referenced as the passage a returning attendee thought the series had jumped to, and cited for weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice, and not repaying evil for evil
1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
2 Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith.
4 For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function,
5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
6 Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, if prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith;
7 or service, let us give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching;
8 or he who exhorts, to his exhorting: he who gives, let him do it with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.
10 In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate to one another; in honor preferring one another;
11 not lagging in diligence; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope; enduring in troubles; continuing steadfastly in prayer;
13 contributing to the needs of the saints; given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless, and don’t curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Don’t set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Don’t be wise in your own conceits.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.
19 Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”
20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
quoted at length: eye for an eye, turning the other cheek, loving enemies, being sons of the Father, be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
39 But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.
41 Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
42 Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,
45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
47 If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
household code for servants and masters, suffering unjustly, Christ as the example who committed no sin and entrusted himself to the one who judges rightly
18 Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the wicked.
19 For it is commendable if someone endures pain, suffering unjustly, because of conscience toward God.
20 For what glory is it if, when you sin, you patiently endure beating? But if, when you do well, you patiently endure suffering, this is commendable with God.
21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps,
22 who did not sin, “neither was deceit found in his mouth.”
23 Who, when he was cursed, didn’t curse back. When he suffered, didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.
25 For you were going astray like sheep; but now have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
referenced when quoting by his wounds you were healed
1 Who has believed our message? To whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no good looks or majesty. When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
4 Surely he has borne our sickness, and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn’t open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he didn’t open his mouth.
8 He was taken away by oppression and judgment; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living and stricken for the disobedience of my people?
9 They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring. He will prolong his days, and Yahweh’s pleasure will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I give him a portion with the great, and he will divide the plunder with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death, and was counted with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
quoted to show God hearing the groaning of Israel under Egypt and coming down to deliver them, illustrating that God notices unjust suffering
23 In the course of those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.
24 God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 God saw the children of Israel, and God was concerned about them.
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God’s mountain, to Horeb.
2 Yahweh’s angel appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the middle of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 Moses said, “I will go now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
4 When Yahweh saw that he came over to see, God called to him out of the middle of the bush, and said, “Moses! Moses!” He said, “Here I am.”
5 He said, “Don’t come close. Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.”
6 Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
8 I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
cited as where God instituted governments for punishment of evildoers and praise of those who do right
1 Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God.
2 Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment.
3 For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same,
4 for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil.
5 Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.
6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God’s service, attending continually on this very thing.
7 Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
10 Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.
11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.
12 The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.
13 Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.
household code for wives being submissive and adorning the hidden person of the heart, and husbands living in an understanding way as fellow heirs of grace
1 In the same way, wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; so that, even if any don’t obey the Word, they may be won by the behavior of their wives without a word;
2 seeing your pure behavior in fear.
3 Let your beauty be not just the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on fine clothing;
4 but in the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible adornment of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God very precious.
5 For this is how the holy women before, who hoped in God also adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands:
6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose children you now are, if you do well, and are not put in fear by any terror.
7 You husbands, in the same way, live with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the woman, as to the weaker vessel, as being also joint heirs of the grace of life; that your prayers may not be hindered.
referenced as the eyes of the Lord searching the earth seeking someone in whom he might show himself strong
9 For Yahweh’s eyes run back and forth throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. You have done foolishly in this; for from now on you will have wars.”
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This message was part of an ongoing series on how Christians are to live together, covering a long stretch of 1 Peter. The pastor worked through what it looks like to pursue harmony, sympathy, and humility inside the church and out, and he ended where the passage ends: with the call to repay evil with blessing rather than insult for insult.
What was said
the pastor started at the end of the passage rather than the beginning, reading the summary first so the whole argument would be in view from the start. The command "be harmonious" is addressed to all of y'all, every person in the body of Christ, not just the difficult ones or the wrong ones. Harmony is not the absence of melody, he said. It is what happens when additional voices join the one that is already there and make it richer. Discordance is the opposite, and he made the point plainly on the piano.
The other qualities Peter lists alongside harmony, sympathy, brotherly love, kindheartedness, and humility in spirit, are all commands aimed at the whole congregation rather than at someone else in it. The pastor spent time on the Greek behind "kindhearted," the word he called Carl's favorite, meaning something closer to "good guts" than the soft emotional picture most English readers assume. The point was that this kind of compassion is supposed to be felt at a gut level, not performed on the surface.
The command not to return evil for evil or insult for insult sits at the center of the passage, and the pastor traced it back to Jesus in Matthew 5 and forward to Jesus on the cross. He noted that the thief who turned to Jesus while both of them were dying did so because Jesus had not reviled in return. That change of heart was possible because Jesus kept entrusting himself to the one who judges rightly, and Peter holds that up as the pattern believers are to follow.
The pastor then moved back to the opening verses of the passage, where Peter tells people living under Roman oppression to honor authority anyway. He acknowledged that submitting to governing authority cuts against the grain for Americans in particular, and he did not soften that. But he pointed out that Peter wrote this while Nero was emperor, which puts any complaint about the difficulty of the command in perspective. The purpose, he said, is that doing right will eventually silence those who speak foolishly against the church.
The household code in the middle of the passage covers workers under difficult masters and wives and husbands. The pastor read the section on servants bearing unjust suffering and tied it back to the Exodus passage where God tells Moses he has seen and heard the affliction of his people. The suffering was not hidden from God and it did not take Him by surprise. That same pattern, God attentive to those walking in righteousness under hard conditions, runs through all the relationships the passage addresses.
On husbands and wives, the pastor noted that the instruction to husbands to live with their wives in an understanding way was, by the standards of other household codes from the same period, strikingly tender. He read the phrase "weaker vessel" through the lens of two implements of the same kind being used by God for the same purpose, with one simply rated to carry more load. His point was that the asymmetry is not about rank but about the responsibility that comes with strength, and that a husband who treats his wife well has a direct stake in whether his prayers are hindered.
He closed by returning to the summary verse and naming the temptation the passage always produces: hearing it and immediately thinking everyone else needs it more. The whole address, he said, is aimed at all of y'all, which means the examination has to start with the self before it reaches anyone else. Pride versus humility was, as he noted, the thing every one of these weeks keeps coming back to.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
The pastor started with the idea of godly sorrow versus worldly sorrow as the foundation for this whole series. What is the difference between the two, and why do you think he felt that needed to come first before getting into passages like this one?
The pastor described humility as 'an inside out virtue' that comes from comparing ourselves to the Lord rather than to other people. Where in your own life do you find yourself comparing yourself to others instead of to Christ, and what does that do to your relationships?
Good morning, everybody. How are you? Doing alright? I'm... How about we stand and sing one?
This is a peppy one. I guess it depends on how fast Jennifer plays, but it seems peppy to me. I'll fly away. Hymn number seven seventy nine. Here we are.
Glad to see y'all this morning And be together. Amen. How about the old rugged cross? Hip number three twenty seven if you have one. They're stacked up here in the front.
We don't usually have them sitting in the chairs anymore but they're up here if you want them. 327 is the old rugged cross. Y'all can have a seat. Thank you, Jennifer. The announcements, we have Awana tomorrow night starting at 05:45.
Registration is out here from 05:45, six to 07:30 is Awana Club tomorrow night and it's a good time to be here. Big game circle in here. They start with the pledges of allegiance and they spread all over the church playing games and getting council time. It's a really good kids club. Copies of the proposed church constitution revisions are available in the church office, but there are some stacked up on the little demiloon tables out there in the narthex vestibule foyer.
Whatever you want to call it in your tradition. The back there in the back there are some of those. Back there, there are a few minor changes. They are in red if you're looking for it. The change is in red.
We need volunteers for connect hours. So if you would, you can sign up with down on the sheet on the wall down there or you can call Addy Hair if you have questions. And that's her number. She's great. I think she did it herself this morning.
It was fantastic. Very good. Sisters Saved by Grace Women's Bible Study is Thursday evenings. It started a couple weeks ago. They're in creation.
They... I got called in this week just to come in for a few minutes and they were up to Genesis one three. So I think it's alright. Still early. You can get in.
Yeah. If you want to, you can get in there. But it was nice to sit in. What a great group of ladies that sit together, eat together, pray together, and study God's word together. Sisters Saved by Grace is Thursdays at six.
Jackson Hole Women's Bible Study, Women's Community Bible Study meets in this room on Wednesdays at 10AM to noon. So that is for the next about month, think, next three or four Sundays, they're going to meet. I mean, not Sundays, Wednesdays, ten to twelve in this room. There is a men's snowmobile retreat coming up at the end of February. February twenty third to twenty fifth, Richard Largie is the guy in charge.
If you want to go and ride a snowmobile or go cross country skiing or snowshoeing or whatever. There he is. Hey, there he is right there. That's Richard Largie. He's the guy in charge.
That's his phone number. And so thank you, Richard. A $100 for adults, 75 for kids. That's a good time. It's a really fun time.
Up at Old Faithful Christian Ranch in Island Park. There was a membership class today and I went in to get a Band Aid a few minutes ago and it's full. It was full. There was a whole bunch of people in my office meeting with Gary Geek. Praise God.
That was wonderful. We have announced what the curriculum for the Sunday school and the time for Vacation Bible School, not Sunday school. Vacation Bible School will be June seventeenth through twentieth. If you have your little calendar and you want set aside time, I wanna be here for that. I wanna send the grandkids.
I wanna send the kids. I wanna be a part of it. That's when it's gonna be June seventeenth through twentieth. It's a four day extravaganza. Hometown Nazareth is the theme.
It took a miracle. Blake's finished with the announcements. Yeah. Would you all stand with me? We're going to sing it.
Took a miracle. And this one is almost Broadway. Yeah. I think it every time we've we've seen it. 494.
That number was 494. That was a was, though. This one is 382. Alright. 382 if you've got a hymnal in front of you.
Let's come Holy Spirit. Amen. Sorry, I can either look at the page or look at y'all. Amen. Y'all can have a seat.
I'm gonna ask the ushers to come forward and would you pray with me? Lord, I thank you for this gathering this morning. Those who are gathered in your house, in your name, Lord. Thank you. It's good to be together.
It's good to lean into the wind. It's good to lean into your word, Lord. I pray that we would be strengthened and transformed as we pay attention together, Lord, to what it is that you would have for all of us to do. In Jesus' name, we ask that you'd accept these offerings that are being given, Lord, that you would advance your good gospel, that the kingdom would proceed forward as planned. Plan a, humble and obedient servants of God that are constantly and continually humbling themselves and carrying your word forward.
In Jesus' name, would you do your will and your way among us this morning. Amen. Thank you, Jim. So here we are. I...
I've been on a I've been on a series, I guess you'd call it by this point. Since December 31, we've kind of taken an excursus away from the gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, where we're doing a Harmony of the Gospel study. And we're taking a side trip. And all of these, if you had to name what was holding all these different sermons together, it would be they are relational about putting the truth of God's salvation and sanctification and his word and his transformation and his spirit. Altogether, it's how then should we live.
That's basically what we're going through. How do we live it out? I started out with godly sorrow versus worldly sorrow on the December 31 last year. And it's godly sorrow or worldly sorrow. We're all going to have sorrow.
Right? They're all going to we're all going to experience that at different points in our life. We're going to experience sorrow. But there can be godly sorrow or worldly sorrow. Either godly sorrow leads to repentance that cannot be regretted or leads to salvation which cannot be regretted.
And worldly sorrow only produces death. That was the first one to think about because the next four messages that we've... That we're covering, they don't hurt your feelings. Honestly, if you're if you're sitting with them in humility, it'll hurt your feelings because today, if I examine myself in the light of God's word, I will see that I'm lacking and that is that hurts. That's sorrowful.
But godly sorrow leads to repentance, laying down and turning from the sin that the scripture exposes. So that's what we're going forward. This passage, first Peter two thirteen through three twelve is fairly long passage. We're actually going to reverse them. I'm going start with three eight through 12 and then back up to two thirteen and go forward from there.
And it's kind of a long passage, but I want to start off with the summing up. It was kind of funny too since I have such a scheme where we've always just gone with the next passage, next passage, next passage. Somebody that has been coming but missed a couple of weeks, you know. And she said, I came back last week and I was like, when I left, we were in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. How did we get to Romans?
Like, 12 even. Romans 12. So the... I'm trying to explain the scheme. We have stepped away from it because there's a lot of relational stuff right now.
And there are plenty of folks that are trying to stir up anger and strife and bitterness and fear. Okay? I'm trying not to do that. I'm trying to walk us through the antidote to that. So this is the latter portion, three:eight through 12.
And it sums up the whole passage. I want to start with summing up the whole passage because I think it helps to see what the focus should be. To sum up, there's a line from The Princess Bride towards the end where he goes, there is too much. Let me sum up. Right?
There's just too much to explain it all. In in a sentence, we're gonna sum it up right here. Two verses. To sum up all of you, and that means all of y'all. It's a plural.
All of y'all. The recipients of this letter, and we are recipients of this letter. The original audience were Christians who were going through a difficult time. They're in the Roman Empire, oppressed. They have been scattered outside of Jerusalem all over the Roman Empire, all over the known world at the time.
And this letter was primarily to people who were experiencing a fiery trial. Roman Rome Romans. Rome Romans most likely. They were spread out all over the known world. It's been a part of the canon since the earliest days.
Nobody disputes that Peter is the one who wrote it nor the time period it was written in. Christians going through a difficult time, literally going through a fiery trial. To sum up, all of you all, all of you Christians who are listening to this, be harmonious. Be harmonious. I've got three different definitions.
These are just a dictionary definition. I don't usually do this in English, but I'm going do it in English this time. Be harmonious. You all know what harmony is. Is it better to just hear melody or is it better to hear melody and harmony, right?
The barbershop quartet is going, Yes, yes, finally. Both together. Tuneful. Not discordant. Harmonious music.
Synonyms are tuneful, melodious, melodic, sweet sound and mellifluous. Sweet dulcet, lyrical and the antonyms are discordant. So that's one version. I'm going to do a musical experiment. I did not do this in the first service.
Do you hear that? That was discordant. I'm not a piano player. My dad actually says, I'm not a cook and I'm not a piano player, but I can tell when both of them are done wrong, right? That's Lean On Me by Bill Withers.
You all know that song. We all know that song. If I ask you to sing along, can sing along. But which was better, that or this? That's better, isn't it?
Yes. It's better if you can add to harmonious notes in there with that one melody note, right? It makes it so much better. That's about all the piano playing. It took for four years.
I learned a lot but not about piano. Harmonia. Second definition. Forming a pleasing or consistent whole. Like in decor.
The decor is a harmonious blend of traditional and modern. Synonyms there be congruous or coordinated, balanced, thoughtful, in proportion, compatible, well matched, well balanced. And then incongruous would be the opposite of that. This one is what I'm looking for today. And I think that in the text, is what it goes for.
Free from disagreement or dissent. Harmonious relationships. Synonyms are friendly, amicable, cordial, amiable, congenial, easy. Wait a second. Relationships are not easy.
But they can be easier and harder, can they not? A harmonious relationship is much easier. Much more peaceful. Much more peaceable. Much more cooperative.
The opposite of this is hostile. So would you rather live a harmonious life with your brothers and sisters in Christ or would you rather live a hostile life? Yeah. Be harmonious. So to whom does this command apply?
Peter tells us to all of y'all, to all of us, be harmonious. And it is a command. Now, if you you know, a couple weeks ago, I talked about first Peter two and I based it on all of first Peter one. So you can go back and listen to the great salvation that we have and the fact that Christ has already done this work in the spirits that work in us. But then he gives some commands and these are imperatives.
Be harmonious. Be sympathetic. Sympathy. Sympathetic. Compassionate.
That's a good way of putting it in English. Feeling the same emotions with another. Empathy and sympathy are very closely related. Sympathy in particular is about feeling the same emotions as another at the same time they're feeling them. So last week in Romans, we saw that we are to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.
That is feeling the same emotions with them at the same time. And you know what? That's good. It's really, really good. You don't have to be the solution for what is making them cry.
Just being there and crying with them is a command to weep with those who weep. Feeling the same emotions with another person, With and feeling actually sum or sim and pasco means having fellow feeling. At the same time, feeling. At the same time, honestly, pasco really means suffering. So feeling their suffering at the same time.
Now, by implication down here you see it's mutually commiserative. Oh, mutually commiserative I can do, right? All of us can do that. People are complaining. We just come along silent, yeah.
We complain with them. No. It's having compassion one of the other. Now, I think what we do pretty well is we mutually commiserate over our team's losses. And we blame it on the other team.
But if we are in the same family and the next word is going to get to this. But mutual commiseration with the whole, all of us is important. Sympathetic is one thing. Brotherly is another. The recognition of brotherly there.
Philadelphoi. Weirdly, it's the only time that philadelphoi is used in the New Testament is right here. Brotherly love. It refers to the love that is between fellow family members. In this case, it's redeemed people.
If God has called us out of our every tribe, tongue, and nation, every people group, and called us into the ecclesia, the called out ones, into the church. This is the family of God. We are to treat each other as brothers and sisters in the family of God. Now denominations, we tend to cloister off into silos. And like we can agree with these people.
But those people, if they're called by God, yeah. We don't demonize them. We are to be brothers and sisters with them and to be sympathetic with them. Now, I think that what we do well, like I said about the teams, is the Us and them. Comparisons are odious.
Well, we do this better than they do this. They don't get what we get. Well then, let's get closer to one another and let's figure each other out. Let's feel the same feelings with each other. Let's explore the situation together.
Let's work on fellow feeling. Both directions. It's another one of those sort of things that works better if both sides are doing it. To sum up all of y'all, all of y'all, if you're called out and into the family of God, all of y'all are to be able to be harmonious by the spirit of God. All of you are to be sympathetic with the other.
To feel the feelings that it that it feels like for that person. Wow. I don't know how you could come up with that. But I'm willing to listen to you. I'm willing to try to understand you.
I believe you are a a brother in Christ, and I want to get there. I want to understand you better. Or by doing so, I want to challenge you to come over closer to me too, brotherly. Kindhearted. Kindhearted is next.
Kindhearted we hit two weeks ago when we were in Ephesians four and five. Ephesians four thirty two says, be kind to one another. Tenderhearted. And that tenderhearted is the same word as kindhearted here. Forgiving one another just as God in Christ forgave you.
Tenderhearted and kindhearted in the first Peter section. This is the word. Carl's favorite word. Favorite Greek word, splanchnoi. Splanchnoi means guts.
Okay? It is the visceral organs. Whenever the Bible says something that we translate as heart, oh, from your very heart. Usually it says bowels. We don't say bowels in English, so we've changed it to mean heart.
But from you, which the e u in front of eulogy means a good logos, a good word. So at a person's funeral, you give the eulogy, you give a good word. If it's eusplachnoi, then it is good guts. Living with goodness down to your guts. Properly, it's the visceral organs as they exercise positive and gut level sympathy, empathy, and compassion.
The next word is humble in spirit. This is summing up, people. This is already hard, right? All of y'all are to be humble in spirit. And this is one of those places where we just go, well, I myself am humble in spirit.
But they, they're proud and ugly. All of y'all is the command. Be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind hearted and humble in spirit. Humble in spirit is one word in the Greek, Tapenophrunit. I tried not to do that.
Tapenophrosune means humility or lowliness of mind, modesty. I like this definition. It is an inside out virtue. It has to start with self examination which is a virtue produced by comparing ourselves to the Lord rather than to other people. It's very easy to cloister ourselves off and say, we do this better than they do.
But if we say, I do this better than Jesus does, we've missed the mark, right? We know better than to do that. So if all of us have an objective standard I've had a level in my office since the week I got here. I brought the level in and it's an objective standard. And if it's if that bubble is not between those marks, it's not level, right?
It's an objective standard. Christ is our objective standard. And if we don't line up with him, we're wrong, right? And none of us line up with him. We're just wrong in different ways.
It's an inside out virtue. It's produced by comparing ourselves to the Lord rather than others. This brings about alignment with the inner revelation to keep oneself from being self exalting. Self righteousness is conquered by humility and lowliness of mind. For the believer, it means living in complete dependence on the Lord.
That is no reliance on the fleshly self. We are limited and finite and God is infinite. And by his spirit, he can bring us into alignment with him. But it takes humility and recognizing our limitations. To sum up, all of you, be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind hearted, humble in spirit.
Not returning evil for evil. All of you. Not returning evil for evil. Or insult for insult. This, Peter teaching us.
Oh, humble guy now. Right? That impetuous Peter that was constantly in the front, jumping out of the boat, declaring Christ was Lord, slicing off the guy's ear, Peter, that guy, has been restored by Jesus and he is loving the flock of God that's been allotted to him by writing this book. And he's saying, don't return evil for evil or insult for insult. Sounds like Jesus in Matthew.
Y'all have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth. It's only right. Right? He did that to me and I can do that back. But Jesus says, I say to you, do not resist an evil person, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, you turn other to him also.
If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, you let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him too. Surely this is hyperbole. I can hear that. He says, give to him who asks of you and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
You have also heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for the ones who are persecuting you so that you all may be, so that y'all may be sons of your father who's in heaven. For he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, common grace. He sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Think about this.
If you love only those who love you, then what reward do you have in that? Don't the tax collectors do that? If you greed only your brothers, what more are you doing than other people? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? That's the way of the world.
You are to be different though. I'll give you this spirit, Jesus is gonna tell him. Therefore, y'all are to be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. I love this passage. We'll get to it in a minute.
It's part of the text for today. But I love this passage because it shows Jesus putting into practice that Matthew five statement. For you all, y'all of y'all, have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps. You remember Charles Sheldon's book, In His Steps? This is where the title of that book comes from.
Leaving for you an example for you to follow in his steps. You who... He who committed no sin, that's Jesus, nor was any deceit found in his mouth. He never self aggrandized. He never, never lied.
He never fudged the facts. He committed no sin nor was any deceit found in his mouth. And while he was being reviled, he did not revile in return. There are plenty of things that said ugly things about Jesus and he did not revile in return. If you think about the two thieves with whom he was crucified, he's between them.
He's on the ground. The Romans are nailing nails into his flesh. And he is praying, father forgive them for they know not what to do. While the other two guys were both reviling him. It says that.
They were both reviling him. Now by the time those crosses are stood up and they're there hanging on the cross and awaiting a certain death, one of them has a change of heart because Jesus did not revile in return. Because while he was suffering, he uttered no threats. But he kept on entrusting himself to the one who judges rightly. You know what's possible for you to do?
It sometimes seems like there's not a good way forward. But if you will continually be trusting yourself to the one who judges rightly, He will show you the next step, the next right step. And you don't need to be defended by in front of anyone except for him. Jesus continually entrusted himself to the one who judges rightly. Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead.
Think about that other, that time where one of those thieves turned and looked at the other one who was still reviling and said, hey, I was with you there a minute ago but this guy's obviously not done anything to deserve this and we do deserve this. He turns to Jesus and says, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus says, surely you'll be with me in paradise. He blessed that guy instead of cursing him. They were under the same executioner.
Given a blessing instead. Bless those who persecute you was last week. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
Be of the same mind toward one another. Don't be haughty in your mind. Sounds a lot like Peter. Associate with the lowly. I can say in particular, we're going to get into a household code in a minute for bosses and workers, for masters and slaves.
And if you are in the power position of any particular relationship, the burden falls heavier on you. This says associate with the lowly. Listen to them. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never repay evil for evil to anyone.
Respect what is right in the sight of all people. And if possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all. For not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but given a blessing instead for you were called for the very purpose. What's the very purpose? It is to be giving a blessing.
Really? Is that what God's called me to do? That's hard. I had a professor in seminary, Mike Barnett. He passed.
Younger guy but passed since I've been here. And he used to say, the mission of God. He taught a class called MOG, mission of God. The mission of God is a blessing for all peoples. And he meant it as people groups.
He was a big missionary strategist. But he said it comes down to the individual. The mission of God is a blessing for people. All peoples and each of the people within those peoples. If that's the mission of God, do you want to be a part of the mission of God?
Then be giving a blessing. That you may inherit a blessing. He hangs that on there too. Father, forgive me my trespasses as I forgive those who trespass against me. And I want to bless and not curse them.
And I'm tying to that, my inheritance of a blessing. Lord, I want to be like you are. This is what it looks like for Peter. Blessing instead that we might inherit a blessing. And then he goes on.
Verse 10, for the one who desires life to love and see good days. Can I get a show of hands? How many of y'all desire life to love and to see good days? Amen. Y'all are a lot greater percentage of y'all in this service than there were in the first.
For the one who desires life to love and to see good days. Okay, that's me. I must keep my tongue from evil and keep my lips from speaking deceit. Telling the truth is okay. Telling the truth is okay.
Do it in love. Telling the truth is okay. I must keep my tongue from evil. I do not slander. I do not tear other people down.
But I can tell the truth. I must keep my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking to seed. I must turn away from evil and do good for the one who desires life to see good day. So love must keep his tongue from evil, his lips from speaking to seed. He must turn away from evil and do good and he must seek peace and pursue it.
But I'm not the one that was wrong. That's... That is so defeatist. We're never gonna see eye to eye. If you're part of the body of Christ and you're gonna spend eternity together, practice for crying out loud.
Come together. He must seek peace and pursue it. Well, all it would take to come to peace is if they'd just agree with me. This is a quote actually from Psalm 34. Psalm 30 four:eight is the one that says, taste and see that the Lord is good.
And 12 through 16 is this. I want to mention Scott Eichen. Scott and Pam Eichen over in Gillette. When they started their new little church over there and we went over and helped paint it and do whatnot on a little stateside mission trip. They started their church, I don't know if they still do, at 03:48 in the afternoon.
Does that sound crazy? And it was based on taste and see. Psalm thirty four eight. I think that's beautiful. Taste and see that the Lord is good.
We're giving you a shot. Sleep late if you want to, but come on in. Who is the man who desires life and loves to link the day so that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil. Oh, it's in the Psalms.
It is even a command. And your lips from speaking to seek. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. He goes a little further.
Peter will quote this too. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous. He's looking toward you when you're walking in righteousness. Those of you who have been called righteous, he's looking to you and his ears are open to their cry. Peter says, for the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears attend to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. If you think, but I am walking in righteousness and they really are the ones who are wrong. God knows that. If you will humble yourself, he will get you into the right position to be able to seek peace, to be able to pursue them. The face of the Lord is against evildoers to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
Either they're going to be justly condemned by Almighty God. Remember last week, Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. I will repay. Nobody's going to escape his judgment or his mercy, one or the other. It's not gonna be confusing.
To cut off memory of them from the earth is a pretty harsh statement. There's one other thing that I want to bring out with this verse. I think that Peter has also referred to a verse in Chronicles that says, for the eyes of the Lord are seeking about the earth, searching to and fro, seeking someone in whom he might show himself as strong. Isn't that good? If I'm open to it and I'm humble before him, he can do that.
He can show himself strong in me, in my weakness and humility. It comes down to pride versus humility. Virtually every week, it's going to come down to that. Virtually every day, virtually every decision. Probably every decision.
Look at this. This is from Exodus. Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. One of the pharaohs died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of their bondage.
And they cried out. And their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning. Did it surprise him? Didn't surprise him that the king of Egypt had been so ugly to them, so mean to them, so horrible to them.
That wasn't surprising to God. So God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God saw the sons of Israel and God took notice of them. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have given heed to their cry because of their, I might insert the word evil, taskmasters.
Right? For I'm aware of their sufferings. Doesn't take me by surprise. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey. Now behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to me.
Furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. You all hear me say a lot about the team thing, our team and their team. And that's a... It's a hard and insidious thing that people are prone to just sectioning themselves off and siloing themselves. I'm not saying the other side's not wrong.
I'm saying we're all wrong. Pride versus humility. Now, going back to the beginning. The original portion of the beginning of this text is this. Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution.
Whether it's to a king as the one in authority. So this is about authority and submitting to the authorities over us. Or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of those evildoers and the praise of those who do right. That's the right way that government is supposed to happen. That's what God has instituted governments for.
It says so in Romans 13. If we kept on going forward from Romans 12, that would have been the next passage we hit. Peter says it here. I know you're living in a fiery trial, and I know that the government is ungodly. I already know that.
That's subtext. Implicit. Didn't have to say that. But for you, you still are supposed to do the right thing. And that authority is there.
You're supposed to live under it. Honor authority. Now for Protestant Americans, how do we like that? Why should I? We hate it.
It's in our DNA to hate it. Right? Denominations, they're not people of the book like we are. Honoring authority. Jesus is really the head.
He's the ultimate. If governments have been established under him, he died on a Roman cross. And it was a part of the plan of God. Honor authority. Why should I?
Well, Peter tells us, for such is the will of God. It is God's will that you would honor authority that by doing right, you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Oh, wow. God is playing the long game. Peter is transmitting that.
I understand all of that stuff that's upsetting to you. I get that. And I get that you're free in Christ. Oh, we'll go on to that in a second. But don't use your freedom.
We'll get to that in a second. How is he gonna silence the ignorance of foolish men? By me doing the right thing. By you doing the right thing. By all of us doing the right thing.
Act then as free people. And do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of God. There is a higher authority and you are to answer to this one. And part of what he says is you honor this authority that's established. You do the next right thing.
Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the king. Actually, I said when I got to this passage when we were going through it in order a while back, 2018 I think it was. I said, that looks like a good t shirt. And somebody made me up a bunch of t shirts that said this. Honor all people.
And does it have any exclusions there? No. It is honor all people. Wow. That's good for us, to honor all people.
Roman says that as believers we should be reciprocally outdoing one another in showing honor. But we're not just to honor the ones within the brotherhood. We're to honor all people and love the brotherhood. You've got an agape love towards the brotherhood because you know that they know that they didn't deserve this salvation and they've got it. And humility with me says, he called them out of their ugliness just like he called me out of mine.
And we are now brothers and sisters in Christ. I love them for that. I'm doing everything I can to stay at peace with the brotherhood. Fear God. Begin in the wisdom.
If we revere God for being God, we'll recognize our finiteness, our smallness. We'll recognize our sin. We will humbly bow the knee to him to revere him as being God. Fear God. And then the last one says, honor the king.
Honor the king. Oh, for you Americans. Honor the king. Think about this. Nero was king when he wrote this.
That sorry, Joker. Horrible, horrible guy. Fiddled while Rome burned and blamed the Christians for burning it. He probably set it himself. He probably set the fire himself because he built a big old hippodrome right after that.
It was a big building plan that he wanted to do to honor himself. He burned down two thirds of Rome, blamed the Christians for it. That's the king. That's who he said to honor. So honor the king, we have no idea.
We might say, okay, as Americans, honor the president. Okay. But honor the king for The US if we really, we don't have a king. We're living under Lex Rex though, right? The law is king.
It is. Law is supposed to be king. So for Americans, honor the law. Which has a president in authority and has governors in authority? We're to be honoring all people, loving their brotherhood, fearing God.
Honor the law of King is scriptural. So those are the brackets. But in between, I got six minutes left. Y'all listen faster than that first service. Submit yourself for the Lord's sake to every human institution is the way it starts.
And it's an all of y'all. And then the way it ends is all of y'all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly. That is the, those are the brackets. In between are how we are to deal with our workplaces and our households. This is a household code.
First Peter two eighteen says, servants, workers, be submissive to your masters with all respect. It's a little different these days. Obviously, they had slaves and masters. Servants and masters. You didn't have the portability that you have now where you could just quit a job and move on to something else.
This is saying, servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. That's aggravating. Be submissive to your masters with all respect, even the ones who are unreasonable. Why? For this finds favor if you do it for the sake of conscience toward God.
God, I can't stand that guy, but I'm gonna do a good job anyway. I serve you and I'm doing everything as if unto the Lord. This finds favor with God. If a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. Unjust suffering brings sorrow.
It can bring about a godly sorrow that leads you to repent of everything that's yours. And it is a fiery furnace of trial where your metal is refined. It finds favor with God when a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. And Peter sounds a lot like Jesus here too. For what credit is there if, when you sin and you're harshly treated, you endure it with patience.
You did the crime, you do the time. You know, that's the way it is. What credit is there if you have done something wrong and you're harshly treated? Everybody expects that. If you endure that with patience, that's no big deal.
But if you do what is right, you are taking the next right step and you're suffering for it, you patiently endure it, that finds favor with God. Just like in that example from Exodus. He knew that their travail was hard and he knew the leadership of Egypt was harsh. But if you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure it. It finds favor with God.
For you, all of y'all, have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you as an example for you to follow in his steps. He who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth. Do you think that the path that you're walking is harder than the one that Jesus walked? When he was reviled, he didn't revile in a turn. While he was suffering, he uttered no threats.
But he kept on entrusting himself to the one who judges righteously. He was prayerful about it. In the garden he said, this is the cup that has been handed to me. If there's any other way, can we do that? But Lord God, Father God, I I...
Not my will, but yours be done. He knows what it's like to be under authority and to exercise submission to that authority. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. For by his wounds, you were healed. Isaiah 53 reference.
For you were all continually straying like sheep. But now, now you get it. Now, you have returned to the shepherd and the guardian of your souls and you know what you need to do now. You're seeing things in alignment with Christ. Because of the way he lived, he's calling you to follow, deny yourself and follow.
Then the household codes turn to husbands and wives. And this one, I looked up and said, Oh, yeah. Out of time. Sorry. No.
We're going to go through it. Two slides on wives, one slide on husbands. In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own in the same way, what we've already covered, it says that we are to be honor and authority. And even if that's hard, in the same way you wives, be submissive of your own husbands. So that even if any of them are disobedient to the word.
I have always taken that heretofore. I've always taken that. So if any of your husbands are unbelievers, you would convert them by your righteous acts, quiet humility. But this version of it is a good translation. If your husbands are being disobedient to the word and you're not, your word without a word, your behavior can win them over to doing what's right.
In the same way you always be submissive of your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives as they observe your chaste and respectable righteous behavior. Your dormant must not be merely external, braiding hair, wearing gold jewelry, putting on dresses. But let it be in the hidden person of the heart. Your relationship with God. Where the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in the sight of God.
For it's in this way that the former times, the holy women also who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands. Just as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord. You have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear. Boy, that's hard. You husbands in the same way.
Live with your wife. Now, I will mention something here. If you read the other household codes from the time, this is really, really sweet. It's really, really, really sweet. Aristotle's code was super harsh.
And his was sweet compared to most of the codes. You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way. Lord God, help us to live in an understanding way, both directions. As with someone weaker, I look for different versions and translations on this. And the weaker vessel is a normal one that we hear.
The word that is the someone or the vessel, this is a good dynamic translation of it. It says that both of you are equipment in God's hands. Both of you are tack or gear or instruments. You are implements to be used of God in his will and his purpose. And you, husband, happen to be a stronger tool of the same kind as your wife.
Does that make sense? I had an example this morning with a ninety something pound little young'un right here. And if we're going to be climbing mountains together, I want my own rope. Does that make sense? I want something that will hold me up.
I don't want one that was test proof for Anika Lampa. I want one that I know will hold me up. So the gear, equipment, your attack or whatever is just stronger. I think Tanya is smarter than me. I think Tanya is stronger than me.
But I'm supposed to treat her as someone weaker. Since she's a woman and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life. So that my prayers, so that your prayers will not be hindered. Husbands, just like Jesus in the Lord's prayer says, forgive me my trespasses as I forgive those who trespass against us. I don't want for my prayers to be hindered.
If that's the case, then I had better treat my wife well. To sum up, this is right after that. To sum up all of y'all. All of y'all. It's not about who is in charge so much as all of y'all seeking to be harmonious and sympathetic and brotherly and kind hearted and humble in spirit.
That's it. Would you stand with me? I'm going invite Jennifer to come forward. And I didn't sleep a whole lot last night. In anticipation of delivering something that every single one of us, it's for all of us, every single one of us hears that, and our urge is to be right before God.
And at the same time, our temptation is to say, and everybody else needs this worse than I do. Right? That's the temptation. God, I thank you that you pointed out over and over and over that it really is us. It really is us.
We really do need to worry about ourselves. If we will make one step towards, Lord, leaving our sin, leaving our self, leaving our pride, and turning towards you in humility, you will handle it. In Jesus' name, I pray for your transformation. Amen. Doxology.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. And our benediction today, I'm just gonna say it again. First Peter three eight and nine is, finally, all of y'all be like minded, be sympathetic, be loving one another, be compassionate and humble, and don't repay evil with evil or insult for insult. But on the contrary, repeat... Repay evil with blessing because to this you were called so that you might also inherit a blessing.
Lord, would you make it so? And I pray, Lord, from last week's message that you would do so. By your mercies, lord, you would renew our minds unto transformation. Amen. Amen.
