O come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant Before we turn to God's word, let us join in a prayer for illumination. Almighty triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Creator, Savior, and Comforter, we turn to you with joy because of your forgiving grace in Jesus Christ. And with thankful hearts, we turn to you to praise your name by submitting to your sovereign will. and we pray fill us with your spirit and enable us to hear Christ as he teaches us how to live in fellowship with you, a way of grace, the way of the cross. We know the cross was a horror to Jesus and yet it was the way to life and grace. So for us to bear the cross, our cross is not a pleasure and yet it is the way of life and grace. So let us see Jesus as he instructs us to deny ourselves to take up our cross and follow him in anticipation of the eternal inheritance he has planned for all his people. Remove all anxiety so that we may sit at your feet fully enjoying you, basking in the beauty of your holiness, learning to live in fear. In Christ we pray, amen. Our scripture reading is from 1 Peter, chapter 1. I'll read the first 21 verses and the text will be the last from 17 to 21. You won't remember this but the last time I was preached here we did the previous verses that set before us the necessity of living according to a divine pattern And so he's just picking up from that point. But to get the context and to remember where we've come from, we'll read the first 21 verses. Here are the word of the Lord. 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 and the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood, may grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, If necessary, you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes over it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully. inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things in which the angels long to look. Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you with the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy. And this is where our text begins. And if you call on him as father, who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown for the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. May God bless to us the reading of his holy word. Dear people of God, called to be saints, one of the earliest Words children learn. Boo! Some of you got startled. That's what happens to children. They're shocked because what they love startled them. Then they get used to it. And they laugh. And it's a good game. And then they learn to fear other things. Fear. It's something we dread, and it's something we enjoy. People do enjoy horror movies, stream rides that make us face some of our worst fears. Some fear is good, like being afraid a riptide or being burnt by fire. Yet fear can overwhelm us and become very inhibiting. Today you see that people are fearful of politicians, people are afraid of losing freedoms, people are afraid of global terrorism, extreme weather shifts, Pandemics. People fear what's going on in our schools, what's going on in our cell phones. Fear is so prevalent that our schools and our workplaces now need safe places because people are afraid of anyone. who disagrees with them, with their choices, with their lifestyles, with their views. Psychologically, they say that fear comes from the anxiety over losing what you love. So you might lose peace, you might lose identity, you might lose money, you might lose, and you can go on. It's a little deeper than that. The basis of all fear, of all anxiety, is really the fear of our Creator God. He made us to live in fellowship with Him. And if we're not in fellowship with Him, we hide like our parents. And we live in fear. All of us are by nature born as children of wrath. And thus, unless we are born again, we will refuse to acknowledge God and we will manufacture idols. John Calvin says our hearts are idol factories. And we have a society. in which people are manufacturing all sorts of idols because at the basis of it, they are afraid of God. Even many people who are raised in the church are afraid of God. They're afraid of the holy. They're afraid of denying themselves. They're afraid of having to give up what they've become attached to. And so they give up on the church. They neglect worship and they immerse themselves into other religions where they don't have to give up anything. And a lot of churches pander to that, where people are more afraid of what people have to say than what God says. And there are people who are afraid of God, and they don't neglect worship. They make sure they're in worship. They make sure they give in the offering. They make sure they're active in helping other people in all the good works that they can do. Out of fear of God, they are anxious to do everything he says that they have to do. They're not really very happy about it all. It's something they do because they are afraid. The fear in our society is because people do not know God as their father. Jesus as their savior. and the Holy Spirit as their comforter. Scripture teaches us in Hebrews 2.15 that Jesus came to deliver all those who, through fear of death, were subject to lifelong slavery. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, says that Jesus' salvation means that we, being delivered from the hands of our enemies, might serve God without fear in holiness and righteousness all our days. John writes, there's no fear in love. Perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment. And whoever fears has not been perfected in love, 1 John 4. Over 70 times you hear a variation of the phrase, do not be afraid, be strong and courageous. The antidote to this fear is to fear God rightly. Our text calls us to conduct ourselves with fear and gives us the reasons why we should do so. Don't be afraid. but fear all the days of your life. It's the biblical message. Remember when Israel came to Mount Sinai and they all had to gather at the foot of the mountain and God came down and there was thunder and there was lightning and smoke billowed up from the mountain and then there was a blast of a trumpet and the people backed away from the mountain in fear And Moses says to the people, don't be afraid. For God has come to test you. That the fear of him may be upon you. That you may not sin. The whole point is he's calling the people to holiness. And they have to know God. Don't be afraid. He's redeeming you. But know who he is. Same idea is echoed in Samuel, when Israel becomes fearful after they chose Saul as king. And they repented of that. And then, Samuel says, don't be afraid. God has no intention of destroying all the people, but fear the Lord and serve him with all your heart. 1 Samuel 12, it's worth reading the whole chapter. Over 300 times, the scripture tells us in one form or another to fear God. A lot of churches like to erase that word out and replace it with the word reverence, or respect, which is fine. That's an aspect of it, but fear has much more. But for example, Proverbs 1, verse 7, Proverbs 9, 10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. David prays in Psalm 86, teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth, Unite my heart to fear your name. Let my heart be one in the fear of your name. Isaiah 33 verse six teaches that the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure. Mary sings that the Lord's mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. You may say, well, those are all Old Testament passages or Old Testament minded people. Well, continue reading through the New Testament, you're going to find it in many places. For example, 2 Corinthians 7 verse 1, Paul teaches that since we have God's promises, we must cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of the Lord. And then, of course, there is our text. which is in the context of preparing our hearts for action to live our lives in holiness, Peter says, if you call on him as father who is our judge and judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourself with fear throughout the time of your exile. He doesn't mean be afraid throughout the time of your exile. Don't be like the world, they don't know what we who believe know. God is our father, who has loved us in Christ, and we are to fear him and love him as a father. The NIV, in its translation, adds the word reverent fear, but it keeps the word fear. We are to live with a childlike fear. And by that it means, you know, children, they love their father, even though he punishes them. And they're a bit afraid, not just because of the punishment, but because of his displeasure. They do not want to displease their father. And that's an earthly father. Peter gives basic reasons for living in the fear of God. He begins this whole chapter by telling us about the new life we have in Christ. We are children of God. He's our father. Peter says, well, if that's the case, if you call God your father, as you have a right in Christ to do if you are a believer, then you should do so with fear. And Peter probably was thinking of the words of Malachi 1, where the prophet says, if I be a father, where is my honor? And if I be a master, where is my fear? We fear God because of who he is. That's the first motive. Who is God? Well, we would say off the cuff, we'd say he's our creator. He's the sovereign Lord of all. He's the judge who we have to face at the end of time. but he's our father. When you know God as he reveals himself in his word, we love him and live with a deep concern for his glory, his reputation in the world, and giving him the worship he desires. Childlike fear always respects a father as one they love and never seeks to disappoint. And that's the kind of fear that is necessary for a true understanding of life. Know God, respect him for his power, we sang about, for his majesty, his greatness, his absolute purity, his holiness, his justice, his love, his righteousness, his hatred of sin. If you love this God, Seek to delight in him, in his holiness, in his justice, in his love, in his righteousness. Delight in his ways and depart from wickedness. That's the whole context here. Be holy as I am holy. If we know God is our father in Christ, we have become at home with the beauty of holiness. And we do not feel at home where people enjoy impurity and unrighteousness, where they live inconsistent with the character of God. This is really what Peter is after when he talks about fearing God, It's not, be afraid, no. It's really be in awe and reverence and even trembling as we sang for a God who is so perfect and pure. How difficult it is for us to reflect that and yet understand what God has begun in Christ and by his spirit to work in you. Fear him. Worship and respect him as he has revealed himself. Peter has just said in the previous verses, we're not to conform to the patterns of the world, the patterns of selfishness, but out of respect for God and who he is, and as he wishes, we are to live as aliens and strangers in this world. And Hebrews tells us, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God with, acceptably, with reverence and awe. And then it adds this baffling statement to us, for our God is a consuming fire. This is the word of children understanding that God is this consuming holiness that cannot stand sin. And our first motive to fear is to respect God for who he is and what he has done and what he is doing in us and in the world. Our God is the judge who judges each man impartially. He does not play favorites. He knows what each one of us thinks, what each one of us does. And he judges each man impartially. And many people think, well, God's our father. It doesn't matter what we do. I'm free from his judgments. Well, if you think that way, you are obviously not a son. You're calling him a father, but you're obviously not a son. Because the Son will never say, oh, let us sin that grace may abound. Remember Israel? God will never punish us. We are Abraham's seed. And Amos said, hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt. You only have I known of all the families of the earth. Therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities. Israel was a people who were afraid of God, but at that point they were fearing the idols of the other nations. They were worshiping and serving the gods of other nations. They called God Father, but did not live as children. God judges impartially. He knows the heart. And if this judge, Peter is saying, is our father, we must then, out of love and gratitude, respect his holy character, live holy and blameless lives, seeking his glory. Not out of this fear of, oh, he's going to punish, but we are children desiring to please him, to reflect him, to be like him in this world. which means we're going to be at odds because we are going to be image bearers of God in this world. Out of respect for what he wants, out of respect for his holiness, we make sure that our hearts and lives are holy, are unconformed to the world of evil, are always looking forward to being in the new heavens and the new earth with him. To this motive, no God, Peter adds depth. I call it another motive, but it's really adding on to it. Peter says revere God for who he is, but understand what God has done. God has added you, given to you a way of escape from sin and all of its terrible consequences. Jesus has redeemed us from the empty way of life handed down from our ancestors. This empty way of life is the way of life that is ours by nature. One that is subject to wrath. One that has no reverence for God, but seeks its own pleasure and welfare. The empty way of life is a life that indulges itself in all kinds of impurity and lust. It leads to an emptiness of heart and life. People who live that way, they ignore God and they live a slow death. Their life decaying into the grave and into eternal judgment. Sin grows, it increases, and it works death. and said all of us by nature are heirs to this way of life. It's a way of life that leads to all sorts of problems and struggles. It is passed on from generation to generation unless the Spirit of God intervenes and gives new life. Peter says, we have been redeemed from this constant decay through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. For by his precious blood, we have been saved from God's anger and given a new life of purpose of consecrated service to God. When we see what God has done for us in Christ, our hearts then begin to beat with joy and we begin to reverence what the creator God has done for us. But Peter adds depth to this with another motive. We fear God not only for who he is, our father in Christ, we respect him for not only saving us out of an empty way of life that leads to death, but notice, Peter says, he saved us not by throwing down a few trifling trinkets. He did so with the blood of his only son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And notice that it's not just the blood. It's the precious blood. We regard gems as precious. Some of you have jewelry on. You regard that as precious. Some of you, what's in your bank account is precious. Some of your homes are precious. The things of the creation. Jesus' blood is more precious than anything in this creation. The second person of the Trinity takes on a human nature, pure, sinless. And he gave of this holy blood to make us holy and to bring us to eternal glory, adopting us as sons. the preciousness of this. You know, the Egyptians, pardon me, the Israelites in Egypt, sacrificed their best lamb for the Passover, an animal. And every year they had to remember what God had done in saving them out of slavery in Egypt. And Peter's saying, somewhat like that, But this is the precious Son of God, His precious blood, perfectly pure. And we have been saved from God's fierce anger, from an empty way of life, and been adopted as sons. Peter's not finished. He points out another thing. Not only has God paid the ultimate price for our redemption, pardon me, Jesus, who is God, but he did so as mediator, as a son in the flesh. But this redemption, this redemptive work of Jesus was planned before the creation of the world. And Peter points this out. Earlier in the chapter, Peter talks about our election by the foreknowledge of God. Now he's talking about the election of Christ as our Redeemer. Man falls into sin and the subsequent bondage, and it did not take God by surprise. God had the remedy ready. He knew beforehand what he would do when man fell into sin. Namely, his own son was anointed to be the sacrificial lamb to take away the sin and guilt of his people. Not only the idea, oh, I'm gonna find a redeemer, but the idea that this redeemer would take on flesh and die to redeem his people was part of God's plan for the world before the very creation. In fact, the whole concept of gathering these people into an eternal kingdom and an eternal inheritance was prepared before the foundation of the world. Jesus says that in Matthew 25, verse 34. It's all been prepared. Think about that. You sit here this morning, you confess Jesus Christ, if you do, if you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, you are sitting here as children of the almighty triune God, who before the creation of the world has prepared for you an eternal inheritance. Just think on that. He was holy, and we who are sinful, he's destined you. Sometimes, you know, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That's baffling. It's amazing. Hebrews 9 says, he appeared now at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Everything. Everything is working together for the salvation of us who believe. Planned long beforehand and in these last days revealed for our sake so that we might devote ourselves out of respect, out of fear for who God is. Honoring him as God might devote ourselves to a life of holiness. purity, righteousness, justice. And we can go on. God raised up Jesus from the dead and glorified him, giving him the name that is at every name, above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every person on earth should bow. And we have been granted the spirit. And by his power and grace, we have bowed. we should be filled with awe, with love, and gratitude. The death of Christ is not just so that we can be saved from our guilt. It's to transform us to holiness. It's to make us image bearers on earth, image bearers for eternity. Titus 2, Christ gave himself for our sins that he might redeem us from all impurity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous for good works. Peter says that his sacrifice should move us to fear, to this love. that reflects His glory and His holiness in our worship and in our world, understanding what it cost, what He all did to free us from the vanity of a sinful life and world. We who believe in Him should spend the remainder of our sojourn on earth in fear, eager to do that which pleases our God. Are you a son of God? Not just do you call Him your Father, but do you believe that Jesus Christ is your Savior and that through Him, by the working of the Spirit, You are now sons of God. And has this been purchased with such a great cost? And we can walk out the doors of this church and pour contempt on such divine generosity by imitating the way of the world, the rest of the week? Living according to the pattern of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the desire for riches. Are we going to still hug the chains of the sins of anger and lust and gossip and stealing and hatred and all that after Christ sacrificed himself to break those very chains? Shall I forsake the fullness of the beauty of life with a triune God for all eternity, for the emptiness, for the trifles of this life apart from God? How can I, for whom Jesus died, live any longer in sin? Brothers and sisters, this is why Paul says, fashion your eyes on him who is seated enthroned in glory. Keep your eyes focused on him so that you can live your life here as strangers. Giving God all the honor and the glory, do his holy name. Always bowing in humble reverence, living in a sense with a fear that we might fail in some way to reflect His glory as we ought, knowing we have a gracious Savior who forgives us, but still wanting to please Him in every way. Nothing in the world, nothing that the world offers is as attractive as enjoying God and giving Him glory. That's our chief end purpose. The glory of man and his great talents no longer have the same attraction as the holiness and the beauty of God. How vain and empty the glory of the world's sports, the glory of the world's musicians, the people who are struggling and trying to build for world empires, How empty that really all is when we have the guarantee of an eternal inheritance waiting for us. What God has done for us in Christ, his plan set in motion before the foundation of the world, his carrying it out in time so that believers can call on God their Father, it catches us up in something far greater than anything you can see on the face of this earth. We are part of a cause. That lasts for eternity. That is what's wrapped up in the word fear. Fear God throughout your sojourn, throughout your life here. And if you recognize that you are not filled with that fear, that love, that passion for holiness, for God's glory and kingdom, but are more in love with the world of yourself, then take the time to confess your sin, your rebellion. and see what salvation God has provided in Christ for all who believe. But never feel condemned by the rest of us. Because every one of us here struggles yet with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pleasure of possessions, with worldly attractions. This is precisely the reason why the Spirit has put this passage here. God is calling us to live as strangers with reverent fear, to learn to live in the fear of the Lord, to enjoy God for who he is, and to worship him for eternity. Amen. Let us sing number 22C, standing to sing amid the thronging worshipers. Number 22C, and we will stand.