BIG IDEA:
4. Live For Eternity (1:13-21) — Since We Have Such a Glorious Living Hope,
Live For Eternity And Escape the Futility of the Human Condition
OVERVIEW:
a. LIVE IN HOPE BECAUSE OUR FOCUS MUST BE ON ETERNITY :13
b. LIVE IN HOLINESS BECAUSE THAT IS THE STANDARD FOR ETERNITY 14-16
c. LIVE IN FEAR BECAUSE ETERNITY MEANS ACCOUNTABILITY :17-21
INTRODUCTION:
I’ve never been much of an investor – never had the resources to dabble in the stock market – but I remember 1 important principle — Diversify, Diversify, Diversify; Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket
While we might not be big players in the stock market – we all are making important investment decisions every hour of every day – We are deciding how to spend our time — how are we going to live our lives??
Peter gives us some important counsel – and it is not what we would expect from the financial experts – He tells us: Put all your eggs in 1 basket and LIVE FOR ETERNITY – “Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to at the revelation of Jesus Christ”
“Therefore” – Link to what has gone before
we won’t respond correctly unless we have understood the foundation Peter has laid in vs. 1-12;
We have been sovereignly called by God into a priviledged position of being born into the family of God with the guaranteed future of:
1) a living hope, associated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ — Death is not our Destiny —
we have been called to life
2) a protected eternal inheritance — better than any inheritance this world could ever offer
3) a complete salvation — not some partial deal where we still have the warts and blemishes of sin
The path to glory winds thru some troubling trials and intense suffering – but our faith is being refined and focused more and more on the person of Christ — the object of our love and devotion and the source of our joy and rejoicing
Our privileged position in this NT Church Age (where God has revealed these precious truths about our guaranteed future) is the envy of:
1) the OT Prophets — who could only predict the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow
2) the NT Apostles — who only dealt with isolated fragments of the entire jigsaw puzzle
3) the holy angels — who have not experienced salvation and a personal relationship with the indwelling Holy Spirit as we have
Let’s think about what life would be like without the Living Hope as our focus; our Perspective; our Orientation —
Solomon in Ecclesiastes spells out the futility of the perspective of simply living under the sun — without reference to eternity
(J. Sidlow Baxter) 10 Vanities that would frustrate us and condemn us to futility:
1) The vanity of human wisdom — the wise and the foolish end up the same = in the grave – So what’s the point??
2) The vanity of human labor — The worker is no better off than the shirker in the end
3) The vanity of human purpose (cf. Management by Objective) — Although man can plan all he wants, it will be God who actually brings about His purposes
4) The vanity of human competition — You can strive to be #1 — but the end result is envy rather than joy; people backstabbing you
5) The vanity of human greed — You are never satisfied; the rich man builds his barns and stores his goods, but always wants a bigger barn — elusive goal; you can never get enough
6) The vanity of human fame — brief, uncertain, soon forgotten — Who cares who Micky Mantle is today??
7) The vanity of entertainment — Let’s escape into a world of fun and entertainment — only a temporary denial of the pain of reality
8) The vanity of human awards — the bad are often honored; there is no justice
9) The vanity of human relationships — How do others treat you?? Don’t set your hopes on this or you will be disillusioned
10) The vanity of doing your best— nobody more frustrated than a perfectionist — We can’t hit the target
How do we deal with our failures??
Nothing wrong with some of these — but must be viewed from eternal perspective
Eccles. 3: 11 God has set eternity in the heart of every man so that we are restless until we find our rest and fulfillment in Him
The only way to escape the Futility of the Human Condition =
Since We Have Such a Glorious Living Hope, Live For Eternity
a. LIVE IN HOPE BECAUSE OUR FOCUS MUST BE ON ETERNITY :13
(1) Put All Our Eggs in One Basket = Eternity — “fix your hope completely”
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We don’t have to hedge our bets with God
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We don’t have to provide for our own security
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We already have a golden parachute – our future is guaranteed
Very important for these suffering Christians – they have made a commitment; they are paying the price – Will it be worth it??
Cf. Peter’s question – Lord, we have left all to follow you – Did we do the right thing?? (Matt. 19:27-30)
Rom. 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us”
(2) Bank On the Future = Eternity — “on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ”
The fountainhead of hope is the death, burial, resurrection and 2nd coming of Christ
Titus 2:11-13 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, insructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Christ Jesus”
we have tasted of God’s grace and experienced its transforming power in varying degrees — when we are completely transformed into the likeness of Christ – that will be glory indeed
the older our bodies get, the more we long for that perfect redemption body
our hope is not focused on keeping this body in a Fountain of Youth state = impossible – but rather on Christ giving us a resurrection body
“being brought to you” — present tense – it’s already on the way
It’s impossible to fix our hope on eternity while stockpiling all our resources for present luxury and comfort and future security;
Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also
(3) Roll Up Our Sleeves — “gird your minds for action”
the picture here is of gathering up the long Oriental outer garment and tucking it into the belt around your waist so that you are ready to take a journey or get to work;
roll up your sleeves and get to work;
pack your bags and be ready to move out
Same imagery used in Luke 12:35 “be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit”
be ready when the Master returns – time of accountability and journey to glory
can’t coast thru life in Neutral, or even Cruise Control – no spiritual sluggishness here
Put it in Drive
Not: gird your minds for thinking, or for dreaming….ACTION
Danger: of going to excess; becoming unbalanced
(4) Exercise Self-control — “keep sober in spirit” – keep your wits about you
don’t lose your heads; don’t go off the deep end in fanatical presumption
cf. The Thessalonian believers who quit their jobs and sat around waiting for the return of Christ
characteristic of cults – they can’t keep life in balance
Hard to balance intensity of mission with self-control of attitude
Peter wants us to be level-headed about our commitment to eternity
fulfilling the tedious daily tasks and responsibilities must be transformed from the drudgery of futility to the balanced side of living for eternity – by an attitude of obeying Jesus Christ with a thankful spirit in order to be an example and testimony to others
(Peter will have more to say later about the virtues of commendable conduct — in the home, in the workplace, in the community, etc.)
The everyday details of life take their significance from eternity
Transition: Live in Hope = Our Perspective
Now look at our Character and how it impacts our Conduct
b. LIVE IN HOLINESS BECAUSE THAT IS THE STANDARD FOR ETERNITY :14-16
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Hope motivates us to live for eternity
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Holiness guides us — gives us the standard
(1) Be Consistent With Our New Family Identity = “children of obedience” — chip off the old block
Viewed Negatively —
The goal of every parent: to have obedient children
Have nothing to do with the former lusts of our old family identity – when we were children of Satan, walking in darkness, in bondage to sin, friends with the world
1 Peter 4:1-6 spells out in more detail what he means here
2 things are contrasted: the lusts of men and the will of God – they don’t match; you can’t pursue both
“yours in your ignorance” – not talking about their IQ – their condition of not knowing God and His holiness; now they are Enlightened – the grace of Revelation and understanding
(2) Be Consistent With the Character of God Who Called Us
– Viewed Positively
God is Holy
— in terms of transcendant = above His creation; separate from all that is created and earthly
the High and Holy one that inhabits Eternity
a Holiness of Divine Majesty
Exod. 15:11 Who is like Thee among the gods, O Lord? Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness?”
the angels cover their faces when they adore Him
— in terms of moral purity = usually how we think of holiness
no darkness mixed with the light; total whiteness, no black
The Fundamental moral attribute of God is Holiness — it controls the exercise of His other attributes
What is our standard for Holiness??
a) Not the world – doesn’t take much to be holy in comparison with the world
self-righteousness – swelling our chest and thanking God we are not like that poor reprobate who did some awful deed on the 11:00 news last night
b) Not other Christians in our general circle of friends –
– whether at school (cf. Christian schools – peer pressure to be an average Christian)
– whether at work
– whether in church
I can do “such and such” because Joe does such and such
cf. Attitude of How holy do I have to be?? How close can I get to that line that divides the world from Christians = wrong approach
c) Not even the best Christian role models we know
all our helpful; all our deficient; none are the standard
leads to legalism
d) All are inadequate – We need to go back to the life of Christ – to see Holiness Incarnate
Have we become so accustomed to sin that we no longer are righteously indignant??
Does nothing shock us anymore??
What does God mean when He says He is Holy??
Can’t talk about the holiness of God without reference to Isaiah’s vision in Chap. 6
We have lost the sense of the Majesty of God – of God sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted – we want to know God as our father and friend in a familiar sense – but God is also the One who inhabits Eternity –
We cannot stand before such a one apart from forgiveness of sin
God as Judge — connected to Holiness of God — importance He places on moral purity
Do we really want to be Holy??
c. LIVE IN FEAR BECAUSE ETERNITY MEANS ACCOUNTABILITY :17-21
(1) Appreciate God as Both Our Father and Our Judge
(2) Appreciate the Temporary Condition of Our Present Earthly Life
(3) Appreciate the Infinite Cost of Our Redemption
(a) Its Price
i) Not perishable things like silver or gold
ii) Precious blood of Christ
(b) Its Purpose — Deliverance from the futility of the human condition
(c) Its Place in God’s Eternal Plan (:20)