1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:04,320 I’d be grateful if you’d open your Bibles at 1 Peter and chapter 2 as we come today 2 00:00:04,320 –> 00:00:07,820 to the fourth key for unlocking the Christian life. 3 00:00:07,820 –> 00:00:12,480 We’ve been learning together that being a Christian, of course, is so much more than 4 00:00:12,480 –> 00:00:16,139 making a decision or a commitment to Jesus. 5 00:00:16,139 –> 00:00:20,639 When you came to Jesus Christ, you were born again. 6 00:00:20,639 –> 00:00:22,160 You became a new person. 7 00:00:22,160 –> 00:00:27,280 You had a new desire to follow after Christ, and a new capacity was born within you by 8 00:00:27,600 –> 00:00:30,780 Spirit of God to move in that direction. 9 00:00:30,780 –> 00:00:35,500 That new birth was the beginning of a new life, and that new life is to be lived out 10 00:00:35,500 –> 00:00:40,360 on the path of pursuing holiness. 11 00:00:40,360 –> 00:00:42,759 And we’ve seen that that life has a purpose. 12 00:00:42,759 –> 00:00:48,939 As we pursue the path of holiness together, God makes his presence known in a community 13 00:00:48,939 –> 00:00:53,060 through a worshipping and serving company of his people. 14 00:00:53,840 –> 00:00:57,599 Now we take up the story today at chapter 2 and verse 12. 15 00:00:57,599 –> 00:01:01,980 And I want you to notice here what happens when a community of God’s people who have 16 00:01:01,980 –> 00:01:06,139 been born again, who are pursuing the path of holiness, who are giving themselves to 17 00:01:06,139 –> 00:01:10,400 Jesus Christ in worship and service are functioning together. 18 00:01:10,400 –> 00:01:20,400 Verse 12, live such good lives among the pagans, that though they may accuse you of doing wrong. 19 00:01:20,400 –> 00:01:28,639 They may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 20 00:01:28,639 –> 00:01:35,040 Now there’s something extraordinary happening here because he’s talking about pagans glorifying 21 00:01:35,040 –> 00:01:36,040 God. 22 00:01:36,040 –> 00:01:38,559 Now that doesn’t happen. 23 00:01:38,559 –> 00:01:42,199 Pagans hate God. 24 00:01:42,199 –> 00:01:47,419 But Peter is saying to us that God has called us to live in such a way that a transformation 25 00:01:47,419 –> 00:01:53,180 will occur in which people who are deeply resistant to the good news of Jesus Christ 26 00:01:53,180 –> 00:01:56,519 will actually come to glorify God. 27 00:01:56,519 –> 00:02:03,900 And that this will happen through the good lives of believers. 28 00:02:03,900 –> 00:02:08,479 So let’s be absolutely clear before we launch into this passage as to what the objective 29 00:02:08,479 –> 00:02:09,479 is. 30 00:02:09,479 –> 00:02:10,919 What it is that he’s talking about. 31 00:02:10,919 –> 00:02:14,860 What everything that will follow is actually geared towards. 32 00:02:15,139 –> 00:02:16,759 Here is our objective. 33 00:02:16,759 –> 00:02:22,979 To live in such a way that people who are deeply resistant to the good news of Jesus 34 00:02:22,979 –> 00:02:26,440 Christ will come to glorify God. 35 00:02:26,440 –> 00:02:31,320 And when your soul is filled with a sense of wonder at what God has done for you in 36 00:02:31,320 –> 00:02:36,020 Jesus Christ, you will share a sense of this mission in your life. 37 00:02:36,020 –> 00:02:42,740 To live in such a way that people who are highly resistant to the claims of Jesus Christ 38 00:02:42,919 –> 00:02:45,279 will come to glorify God. 39 00:02:45,279 –> 00:02:53,139 I was thinking this week again about my friend Vachan Bhandari who pastors a cchurch in Dehradun 40 00:02:53,139 –> 00:02:55,339 in north India. 41 00:02:55,339 –> 00:02:59,660 Vachan had a great burden to bring the gospel to the village where he was born and raised 42 00:02:59,660 –> 00:03:05,119 where there was no Christian witness, and he went there preaching and a mob gathered 43 00:03:05,119 –> 00:03:11,500 and threw stones and drove him and the others who were with him out of the village. 44 00:03:11,740 –> 00:03:13,300 The last time I was with Vachan he was unwell. 45 00:03:13,300 –> 00:03:19,619 I sat at the edge of his bed at the side of his bed and he told me the story. 46 00:03:19,619 –> 00:03:25,500 He said that the village leader from that home village had personally apologized for 47 00:03:25,500 –> 00:03:27,419 the way that they had been treated. 48 00:03:27,419 –> 00:03:35,339 It asked them to begin a Christian ministry in the area and had given land to his ministry 49 00:03:35,339 –> 00:03:37,720 for the building of a Christian hospital. 50 00:03:38,619 –> 00:03:43,559 Now how did that extraordinary change happen in that one community? 51 00:03:43,559 –> 00:03:50,080 The answer was, over a period of time, the acts of love and kindness and mercy and forgiveness 52 00:03:50,080 –> 00:03:59,880 and grace of Christian believers spoke volumes and made an entrance later for their words. 53 00:03:59,880 –> 00:04:05,199 Now that’s the kind of thing that Peter is talking about here, and we’ll come a little 54 00:04:05,440 –> 00:04:10,080 later after we’ve worked out the principles, to ways in which that is going on today in 55 00:04:10,080 –> 00:04:11,220 our own community. 56 00:04:11,220 –> 00:04:15,279 But the big question is, what is this going to look like in practice? 57 00:04:15,279 –> 00:04:22,279 How can I live in a way that my life will have impact on people who are deeply resistant 58 00:04:22,940 –> 00:04:25,679 to the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ? 59 00:04:25,679 –> 00:04:31,559 Now Peter, right at the heart of this letter, makes it clear that the impact of our lives 60 00:04:31,559 –> 00:04:34,399 will turn on three primary issues. 61 00:04:34,399 –> 00:04:39,899 The first is the one we look at today, the way that you use your freedom. 62 00:04:39,899 –> 00:04:44,880 The second we look at next week, the way that you choose to love. 63 00:04:44,880 –> 00:04:49,640 And then thirdly, the way that we respond to suffering. 64 00:04:49,640 –> 00:04:53,019 That is the ground that we’re going to be covering this month, and we’re going to begin 65 00:04:53,019 –> 00:04:54,660 with this first. 66 00:04:54,660 –> 00:05:03,519 That the impact of our lives and of our ministry will depend in large measure on the way that 67 00:05:03,779 –> 00:05:07,540 we use our freedom. 68 00:05:07,540 –> 00:05:15,119 Now notice verse 16, which is really the key verse in this passage that binds it together. 69 00:05:15,119 –> 00:05:25,940 Peter says, live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, live 70 00:05:25,940 –> 00:05:27,260 as free men. 71 00:05:28,119 –> 00:05:33,619 Now, the fascinating thing about this statement in verse 16 is, when you think about those 72 00:05:33,619 –> 00:05:39,820 he was writing to, these are folks who were living in the Roman Empire, a totalitarian 73 00:05:39,820 –> 00:05:40,820 state. 74 00:05:40,820 –> 00:05:47,119 They didn’t have the kind of freedoms that we enjoy today, but the fascinating thing 75 00:05:47,119 –> 00:05:53,540 is that Peter says to people who are living in a very secular state that gave no support 76 00:05:53,540 –> 00:06:02,600 whatsoever in legislative terms to the Christian community that they were to live as freemen. 77 00:06:02,600 –> 00:06:09,140 Secondly, if you look at verse 18, you’ll see that his first audience included some 78 00:06:09,140 –> 00:06:13,399 who experienced great injustice at work. 79 00:06:13,399 –> 00:06:15,739 Some were slaves, verse 18. 80 00:06:15,739 –> 00:06:23,519 Now I think it’s important to say that the Bible gives no support whatsoever to slavery. 81 00:06:23,519 –> 00:06:30,359 What it does do, is it gives wise and practical counsel to believers who are living in situations 82 00:06:30,359 –> 00:06:34,720 of injustice and have no reasonable hope of getting out of it. 83 00:06:34,720 –> 00:06:38,339 You see, the Bible speaks to the world as it is. 84 00:06:38,339 –> 00:06:40,600 Not as we would like it to be. 85 00:06:40,600 –> 00:06:46,459 The Bible is not some kind of heavenly message for, you know, people with time for contemplation 86 00:06:46,459 –> 00:06:47,880 of ideals. 87 00:06:47,880 –> 00:06:51,839 The Bible is God’s Word into the fallen world as it is. 88 00:06:51,859 –> 00:06:54,540 And therefore God speaks to the oppressed. 89 00:06:54,559 –> 00:06:58,000 Therefore, God speaks to those who suffer injustice. 90 00:06:58,000 –> 00:07:05,000 Therefore, God speaks to those whose world is not as any of us would want it to be. 91 00:07:05,000 –> 00:07:07,559 Because that’s the world in which we live. 92 00:07:07,559 –> 00:07:14,899 Thirdly, Peter is writing to some who have great difficulties at home. 93 00:07:14,899 –> 00:07:20,380 Chapter 3 and verses 1 and 2, in the early church it’s evident that there were a number 94 00:07:20,420 –> 00:07:27,040 of women who had come to faith in Jesus Christ and their husbands had not shared the same 95 00:07:27,040 –> 00:07:28,679 commitment. 96 00:07:28,679 –> 00:07:36,859 That meant, of course, that there was a fundamental mismatch that was going on within that relationship. 97 00:07:36,859 –> 00:07:40,079 And Peter writes to them about the way in which they’re to handle it. 98 00:07:40,079 –> 00:07:44,320 And notice the objective that is very clear here. 99 00:07:44,320 –> 00:07:49,440 It’s continuing the theme that begins in chapter 2 and verse 12, so that if any of them who 100 00:07:49,440 –> 00:07:57,019 do not believe the word, may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives. 101 00:07:57,019 –> 00:07:58,799 You see, he’s going for the same point. 102 00:07:58,799 –> 00:08:03,260 How are we to win highly resistant people? 103 00:08:03,260 –> 00:08:08,119 That’s the theme that runs right the way throughout this whole passage. 104 00:08:08,119 –> 00:08:16,339 Now, Peter writes about freedom and raises the obvious question, what kind of freedom 105 00:08:16,339 –> 00:08:23,579 do you have if you don’t have any support from the state, if you’re suffering injustice 106 00:08:23,579 –> 00:08:28,799 in your work and you’re fundamentally unhappy at home, where is the freedom in that? 107 00:08:28,799 –> 00:08:33,599 And yet Peter writes to this audience with all the pain that’s represented in these 108 00:08:33,599 –> 00:08:39,479 three spheres and he says live as those who are free. 109 00:08:39,479 –> 00:08:43,419 Now, what does that mean? 110 00:08:43,419 –> 00:08:49,840 I want to suggest a very simple definition of freedom freedom means that you have the 111 00:08:49,840 –> 00:08:55,020 ability to make a different choice. 112 00:08:55,020 –> 00:08:59,000 When Henry Ford rolled his cars off the production line and he said you can have any color as 113 00:08:59,000 –> 00:09:03,359 long as it’s black, there wasn’t a lot of freedom in that. 114 00:09:03,359 –> 00:09:06,159 Freedom means you can make a different choice. 115 00:09:07,159 –> 00:09:13,679 I have a friend who often says that he was brought up in a family where everything was 116 00:09:13,679 –> 00:09:21,340 forbidden except for what was compulsory and there’s not a lot of freedom in that either 117 00:09:21,340 –> 00:09:23,919 If you think about that one. 118 00:09:23,919 –> 00:09:29,859 Freedom means that there is room to make a different choice. 119 00:09:29,859 –> 00:09:35,520 Now Peter says you have freedom use it. 120 00:09:35,619 –> 00:09:37,880 Now think with me for a moment about these first readers. 121 00:09:37,880 –> 00:09:43,760 They are living in a situation where they are oppressed by the state. 122 00:09:43,760 –> 00:09:50,239 What would you expect of people who are oppressed by the state? 123 00:09:50,239 –> 00:09:55,820 Answer, if people are oppressed by the states you would expect that they would live in constant 124 00:09:55,820 –> 00:09:58,340 conflict. 125 00:09:58,340 –> 00:10:03,679 He’s writing, secondly, to people who suffer injustice at work. 126 00:10:03,679 –> 00:10:07,539 What would you expect of people who suffer injustice at work? 127 00:10:07,539 –> 00:10:12,599 Answer, you expect them to hate those who employ them. 128 00:10:12,599 –> 00:10:18,400 Thirdly, he’s writing to those who experience great difficulties in a fundamental mismatch 129 00:10:18,400 –> 00:10:19,679 at home. 130 00:10:19,679 –> 00:10:23,619 What would you expect of people who experience great difficulties in a fundamental mismatch 131 00:10:23,619 –> 00:10:24,619 at home? 132 00:10:24,619 –> 00:10:29,400 You would expect them either to hunker down in isolation or perhaps in our culture more 133 00:10:29,400 –> 00:10:32,760 likely to walk. 134 00:10:32,820 –> 00:10:39,919 But freedom means that we have the ability to make a different choice. 135 00:10:41,159 –> 00:10:49,200 Freedom means you don’t have to hate your employer if he or she treats you badly. 136 00:10:49,200 –> 00:10:53,400 You do not have to leave your spouse. 137 00:10:53,400 –> 00:10:58,299 You do not have to become enmeshed in endless conflict. 138 00:10:58,400 –> 00:11:02,500 You have the ability to make a different choice. 139 00:11:03,539 –> 00:11:04,280 Now when Peter says, 140 00:11:04,280 –> 00:11:05,820 live as those who are free, 141 00:11:05,820 –> 00:11:09,219 he’s saying to folks in situations of great difficulty, 142 00:11:09,219 –> 00:11:13,359 exercise that liberty that you have to make a different choice 143 00:11:13,359 –> 00:11:16,799 from the one that everyone else makes that is natural to the flesh 144 00:11:16,799 –> 00:11:18,640 in this kind of situation. 145 00:11:19,719 –> 00:11:21,119 See Jesus said, 146 00:11:21,119 –> 00:11:25,440 the Son of God shall make you free and you will be free indeed. 147 00:11:26,219 –> 00:11:30,419 He said those who sin are slaves to sin. 148 00:11:31,400 –> 00:11:32,219 In other words, 149 00:11:32,219 –> 00:11:33,059 sin is a power, 150 00:11:33,059 –> 00:11:37,359 it’s like a strong current in a river that carries us. 151 00:11:37,359 –> 00:11:39,280 We may be swimming with the current 152 00:11:39,280 –> 00:11:41,280 and thinking that we’re free, 153 00:11:41,280 –> 00:11:43,080 but actually we’re not free 154 00:11:43,080 –> 00:11:46,119 unless we have the ability to go against the current. 155 00:11:47,559 –> 00:11:51,239 Only those who are able to swim against the current 156 00:11:51,239 –> 00:11:52,719 actually are free. 157 00:11:52,719 –> 00:11:55,239 They have the ability to make a different choice 158 00:11:56,159 –> 00:11:58,960 Freedom only exists when we have the power 159 00:11:58,960 –> 00:12:03,960 to rise above the natural inclination of the flesh 160 00:12:04,280 –> 00:12:06,619 and to act in a way that is different 161 00:12:06,619 –> 00:12:09,239 for the glory of God. 162 00:12:09,239 –> 00:12:10,099 Now, Jesus says, 163 00:12:10,099 –> 00:12:12,239 that’s what I’m giving you. 164 00:12:12,239 –> 00:12:14,099 If the son of God makes you free, 165 00:12:14,099 –> 00:12:15,780 you will be free indeed. 166 00:12:15,780 –> 00:12:17,359 And Peter takes up that theme 167 00:12:17,359 –> 00:12:18,200 and he says, 168 00:12:18,200 –> 00:12:19,340 now use that freedom. 169 00:12:19,340 –> 00:12:20,880 Live as those who are free. 170 00:12:20,880 –> 00:12:22,280 Exercise that freedom. 171 00:12:22,280 –> 00:12:24,119 Don’t use it as a cover up for evil. 172 00:12:26,179 –> 00:12:29,419 And, of course, if you want an example 173 00:12:29,419 –> 00:12:32,320 as to precisely what this looks like, 174 00:12:34,179 –> 00:12:37,059 to make different choices 175 00:12:38,179 –> 00:12:41,419 with the objective that deeply resistant people 176 00:12:41,419 –> 00:12:44,080 may one day come to glorify God, 177 00:12:45,580 –> 00:12:49,580 you need to look no further for an example of this 178 00:12:49,580 –> 00:12:53,479 than Jesus Christ himself. 179 00:12:53,479 –> 00:12:55,419 And you see that’s exactly where Peter goes 180 00:12:55,419 –> 00:12:57,960 in verse 21, do you see that there? 181 00:12:57,960 –> 00:13:01,500 “‘Christ suffered for you,” leaving an example 182 00:13:02,400 –> 00:13:05,020 that you should follow in his footsteps. 183 00:13:05,020 –> 00:13:07,640 So Peter is saying, now, come with me 184 00:13:07,640 –> 00:13:09,700 and let’s take a look at Jesus 185 00:13:11,460 –> 00:13:14,419 because Jesus’ ministry brought change 186 00:13:14,419 –> 00:13:15,979 in deeply resistant people 187 00:13:15,979 –> 00:13:17,940 and brought them to glorify God. 188 00:13:17,940 –> 00:13:18,940 How did he do it? 189 00:13:18,940 –> 00:13:22,280 He exercised his freedom to make different choices 190 00:13:22,320 –> 00:13:25,460 that were against the inclination of the flesh 191 00:13:25,460 –> 00:13:28,260 and this is the pattern, this is the model 192 00:13:28,260 –> 00:13:31,200 that you can use your freedom to pursue. 193 00:13:32,960 –> 00:13:35,919 Notice what Jesus did not do. 194 00:13:36,940 –> 00:13:41,940 Verse 22, he chose not to deceive. 195 00:13:44,440 –> 00:13:49,440 He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth. 196 00:13:53,039 –> 00:13:54,479 It’s a well-known fact 197 00:13:54,479 –> 00:13:58,859 that truth is always the first casualty of conflict. 198 00:13:59,919 –> 00:14:04,500 We say, there’s two sides to every story. 199 00:14:04,500 –> 00:14:06,900 Why are there two sides to every story? 200 00:14:08,359 –> 00:14:12,039 There’s only one reality to every story. 201 00:14:12,039 –> 00:14:14,119 Why are there two sides to every story? 202 00:14:14,119 –> 00:14:15,960 There are two sides to every story 203 00:14:15,960 –> 00:14:17,840 because every time there’s a conflict, 204 00:14:17,840 –> 00:14:21,760 two people put their own spin on it. 205 00:14:21,799 –> 00:14:23,559 We’re experts at this, aren’t we? 206 00:14:23,559 –> 00:14:27,260 Spin, presenting my side of things. 207 00:14:28,679 –> 00:14:32,859 Truth becomes the first casualty of conflict, 208 00:14:32,859 –> 00:14:34,239 but not with Jesus. 209 00:14:35,979 –> 00:14:40,059 He used his freedom to make a different choice. 210 00:14:43,039 –> 00:14:45,479 Standing before Caiaphas, he’s asked straight, 211 00:14:45,479 –> 00:14:47,599 tell us if you are the son of God, 212 00:14:47,599 –> 00:14:50,320 and Jesus said, it is as you say. 213 00:14:52,679 –> 00:14:56,059 And because he said that, they spat on him 214 00:14:56,059 –> 00:14:59,179 and blows rained in on him from every direction. 215 00:15:02,659 –> 00:15:07,020 But he spoke the truth, even when it was costly. 216 00:15:09,080 –> 00:15:13,140 He did not retaliate, verse 23. 217 00:15:13,140 –> 00:15:15,599 When they huddled their insults at him, 218 00:15:15,599 –> 00:15:17,640 he did not retaliate. 219 00:15:18,640 –> 00:15:22,900 Now again, in a situation where you have been humiliated 220 00:15:22,900 –> 00:15:27,900 or wounded or hurt financially or emotionally, 221 00:15:27,900 –> 00:15:30,559 where your dignity has been taken from you, 222 00:15:30,559 –> 00:15:32,780 where you’ve been made to look foolish, 223 00:15:32,780 –> 00:15:36,119 your first instinct in all of us, 224 00:15:36,119 –> 00:15:39,780 it’s going to be revenge. 225 00:15:40,640 –> 00:15:43,940 Retaliation, I’ll get even. 226 00:15:44,320 –> 00:15:47,140 Think of the retaliation Jesus could have made 227 00:15:47,140 –> 00:15:50,219 when they put a crown of thorns on his head, 228 00:15:50,219 –> 00:15:53,640 when they put a stick in his hand 229 00:15:53,640 –> 00:15:57,059 and a red robe on him and started mocking him, 230 00:15:57,059 –> 00:16:00,559 saying, “‘Hail, the king of the Jews!” 231 00:16:00,559 –> 00:16:04,539 Think of the retaliation Jesus could have given. 232 00:16:04,539 –> 00:16:08,739 One word from Jesus at that moment, 233 00:16:08,739 –> 00:16:13,460 and the armies of heaven would have turned chaotic 234 00:16:13,900 –> 00:16:17,799 Calvary into a wasteland of scorched earth. 235 00:16:19,780 –> 00:16:24,780 But Peter says when they hurled their insult at him, 236 00:16:26,080 –> 00:16:30,080 he did not retaliate. 237 00:16:32,700 –> 00:16:34,700 Thirdly, he made no threats. 238 00:16:34,700 –> 00:16:38,140 When he suffered, verse 23, he made no threats. 239 00:16:38,140 –> 00:16:39,940 If someone hurts you and you can’t get back 240 00:16:40,020 –> 00:16:44,179 at them straightaway, then very instinctively, 241 00:16:44,179 –> 00:16:46,020 the reaction can be to say something 242 00:16:46,020 –> 00:16:48,200 that indicates we’ll get even in the future. 243 00:16:50,479 –> 00:16:51,320 But there was none of that. 244 00:16:51,320 –> 00:16:53,539 Think of the threats Jesus could have given. 245 00:16:54,659 –> 00:16:57,799 All judgment is trusted by the Father to the Son. 246 00:16:59,080 –> 00:17:01,260 He will decide the destiny of every person 247 00:17:01,260 –> 00:17:02,780 who has ever lived. 248 00:17:03,900 –> 00:17:08,900 He could have threatened hell, fire, and damnation. 249 00:17:10,619 –> 00:17:12,199 And the prophets did. 250 00:17:14,699 –> 00:17:15,540 He could have. 251 00:17:17,359 –> 00:17:18,400 But he did not. 252 00:17:18,400 –> 00:17:19,239 Why? 253 00:17:20,939 –> 00:17:23,780 Because his mission that was absolutely clear 254 00:17:23,780 –> 00:17:26,280 and focused in his mind was to bring people 255 00:17:26,280 –> 00:17:28,380 who are highly resistant to a position 256 00:17:28,380 –> 00:17:29,839 where they will glorify God. 257 00:17:29,839 –> 00:17:33,000 And therefore, he chose a different course. 258 00:17:33,000 –> 00:17:34,400 And you see what Peter is saying? 259 00:17:34,400 –> 00:17:36,040 He suffered to give you an example 260 00:17:36,040 –> 00:17:39,060 because as we Christian believers seek 261 00:17:39,060 –> 00:17:42,739 to embrace that mission also, of living in such a way 262 00:17:42,739 –> 00:17:44,800 that highly resistant people will in time 263 00:17:44,800 –> 00:17:47,839 come to glorify God, we will follow this pattern. 264 00:17:47,839 –> 00:17:49,560 If that’s our mission, 265 00:17:49,560 –> 00:17:51,540 then we’ll not use deception, 266 00:17:51,540 –> 00:17:53,339 we will not be retaliating, 267 00:17:53,339 –> 00:17:55,959 and we will not be making threats. 268 00:17:58,040 –> 00:17:59,180 What will we be doing? 269 00:18:00,420 –> 00:18:01,920 Well, look at what Jesus did. 270 00:18:03,260 –> 00:18:08,260 Verse 23, he chose instead to trust himself 271 00:18:10,060 –> 00:18:12,420 to Him who judges justly. 272 00:18:14,199 –> 00:18:15,579 This is very important. 273 00:18:17,579 –> 00:18:21,000 Jesus did not say, when he suffered these 274 00:18:22,479 –> 00:18:24,699 unspeakable wounds, 275 00:18:25,880 –> 00:18:27,339 well of course, you know none of this, 276 00:18:27,339 –> 00:18:28,359 it doesn’t matter at all, 277 00:18:28,359 –> 00:18:29,939 we’ll just sweep it all under the carpet. 278 00:18:29,939 –> 00:18:33,099 No, that was not the approach of Jesus. 279 00:18:34,180 –> 00:18:37,119 Peter speaks here about justice. 280 00:18:37,939 –> 00:18:41,040 Him who judges justly. 281 00:18:42,060 –> 00:18:44,020 And notice what it said about justice. 282 00:18:44,020 –> 00:18:45,900 God is just. 283 00:18:46,859 –> 00:18:51,859 God is absolutely committed to justice with integrity. 284 00:18:53,780 –> 00:18:55,959 It is God himself who has placed 285 00:18:55,959 –> 00:19:00,339 the sense of and desire for justice within your heart. 286 00:19:01,680 –> 00:19:03,880 And we can be absolutely certain 287 00:19:03,880 –> 00:19:07,459 that there will be justice for every evil 288 00:19:07,459 –> 00:19:11,900 that has ever been committed, justice will be done. 289 00:19:11,900 –> 00:19:13,319 There will be no dark secret 290 00:19:13,319 –> 00:19:18,140 that is not one day brought to light before and by God. 291 00:19:18,140 –> 00:19:20,339 God has set a day 292 00:19:20,339 –> 00:19:25,319 on which he will judge the world in righteousness. 293 00:19:26,680 –> 00:19:28,000 I would suggest to you 294 00:19:28,000 –> 00:19:31,319 that that comes as an enormous relief. 295 00:19:31,780 –> 00:19:33,500 Because if it were not the case 296 00:19:33,500 –> 00:19:34,339 that God has set a day 297 00:19:34,339 –> 00:19:36,199 on which he will judge the world in righteousness, 298 00:19:36,199 –> 00:19:39,280 we would be under tremendous pressure 299 00:19:39,280 –> 00:19:41,540 to right every wrong now, 300 00:19:41,540 –> 00:19:45,380 to right everything that has been spoken amiss, 301 00:19:45,380 –> 00:19:48,079 to correct every false accusation, 302 00:19:48,079 –> 00:19:52,160 to clear everything that has ever been misstated. 303 00:19:52,920 –> 00:19:56,380 And I tell you, it would be absolutely impossible. 304 00:19:56,380 –> 00:20:01,040 If you take just this congregation of 2,000 people 305 00:20:01,979 –> 00:20:04,479 life would not be long enough 306 00:20:07,359 –> 00:20:10,359 for us to put right, in justice, 307 00:20:10,359 –> 00:20:13,020 every injury that has been received, 308 00:20:13,020 –> 00:20:15,760 every misrepresentation that has been made, 309 00:20:15,760 –> 00:20:17,560 every injustice that has been done, 310 00:20:17,560 –> 00:20:20,239 even in a community of just 2,000 people, 311 00:20:20,239 –> 00:20:23,319 life would not be long enough for it. 312 00:20:24,339 –> 00:20:26,160 So it is a huge relief 313 00:20:27,079 –> 00:20:30,839 to know that there is one who judges justly. 314 00:20:31,520 –> 00:20:34,359 And that we can follow the example of Jesus 315 00:20:34,359 –> 00:20:37,040 because we know him who judges justly 316 00:20:37,040 –> 00:20:40,900 and we can trust injuries inflicted to him, 317 00:20:40,900 –> 00:20:43,719 we can trust insults made to him, 318 00:20:43,719 –> 00:20:48,239 we can trust injustices that have been done to us 319 00:20:48,239 –> 00:20:52,719 to him into the hands of him who judges justly. 320 00:20:53,920 –> 00:20:55,760 Now you see, Christians are the only people in the world 321 00:20:55,760 –> 00:20:56,819 who can do this. 322 00:20:57,459 –> 00:21:02,180 The world is convinced that the only justice you can get 323 00:21:02,180 –> 00:21:03,619 is here and now. 324 00:21:03,619 –> 00:21:05,839 That’s why the world is enmeshed 325 00:21:05,839 –> 00:21:08,719 in a growing pattern of conflict. 326 00:21:10,000 –> 00:21:12,459 If a person doesn’t get justice here, what do they say? 327 00:21:12,459 –> 00:21:14,920 There’s no justice. 328 00:21:14,920 –> 00:21:18,119 Well, you see, we know that there is justice 329 00:21:20,859 –> 00:21:24,920 and Jesus could have called in the armies of angels 330 00:21:24,920 –> 00:21:27,719 for justice at Calvary at that very moment, 331 00:21:27,719 –> 00:21:31,459 but he used his freedom to make a different choice. 332 00:21:32,920 –> 00:21:35,160 He trusted this most awful atrocity 333 00:21:35,160 –> 00:21:36,939 into the hands of the Father 334 00:21:38,000 –> 00:21:40,500 because his objective was clear, 335 00:21:41,719 –> 00:21:43,020 to bring hardened people 336 00:21:43,020 –> 00:21:45,359 to a position where they would glorify God. 337 00:21:46,880 –> 00:21:49,640 And it follows from that that he bore, verse 24, 338 00:21:49,640 –> 00:21:52,739 “‘Our sins, in his body on the tree.’” 339 00:21:52,739 –> 00:21:54,079 It’s a wonderful statement 340 00:21:54,500 –> 00:21:56,500 but it goes to the very heart of the New Testament. 341 00:21:56,500 –> 00:22:00,060 Our sins were laid on Jesus 342 00:22:02,900 –> 00:22:05,339 and he bore them in his own body. 343 00:22:06,699 –> 00:22:08,739 Now, there is an obvious uniqueness about this, 344 00:22:08,739 –> 00:22:10,560 but remember from verse 21 345 00:22:10,560 –> 00:22:14,119 that Peter is speaking about Jesus’ death as an example. 346 00:22:15,420 –> 00:22:19,900 And if you choose not to retaliate when you’re injured, 347 00:22:19,900 –> 00:22:23,640 what will happen will be that simply you will absorb 348 00:22:23,640 –> 00:22:25,339 the pain that was inflicted. 349 00:22:27,760 –> 00:22:31,280 Someone speaks an insult 350 00:22:32,479 –> 00:22:35,540 and you think of the most brilliant comeback line 351 00:22:35,540 –> 00:22:37,199 that would really put them down, 352 00:22:38,160 –> 00:22:42,640 but you withhold it, you don’t retaliate. 353 00:22:42,640 –> 00:22:45,040 What happens, you absorb that insult 354 00:22:45,040 –> 00:22:47,920 and the pain ends with you. 355 00:22:49,199 –> 00:22:51,719 That’s the other side of non-retaliation. 356 00:22:51,719 –> 00:22:54,660 If I do not retaliate, the way in which that happens 357 00:22:54,660 –> 00:22:57,160 is I absorb some pain within myself. 358 00:22:59,479 –> 00:23:01,280 Now, why would Jesus do this? 359 00:23:03,040 –> 00:23:05,020 Well, Peter brings us right back 360 00:23:05,020 –> 00:23:07,119 to the very focus, the objective. 361 00:23:07,979 –> 00:23:12,800 He made these choices in order to act redemptively. 362 00:23:12,800 –> 00:23:15,359 He bore our sins in his body on the tree, 363 00:23:15,359 –> 00:23:17,199 he did not retaliate, 364 00:23:17,199 –> 00:23:20,079 he trusted himself to him who judges justly, 365 00:23:20,119 –> 00:23:24,020 so that we might die to sin 366 00:23:25,219 –> 00:23:27,280 and live to righteousness. 367 00:23:27,280 –> 00:23:30,880 He wanted to bring hardened people like you and I once were 368 00:23:30,880 –> 00:23:32,160 to glorify God, 369 00:23:32,160 –> 00:23:34,400 he wanted to bring us back to the shepherd 370 00:23:34,400 –> 00:23:37,920 and the overseer of our souls and to bring that eternal, 371 00:23:37,920 –> 00:23:40,180 dramatic life change. 372 00:23:40,180 –> 00:23:44,239 Jesus followed this path. 373 00:23:45,880 –> 00:23:48,280 He did not ask, how can I get even? 374 00:23:49,199 –> 00:23:52,339 He asked, how can I act redemptively? 375 00:23:54,199 –> 00:23:55,380 And in his suffering, 376 00:23:55,380 –> 00:23:57,619 the issue was what course of action 377 00:23:57,619 –> 00:24:01,739 will lead to highly resistant people coming to glorify God? 378 00:24:01,739 –> 00:24:04,459 What course of action will lead to the healing 379 00:24:06,300 –> 00:24:08,079 of these appalling wounds? 380 00:24:09,060 –> 00:24:13,319 What course of action will lead people to come back 381 00:24:13,319 –> 00:24:15,020 to the great shepherd of the sheep? 382 00:24:15,959 –> 00:24:19,319 And the answer was that Jesus bearing our sins 383 00:24:19,319 –> 00:24:22,339 in his own body would do that. 384 00:24:22,339 –> 00:24:24,800 That Jesus not retaliating would do that. 385 00:24:26,359 –> 00:24:29,479 And so he chose to act redemptively. 386 00:24:30,400 –> 00:24:32,300 And when he chose to act redemptively, 387 00:24:32,300 –> 00:24:35,459 he made room for reconciliation. 388 00:24:36,300 –> 00:24:39,160 And that is why Peter says in these beautiful words 389 00:24:39,160 –> 00:24:43,140 that it is by his wounds 390 00:24:43,880 –> 00:24:47,060 that we are healed. 391 00:24:48,459 –> 00:24:50,819 Now, let’s remind ourselves of our objective. 392 00:24:51,939 –> 00:24:54,459 Our objective as believers in this world 393 00:24:54,459 –> 00:24:57,339 is to live in such a way 394 00:24:57,339 –> 00:24:59,560 that people who are deeply resistant 395 00:24:59,560 –> 00:25:01,699 to the good news of Jesus Christ 396 00:25:01,699 –> 00:25:04,599 will come to glorify God. 397 00:25:05,979 –> 00:25:09,739 And if we really want that to happen in our community, 398 00:25:09,739 –> 00:25:12,959 in our places of work, and in our homes, 399 00:25:13,219 –> 00:25:16,479 here’s the strategy to pursue, Peter says. 400 00:25:17,400 –> 00:25:21,339 This thing that you are aiming for will not happen 401 00:25:21,339 –> 00:25:24,640 if you go around using deception, 402 00:25:24,640 –> 00:25:27,599 if you go about retaliating, 403 00:25:27,599 –> 00:25:30,439 if we go about making threats. 404 00:25:30,439 –> 00:25:32,959 This great objective will be achieved 405 00:25:32,959 –> 00:25:35,119 as we follow the example of Jesus, 406 00:25:35,119 –> 00:25:37,959 who trusted himself into the hands 407 00:25:37,959 –> 00:25:39,680 of him who judges justly 408 00:25:39,680 –> 00:25:42,079 and bore our sins in his body on the tree. 409 00:25:42,079 –> 00:25:45,099 He acted Redemptively, 410 00:25:46,619 –> 00:25:48,359 and it is in this way 411 00:25:49,359 –> 00:25:51,880 that change in the hardest situations 412 00:25:51,880 –> 00:25:55,119 will come about in this broken world. 413 00:25:57,239 –> 00:26:01,119 Now, this calls for great wisdom. 414 00:26:03,319 –> 00:26:05,400 I want you to hear me very carefully here 415 00:26:05,400 –> 00:26:09,640 because we’re talking about the exercise of freedom 416 00:26:10,579 –> 00:26:12,760 and judgments have to be made. 417 00:26:13,599 –> 00:26:16,640 Choices are the essence of freedom. 418 00:26:20,619 –> 00:26:25,000 If you’re asking the question in a situation of conflict, 419 00:26:27,500 –> 00:26:32,160 what course of action is going to be redemptive here? 420 00:26:34,199 –> 00:26:37,260 That question will give you direction 421 00:26:37,319 –> 00:26:40,880 for the course of action you should choose. 422 00:26:42,859 –> 00:26:47,459 There may be situations in which the best hope of redemption 423 00:26:49,479 –> 00:26:51,479 lies in confrontation. 424 00:26:52,819 –> 00:26:59,520 It may be that God has placed you close to someone who lives in denial of a destructive pattern, 425 00:27:00,500 –> 00:27:07,160 and love means painful confrontation. It’s got to be brought out into the open. 426 00:27:09,239 –> 00:27:12,199 An example of that in the Bible was when King David 427 00:27:13,040 –> 00:27:16,680 had committed a secret sin and God sent the Prophet Nathan to 428 00:27:16,839 –> 00:27:22,859 eyeball with him and to confront him and to expose it and to bring it out into the open. There may be a 429 00:27:23,260 –> 00:27:25,260 situation in which that is 430 00:27:25,560 –> 00:27:32,359 precisely the thing that needs to be done in order to open the door to redeeming grace. And unless it’s done, 431 00:27:32,359 –> 00:27:35,000 it is very unlikely that any change will ever happen. 432 00:27:37,020 –> 00:27:39,020 There are situations in 433 00:27:39,760 –> 00:27:41,760 which it is right 434 00:27:41,800 –> 00:27:45,140 to bring a matter for justice in a court of law. 435 00:27:46,420 –> 00:27:52,439 There are situations in which it is right for a church to exercise church discipline. 436 00:27:52,859 –> 00:27:54,859 But 437 00:27:55,199 –> 00:27:57,380 there are other situations in 438 00:27:58,920 –> 00:28:04,319 which your action will be guided by a decision to absorb pain. And 439 00:28:06,000 –> 00:28:12,439 in absorbing pain, to quietly, and in private, and eyeball-to-eyeball 440 00:28:13,959 –> 00:28:15,959 to exercise forgiveness. 441 00:28:17,500 –> 00:28:19,859 Because love covers a 442 00:28:20,739 –> 00:28:22,739 multitude of sins. 443 00:28:23,660 –> 00:28:26,479 The question we have to ask in 444 00:28:27,560 –> 00:28:32,060 making this discernment is simply the principle that Jesus followed. 445 00:28:33,359 –> 00:28:39,099 What course of action is going to bring the best chance, as best we can judge it, of 446 00:28:39,839 –> 00:28:42,819 a breakthrough of God’s grace? 447 00:28:45,560 –> 00:28:48,459 Freedom means you have a choice. 448 00:28:50,859 –> 00:28:54,500 And, to quote from the Old Testament Scriptures, it’s a very beautiful passage in Ecclesiastes, 449 00:28:55,280 –> 00:28:58,160 there is a time to embrace, and 450 00:28:58,920 –> 00:29:00,920 there is a time to refrain. 451 00:29:01,660 –> 00:29:03,699 There is a time to tear, and 452 00:29:04,380 –> 00:29:06,380 there is a time to mend. 453 00:29:06,819 –> 00:29:08,819 There is a time to speak, and 454 00:29:09,540 –> 00:29:11,540 there is a time to be silent. 455 00:29:11,540 –> 00:29:13,719 There is a time for us to fight, and 456 00:29:14,280 –> 00:29:19,520 there is a time to refrain from fighting. And you say, that’s such a beautiful passage. 457 00:29:19,520 –> 00:29:22,359 But, how do you discern the time? 458 00:29:23,880 –> 00:29:26,260 The answer is, you remember the objective. 459 00:29:27,479 –> 00:29:29,479 That’s what Jesus did. 460 00:29:30,140 –> 00:29:37,599 And, everything about his response to suffering was geared to the objective of us dying to sin, and living to righteousness, 461 00:29:38,119 –> 00:29:41,920 returning to the shepherd and overseer of our souls. It was to act 462 00:29:42,640 –> 00:29:48,780 redemptively. That’s what guided and directed his choices. And Peter says, that’s how its to be for us too. 463 00:29:49,800 –> 00:29:51,800 Don’t ask, how can I get even? 464 00:29:52,439 –> 00:29:57,280 Don’t ask, how can I get my own back? Don’t ask, how can I win? 465 00:29:58,680 –> 00:30:02,880 Ask, how can I act redemptively? 466 00:30:02,939 –> 00:30:11,900 What would I do that, as best I can judge it, would open the door 467 00:30:12,719 –> 00:30:14,439 for God’s 468 00:30:14,439 –> 00:30:15,739 redeeming, 469 00:30:15,739 –> 00:30:19,280 life-changing love to touch this hard 470 00:30:20,119 –> 00:30:21,180 and difficult 471 00:30:21,180 –> 00:30:23,780 circumstance in which I find myself. 472 00:30:25,400 –> 00:30:27,819 And remember that the impact of your life 473 00:30:28,800 –> 00:30:31,500 will depend in large measure on 474 00:30:32,300 –> 00:30:35,060 the way that you use your freedom. 475 00:30:37,180 –> 00:30:42,540 Acting redemptively is much more important than being heard. 476 00:30:44,719 –> 00:30:48,660 Acting redemptively is much more important than winning the argument. 477 00:30:50,599 –> 00:30:54,900 Acting redemptively is much more important than getting your rights. 478 00:30:55,380 –> 00:31:02,800 See, sometimes we get so drilled into one little conflict—whether it be at the 479 00:31:02,800 –> 00:31:06,219 school or in the church or in the neighborhood or in the home—and we’re 480 00:31:06,219 –> 00:31:10,119 so into this one little conflict and we’re so determined to win the battle 481 00:31:10,119 –> 00:31:13,599 that we lose the war. 482 00:31:15,380 –> 00:31:17,119 Now, Peter says, keep your eye on the big picture. 483 00:31:17,119 –> 00:31:18,420 What are we about here? 484 00:31:18,420 –> 00:31:22,160 We’re about the kind of action that’s going to lead hard and 485 00:31:22,359 –> 00:31:24,160 desire and action that’s going to lead 486 00:31:24,160 –> 00:31:26,959 hardened and resistant people one day to glorify God. 487 00:31:26,959 –> 00:31:29,979 Think about what might do that— 488 00:31:29,979 –> 00:31:32,420 far more important than winning on any one issue. 489 00:31:32,420 –> 00:31:39,780 Now, the Bible does not offer guaranteed outcomes of any 490 00:31:39,780 –> 00:31:47,060 choices, but it is telling us that if we are serious about seeing deep change in 491 00:31:47,380 –> 00:31:50,579 hard situations, this is the path. 492 00:31:54,420 –> 00:31:57,140 So for example, if your spouse is not a believer, 493 00:31:59,380 –> 00:32:02,579 you have to exercise wise udgment in the way you use your freedom. 494 00:32:03,459 –> 00:32:06,900 There may be times when it’s more important to go to a ball game than a Bible study. 495 00:32:08,260 –> 00:32:09,780 If you’re thinking about the objective, 496 00:32:09,780 –> 00:32:22,579 use your freedom in the light of what it is that you’re seeking to see accomplish. 497 00:32:28,420 –> 00:32:37,219 I want to encourage in these last moments today, some in this church — and you 498 00:32:37,859 –> 00:32:43,540 — could have ended your marriage. You have biblical grounds to do so. 499 00:32:45,380 –> 00:32:50,660 You could have walked, and you had verses in the Bible that you could have used to support 500 00:32:50,660 –> 00:32:59,859 that decision. You had that choice. But you used your freedom in a different way, 501 00:33:00,819 –> 00:33:04,819 because you wanted to act redemptively. 502 00:33:07,619 –> 00:33:15,219 And there are strong homes in this church today, because in a moment of pain such a decision was 503 00:33:15,219 –> 00:33:26,420 made. Retaliation is easy. Redemption is hard. There are others in this congregation, 504 00:33:26,420 –> 00:33:37,719 and you could have brought—and probably won—a lawsuit. You had a good case, but you chose to 505 00:33:37,719 –> 00:33:48,300 act redemptively. And one day in heaven your reward will be far greater than the check you 506 00:33:48,300 –> 00:33:59,099 might have had. You used your freedom. You acted redemptively. There are others in this fellowship 507 00:33:59,099 –> 00:34:08,020 and you have been wounded. You could have broken fellowship. You could have spread gossip. You 508 00:34:08,020 –> 00:34:17,840 could have stirred up division, but you made a different choice. You used your God-given freedom 509 00:34:17,899 –> 00:34:32,159 and you acted redemptively. We will not win our community by insisting on our rights. We 510 00:34:32,159 –> 00:34:41,840 will win our community by acts of kindness and deeds of mercy. We will not change our places 511 00:34:41,840 –> 00:34:50,300 of work by endless conflict. We will win our places of work by the quality and the spirit 512 00:34:50,300 –> 00:34:57,659 of what we do. We will not heal our marriages by insisting on our own way. We will heal 513 00:34:57,659 –> 00:35:06,020 our marriages by grace and by kindness and by restraint by the gentle and quiet Spirit 514 00:35:06,179 –> 00:35:15,179 that is of great worth in God’s sight. And in a world that is consumed by conflict, God 515 00:35:15,179 –> 00:35:23,540 has given to us the freedom to make a different choice that reflects the character and the 516 00:35:23,659 –> 00:35:36,899 example of Jesus. He changed the world. And he left an example that we may follow in his 517 00:35:36,899 –> 00:35:42,620 footsteps. Lets pray together. 518 00:35:42,620 –> 00:35:48,820 Perhaps every one of us is aware of some situation of conflict in which we could make the situation 519 00:35:48,959 –> 00:35:55,959 worse, or we could receive the Word of God and make a choice to act redemptively. 520 00:36:03,439 –> 00:36:10,439 There will very probably be a situation this week in which words are spoken, and we could 521 00:36:11,439 –> 00:36:18,439 retaliate, or we could act redemptively. Lord, this world does not need us adding to 522 00:36:24,540 –> 00:36:31,540 its conflict. It needs those who, marked by the Spirit of Christ, bring healing where 523 00:36:32,540 –> 00:36:39,540 there are wounds. Thank You for the freedom that comes to those who have the power of 524 00:36:44,260 –> 00:36:51,260 the Spirit, those who know that there is a God who judges justly. Graciously we pray, 525 00:36:52,159 –> 00:36:59,159 graciously we pray. Enable us to use that freedom to make choices that promote healing, 526 00:37:02,560 –> 00:37:09,560 that open the path for grace, that we may have that indescribable joy of seeing some 527 00:37:12,139 –> 00:37:19,139 hardened and resistant people come to glorify You on that last day when You visit us. Hear 528 00:37:19,139 –> 00:37:27,100 our prayers in Jesus’ name. Amen.