Living Hope - Going Through It
What do you say to someone who is going through it? Sometimes, we don’t know what to say; sometimes, we say the wrong thing inadvertently. We intend to be helpful, but there might be a disconnect between our hearts and words. The right intention is there, but the words aren’t.
1 Peter 1
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 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.
This is addressed to the believers in Asia Minor – Turkey, but part of the Roman Empire. “All Christians, everywhere.” A letter like this would be passed around between the churches and those gathering or copied so that others could read it.
There’s a shared experience that these people had – they are “exiles scattered,” the reason being because they are being oppressed and persecuted.
Some letters about a specific issue were addressed to a church or group of people. But this one is to everyone, including us. It tells us that we can all expect to experience a version of this, and we shouldn’t run from it or try to avoid it. Instead, we have to go through it, and how we go through it matters.
God’s Elect
Peter refers to them as God’s elect, meaning God’s chosen. He’s saying, “God has chosen you, and He’s chosen you for this.” He’s enough for you, and you’re enough for this with Him by your side.
You didn’t randomly fall into this life – you are chosen.
In a world of uncertainty, there’s a sense of certainty. There can be a sense of intentionality or purpose in times of difficulty or suffering. Some of us think persecution is when someone disagrees with us, our belief system is not the dominant point of view, or when the 10 Commandments are taken off the courthouse lawn.
….or when Starbucks cups say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”…
This is not how any of these scattered exiles would’ve described persecution. These are first-world problems.
Discomfort isn’t persecution – it’s what happens when your faith costs something.
Every time your faith costs something, it will be uncomfortable. The Roman Empire, specifically the Roman emperor, had taken a very dark turn. This letter was written around 62 AD, and an emperor named Nero had come to power in Rome.
Nero is one of the emperors many of us know about. He was famous for persecuting, torturing, and executing Christians in all sorts of brutally creative ways. Ironically enough, the author of this letter, Peter, would go on to be executed by Nero.
Why Peter?
Peter is an interesting choice to write about persecution because he and the other Christians were facing real hardship and persecution. But we’ve heard from Peter before. He’s the one who denied Jesus at the first smell of opposition and ran away. Back in the Gospels, during Jesus’ arrest, he said he would die for Jesus, and then he folds.
We say things, but when we have to pay the price, we don’t want to.
But now, we see a very different figure emerge. And if something can change in Peter, there’s something that can change in us, too. It’s about how we are when we’re going through it.
1 Peter 1
3 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, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 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. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
What Peters calls us to is surprising, and we must hear it. We often live in this era of therapeutic, feel-good faith too often. Peter doesn’t deny the hardship, but he points past it. This is something much more bracing.
There’s a future that will make the present worth it – and there’s something we have in Christ that makes it all possible.
1 Peter 1
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
The Priceless Gift
We’ve been given a gift that culminates there but changes how we live here. We can live fully alive in the present because our suffering, just like that of Jesus, leads to glory. But what can we do in the meantime?
1 Peter 1
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. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
This is being fully present, self-controlled, and refusing to self-pity. We can only avoid falling into this if we build our foundation, our hope, somewhere else.
“Holy” means two things in the Bible.
1 Peter 1
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
There are 3 ideas here.
1 Peter 1
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.
Other translations say, “a pure heart.” Pure is the same word as holy – undivided, set apart, unblemished. We live holy before God, but we also live the same way before others.
1 Peter 1
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
He’s talking about what he talked about before, the priceless salvation we have through Jesus.
We can’t live and we can’t love in times like these unless we immerse ourselves in it.
1 Peter 1
24 For, “All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
Peter is quoting from Isaiah 40, which was written during another exile, another hostile time. It’s as if he’s reminding them that this isn’t a new thing, but there’s something that endures in all things – the word (or voice) of the Lord.
Even in the moments of suffering, where it all seems like it’s falling apart, when it feels like everything is dying, God is still speaking. Especially then, His voice is speaking.
1 Peter 2
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
There are some things you need to clean house on. You need to be relentless and have no tolerance for them. But then, you need to replace those things with something else. You need to fill that space.
Nourish your soul with God’s truth so that you will become stronger, more mature. We have a living hope that’s incorruptible. We can live in it now, it can never spoil or fade away.
It can feel like a mystery when we're going through it, but who we can be in it can be a certainty.
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter below or follow us on Instagram.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here.
1 Peter 1
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 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.
This is addressed to the believers in Asia Minor – Turkey, but part of the Roman Empire. “All Christians, everywhere.” A letter like this would be passed around between the churches and those gathering or copied so that others could read it.
There’s a shared experience that these people had – they are “exiles scattered,” the reason being because they are being oppressed and persecuted.
Some letters about a specific issue were addressed to a church or group of people. But this one is to everyone, including us. It tells us that we can all expect to experience a version of this, and we shouldn’t run from it or try to avoid it. Instead, we have to go through it, and how we go through it matters.
God’s Elect
Peter refers to them as God’s elect, meaning God’s chosen. He’s saying, “God has chosen you, and He’s chosen you for this.” He’s enough for you, and you’re enough for this with Him by your side.
You didn’t randomly fall into this life – you are chosen.
In a world of uncertainty, there’s a sense of certainty. There can be a sense of intentionality or purpose in times of difficulty or suffering. Some of us think persecution is when someone disagrees with us, our belief system is not the dominant point of view, or when the 10 Commandments are taken off the courthouse lawn.
….or when Starbucks cups say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”…
This is not how any of these scattered exiles would’ve described persecution. These are first-world problems.
Discomfort isn’t persecution – it’s what happens when your faith costs something.
Every time your faith costs something, it will be uncomfortable. The Roman Empire, specifically the Roman emperor, had taken a very dark turn. This letter was written around 62 AD, and an emperor named Nero had come to power in Rome.
Nero is one of the emperors many of us know about. He was famous for persecuting, torturing, and executing Christians in all sorts of brutally creative ways. Ironically enough, the author of this letter, Peter, would go on to be executed by Nero.
Why Peter?
Peter is an interesting choice to write about persecution because he and the other Christians were facing real hardship and persecution. But we’ve heard from Peter before. He’s the one who denied Jesus at the first smell of opposition and ran away. Back in the Gospels, during Jesus’ arrest, he said he would die for Jesus, and then he folds.
We say things, but when we have to pay the price, we don’t want to.
But now, we see a very different figure emerge. And if something can change in Peter, there’s something that can change in us, too. It’s about how we are when we’re going through it.
1 Peter 1
3 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, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 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. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
What Peters calls us to is surprising, and we must hear it. We often live in this era of therapeutic, feel-good faith too often. Peter doesn’t deny the hardship, but he points past it. This is something much more bracing.
There’s a future that will make the present worth it – and there’s something we have in Christ that makes it all possible.
1 Peter 1
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
The Priceless Gift
We’ve been given a gift that culminates there but changes how we live here. We can live fully alive in the present because our suffering, just like that of Jesus, leads to glory. But what can we do in the meantime?
1 Peter 1
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. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
This is being fully present, self-controlled, and refusing to self-pity. We can only avoid falling into this if we build our foundation, our hope, somewhere else.
“Holy” means two things in the Bible.
- To be set apart or set above
- To be unblemished, untarnished, pure, or undivided
1 Peter 1
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
There are 3 ideas here.
- Live as foreigners - You wouldn't take anything for granted if you were in a different country. Too often, we American Christians live like this world owes us something.
- Don’t live cheaply - Don’t live a low-value life. Peter contrasts silver and gold, both things we would call valuable, with something of a much higher price, the blood of Jesus. This means making every moment count.
- Remember where your hope is - Jesus was raised from the dead for our sins. Place your hope in a God who glorified him.
1 Peter 1
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.
Other translations say, “a pure heart.” Pure is the same word as holy – undivided, set apart, unblemished. We live holy before God, but we also live the same way before others.
1 Peter 1
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
He’s talking about what he talked about before, the priceless salvation we have through Jesus.
We can’t live and we can’t love in times like these unless we immerse ourselves in it.
1 Peter 1
24 For, “All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
Peter is quoting from Isaiah 40, which was written during another exile, another hostile time. It’s as if he’s reminding them that this isn’t a new thing, but there’s something that endures in all things – the word (or voice) of the Lord.
Even in the moments of suffering, where it all seems like it’s falling apart, when it feels like everything is dying, God is still speaking. Especially then, His voice is speaking.
1 Peter 2
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
There are some things you need to clean house on. You need to be relentless and have no tolerance for them. But then, you need to replace those things with something else. You need to fill that space.
Nourish your soul with God’s truth so that you will become stronger, more mature. We have a living hope that’s incorruptible. We can live in it now, it can never spoil or fade away.
It can feel like a mystery when we're going through it, but who we can be in it can be a certainty.
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter below or follow us on Instagram.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here.
Recent
Archive
2025
January
February
March
2024
May
June
July
August
September