Revealed Will for Christian Servants #4

Introduction: All Roads Lead to Christ

0:05 Now let us turn together to 1 Peter, 1 Peter and chapter 2, and as I have done for a number of Lord's Day mornings in the past weeks, I shall read in your hearing chapter 2, beginning with verse 11, reading through to the end of the chapter, 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 11, Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your behavior honorable among the Gentiles, that wherein they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they behold glorify God in the day of visitation. Be subject to every evil. Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme or unto governors as sent by him for vengeance on evildoers and for praise to them that do well. For so is the will of God, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God.

1:32 Amen. Amen. Honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the crooked or the perverse.

1:53 For this is acceptable if, for conscience toward God, a man endures griefs suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it? If, when you sin and are buffeted for it, you shall take it patiently. But if, when you do well and suffer for it, you shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

2:18 For hereunto were you called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who, when he was sinned, did not sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who, when he was sinned, was reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered, threatened not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously, who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness. By whose stripes you were healed, for you were going astray like sheep, but are now returned. Unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls.

3:13 All roads lead to Rome.

3:18 I would suspect that many of you have heard that brief sentence on one occasion or another. All roads lead to Rome. Now, what does that mean? Well, apparently, it's a reference to the fact that during the glory days of the Roman Empire, one of her glories was her road to Rome.

3:40 The road system, somewhat of a precursor to our present interstate system. The difference being that whatever road you got on, a secondary or tertiary road, if you followed it long enough, you'd end up on a road that would eventually land you at the nerve center, at the hub of the Roman Empire, namely the imperial seat there at Rome. And therefore, that's now become a simile, a figure of speech for something. And so, we will say, well, just as all roads lead to Rome, so this man's thoughts always lead to fishing.

4:23 This woman's conversation always leads to her children. All roads lead to Rome. Well, in the same way, it is right for us to say that when we pick up our Bibles, no matter what particular road we find, we find that the road to Rome is the same road that we find in the Bible. That's right.

4:40 That's right. That's right. That's right. That's right.

4:41 That's right. That's right. That's right. That's right.

4:41 That's right. That's right. That's right. We find ourselves upon, whether it's the road of history in the Bible, and much of it is history, whether it's the road of biography, and there is much biography, whether it's the road of precept, whether it's the road of teaching, exhortation, all roads in the Bible lead not to Rome, but to Christ.

5:04 He himself said of the Scriptures, these are they which testify of me. And this truth is vividly displayed in the passage set before us, and that will be the focus of our study both this morning and again this evening. In verse 21 of 1 Peter 2, Peter writes, For hereunto were you called, because Christ also suffered for you. And remember, he's speaking to these house slaves, these who were the property of their masters, who were of no account in the eyes of their fellow citizens.

5:47 And yet he finds in writing to them that all roads lead to Christ. And in seeking to encourage them, he takes them directly to Christ. Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps. And then he focuses upon Christ, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again.

6:15 When he suffered, threatened not, but committed himself to him who judges righteously, who his own self bore our sins in his own body upon the tree. Peter, in ministering to this specific segment of the churches in Asia Minor, shows them that there is no...

Context: Peter's Purpose and Method

6:35 There is no element of Christian experience, either responsibility or privilege, that does not take us in some way to Christ himself. But since Peter did not write these words on a little piece of parchment, fold them up, and send them to the church to be stuck in a corporate promise box, but he wrote them in conjunction with an overall flow of thought, before we come to examine these words, this morning, let me spend just a few minutes with you capturing the flow of thought, what we call the context in which they appear. Never forget the general purpose of this letter. No matter how much we focus upon any of its details, none of those details is far removed from the overall purpose of the Apostle Peter. He's conscious that these Christians up there in the five Roman provinces of Asia Minor, are facing tremendous opposition and difficulty. They've come out, most of them, of a pagan background. They are seeking to be oriented to their new life in Christ.

7:48 And Peter writes to them what he calls, even at the end of his letter, I have written unto you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast therein. He's concerned to see these believers made stable, He's concerned to see these believers made stable, He's concerned to see these believers made stable, in their walk before God against the backdrop of opposition and persecution from an unbelieving world. Now, his method thus far, we have seen, is very clear.

8:19 He opens up what these believers have and possess in Christ, and then, based upon what they are and possess in Christ, he gives them a string of directives or imperatives, telling them how they are to walk and to live out of gratitude to Christ, and before the face of this unbelieving world. He has what we have called again and again this two-fold motif of the indicatives of grace, what is, and then the imperatives of grace, what ought to be. Now, the second cycle of that motif begins here in verse 11, in which he exhorts these believers to abstain from fleshly lust, to give themselves to a lifestyle that is honorable to the end, that in spite of what men say about them, they may see the reality of their relationship to Christ, and glorify God in the day of visitation. And it's as though the believers say, now, Peter, thank you for exhorting us to do that, but in what particulars ought we to do that? Ought we to be concerned to do it?

9:36 He says, well, for starters, let's take up the issue of submission to constituted spheres of authority. And so he picks up that subject, beginning in verse 13, be subject to every ordinance or every creation of man for the Lord's sake. And then it's as though someone says, well, thank you, Peter, for giving us that general directive, but where does that directive, touch us in our real lives? He said, well, I'll tell you, it touches you in at least three areas.

10:09 I'll give you three specimen examples. First of all, your relationship to the civil authorities. So he then, in verse 13b through verse 17, deals with the matter of the Christian's obligation to the state, to the king as supreme, to governors as sent by him, concluding with the mandate, honor the king. Then he takes up a second category.

10:33 There in the churches of Asia Minor, because slavery was such an extensive reality in the socioeconomic fabric of the Roman Empire, as we've indicated, some estimate as many as 60 million slaves, most of them at the time Peter wrote second or third generation slaves who would have been born in their master's household. And Peter now writes to them, since many of them had obviously been converted, and he tells them what they are to do in relationship to their masters. And then in chapter 3 in verse 1, he gives a word of directive to the wives, even to wives who have to live with the burden of an unconverted husband who manifest a spirit of settled unbelief and rebellion against the gospel and the word of God. That if any obey not the word, and it's a strong word in the original, as we shall see, it speaks of husbands whose unbelief and insubordination to God and to Christ is patent and pervasive. And yet they are called to that position to which God has assigned them in his will. Now that's the overall flow of thought.

11:51 And where we are presently is examining what Peter says to these house slaves, these servants. His directive is embodied in verse 18. Servants, in subjection to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and the Gentile, not only when it's easy, but also to the scolios, the crooked, the perverse, the unreasonable. And Peter being the sensitive pastor that he was, he can just almost hear these people say, but Peter, that's not natural.

12:28 To be submissive to an unreasonable, to a crotchety, to an unrighteous master who makes demands that are unreasonable. Who, when I do what is good, frowns and scowls and sneers. And Peter says, yes, I understand that. And so after one simple, terse word of directive, he gives then what is in our English Bibles for the one verse, 18, seven verses of incentives and encouragements to comply with that directive.

Incentive #1: Pleasing God Through Righteous Suffering

13:01 And so from verse 19 onward, he is giving these house servants and, not just these house servants, every one of us who is in any relationship of submission to authority, particularly unreasonable authority, precisely why it is that apart from that authority mandating us to do something that is clearly contrary to the will of God, our responsibility is to be in service to God. And so from verse 19 onward, he is giving these house servants and, not just these house servants, in subjection to everyone who has a legitimate place of authority over us. In our last time together, we studied incentive number one, embodied in the language of verses 19 and 20. For, you see, he is going to give a reason. This is what you are to do. For, this is acceptable. If for conscience or better rendered consciousness of God, a man endures grief, suffering, wrongfulness, for what glory is it if when you sin and are buffeted you take it patiently, but if when you do well and suffer you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

14:12 Literally, this is praiseworthy in the presence of God. What is incentive number one? When the slave says, but Peter, this is not natural. This cuts across the grain of everything of what I am as a man, as a woman.

14:31 When you say, but pastor, that boss that is over me, that office manager, that teacher, that one that has legitimate authority over me is so unreasonable. God says, yes, I know it. But here is incentive number one. When you take a place of principled submission to constituted authority and you suffer in the way of righteousness, this is well pleasing to God.

15:07 This is acceptable to God. This is praiseworthy in the presence of God. And for the true Christian, nothing is of greater importance to him than to know that what I am doing elicits the smile of my God. And that should be enough.

Incentive #2 Identified: Called to Patient Endurance

15:27 But God is very gracious and he says, I'll give you more. So now we come this morning to incentive number two. Incentive number two. Notice how it begins again with the word for.

15:39 For here unto were you called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps. Here we are given the second incentive to live a life of a principled pattern, of patient endurance, of undeserved suffering. And if there's one phrase, I hope you will have riveted to your memory. It is this a pattern of patient endurance of undeserved suffering.

16:23 That's the whole motif that runs through this particular section. What is it that will motivate me to a lifestyle of patient endurance, of undeserved suffering? It is the recognition, first of all, that such a lifestyle pleases my God. But incentive number two is bound up in the words, for here unto were you called.

16:56 And in seeking to open up this particular part this morning and this evening, we have two major headings. First of all, the incentive identified, and then the incentive, amplified. First of all, the incentive identified. Here it is in the first part of verse 21.

17:14 For here unto were you called. For this very thing would be a more literal wooden rendering of the original. For this very thing you were called. Well, what is the thing that he's talking about?

17:33 The thing he has just concluded saying. What glory is it? When you sin and you get smacked on the side of the head and buffeted by your master or verbally abused, you don't go around looking for brownie points. You blew it.

17:49 You goofed up. You're getting what you deserve. No glory in that. But if he says, when you do well, you suffer for that and take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

18:05 And why is it acceptable with God? For here unto you were called. It's acceptable with God because it accords with the very purpose for which you were called. Well, that raises another question.

18:22 What does it mean you were called? Well, the word called used here by Peter means nothing less than the sovereign, gracious, almighty operation of God himself, by which he, not only summons a sinner to repentance and faith, but brings him into possession of all his saving mercy in the Lord Jesus. The word call is used by Peter means far more than a mere summons. It's a mighty act of God that actually brings the sinner into the possession of God's saving mercy.

19:05 See how he used it up in verse nine. You are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession that you may show forth the excellencies of him. Now notice who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Did God merely summon them through the gospel?

19:26 No, he not only summoned them, he powerfully worked in them in the language of chapter one and verse 23. They were begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God that lives and abides forever. Or in the language of chapter one, verses three and following, they had been begotten again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. God's call was his actual, gracious, powerful, almighty operation, bringing them into the possession of his saving grace and mercy.

20:05 So this is what Peter is saying. Look at verse 18. House slaves, be in subjection to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the forward. Why?

20:19 Why? When they're unreasonable and I'm doing well and suffering for it. Peter says, look, this is in perfect harmony with the very end God had in view when he took you as a hell-deserving, sin-bound, devil-blinded sinner, and he brought you out of darkness into marvelous light to this very lifestyle of the patient endurance of undeserved suffering. It is to this that you have been called in being brought to Christ.

20:56 You've been brought to such a lifestyle. Now, where in the world did Peter get that notion? And why was he so willing to affirm it so dogmatically? Well, I don't think the answer is hard to find.

21:10 Remember, Peter is an apostle who lived for three years with the Lord Jesus. He had heard the Lord Jesus say to him on more than one occasion, if any man wills to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross. In the Luke account, take up his cross daily and follow me. And the cross for any Palestinian Jew living under Roman rule, meant one thing.

21:42 You're an outcast. You're rejected. It was the form of execution reserved for criminals. You never put a decent Jew to death by crucifixion.

21:55 Only Roman slaves. And Peter knew now, as he never knew in the days of our Lord's flesh, when he was the one who stood in the way of suffering, he couldn't hack the idea of a suffering Messiah. He no sooner confesses, you are the Christ, the son of the living God, and Jesus begins to tell them, he must suffer. He must be killed.

22:20 Peter said, no, Lord, this will never be to you. I can't hack the suffering Messiah. A Messiah on a white charger, coming in and smashing the power of Rome. I can buy that.

22:34 But a Messiah on a cross? Come off it, Jesus. He said, get behind me, Satan. You're thinking like a man, not the thoughts of God.

22:44 Peter now is thinking the thoughts of God. And he says, this is the thing to which you were called. He had heard his Lord say, a servant is not above his master. It is enough that the servant be as his master.

22:57 If they have hated me, Jesus said, they will hate you. One of the Beatitudes, blessed are you who are persecuted for righteousness sake, when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Peter understood this. And to be brought into the blessings already described in this letter, all of the blessings of chapter 1, verses 3 to 12, all of the blessings of chapter 2, verses 4 to 10, to be called into those blessings in union with Christ, is to be called into union with Christ and the fellowship of his sufferings.

23:40 Philippians 1.29, for unto you it has been given, not only to believe, in him, but also to suffer for his name. All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. And so true was this that Paul could say in Romans 8, 16 and 17, if you are sons, then you are heirs, heirs of God in joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be glorified together.

24:16 That's the conditional, clause in that text. No one who will be glorified with Christ, who does not suffer with Christ. Now that's why Peter could say, and remember, this was not to be oppressive, this was to encourage these oppressed people within the church, how am I to live out such a lifestyle, patiently enduring suffering, inflicted not righteously, but suffering endured in the way of righteousness, Peter says, remember, it is not only acceptable and praiseworthy before your God, it is the very thing to which you were called, when God in grace laid hold of you, and made you his own. So that's the incentive identified. Now consider with me, secondly, the incentive amplified. Now he's going to amplify it.

Incentive #2 Amplified: Christ's Suffering as Pattern and Power

25:15 For there unto were you called, because, because, Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps. Now at this point, I want to pause, and make what I think is a very vital observation, as we move now, into the nuts and bolts, of this incentive amplified. We've got to understand that as Peter wrote, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, yes, so that every word he wrote, was inspired of God. But as we have seen, and had occasion to reiterate many times, God took the stuff of the man that was there, and God gave us his word through this man, and uniquely prepared him to give us this word. And Peter's mind is evidently feeling the pressure of two mighty streams of reality, to which he had been exposed, as he writes these words. The first stream, is the mighty stream of the rich teaching, of Isaiah chapter 53. That chapter on the suffering servant of Jehovah, a chapter Peter did not understand, until after Pentecost.

26:36 When the Lord spoke of his identity as suffering Messiah, this was offensive to Peter. Now that the Spirit of God had come, and given him insight into the true significance of the Old Testament, there are no fewer, than four direct quotations of Isaiah 53, between verses 21 and verse 25. Granted, the quotations are for the most part taken from the Greek translation of the Hebrew text, the Septuagint, and under the guidance of the Spirit, where Peter feels that one word would state for his purpose, the issue more accurately. He chooses it, but no fewer than four specific references to Isaiah 53 in this section.

27:19 As he sits to write, as he thinks of these slaves, he thinks of how difficult the duty is that he's laid upon them, and he wants to marshal all the biblical incentives he can. It's evident that somewhere along the line, he had been recently, most likely recently, meditating upon a parchment with a portion of Isaiah's prophecy, and his mind is filled with the suffering servant of Jehovah. You are called into the fellowship of his son, 1 Corinthians 1.9.

27:52 The son who is the suffering servant, and therefore he reaches into the rich imagery and the realities of Isaiah 53. But then there's another mighty stream battering in upon Peter's mind, and seeking to find an outlet as he writes. And that's the stream of his being an eyewitness of the very sufferings of Christ himself. He underscores that in chapter 5 in verse 1.

28:18 Just flip over for a moment and notice this. The elders therefore among you, I exhort, who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ. And as we think of those sufferings as they came to their apex of reality in the trial and in the crucifixion, we often think of Peter and his wretched denial. But remember, he was there in the inner court.

28:47 He saw the Lord spat upon. He saw them take their hands, and strike him. He saw them press the crown of thorns upon his brow. He was a witness of the sufferings of Christ.

29:03 So when he comes to extract, as we shall see God willing tonight, some of the particulars out of the sufferings of our Lord, and identifies them in verses 22 and 23, this is not an arbitrary selection. He had, as it were, a whole library of vivid memories, of the sufferings of his Savior. But he's thinking of these oppressed, discouraged, household slaves who love Jesus. And he wants to encourage them in the course of action to which he has called them, by the revelation of God's will through the Spirit.

29:43 And he selects specific elements in the sufferings of Christ. Not that he'd heard about secondhand, but that he had seen, with his own eyes. And I think that will be helpful to us as we seek to move further into this passage, to feel, as it were, with Peter, the pressure of those two mighty streams, the rich teaching of Isaiah 53, and his own experience as an eyewitness of the Lord Jesus. Now that being so, as he amplifies this incentive, namely, you ought to do this, because this is the very thing, to which you were called.

30:24 Have you got that? That's the essence of this second incentive. Now then, as we look at that, we notice a couple of things that are very, very important. The focus of this second incentive is nothing other than the sufferings of Christ, as we've already mentioned.

30:45 It is Christ's suffering that is the focus, because Christ also suffered for you. And in those few words, suffered for you, is the whole rich Biblical doctrine of the sin-bearing substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus. You are called to this because Christ suffered for you. And that suffering for you means nothing less than substitutionary sin-bearing.

31:20 He will underscore this in verse 24, who bore his sins, our sins, in his own body upon the tree. Chapter 3 and verse 18, Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous. So the focus of this incentive is nothing less than Christ's substitutionary sin-bearing work upon the cross. And then secondly, we need to note that this central focus has two perspectives.

31:58 Why did he so suffer as our sin-bearer? Well, according to our text, he suffered for two basic reasons. He suffered to leave you an example that you should follow his steps, verse 21, and then verse 24, who his own self bore our sins, that we, having died to sin, should live unto righteousness. As Peter views the sufferings of Christ, he sees in them a pattern for us to follow.

32:33 Not that we can redemptively bear the sins of others, but in the manner in which Christ suffered as he bore the sins of others, there is a pattern for us to bear our undeserved suffering. Christ's death is a pattern, but secondly, he says, Christ's death is a death that he suffered in order to end the dominion of sin in us, to usher in the reign of righteousness, that we might live this very kind of life. That's what verse 24 says, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness. Now, you say, Pastor, that's been a little bit difficult to follow. Yes, it has been. But you see, if I'm going to faithfully expound the word, I've got to try to show the connections. And I've labored to lay it out as simply, as clearly as I know how, but I can't do your thinking for you.

33:34 And remember, this was written to ordinary people. They were expected to think through the issues. Now, how far have we come? Well, I hope we're all together in noting that incentive number two is this.

33:48 Live this kind of life of patient endurance, of undeserved suffering, because it is to this you were called. Well, as I contemplate how it is that I'm called to this, what should fill my mind? Peter says, let Christ's sufferings fill your mind. But Peter, in what way should I contemplate his sufferings?

34:07 Contemplate them as a pattern to follow, and as the very dynamic that delivers you from a contrary pattern. That's how you're to think of them. Now, let's, for the remaining time this morning, focus now upon the sufferings of Christ, the divine pattern, for patient, patient endurance of undeserved suffering. And all we'll have time to do, in the time that remains, is to look at the example of Christ affirmed in our text, and God willing tonight, the example of Christ selectively described.

Christ's Example Affirmed: Following His Steps

34:40 And that will take us into verses 22 and 23. The example of Christ affirmed. Look at the language. Here unto were you called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps.

34:59 Peter says to these household slaves, and to all those in circumstances where obedience to unrighteous, unreasonable people in authority brings us suffering, he says, you need to set before you Christ's example of patient endurance of undeserved suffering. Now, let's root around a little bit. And see just precisely how he sets this out. He says, Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example.

35:34 And here again, we have one of those words, that as Peter is sitting, and thinking, and writing, and the Spirit of God is quickening his thought processes, and guiding him, so that what he actually puts down are the words that God wants, he uses a word found nowhere else in the New Testament. Peter uses a lot of those. But it is used in secular Greek literature. And this word, leaving an example, this is the word you would use, and the classical writers, the secular Greek writers used it this way, that if you were to teach a pupil how to write his letters, you have those charts over there in the Christian school rooms, I've seen them, these beautiful things that have all of the proper way to do a script, A lowercase and capital A, B, C, printing and script. They always look so perfect, it irritates me. But you know what I mean. And what does the teacher expect the pupil to do?

36:35 What does he expect your kids to do? You look up at the pattern, and you say, all right, this is an A. I'm supposed to start here, and come around here, and come down here. And as much as possible, with my eye looking at the pattern, I am to reproduce on my paper that pattern, that example.

36:53 That's the word you would use, if you were describing, that very reality. It would be the word used if you gave a child his first tracing book. It would be an example book. Where the outline of an animal or a scene is in bold print, and the child puts the tracing paper on top, and what's he to do?

37:13 He's to take his pen or pencil, his felt tip pen, and follow exactly all of the lines and contours that come through the tracing paper. Now that's the word Peter uses here. He's left you an example. Christ's attitudes and actions in the face of undeserved suffering are God's chart at the front of the room, saying this is how you're to act in the face of undeserved suffering.

37:47 You are in the strength and power of Christ, out of the motivation of love to Christ, to seek to imitate Christ in his response to undeserved suffering. He has left you an example. Now look at the next words. That you should follow his steps.

38:08 You say, well, that's mixing metaphors. Well, you know, the Holy Ghost is not at all fastidious about mixing metaphors. Many, many things I love about my Bible, and that's one of them. That you should follow his steps.

38:24 And the word used for follow means to follow closely. It's a compound word that has the sense of an intensity about it. You are to follow diligently. His steps.

38:37 That is the pattern of his life as embodied at this point in the apostolic testimony. Eventually, as it would be embodied in the scriptures, particularly in the four gospel records. What Hugh Martin beautifully calls the four galleries of the king. I love to think of the Gospels that way.

38:56 The four picture galleries of the king. We walk into every one to behold our Lord. Now, Peter says, Christ has left you an example that you should follow his steps. How do we implement the example?

39:11 We implement it by following in the track of his steps. You remember as a kid, maybe even do it now as an adult. I remember many times doing this. We lived close to Long Island Shore there in Connecticut where I was weird.

39:28 My dad would come home from work and take us down to the beach for a brief time while my mom could fix the evening meal. And get us all out of her hair. And many times one of us would walk along the edge of the beach where the waves had washed up and made the sand very wet and impressionable. It was not dry.

39:48 And we would put our footprints and sometimes put them in awkward ways. And someone would come behind us and try to match our footprints. Once in a while, we try to jump up into 180 degree pirouette so that the feet that were going this way were suddenly coming this way. And we'd make it rough for the person coming behind us.

40:05 But you see the concept is footprints are laid out before you and you see where the print is and you deliberately, consciously, carefully place your foot where another has trod. Or perhaps some of you have done that in the snow, maybe the last snowfall. I can remember doing that as kids. You Floridians don't know anything about this, but we Yankees do.

40:26 We Northerners know something about that. And you know what it is when someone has gone before you and made prints in the snow and you try to put yours in. That's the picture that's here. Christ has left an example that you should follow his steps.

40:42 And unlike those footprints I made decades ago on Long Island shore in Connecticut, those footprints have long since been washed away by the incoming waves. And the sun has long since melted the footprints in any pile of snow that I made. But there is no sea of time that washes away the footprints. Made by our Lord Jesus in the face of undeserved suffering.

41:14 There is no burning sun of human influence or opinion that can melt his footprints. They are here for us to behold. Not simply to admire, but to follow his. So there is the example of our Lord clearly asserted.

41:39 Clearly affirmed. And what do we say in the face of this? Put yourself in the place of those to whom this letter originally came. You've been sitting there in the gathering of God's people.

41:54 And word has come that you have a letter from the beloved Apostle Peter. And your heart has been lifted up as you've heard the marvelous indicatives of grace. Begotten again. An inheritance incorruptible, undefiled.

42:09 Redeemed by precious blood. Purified your soul. Begotten again. Living stones.

42:15 A royal priesthood. All these marvelous things. And then you've heard those horrible words. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear that is in the fear of God.

42:30 Not only to the good and the gentle, but also to the perverse and the crooked. This is acceptable. Yes, quiet your sense of irritation and objection. That this seems unfair.

42:45 This is acceptable to your God. And it is acceptable to your God because it brings you into the orbit of the very purpose for which God graciously called you to all those blessings. For which a few moments ago you were having a glory fit sitting there in the pew. Will you have your glory fit in terms of all that God's given you?

43:07 And be irritated when you face what he requires of you? As the expression of your gratitude for his grace. And mercy. No, Peter says.

43:17 You have been called to follow his steps. The one who left you an example. And it is this that you are to lay to heart. But you say, how would those people in those churches up there in Asia Minor.

43:33 How would they know about Christ's footprints? Good question. They were way up in Asia Minor. They'd never seen Christ.

43:43 Chapter 1 verse 9 says. Whom having not seen you love him. But how would they know his footprints? Well that's answered very simply in chapter 1.

43:53 When the gospel was preached to them. That was the very stuff of what they heard. Look at chapter 1. Verse 11.

44:03 Searching what time or manner of time the spirit of Christ that is in them did point to when it's testified beforehand. The sufferings of Christ. And the glories that should follow them. To whom it was revealed that not unto themselves but unto you.

44:17 Did they minister these things? Which have now been announced unto you through them that preach the gospel unto you. What things were announced to them? The sufferings of Christ.

44:31 And the glories that should follow. They had heard enough of his sufferings. By those who had been eyewitnesses and had passed on their testimony to others. And were now gospel preachers.

44:44 They had heard of these things. And now Peter says as surely as you are saved and redeemed by the blood letting of the son of God. As a divinely appointed sin offering. What he had told them in chapter 1.

45:01 You've been redeemed not with corruptible things such as silver and gold. But with precious blood. Even the blood of Christ as of a lamb. Without blemish and without spot.

45:11 He now says that Christ who suffered. And by his blood redeemed you. How he reacted to suffering in an undeserved setting. He is your example to follow.

45:26 Now some of you know that in the history of Christianity. There had been those designated as liberals. Liberal theologians. And it was popular some time ago.

45:39 For them to make much of the example of Christ. And to say that in all of his suffering. Christ is fundamentally and primarily an example. For poor battered humanity.

45:49 As Jesus bore the sufferings patiently and nobly. And died without a whimper. So we're to follow his example. And in following his example.

45:59 God will look upon us and say you did a good job. You were like my son. I'll let you into heaven. The notion that we can follow his example in our own strength.

46:07 And that by following it. We earn the favor of God. I hope we abominate the damning God dishonoring delusion. That Christ's sufferings are primarily or exclusively an example for us in our sufferings.

46:24 I hope you abominate and detest such God dishonoring blasphemy. However passage says. Christ suffered for you. And in the original it's even more emphatic.

46:41 For you. An example. He suffered for you. For you.

46:50 Leaving an example. That you should follow his steps. These people had not heard the heretical notions of liberalism. They had listened through the earlier part of the epistle.

47:04 Where Christ's sufferings are described in terms of a ransom paid. Of blood shed as a sacrificial victim. And Peter is not at all embarrassed to say. Those same sufferings mark out a pattern.

47:20 For you. And so he's forever established. That Christ is to be our example. In our response.

47:32 To sufferings. When we don't deserve it. Now then. In seeking to bring our study to a close this morning.

Observation 1: All Real Christians Desire to Be Like Christ

47:40 I want to make two very simple concluding observations. I've tried to state them as succinctly as I can. And they are these. All real Christians desire to be like Christ.

47:52 But only real Christians can be like Christ. First of all we learn from our text. That all real Christians desire to be like Christ. Remember two weeks ago.

48:08 We said that when Peter writes to these people in Asia Minor. He assumes that when he says to them in verses 19 and 20. This course of action. Being submissive even to your crooked and perverse masters.

48:25 Is acceptable to God. That the concept that a course of action pleases God. Gets a real Christian where he lives. Nothing.

48:35 Nothing touches him more deeply. Than whether or not what he's doing or thinking pleases God. He wants to please God. Not to earn brownie points.

48:43 But because God's been gracious to him. Hasn't sent him to hell. And has mercifully rescued him. And brought him to know him in Jesus Christ.

48:52 Well in the same way. Peter is convinced. That even though the directive he gave in verse 18. Runs counter to the flesh.

49:00 And to the natural temperament. Of these house slaves. And any in similar circumstances. Where we must out of consciousness of God.

49:10 Be submissive to those over us. Even when they are unreasonable and unrighteous. He said pastor you repeated yourself. Yes and I'm going to keep on repeating it.

49:20 Praying that God will somehow get it into. The fabric of our hearts. It's so critical. And Peter assumes that when he says to these people.

49:32 Look. Here's a second incentive. This is the very thing to which you were called. When God laid hold of you.

49:40 When God brought you out of darkness into marvelous light. It was into the fellowship of Christ. Even the fellowship of his sufferings. And they were sufferings.

49:49 Utterly undeserved. Now he assumes that when he says to them. For here unto were you called. Because Christ suffered for you.

50:00 Leaving you an example. They should follow his steps. Not one of those true Christian house slaves would say. I'm saved by his blood.

50:12 That's fine for me. But this business of being. Obedient to my unrighteous master. Forget it.

50:21 And since I'm not saved on what I do. But on what Christ did. You can take this example business. And trash it.

50:29 No Christian talks that way. No Christian feels that way. Whatever opposition he may feel. In his remaining corruption.

50:38 At any given point. In any set of adverse circumstances. If you dig down through. To find the real Christian man or woman.

50:46 There you will find a man or a woman. Who out of love to Christ. And gratitude to Christ. Wants to be like Christ.

50:56 That's right. In 1 John 2.6. He that says he abides in him ought.

51:03 Is under obligation. To walk. Even as he walked. And the true Christian says.

51:11 Yes Lord. There's nothing more I want to do. Than to walk. As you walked.

51:20 All real Christians desire. To be like Christ. And they want to be like Christ. Because they love Christ.

51:28 As it is described in chapter 1. And verse 8. Whom having not seen you love. And loving him.

51:36 We want to be like him. Let me ask you. Are you a real Christian? Are you a real Christian?

51:48 Does the thought that a given course of action. Will make you more like Christ. Find you more carefully. Placing your feet.

51:56 In his footsteps. Especially. Especially. In context.

52:04 When you are in a situation. Of very patiently. Undeserved. Suffering.

52:15 Are you full of self defense? Retaliation. You've trampled on my rights. You have not lived up to your end of the bargain.

52:23 Is that your spirit? If that's your prevailing spirit. It's doubtful that you've ever known. The transforming grace of God.

52:32 Doubtful. I'm wrong. As we shall see. When Peter goes in and selectively picks out.

52:43 Specific incidents. That he had witnessed with his own eyes. And heard with his own ears. He isolates issues.

52:51 Of unusual relevance. To these household slaves. He didn't pick them out arbitrarily. They would have touched them.

52:59 Right where they lived. What touches you where you live? What is it. In your experience.

53:09 That puts you in the orbit. Of having patiently. To endure. Undeserved suffering.

53:20 How do you respond? How do you long to respond? All real Christians desire. To be like Christ.

Observation 2: Only Real Christians Can Be Like Christ

53:31 But only real Christians can be. Like Christ. Now why do I say that? For this simple reason.

53:39 The Lord Jesus in every facet of his life. Perfectly obeyed the law of God. We all agree on that? What it means to love God.

53:47 With the whole heart, mind, soul and strength. And to love one's neighbor as oneself. So when we see the Lord Jesus. Not only in his life.

53:55 As we will see God willing. More fully tonight. Being called a demon possessed lunatic. Being accused.

54:05 Of being in league with the devil. Very careless. In his social associates. Friend of publicans.

54:13 And sinners. Called a blasphemer. As an illegitimate child. When we see.

54:22 All of the Lord's reactions. To that. And then to the more intensified sufferings. Connected with his trial.

54:30 And his crucifixion. What do we see? We are seeing how God's law. Frames what a man does.

54:38 And says. And does not do and say. When he is patiently. Enduring.

54:47 Suffering wrongfully. That is what we are seeing. As we look at those particulars. We are seeing the law of God.

54:56 Fleshed out in a person. And fleshed out in the crucible. Of the very circumstances. That relate to these.

55:04 Household slaves. Now you say what does that have to do with your statement. That only real Christians can be like Christ. Have you lost your track?

55:13 No not a bit. Follow me closely. If what we see in the Lord Jesus. The Bible says in Romans 8.7.

55:21 The carnal mind. The disposition of the person. Who is not a real Christian. Is enmity against God.

55:29 It is not subject to the law of God. Neither indeed can it be. The carnal mind is a clenched fist. Against God.

55:37 Manifesting itself in this settled antipathy. To the law of God. And where is the law of God most fully. Clearly and specifically manifested.

55:45 But in Jesus life. So when you see. Jesus silent. Before the needly.

55:55 Heckling. Insulting pressure. Of the high priest. And the Roman soldiers.

56:03 And even felons on a cross. Next to him. Say there is no way I am going to let anyone run over me like that. Who in the world do you think I am?

56:12 Your heart rises up and says. I will never live that way. That is right you won't. Unless who and what you are right now.

56:20 Is joined to Christ in his death. And comes out. And has a personal Easter morning. And that is what it means to be a Christian.

56:29 That is what Peter addresses in verse 24. Who bore our sins. Upon the tree. Why?

56:37 That we having died unto sins. Should live unto righteousness. What does that mean in the context? Live this kind of life.

56:45 Where Christ is followed as our example. In the face of undeserved suffering. That is what it is all about folks. There is no hope you can live that way.

56:56 As you will. But as long as you have an unsubdued. Untransformed carnal heart. It will be an enmity against God.

57:04 That is what Jesus meant when he said. You make the tree good. And its fruit good. An evil tree cannot.

57:13 Bring forth good fruit. Neither can. A good tree bring forth corrupt fruit. A tree is known by its fruit.

57:21 My friend. You see the gospel meets you everywhere. To a bunch of nobodies. In the Roman Empire.

57:29 Who have no identity. No citizenship. No inheritance. But ah they have a marvelous citizenship.

57:37 And a marvelous inheritance. What they are in Christ. Cannot be equaled by a thousand monarchs. And yet.

57:47 What they had. Is what you so desperately need. You will never live this way. You may try externally.

57:57 To put a cap upon your passions. Upon your resentment. And the fact that you are not treated fair. Yes you may do that.

58:05 And you may have the personality and the will power. To pretty well pass muster before the eyes of others. But you know in God knows. It is not here.

58:13 And it will never be there. Do you get what these people have. What they have. He told them in chapter one.

58:21 He said you have purified your souls. In your obedience to the truth. Having been begotten again. By the word of God.

58:29 That is what you need. That is what these converted slaves had. And that is what enabled them. So to live.

58:37 Later on Peter can say. Sanctifying Christ is Lord always in your heart. Be ready to give to every man who asks you. A reason of the hope that is in you.

58:45 He knew sooner or later. One of these unrighteous crotchety. Unjust irascible. Masters would say.

58:53 I can't stand it anymore. What in the world makes John act that way. The more I needle him. The more I smack him.

59:01 The more I try to get his goat. And I try to rattle his cage. There is an increasing measure. Of a disposition of peace.

59:09 And joy. I can't think. Peter says you so walk in the presence of Christ. That when the question pops out.

59:20 You are ready to give an answer. And you say master. Let's sit down for ten minutes. And I will tell you why I act the way I do.

59:29 It ain't me babe. Not me. Who lives in me. Only Christians.

59:41 Can be like Christ. Thank God all real Christians. Not only desire to be like Christ. They are so united to Christ.

59:50 And indwelt by the spirit of Christ. That though they can never be. Perfectly like him in this life. They are purposefully.

59:58 And increasingly like him. And then John says. We shall be like him. When we see him as he is.

60:07 And all that we have yearned to be. And all that we have so. Pathetically pursued. In this life.

60:15 Will be our consummate glory. When we will be. Fully possessed of everything. For which he predestinated us.

60:24 According to Romans 8.29. Whom he foreknew. He predestined to be conformed.

60:30 To the image of his son. And then the work will be done. Well my friend it begins now. And if it doesn't begin now.

60:40 I hope God will spare us. And bring us back tonight. So that having established Christ as our example. We might have joy and help.

60:49 As we study together. Some of the selective incidents. In the life of Christ. That underscore what it means.

60:57 To have him as our example. In bearing patiently. Undeserved suffering. Let's pray.

Conclusion and Prayer

61:05 Our Father. What thanks can we render to you. For your holy word. We marvel at its richness.

61:18 And at the same time. We confess our own dullness. And slowness to understand. And greater slowness to obey.

61:27 Oh help us. We pray. Take what we have meditated upon. This morning.

61:36 Blow upon the chaff of any human. Dilution of your truth. And all that has been true to your word. Write upon our hearts.

61:44 And may it bear fruit in each of our lives. To your praise. And to our profit. Amen.