SERMON - Adversity and the coming hope - 19th May 2024 - West Mains Free Church of Scotland
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“In the world you will have tribulation”, promises Jesus, “But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 15. 9) Jesus’ words in John’s Gospel set the scene well for this morning’s text, for here in the First Letter of Peter, Peter offers his readers advice while at the same time warning them that encircling them is an adversary far stronger than they are. However, as I hope you and I will conclude by the end of this act of worship, the Lord Jesus is far stronger than the adversary and indeed has already won the day.
Drummelow, in his One Volume Bible Commentary explains that the “first and strongest impression” we can get from 1 Peter is that “both writer and readers were expecting a severe persecution”.1 He explains the letter in the context of the great fire in Rome, which occurred in the year 64AD. Those of you with an eye for history will recall that Nero is said to have ‘fiddled while Rome burned’, (hence the origin of the phrase), having started the fire himself, but blamed the growing Christian population of the city in a way of turning the nation against them and eventually outlawing them. The tradition of the Church says that it was in the persecution which followed that both Peter and Paul were martyred for their Christian faith, although it is thought that Paul died some time before Peter, perhaps even a number of years earlier.2 Peter’s letter tells us that it was Silvanus (also known as Silas), Paul’s friend who delivered the letter, with Peter describing him as a “faithful brother” (5. 12), Silvanus had also preached in Corinth alongside Paul and Timothy (2 Cor. 1. 19). Given that Peter’s letter is said to have been written after Paul’s epistles, it is not improbable that Paul was martyred first, and that this news was carried to the other churches by Silvanus. No doubt hearing this shocking news that Paul, the great Church planter and epistle writer, had been martyred would have caused great panic among the already concerned Christians. Therefore it was necessary for Peter to write this letter of encouragement.
However, alongside offering his readers an encouragement in terms of facing their persecutors bravely, there is something far deeper at play in Peter’s letter. For, as we can read in its pages, “all events have their source in God’s foreknowledge;… this trial is part of His eternal purpose, and that they [and, indeed, we] are therefore sure of His protection; [and] that, if the veil were lifted, as one day it will be, they would see the divine power and glory surrounding them”.3 Perhaps you’ll recall a similar thing happening in the Old Testament, where Elisha and his band of friends were surrounded by “horses and chariots and a great army” (2 Kgs. 6. 14). Elisha’s servant sees this sight and, terrified, cries out. Elisha prays, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see”, and the Lord reveals that although the men were surrounded by the army, also surrounding Elisha and his friends were “horses and chariots of fire”. The Lord was in that place, but Elisha’s servant could not see it. So too here, Peter is seeking to remind his readers that, however bleak the circumstances may seem, the Lord is truly in their midst.
Of course, it is in the context of great persecution from the Roman authorities that Peter also instructs his readers to obey earthly authorities (including the Roman Emperor, however barbaric his actions – 1 Pet. 2. 13), modelling for them how to embody the life of Jesus who, though He was the King, allowed Himself to suffer. He also explains how Christ’s sufferings were, themselves, sacrificial: through His torment and torture and execution, Christ saved sinners. Through their sufferings, encouraged Peter, his readers may even be a means by which Jesus leads their persecutors to salvation! (2.20)
Before we continue, it is important we consider the readership of this epistle. Unlike some of the New Testament writings, this letter does not have a clearly defined ‘Dear so-and-so’. Well, it does, but we are not absolutely certain who “the elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1.1) were. However, it entirely reasonable for us to believe that Peter was primarily writing to Jewish converts to Christianity. We can believe this for two reasons. Firstly, we know from Galatians that Paul had “been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised” (Gal. 2. 7) – that’s to say that Paul had been charged with preaching to Gentiles, and Peter charged to preach to Jewish converts. For Peter to have been writing to Jewish Christians would have been in-keeping with this general arrangement. However we can also see, secondly, that Peter addresses his letter to “the elect exiles” (1.1). This phrase is very Jewish indeed. We know from the pages of the Old Testament that it was the Jews who were God’s elect people – it was they who, through Abraham, Moses and the Prophets, God had chosen to rescue – and ‘elect’ was a common self-designation among Jews. The phrase ‘dispersion’, similarly, is a very Jewish designation. It is “a term used to describe the Jews who had been scattered among the nations since the time of the Captivity: cp. Isa. 11. 12, Zeph. 3. 10, John 7. 35 and Jas. 1. 1”.4
So what was Peter expecting of his readers? It is clear that there are imperatives in this portion of Scripture. That’s to say, there are instructions for his readers to enact. He instructs his readers to “humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you”. (5. 6) We must recognise that in instructing them to be humble, Peter is not insisting that they become damp cloths, who just submissively endure the attacks which God was happy to allow them to suffer. Rather, as Paul said in v5, their humility “was to be shown… in their bearing toward one another”.5
In the previous passage, Peter had been giving instructions to the Elders and church leaders, explaining how they should “shepherd the flock of God”, (5. 2) but in verse 5 he changes direction. “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another”. (5. 5)
Therefore what follows we can take to be a general instruction, and not just a rule for the Elders. All of the Church should clothe themselves in humility, remembering that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (5. 5) It is thought that this saying is an adaptation of Proverbs 3. 34: “Toward the scorners He is scornful, but to the humble He gives favour”. Interestingly the original word for “opposes” has the meaning of siding with their enemies.6 If, says Peter, you do not humble yourselves but instead choose to live a different way of life, far from God’s law, do not be surprised if He takes your enemy’s side against you. What a thought! Particularly when the enemy at the time was going around persecuting Christians and throwing them to the lions!
What does this humility that the readers are meant to exercise look like, then? Having read the passage, it looks like we can break the instruction down into the following sub-commands:
1. Cast their anxieties on God (and Him alone) – v7
2. Be sober-minded, vigilant, and on alert for satan (v8)
3. Be ready to resist satan when he comes (v9)
Casting anxieties on God alone – v7
This instruction appears to be an adaptation of the words of Psalm 55 – perhaps like me you will have sung the metrical version countless times:
Cast thou thy burden on the Lord, and He shall thee sustain; Yea, He shall cause the righteous man unmovèd to remain. (Psalm 55. 22 – Scottish Psalter)
When we are anxious, says Mason, it implies that we either a) distrust God’s providence – that’s to say we do not really believe that “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Rom. 8. 28) – or b) that we have some misguided belief that we might be able to manage better for ourselves.7
Now friends, I do not know what is going on in your lives: I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting most of you before, and even if this were not the case, there may be any number of things going on in your lives, some of which not even your dearest friends know. It is not for me to tell you are wrong if you have worries or fears, and indeed for any preacher to do so is, at best, a brave thing and, at worst, a downright daft thing to do. However, at the same time, I am here to offer you hope. And the hope comes not from me, but from the Lord Jesus Himself. Cast your minds back to Matthew’s Gospel, where we can read that Jesus was going about from city to city (11. 1), and cries out:
Come to Me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden light. (11. 28-30)
If today you are labouring under a heavy burden, whether in your home life, your work life, your family life, your spiritual life, your emotional life, wherever, friends please know that you do not have to carry it alone. Jesus did not die on the Cross for your salvation from sin just so that you should trudge through life carrying troubles to heavy and hard to bear. The Greek word that Peter uses when he says “casting all your anxieties on Him” (5. 7) is actually a word that means ‘throwing’. Here we have an invitation, a command indeed, not to carry our burdens alone and allow them to sink us down into the sand, but instead to throw them, to chuck them upon the Lord Jesus who is more than ready to help share the load. He does not totally remove any burden from our back – after all He commands us to take up our crosses and follow Him, (Matt. 16. 24ff) but He does reassure us that if we take the burden He gives us instead of the one that the world tries to load on our shoulders, we will find it far lighter and more manageable. Barclay here encourages us by saying:
The reason we can do this [cast our cares upon God] is that we can be certain that God cares for us. As Paul had it, we can be certain that He who gave us His only Son will with Him freely give us all things (Rom. 8. 32). We can be certain that, because God cares for us, life is out, not to break us but to make us; and with that assurance, we can accept any experience which comes to us, knowing that God works everything together for good to them who love Him (Rom. 8. 28).8
In the context of humility, what does this teach us? It teaches us that we cannot do it alone. We cannot manage our own burdens without Jesus’ help, so we are no better, no stronger, than our fellow Christian. The reminder that we need Jesus’ help will keep our feet firmly on the ground and help us to realise that the brother or sister in the Church who is visibly struggling is in no greater need of Jesus than we are. This, in turn, helps us combat the sin of pride, which as we know too well is a perfect way for satan to enter in and cause division.
Be sober-minded, vigilant, and on alert for satan – v8
This instruction is not a new one. In fact, Peter had already given this imperative within 1 Peter itself. In chapter 1 he began the main part of the letter saying “therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded…”, (1. 13) while in chapter 4 he writes “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers” (4.7). He shows, by repeating the command, how being sober-minded, that is, clear-thinking, and being watchful is (in the words of John Gill):
exceeding[ly] necessary and useful in the Christian life; and the one cannot well be without the other: unless a man is sober in body and mind, he will not be watchful, either over himself or others, or against the snares of sin, satan, and the world; and if he is not on his watch and guard, he is liable to every sin and temptation.9
Ellicot’s Commentary offers that these words are used, in this context, in a “tense which bespeaks immediate attention”.10 That’s to say they are meaning the here and now. This is not some far-off warning, nor is it just a possibility. The words are used in the same way as a shepherd would shout ‘Wolf!’ if he spotted a creature approaching his sheep. Or as a mother would shout ‘Stop’ if she saw her child running towards a busy road. Peter is clearly concerned about his readers – they are in grave peril as he writes, and it is only if they keep a clear head and keep alert to their surroundings that they will avoid falling in to sin.
In reading this, we see that trusting in the Lord and casting every burden upon Jesus “does not give us the right to sit back and to do nothing”.11 We would do well to remember the instructions of Cromwell. When addressing his troops, he told them to “Trust in God, and keep your powder dry”. That’s to say there is nothing incompatible in, on the one hand trusting in the Lord, and on the other hand keeping a watch yourself. Even the greatest soldier knows that as well as trusting that God will keep him safe, he has to take care himself. Even though I trust in God’s providence, and know that He works all things together for good, I still wear a life-jacket when I go sailing. Because trusting God does not give us the licence to not take care.
Keeping watch, of course, would have a special relevance for Peter, for surely he would not have forgotten how he was unable keep watch even for a few minutes while the Lord Jesus Christ was praying in the Garden. (cf. Matt. 26. 38ff) The Christian is therefore to trust, while at the same time putting “effort and vigilance”12 into serving Christ.
In terms of humility, the core teaching of the text, it is clear how this will keep us humble. For not only do we need to trust in the one who is greater than us (the Lord God Himself), but we also know that we need to take care ourselves. We cannot be lax and think we have everything in hand. We can remember the parable of the Rich Fool, who thought he ‘had it made’, but in that one night his life was demanded of him. (Luke 12. 13ff) Just because our lives are going well at the moment, we know that one false move on an icy path, or one poorly chosen word at work, or one accidental (or otherwise!) plagiarising at University can make our lives take a very different direction. At every stage in our life we have to be on the lookout for satan. We cannot afford to sit idly by. We are no greater than any other Christian, for all of us together need to keep constant watch for the enemy.
Resist satan – v9
The final imperative, the final instruction, which will help us remain humble in the sight of God and our fellow Christians, is to resist satan. The Greek, a Commentator tells me, is rather more poetic than the English. In English we read that we are to “Resist [satan]” (5. 9), and yet the Greek instructs us to “stand and face him”!13 When we encounter the attacks of satan, it is time for us to puff our chest out, stand firm and “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6. 12). I daresay we all know that, in human physiology, there are said to be two automatic responses to danger. It is known as the ‘Fight or flight’ mechanism. Sometimes when we see danger, our initial reaction is to fly, that is to run, to escape. And sometimes, of course, that is by far the best course of action. There are some things that we cannot stop – a collapsing building or a tumbling avalanche is not going to stop if we stand firm and puff our chests out! On such occasions we need to, of course, realise that bravery in such occasions is not called for. However, there are other occasions where to stand firm and resolute is exactly what is needed: after all, the bully in the classroom or the workplace is never going to stop if we all make off on our heels. Again, this is not a new instruction. In v2, in his instructions to Elders, Peter makes clear that it is their job to “shepherd the flock of God”, and in John’s Gospel Jesus makes a clear distinction between the shepherd who “lays down his life for the sheep” vs the “hired hand… who does not own the sheep, [who] sees he wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.” (John 10. 11-12) This illustration is seen in even greater vigour in 1 Samuel, where the Shepherd-King David explains how he cared for his father’s sheep:
But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him down and killed him.” (1 Sam. 17. 34-35)
Perhaps as Peter was writing this instruction, his mind was drawn back to a time when he failed to stand firm against the wiles of satan. That dreadful night when he found himself sitting sleepy around a courtyard fire, while Jesus his Lord and friend was being interrogated within the building, and a succession of harmless servants approached him one at a time, asking whether he knew Jesus. ‘No, not me’ came the reply not once, nor twice, but three times. Three times the tempter tried to convince Peter to deny Jesus, and three times he succeeded. Three times Peter failed to withstand satan. Satan is mankind’s sworn enemy and will pull out all the stops in an attempt to get us to swerve from the path of faith. Our faith, therefore, “must be like a solid wall against which the attacks of the devil exhaust themselves in vain. The devil is like any bully: he retreats when he is gallantly and bravely resisted in the strength and in the company of Jesus Christ”.14
It is also interesting to note that the way in which the sentence was written shows, so I have read, that the intention is not just for a number of individuals to each be standing firm against satan, chests puffed out. But instead the wording is used in such a way as to indicate a collective effort – they, that is the church, “are to present together a solid front to the lion.”15
This is a real learning point in our quest for humility. For not only do we realise that our personal safety from satan depends on how we respond to him, and indeed other people’s safety from satan depends on how I contribute to the collective resistance against him, but here we also see that I am reliant (under God) on my brother and sister Christians’ resistance to satan. It is only through the combined effort of the church that we can resist his wiles. It was the clergyman John Donne who wrote those famous words, “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main”, and we would do well to remember how reliant we are on our church family – our Elders and ministers who shepherd us, our fellow members who encourage us – and how reliant we are on God who sustains and strengthens us through all the difficulties of life.
These three imperatives, that we cast our anxieties on God (v7), that we remain sober-minded and watchful (v8) and that we resist satan (v9) are there as part of an overall instruction to remain humble. Peter gave this instruction to his readers even though he knew what oppression they were up against, because he believed (as we do) that God “gives grace to the humble” (v5). Peter then gave his readers the promise, found in v10, that after a time of suffering, “the God of all grace, who has called [them] to His eternal flory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish [them].” (5. 10) What a wonderful encouragement that must have been to the readers.
And friends, here is the Good News! This same promise that Peter offered his readers, the Lord Jesus offers you today. If only we would incline our hearts to Him, if only we would be humble in spirit, Jesus promises that we will inherit the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5. 3) This is not just ‘pie in the sky when you die’ teaching – I am not standing here simply saying that life down here is rubbish but it’ll get better in heaven, as though that makes suffering down here bearable. But I am offering you the Good News that Jesus died for your sins and mine, and that one day He will call to Himself all those who trust firmly in Him, all those who have suffered for His sake and the sake of the Gospel, and who throughout have remained humble in spirit and soul – and “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish” (5. 10) them all in glory.
Perhaps it is the words of the ancient hymn that sum this up best. In the 9th century hymn, ‘O Happy Band of Pilgrims’, we hear the following lines (translated by J M Neale):
5 the trials that beset you, the sorrows ye endure, the manifold temptations that death alone can cure.
6 What are they but His jewels of right celestial worth? What are they but the ladder set up to heaven on earth?
7 O happy band of pilgrims, look upward to the skies, where such a light affliction shall win so great a prize.
Friends, it is this great eternal prize that I remind you of this morning. If you are carrying a heavy load, know that the Lord Jesus Christ cares for you and invites you to let Him share your burden. If you think you are strong or great, mighty or important, remember the warning that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (5. 5) and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you humility. And if you are in the midst of attack, struggling with your faith or cannot see a way forward, take comfort from the fact that God is over all things, and rely on His strength and not your own.
Cast thou thy burden on the Lord, and He shall thee sustain; Yea, He shall cause the righteous man unmovèd to remain. (Psalm 55. 22 – Scottish Psalter)
Books cited:
- Barclay, William. James and Peter. Rev. ed. The Daily Study Bible. Edinburgh: St Andrews Press, 1960.
- Dummelow, J. R., ed. ‘1 Peter’. In A Commentary on the Holy Bible. London: MacMillan and Co. Ltd., 1946.
- John Gill. John Gill’s Exposition on the Entire Bible - Verse by Verse, 1746. http://archive.org/details/JohnGillsCommentaryOnTheBible.
- Mason, A. J. ‘1 Peter’. In Ephesians to Revelation, Vol. 8. A Bible Commentary for English Readers. London: Cassell and Co., 1905.
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J. R. Dummelow, ed., ‘1 Peter’, in A Commentary on the Holy Bible (London: MacMillan and Co. Ltd., 1946), 1038. ↩
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Ibid. ↩
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Ibid. ↩
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Ibid., 1040. ↩
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A. J. Mason, ‘1 Peter’, in Ephesians to Revelation, vol. 8, A Bible Commentary for English Readers (London: Cassell and Co., 1905), 434. ↩
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Ibid. ↩
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Ibid. ↩
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William Barclay, James and Peter, Rev. ed, The Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: St Andrews Press, 1960), 322–23. ↩
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John Gill, John Gill’s Exposition on the Entire Bible - Verse by Verse, 1746, sec. 1 Peter 5. 8, http://archive.org/details/JohnGillsCommentaryOnTheBible. ↩
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Mason, ‘1 Peter’, 434. ↩
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Barclay, James and Peter, 323. ↩
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Ibid. ↩
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Mason, ‘1 Peter’, 434. ↩
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Barclay, James and Peter, 323. ↩
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Mason, ‘1 Peter’, 434. ↩