in seeking to strengthen those who were his brethren, he writes what is essentially a discipleship manual.

Now, I may have appeared to belabor that, and I do so deliberately. Because I don't want us to miss the obvious point of application, and it is simply this—that much of what we regard as disqualifications for serving Jesus Christ, God, in his sovereign wisdom and purpose, turns them into stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks. That as we rehearse the details of our lives, and as we look back over our days, and as we are confronted by our disappointments, and as we are made painfully aware of our failures, and as we see what a basket case in many ways we've been, we are forced to conclude that an individual such as we could never be useful in the service of Christ.

That is a lie of the devil. That is one of the most clever ways that the Evil One sidelines useful people from Christian service, to tell us that actually the mess of our past disqualifies us. And I want to say to you as individuals this morning, if I were to speak to you by name, in Christ I'd want to say the same thing. Let us be about the business of the Philippians 3.14 perspective. Forgetting those things which are behind, once we have learned from them, whether in success or in failure, forgetting those things which are behind, let us press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. God is in the business of putting people like you and me, warts and all, into the front line of service for him, even in our days.

And certainly Peter, I don't believe, could write or dictate this word and say, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, without being struck afresh by the wonder of it all, that he who was so quick with his words, so fast with his sword, so awful in his failure, should be one of the individuals that Jesus said, You are my man Peter. I want to use you. I want your life to be used, as it certainly was.

Do you know that you're useful this morning? That's really what I'm trying to say. God did not redeem you to sit you in the red seats in Solon High School. Do you understand that? That's not why you were saved. He didn't save you to instruct you.

He instructs you to use you. And there is a work for Jesus that none but you can do. Peter the Writer Secondly, and briefly notice, the readers to God's elect strangers in the world scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. In other words, he describes them geographically, sociologically, and theologically.

If you're taking notes, and if you find this helpful, first of all, he gives to us a geographical description of where they are, scattered as a result of all kinds of influences, as a result of the development of the roadways of the day, as a result of the dispersion of Jewish people of Jerusalem, as the springing up of the gospel was taking place, as little pockets of believers were here, there, and everywhere, he writes to them, scattered—scattered geographically. He writes to them who were different sociologically. Notice the phrase, strangers in the world. Strangers in the world. Now, I want us to be very, very clear that what is true of them is true of us—that we are equally strangers in the world.

That's the point he's making. That these individuals had an allegiance to a homeland which was different from the place in which they lived. But he writes to them, saying, in the same way as a Jewish person displaced from Jerusalem is a stranger in that environment, so he says, a Christian person displaced from heaven must be a stranger in that environment too.

Because they are not permanent settlers, they are only temporary residents. Now, what does that mean? It means that the value system of our world we needn't buy into. And yet, as Christians, we seem to be so keen in these days to tell everybody, We're just the same as you, you know. We're the same as you. Listen, loved ones, we are not the same as them. We are radically different. We are not permanent residents here. We are temporary. As the songwriter says, This world is not my home.

I'm just a passing through. My treasure is laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, and I can't be at home in this world anymore.

It has a kind of hollow ring, doesn't it? Because we feel so at home. We're so earthed. I don't think the problem anymore is that Christians are so heavenly-minded, they're no earthly use. I think the problem is that most of us are so earthly-minded, we're no heavenly use. We're trapped. And we need to read this again and allow the Spirit of God to write it on our hearts, stamp it on our foreheads, as it were. Stranger!

Stranger! What the world hopes for is different from the believer's hope. What the world prizes is different from what the believer prizes.

But the geographical and the sociological descriptions of these folks are founded upon the theological distinctive which marks them. It's given to us first in one word, or the opening phrase here, to God's elect. It is then amplified in the first thing that's true of every Christian, in the phrase, We have been chosen. And the theological truth, you see, which marks us out as strangers sociologically and as scattered geographically, is the fact that God has purposed to have a people of his own, and that it is the utterly undeserved privilege of all who have come to Christ to be made members of that people. As we noted last time in 1 Peter 2, verses 9, where the promises and the descriptions that appended to Israel are given now to the church of Jesus Christ. Peter is writing here to believers, and he says, You're a chosen people, you're a royal priesthood, you're the holy nation. And once again, we noted how that was earthed in God's purpose from all of eternity. Now, that brings us, then, to our subject for this morning—three facts that are true of every Christian. And let me just give you these three facts, because the remainder of the letter is a commentary on these three truths.

We won't pay slight purpose to any one of them. Here are the three things. One, every Christian is chosen by God the Father—chosen by God according to his foreknowledge.

What wealth is contained in that? Think about it. When you came to faith in Jesus Christ, the emphasis seemed to lie largely on your part, didn't it? You maybe had a friend who shared the gospel with you, and you heard it all, and you said, What am I supposed to do? Or perhaps you heard the Word of God proclaimed, and someone said, Now, this is what needs to happen. There needs to be an acknowledgment of sin. There needs to be a turning from it.

There needs to be a turning to Christ. There needs to be an opening of our lives to him. And when we professed faith in Jesus Christ, it seemed that the emphasis lay largely with us, that we really achieved and accomplished so much by our actions.

But that day has begun to recede in our thinking, and upon reflection we look back to that, and yes, we look now back beyond it. And as we look beyond it, we see the hand of God at work in so many ways in our lives—in our friendships and in the ordering of our steps, in the family that we were brought up in, in the influences that were brought to bear upon our lives. And one of the key evidences that you and I have understood that our lives have been chosen by God the Father will be in a spirit of humility, that we will marvel constantly that we should be named amongst those who are Christ's. For we were dead in our trespasses and in our sins, and he made us alive. That is fact one of your Christian experience. You were chosen by God the Father. Secondly, sanctified, cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, initially cleansed from our sins and continually being cleansed.

And we'll return to these. And thirdly, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Three things that are true of what it means to be a Christian. It's not surprising that he then provides for them a succinct benediction, as he says, I would that grace and peace might be yours in abundance. What a lovely greeting.

So you came, and it was Sunday morning, and it was snowing, and you dragged yourself out of bed, and you said, Well, let's go and give it a whirl. And you may be beginning to wonder who you are and where you are in the world. Well, listen, this morning, if you are in Christ, understand this, that you're a stranger here.

That's why you'll feel a wee bit different from time to time. That you're scattered about—some of us are a long way from those who are nearest and dearest to us, and it's not by choice, it's by God's purpose. And that there are things that are foundationally true of us. God chose us. Christ cleansed us.

The Spirit sanctifies us. May that, combined with grace and peace, earth us, give us foundations, and to some degree, put a spring in our steps, as we anticipate what these days of this week are going to mean. You're listening to Truth for Life with Alistair Begg. Here at Truth for Life, we understand that life's circumstances can sometimes feel overwhelming.

It's easy for any of us to get caught up in the here-and-now issues we're facing. Our prayer is that the Bible-centered teaching you hear on Truth for Life brings you an encouraging change of focus as you reflect on God's Word. And this month, we also want to invite you to download a free audiobook written by Alistair titled, Lasting Love—How to Avoid Marital Failure. We live in a time when divorce has become commonplace, even in Christian homes, and in this book, Lasting Love, Alistair shows that a marriage can be filled with joy throughout a lifetime, if the marriage is centered on God's plan and if we have His purposes in mind.

Download your free Lasting Love audiobook. It's read by Alistair. Go to truthforlife.org. I'm Bob Lapine. Thanks for studying God's Word with us today. Tomorrow, we'll learn how to find hope in the midst of despair. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life, where the Learning is for Living.