What’s the most precious thing you possess? What is the most valuable thing you own?
Of course the word precious carries two meanings. Some things are precious because they are of high value, high cost, high price. They may be rare or expensive, like precious metals, or diamonds. In that sense the most valuable thing you possess might be a house, or a car. It could be some jewellery, or stamps, or books, or a musical instrument, or even a piece of technology like a computer or a television.
But the word precious carries a second sense. Other things are precious to us because they are greatly valued, highly esteemed and cherished. Those things may not have any material value at all, to other people they may not be worth anything at all, but they are very important to us. Our family and our relationships are precious to us. Our pets, our teddy bears, even photos which bring back happy memories can be more precious to us than all the expensive objects we might own.
So what is most precious to you? I want us to think this evening about that one word – precious. Because it helps us identify what is important in our lives. The things the Bible says are precious will help us to think about what should be important to us.
The Bible uses the word precious many times in its first sense to describe objects which are expensive. 25 times we read the phrase “precious stones”, diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. But Jesus taught us that we should have treasures in heaven, not treasures on earth. So it should not be a surprise that the Bible teaches us about spiritual things which are so much more valuable and precious than any earthly treasures. It is coincidentally interesting that we will find many of these things in the letters of Peter.

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST is precious

1 Peter 2: 4. As you come to him, the living Stone- rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.

We have thought about Christ the precious cornerstone before, from 1 Peter and before that from the original prophecy in Isaiah 28.
Isaiah 28 16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.

SONG Lord you are more precious than silver; Lord you are more costly than gold;
Lord you are more beautiful than diamonds; and nothing I desire compares with you.

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST is precious

1 Peter 1:18 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 forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

We are mostly thinking about what is precious to us. But perhaps the most amazing precious thing of all in the Bible is this.

GOD’S PEOPLE are precious TO GOD – WE are precious to God

Isaiah 43:1 But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel:
‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;
I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honoured in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.

What are human beings? In such a vast universe created by an infinitely greater and more glorious God, human beings might seem to be tiny and insignificant. But because we are the crown of creation, all created in the image of God, each one of us is of immense value to Him. But more than that, we are so precious that Jesus sacrificed Himself to save and redeem us. What is mankind? What are human beings? We have been redeemed through the blood of Christ who is supreme over all things. That is how much God loves us. We are infinitely precious to God!

When we consider all that Christ has accomplished for us, all the wonderful blessings of the marvellous salvation we have received, it is no surprise that the FAITH we put in Jesus is precious to us.

OUR FAITH is precious

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- 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 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 your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Good News Translation v 7 Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.

2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

Our faith is precious to US and our faith is also precious in God’s sight!
The Bible, the Holy Scriptures are precious to us, because it teaches us about our precious Saviour and because it strengthens our precious faith

GOD’S WORD is precious

Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring for ever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

Psalm 119 72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

Psalm 139 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—

God’s word the Holy Scriptures, and God’s thoughts, are more precious than any gold or riches. And within God’s Word,

GOD’s PROMISES are precious

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

The Lord Jesus Christ the cornerstone, Christ’s blood, our faith, God’s word, God’s promises

THE DEATH OF HIS SAINTS is precious to God

Psalm 116 12 What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfil my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.

Psalm 72 13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.
14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.

We are precious to God. The Lord Jesus Christ the cornerstone is precious. Christ’s blood, our faith, God’s word, God’s promises and the deaths of his saints – these are the things which the Bible says are precious. These are the things which are worth more than gold and silver and diamonds. These are the treasures in heaven which are worth so much more than any treasures on earth. So what is most precious to you?

The last eight verses of Peter’s first letter contain a warning, an encouragement and a promise. The whole letter was written to encourage Christians who were going through hard times, especially from the brutal persecution of the Roman Empire under Emperor Nero. Peter began by reminding his readers of the wonderful salvation they have received in Jesus, born again into a living hope and with a glorious and imperishable inheritance waiting in heaven for us all.
The apostle has reminded his readers that all Christians are called to follow in the footsteps of Christ who himself suffered so that we can be saved, the spotless lamb of God who redeems us by his death on the cross. So together Christians are being built up into God’s new temple which has Christ himself as the cornerstone. We are a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation and God’s special possession. So God calls us to live holy lives, to be holy as God himself is holy, to turn our backs on sin and to love and serve each other. Which brought us to the wonderful verses we thought about last time.
1 Peter 5:5 … ‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.’
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
What marvellous verses! God will lift us up in due time. He does care for us. So we can cast all our anxiety on him. Wonderful promises which have been so precious to Christians throughout the centuries in times of trouble. Promises I am sure our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan will be clinging to in these terrible days, and I know we will be wanting to hold them up in prayer too. And these promises are also for us whatever difficulties we may be facing. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
But this brings Peter to a solemn warning
1 Peter 5 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Twice before Peter has instructed his readers to remain alert. Vigilant. On watch. On guard. And also fully sober, always in control. Some versions say, “be disciplined”. But why do we need to be alert and of sober mind? Because
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Here is a warning we cannot afford to ignore. We must never underestimate how dangerous an enemy the devil is to Christians. As dangerous as any ferocious lion. The devil is always looking for opportunities to lead Christians into temptation and drag us away from God. Peter has already listed a number of the kinds of sins which we must be on guard against.
1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
1 Peter 2 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
All of us are in a continual battle against the sinful desires which used to control our lives. We need to be on our guard against drifting back into our old evil ways.
1 Peter 4 3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
There are so many forms of sin which the world around don’t even recognize are wrong nowadays. Those are just a very few of the temptations that the devil tries to use to lure Christians away from God. We need to watch out that we don’t get led astray.
1 Peter 5 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
At the same time, I think we miss the major point of this warning if we generalize it to refer to all kinds of temptation. Remember the context of the preceding verses.
1 Peter 5:5 … ‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.’
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
Peter thinks it is important to urge Christians to be humble and so it is reasonable to suppose that one of the great sins he is warning them against is pride. It was his pride which led the devil to be thrown out of heaven. Pride will lead Christians to trust in themselves instead of in God. Pride takes many forms – what A.W.Tozer so memorably calls “the fine threads of the self life, the hyphenated sins of the human spirit … the self sins: self-sufficiency, self-pity, self-absorption,… self-deception, self-exaltation, self-indulgence.”
It is pride of self-reliance which lets us think we can manage in our own strength and without God’s help. It is pride which stops us from humbling ourselves under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift (us) up in due time. So when Peter warns Christians about their enemy the devil on the prowl looking to devour them I think one sin he wants us particularly to watch out for is pride
But then we should also remember the broader context of the whole letter, encouraging Christians to stand firm in times of trouble. So I think that the other great danger Peter is warning against here is that Christians might give up under pressure and abandon their faith.
1 Peter 5:8 … Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
The encouragement here is simply to stand firm! To stay strong and steadfast in your faith when difficulties come along. Not to be discouraged and downhearted and just give up. Peter is reminding his readers that they are not the only ones suffering persecution. Every Christian goes through hard times and the devil loves to use those times of trouble to drag believers away from God. We just need to stand firm and hang on in there. And once we have recognized the danger which our enemy presents as he prowls around like a lion, the secret of dealing with the devil is simple.
9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith,
Resist the devil. Stand up to him. Refuse to give in to him.
The Letter of James chapter 4 verse 7 says exactly the same thing. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
When suffering and discouragement and doubt comes we just have to resist the devil, to stand firm in our faith. There will be battles but if we just trust God and stand up to the devil we will be able to keep on going. And that is all that God expects us to do. Just keep on standing.
We saw the same thing when we looked at Paul’s letter to the Ephesians last year.
Ephesians 6 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
All the hard times we go through as Christians are just a tiny part of a cosmic battle against the devil and all the powers of evil. Sometimes it can be very hard. We may feel that we are barely holding on. But that is all that God asks of us. All that God asks is that we take our stand, and stand our ground. Spurgeon once said, “by perseverance the snail reached the ark.” God simply calls on Christians to persevere. Never stop trying and never try stopping. To keep on standing.
The Message translates 1 Peter 5:9 like this.
Message Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever.
Resist the devil. There are a number of things we can do to help us stand up against the devil. The first is to immerse ourselves in the Word of God, the Bible. In the wilderness the devil put Jesus to the test by misquoting scripture to him. The devil tried to tempt Jesus to turn stones to bread, or to jump from the pinnacle of the temple and rely on angels to save him. Jesus responded to those temptations by quoting the Bible. “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. So knowing our Bibles will help us stand up to the devil and not to be deceived by all his lies. We can also rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to help us resist the devil and prayer will help us draw on God’s strength. 1 Peter 4:7 says …. be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. And Paul says in Ephesians 6 11 Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. As well as the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, we should put on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness, gospel shoes and the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation
Resist the devil, standing firm in your faith. And here is God’s wonderful promise when we do that.
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
We don’t need to win the battles ourselves. We never could do. Peter describes God as “the God of all grace”. John Stott defined grace as God’s “love which cares and stoops and rescues” us. God’s grace is sufficient for all our weakness. We can rely on the God of all grace, the God who will supply all our needs and give us the strength to cope with anything the world or the devil can throw at us.
God has called us to share in his eternal glory in Christ. That is our destiny and our inheritance! And so he will make absolutely certain that we reach that glory. So God himself will restore us. He will make us strong, firm and steadfast. His love will never let us go. As the New Revised Standard Version puts it,
the God of all grace … will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.
We have God’s promise of that!
11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
God’s eternal and almighty power is more than enough to help us through whatever difficulties or challenges we may be facing.
If you need him to help you resist the devil and stand firm in your faith, you only need to ask him.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
If you need the God of all grace to restore and support and strengthen and establish you this morning, just put your trust in him and ask.
Message Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good.

May the God of all grace help us all to resist the devil and to stand firm in our faith!

I have talked before about the popular but totally false gospel of health, wealth and prosperity. The mistaken and wrong idea that God will always heal Christians of any illness, always give them riches and always make them successful in business and in any other aspects of life, just as long as they have enough faith. The prosperity gospel. You will recognise their slogans. “Say it; do it; receive it; tell it.” “Healing in the atonement”. “You believe you receive”. “What I confess, I possess”. “The law of reciprocity – you give to God and he’ll give back to you”. And possibly the most popular, “Name it and claim it”.
The truth is that health and wealth and success are NOT part of the package of the Christian gospel! Those who come to Christ expecting Him to keep them healthy and make them rich and prosperous will be very disappointed! Those who focus on earthly treasures and receiving a blessing may (or may well not) get lots of stuff, but they will not experience fullness of life. In the end, they will rot in their stuff. Those who know Christ are rich beyond measure – rich in salvation, forgiveness, joy, peace, and glory. That is the real and the only prosperity which the true gospel promises to all believers! This false prosperity gospel rests on twisting and misinterpreting a number of passages in the Bible and one of the most significant is Psalm 91. This is a Psalm we really do need to understand correctly.
Then over the last year and a half we have seen another wrong idea become popular among many Christians, even those who would rightly reject the false prosperity gospel. As the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the world we have seen an astonishing number of Christians respond to it in a very dangerous way, especially from the Christian Right in America. Many Bible believing Christians have rebelled against wearing masks and particularly rejected vaccinations. Their reasoning has been simple. God will protect me. I don’t need a mask. I don’t need vaccinations. I have faith. God will keep me safe. And the first Scripture these misguided Christians have been turning to in order to defend this proposition is Psalm 91.
5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
The promises continue,
9 If you say, ‘The LORD is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
A number of Christians have claimed that Psalm 91 guarantees them God’s protection. Many, particularly in the USA, have rejected the things which could keep them safe from Covid, even though a number of them have consequently died from the disease, and very many have become seriously ill. So here is a second reason why we need to understand this Psalm correctly as we answer a very important question. Does God really promise to keep all Christians always safe from any kind of harm? You will probably have guess by now that my answer to that question will be a very clear and loud NO! God does make very many promises to believers, but there is no guarantee anywhere in the Bible that God’s people will always be kept safe and will never experience suffering of any kind.
It shouldn’t really be necessary to defend that point in the light of our morning sermons in 1 Peter. The apostle was writing to Christians who were experiencing brutal persecution from the Roman Empire in the time of Emperor Nero. He holds out to them their living hope of an eternal inheritance,
1 Peter 1:6 In 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 your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Peter points to the example of Christ who suffered so much for our salvation even though he was completely innocent.
1 Peter 2 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
1 Peter 3 18 For Christ suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
And there are some verses from 1 Peter 4 which we missed out in our morning sermons, as Peter explains that Christians should expect to suffer as they follow in the footsteps of their suffering Saviour.
1 Peter 4 12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. ….
Jesus had warned his disciples that they could expect to suffer for their faith. So does the letter of James.
James 1 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Paul even told the Romans to rejoice in their sufferings.
Romans 5:3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
If any more proof were needed that believers are not immune from the ordinary sufferings which all human beings have to go through, we can turn to 2 Corinthians 12 and Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.”
2 Corinthians 12:7 …. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Paul was suffering in some unspecified way and God did not take that suffering away. The clear picture from both the New Testament and the Old is that believers will suffer sometimes. We are not guaranteed to be spared such things. So how then should we understand Psalm 91 which seems to promise the opposite. We must interpret passages like this in the light of the teaching of the whole of Scripture. And we also need to look closely at what the Psalm actually says.
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’
The Psalm is promising God’s rest and protection. God will be a refuge and a fortress. We have seen other Psalms making similar promises. God will be a fortress and a deliverer and a refuge and a stronghold. Look closely. These Psalms are not promising that trouble will not come. Instead they are promising that in the days when troubles do come, God will be there to help those who call on him.
Psalm 91 goes on to talk about the different kinds of problems that believers will face. In the New Bible commentary Alec Motyer makes this important point. “We should isolate the psalm from the rest of Scripture if we understood it to promise immunity. Here, as elsewhere (e.g. Rom. 8:28), the promise is not security from but security in.”
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
The point is that God will provide his salvation when these things come upon us as Christians. He will save us in them, not prevent us from experiencing them at all. It is only while we are suffering in all kinds of ways, that
4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
It is not that Christians will not experience problems, but that God will be their shield and refuge in the middle of the problems.
5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
This Psalm is not teaching that Christians will always be immune to pestilence or plagues. That has never been true throughout history. If it was, people would put their trust in God just to be saved from deadly diseases. The point instead is that we do not need to be afraid of these dangers, because God will be with us whatever might happen to us.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
Again people misunderstand this verse and others if they think God is promising that Christians will never fall sick or die. The reality of the experience of believers throughout the centuries is that God does not always deliver them from their enemies. Some suffer, some die, and “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” And it is indisputable that every single Christian in previous generations has died of old age, if not due to some other cause.

Yet Psalm 91 verses 9 and 10 do appear to be unconditional in their promise that God will always keep believers safe
9 If you say, ‘The LORD is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
Many Christians particularly in USA have put their trust in God to protect them from Covid, instead of masks or vaccinations. Many have become seriously ill and a number have died from the disease. The cruel and totally explanation some would give for this sad fact is that those who died just didn’t have enough faith. Verse 2 says I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ Those who died simply failed to make God their refuge and their dwelling place. They just didn’t trust God enough. That understanding is as cruel as it is a distortion of what Scripture actually teaches.
Psalm 91 continues with a wonderful promise of divine protection by guardian angels.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
I happily believe that angels exist, because the Bible says so. I believe that God sometimes does intervene and protect his children through the supernatural actions of angels. But I don’t believe that these verses give Christians any guarantee that they will not be hurt or even die by wild animals. The Southern Snake-Handling Baptists are missing the point here. God rescued Daniel in the lion’s den, but all Christians in Africa know better than to provoke a lion or to take risks with cobras or any other snakes. Any promises in Psalm 91 relate to the problems which might befall Christians. They could never apply to Christians who deliberately put themselves in harm’s way.
Again the final verses of the Psalm appear to offer believers a cast-iron guarantee that they will never be harmed and always live out a long life.
14 ‘Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.’
Look again. God is promising rescue and protection, but that only means anything when the believer is right in the middle of a dangerous situation. He will call on me, and I will answer him; when we are actually facing danger.
I will be with him in trouble, again, only when we are in the middle of that trouble. I will deliver him and honour him. The precondition for God delivering us is that we are facing disaster. It would be meaningless to talk about God rescuing us if we were always being kept safe so that we were never in danger in the first place.
There are eight wonderful promises for believers in those three verses. God will rescue us – he will step in and intervene. He will protect us. He will answer our prayers and be with us in the midst of our troubles. He will deliver us and vindicate us as satisfy us and grant us his salvation. Those promises are for those who love God, and acknowledge his name, and who call on God in prayer. But we should understand these promises to refer to our eternal salvation – not to being kept safe from every injury or illness in this life.
One more thing. It should also be obvious that God will not protect believers who deliberately put themselves in danger. For example, Psalm 91 does not give licence for Christians to drive at ridiculous speeds without seat belts. Two verses of Psalm 91 are probably particularly familiar to us all from what we read in Luke chapter 4 about the time Jesus was tested by the devil in the wilderness.
Luke 4 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
In that third temptation the devil was testing Jesus by misquoting and twisting Psalm 91 – that was the same trick as he used on Eve in the Garden of Eden. “Didn’t God say this?” It is the same trick the devil is using in so many settings today, misquoting and distorting Scripture so God’s children get confused. Some bad preachers use this Psalm to teach that if we are Christians we will always be safe. God will always protect us. We will never suffer accident or injury or failure or discouragement. Let me be absolutely clear. God does not promise any such protection. The temptation for Jesus here was to ask God His Father to prove his love and protection. To do something which would make God show his presence. To prove he was there.
12 Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’“
I believe this is the temptation which followers of the false prosperity gospel are falling into when they misinterpret Psalm 91. Putting God to the test. The mistaken anti-mask, anti-vaccination Christians are trapped in the same temptation. Asking God to prove that he exists or to prove that he loves us by keeping us safe from all dangers. We should never expect God to prove to us that he exists – because He won’t do that. And Psalm 91 does not teach that He will.
There are indeed glorious promises in Psalm 91 for God’s people when we face all kinds of perils. God will be our refuge and our fortress. God will keep us safe into eternity. But it is very clear from the rest of scripture that in this world of tears God does not guaranteed that we will never ever suffer.

There are at least three wonderful verses in our Bible reading today which are well worth learning off by heart. I will save the third until the end of the month and spend this morning looking at the first two. Two glorious verses which are as inspiring and encouraging for us in the different situations we face today as they would have been to the Christians the apostle Peter was writing to in the first century. And the first is 1 Peter 5 verse 6.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
After more than a year of Covid lockdowns, as life is beginning to get back to some semblance of normality, we are all facing different challenges. Some are sick. Some are grieving. Some are discouraged or depressed. Some are just exhausted. Many are worried or even afraid of what life will be like in the months ahead. So here is a verse to inspire us and give us strength.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
We may be feeling overwhelmed by everything that has been happening. We may be feeling ground down. Maybe we are even feeling that we have had a taste of what those Christians in the Early Church were facing under the cruel persecution of the Roman Empire. What we desperately need is for God to lift us up again. We need to experience God’s salvation in the way Job talks about.
Job 5 11 The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
Maybe we feel we need God to lift us up and rescue us as he did King David in Psalm 40
1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.

Maybe we even feel we have stumbled and fallen and are stuck lying on the floor. If we are longing for God to lift us up, here this encouragement from the apostle Peter.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
The Old Testament uses this expression “the mighty hand” of God 25 times and every time it is talking about God’s powerful acts of salvation in the Exodus, the ten plagues God sent on Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea so that the slaves could escape.
Exodus 13 3 Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand.
Deuteronomy 26 7 Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. 8 So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders.
Psalm 136:10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures for ever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them His love endures for ever.
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures for ever.
1 Kings 8:41 “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— 42 for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple.
If we are on the ground, or even trapped in a slimy pit, sinking in mud and mire, what we need is God’s mighty hand to life us up again and rescue us. For God to help us like that, what we need to do is very simple.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
Why should we humble ourselves? Look back at verse 5.
…. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility towards one another, because,
‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.’
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand,
Why does humbling ourselves matter when we are asking God to lift us up? Because being proud will get in the way of God helping us. When we think we can manage without God’s help, our pride blocks God’s blessing.
Zechariah 4:6 tells us “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the LORD Almighty.
On more than 100 occasions the Old Testament uses the word MIGHT to refer to collective strength, to armies or forces or warriors. While we are putting our trust in our own might, God can’t work in our lives. God can’t work in us. Not by might, says the Lord Almighty. He is the ALL MIGHTY God. In comparison to His great might, all our human resources count for nothing at all!
Not by might, and not by power. In the Old Testament with find this word power a hundred times as well. Power refers to the strength of individual men and women. We must not put our trust in our own power or our own efforts. All our skills and abilities count for absolutely nothing! We cannot rely on our human wisdom, or our education or our experience or our clever ideas. As long as we are putting our trust in our hard work, God will not work through us.
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty! To lift us up when we are down, what we need is the mighty hand of God at work in our lives. The power of God which brought the slaves out of Egypt and through the Red Sea and into the Promised Land. We need the power of the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. We read about this in our series of sermons on Ephesians this time last year.
Ephesians 1 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know … 19 … his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
The mighty strength of God which raised Jesus from the dead is God’s incomparably great power at work in our lives.
Ephesians 3 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
20 … all glory to God, who is able to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think, through his mighty power at work within us. (NLT)
There is no limit to what that power of Almighty God can do in our lives! But to release the power of God we need to humble ourselves. We need to acknowledge that we can’t cope by ourselves and admit that need God’s help to lift us up. Because,
‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.’
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
Which brings us to the second wonderful verse in the passage we read, another promise well worth learning by heart and clinging to in times of need.
1 Peter 5:7 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Even though there seems to be some good news in the battle against Covid, many, many people still have all kinds of worries. Some are asking, is it safe to go out of the house yet? But we can bring all our anxieties to God. Cast all your anxiety on Him – literally throw your worries over to God.
The Contemporary English Version reads God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.
The Good News Bible says Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you.
God cares for you. God is concerned for you and for your wellbeing and for everything that is troubling you. If you are feeling down and needing to be lifted up, hold on to this truth. God cares about you. God cares for you. There’s a simple hymn which I learned at infant school which has stuck in my mind for the last sixty years.
1 God, who made the earth, the air, the sky, the sea,
who gave the light its birth: He cares for me.
2 God, who made the grass, the flower, the fruit, the tree,
the day and night to pass: He cares for me.
3 God, who made the sun, the moon, the stars, is He
who, when life’s clouds come on, will care for me.
4 God, who made all things, on earth, in air, in sea,
who changing seasons brings: He cares for me.
5 God, who sent His Son to die on Calvary,
He, if I lean on Him, will care for me.
God cares for me. And God cares for you. So we can cast all our anxieties on the Lord.
Psalm 55:22 makes the same promise. Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
God says the same thing in many other places as well.
Isaiah 41 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
And my all-time favourite verses from Isaiah 43
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; ….
4 … you are precious and honoured in my sight, and … I love you,

God cares about us and God cares for us. Whatever we may be worried about, whatever we might be struggling with in life, we should never forget just how much God loves us. Peter reminded his readers that God loves each one of us so much that Jesus the lamb of God gave his life for the sin of the world. God loves us so much that Jesus suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us back to God. God loves us with a love which will never let us go. God cares for us. So we can come to him with complete confidence and find the help which we need.
So how does this all work? What do we need to do if we want to cast all our anxieties on God? Simply humble ourselves, so that God’s mighty hand can lift us up. Whatever challenges and struggles we may be facing, here are two wonderful verses to learn off by heart this week. Two glorious promises to cling to in these strange times. 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 6 and verse 7.

Do churches in the 21st century really need ministers any more? You may have read about a recent Church of England report called Myriad which proposes planting ten thousand new churches led not by clergy but by ordinary Christians. You may also have read that the Chelmsford Diocese is cutting 61 posts of vicar this year with another 49 under threat by 2026. Do we really need ministers any more?
At the same time, the Coronavirus lockdown of the last year and a half has led to many Christians and not-yet Christians worshipping with churches which are not local to them, maybe not even in the same country. In North Springfield Baptist Church have continued to gather together live using Zoom over the internet, so everybody can join in from their own homes. But many other Christians have been content to watch pre-recorded videos on Facebook or YouTube, not live or even together with others but at times to suit themselves. I saw a cartoon the other day of some worshippers back in their church building at last yawning through a sermon and asking, “where is the fast-forward button?” People can watch videos of the greatest preachers in the world, and sing along to the very best worship bands, all delivered in Netflix quality video to their own sofas whenever they want. Many people have become dissatisfied with the humble ramblings of the local minister. Do churches really need ministers any more?
We have seen in 1 Peter 2:5 that every Christian is called to be a priest.
5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
The church is the spiritual house where God lives by his Holy Spirit, made up of the living stones of believers who form a holy priesthood. We are all priests in God’s new spiritual temple.
And in verse 9. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
A royal priesthood – a priesthood of kings – Christians share in the priesthood of all believers. We are all priests. Then last week we also thought about every Christian using the spiritual gifts God has given each one of us to serve God in the church and in the world. And for many people, their gift is speaking for God.
1 Peter 4 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.
Every Christian has received the same Holy Spirit who inspired the great prophets in the Old Testament and in the Early Church, and in the church down the ages. God can speak to any of us in prophecies and dreams and visions, in words of knowledge and words of wisdom. God can use any of us to pass on his messages to others. I have called this “the prophet-hood of all believers.” But if every Christian is a priest, if every Christian can be a prophet, some people may be asking, do we really need ministers at all?
I ask that question as we reach 1 Peter chapter 5 where the apostle writes this.
1 Peter 5:1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be;
Does the church need ministers any more? This morning I want to say that every church needs leaders, and that for most churches it is very good if those leaders are people who are actually called and trained as ministers. And the first reason I believe this is that the whole of the New Testament shows us that the pattern everywhere in the early church was that each church had their local leaders, their elders. And those elders were seen as shepherds of God’s flock, the church.
Peter was writing to Christian congregations spread across the Roman Empire and beyond. Each of those congregations was led by one or more wise and mature Christians called Elders. The New Testament never gives the leaders of a local church the title priest, but it does use two other titles for those leaders. The Greek word Presbyteros is translated elder and another word Episcopes is usually translated overseer but some translations say bishop. It seems that those two titles were used interchangeably in the New Testament. In Acts 20 the narrator Luke refers to the leaders of the church as elders but then Paul calls them overseers. Every church we read about in the New Testament was led by elders / overseers and they give us the pattern for leaders and ministers in churches today.
In Acts 14 we read that as they went around preaching the gospel and establishing Christian communities,
23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
Paul instructed Titus 1:5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
Peter, the leader of the Early Church, and an eyewitness of the life of Christ, describes himself just as an elder. And he has instructions for the elders who are reading his letter.
1 Peter 5:1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be;
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care,
The duty of elders and overseers is to be shepherds of God’s flock, the believers God has entrusted them to look after. The root of the word for overseer is to keep an eye on. To watch over. This is the duty of all church leaders, all ministers and all clergypersons. To take care of the flock of God as a shepherd takes care of his sheep.
Even though he had been a fisherman, quite possibly the reason that Peter saw his ministry as that of a shepherd came from the conversation he had with Jesus after the resurrection. Jesus appeared to the apostles on the shores of Galilee. He cooked them breakfast. And then asked Peter a question.
John 21 15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’
‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’
Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’
16 Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’
He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’
Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’
17 The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’
Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.

Jesus commissioned Peter with three simple instructions. “Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep.” And this will be the pattern for all elders and overseers as they watch over the flock of God.
2 be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be;
“Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep.” The other obvious example for elders and overseers is of course God Himself who is the Good Shepherd of the flock, as Psalm 23 says.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
Like the Good Shepherd, it is the task of elders to lead the flock to good pastures and provide them with still waters, refreshing their souls. And more than that. The shepherd will be there to help and take care of the flock through times of difficulty and danger.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
“Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep.” And here feeding the sheep surely means teaching them the truth of God from the Bible.
In Ephesians 4:11 Paul describes some of the people who God has given to lead and build up the the church as pastors and teachers. If you look closely at the Greek, the phrase “pastors and teachers” refer to just one kind of person – the pastor-teacher, the one who pastors by teaching. It is the task of pastor-teachers to equip the whole church so that every Christian can play their part.
Feeding the sheep by teaching them is the essential task of elders and overseers. When Paul lists the qualifications for being an overseer he says in 1 Timothy 3:2 that the person must be an apt teacher, skilled at teaching. 1 Timothy 5 17 says The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
It is the responsibility of the elders to make sure that nobody is led astray by false teaching.
Titus 1 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
So Peter exhorts the elders of all the churches he is writing to.
1 Peter 5 2 be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them;
Paul said something very similar when he was talking to the elders of the church in Ephesus,
Acts 20 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
Just like Peter, Paul sees the role of the elders to be shepherds over the church. They are to watch over all the believers and take care of them.
29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard.
The greatest threat to the early church in Paul and Peter’s time is the same today. It is the danger of false teaching, distorting the truth and leading Christians astray. And I am talking about this today because it seems to me that this threat has got much worse over the last year. The great spread of online church has produced at least two problems. On the one hand, the whole world has seen a great increase in
Distrust of experts
I read an article a while ago which listed “50 things which are being killed by the Internet”. At number 28 was “Respect for doctors and other professionals”. The proliferation of health websites has undermined the status of GPs, whose diagnoses are now routinely challenged by patients armed with printouts. We have seen that in the rise of misinformation and conspiracy theories over Coronavirus. Many people don’t trust the experts – they prefer to trust some guy on Facebook who comes up with a clever-sounding slogan.
The same thing has happened to many Christians in connection to their faith. They think that they don’t need the church any more. They don’t think they need a minister to teach them what they Bible says – because they have the internet. More Christian content than anybody could watch or read in hundreds of lifetimes. So some people rely on their own ideas, reinforced by popular web sites and their networks of like-minded friends in the echo chamber of Facebook and Instagram and Twitter and all the latest flavours of social media.
That’s where the second danger lies in the growth of internet religion. How do you know who to trust? When we live in a world which is being led astray by
The triumph of form over substance
In other words, for many people the quality of the content doesn’t matter. All people care about is how slickly it is presented. This problem often overlaps with post-truth, where emotional appeals carry the day and everybody ignores the facts. It doesn’t matter whether something is true or not, as long as it makes you feel good. There is teaching on the internet which claims to be Christian. But how do you know who you can trust? We should not judge a YouTube channel or a website by how impressive the presentation appears. Instead ask – is this telling the truth? Is it faithful to what the Bible teaches? It this what the church over the centuries has preached and believed?
Time was when the minister was the local church’s “parish theologian”. Nowadays many Christians are more likely to put their trust in things they heard from big-name speakers on Christian radio or God TV or at Spring Harvest than they are to trust the considered beliefs of their own minister. Some Christians will put more trust in the latest internet site or blog of some American or Australian or African preacher nobody in England has ever heard of than they do in the all study and experience of their own minister. “It must be true – I read it on the internet. And that site gets lots more hits than our minister’s own website does – so it must be true!”
The danger with having so much online religion available is that there are so many wrong ideas out there. All the false teachings of the cults, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, who don’t tell you that proper churches will all agree that they are not actually Christian. Then there are all the peddlers of false teaching about health, wealth and prosperity. The lies that God will heal you, and bless you financially and in your business, just as long as you give generously to support their ministries. Never forget. Not everything you read or hear on the internet is true. So much can lead us astray.
Peter gives us very wise advice on how to spot the false teachers and the fraudsters.
2 be shepherds … not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
Watch out for celebrity preachers and authors and worship leaders who are actually savage wolves, pursuing dishonest gain. Watch out for those who lord it over their congregations and exploit their followers.
The Message tells us how all elders and overseers and ministers and preachers should behave. Here’s my concern: that you care for God’s flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way.
That is the pattern for elders, overseers and ministers which we find in the Bible. That is how I have always understood my calling to be a Baptist Minister. So, do churches need ministers any more? I absolutely believe that we do. Ministers who will teach the feed the flock and take care of the flock. Ministers who will defend the truths of the Bible encouraging others by sound doctrine and refuting those who oppose it. Ministers who are faithful to the calling laid out in 1 Peter.
2 be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;

The apostle Peter wrote his first letter to encourage Christians who were experiencing fierce persecution from the Roman empire. Peter points to Jesus the Suffering Saviour, who gave his life as a sacrifice for sin and rose from the dead to give eternal life and the promise of heaven to all who put their trust in him. When we build our lives on Christ the cornerstone, we are made into a spiritual building where the Holy Spirit dwells, a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and God’s special possession. So Christians are called to follow the example of Jesus and endure suffering, and at the same time to live holy lives which bring glory to God.
1 Peter 2 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
1 Peter 4 spells out what living like that will involve. And it begins with,
Turning away from sin
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body has finished with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
Before we knew Christ our lives were shaped by our evil human desires. Now we will want to do only what is pleasing to God.
3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
Some people who call themselves Christians seem to think these verses don’t apply any more. Their behaviour is no different to all their neighbours and colleagues and friends. We have talked before about the detestable idols which so many people today are worshipping, the false gods of Money, Sex and Power, of Shopping and Entertainment and Celebrity. Peter here lists some of the kinds of damaging behaviour which many people consider to be perfectly acceptable.
The New Living Translation puts it 3 You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.
If any proof was needed that these kinds of problems are everywhere in today’s world, we need only point to the recent resignation of a certain Cabinet Minister. He did not resign because he was caught having an affair or because he abandoned his wife and children. Those immoral actions did not cause any scandal. He only went because he was caught breaking the Covid social distancing guidelines which he was primarily responsible for imposing on the country. That demonstrates how far society’s morals have departed from God’s standards.
4 They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.
NLT 4 Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you.
Time and again the Bible teaches us that God expects Christians to stand out as different from the world around. People should be able to see the difference Jesus makes. Not that we have a puritanical attitude to enjoying life. But Christians do not need parties or drink or drugs or immorality to make us happy. Peter reminds us that everybody will have to face the holy God on the day of judgment.
5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
So Christians should turn away from all kinds of sin. There are things we should never do. But God also calls us to positive actions.
Loving one another
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
7 The end of all things is near. Jesus is coming back one day – maybe soon – maybe even today. So we should all be ready. I once heard this wise advice. “Never do anything you would be ashamed to be found doing when Jesus returns. Jesus is coming back soon.
Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.
Be of sober mind. Be serious, of sound mind, literally a “wise mind.” The basic idea is to be self-controlled. The root problem with immorality and lust, feasting and drunkenness and wild parties is that people lose control of themselves.
Titus 211 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
Christians are to exercise self-control. But more than that, we are to love each other.
. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
The apostle Peter does not write about loving other people as much as the apostle John does in his letters, but we have already had this encouragement in chapter 1.
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. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Christians are called to love each other deeply. God’s kind of love – agape love. Deep love, constant love, faithful love, because love like that covers over a multitude of sins.
Proverbs 10:12 tells us, love covers over all wrongs. NRSV Love covers all offenses.
When Christians love each other we will forgive each other. We will ignore each other’s shortcomings. And one example of that kind of love is hospitality.
9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
NLT 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.
Hospitality is not the same as entertaining. Entertaining is the posh dinner on the fine china. Hospitality is just opening up your home. Letting people find you just as you are. Remember that song from the musical, Oliver,
“Consider yourself at home. Consider yourself one of the family.
We’ve taken to you so strong. It’s clear we’re going to get along.
Consider yourself well in. Consider yourself part of the furniture.
There isn’t a lot to spare. Who cares?..What ever we’ve got we share!”
One of the things many of us have missed most over the last year and a bit is just chatting with our friends. Chatting after church on a Sunday. Chatting at Home Group or Bible Study. Just dropping round for a coffee to catch up and to see how we are getting on. As life begins to get back to normal, one thing we can deliberately set out to do will be to enjoy those times again.
We read about the first Christians, “They were like family to each other.” (Acts 2:42 Contemporary English Version.) We should love one another deeply. Practise hospitality. But then there is something else all Christians can be doing to love each other, to build up the church and to serve God in the world. We should all be
Using our gifts to serve others
10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Every Christian has been given gifts by God which we can use to glorify God. We all have natural talents. We all have different skills we may have developed by training and experience. We all have gifts given by the Holy Spirit to equip us to serve God. God has poured his grace into each of our lives and we are stewards of that grace.
The Holy Spirit is at work in every Christian, equipping us to serve God in the church and in the world. Here Peter only talks about two kinds of gifts, the gift of speaking and the gift of serving.
11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.
Peter isn’t just talking about preachers here. He is talking about every Christian when we have the opportunity to deliver God’s messages. That does includes preaching and teaching in the church. That includes when God gives a message in prophecy or in a dream or a vision. That also includes any of us talking about Jesus and sharing our faith with our friends. Whenever we speak for God we should speak “as one who speaks the very words of God.” We should remember what a privilege it is to represent God as we teach or as we share our testimony. And we should rely on God to give us the words to say. The apostle Paul lists some of those speaking gifts in 1 Corinthians.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
We talked about “the priesthood of all believers” in 1 Peter 2. But the Bible also teaches us about “the prophethood of all believers”. The same Holy Spirit who spoke through the prophets in the Old Testament and in the Early Church is given to every Christian to hear God speaking to us and to help us to deliver God’s messages. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.
Then Peter speaks about a different gift – the gift of serving.
If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides,
There are so many different ways we could serve God in the church and in the world. Any time we are loving our neighbours and helping other people. Any time we offer hospitality. Any practical tasks God gives us to take on. In every situation we should be serving in the strength which God gives us, depending on the infinite resources of God and not on our own human abilities. Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6)
We should all be using all the gifts God has given us for God’s glory. Paul gives the same encouragement to the Romans
Romans 12 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
The last year has been very strange. Most of the time we have not been able to use our gifts or speaking or serving as we used to do before lockdown. We have got out of practice at serving God. As things are returning to the new normal it will be good to ask God how he wants us to serve him in the days ahead. Who does he want us to speak to? Who does he want to help? What does he want us to be doing for him in the church and in our community? Perhaps he will even have new ways we can be using the gifts he has given us, things we have never done before, as we step out in faith for him.
Turning away from sin, loving one another deeply, and using our gifts to serve others. Why would we do these things?
1 Peter 4:11 …. so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
For the days ahead let us offer our lives afresh to God, so that he can work through us and so that God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Serving in the strength God gives us by his Holy Spirit, and all for God’s glory.
To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. (And all the people said) Amen!

The First Letter of Peter unwraps for us how the Early Church explained the mystery of God’s plan of salvation. The heart of the message is in chapter 3 verse 18,
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. (NIV 2011)
Christ suffered. This is talking about all the events from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday, from Jesus’s betrayal and arrest and desertion, through his rigged trials. Christ suffered the mocking and beating and scourging to within an inch of His life. Christ suffered the crown of thorns. And then He suffered the agonies of crucifixion hanging on the cross for three hours with nails through his hands and his feet. Christ did indeed suffer. And then he died.
The Anglicised NIV translation in 2011 is based on ancient manuscripts which say “Christ suffered for sins.” The New Revised Standard Version and the New Living Translation which I also often look at, say the same because they are based on the same original texts. It is interesting that the 1984 NIV we used for 30 years before then preferred other manuscripts which read instead “Christ died for sins”. So does the Good News Bible. However, the central message is the same. It is the cross of Christ which saves us. And “suffered for our sins” fits in very well with Peter’s central message of a Suffering Saviour. Christ suffered and at the greatest depth of his suffering Christ died. In just 5 chapters Peter refers to Jesus suffering 7 times. And it is good for us to reflect on the fact that it was not only the actual moment of Christ’s death on the cross, but all of his suffering on our behalf, which bought us salvation. Those last 24 hours were the most important hours of Jesus’s life. Not His birth. Not his profound teaching. Not his amazing miracles. Not his wonderful example of loving and forgiving. But his suffering and his death.
John 12 23 … ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. … 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’
The moment when Jesus died was the moment when the Son of Man was glorified and when the devil was defeated. It is the cross that saves us. Jesus suffered and Jesus died and Peter tells us that those were the events for which the whole of the Old Testament and the history of the Israelites were merely the preparation.
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.
Christ suffered and died. And he suffered and died once for sins.
The Letter to the Hebrews says exactly the same.
Hebrews 9 27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Christ suffered once for sins. This was not the pointless death of an innocent victim. This was not the inspiring death of a martyr. This was the atoning and redeeming death of a Saviour.
1 Peter 1 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.
Jesus was indeed the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The sinless sacrifice. Christ suffered and died “once for sins”. Once and for all!
Bearing shame and scoffing rude. In my place condemned he stood.
Sealed my pardon with His blood. Hallelujah! What a saviour”
Amazing love, Oh what sacrifice, the Son of God given for me.
My debt He pays, and my death he dies, that I might live. That I might live!
We have already looked at how Peter expanded on this theme back in chapter 2.
1 Peter 2 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 ‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’
According the whole of the New Testament, here is the heart of the meaning of the cross. Christ’s suffering and death was taking away our sins, paying the price we should have paid, taking our punishment upon himself. He Himself bore OUR sins.
As the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (NIV)
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous,
“The righteous” was Christ himself. Jesus did not deserve to die. He was perfect and holy and sinless.
1 Peter 1 you were redeemed … 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Peter knew Jesus as well as anybody. He quotes Isaiah 53:9 and applies it to Jesus.
1 Peter 2 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
Sin is the cause of death. But Christ was without sin. He didn’t die because of his own sins but because of our sins.
The righteous for the unrighteous – that’s us.
1 Peter 1 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.”
We are the ones who needed saving. Saving from ourselves. Saving from our evil desires. Saving from our ignorance. Saving from our pride and rebellion which separate us from the Holy God.
The righteous died in the place of the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
1 Peter 2 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1 Peter 5:4 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
So Jesus’s death brings us back to God and to eternal life which death can never take away! Of course Peter is writing to Christians. Those who have been brought back to God, the sheep who were wandering away but have now been brought back into the fold by Jesus the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep. Ransomed! Healed! Restored! Forgiven! All by means of the suffering and death of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
The meaning of Verse 18 is fairly straightforward. Now we need to take a detour to explain verses 19 and 20, which can be quite confusing.
19 After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.
The events described in verse 19 are often given the name, “the harrowing of hell.”. Some people have misunderstood those verses. Some people wrongly think that “he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits” means that after his resurrection Jesus descended to hell and preached the gospel to people who had died so that some of them could be saved. They wrongly believe that this promises a second chance for people to turn to Jesus after they have died.
That idea that this is talking about some second opportunity to be saved completely misunderstands these verses. Firstly, the word translated spirits could not mean “the souls of people who have died,” or anything like it. It refers instead to evil spirits or demons who are “imprisoned”. “… those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.” Peter here is referring back to a story found in the Book of Enoch. That is a book written between the Old and the New Testaments which early Christians would have known which is included in the Greek version of the Old Testament but not in our Bibles. The Book of Enoch tells how some angels rebelled against god and were expelled from heaven and became demons. These evil spirits were imprisoned for rebelling against God.
Peter refers to this story in Enoch again in chapter 2 of his second letter.
2 Peter 2 4 … God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; 5
The Letter of Jude looks back at the Book of Enoch as well. Jude 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
This story is what Peter is referring to in verse 19. When it says “spirits” it is not speaking about dead people but about demons, fallen angels. Peter says that after Christ was made alive in the resurrection, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits. The second thing to note is that the word translated as “made proclamation”. This word means an official announcement – it cannot mean “preach the gospel to give an opportunity for salvation.” The verses are telling us that after the resurrection Jesus made a proclamation of his victory over sin and death to the evil spirits held captive ready for the day of judgment. In passing, a word of caution here that this is one of the rare occasions where the Message translation actually gets it wrong. To repeat myself, these verses do not give any grounds at all for thinking that there will any second chance to be saved after death. It also gives no basis the medieval idea of purgatory as some kind of “celestial waiting room” for people before they reach heaven. This is about Christ’s victory over the devil and all the powers of evil.
Talking about the days of Noah while the ark was being built, leads Peter on to talk about Noah’s ark as a picture of salvation.
In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience towards God.
Though the centuries Christians have interpreted the ark as a picture for salvation. They have described the church as “the ark of salvation.” Just as Noah and his family passed through the waters of the flood safe in the ark, so believers pass through the waters of baptism to salvation in Christ. And so after his detour, Peter finally gets back to his explanation of how God saves us.
It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
Christians are saved from our sins by the sufferings of Christ and by the death of Christ. And then we are given eternal life as we share in the resurrection life of Jesus. He is now ascended to God’s right hand in heaven. All the angels and authorities and powers bow before him. And one day all believers will share in that glory forever.
We saw this glorious hope in the first sermon in this series.
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.
So Peter has explained God’s wonderful masterplan of salvation. We are saved by the death of Christ. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
And we are saved by sharing in the resurrection of Christ.
It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

This morning’s reading is the end of a long passage which begins in chapter 2.
1 Peter 2 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Christians will always be living as foreigners and exiles, strangers in the world as it is rebelling against God. Chapter 1 encouraged Christians to live holy lives. Be holy, because God is holy. Be holy because we have been redeemed at such a high price – the death of the sinless Son of God. Be holy because we have been born again to live a new life and given the living hope of an amazing inheritance of sharing God’s glory forever. Building our lives on Christ the cornerstone we are being built into the new spiritual temple, as a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession. Chapter 2 goes on to spell out what living a holy life will look like as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus the suffering Saviour who gave his life to redeem us. We will abstain from sinful desires which wage war against our souls. And we will live good lives, full of good deeds which will lead other people to give glory to God. Christians will submit to the governing authorities. We will submit to others however badly they treat us and we will even endure unjust suffering, because we are following Jesus who set us an example to live this way.
So today in chapter 3, the apostle continues his instructions on how Christians should live following their suffering Saviour, and he comes next to talk about family life.
Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
Some people think that this instruction is controversial, “wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your husbands.” Firstly, “submit to your husbands” shouldn’t be understood to mean subservience or blind obedience. The New Revised Standard Version and the New Living Translations say, “accept the authority of your husbands.” The New International Readers Version says “follow the lead of your husband”. The Message reads, “be good wives to your husbands.” We could read it, “be willing to serve your husbands.”
But please pay attention to that phrase, “in the same way.” Peter is looking back at the previous verses, at the example set by Jesus the suffering Saviour. Jesus sets an example for all Christians that we should not fight against suffering but endure it, even if the suffering is unjust and undeserved. The innocent suffering of Jesus brings us salvation, and we are called to follow in his steps. In 1 Peter 2: 18 Peter has just said that slaves should accept the authority of your masters with all deference (same word hypotasso). In that context, the instruction for wives to submit comes because this is an example of the kind of good deeds which will cause other people to give glory to God. Peter says that is an expression of purity and reverence. … if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
Peter develops his teaching for wives in a few sentences which still seem particularly relevant in today’s world.
3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
More than ever, very many people seem to think that outward appearance is the most important thing in life. Film and television and social media tell us that good looks, designer clothes and expensive jewellery are the only things that matter. Young people grow up aspiring to the lifestyle of the influencers on Instagram. The role models for young women are not successful businesswomen or scientists or politicians, nor loving mothers, but instead women who are just beautiful or rich or usually both. So these words are important.
3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
And Peter gives a reason why he thinks Christian wives should behave this way.
5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
Some people think that those words belong in the past, to patriarchal societies when all cultures expected women to be subordinate to men. I disagree. There is nothing in this passage which suggests that it is not God’s word for every age in every place.
All cultures in those days considered women to be inferior to men. In fact the New Testament stands out because it gives women far greater respect than the world around did. Peter instructs wives to be willing to serve their husbands but he includes an equivalent command for husbands.
7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Husbands and wives, all men and women, are jointly heirs of the new life God is giving equally to all who believe and follow Jesus. So husbands should be considerate of their wives, treating them with understanding. Husbands should treat their wives with respect, giving them honour.
Message “The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God’s grace, you’re equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals.
This is how Christians should follow in the footsteps of Jesus the suffering Saviour in family life. He sums up what he is saying like this.
8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
This is how Christians should live. Be like minded – in other words have unity of spirit. Be of one mind, as we read in Acts 4:32 that the first Christians were one in heart and mind. Be sympathetic. Love one another as brothers and sisters. Be compassionate and tender-hearted. And be humble.
9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.
When we are hurt it is so easy to strike out and so tempting to seek for revenge. When we are insulted it is so tempting to fling insults back. But Peter says we should never retaliate. Christians should only ever pay others back with a blessing.
On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
Peter explains this by quoting from Psalm 34 verses 12 to 16.
10 For,
‘Whoever would love life and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.’

This is what it means to live holy lives. This is how Christians should behave, even when they are insulted or oppressed or persecuted. This is what it should look like if we are following Peter’s instructions in chapter 2, abstaining from sinful desires and living good lives. This is the kind of holy living which will cause other people to see our good deeds and give glory to God. This is the witness of Christians to the world around us. Peter sums up this challenge in these words.
15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience …
15 … in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Dedicate yourselves to Christ as Lord of your life. Be completely devoted to Christ. When you are doing that, you will live as Jesus lived in holiness and service. And then the people around you will notice and give glory to God for your good deeds. They will see the difference Jesus makes in your life. More than that, they will want to know for themselves why you trust in Jesus. And we will want to be ready to tell them why!
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
Be prepared to answer the kind of questions people have about our Christian faith. Some people might think it is unspiritual to think through the kind of answers we might want to give in advance. However, the word ‘answer’ here means more than just an “off the cuff” reply. The word translated answer, apologia, includes the idea of making a legal defence before a court. The word embraces not only the testimony a witness might give in court but also the arguments a lawyer might present in their opening and closing statements. We need to be ready to “give an answer” for the hope we have in Christ. As in any situation where we have something very important we need to say, it is entirely appropriate to give thought in advance to the words we will use. If we have prepared ourselves, then we will be able to talk about Jesus more confidently and wisely, boldly and effectively.
You may remember that this was the subject of my second book, Prepared To Give An Answer. In it I talked about being ambassadors for Christ. I looked at the reasons why we don’t and why we should talk about Jesus. And I offered some answers to the questions not-yet-Christians often ask out Jesus and the Christian faith.
1. What is salvation?
2. What is the point of life?
3. How can we have a relationship with God?
4. How should we respond to the Good News?
5. Didn’t He used to be dead?
6. What makes you believe that God exists?
7. Just how did God make the world?
8. Can we trust the New Testament?
9. Is Jesus the only way to God?
10. How can we believe in God in a world so full
of suffering?
11. What happens when we die?

“Prepared To Give An Answer”. If you haven’t got that book, especially if you are watching from a distance on Zoom, or Facebook, or YouTube, just get in touch by email or Messenger and I will be very happy to deliver or send a copy to you completely free.
Christians should be prepared to give an answer – to explain why we believe in Jesus. We may need to unpack some aspect of the Christian faith. Sometimes we may want to share a verse from the Bible or a story about Jesus. That is why it is a good thing for us to know by heart some Bible verses and to be able to retell some Bible stories. On other occasions, the best thing may be to talk about some of our experiences of God: answer to prayer; ways God has helped us; the difference Jesus makes to our lives; the hope or joy or peace Jesus gives us. It will help us to think through beforehand which true life stories we want to be ready to share. We have put some of those stories in our little book of testimonies, More of the Difference Jesus Makes. Sometimes a good thing to do would be to give our friends a copy of this book. We just need to be prepared to give our answers
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:5-6)
Taking every opportunity. Peter reminds us that the way in which we talk about Jesus is always very important.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
Gently, courteously and respectfully. We should never be preaching at people. “Evangelism is only one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” But is appropriate and indeed spiritual to prepare our answers. To think and pray in advance about what we might say, as a witness would prepare our testimony and answers to questions we expect to be asked.
When Christians are following in the footsteps of Jesus our suffering Saviour, when we are living as Jesus lived as 1 Peter teaches us, then people will notice the difference Jesus makes. Then, every Christian needs to be making the very best of every opportunity to talk about Jesus. We need to be prepared to give an answer!

The apostle Peter is writing to Christians who are living as exiles and strangers in the world and who are suffering persecution for the name of Jesus. He calls them to live holy lives, and to follow Jesus’s example in their suffering. And Peter supports his commands by explaining how Jesus’s death on the cross brings life and salvation to all believers. We will start by looking at that second point, and then go back to see what living like Jesus should look like.
HOW JESUS SAVED US
21 Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22 ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
“He committed no sin.” During Jesus’s earthly ministry Peter got to know him as well as anybody else. The inner circle of Peter, James and John spent more time with Jesus than the other apostles. So Peter is sharing his testimony of all he knew about Jesus. “He committed no sin.” The apostle John had the same testimony about Jesus in 1 John 3:5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
Peter has already hinted about the innocence of Jesus in 1 Peter chapter 1.
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 forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Jesus was the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus was a lamb without blemish or defect. The New Living Translation reads, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
Jesus was sinless. The letter to the Hebrews says the same about Jesus. Hebrews 4 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.
The Roman Governor Pontius Pilate declared that Jesus was innocent of the charges against him.
LUKE 23 4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”13 … I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 … he has done nothing to deserve death.
Even the thief on the cross next to Jesus recognised Jesus was innocent when he said to the other thief, Luke 23 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
He committed no sin. Jesus was innocent. Jesus was without sin. And this was an essential part of God’s masterplan of salvation. The death he died was not for his own sin – because he had no sin. Instead Jesus died for our sins, in our place. He died the death we deserve to die, taking the punishment we deserved upon himself.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (NIV)
(New Living Translation) 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
Bearing shame and scoffing rude, In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood: Hallelujah! what a Saviour!
Guilty, vile, and helpless, we; Spotless Lamb of God was He:
Full atonement—can it be? Hallelujah! what a Saviour!
1 Peter 2 22 ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’
This death of an innocent saviour was entirely in fulfilment of the prophecies in Isaiah chapter 53.
Isaiah 53 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
And Peter goes on to explain Jesus’s death in other quotes from Isaiah 53.
1 Peter 2:24 says ‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross,
Jesus took our sins on himself.
24 ‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.
Our sinless saviour died so that we might stop sinning.
All this was in fulfilment of Isaiah 53.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Jesus fulfilled all Isaiah’s prophecies of the Suffering Servant.
Peter says 25 For ‘you were like sheep going astray,’ but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Jesus was the Good Shepherd. He had compassion on the people because they were lost and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He was the shepherd who set out to find the sheep that was lost.
Isaiah 53 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
See how Peter puts it,
24 ‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For ‘you were like sheep going astray,’ but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
So Peter has explained how Jesus has saved us, by suffering for us and in our place. By taking all the sin of the world on his shoulders. This is how the Early Church and all the New Testament writers understand the cross.
But Peter is giving this explanation of the death of Jesus in order to support the instructions he had just given about how Christians should live. Peter says that the innocent sufferings of Christ give us an example of how to cope with innocent suffering in our own lives.
21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
“To this you were called” looks back at verses 11 to 20. The example of Jesus’s sufferings and death shows Christians how we should live, in a number of situations.
LIVING LIKE JESUS LIVED – LIVING SUCH GOOD LIVES
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Jesus was holy and sinless. Christians should avoid sin and instead live good lives full of good deeds of love and kindness and service which will bring glory to God. Jesus said the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5 14 ‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
LIVING LIKE JESUS LIVED – SUBMITTING TO HUMAN AUTHORITIES
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor.
The Christians in the Early Church who were reading Peter’s Letter were experiencing brutal persecution from the Roman Empire under Emperor Nero. Their natural desires would be to rebel against the Emperor and the authorities. But here the apostle Peter is saying that the right way forward is not to rebel, but instead to live holy lives. And that will include 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor.
And this is exactly how the first Christians lived, even in the face of brutal persecution. Submitting themselves to every human authority. The apostle Paul said something very similar when he wrote to the Roman Christians around the same time.
Romans 13:1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
There may be extreme situations when it could be acceptable and right for Christians to disobey the state. When the authorities made it illegal to meet, or to pray, or to worship, or to evangelise, as it was in Communist Russia or still is in China or North Korea or Afghanistan. So Christians still meet in secret. Christians in South Africa felt they were justified in rebelling against the immoral system of Apartheid. But those were extreme exceptions. I have written about this in a sermon “Should the church always obey the state? You can find that online on my blog. But for us the important message and the general principle is clear – Christians should obey the governing authorities. Because this is what God expects and requires believers to do.
LIVING LIKE JESUS LIVED – SUBMITTING TO OTHERS
18 Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.
There are still some forms of slavery in the modern world, and even in Britain. But most of us do not experience slavery. The logical application of this passage for us is in employment and the relationships between workers and bosses. Some bosses are good and fair – some bosses are bad and exploitative. Christians should respect and submit to their employers out of reverence for God, even if our bosses are bad and unfair. Even if our bosses are mistreating us because we are Christians, we should acknowledge their authority. Because that is the example Jesus has given us.
LIVING LIKE JESUS LIVED – SUBMITTING TO UNJUST SUFFERING
19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
People can usually accept punishment and suffering if it is deserved and fair and proportional. But Peter is saying that Christians should be prepared to endure unjust suffering. Because that is what Jesus took upon himself for us and for our salvation. Jesus shows us how to live. Jesus was completely innocent, totally without sin, yet he suffered on out behalf.
So we should live like Jesus did, living holy lives full of good deeds, submitting to the authorities, submitting to others, even submitting to unjust suffering. Why is this the case. It is all because
Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
24 ‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;

What is the church? The church is not the bricks and mortar building. I’m not thinking either about the human organisation we call the church – not the charity, not the business. We started to think last week about how the apostle Peter describes the church.
1 Peter 2 4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Peter describes the church as a spiritual house, the new Temple, built up not of bricks but of living stones of individual believers. We thought last week about Christ who is the cornerstone and capstone of this new living building. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the church, the cornerstone of faith and the cornerstone of our lives.
We also remembered last week what Paul wrote to the Ephesians about this spiritual building.
Ephesians 2 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
The church of Jesus Christ is not a physical building but a spiritual building – the new Temple which has replaced the old Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. The spiritual house in which God lives by the Holy Spirit. The place where people can meet with God. The place where people can find forgiveness. We are the spiritual stones and God is building us up into this spiritual building.
But if this picture of the church as a spiritual temple was not wonderful enough, Peter goes on in our reading today to fill out what it is to be the church. In two short verses he unwraps the majesty and the glory of the church which Jesus is building – two verses which give us a mind-blowing glimpse of our wonderful destiny as the church of Jesus Christ. He starts in verse 9.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,
To understand this passage best we will look at it out of order. We need to begin by recognising that we are not part of the church because of anything good in ourselves. Not by birth. Not by our hard work. We only belong to the church because of what God has done.
9 But you are a chosen people, We are “a chosen people” because God has
called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Peter is very clear. Like everybody else, all Christians were once living in darkness. Our sin separated us all from the holy God who dwells in unapproachable light. But God has saved us from our darkness. By his grace he has brought us into his wonderful marvellous light!
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;
Initially, we didn’t belong to any group of people – now we belong to the people of God. In the Old Testament the nation of Israel were God’s special people. Since Jesus, the people of God are those who put their trust in Jesus and follow Jesus. We are the people of God. God has made us his beloved children and part of his forever family the Church.
once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
By nature we were God’s enemies. But God has changed us into his friends. God has shown us mercy. God has had pity on us. God brought us out of darkness into his wonderful light by forgiving our sins. We have been born again to a living hope and given a wonderful inheritance. We will see in the weeks to come how God accomplished this wonderful salvation. We are forgiven because of Jesus and his death on the cross.
1 Peter 2 24 ‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’ 25 For ‘you were like sheep going astray,’ but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1 Peter 3 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Because of God’s mercy, Peter says, now
you are a chosen people,
God has chosen to save us by his amazing grace. He has set his love on us – love which will never, ever let us go.
And there’s more! Because of God’s mercy, we are
a royal priesthood,
In the Old Testament kings could not be priests and priests could not be kings. In the church every one of us is both a king and a priest. From the newest believer to the most mature, from the moment we put our trust in Jesus to save us and are born again, we are kings and priests. In God’s eternal kingdom, we have the status and privileges of royalty. And at the same time, we have the duties and the ministry of priests. Priests pray and intercede with God on behalf of people. And priests teach the people the word of God and deliver God’s messages to people. And in God’s masterplan of salvation, every Christian is a priest – bringing the people before God and representing God to the people.
1 Peter 2 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
As royal priests we are called to offer our lives as sacrifices to God. You may have heard the phrase, “the priesthood of all believers.” The Bible teaches us that every believer is a priest. But not just any common-all-garden priest. A royal priest.
Revelation 1:5 To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
Revelation 5:9 “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,
because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
All believers are priests and kings serving God and reigning in his eternal kingdom.
We are a chosen people. A royal priesthood. And there’s more!
We are a holy nation,
We thought about holiness two weeks ago in 1 Peter 1. There we saw three reasons for living holy lives. Christians are called to be holy, because God is holy. We should be holy because of the great price God has paid to redeem us.
1 Peter 1 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.
And we should be holy because we have been saved from death and born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable.
God has made us into his holy nation, set apart for him, consecrated to him. And there’s even more!
We are God’s special possession,
We are a people who belong to God. We don’t belong to ourselves any more. We aren’t free to live any way we like. We belong to God!
So what was God’s purpose in all of this? Why has God saved us? Why has God made us to be his chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession?
that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
This is why God has saved us. To declare his praises.
NRSV in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Declaring, proclaiming, the word means to make a public announcement about something. Not whisper it but shout it from the rooftops. God has not saved us and made us into his spiritual temple and into his kingly priests just so we can put our feet up and enjoy the blessings of salvation. God has saved us so that we can announce to the whole world about what he has done.
Message – we are God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
Psalm 107 begins like this.
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story – those he redeemed from the hand of the foe!
God has saved us for the purpose that we should declare his mighty acts to the world.
9 …. you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,
But sometimes we forget what the church really is – we forget what God has called us to be.
CS LEWIS wrote a book called THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS. It is a series of imagined letters from a senior demon to a junior demon giving instructions on how to lead human beings away from God. Here is a passage about some of the tricks the devil uses to make Christians forget what the church really is.
“One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans. All your patient sees is the half-finished building on the new estate. When he goes inside, he sees the local grocer with rather an oily expression on his face bustling up to offer him one shiny little book containing a liturgy which neither of them understands, and one shabby little book containing corrupt texts of a number of religious lyrics, mostly bad, and in very small print. When he gets to his pew and looks round him he sees just that selection of his neighbours whom he has hitherto avoided. You want to lean pretty heavily on those neighbours. Make his mind flit to and fro between an expression like “the body of Christ” and the actual faces in the next pew. It matters very little, of course, what kind of people that next pew really contains. You may know one of them to be a great warrior on the Enemy’s side. No matter. Your patient, thanks to Our Father below, is a fool. Provided that any of those neighbours sing out of tune, or have boots that squeak, or double chins, or odd clothes, the patient will quite easily believe that their religion must therefore be somehow ridiculous. At his present stage, you see, he has an idea of “Christians” in his mind which he supposes to be spiritual but which, in fact, is largely pictorial. His mind is full of togas and sandals and armour and bare legs and the mere fact that the other people in church wear modern clothes is a real—though of course an unconscious—difficulty to him. Never let it come to the surface; never let him ask what he expected them to look like. Keep everything hazy in his mind now. Work hard on the disappointment or anticlimax which is certainly coming to the patient during his first few weeks as a churchman.”
What is the church? 1 Peter tells us what the church really is. Not a physical building but a spiritual building, the new temple where God lives by his Holy Spirit. And if we believe in Jesus and follow Jesus we are part of that spiritual building. These words are true of us. Thanks be to God!
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
9 …. you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.