I Peter 1:17-21
Verse 17, And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
I. And if ye call on the Father.
A. "If" - Peter is not saying these people are not calling on the Father. He is simply declaring that there are some people who say they are believers, but are not. These people do not call on God for anything. Instead, they learn to curse Him and blame Him for the things in their life that are against them. Peter desires his readers to examine themselves in the light of God's holy Word and determine for themselves where they stand with God.
1. John 8:30 - These people believed in Christ, but in verse 59, these same people attempt to murder Christ. It is very apparent they do not believe to the saving of the soul.
2. I Cor. 15:2 - There are some people who know the facts of the gospel without knowing the Savior of the gospel. They understand how to be saved, but do not possess salvation.
3. Col. 1:21-23 - Paul says there are those that have been reconciled through the death of Christ if they continue in the faith.
4. Heb. 3:6,7,14 - If we hold fast until the end, this means we are truly saved.
B. Call on the Father. This does not mean that they do not call on Jesus. The word "Father" means to call on the God of the universe, the God of their salvation.
1. Gen. 4:26 - "Call on the name of the Lord" means to collectively worship God.
2. Acts 2:21 - "Call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" doesn't mean that salvation comes because we call on God. It means that because we are already saved, we call on His name (power, authority).
a. Romans 10:13. Verse 14 states that it is impossible to call on the name of the Lord if there is no belief first! In other words, salvation must come first.
b. If calling on the name of the Lord brought salvation, then salvation would be the result of something a person did (a work). Salvation is by grace, not works.
3. Acts 9:11 - When Paul was saved, he prayed (called on the name of the Lord.) He didn't pray in order to be saved, but he prayed because he was already saved.
4. I Cor. 1:2 - Paul declares that saints (saved people) call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
II. Who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work.
A. Without respect of persons - without partiality. God is not influenced by our color, wealth, station of life, or personality.
B. Judge according to every man's work.
1. II Cor. 5:10 - The saved will be judged individually at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
2. Rev. 20:12 - The lost will be judged individually at the Great White Throne Judgment.
3. John 7:24 - Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment. God judges what a person really is, not what they appear to be.
III. Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.
A. This speaks of a knowledge that our time on this earth is limited. It also indicates there is a future life. The word "sojourn" indicates that this world is not our permanent home, but we are strangers and pilgrims, looking for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
B. The word "fear", does not mean to be afraid, or anxious about things, but to have a reverent fear or respect for God, knowing that He knows all about us, and understands every situation of all of our lives.
Verse 18, Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
I. Forasmuch as ye know.
A. There are a lot of things saved people know, but the most important knowledge we have that causes us to live a holy and separated life is that we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
1. A saved person who has forgotten about his redemption (because he failed to add to his faith {II Peter 1:5-9}) has no incentive to live like Christ.
2. The more a person studies his total depravity and the gift of salvation, the more they will want to give their bodies a living sacrifice to Christ, which is our reasonable service, Romans 12:1.
B. If a person doesn’t know (if they haven’t added to their faith the things listed in II Peter 1:5-8) they will be unable to bear any fruits for Christ or His church.
II. Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold.
A. The word "redeemed" means ransomed, or bought from slavery with a price.
The word "corruptible" doesn't mean that silver and gold will rust, but that it will perish. It would be foolish for redemption to be based on anything on this earth, for everything here will one day be destroyed, II Peter 3:10.
There is no thought in this verse that works of the flesh like baptism, church membership, tithing, living right, reading the Bible, doing good deeds, or anything else will ever bring redemption.
III. From your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers.
A. Vain means empty, fruitless. Conversation means manner of life, not just speech. This is speaking especially of worshipping idols and such. Paul says in I Cor. 8:4 that an idol is nothing. So they had been worshipping absolutely nothing.
B. They had received their false worship from their fathers.
1. This ought to teach us that our fathers (ancestors) could be wrong in their worship.
2. Every person ought to investigate religion for themselves, not taking the word of anybody that a certain religion, or belief, is true.
Many people blindly follow the worship of their fathers, never considering what God says at all.
Tradition means "that which is handed down."
The word which is translated "tradition" is "paradosis," Strongs number 3862 is found 13 times in the Bible.
Eleven times it speaks of false tradition handed from by the Jews, which tradition is against the commandments of God.
Two times (in II Thessalonians 2:15 and II Thessalonians 3:6) the word is used in a positive sense of accepting and living by the "tradition" handed down by the Apostle Paul, which things are revealed in the Bible.
Verse 19, But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
I. But with the precious blood of Christ.
A. Precious - very costly because it is the blood of the very Son of God, the only begotten of the Father.
B. Blood of Christ.
1. Rev. 5:1-6 - There is only one that is worthy to bring judgment upon the earth - the one that provided the way of salvation.
2. Rom. 3:23-25 - All have sinned (except Christ). It is through His shed blood that we have redemption.
3. Heb. 9:11,24,28 - The Old Testament Tabernacle was a type of the coming Christ.
4. Heb. 9:22, "...and without shedding of blood is no remission."
II. As of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
A. Christ is the Lamb of God.
1. John 1:29,36 - John the Baptist called Christ the "Lamb of God".
2. Acts 8:32 - The Eunuch was reading Isaiah 53, which described Christ, the lamb.
3. Rev. 5:6 - Christ is the lamb who is worthy to open the seven sealed book and judge the world.
B. Without blemish and without spot.
1. There are many lambs given as a sacrifice in the Bible. All of these lambs were supposed to be without blemish, but this is impossible for nothing on this earth is perfect. The Jews gave the very best they had.
2. Christ, who is the perfect Son of God, had no blemish or spot because he came from heaven.
Verse 20, Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
I. Who verily was foreordained.
"Foreordained" means determined beforehand.
Ingrained in this word is not only the power to determine beforehand, but also the power to bring it to pass.
II. Before the foundation of the world.
A. When God created the world in Genesis 1:1, it was already determined that Jesus would come and die for sinners, even though there were no people yet created.
1. God knew about sin before He created the world.
2. God knew what He would do about the sin question before He created Lucifer, who became Satan.
3. God did not create sin, or cause Satan to rebel.
4. God did not determine beforehand that Adam would sin.
5. God allowed sin for our good and His glory.
B. The entire plan of God was worked out in the mind of God before He created anything.
III. Manifest in these last times for you.
A. "Manifest" means revealed.
B. "Last times" means from the time of Christ until the destruction of the world and the beginning of eternity. Therefore, we are living in the last times.
Verse 21, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
I. Who by him (Jesus Christ) do believe in God.
Notice that true believing in Jesus is also a believing in God.
"…by him do believe in God…" means that it is by the power of Jesus Christ that sinners such as you and I are able to believe in God to the salvation of the soul.
This believing in God is not like the devils believe and tremble.
It is a believing in God by the power of Jesus Christ, not any believing by the mind.
B. This is what is wrong with "easy believism".
1. People give a "head belief" in Jesus, without believing in God.
2. Almost everybody believes in Jesus, but few people know he is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
3. I John 4:1-3 - The Antichrist doesn't believe that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. Jesus Christ is God.
II. That raised him (Jesus Christ) up from the dead.
A. John 2:19 states that Jesus will raise Himself from the dead.
B. This is not a contradiction for Jesus is God.
III. Gave him (Jesus Christ) glory.
IV. That your faith and hope might be in God.
A. The whole purpose of salvation is that we might have our faith and hope in God, not in a man who lived and died and was raised from the dead 2,000 years ago.
B. Today, there is a distinction between Jesus and God, but in eternity, there will be no such distinction.
1. Stephen saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God.
2. I Cor. 15:24-28 - In eternity, Jesus will become subject to the Father.
3. In prophecy, Daniel saw the Ancient of Days (singular), not the Ancients of days (plural).
4. Rev. 4:2,3 - John saw one throne and one (singular) sitting on the throne.
5. Rev. 21,3,4,6 - God is with men, wipes away our tears, and is Alpha and Omega.
a. Jesus describes Himself as Alpha and Omega in Rev. 1:8.
b. This proves again that Jesus is God and that in eternity we will see the trinity as one.
c. God reveals Himself to us as Jesus because we couldn't stand to look upon Him if He didn't.