An 'Executive Summary' of What It Means to Live for Christ -- 1 Peter 1

1 Peter 1: 3-16
3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen F1 you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls.
10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us F2 they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into.
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

Preamble
Oswald Chambers writes: “The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort.”

We should let that help frame our response to today’s teaching.

Framing
1 Peter presents us with a thorough yet concise explanation of how we are to live. It gives us eternal context and specific instruction. In short, this is an ‘executive summary’ of the truth about living for Christ. Let’s look at the key elements of chapter one.

Verses 3-5 remind of what we have – eternal salvation! – and where it came from. That frames everything. We could consider that at length, but I want to focus on the earthly implications for now, since that’s where we all live, though we don’t reside. Friends, if you don’t understand that you’re just ‘visiting here,’ then you are going to make this your home. When you make a place your home, you spend a lot of time fixing it up. Getting it just like you want it. It’s your focus. You want it bigger, better, and more ‘just like you want it.’ If you spend that kind of attention on your earthly comforts, you’ll miss the eternal point, and frankly you won’t be of much use in eternal matters. And as Christians, ALL the matters we deal with on earth are eternal matters, because they deal with relationships, and our purpose is to make disciples of all men, i.e., introduce people to Christ and mature them in Him.

Overarching Point
Larry Crabb writes, “The choice before us is rather stark: either to live to be comfortable (internally and externally, but especially internally), or live to know God. We can’t have it both ways; one choice excludes the other.”

In verse six we are reminded to rejoice over this salvation, and then come the vital words, “though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.”

“For a little while” -- temporary. Even if earthly ‘permanent,’ ALL discomfort and pain is only a nano-second of eternity, and hwe have eternity with God!

”if need be” – according to God’s grander purposes. And this also would indicate that His purpose is NOT to hurt us, though He is willing that we be hurt (all caused by sin anyway) “if need be”

When you are hurting, and it seems unwarranted, or it seems unfair, or it just hurts! Perhaps you should remember this verse and say, “It must need be”

It is good to stop and consider, ‘Why are we having ‘various trials?’ ‘ First of all, because of ‘original sin,’ i.e., the sin of Adam and Eve has burdened us with a sin nature that has been fully overcome, yet we must ‘work out our salvation’ (which has been granted; this does not mean ‘work for’ salvation) on earth, knowing we have full inheritance in heaven. Life here subjects us to hardships because of sin – not necessarily even our own direct sin, but simply the sin that is present in the world and causes disease, violence, etc. (Of course, we can be in hardship because of direct sin, too). But even this fits into God’s plan as He uses us to exhibit His grace in the midst of hardship.

So we are subject to this for a greater purpose: “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Bottom Line
We are tested so that we can show our faith. It’s as simple as that. Hard, yes, but simple.

Key Truth We Must Accept in Order to Deal with the Bottom Line
Overwhelmingly in life, we are saved ‘through’ hardship, not ‘from’ it.

There is a soft Gospel version that is really a non-Gospel that seeks to turn Jesus into our magic genie. American Cultural Christianity has lapsed into this, mostly quite accidentally, some very intentionally. Many automatically think that if something bad happens to them, they must have sinned to cause it, or something is wrong with their walk. Both can be true, but it is well within God’s economy – per many, many Scripture – for neither to be true.

Should we pray for healing? Absolutely. He will do that this side of heaven sometimes – when it fits His will and purpose. Should we pray for a job? Of course. But clearly His purposes are higher than our purposes, and clearly He has purpose in our hardships, not desiring to defeat us, but to reveal us as His to the world, that they might see Him!

Starting at verse 13, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

“Therefore” what? Therefore since you are saved eternally by so great a salvation, requiring the sacrifice of the perfect God/man – so great a salvation that angels desire to look into its mystery – therefore stand firm in trial so that others can see the power of Christ in you and be saved! Therefore stand firm in trial so that you can honor this benevolent God who saved you instead of let you live separated in hell with the one-third of the angels who only wanted to look into being God themselves!

Isn’t that what it comes down to so often in our lives – who is God? You/Me, or Him? So great a salvation requires perseverance in trials, and personally knowing God. Understanding from Scripture and by the Holy Spirit His purpose through hardship, gives us context and power to ‘Be Holy.’