Magnify the Lord with Me

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"Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear." 1 Peter 1:17

Main Readings: Revelation 3 & 1 Corinthians 3

Supporting Readings: Psalm 40 & 1 Peter 1

There are few aspects of the Christian faith that are more confused in Christian minds, in my estimation at least, than that of final salvation.

The impulse of many Evangelicals today is to approach final salvation like boiling water in an electric kettle and not in a fired stove.

What do I mean?

Well, you take an electric kettle, and you fill it with water – that’s like faith at the beginning of the Christian journey.

After that you stand back and wait for the kettle to come to a rolling boil. That’s like the end of the Christian journey – final salvation.

And in-between you do nothing to contribute to your final salvation.

The bible doesn’t think of final salvation like that. It treats final salvation like a pan on a fire-powered stove.

You fill the pan with water – that’s like faith at the beginning of the Christian journey. And at the end, the water comes to a boil and that’s the end of the Christian journey – final salvation.

But in-between the filling and the boiling, there’s a fire to attend to. And if that fire goes out the water doesn’t boil.

You don’t make the water come to the boil; the fire does that. But you attend to the fire.

And that’s how the bible thinks of final salvation. It’s the ultimate work of God.

Every single true believer will come to the boil – no doubt about it – because God will make sure they come to the boil.

He is like the fire under the pan.

But our part is not passive, like with an electric kettle. It’s active like with a fire-driven stove. We attend to God – who is the fire of our faith.

That’s the way he’s ordained it. Not passive, but active – participatory.

And his promise is, he’ll work everything in us necessary to ensure we do our part faithfully all the way to the end. Until our faith comes to the full boil.

Now hear what I’m saying – this relates to final salvation. This does not relate to justification.

Our legal standing before God is all of God with no participation from us whatsoever. Except one thing: faith. And even that is a gift of God, scripture says.

So don’t hear me saying we participate in our justification. No way!

In other words, don’t be tempted to connect salvation exclusively with justification. The bible doesn’t do that, and neither should we.

The bible uses the word ‘salvation’ to refer to more than one thing. And it says we do participate in our final salvation.

Listen to how Paul talks about our final salvation in Philippians: ‘Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed [that’s participation] – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out [that’s participation] your salvationwith fear and trembling, for it is God who works [God’s the first cause] in you to will and to act [that’s participation] in order to fulfil his good purpose.

There are lots of other passages I could have turned to, to show you that our participation is God’s will for our final salvation.

But this one is perfect for our purposes this morning because we are to work out our salvation ‘with fear and trembling’ Paul says.

And Peter says here, ‘Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work [that’s participation] impartially, live out your time [until you come to the boil] as foreigners here in what? ‘In reverent fear’ he says.

Paul says work out your salvation with fear. Peter says live out your lives with fear.

So, we can be clear: it is God’s will that we participate in our final salvation. He will be the fire in and under our faith. But we have to attend to him.

So, the question is, what does that look like?

And Peter’s going to tell us.

Remember, whatever it is that Peter is going to tell us here, is for our good.

Because, what he tells us will be essential in bringing us to final salvation. It’s not going to be bad for us if it’s working to bring us to our final salvation!

So, remember that as we go through.

What we find Peter telling us ‘attending to the fire under the pan’ looks like, is precisely what Dave drew our attention to last week – it’s holiness.

When Peter introduces ‘the Father’ in verse 17, he says that He will ‘judge each person’s work’. And that’s not coming out of nowhere. Peter’s not being random here.

He’s taking hold of what he said in verse 15 and expanding.

In verse 15 he exhorted us to reflect on the holiness of Christ Jesus, and to mimic his holiness.

‘In all we do’ he said.

The ‘work’ the Father will ‘judge’ in verse 17 is holiness like that of Jesus’.

The very holiness we encountered in verse 15, with which we must do everything!

So, Peter hasn’t’ moved on from holiness. Rather, he’s doubling down on it right here.

And ‘doubling’ is the right word to use because Peter already gave us one motivation for being holy in Dave’s passage last week.

Dave rightly showed us, last week, that the motivation for holiness back there was hope. Verse 13 said, ‘set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Christ Jesus is revealed’.

Christ’s revelation is when our faith comes to the rolling boil, in our final salvation.

So, it was hope back there. Which is unmistakably positive. That was about inheritance coming down the line.

But now, here, he’s going to give us a second stimulus to holiness. And this time it sounds negative.

Because this it’s about judgement. He ‘judges each person’s work impartially’.

I don’t think it’s anywhere near as negative as it might sound in our ears though.

So, listen out for how it will be positive, just as the hope was back in verse 13.

It’s tempting to characterise these two motivations to holiness with the carrot and stick analogy. I don’t think that would be helpful.

Rather, I’d like you to think of it like those history programmes that depict how they think stone henge, or the pyramids, or some other massive stone monument was built in ancient times.

There’s always a wooden sled with a massive stone on it, isn’t there? And at the front of the sled are hundreds of men pulling on ropes attached to the sled. And at the back are dozens of men pushing the sled and prying it with big poles to propel it forward.

Think of your own salvation like the great stone on the sled. And Peter is putting the hope of the grace to be brought to you at the return of Jesus at the front of the sled.

And he’s putting the reverent fear of God’s judgment at the back of the sled.

And the sled itself is holiness. So that, your holiness is being pulled by Hope out in front, and pushed by reverent fear at the back.

Now you might be thinking, ‘how does fear have anything to do with spurring me on to holiness? Afterall, doesn’t it say somewhere, “perfect love drives out fear”? What’s this fear talk, peter?’

‘And doesn’t the blood of Jesus take me out of the judge’s dock? How can you talk about the Father judging, Peter?’

‘Especially, Peter, when you immediately go on to talk about being redeemed by the blood of Jesus in verse 19!’

‘What is going on Peter?’

So, let’s follow Peter’s argument and then return to the beginning of the passage to see what he might be driving at.

Peter starts verse 18 with the word ‘For’ and that means he’s making the case now. In verses 18-21, he’s making the case for why he can say to us, ‘live out your time here below; in this world; as foreigners – not as citizens note, we’re not citizens of earth remember – in reverent fear’.

So, track with his thinking here to understand why he can say that.

‘For’ he says, ‘you know’ [he means you’ve experienced this; you’ve thought about this; you’ve meditated on this; and now you know] ‘that it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold’.

What does that sound like? It sounds like your faith back in verse 7, right?

Faith was contrasted with gold back there – faith is more valuable. Here it’s your redemption that’s being contrasted with precious metals like gold and silver – again, it’s more valuable!

‘It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed’. ‘Redeemed’ means bought back from something.

What have we been bought back from? ‘From the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors’ Peter says.

So, once you were lost. Once you were dead. Trespasses and sins were the way of life you received from your parents.

And that life was heading nowhere. It was empty and futile. And its only prospect was death and destruction.

But then, you were redeemed. Someone intervened. Someone said, ‘I won’t let this happen’.

Someone said, ‘I will pay the price to redeem this life from this wayward emptiness’.

Praise be to God for that!

And the payment wasn’t money either!

Not all the money in the world could pay the price of the redemption for your life. Your life is too valuable to be counted in terms of earthlyassets.

Your life was made in the image of God; it has eternal value. And the price of its redemption is weightier than gold. I hope you believe that!

The price of your redemption is blood. And not just the blood of anybody. We’ve all got blood! It was the price of the blood of God’s own son, Jesus.

So, it is in God’s image that you were made by God and for God.

It is to God you owe your very life.

It is in rebellion of God that you lived out your empty existence once upon a time.

Or maybe even now if you don’t know Jesus’ redemption for yourself.

And it is in the precious blood of God’s own Son, Jesus, that you are redeemed.

Peter calls it that in verse 19 – ‘the precious blood of Jesus’.

No one. No thing is like Jesus, you see! Everything in this world is tainted with sin and could never have bought your life back from empty ways! Never!

But Jesus – a lamb; prepared for sacrifice; prepared to receive the sin of his people – is perfect. Is blemish-free. Can, one hundred percent, pay the price with his own life, for your life. And set you free from sin and death!

What a glorious redemption is ours - in our precious saviour, Jesus! If we know him. And I pray you all know him!

And it’s not like Jesus decided on a whim to do it either! Not at all!

This was planned. The death of Jesus was purposed in eternity past Peter says.

He was chosen by the Father in eternity past, to be the one to do it.

Back at the beginning of the letter, verse 2 said, he chose you in eternity past to receive this redemption. Verse 20 now says, Jesuswas chosen in eternity past also - to deliver this redemption.

And then, at a moment in time; in history, Jesus was sent forth. Born of a woman. Born under the law. Born to redeem those under the curse of sin and death. That we might receive adoption into God’s family!

Amazing grace!

It’s through Jesus that we came to believe in God. And it’s through his resurrection that we came to have hope in God. Verse 21 says.

So, what is Peter saying when he catalogues for us these remarkable and wonderful things that have happened to us, and been performed for us?

Well, like we saw in verses 10-12, this redemption of ours is divinely precious. And Peter wants us to feel that very keenly.

The value of it can’t be measured in human terms. Not all Elon Musk’s billions can measure the worth of our redemption.

Not all the reserves of Europe and the United States combined can compare to the value of Christ’s blood.

Jesus’ redemptive work is eternally valued and infinitely measured. Which is why it has value that exceeds this life.

Gold perishes and silver perishes. But the redemption of Jesus rose up from the grave, it ascended into heaven, it sits at the right hand of God, it is coming on the clouds of heaven, it will accomplish our resurrection from the dead, and our future inheritance, that can never perish spoil or fade.

Why? Because it is in Jesus.

‘Therefore’, Peter says, ‘your life - as foreigners here on earth - has to reflect that reality’.

That’s his big point!

All his talk of redemption and blood, and gold. Of eternal purpose, and death and resurrection. Of glory and faith, and hope is to say, ‘your life must mirror that’!

Here and now, it must show it!

It’s to say: ‘be afraid – Peter’s term is ‘reverent fear’ -that you might not show the worth of your redemption in your life unless you’re careful about it’.

Think of it like this. I read this story recently. Last year there was a family on a cruise holiday.

One of those huge ships where the decks are 25, or even up to 40m above the waterline.

And suddenly whilst this family were out on the deck, for whatever reason – maybe leaning too far out – the daughter fell over the side of the ship.

She just hurtled down into the sea from 35 or 40m up in the air.

And the thing is, you can’t just stop a cruise liner on a six-pence!

So, by the time the girl hit the water, the stern of the ship was already passing her position.

And that doesn’t allow enough time to get the ‘person-over-board’ signal raised, and for the ship to stop, turn, and come back to the position she fell in at.

She had no life vest to keep her afloat. Just all alone in the big wide ocean watching the ship sail away at pace.

But she wasn’t all alone, because her dad, without stopping to think, jumped in after her whilst she was still in the air falling.

He got to her really fast because of his quick thinking. And he trod water with her until a boat could be sent to pick them both up.

An amazing act of selfless abandonment for the daughter that this man loved so much!

Now imagine, if she, when they got picked up by the boat had have said, ‘It’s no big deal. Don’t know what all the fuss is about really. I would have been fine by myself until the boat came to pick me up!’

She didn’t say that. But imagine if she had.

That would have been just about the most debasing thing she could have done to her dad.

It wouldn’t have exalted his love for her; it would have degraded it.

It wouldn’t have told the world what an amazing man and father he was. It would have robbed him of the praise such an act of selflessness deserves to be recognised with.

That’s how it is here.

Be afraid that you would ever give the impression that Jesus wasn’t more precious to you than anything in the whole wide world!

Be afraid of besmirching the precious blood of Jesus that redeemed you.

He is not worthy to be overlooked in your life.

No! He is worthy to receive the praise of everyone who looks at your life and sees something radically different to everybody else, becauseof Jesus, and what he has done for you.

And that’s where holiness comes in. Holiness is how you show Jesus’ redemption in your life.

If our lives don’t have the glow of holiness about them – I’m not talking about pious self-righteousness; that’s not holiness!

I’m talking about a life that looks like the life of Jesus. ‘Be holy, as I am Holy’ verse 16 says.

If our lives don’t have the glow of Jesus’ holiness about them, then they don’t tell the true story about the great rescue we have received at his hands.

Peter says be afraid of becoming so accustomed to your salvation; so accustomed to grace that you forget to show that grace in your life and thereby testify to the value of Jesus.

It’s important to recognise, and not gloss over the fact, that we have been saved for purposes.

The chief purpose – above all others – is that we show the glory of God by living lives that make every effort to be like Jesus.

And I can say that with confidence because Peter says, ‘live out your time here with reverent fear’.

Which is the same as what the writer says to the Hebrews when he remarks, ‘Make every effort [his phrase, not mine] to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord’.

‘You were saved from an empty way of life’ Peter says. ‘Don’t return to it and live as you always did. But live a radical life of holiness’.

That holiness shows off Jesus’ preciousness.

What about the Father judging each person’s works?

By the way all this holiness talk – in verse 15, verse 16, and as we’ve seen implied in verses 18-21 – all this holiness talk is now causing us to see that the Father’s judgement is a judgment against the standard of nothing less than his own holiness.

That’s why it’s an impartial judgment.

It’s not a judgment that allows for caveats. Not a judgement that allows for circumstances – tough or easy. Or giftings – great or small. Or social standing – Lord or begger. Or economic mobility – rich or poor. Or health – well or unwell. Or personality – extrovert or introvert.

All of that is stripped away. Jesus is worthy to receive honour regardless of those things.

God’s judgement of our holiness is irrespective of everything except one thing: his holiness.

How do our lives compare with his holiness – that’s what verse 16 is there for.

And so, by now, this sentence in Peter’s letter might be making some of us feel uncomfortable about the implications of it for the gospel. And some uncomfortable about our own lives and what they look like.

Let’s put the gospel question to bed and then we can deal with the question of life. And what to do about that.

Nothing Peter is saying here strikes at the heart of the gospel. Everything he is calling for, he is calling to flow out of a life redeemed by grace.

Verses 18-21 make that clear. He’s not calling for holiness to make the redemption happen.

The holiness he’s calling for flows out of the redemption that has already been accomplished by Jesus.

The reality is, no one who loves Jesus is utterly careless about a holy life. Why? Because Jesus is too precious to them for that.

There are people who claim to be Christians, but who are not, for whom Jesus is not really precious at all, and they are ‘utterly careless’ about holiness.

But the true Christian is not like that. Thanks be to God.

But the true Christian can always be less careful than they should be.

And that, is the case with every Christian!

Peter’s word to us all then, as true Christians is: ‘Lest you forget this, fear God and be holy as you should be’.

‘Lest you get dazzled by the world again, you’re a foreigner here – don’t live that old empty way of life again. Live holy!’

So, there’s nothing here that strikes at the heart of the gospel. God is not going to judge Christ’s people unforgivingly. He can’t do that.

He already did that with Jesus, for our sake. Peter says in verse 20, ‘he was revealed in these last times for your sake’.

So, there’s no double jeopardy in Peter. Jesus has paid it all. Punishment is finished.

But finished punishment is not the same as finished evaluation.

God wants to see the fruit of our salvation.

Remember how Jesus used gardener illustrations.

If the gardener finds a dead branch that yields no fruit, he cuts it down and burns it in the fire.

But if he digs around the fig tree and feeds it, and waters it, and brings it back to life, the purpose of his hard work on that tree is what? To see fruit on it, right?

He wants to see the fruit of holiness in our lives.

Everything that is needed for our lives has been done. He has dug around us, he has fertilised us, and watered us. Therefore, we shouldbear the fruit of holiness leading to the praise and glory of his name.

So, when we come before him at the last day, he will look for the fruit – what Peter calls ‘each person’s work’. He means holiness.

And what fruit he finds will result in praise and honour and glory like verse 7 says – which is commendation from God.

And fruitless deed will be exposed and burnt up and we will suffer lossfor them. 1 Corinthians 3 uses that phrase – ‘suffer loss’.

So, this is designed by Peter, to act as a spur to us to pursueholiness.

Maybe we’re getting a little jaded with the cost of being an exile in the world.

Maybe we’re starting to think the cost of following Jesus is a bit too much.

Maybe we’re starting to believe that the dazzle of the world is there because the world is actually, really good.

Maybe we’re slowly drifting back into that empty way of life we were redeemed from.

Peter says, ‘don’t go there! Remember the value of your redemption. Remember Jesus’ blood shed for you’.

‘Remember Jesus: chosen from the foundation of the earth for you, sent in time for you’.

‘Remember his resurrection from the dead for your sakes – for yourresurrection. Remember how you believe and hope in God because of him’.

‘Is this redemption not valuable?’

‘Fear, then, defaming Jesus by turning your back on holiness’.

‘Remember, you will suffer loss for all the emptiness you return to’.

‘But remember you will receive commendation for all the holiness you strive for’.

Peter doesn’t say you call on a judge who judges your work. He says, you call on a Father who judges your work.

Since you know he’s a good Father, live out your time here in reverent fear of him. And when you come to the last day he will say to you:

‘Well done good and faithful servant, you have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your master’s happiness!’

Peter wants that for you. God wants that for you.

Therefore, by his divine power, he has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him.

He has called us by his own glory and goodness to this holiness, and will make sure we have everything we need to pursue it all the days of our lives.

So let’s heed his word to us!