Chosen For Christ Not Comfort

Faithful Witness in a Fiery Ordeal

We’re starting a new series this morning called “Fiery Ordeal.” Someone say “Fiery Ordeal.” It’s a journey through the book of 1 Peter.

1 Peter is an epistle—just a fancy word for “letter”—written by Peter in the time after Christ had resurrected. He’s writing to the church in the region of Asia Minor, to a reasonably wide audience: people from different cities, backgrounds, and demographics. Some were Jews, some were not Jews—those are called Gentiles. So he’s writing quite broadly.

As we approach Scripture—when we open the Word of God and begin to read—we ought first to understand a few things: who wrote a particular book or letter, who it was written to, and what they were trying to communicate. That helps us, does it not, to understand how it is applicable to our lives. Do we agree?

So as we open 1 Peter, here’s what we know. Peter wrote it. You’ll know the name Peter: a disciple of Christ, someone who knew Jesus personally. But Peter is not just an academic observer, not just a guy looking on and thinking, “Okay, this sounds good, let’s write about this.” No. Peter is a persecuted practitioner of what ultimately becomes known as Christianity.

Peter was a fisherman who was called by Jesus. He is the disciple who got out of the boat and walked on water toward Jesus. Peter is the disciple who declared that Jesus was the Messiah, but at first misunderstood what that really meant. He was the one who promised Jesus to His face that he would never abandon Him, and then denied Him three times before Jesus’ death.

Peter is the man whom Jesus restored three times on the beach. He is the man who stood up at Pentecost and proclaimed the gospel message. And Peter is the man who would eventually know very personally and very deeply what it would cost to follow Jesus. Church history tells us Peter was crucified, but he did not want to be killed in the same way as his Lord and Saviour, so he requested to be crucified upside down. That is how Peter’s earthly life came to an end. That’s who wrote this letter.

1 Peter 1 tells us who the letter is written to: “God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.” These are elect exiles living in a foreign land—chosen people, yet scattered. They are God’s people, yet strangers to those around them. They are secure in Him, yet wherever they find themselves, they are uncomfortable. Does that sound familiar?

These are Christians living throughout Asia Minor, trying to follow Jesus in a society that is increasingly antagonistic to their convictions. Their suffering isn’t necessarily imprisonment or martyrdom, but it is social hostility, rejection, slander, marginalisation. That’s what these people were experiencing at the time, and there are clear parallels to where we find ourselves in our society today.

But we also need to know that there are Christians right now experiencing persecution at a level that you and I will likely never know. So we shouldn’t cheapen the word “persecution” by pretending that someone who merely disagrees with us is experiencing the same thing as our brothers and sisters in Christ in other parts of the world. We may face increased hostility, but there is a scale to these things, isn’t there, church?

And yet the same core question applies at every level: How do I faithfully follow Jesus when doing so costs me something? That is really the question on the minds of Peter’s original audience, and it’s what we’re addressing in this series through 1 Peter.

All right—are we ready to get started now?

Preparing for the Journey Home

I wonder if you’ve ever been on a journey. It’s a bit of a silly question, really, because we’ve all been on a journey, right?

And every time you go on a journey, your destination determines how you prepare for that journey, does it not? Where you’re going and how far away it is will determine whether you’re going by car, train, bike, or on foot. Where you’re going to end up will determine whether you’re in wellies or shoes, or if you’re going to a wedding, you might need fancy, shiny shoes.

Then you’ve got to decide what you’re taking. If you’re going somewhere by plane, everything you take has to fit into a suitcase. If you’re going somewhere hot, you need T‑shirts. If you’re going somewhere cold, you need jumpers. It’s simple stuff, but it matters.

So what I’m taking and what I’m leaving behind are the key questions we ask as we prepare for the journey.

Now, I’m a bad packer when I go on a journey. When I go on holiday, I want to take everything with me that I might possibly need. “You just never know. You just never know, darling. I think we may need an egg whisk. What if the place doesn’t have one?” That’s me. But there are things that I might like to take with me on the journey that I actually need to leave behind, because they’re not appropriate for where I’m going. Does that make sense?

And really, this is the focus of First Peter: preparing for the journey according to the destination, in light of how we are living in society. We’re going to open the Scripture really soon, I promise.

The challenge that First Peter is trying to address is that we often allow our current location, our current situation, to determine our journey. Our current circumstances define how we live. If today is difficult, then I feel defeated. If culture changes, then I might compromise. If obedience becomes expensive, then I start to reconsider. If everyone around me is doing something, then I might drift towards that thing.

Does that sound familiar? It certainly sounds familiar to me.

Future Hope Guiding Present Footsteps

And so Peter says: stop navigating your life merely by your present surroundings, because Christians know something about their destination. Instead, let your future form your footsteps. Let your future form your footsteps.

We’re going to open the Word of the Lord. In 1 Peter 1:1–2 it says:

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
through the sanctifying work of the Spirit,
to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”

I find it fascinating, church, that before Peter really starts his letter and his instruction—and there is a lot of instruction in the letter—he begins by declaring who these people are. He starts with identity.

This is a collection of individuals who together form a people. Exiled, yes. Seemingly separated, yes. But unified, united under Christ. Thanks be to God.

Alex was talking before about the fact that the church is a global institution, that we have brothers and sisters in Christ, yes, in this town in different churches, in our county, in our country. But actually, throughout the world there are brothers and sisters in Christ who share in Christ with us. Isn’t that incredible? Isn’t that amazing?

And so, whilst we might seem out of place or not quite at home—that is true; we’re not at home on earth—we still remain in that place of unity with our brothers and sisters.

So: “to God’s elect…” All right. We’re actually going to ignore that word for now. I’ll just say this, in case there’s anyone here who wants to scrutinise: we’re going to briefly ignore the word “elect,” all right? One day we’ll do a series and I’ll preach on TULIP and all that. One day we’ll preach on the doctrine of election and so on—but not today. I’m not shying away from it; it’s just not for today.

Chosen for Christ, Not Comfort

So, all you who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying work of the Spirit – we’re chosen people. Turn to the person next to you and say, “You’re a chosen person.” We’re a chosen people. We’re selected. We are picked out.

Anyone who’s ever been picked last at PE, you will know the significance and the importance of being picked, because you haven’t had it in PE. And so we’re here, picked out, chosen by the Father.

Chosen for what? To have an easy life? To be preferred amongst men? To have everything work out in our favour? To get promoted at work, to never struggle, to have every prayer answered according to our will? No, not quite.

“Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit.” Why? “To be obedient to Christ and sprinkled with his blood.” You and I were chosen to be obedient to Christ. That doesn’t sound like the kind of thing you naturally want to be picked for. God chose you for Christ, not for comfort. We need to understand that this morning. And this salvation roots back into antiquity.

Can I share a picture with you? It’s from Exodus, because there’s this phrase: “sprinkled with his blood,” sprinkled with the blood of the Son. That sounds a bit weird, particularly if you’re here this morning and you don’t know much about Christianity, and you’re hearing these things for the first time. Being sprinkled by somebody’s blood sounds like the kind of thing that makes you want to turn around and walk straight back out that door: “Not doing a blood thing. That’s weird.”

Let me share, because we’re not going to ignore it; we’re going to focus in on it. Peter references a Scripture and an account that certainly the Jews around would have known well. It’s from Exodus 24. In this passage, God has rescued his people from slavery in Egypt. Notice the order: God has rescued them first, and then God establishes a covenant with Israel.

Moses reads the Book of the Covenant to the people. Exodus 24: “Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it into bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. And they responded, ‘We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.’ Then Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people. ‘This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.’”

So we see this timeline, this progression of what is going on here: God rescues the people, they commit to obedience, the blood is sprinkled, the covenant is established.

Now come back to 1 Peter: “You who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Christ and sprinkled with his blood.” This isn’t random language. This is covenantal language. Rescue, obedience, blood, covenant.

He’s actually bringing the words that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper and providing the Old Testament context to them. In Luke 22, when Jesus says, “This is my blood of the new covenant,” he takes the image of Exodus 24 and places himself at the centre of it. Praise be to God.

And now Peter says that we have been sprinkled with his blood, that we are included in the covenant. Did you know this morning that you have been sprinkled with the blood of Christ? Why don’t you turn to the person next to you and just remind them: “You’ve been sprinkled with the blood of Christ; you are his. You belong to God’s covenant people.”

Chosen. This is incredible. I love this so much. Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God, set apart through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, and sprinkled with the blood of the Son. We see the fullness of the Trinity involved in your salvation. Each member of the Godhead working together, playing their role to rescue you. Isn’t that amazing? To rescue you for obedience to Christ.

Salvation isn’t simply, “Great, I’m going to heaven now, happy days.” No. Salvation changes who I belong to whilst I’m getting there. Chosen, rescued, obedience, blood, covenant. We’re chosen for Christ, not for comfort.

So at this point Peter has sort of concluded the introduction by declaring who we are and what God has done for us. Introduction done, foundation established. Everyone know who they are? Everyone know whose they are? At least some of you do. Everyone know what has been done, and where they stand now?

Alan and Dorothy, they know this stuff. Church, the rest of you, do we have to go over it again? Do we have to start again?

A Living Hope Through Christ’s Resurrection

And so Peter’s response from this point is praise. Peter says:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.”

This is what has been bought for us. This is what everything Peter has just talked about means for us. It means new birth. It means living hope. It means resurrection. It means inheritance and inclusion into the family of God. It means that we receive something that lasts forever. It doesn’t spoil or fade like everything else. It is kept in heaven while we are shielded by God’s power, awaiting the salvation to be revealed.

This is huge, church. This is majorly significant. This is the hope that we have. And in some ways, it’s a very difficult thing to communicate, because this is salvation from a holy God whom we can’t fully comprehend and yet is laid out for us. But we need to know that this is the hope that we have. And this is far more than just a hyped‑up emotional thing. “Thing” will do. Emotional thing. This is true hope. It’s not hype; it’s far better.

It’s very easy to preach, “This is going to be your week. God is going to bless you with significant riches. God has got the job lined up for you. It’s all going to be amazing if you tithe…” Shouldn’t have said that bit. We’ll cut that out. It’s very easy to preach in that manner. And it’s okay. Some of it’s true. It speaks into a world where things might not be going well, but the message is: “Hold on tight, because your immediate circumstances will get better.” That’s the message.

It’s nice to hear, isn’t it? I like to hear that message. Do you? It’s nice to hear, and it’s not necessarily false. The problem is, it’s not always true. What is true is far greater. What is true is far greater, but it’s not materialistic. It doesn’t speak to immediate situational improvement.

Peter says, “Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” That’s actually the opposite of hype. Peter is speaking into the reality that is faced, but not with immediate situational improvement. Instead, he speaks with a focus on the future destination. He doesn’t minimize what is happening now in the moment. He doesn’t say, “Oh, you’ll get over it, it doesn’t matter.” He doesn’t minimize that. Instead, he maximizes where we’re going. He maximizes what has already been purchased for us.

And this is the difference between hope and hype. Hype needs me to keep my focus on the immediate, believing that my circumstances are about to change. But hope shifts my focus from the immediate towards my ultimate destiny, without denying my current circumstance. That’s why hope survives where hype dies. It’s far more powerful and far more true.

This is the gospel message. Christian hope isn’t ultimately confidence about what will happen to me tomorrow; it’s confidence about where all of this ends, in the end. That’s why Paul writes in Romans 8:18, “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed.” Praise be to God.

Paul sees trouble, Peter sees fire, but they also see something beyond that.

Peter says of our current sufferings:

“These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

This is the image that Peter paints. What’s he saying? That fire reveals everything. Fire reveals what everything is made of. Trial isn’t proof that God has abandoned us. There is something happening in the fire that you can’t see just by looking at the fire. Does that make sense?

Because here’s the thing: has anyone ever sat down and considered our position as Christians, as people who have a hope in the resurrection of Christ, who know where ultimately we are going—living forever in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ—and then thought, “Well, if that’s eternity, which goes on forever, and this is eighty, ninety, maybe a hundred years on earth if you’re lucky, that’s nothing in comparison”? And so we think, “I’ll just wait. I’ll just find a room, hunker down, disengage from the world, shut myself away and wait to be taken to heaven, because frankly, it’s far more of a faff to interact with the world outside.”

Has anyone ever thought of that? Yeah, a bit of that.

The challenge with that is that Peter doesn’t allow for that. Our Christian hope is confidence about tomorrow that changes how we live today. It doesn’t give us permission to ignore life and not bother. It allows our future to form our footsteps. It allows what we know about where we’re going to define how we get there.

Peter goes on in verse 13:

“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

So we’re not off the hook, church. You can’t find a dark room and just wait. Instead, we’re instructed to go and live, and in fact to be holy in all that we do.

Peter starts this section from verse 13 with the word “therefore.” And when you’re reading your Bible and you come across the word “therefore,” you need to ask what it’s there for. So cool. Aren’t I so cool? It is so fortunate to have a cool guy… Anyway. We need to ask, “Okay, therefore. Why is it there? What’s it there for?”

What we’re learning is that the previous thought—the one that preceded the “therefore”—is connected to the next thought, the one that comes after the “therefore.” The previous thought actually informs the second thought. What Peter is about to say after the “therefore” only exists because of what came before it. Does that make sense?

In our case, Peter has spent the first twelve verses telling me who I am, whose I am, what God has done for me, and what is waiting for me ultimately in heaven: that I am chosen by God, that I have a living hope, new birth, resurrection, inheritance. And now he says, “Therefore…”

Therefore, Christian behaviour grows out of Christian belief. Therefore, the commands aren’t detached from the gospel. Instead, the commands reveal the gospel—not “first sort yourself out and then try harder and be holy,” but “look at what God has done for you. Therefore, set your hope.”

Who’s feeling challenged this morning already? I was challenged whenever I read it. If we’re not challenged when we read the Scripture, can I tell you, we’re reading it wrong. Sometimes we read the Scripture looking only for the comfort of the Lord—and we do need that, absolutely. There is a comfort that comes with the Word of the Lord. But the Word is also written to help us, as Scripture itself says, to go from one degree of glory to the next, to emulate Christ.

If we’re not challenged by the Word of God in how we conduct ourselves, how we respond to God and his creation, and if it doesn’t change us, then we’re doing it wrong. There you go.

But here’s another challenge. Peter says, “Set your hope.” Not “feel hopeful,” not “just let hopefulness wash over you in some weird hopefulness bath.” I should really stop talking before the sentence finishes. Instead, do something about it. There’s something to actually do here. “To set” is an instruction. “Set your hope” is something intentional that you have to do.

Did you know that it requires action? I can’t set your hope for you. The person sitting next to you can’t set your hope for you. Only you can set your hope. It’s a decision about what I fix my mind on. Because when my circumstances scream one thing, my feelings are saying something else, and the culture is pulling me in a particular direction, I still know where I’m going. And so I have this choice to set my hope there. Does that work?

“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance,” because these things don’t belong on the journey to where we’re going. We can’t carry these things with us.

Remember the suitcase thing and the packing, all the stuff—the egg whisk. I did say about an egg whisk. Is an egg whisk a real thing? It’s just a whisk, you don’t get specific egg ones… You what? Okay, get on Amazon later and see if they make egg whisks.

Anyway, the point is, as we’re packing for the journey that we’re on, we can’t take everything with us. These evil desires that we had when we lived in ignorance don’t belong on the journey that I’m going on. So we’ve got to ask these questions: What am I packing for the journey? What am I leaving behind? Why am I leaving some things behind? Because I know ultimately where I’m going.

“Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all that you do.” Now it’s starting to make sense that holiness is not merely, “behave and God will accept you.” Instead, it’s “God has called you, God has saved you, God has given you a future—now live accordingly.”

We see the same holiness pattern all throughout Scripture. In Colossians 3, the apostle Paul writes:

“You have been raised with Christ.”
Therefore… “Set your minds on things above… Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature.”

In 1 John 3 we read:

“We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him.”

That’s the future. Then he says:

“All who have this hope in him purify themselves.”

That’s the footsteps to get there.

So my future isn’t simply something I think about when I’m at a funeral. When I say “future,” I do mean after we die—just to be clear. But our ultimate future and eternity is not something we just think about in those moments. It actually determines what I do on Monday morning. It determines how I speak. It determines how I spend. It determines what I watch, what I pursue, how I conduct my relationships, what I do when nobody is looking, what I say yes to, what I leave behind.

Holiness is a destination‑defined journey. The word actually means “set apart.” It means we’re taken out of one context and placed in another. And we need to know that we can’t achieve that on our own. We can’t be holy without Christ. There’s no holiness in us. There is nothing holy in you and me in our earthly nature. We are made holy through Christ alone. Apart from Christ, we cannot be separated out. Why? Because we cannot be separated from our sin.

Peter goes on and he gets quite practical at this point, because we’ve got to ask the question, “Okay, well, what does destination‑defined journeying actually look like for you and me on a day‑to‑day basis? What do I do?”

When we preach “be holy” from a platform, people might hear, “That means go to church, give to charity, look down on people who aren’t as holy as you,” and all that sort of fun stuff. We all go home thinking some vague spiritual thing like that. But actually, it’s not that. It can include some of those things, but holiness is the pursuit of emulating Christ.

Holiness is the pursuit of emulating Christ. And Peter writes, “Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” Why? Because you can’t take those things on the journey with you. It’s a waste of space in your suitcase that you take on the journey to the destination you’re going to, because ultimately they’re not allowed in where we’re going.

So there are some challenges for us today as we start our “Fiery Ordeal” series in 1 Peter. Perhaps you want to reflect, maybe you want to close your eyes and allow—let’s do that—let’s invite the Holy Spirit to minister to us and to convict our hearts.

Holy Spirit, where do I need to focus my attention in terms of removing these things—malice, deceit, envy, slander? Lord, show me. Reveal it to me. The psalmist says, “Search me, O God… see if there is any offensive way in me.” Put your finger on it, Lord. Reveal it to me. And then, Lord, would you help me to do something about it?

Because ultimately, Lord, I want to emulate you. I want to emulate you because you are the perfect one. You are the one who lived the perfect life, who kept every law, who lived the perfect life that I was called to live but ultimately couldn’t, no matter how hard I try. Scripture says that all fall short of the glory of God. So, Lord, would you help me to emulate you? Would you help me to be like you, as your Scripture says, to go from one degree of glory to the next?

On this journey that I’m on, Holy Spirit, would you help me to allow where I am going—my eternity spent with you in the kingdom of heaven forever—to define the journey that I walk out on this planet today?

Lord, would you help me, when I’m talking to people and just communicating in day‑to‑day life, to do it in a way that is obedient to you? Lord, in the way that I treat people—particularly people who irritate me—would you help me to do it in a way that honours you, because they are still a creation of God Most High?

Lord, in my conduct, in my presentation of myself, in how I respond when other people fail, or even when they do better than me, would you help me to honour you by how I respond? Lord, in the secret place, in the dark place, in the place where there’s nobody else and it feels like it doesn’t matter what I do—in that place, in that time—would you speak to me? Would you convict me? Would you teach me, O God, to be more and more like you? Search us all.

Holiness isn’t an abstract concept. It’s not a weird thing, it’s not just an “old people” thing—like some 14th‑century pope is holy. It’s a lifestyle choice. You and I, if we’ve put our faith in Christ, have been born again. So this identity of being born again precedes our behaviour and how we respond.

You’ve been born again through the enduring Word of God. And then Peter says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk.” Ah, church, I’ve got to tell you, I know what it’s like to be in the presence of a newborn baby that’s craving milk. There’s a desperation, a determination, a passion to get the milk.

I wonder if you and I have a desperation, a determination, a passion to be refilled and replenished spiritually through the Word of God. Peter says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”

The final challenge from Peter in the opening part of this letter is this: you have been born again—now grow up. Not to earn your salvation, but to grow up in it. Become what God has called you to be. Walk in what God has already done for you. Because the identity is set. What’s done has been done. Your inheritance is already yours. Now we’re called to live in it and walk in it.

I genuinely feel like the Lord is impressing on his church right now the importance of this—for where we stand as a church. We’re about to move into this new building, and what that’s going to do, church, is several things. We’ve got to be ready. We’ve got to be prepared. We need not be ignorant to this.

It’s going to place us front and centre in the town, which is going to be more revealing of who we are: how we respond, how we behave, whether we’re a people intent on following the Word of God or a people of hypocrisy. It’s going to be more obvious when we’re there.

In addition to that, we’re going to be in the town centre. People are going to want to come in. Right now we’re tucked away on the outskirts of town in a school hall, difficult to get to, never any parking. We’re going to be front and centre in the town, and people are going to want to come, they’re going to want to see. I believe that the Lord is going to draw people in.

As we do that—as we faithfully try to hear what the Lord says, as we faithfully preach the gospel and lead people to Christ, because that is ultimately salvation, that’s the point of the whole thing: that more people will be added to heaven—I need to tell you that we’re all in on that. We’re all part of that.

There’s, what, maybe a hundred people in here right now? Some of the people in this place this morning are, maybe, bystanders. Not in a bad way, just perhaps thinking, “Everything’s already done. People already stack the chairs. People already lead the life groups. People already do the stuff. There’s nothing for me to do here.”

I’ve got to tell you, church, when we get there, we’re the people. You’re the people discipling the people coming in. You’re the people teaching the people. You’re the people pastoring the people. You’re the people encouraging, building up, preaching the message of love, hope, mercy and grace to the people. We’re all in. We’re all in.

That’s why I believe the Lord led us to 1 Peter as a book that really encourages us in the way that we’re already going, but also allows us, by the Holy Spirit, to highlight some things that we need to set straight. Because it’s worth setting them straight now, isn’t it, church? It’s worth setting them straight now, because what the Lord is asking of us is significant.

I’m so excited. I’m so excited to see people turn to Christ in our town. To see people who were once lost be found. To see people who were once dead become alive. To see people who were broken be restored by the love of Jesus Christ. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see more.

Where we’ve been and what we’ve done has been incredibly important, foundationally. But where we’re going—it’s going to explode. It’s going to explode.

Hope you’re ready.

Thanks be to God.

Hope That Reorders the Christian Life

And so Peter’s response immediately from this point is praise. Peter says:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.”

This is what is bought for us. This is what everything that Peter has just talked about means for us. It means new birth. It means living hope. It means resurrection. It means inheritance, inclusion into the family of God. It means that we receive something that lasts forever. It doesn’t spoil or fade like everything else. It is kept in heaven while we’re shielded by God’s power, awaiting for salvation to be revealed.

This is huge, church. This is majorly significant. This is the hope that we have. In some ways it’s a very difficult thing to communicate, because this is salvation from a holy God whom we can’t fully comprehend and yet is laid out for us. But we need to know that this is the hope that we have. And this is far more than just a hyped-up emotional thing. “Thing” will do. Emotional thing. This is true hope. It’s not hype. It’s far better.

See, it’s very easy to preach, “This is going to be your week. God is going to bless you with significant riches. God has got the job lined up for you. It’s all going to be amazing if you tithe.” Shouldn’t have said that bit. We’ll cut that out. It’s very easy to preach in that manner. And it’s okay, and some of it’s true. It speaks into a world where things might not be going well, but the message is: hold on tight because your immediate circumstances will get better.

That’s nice to hear, isn’t it? I like to hear that message. Do you? It’s nice to hear, and it’s not necessarily false. The problem is, it’s not always true. What’s true is far greater. What is true is far greater, but it’s not materialistic. It doesn’t speak to the immediate situational improvement.

Peter says, “Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” That’s actually the opposite of hype. Peter is speaking into the reality that is faced, but not with immediate situational improvement—instead, with a focus on the future destination. He doesn’t minimize what is happening now in the moment. He doesn’t say, “Oh, you’ll get over it, it doesn’t matter.” He doesn’t minimize that. Instead, he maximizes where we’re going. He maximizes what has already been purchased for us.

And this is the difference between hope and hype. Hype needs me to keep my focus in the immediate, believing that my circumstances are about to change. But hope shifts my focus from the immediate and towards my ultimate destiny, without denying my current circumstance. That’s why hope survives where hype dies. It’s far more powerful and far more true. This is the gospel message.

Christian hope isn’t ultimately confidence about what will happen to me tomorrow. It’s a confidence about where all of this ends in the end. That’s why Paul writes in Romans 8:18, “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed.” Praise be to God. Paul sees trouble. Peter sees fire. But they also see something beyond that.

And so Peter says of our current sufferings:

“These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

This is the image that Peter paints. What’s he saying? That fire reveals everything. Fire reveals what everything is made of. Trial isn’t proof that God has abandoned us. There is something happening in the fire that you can’t see just by looking at the fire. Does that make sense?

Because here’s the thing: has anyone ever sat down and considered our position as Christians—as people who have a hope in the resurrection of Christ, who know where ultimately we are going in terms of living forever in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ—and then considered, “Well, if that’s eternity, which goes on forever, and this is eighty, ninety, maybe a hundred years on earth if you’re lucky, that’s nothing in comparison to eternity. So I’ll just wait. I’ll just find a room, hunker down for a bit and wait. I’ll disengage from the world, shut myself away and wait to be taken to heaven, because frankly it’s far more of a faff to interact with the world outside.”

Has anyone ever thought of that? Yeah, a bit of that.

The challenge with that is that Peter doesn’t allow for it. Peter doesn’t allow for that. Our Christian hope is confidence about tomorrow that changes how we live today. It doesn’t ignore today, it doesn’t tell us we don’t need to bother. It allows our future to form our footsteps. It allows what we know about where we’re going to define how we get there.

Peter goes on in verse 13:

“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. For it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

So we’re not off the hook, church. You can’t find a dark room and just wait. Instead, we’re instructed to go and live, and in fact to be holy in all that we do.

Peter starts this section in verse 13 with the word “therefore.” And when you’re reading your Bible and you come across the word “therefore,” get this: you need to ask what it’s there for. So cool. Aren’t I so cool? You are so fortunate to have a cool guy… Anyway.

We need to ask: okay, “therefore.” Why is it there? What’s it there for? What we’re learning is that the previous thought—the one that preceded the “therefore”—is connected to the next thought, the one that comes after the “therefore.” In fact, the previous thought actually informs the second thought.

So, what Peter is about to say after the “therefore” only exists because of what came before it. Is that good? Does that make sense?

In our case, Peter has spent the first twelve verses telling me who I am, whose I am, what God has done for me, and what is waiting for me ultimately in heaven: that I am chosen by God, that I have a living hope, new birth, resurrection, inheritance. And now he says, “Therefore.”

Therefore, Christian behavior grows out of Christian belief. Therefore, the commands aren’t detached from the gospel. Instead, the commands reveal the gospel. It’s not, “First sort yourself out and then try harder and be holy.” Instead: “Look at what God has done for you. Therefore, set your hope.” Therefore, set your hope.

Who’s feeling challenged this morning already? I was challenged whenever I read this. If we’re not challenged when we read the Scripture, can I tell you, you’re reading it wrong.

Sometimes we read the Scripture looking for the comfort of the Lord—and we need that, absolutely we do. There is a comfort that comes with the Word of the Lord. But the Word is written to help us, as the Scripture itself says, to go from one degree of glory to the next, to emulate Christ. And so if we’re not challenged by the Word of God—challenged in our lives and how we conduct ourselves and how we respond to God and his creation—and if it doesn’t change us, then we’re doing it wrong.

There you go. Anyway, that’s a side point. But here’s another challenge.

Setting Our Hope for Monday

Peter says, “Set your hope.” Set your hope. Not “feel hopeful,” not just “let hopefulness wash over you in some weird hopefulness bath.” I should really just stop talking before that sentence finishes… but instead, do something about it. Do something about it. There’s something to actually do here.

“To set” is an instruction: set your hope. That’s something intentional that you have to do. Did you know that it requires action? I can’t set your hope for you. The person sitting next to you can’t set your hope for you. Only you can set your hope.

So it becomes a decision about what I fix my mind on. Because when my circumstances are screaming one thing, my feelings are saying something else, and the culture is pulling me in a particular direction, I still know where I’m going. And so I have this choice to set my hope there. Does that work? That work?

“And so, as obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance,” because these things don’t belong on the journey to where we’re going. We can’t carry these things with us.

Remember the suitcase thing and the packing, all the stuff, the egg whisk? I did say something about an egg whisk. Is an egg whisk a real thing? It’s just a whisk. You don’t get specific egg ones. You what? Okay, get on Amazon later and see if they make egg whisks. Anyway, the point is, as we’re packing for our journey, we can’t take everything with us. These evil desires that we had when we lived in ignorance don’t belong on the journey that I’m going on.

So we’ve got to ask these questions: What am I packing for the journey? What am I leaving behind? Why am I leaving some things behind? Because I know ultimately where I’m going.

“Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all that you do.” Now it’s starting to make sense that holiness is not merely, “Behave and God will accept you.” Instead, it’s: God has called you, God has saved you, God has given you a future—now live accordingly.

We see the same holiness pattern appear all throughout Scripture. In Colossians 3, the apostle Paul writes, “You have been raised with Christ, therefore set your minds on things above… put to death what belongs to your earthly nature.” In 1 John 3 we read, “We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him.” That’s the future. And then he says, “All who have this hope in him purify themselves.” That’s the footsteps to get there.

Holiness As a Christward Journey

When I talk about our future, I mean our eternal future—what happens after we die. That future is not just something we think about at a funeral. Our ultimate future in eternity actually determines what I do on Monday morning. It determines how I speak, how I spend, what I watch, what I pursue, how I conduct my relationships, what I do when nobody is looking, what I say yes to, and what I leave behind.

Holiness is a destination-defined journey. The word “holy” means “set apart.” It means we are taken out of one context and placed in another. And we need to know that we cannot achieve that on our own. We cannot be holy without Christ. There is no holiness in us, in our earthly nature.

We are made holy through Christ alone. Through Christ alone we are set apart. Apart from Christ, we cannot be separated out, because apart from Christ, we cannot be separated from our sin.

Growing Up Into Our New Birth

Peter goes on, and he gets quite practical at this point, because we’ve got to ask the question: what does destination-defined journeying actually look like for you and me on a day-to-day basis? What do I do?

When we preach “be holy” from a platform, people might hear, “Well, that means going to church, it means giving to charity, it means looking down on people that aren’t as holy as you.” We can walk away with some vague spiritual idea like that. But actually, it’s not that. It can include some of those things, but holiness is the pursuit of emulating Christ. Holiness is the pursuit of emulating Christ.

Peter writes, “Rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.” Why? Because you can’t take those things on the journey with you. They’re a waste of space in your suitcase, the suitcase we take on the journey to the destination we’re going to, because ultimately they’re not allowed in where we’re going.

So there are some challenges for us today as we start our “Fiery Ordeal” series in 1 Peter. Some challenges. Perhaps you want to reflect. Maybe you want to close your eyes and allow—let’s do that. Let’s invite the Holy Spirit to minister to us and to convict our own hearts.

Lord, Holy Spirit, where do I need to focus my attention in terms of removing these things of malice, of deceit, of envy, of slander? Lord, show me. Reveal it to me. The psalmist says, “Search me, O God. Find that which is within me that is not good.” Put your finger on it, Lord, reveal it to me. And then, Lord, would you help me to do something about it?

Because ultimately, Lord, I want to emulate you. I want to emulate you because you are the perfect One. You are the One who lived the perfect life, who kept every law, who lived the perfect life that I was called to lead but ultimately couldn’t, no matter how hard I try. Scripture says that all fall short of the glory of God.

And so, Lord, would you help me to emulate you? Would you help me to be like you, as your word says, to go from one degree of glory to the next? And on this journey that I’m on, Holy Spirit, would you help me to allow where I am going—my eternity spent with you in the kingdom of heaven forever—to define the journey that I walk out on this planet today?

Lord, would you help me when I’m talking to people, just communicating in day-to-day life? Would you help me to do it in a way that is obedient to you? Lord, in the way that I treat people, particularly people who irritate me, would you help me to do it in a way that honours you? Because they are still a creation of God Most High.

Lord, in my conduct, in my presentation of myself, in how I respond when other people fail, or even when they do better than me, would you help me to honour you by how I respond? Lord, in the secret place, in the dark place, in the place where there’s nobody else and, frankly, it feels like it doesn’t matter what I do in that place—Lord, would you speak to me? Would you convict me? Would you teach me, O God, to be more and more like you? Search us all.

Holiness isn’t an abstract thing. It’s not a weird thing. It’s not an “old people” thing. It’s not just for people in the past, like a 14th century pope who’s “holy.” Holiness is a lifestyle choice. You and I, when we put our faith in Christ, we are born again. And so this is identity—our identity of being born again—preceding our behaviour and how we respond.

You’ve been born again through the enduring word of God. And then Peter says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk.”

Church, I’ve got to tell you, I know what it’s like to be in the presence of a newborn baby who’s craving milk. There’s a desperation, there’s a determination, there’s a passion to get the milk. I wonder if you and I have a desperation, a determination, a passion to be refilled and replenished spiritually through the word of God.

Peter says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”

The final challenge from Peter, in the opening part of this letter anyway, is this: you have been born again. Now grow up. Not to earn your salvation, but to grow up in it. Become what God has called you to be. Walk in what God has already done for you. Because the identity is set. What’s done has been done. Your inheritance is already yours. Now we’re called to live in it and walk in it.

Preparing Our Town for Revival

I genuinely feel like the Lord is impressing on His church right now the importance of this, and the importance of this moment for where we stand as a church.

As you know, we're about to move into this new building. And what that's going to do, church, is several things we need to be ready and prepared for. We must not be ignorant of this, because it’s going to place us front and centre in the town. That will make it far more obvious who we really are: how we respond, how we behave, whether we are a people who are intent on following the Word of God, or a people of hypocrisy. It’s going to be more visible when we’re there.

In addition to that, by being in the town centre, people are going to want to come in. Right now we’re tucked away on the outskirts of town in a school hall. It’s difficult to get to, and there’s never any parking. Soon we’re going to be front and centre in the town, and people are going to want to come. They’re going to want to see. And I believe that the Lord is going to draw people in.

As we do that, as we faithfully try to hear what the Lord is saying and as we faithfully preach the gospel and lead people to Christ—because that is ultimately salvation, that’s the point—that’s the point of the whole thing: that more people would be added to heaven. And I need to tell you that we are all in on that. We’re all part of that.

There are, what, maybe a hundred people in here right now? And some of the people in this place this morning are, perhaps, bystanders—not in a bad way, but maybe because it feels like everything’s already done. People already stack the chairs. People already lead the life groups. People already “do the stuff.” And you might be thinking, “There’s nothing for me to do here.”

I’ve got to tell you, church, when we get there, we’re the people. You’re the people discipling the people coming in. You’re the people teaching the people. You’re the people pastoring the people. You’re the people encouraging and building up the people. You’re the people preaching the message of love, hope, mercy, and grace to the people. We’re all in. We’re all in.

That’s why I believe the Lord led us to 1 Peter: a book that really encourages us in the way that we’re already going, but also allows us to highlight—allows the Holy Spirit to highlight—some things that we may need to set straight. And it’s worth setting them straight now, isn’t it, church? It’s worth setting them straight now, because what the Lord is asking of us is significant.

I’m so excited. I’m so excited to see people turn to Christ in our town. To see people who were once lost become found. To see people who were once dead become alive. To see people who were broken be restored by the love of Jesus Christ. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see more.

Where we’ve been and what we’ve done has been incredibly important, foundationally. But where we’re going—it’s going to explode. It’s going to explode.

I hope you’re ready.

Thanks be to God.