The Writer and the Readers

Driving home: However, when we open our Bibles to that portion of the Word of God that we have just read and that we identify as 1 Peter, we're confronted with the fact that the Spirit of God has placed His timeless approval upon the …

Martin uses the widespread ignorance, indifference, and disdain for courtesy and common decency in Western civilization as a tragic indication of its disintegration, contrasting it with the timeless approval of common courtesies in Peter's letter.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect who are sojourners of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace to you and peace be multiplied. Now one of the many tragic indications of the disintegration of Western civilization is the widespread ignorance of, indifference to, and even contentious disdain for any previously accepted categories of courtesy and of common decency.

0:42 - 1:42 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section focuses on Peter's self-identification, first by his person ('Peter,' the name given by Christ) and then by his position ('an apostle of Jesus Christ'). Martin…

He uses the example of 'John Smith, principal of the Washington Elementary School' to illustrate how Peter identifies himself by his personal identity ('Peter') and his official identity ('an apostle of Jesus Christ').

For example, someone might introduce himself to you and say, I am John Smith, principal of the Washington Elementary School. I am John Smith. That is my personal identity. My official capacity, I am principal of the Washington Elementary School.

8:10 - 8:29 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines 'sojourners' as resident aliens, drawing on its usage in 1 Peter 2:11, Hebrews 11:13, and Abraham's self-identification in Genesis 23. He explains that this is a…

Martin uses the analogy of a 'green card' holder or 'resident alien' to explain the term 'sojourner,' clarifying that it means living legally in a land that is not one's homeland or citizenship.

Put it into current terms. Abraham saying, I carry a green card while I'm among you fellas. but my passport is from another country. We have people here who have a green card.

40:00 - 40:13 Read in full sermon

The point: Think of yourself in terms of who you are as a sojourner and abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul.

He uses the metaphor of 'resident cities of Mansoul' to describe believers' former identity in a world system governed by lust, greed, and pride, contrasting it with their new identity as citizens of heaven.

They were once resident cities of Mansoul. They were once residents of a world system governed by lust and by greed and by pride, but they had been transformed by the grace of God. They now had their citizenship in heaven. They were now under a new authority.

41:40 - 42:03 Read in full sermon

The point: Know your identity as an elect sojourner and, in the strength of Christ, live consistent with that identity.

Martin quotes a commentator who called 1 Peter 'a traveler's guide for Christian pilgrims' to illustrate the practical purpose of the letter for believers living as sojourners.

Know your identity and in the strength of Christ live consistent with that identity. So they are then elect sojourners. One commentator has called the book of 1 Peter a traveler's guide for Christian pilgrims. That's what it is.

43:05 - 43:25 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin quotes the hymn 'I'm But a Stranger Here, Heaven is My Home' to powerfully summarize the identity and hope of the elect sojourner, emphasizing their temporary status on…

He quotes the hymn 'I'm But a Stranger Here, Heaven is My Home' to encapsulate the theological concepts of the believer's identity as a sojourner and their hope in heaven.

And as I was seeking to reflect upon these things and asked myself, Lord, there surely must be a hymn that captures these biblical concepts. They are so foundational. So my mind was drawn to the familiar words of number 605 in our hymn book. I'm but a stranger here.

53:56 - 54:15 Read in full sermon

The point: Come and join the 'happy band of elect sojourners of the dispersion' by throwing yourself upon Christ, asking Him to deliver you from the love of this world and to live for God's purpose.

Martin uses the metaphor of 'Dagon before which the world worships' and 'trinkets that will be consumed in fire' to describe the emptiness of worldly pursuits, contrasting them with the enduring value of Christ and eternal purposes.

My unconverted friend, that's what it means to be a Christian. That's what it means. Not to alter the services on the Lord's Day when the world worships at the god of four pieces of leather and all the commercialism and structure and evening service so we can all sit around and watch the football game and have, quote, fellowship? What in the name of all rationality does any hungering soul want to find in a place where the Dagon before which the world worship is dragged into the sanctuary of God?

57:10 - 57:43 Read in full sermon

The point: Let the knowledge of being an elect sojourner fill you with gratitude, certainty, and humility, and enable you to sit loosely to what this world may or may not give or do to you.

He recounts an inscription on a Covenanter martyr's gravestone in Scotland: 'Prelitz rage did chase them up to heaven,' to illustrate the ultimate futility of persecution against God's sojourning people.

It is God's free, sovereign choice that has marked me out and made me part of this company of sojourners of the dispersion. And when I know I'm a sojourner, then I can sit loosely to what this world may or may not give to me or do to me. I need not fear those who kill the body, and after this have no more that they can do. I shall never forget the inscription on one of the martyrs in a graveyard over in the north of Scotland, one of the covenanters.

59:26 - 59:53 Read in full sermon