I'm reading the first three verses, but I'm just going to be reading the first two. That was a mistake on my part. So 1 Peter chapter 1 can be found on page 1014 or 1014 of the Pew Bibles. 1 Peter chapter 1, reading the first two verses. Before I read, would you please join me once again in seeking the Lord in prayer. Lord, you have given your church the word and sacraments. You've given the church preaching that we as your sheep may hear the voice of our shepherd. that we may hear what He has accomplished for us and who we are as a result of His perfect and complete work. And so, Lord, I pray that You would send Your Spirit, that we may receive the ministry of the Spirit, to be warmed in the joy of salvation and what we have, to be renewed in hope, and to be able to cherish Christ. I pray, Lord, that You would accomplish Your purposes in preaching this evening. Pray this in Jesus' name, amen. 1 Peter 1, the first two verses. Please give your attention to God's word. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit. for obedience to Jesus Christ, and for sprinkling with His blood. May grace and peace be multiplied to you." When you meet a Christian, you have assumptions. You, as a believer, when you meet another Christian, you have assumptions about this individual. Most of them are theological. You believe that Jesus is the Christ. You believe the Bible is the Word of God. You're attending a worshiping community, although, unfortunately, that's in decline. But when a Christian meets an unbeliever, someone who's not a part of the church, they also have assumptions. As soon as you meet this individual and you say, yes, I am a Christian, they feel like they can peg you on almost every issue. Oh, you're a Christian? I know how you feel about the states, war, the political party, climate, women, sex. I can peg you on every issue. Well, Peter's writing to a group of Christians. And he has some assumptions about them as well, things that he knows to be true. And he loads up these assumptions all in the first two verses. Peter's assumed that the Christians that he is writing to are elect exiles. That's kind of a weird term, right? We don't usually mesh those things together. There's elect, which is like being chosen and desired, all these great feelings, and then exiles. Which, one commentator said, you know, exile's a lot like being poor, and being poor isn't necessarily something to be embarrassed about, but you're not going to boast about it either. But Peter brings these two words together. It's a bit like saying, chosen strangers, or honored outcasts. That on one sense, you are elect and chosen, but in another sense, you are outside of something, or you don't properly belong to a specific realm. But these two things that don't work together for us, work for Peter. Because he says this is according to God's plan, right? This is according to God's foreknowledge, that He chose you, Christian, to be an elect exile. And that this identity is a result of the sanctifying work of the Spirit. And as God has chosen you to be an elect exile, this is for obedience to Jesus Christ, because you have been sprinkled by His blood. You have been set apart and made pure to serve God and honor Him as elect exiles. This exile language, or stranger and foreigner language, is a controlling theme for 1 Peter. You'll remember that when we were going through 1 Peter here and 2 Peter, John and I both mentioned that the Christians that Peter is writing to, they're encountering some persecution, some suffering. Now, this isn't martyrdom, right? You're getting your head chopped off. Unfortunately, we'll get there at some point in history, but not yet. But they're experiencing a different kind of persecution. That here they are, the chosen people of God, right smack dab in the middle of people who don't like them. We don't want Christians shopping in our markets. We don't want Christians to hold public office here. We don't want you on our work guilds. And for even some of them, we don't want Christians in our families. Now, what do you do with that? Where your presence, the fact that you named the name of Christ, raises suspicion. People don't really know how they feel about you being around. You know, they don't really want people like you. Well, Peter says, in some senses, this is inevitable. God chose you. He took you out of your native land, out of these groups and these classifications of society, and He called you to be His people. His chosen race, His priesthood, His holy nation. So you're not going to belong. Because God has chosen you to be an elect exile, you're not going to really be able to be one of the gods. You are purposed to serve God, to belong to Him, to be a part of a new humanity that He has established. So, in 1 Peter, he writes to them about what life is like as elect Exiles. What does this mean, Peter? We're in exile, okay, what does it mean? This is going along with our evening series, God Sustaining His People in Difficult Times. Now, I have a hunch here, I think it's right, so maybe this is stronger than a hunch, that during this series, where we've been talking about God sustaining His people in difficult times, you've heard one sermon theme, and you thought, yeah, you're preaching directly to me. I'm experiencing that right now. Then there may have been other topics where he said, you know what, I do know Christians who are experiencing that, and I hope they hear this sermon, but this doesn't really relate to me. Well, when we talk about exile, Peter ensures us that being elect exile is a central part of the Christian identity. It is a theme that applies to every Christian. Now, this would be experienced on different levels. So, for instance, some Christians may be rejected from their families. You're a Christian, we don't want you in this family anymore. But their Christian faith really hasn't caused difficulty at the workplace or in their society, maybe. Now there are other places where being a Christian is loved and cheered for in your family, but when you go to work, it's a whole different picture. You know, you're one of those Christians. So we ask Peter, what is your message to us elect exiles? Tell us how we are sustained during this difficulty and what that means, Peter. The first thing that Peter does is he shows us exactly what kind of exiles we are. Now, Peter has certainly confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, that Jesus is the one who the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms are all longing for. Jesus is God's anointed King. And because Peter is also Jewish, he is deeply influenced and shaped by the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament. And so Peter knows there's two ways you can be an exile. The first way, God kicks you out of the land. So as Peter is reading Kings and Chronicles, he can say, yep, you guys broke covenant with God, you turned your back on him, you trampled over his patience and his love, and so you guys got kicked out. The Assyrians came in 722 for the northern kingdom, and Babylon for 586 in the southern kingdom, just in case any of you guys end up on the floor of the Presbyterian exam. Now, of course, with that, the Lord says that I'm actually bringing you out of the land, right? I'm using these different armies, but it's me. You've broken covenant with me, and I'm bringing you out of the land. But you can also be in exile when God calls you to a land. Now, what do I mean? Well, remember that another crucial component to our identity is that we are children of Abraham. Abraham, this man of faith, we are called to walk in the faith of Abraham, and Abraham is an exile. In Genesis 23, he refers to himself as a stranger, a foreigner, the same language that Peter uses for Christians in chapter 2. Abraham was called by God to go into a kind of exile. It comes to him in Genesis 12 and says, leave your native land, leave your father's house, and begin this pilgrimage. sojourn to the land that I will show you." And of course, the author of Hebrews says that Abraham was seeking a better country, a heavenly one. Abraham is not displaced or in exile because God is judging him or punishing him for his sins. But Abraham is a man of promise. This is why he can't be one of the guys or a native, because the Lord has blessed him with promises. And Christian, this is what Peter says about you. You're not an elect exile because God is punishing you. You're not allowed to be one of the guys or a native because you're not smart enough, good enough, or with the in-crowd. But the Lord has greater purposes for you. You have been blessed by Him, and He has promised that you will inherit His place in His kingdom, that you will participate in the new heavens and the new earth. And this is why Peter calls us elect exiles. because we have been chosen. Now, of course, as this letter is being read, there's got to be some brother or sister in Pontus or Cappadocia who's like, you're saying that, you know, that we're blessed and all this stuff, but we're getting treated terribly, Peter. Nobody likes us. It's hard going. What do you have to say about that? Which I think makes Peter's movements in verses three through five, all the way to verse six, pretty interesting. So in verses three through four, he says that we've been born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that we have been made new. And then where does he go in verse four? Inheritance, a promised land that's imperishable, undefiled and unfading and kept in heaven for you. And so Peter says that you've been made new. You have shared in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and called to a land. And Peter immediately expects that this is going to cause suffering and tension. Because where does he go in verse 6? In this you rejoice. You rejoice that you've been made new. You rejoice that you have received these promises for God. Though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. Peter writes to these exiles and says, I know you're being grieved by various trials. But He encourages them to remember that these difficulties serve as a fire to refine your faith, to purify it, that also your suffering will result in praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. You know, it's pretty interesting if we were to read through Genesis and Revelation, trying to take note of individuals who are described as being loved by God, those who He delights in, we would notice that they don't always live very comfortable or easy lives, which is kind of counterintuitive to what we naturally think. I'm blessed by the Lord, life needs to be a breeze. God loves me, nothing should be difficult for me. No tension should exist for those who are cherished and loved by God. But it doesn't work that way. We see that often those who the Lord calls experience suffering and difficulty. Earlier I referenced Abraham calling himself a stranger or a sojourner. He refers to himself this way in Genesis 23, but you could ask, what's going on in Genesis 23? Get this. Abraham has just lost his wife, Sarah. So we can imagine his grieving that his wife is gone. And he has to bargain to find a burial plot for her in a land that God promised to be his. So here he is bargaining for a place to bury his wife in the land that God has said, I'm calling you to inherit this land. Does that sound like something that can cause some tension? Here I am with these promises, and yet I have to bargain just to get a burial plot for my wife. Thankfully, nowhere in the letter does Peter say that being in elect exile is easy. And I say thankfully, because it forces us to acknowledge that just because I'm not comfortable, it doesn't mean that the Lord has not called me to these experiences, this place of tension and setting. Peter says, make sure when you are suffering, you suffer like a Christian. Which means, one, don't be surprised when it happens, right? That's chapter 4, verse 12. Don't be surprised by the fiery trial, because you will share in Christ's glory after you share in His sufferings. He also says that you will suffer for practicing righteousness, and you will be talked about. That's in chapter 2 and 3. Peter says the surrounding world will talk about you like you're an evildoer. That they will be noticing your good deeds, the ways in which you are trying to glorify God, but they won't see it that way. In fact, you will even suffer unjustly, innocently. And Peter says that this is a gracious thing in the sight of God, to suffer. innocently. We were going through 1 Peter some months back. John said something in the sermon that was so good, I think it should be preached again. He kind of led us on this little bit of a question here where he started off saying, can you think of someone else who suffered innocently? Someone who has no sin and yet dives right in to suffering and glorifies God as a result of it. To which we all kind of maybe slightly under our breath said, Jesus, he's talking about Jesus. And then John says, well, isn't that a comfort when you're suffering? When you are suffering innocently, that you are being like Jesus. That we are sharing in the suffering of our Lord when we have not committed evil or wrong, and yet are suffering. Which is kind of interesting, because it might have to change the way we talk to God when we're suffering. You know, sometimes you're suffering, you're in pain, you're having a hard time, somebody's treating you unfairly, and you haven't done anything wrong, you can look up to God and say, why are you letting this happen? Of course, you don't yell at God like that, right? But what if the Lord were to respond to you, well, didn't you say you wanted to be like Jesus? Didn't you say you wanted to share in His suffering, to see the glory of Christ, to see how much He loves you? Well, part of that is sharing in this kind of suffering, where you are innocent, you are practicing righteousness, and yet you are experiencing difficulty. When you are suffering that way, you have no reason to be ashamed. This is another thing that Peter says. Don't be ashamed of your suffering. When you are experiencing difficulty and suffering, don't hide it. Don't buy into shame. In fact, he says in chapter 2, that honor belongs to you, Christian, because you believe in the chief cornerstone. And so when you suffer for believing in the name of Christ, don't let shame that people try to heap on you have any hold. Because honor belongs to you. Which is a mind-blowing thing to think that God would honor sinners. But He does. Peter says, don't be ashamed of your suffering. Another thing that Peter says, or excuse me, another thing that Peter doesn't say, about suffering is don't brag about it. Don't brag about your suffering. Now, I don't think this applies to anybody here, but I think it's a worthwhile note. Maybe you've seen somewhere some sort of tweet, some sort of social media post, where someone had said, I'm suffering because I'm such a bold, courageous Christian. And if you're not suffering like me, well, you're not a bold and courageous Christian. Well, our older brother Peter would hear that and say, I think you're missing all these other portions in my letter. Yes, I am saying that that the Gentiles, right, the unbelievers will talk about you, you will suffer. But did you notice how I said talk with them when you're giving this defense of the hope you have talked with them with gentleness and respect. Yes, when the authorities tell you to blaspheme against Christ or to serve the Emperor, resist, but still treat these human institutions with respect. And when you can obey, obey. You're also forgetting that I said, with humility, obey your elders. Submit to those who are watching over your souls. There's a version of Peter's suffering that attracts hot-headed Christians. But that's not what Peter is saying. Suffer for doing good. And so when you see those kinds of posts trying to shame you for not being a big, bold, courageous Christian, don't buy into that. There truly are our brothers and sisters whose zeal for the gospel, their boldness for seeing the message go throughout all the nations, has caused intense persecution. We should pray for them and remember them, but there are also those who have ignored humility, modesty, and respect, and are not practicing Christian resistance, but are making a show of themselves. Well, being an elect exile is tough. But thankfully, it's also temporary. And this temporary component shows up in 1 Peter in two ways. One, as a basis of hope, and also as a call to righteous living. If you want to sound like a Westminster student, you would say, eschatology and ethics, your future hope and how you live. Earlier I said Peter is familiar with a couple different kinds of exile. When he talks about the cause of our status as in exile, we're more like Abraham. We've been promised, we've been called to follow God to a land that he has made for his people. But that doesn't mean that there isn't any parallels between us and the exilic generation that we read about in Kings, Chronicles, or the Prophets. One, and again, I just do want to reiterate this, it's not like we sinned against God and he said, oh, you've broken my law, so now I'm banishing you to Jenkintown. Again, the cause of our status is not punishment. But Peter does see a little bit of a parallel between the church's situation as elect exiles and what he would read about. as the generation was in Assyria, in Babylon. Every time he uses Old Testament passages, the bulk of them, Ezekiel 9, Isaiah 40-55, deal with those who were sent into exile. Even at the end of the letter, he writes this, she who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings. So here, Peter is writing to these group of Christians in Asia Minor, And he says that these other group of chosen Christians are in Babylon. He's trying to symbolize in a hostile place for Christians to be. Many believe he's referring to Rome. We know through early church historians that Peter spent a lot of time in Rome, doing a lot of ministry there, and eventually is martyred there under Nero. But one of the main ways that Peter sees this connection between you, Christian, the church, and the Israelite generation that was in exile, that your day-to-day life as God's people is right in the midst of a hostile environment. You are Jerusalem directly in Babylon. You are to practice righteousness and glorify God right in the midst of idolatry and all types of grievous sins and wrongs and ills in our society. And so Peter's message sounds very similar to what we hear the prophets say to the Israelites in exile, both before exile and during it. And the two main notes that the prophets who preach during this time is this. One, this is temporary. You're not going to be in exile forever. Christian, you are not going to be in exile forever. God will return. He will deliver you and bring you into the land of promise. And this is what Peter hits. the chief shepherd will return and give his brothers and sisters a crown of unfading glory. And those who have rejected this chief cornerstone will be crushed." And the second note that we find in the prophets that Peter also brings up is, hey, while you're there, living in this foreign land, live as citizens of Zion. Live as kingdom people. When you can do good for your society, do it. But if you are asked to compromise your faith, or to elevate someone above Jesus Christ, resist. I think sometimes the do good emphasis can be played down. Sometimes when we're talking about certain passages in particular, like Jeremiah 29, we're usually asking, does it apply to me that the Lord knows the plans for me? As opposed to saying, should I also be seeking the good and welfare of my city? We usually don't go straight to that one. We want to know about God's thoughts towards us rather than How should I be thinking, praying, figuring out ways to bless the location that I am in as an elect exile? And this is what Peter tells the people as well. While you are in exile as sojourners, do good. Abstain from the passions of the flesh. Live for the will of God. Use your gifts as stewards of God's grace. Do good. And stick together. This is the second note. Stick together. Practice sincere brotherly love. Keep loving one another earnestly. Show hospitality. Remember your brothers and sisters and the suffering that they are experiencing. Now, one of those things is a little bit harder than the other, right? Doing good, you can kind of do that by yourself. But sticking together, well, that's hard. What is that going to require? It's going to require us to acknowledge our differences, our diversities, our different backgrounds and thoughts on things. And instead of reaching for those as a reason to be divided or to hold someone at arm's length, we need to cling to our status that we are exiles. We are brothers and sisters longing for the same fulfillment, that this person who may view an issue differently than I do, we're going to the same place. And so we should stick together. We get this in one level. I remember when I spent some time in Virginia, I wasn't thinking about differences. For me, I was in the South. So whoever sounded like they were from the East Coast, had East Coast, you know, hobbies or interests, come here, we're together, because this is a very different place for me. And so we get it in one level. But here in the church, so easily, we can allow insignificant things to keep us apart, to separate us. rather than focusing that we are longing for the new heavens and the new earth together. That God has not only called you to a promised land, but the person next to you, or behind you. Or, as Peter summarizes, I think quite well, while you are in exile, honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the Emperor. Re-reading 1 Peter, I was struck by Most of the times in the letter, when Peter is calling us to obedience, or exhorting us, as he says in the later portion of the letter, he's always expecting Gentiles to be around, those who are outside of the Church, that they're going to see you do these things. And he's assuming two different responses. You have the one response of pessimism, or they're going to be shocked that you're not participating in the same idolatry, and wrongs, and greed, and sensuality as they are. But he also says that there's a missional aspect, and by missional I mean a way that God grows the Church as believers are in exile. That as you are around these people, glorifying God, doing good, keeping your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, people will want to know about God. And I think it's pretty interesting because it shows how different of a preacher Peter is. Because if I was trying to think of an example in which your conduct might win your neighbor, or win someone outside of the church, I would say, you know, at your places of work, maybe at school. But Peter goes to marriage. In 1 Peter chapter 3, he says, Wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, so what is he talking about? A Christian woman who has an unbelieving husband. He says that they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives. You remember that this is being read out loud to this gathering community. And I think Peter's doing that for two reasons. One, because he wants wives in that congregation with unbelieving husbands to say that I can win my husband prayerfully, pleading with the Lord, and by keeping my conduct in righteousness in a way that reflects God, he may be won. But two, that as this is being read out loud, each and every Christian and who is related to that sister by the blood of Christ, must commit themselves to pray for her missional efforts. That we would not just say, no, she married an unbeliever, but we would be praying for this sister. Lord, strengthen her in the suffering that she is experiencing, and help her to continue to honor you with her good deeds. That as she shares in your suffering, that you would hear her prayers, hear our prayers, Lord, and deliver this man, save her husband. This is one of the ways that God grows the Church, the people of God living as citizens of His kingdom, right in Philadelphia. That would cause some to say, those people are crazy, and cause others in your places of work or family to say, you still sound crazy, but I'll hear more about this. Tell me more. I'll learn more. Church, you have a calling that is both glorious and difficult. You are elect exiles. And the way that God will sustain you during this difficulty is that he will use your suffering to bring him glory, strengthen your brothers, and refine your faith. That your good deeds will bring him glory and be a witness to the world, watching the church, your neighbors, your family members, your co-workers. And in his time, he will crown you with glory. and welcome you into the promised land. So this week, church, glorify God by doing good. Suffer as a Christian. Stick together with your brothers and sisters and continue to long for the chief shepherd to return. Let's pray. Lord, we ask and pray as the early church prayed, come quickly, Lord. return and bring an end to the wrongs and ills of our world, the wickedness that is so prevalent, and bring your kingdom. But Lord, if you, in your wisdom, decide to carry, strengthen your church, that we may be citizens of Zion right here in Philadelphia, in the greater Philadelphia area, Lord. Help us to love one another, to stick together, As John said earlier at the Lord's Supper, that we are brothers and sisters by adoption, that we are together. And so help us to remember each other's sufferings, to pray for each other and give us strength so that we may be like Jesus. That when we are called to suffer, though we have done no wrong, we would not shrink in shame or fear, but we would be strengthened to share in his sufferings, knowing that we will share in his glory. We pray for those within the church or presbytery or denomination, Christians worldwide, who are in a marriage where the spouse is an unbeliever. Strengthen them and hear their prayers. Hear our prayers, Lord, that they would be saved, that the unbelieving spouse would be saved, and that their marriage would be a testament not only to godly conduct, but also that you are still working and difficult and dark situations, that You are still the God of resurrection, bringing those who are dead and sinning to life. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.