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December 11, 2022
1 Peter 1:6-9

Title of the sermon: Priceless Faith
In our text today Peter comes to the actual situation in the Asia Minor’s churches. Their commitment to Jesus had always made them “unpopular, but now they were facing almost certain persecution. Soon the storm” of the world was going to come to their communities and that storm would continue for the next two and one-half centuries at the hands of the Roman Empire (Barclay).¹ Peter explained to the churches in modern day Turkey that they were to view themselves as “exiles”. Peter encouraged the sojourners to remember that they had always been know by God, and that the Holy Spirit was at work in them in the ministry of sanctification for obedience to Jesus. ¶ The churches were to praise God because they were also guarded by God to an imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance due to Jesus’ resurrection, what Peter called a living hope. That is why we 6 In this you rejoice, Peter had stacked the benefits, but many remained in the future for the churches. ¶ Today we will turn our attention to the prescription of trials to result in priceless faith in believers.

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

• 6 In this you rejoice,
  • “This”
  • Verse 6 starts with the phrase "In this you rejoice."
  • “Not simply to endure …, nor only to choose …, nor only to trust, but to rejoice.” (BI).
  • Often, even though we have so much to look forward to, rejoicing is the uncommon response to trials of life.
  • ² COMMENT
  • Matthew 5:11-13, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
  • These churches were about to walk in the ways of suffering that was familiar to God’s people.
• though now for a little while,
  • “little while”: #1 trials come and go. COMMENT
  • We need to keep in mind something I used to hear grandmothers say, “This too shall pass.”
  • But looking back we know that this little while as 250 years for the churches in that area.
  • "little while:: #2 This life seems to drag on at times, but the bigger reality is that it is mere moments.
  • This whole life is a little while.
  • Jump down to verse 24, for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you." (1 Peter 1:24)
  • Also, we have the 2 Peter 3:8, But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
  • Eventually a day will be like a thousand years to us also. Remember, we live 1.9 hours of life here.
• you have been grieved by various trials,
  • Various trials of persecution were coming to the Church.
  • grieved = lypeō = to affect with sadness; to throw into sorrow; to make one uneasy (LSJ).
  • The Greek word for grieved “refers not so much to grief, as when a person grieves for a lost friend, but to the actual pain or suffering of persecution …” (Micheals, p 29)
  • The term “trials” is modified by the term “various” literally means “many colors” (LSJ, Thayer, et al.) COMMENT
  • Peter could not be specific and speak to the trials of various colors; he left it up to his audience to fill in the blanks (Micheals, p 29).
  • Individuals face various trials and the churches of Peter’s day would all face varying trials.
• Do you see the phrase if necessary,
  • necessary = “there is need” (Thayer, et al.)
  • In the trials, God is shaping our lives. = they are NECESSARY at times.
  • The trials we experience could not be any other way. If there were better things to shape our lives, God would do them.
  • God knows best; He knows we need trials.

ILLUSTRATION : Eagles Nests ³

LENGTHY APPLICATION SECTION

• UNHOLY / COMMON RESPONSES TO SUFFERING

  • Franklin Jones said, “Untold suffering seldom is.”
  • Outward sins of gossip, complaining, cynicism, slander, mumbling and grumbling.
  • Inward sins of worry and anxiety are the common as well.
  • When we don’t see rejoicing, we are living is doubt: #1 God’s love or #2 we doubt His power to change things.
  • Through the trials of marriage, we Christians divorce at the same rate as the world. We respond to anxiety often in the same drug stores; we gossip like the world does, and generally there is a lack of hope.

• WE NEED TO REMEMBER MUCH

  • “Ah!” said Luther, “affliction is the best book in my library.” (BI)
  • The first thing to be thought when we have any trial, is that it comes from God (BI). Remember these trials are “necessary” for our growth.
  • In trials, we need to rest in the supreme truth that, God cannot love us more; He already does perfectly. He has proven His love for us in sending His Son for us. Trials come our way because God loves us.
  • Prepare our minds and hearts for suffering.
  • Remember that trials have much variety and are numerous. We are going to have trials in family, with money, with work, friends, in church and communities, trials, trials, trials.
  • Stay ready and expect trials!

• HOLY RESPONSES

  • God does not guarantee us smooth sailing. We promises problems in all fashions. But every trial brings an opportunity to walk in the ways of Jesus.
  • Unless we respond in faith, hope, and love in our trials, we are no different than any lost person.
  • Jesus’ ways and messages are such as these: suffer, sacrifice, die to live, humble yourself, daily carry your cross (yes carry your personal torture, death device), martyrdom. These are the things that sanctify the Church and add to her brightness and beauty in the world.
  • These are the things that strengthen faith.

Verse 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—7b more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire 7b —may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith

• First Peter is not talking about saving faith
• Peter is talking about our day-to-day faith.
• “Tested” = can mean “proven” also (Thayer)
• God wants to make the faith we have pure: One commentator called this “the divine purpose”. (Micheals, p 30).
• Only the faith found after trials is authentic.
• “YOUR FAITH” see it?
• Trials are our exams for our daily confessions of the Christian faith. E.g., I should pray for those who mistreat me. Do we? That is the test through trial. We preach what we should do, trials see if we mean it.

PETER ILLUSTRATES

• Peter illustrated trials with gold refining. Look at it in —7b more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested [or proven] by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
• Here we see that refining gold and refining faith need the same treatment: FIRE. (Constable)
• Allyson always prays for, “God remove the dross.” > She is praying for fire.
• Dross is the waste or impure matter in metals.
• God removes the dross of our faith in the crucible of trials.
• It’s the heat melts the impurities out of godly character: the faith we thought we had, the faith we wish we had. The dross.
• God strengthens and proves our faith with trials, and often places us in situations where we can do nothing but trust Him in the heat of life. (Constable)
• We also see that gold and faith are dissimilar. FAITH IS MORE PRECIOUS
• Gold doesn’t transfer to our eternal accounts. It perishes here. Faith transfers to our eternal accounts.
• Micheals wrote, “At the last day the virtues of faithfulness and endurance are no longer necessary—because persecution is no longer a threat—and are exchanged for a different currency.” (p 31) EXPLAIN
• Faith is priceless. It increases our inheritance.

PETER GIVES US THE APPLICATION

• That refined faith (verse) 7b —may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
• The term “may” possibility of > COMMENT
• We are going to see what metal we were made of in heaven. It will be revealed.
• Trials set up the opportunities for 3 responses towards Jesus when we see Him—verse 7:
  • Genuine faith will bring praise to Jesus.
  • Genuine faith will bring glory to Jesus.
  • Genuine faith will bring honor to Jesus.
    honor. We have to pass the tests here and our works have to pass judgment in heaven to be rewarded. COMMENT

TRANSITION

Now that we see that our pure faith will result in Jesus’ praise, glory and honor. Let’s see what the benefit of our trials and faith result for us. Verse 8, Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

• Remember Jesus admonishment to Disciple Thomas : Jesus said to [Thomas], “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
• Not seen you love Jesus.
• Not seen believe in Him.
• And Peter is implying here, all things of value are not seen in the earthly life. All value is in our homeland.
• Verse 8b and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
  • Notice that Peter calls the level of joy that should be a part of our lives “inexpressible” COMMENT and it should be filled with glory."
  • Words for the joy come up short.
  • BUT LOOK—verse 8: Words for God’s glory should fill our cups!
  • These attributes should be a part of the Church’s life in real time. Here and now.
• Why could this be so? because you are (Peter says in verse 9) obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
  • obtaining = komizō = present tense.
  • It doesn’t say that they had obtained the salvation of our souls, but that they were obtaining–salvation was still in process for the audience the day they received the letter.

APPLICATION

• Questions? Have we lost that inexpressible joy? Have we allowed the details and the cares of this life to dull the truth of God’s promises regarding the things to come? Marshall asked, “True, We believe in the future hope in principle, but has it lost its importance as a factor in our daily living? And, as a result, do we lay too much stress on salvation now, and too little on what Christ has yet to bring?” (p 43)
• Our greatest need has been dealt with in justification.
• We continue to obtain more and more salvation in our sanctification.
• But “Our salvation is still in process.”[67]
• There is way more salvation to come than justification and sanctification.
• Romans 13:11, Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
• The day is coming where we will see what the Lord has intended for His people in heaven. We have glimpses into His plans but most of His plans are waiting to be revealed.
• But we do know that God is in the process of saving our entire being, our essence, our complete person.
• Our hope and faith are grounded in the ultimate salvation of glorification when we see Jesus. When we will be saved form the presence of sin, with God finishing His work in us that results in the translation of our resurrected bodies into one like Jesus’ and the total salvation of our souls. CHRISTIAN HOPE

Let’s take a look at that kick off ceremony. Revelation 4:9-12 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Don’t we want to have some genuine faith at this gathering?

APPLICATION

• How are we to obtain more life, more, hope, more faith?
• I see the answer in part in the definition of the Greek word for “obtain” itself.
• Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon … has the definition of the English translation “obtaining” in part as
  • #1. to care for
    • Care about the truth.
    • Care for what we already have. No slippage.
    • We have to feed faith.
  • #2. provide for
    • Word / prayer / obedience
  • #3. carry away in order to preserve.
    • Listen to apply, obey the Lord, change our minds to truth
• Faith is priceless. Suffer in faith.

Notes

¹ See the section “The Neronic Persecution” in the “Persecution” entry of the ISBE. Also, Everett Ferguson’s section in “Persecution in the Early Church: Did You Know?” Ed. John 0. Gooch, Christianity Today, 1990.

² I disagree with Micheals here, He wrote, "The passage delineates two time periods: the present, characterized by grief …, and the future, characterized by joy. Peter is not speaking paradoxically of joy in suffering … But escalogically of joy after suffering. The same temporal sequence is found in John 16:19-22 where the “grief” of a woman in labor followed by “joy” at the birth of her child serves as a metaphor for the disciples’ situation in the world (29). Peter is saying that we should respond in the uncommon way in this life clearly.

³ “Today in the Word.” June 11, 1989. Cited from SermonIllustrations.com. >> Eagles build their nests high in the branches of trees and in sides of cliffs. "When a mother eagle builds her nest she starts with thorns, broken branches, sharp rocks, and a number of other items that seem entirely unsuitable for the project. But then she lines the nest with a thick padding of wool, feathers, and fur from animals she has killed, making it soft and comfortable for her eggs. By the time the growing birds reach flying age, the comfort of the nest and the luxury of free meals make them quite reluctant to leave. That’s when the mother eagle begins “stirring up the nest.” With her strong talons she begins pulling up the thick carpet of fur and feathers, bringing the sharp rocks and branches to the surface. As more of the bedding gets plucked up, the nest becomes more uncomfortable for the young eagles. Eventually, this and other urgings prompt the growing eagles to leave their once-comfortable abode and move on to more mature behavior.

⁴ In may experience many come to the Christian church so that God will fix their troubles in their lives. When they continue to have problems they leave. ¶ According to the Pew Research Center, there are over 50,000 fewer professing Christians in the US every day over the last 14 years! According to Pew, In 2021, “24% of U.S. adults describe themselves as born-again or evangelical Protestants, down 6 percentage points since 2007.” The Estimated population of the USA on the morning of Dec. 8th was 333,332,123. With population growth accounted for, in the 14 years between 2007-2021, on average, each year, almost 19 million less people identify with being born again as taught by God. Over 52,000 fewer people will identify with Christ through a born again confession of faith ever single day of 2023. See “About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated”, Pew Research Center, 2021, Click here for the full article. ¶ Data for the US estimated US population in 2007 was taken from “U.S. Population 1950-2022.” Chart by Macrotrends.net.

Works Cited

Scripture quotations [unless otherwise noted] are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Marshall, I. Howard. 1 Peter. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, Ed. Grant Osborne, et al., InterVarsity Press, 1991.

Michaels, J. Ramsey. Word Biblical Commentary: 1 Peter. Ed. David Hubbard, et al., Word Publishers, 1988.

Most Works Cited. Please click here to access the web-page for all of the works cited, save those above–if any. Most of the works cited on the linked web-page correspond to the verses they are outlined with. In the case of background information and other general reference citations, one will find cited material with the Bible books the citations are associated with.

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