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They Loved the Glory of Man More than the Glory of God

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The Text

“So Jesus said to them, ‘The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.’
When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 

“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, 
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 
39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, 
40  ‘He has blinded their eyes 
and hardened their heart, 
lest they see with their eyes, 
and understand with their heart, and turn, 
and I would heal them.’
41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God” (John 12:35-43)

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Sexual Sanity (State of the Church 2018 #6)

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Introduction

We are living in a time of sexual bedlam, sexual madness. The frenzy that has captured the Western world has many manifestations—open marriages, pornography, same sex mirage, robo-sex, trannies, and worse. My point is not to get into all these deviations in order to attack or refute them point by point. My point is to acknowledge that we are surrounded by it all, and in that context declare the only alternative to the madness, which is faithful Christian monogamy, and to highlight Scripture’s idea of what constitutes a faithful sexual testimony.

The Text

“The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed” (Titus 2:3–5).

Summary of the Text

I want to work through what is mentioned here, but with a particular emphasis on what the world is seeing as we obey passages such as this. The older women in the church need to be holy in their behavior (v. 3). They need to guard themselves against speaking false accusations. In addition, they should be careful to avoid “much” wine. In living this way, they should be teachers of good things—meaning that they should be in a position to teach the younger women how to behave (v. 4). They should instruct the younger women in sobriety (v. 4) and the arts of domesticity (v. 4). This is how I take the instruction on loving husbands and children. There are two words underneath that instruction, which are philandros and philoteknos. The word for love here (philo) is the word for warm affection, and in both instances it is a compound word, together with the word for man and the word for children. I would render it in a paraphrase as “teach them to be into husbands and into kids.”

The older women are also to teach the younger women to be discrete and chaste, to be busy at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, so that the Word of God not be blasphemed.

A Few Other Examples

So older wives are expressed taught to teach younger wives to subordinate themselves (hypotasso), so that the church not get a bad reputation. Young men are commanded to be sober-minded also, doing good in all things, and again for the same reason—so that the one who is opposed has no evil thing to say about you. And slaves are commanded to be diligent and obedient also (hypotasso again). Why? So that they might adorn the doctrine of God (v. 10).

Which Direction to Lean?

We are not just supposed to do what the Scripture says to do—although that is always important. We are also supposed to do it for the reasons that Scripture gives.

In other words, we must let Scripture determine how to head off what false ideas the pagans might have about us. Paul says here that the unbelievers should see the wife’s submission and obedience. That is what is to be in the foreground. Paul does not say that submission and obedience must be there somewhere in the background, but make sure what they notice is how educated or witty you are. No, Paul says that your unbelieving friends should notice what a sweetheart your husband has. Let them find out how educated you are after they become Christians.

I am not saying that Christian women should hide their light under a bushel. I am saying that God tells us what the light actually is—the light that shouldn’t be under that bushel. Being into the kids is the light that shouldn’t be under the bushel.

This is because God knows better than we do what kind of thing will be attractive to unbelievers living in the midst of sexual and marital chaos. He knows what they need, and He knows what behavior on our part will stir them up inside. He knows all that, and He has told us all about it.

And if unbelievers are not attracted to it, but rather are in rebellion against it, this kind of testimony remains potent. If you are out at the park with your small tribe, and you get cold stares from angry lesbians, you are not bringing disrepute on the gospel. God says the opposite. God is in charge of what constitutes a good testimony in an age like ours. We have our marching orders.

Modest Flappers

Take this another way. Suppose God told Christian women to be modest (which, come to think of it, He did). Suppose further that all the women outside the church, or at least all the women who were au courant, were flappers. There are two ways to approach this. One says “I obviously need to be a flapper too, and so I need to figure out a way to include modesty in there somehow. And hope nobody notices.” The other is to simply do what God instructs, and let the other pieces fall where they may.

Gospel and More Gospel

When we try to “gray out” the Christian forms of marriage that we practice, we are actually trying to “gray out” the gospel. Christ is the Bridegroom, and the Church is His Bride. Christian husbands are told to love their wives sacrificially, the way Christ loved His Bride (Eph. 5:25, 33). Christian wives are told to submit to their own husbands (Eph. 5:22, 33). Why would we try to hide this from the world? If they kick, let them kick. This is the good news of salvation.

Husbands, your task is to model for the world what the objective gospel actually looks like. And, in case you have forgotten, it looks like blood, sweat, and tears. You are the hands of Christ as He preaches His salvation to the world, and never forget that those hands are pierced. You are husbands—you are to be pierced.

Wives, your task is to model for this lost world what a subjective and personal response to the gospel looks like.

As I have noted before, we are all limited, and we cannot duplicate what Christ did. But even though we cannot duplicate it, we are commanded to imitate it, and we are to imitate it as best we can.

Husbands, the world is watching you. You are to model what the saving looks like. Wives, the world is watching you. You are to model what salvation looks like.

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Soul War and Submission

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The Text

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” (1 Peter 2:11-17)

Introduction

Up to this point, Peter has primarily focused on the people of God as the people of God. You are the children of the Father so be like your Father and love your brothers (but there’s no mention about the Gentile neighbor kids). You are God’s house and this is what it looks like from the inside, but how does it look from the outside? Now the front door of the house is opened up and the children of the Father are about to enter the world. But Peter warns that the world is a war zone––a war within you that has consequences for the world. And this war must be fought by those who fully submitted to the Lord.

“Beloved”  (vs. 11)

Peter begins with a pleading admonition, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against your soul.” He wants them to know that they share their identity with Jesus, the Beloved Son of God (Mt. 3:17, 17:5). What did Jesus do as the Beloved? After his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and then the Beloved of God battled Satan. After his transformation, Jesus moves toward Jerusalem where he tells his disciples that he’s going to make war and must suffer and die and be raised from the dead. So when Peter calls us “Beloved” it means more than a mom’s parting words, “Stay safe and make good choices.” The beloved are filled with Spirit and on the mission of the Father.

Soul Warfare (vs. 11)

The beloved as sojourners and pilgrims are to “abstain from fleshly lusts which war against your soul” (vs. 11). Within each of us rages a war whether Jesus will rule as king or not. You align with Christ or against Christ. And your life and heart and words are all skirmishes.  This should cause fear, but not despair. Fear, because this is of chief importance, but not despair because if you are with Christ and Christ is with you, you are on the victorious side.

Gentiles Glorify God (vs. 12)

The impact of your fight is not just for your soul but the salvation of unbelievers. Abstain from sin and have honorable conduct among the Gentiles so that “when they speak against you as evil doers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.” Those who give glory to God are the good guys. That means that bad guys become the good guys, and this is initiated by how Christians live. God’s people are not only on the defensive, repelling the attacks of our sinful desires, but on the advance through your obedience. Tell us, Peter, how we can do this?

Submit for the Lord’s Sake (vs. 13-14)

“Therefore, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake.” Our reaction should be to submit to Peter’s command to submit. The test of submission is when you are required to do something you don’t want to do, but is required of you. You can only submit to man’s authority once you have submitted to God’s exhaustive sovereignty. “Submit for the Lord’s sake.” Jesus is Lord and his Lordship is over all and he has established all those in authority (Romans 13:1). That means that Donald Trump is the Lord’s ruler. Barak Obama is the Lord’s ruler. Caesar Augustus and Nero and Pilate are the Lord’s ruler. Any government from the Roman Empire to US Senate to the Moscow Board of Adjusters has been established by Jesus. And so we submit because our obedience is before God.

“But Peter, what if the government commands us to do what God commands us to do something to disobey God?” We have a very clear, and simple word from Scripture––obey God.

“But Peter, you didn’t live in a world like ours. You didn’t have a corrupt government like us.” Yes he did. We don’t submit to the government because it’s godly. We submit to the government in order for it to become godly. We demand the government to submit to God, but we have failed God’s commands to submit to our government. The fact that the world still looks like world is a failure of Christians to look like and live like Christ.

Free to be a Slave (vs. 15-17)

Your submission to kings is a powerful weapon for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom. “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” Your good life and good conduct will silence those who deny God. Peter says you have been set free, set free to be the slaves of God. And God commands you “Beloved, abstain from fleshly desires. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

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1 Peter 2:1-10

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Introduction:
Besides the introduction to the book of 1 Peter, Ty has covered three important themes in the first chapter. The first was our identity as chosen by God as one of His children. The second was the fact that this includes a magnificent inheritance that is guarded for us in heaven. And, what follows from this as the necessary expectation that we live as obedient children before our God who saved us in Christ. Finally, chapter one ends on the assurance that this salvation and inheritance is not a passing fancy. It is fixed securely on the fact that we were born again by God’s incorruptible, eternal word, when we believed the gospel — and what is that Gospel? That all our sins, past, present and future we paid for in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Therefore — get rid of sin:
You’ve been born again by God, therefore as his child purify your soul by getting rid of all malice. What is malice? A simple definition is: the desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another. Proverbs warns against this. In Proverbs 24:17 it reads: Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles.

You’ve been born again by God, therefore as his child purify your soul by getting rid of all deceit. What is deceit? This problem is so common that we have all sorts of synonyms for it. Let me share just a few: lying, false witness, falsehoods, shading the truth, cheating, all of which can be connected to the hypocrisy of trying to make yourself “look” better than you really are.

You’ve been born again by God, therefore as his child purify your soul by getting rid of all envy. What is envy? On the surface, it is wanting other people’s stuff. But, it would also including everything that others’ might represent in terms of popularity, looks, gifts, intelligence, relationships. Now, this seems somewhat less serious (in terms of sin) than malice and deceit, but don’t deceive yourself! Paul in Colossians 3:5 identifies covetousness (envy) with idolatry: Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

You’ve been born again by God, therefore as his child purify your soul by getting rid of all evil speaking. We don’t need a definition for evil speaking, but we may need help in identifying when we are doing this. Criticizing others, putting them down, passing on gossip comes so easily that I confess that most of the time we may not be seeing our words in this light. From Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.only speak encouraging words.”

Therefore … grow:
“as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,”

God is not just concerned about cleaning house by getting rid of stuff. We don’t want the house cleaned but empty inviting 7 spirits worse than the original to return. We want to put off and then put on. Here, the command is to desire more of the word of God. And, this expectation is built on verse 3 that asks the hypothetical question — IF you have tasted or know that God is gracious!

Cornerstone:
1 Peter 2:4-5 echoes Paul in Ephesians 2:19-22. In both the Peter and Paul passages, the message is clear. Jesus is the cornerstone, chosen by God. What is a cornerstone? What does that “picture” represent? It is the first stone laid in the building. From it every other stone is measured and aligned and fitted. Everything hangs on Him. Hear the echo in Colossians 1:15: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
“Behold, I lay in Zion, A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

Peter is quoting from Psalm 118. Jesus too is recorded as quoting this passage in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke 20:17) when asked about his authority, and Jesus turns the question of the religious leaders on them asking about John the Baptist. Did you believe him? Jesus challenged them with this question about John and then told them a parable about the wicked vine dressers who rejected the son of the owner when he came to collect the rent. It was here that Jesus quotes Ps 118 connecting his calling and authority from the Father with their unbelief. And for Peter this is not the first time that he has used it. Peter and John testify to the truth of this Psalm when they are called before the council in Jerusalem because they continued to preach Jesus’ resurrection from the dead as the sign of Jesus identity and authority.

Outcome of Belief or Unbelief:
In 1 Peter 2:7-8, God confirms that Jesus is His chosen cornerstone and that this stone not only forms the foundation for those who believe but also stumbles those who don’t believe. This verse was an important junction in my road of understanding this doctrine. It is clear, unambiguous, direct. This all in the context of Peter telling us that God’s salvation was also planned from before the foundation of the world in Chapter 1.

God’s sovereignty messes with our desire to be in control — as it should. And, it messes with our sense of fair play. Many argue that it is simply unfair or capricious on God’s part. Or, they would add that it makes us out to be robots so don’t worry about anything as you don’t have any say in the matter. But, to go here is wrong headed. As for being fair, if God was totally fair, we would all be lost. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no not one. And, the wages of sin are death. This applies to everyone. So, in giving salvation to anyone, God is not being fair and THANK GOD that is so.

Now, having addressed those who deny Christ, what about those who believe?

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

As Ty taught from Chapter 1, Peter emphasizes the election/choosing of both Christ for His role in the salvation of the world and also our election in Christ.

Christ’s role is to be that Cornerstone, the key to everything that follows. And what follows is a reaffirmation of our identity in Christ. Like Christ, we are chosen. Like Christ, our role is given in a picture. Instead of the cornerstone or foundation, we are pictured as living stones of a temple and as the King’s priests. God’s own. And as a result we have a purpose. In chapter 1, we have the link of children of God and Holiness in imitation of our Father. Here, we are royal priests, people of God called to proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness, and that sound like a straightforward mission.

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Life with Our Holy Father

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The Text

“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all yourconduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’ . . .” (1 Peter 1:13-25)

Introduction

Peter writes to the people of God who need to know their identity and their mission in the world. Their identity as the children of God is bundled up with Jesus, the Son of God. You are the elect of God, just like Jesus is God’s elect. Because of the Father’s abundant mercy, you to be born again to a living hope––a hope of life. This happened through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And so your salvation is union with Christ. His suffering is your suffering. His life, your life. His Father, your Father. His inheritance, your inheritance. This is the good news that the Spirit has prepared by the prophets and has been preached to you. God has made you his children. He has treated you as his children. Therefore, as his children, be like your holy Father.

Gird Up to Fully Rest (vs. 13)

Because all this is true, Peter exhorts, “Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind…” and prepare for a great action. This charge would recall biblical examples like Elijah (1Kings 18:46), and Jeremiah (Jer. 1:17), and the nation of Israel, who ate the Passover meal with their loins girded, their shoes on, their staff in hand because the Lord was about to deliver them. Those prepared for warfare, for a God-given message, for a great delivery need to gird up the loins.

Peter adds, “and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the reveleation of Jesus Christ.” Gird up the loins and rest on the grace. Is this a contradiction, like one foot on the gas and the other on the brake? Paul says in Phillipians 2 after exalting Christ’s work on the cross that saves, “Therefore, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you.” (Phil. 2:12-13). You gird up for the work while resting on Jesus Christ.

As Obedient Children Be Holy (vs. 14-16)

Here’s what the girded mind needs to know––you are children of a holy God. God is holy, and so his people are also holy (Lev. 11:45). The rallying call is not try harder, do better, attempt more righteous actions––as if you are capable of producing holiness. Your hope for holiness is that your Father is holy, and you are his child, . This is not legalism, but family resemblance.

Holiness has to do with your ability to be in the presence of God. Isaiah had to be made holy because he was in the presence of the Holy God (Is. 6:4). Israel had to be a holy people like Yahweh because He was in their presence (Duet. 23:14). Hebrews 12:14 says, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” Do you want to see the Lord? Do you want to be in His presence? Do you want Him to be in your presence? Then pursue holiness in all your conduct.

Redeemed with Passover Blood (vs. 17-21)

If you call on God as your Father, Peter exhorts the church “to conduct yourselves in fear” knowing that God will judge you as His children. God’s judgement of His children is not at odds with his abundant mercy, grace, and love for His children but demonstrates how much He values us. As children you have been redeemed through the “precious blood of Christ” who is the new Passover Lamb (Ex. 12:2-13). The blood of the lamb identitied God’s chosen people Israel. Peter say you have been marked, identified, redeemed by the blood of Jesus. And this causes a great response in His blood-bought people.

Identity and Obedience

Leave Egypt! Grab your staff, fasten your sandals, gird your loins because we are going to the Promise Land. Just as Israel could not remain in slavery after the Passover, so God’s people can not remain in their slavery to sin. You have been identified and have been delievered by the blood of Jesus. You are free to obey, and you must obey. Obedience is a matter of life and death. If you remain in your sin, in the land of slavery and hard-hearts and hatred for God, you will die.

Born Again to Love Your Family (vs. 22-25)

Now Peter looks at the redeemed people and assumes they are already trekking out of Egypt with a pure soul, obeying the truth, fervently loving the brothers (vs 22), and they should keep it up. This is all possible because they “have been born again through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”

This word is the gospel preached that is able to deliver a nation, turn sinners into children, bring life from death, and gives the identity to the people of God. You are obedient children who have been born again through the Word of God. You are a holy nation that lives a holy life and provides access to your Holy Father. You are the redeemed Passover people, always offering and displaying the blood of the lamb who has delivered you. So gird up your mind, be sober, set your hope fully on the grace of the Jesus Christ, and live as obedient children with your holy Father.

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