Tonight, I'd like to continue with you our consideration of 1 Peter as we turn together to 1 Peter chapter 1. Once again, the text tonight being verses 17 through 19. I'd like to read with you verses 13 through 25. The text again being verses 17 through 19. You may recall from a few weeks back that with verse 13, Peter entered into what we might call the application portion of this chapter. And now he continues to build on that in the text before us tonight. He had, quoting from Leviticus, said, Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. And now he continues to build on that in the text for this evening. Beginning at verse 13, as we give our attention to the reading of God's holy, infallible Word. Therefore, prepare your minds for action. Be self-controlled. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. For it is written, Be holy, because I am holy. Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth, so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God. For all men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord stands forever. And this is the Word that was preached to you. Once again, the text, if I may, Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life, handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. Now, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, most of us here are, I assume, are the type of people who count the cost before we do something, especially, let's say, something that might be on a larger scale. for example, buying or maybe building a new house or maybe purchasing a different automobile or maybe even going on vacation. We count the cost because by counting the cost, we gain a certain knowledge, don't we? Then we know if we can feasibly do these things or not. It is important to have proper knowledge in order for things such as I have mentioned to be successful. Now in this text, Peter again, as I said, is talking about holy living. But this time he adds that holy living must be done a certain way. And we can only do this with proper or right knowledge of certain things. And this right knowledge, this proper knowledge, comes by counting the cost of something that has already been accomplished on our behalf. When we count the cost of things that I mentioned, we're looking to see if those things can be successful, but now Peter would have us to count the cost of something that has already been successful. In this portion of Scripture, you and I are commanded to holy living in godly fear. Now Peter gives us the main focus of this text when he says, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. These privileged pilgrims, these strangers are moved to conduct themselves in fear or live wholly in godly fear through the knowledge of two things. First of all, knowing their Father and Judge, and secondly, knowing the cost of their redemption. In other words, knowledge of these two things is the motivation behind the believer's wholly living in godly fear. Now first of all, Peter is preaching to those who claim God as their Father. He is the one who has called or elected them. He has adopted them as His children for the sake of the blood of Jesus Christ. And they rightfully call Him Father because only obedient children, as Peter calls them in verse 14, can rightly call God Father. But you see, He is more than their Father. He is also their judge, as the text says. Now some say that this is a contradiction. To say that our Father in heaven is also a judge, that He is also our judge. This doesn't fit, they say. A father is loving. But a judge pronounces a judgment. The two, you see, don't mix. But that's not all. Certainly Christians won't be judged, they say. As a Christian, my sins are forgiven, so I can't possibly be judged. Well, congregation, this line of thinking about judgment in that way is certainly not in line with what Scripture teaches. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us about the sheep and the goats, about the elect and the non-elect, and the teaching is clear that both will be judged. Different outcomes, to be sure, but both will be judged. Scripture clearly teaches us that we are held accountable, We will be accountable before God for every thought, word, and action. Even our idle thoughts, words, and actions. And then Paul adds in Romans 8, verse 1, which we heard this morning, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You see, all will be judged, but those who put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ will not be condemned. They will stand in the judgment. They will not be like the wicked who will not stand in the judgment, but they will stand in the judgment. Why? Because Jesus Christ has already taken their condemnation upon Himself. That's why we can say God's judgmentcy for the believer is also His seat of grace. Jesus took God's wrath for our sin upon Himself. You see, this is the good news. This is the Gospel. But we need to understand, beloved, that not only will God judge all men on that last day, but He judges us daily. I think that's Peter's main point here. Peter is speaking in the present ongoing tense. In a sense, God holds court every day. And that means that He takes notice of everything that is going on in your life and in my life. And what we need to notice here then is how God judges and what God judges. Peter describes Him as the one who judges impartially. That's how God judges. Impartially. Now, it's interesting from where this word impartial or impartially comes. It comes from the combination of two Greek words. One means to receive. And the other is the word for person or face. And that second word for person or face also had the connotation in the Greek of mask. such as an actor would wear hiding his true identity. And we can think specifically of that kind of hard mask that was on a stick that they would hold in front of their face. That the actor would hide behind to hide his true identity. And therefore, putting all of this together, the Greek reads that Peter is saying something like, the one who does not receive at face value. And what this means, congregation, is that what is visible on the outside may not be a true reflection of what is on the inside. When we deal with each other as human beings, we often say, well, what you see is what you get. Take it or leave it. And the truth is we can't be sure if the person we see on the outside truly matches the person that lives on the inside. Of course, with some people we think we can tell, sometimes we describe one as being a real person. And what we mean then is that there's nothing fake or false about that person. There's nothing hidden about that person. That person is the real thing, you see. But truthfully, with people, almost all we can go by is what is visible on the outside. But that's not the case with God when He looks at you and me. He judges you and me impartially. Which means He looks past the covering. He looks on the inside. He sees our true identity. Nothing is hidden from His sight. When Samuel was looking over Jesse's sons, God made it clear that man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Peter says in Acts 10 that God is not one to show partiality. Paul says in Romans 2, for there is no partiality with God. You see, the Bible tells us that God does not show favoritism to the rich over the poor, to the Jew over the Greek, to the master over the slave. And James in James 2 teaches us that we too are not to show partiality. We're not to give the better seat, the more prominent seat to the rich or the popular and have the poor and the unpopular stand back in the corner somewhere. You see, just because you are sitting in church tonight doesn't mean that God judges you and me differently than one who never darkens the door to the church. We are judged by the same criteria. Sometimes, unfortunately, we think that just because we claim to be Christians, just because we profess that we are Christians, that God winks at certain things that we do, at certain sins we commit, that He might, you know, just kind of turn His head and not take account of those things. Which, of course, is not true. But you see, beloved, it's not necessarily the act of coming or not coming to church to worship. that God judges, but it's what lies behind the act or the non-act. God judges you and me impartially, but what is it then that he judges? The text says, who judges each man's work impartially. Now Peter isn't talking about works of merit, not talking about works of reward or anything like that. He's not even talking about our outward works in the strictest sense. And for this, we are to be thankful because we know that our outward works are stained with sin and that they often fail to honor and glorify God. As Isaiah says, even our best works are as filthy rags and God knows that our works are full of faults. And since God doesn't look at the outward appearance but instead looks at the heart, the works that peter is talking about are our inner works which include the works of the heart and mind our thoughts and our motives and our desires and above all else our works of faith which of course then come to outward expression but beloved when god looks at your good works he doesn't look first of all at the actual outward works themselves but but but he looks at the motivation behind those works? Do they spring from a heart filled with faith, hope, and love? Are they evidence of faith in Jesus Christ? Or do they spring from selfish desire and vain conceit? In Mark 12, we read about Jesus in the temple watching the people put their offering in the offering plate. The poor widow comes by and she puts in two mites, not even enough to be considered pocket change boys and girls not even equivalent to two pennies but jesus makes it clear that she put in more than those who put in lots of money we say how can that be you see others may have put in a handful of money in the plate but their pockets were still full but this widow put in all that she had jesus said she truly gave from her heart you see it's important beloved that you and I are here in church tonight worshiping God. But what's more important is why you're here. Why are you here? Peter issues the command for holy living in godly fear. Your living, your conduct is to be characterized by godly fear. He says again, since you call on a father who judges each man's work impartially. In other words, if you call upon him, if you worship Him, if you love Him, then you will live before Him in godly or reverent fear. Now what kind of fear is this? Well, the reformer Martin Luther spoke of two kinds of fear. Servile fear and filial fear. Servile fear. Boys and girls, you might hear the word servant in there. Servile fear is the kind of fear that a servant has for his master. the kind of fear that a prisoner has for his torturer. Filial fear is the fear a son has who loves his father and does not want to offend him or disappoint him or let him down. It is a fear born of respect. Now here, Peter is not talking about being afraid kind of fear or the kind of fear that a slave has for his master. He's not talking about dread and doom fear, the kind of fear one has when he's afraid of getting caught for doing something wrong. He's talking about reverent fear. He's talking about awe. It is fear motivated again by love and a desire to please Him and not to offend Him or let Him down. It is the highest respect we could give to God. Beloved, we are to live in godly fear that drops us to our knees in humility because we know Him as our Father for Jesus' sake. We know Him as the one who can read and who judges the inner depths of our hearts. You see, the motivation for godly living in holy fear, first of all, is knowing the truth of our Father and Judge. How great Thou art! How awesome and majestic He is, understanding His sovereignty, understanding His supremacy over all things. And notice, too, that Peter gives the extent of living this way as he speaks of living their lives here. Their whole pilgrimage is to be lived in holiness in godly fear. Now, do you notice the antithesis here? One of our sworn arch enemies, according to the Bible, is the God-hating world that surrounds us. And we as God's children are to live in godly fear among those who do not live in godly fear. And we are to live this way for the entire time that we live among them. And this means in its simplest form that there is never a time in life when you are to conform to, or compromise with, or blend in with, or be comfortable with those who are not children of God. Now, beloved, our earthly fathers. Our earthly fathers. Fathers, listen up. Our earthly fathers are to be models, or in a sense, representatives of our Heavenly Father. And fathers, that ought to make us start shaking right where we sit, knowing how inadequate we are as those who are called to be representatives of the Heavenly Father. But that is our call. Our earthly fathers are supposed to be loving toward us and care for us and even discipline us. in a way that is pleasing to God. You see, our earthly fathers judge our actions too. Sometimes we as young people don't like that, but that's the task of an earthly father. And in turn, as children then, we are to have that filial, respectful fear for our earthly fathers. Now many of us have or have had this type of earthly father. Unfortunately, not all have. There are some, maybe even some here, who have a hard time thinking of God as Father, and especially as a loving Father because of the horrible abuse that you may have suffered from your earthly fathers. But the truth that we all need to remember is that God is a Father who never abuses His children, guaranteed. He does punish us in the sense of discipline. Again, Hebrews says, the Lord chastens those He loves and accepts as sons. And it says, He disciplines us for our good. And then he says, the writer says, what that good is, that we may share in His holiness. But He doesn't abuse us. And congregation, if God is your Father, that means that this world is not your home. Heaven is. And you and I are commanded to wholly living in godly fear while we are here. And it must be our desire to live in godly fear because we know God as our loving Father. We know Him as the one who knows us inside and out. We know Him as the one who judges us and who disciplines us when we need it. Again, for our good, that we might share His holiness. And therefore, beloved, be glad. Be glad when God's fatherly, disciplinary hand feels heavy upon you. Because if He ever took His hands off of you and me, we would perish in an instant. But also then we know why God is our Father. We've been purchased. We've been purchased. We have been redeemed at a great cost. Peter, in the second place, helps us to look back and count the cost of our redemption. Verses 18 and 19 tell us again, For you know that it was not with perishable things, such as silver or gold, that you were redeemed from the empty way of life, handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. Again, to count the cost, not of something that is to take place to see if it will be successful, but to count the cost of something that has already been successful for you and me. Now, to redeem something means to buy it back. Jesus redeemed us from the curse of sin and death and hell, from the wrath of God that hung over us like an umbrella. He redeemed us from that by paying for God's wrath that was against you and me. And Peter wants these pilgrims and you and me to understand how much it costs. He wants you and I to count the cost of our redemption, beloved. Because knowing and understanding the cost should, cannot help also to drive us to our knees in humility and godly fear. You see, Peter makes a comparison between perishable things and imperishable things. As we read, he first talks about silver and gold. And it's no surprise to us that these are two of the most precious metals known to man. In fact, we know that the price of gold can drive our economy and the amount of currency available. These precious metals are probably the least perishable of all perishable things, and they are the most valuable to men, and they are used to redeem, if you will, or to purchase anything on this earth. In fact, at one time a slave could even purchase his freedom with silver or gold. You may have heard the little cliche about the golden rule. He who has the gold makes the rule. Yet these metals are still perishable. They still lose their value at times. And Peter wants to make it clear that even silver or gold could not pay the cost of redemption. And we know that so many don't understand that. We know that for so many in this world, silver and gold is where it's at. That's all that they strive for. but it cannot pay the cost of our greatest need. It took something greater. It took something more precious to pay for your sins and mine, to redeem us, to buy us back, to redeem us from that which we really need to be redeemed from. Isaiah in chapter 52 says, For thus says the Lord, you were sold for nothing, and you will be redeemed without money. It took Christ's blood, the blood of God Himself. That's what Luke records, Paul is saying in Acts 20, 28, when he says, Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. And Peter adds about Christ that He's a lamb without blemish and defect. You see, that was a reminder of the sacrificial system in the Old Testament. And especially the Passover, which reminded the people of their deliverance out of the bondage of Egypt. And we know, don't we, that blood was an important part of the Old Testament sacrifices. It was sprinkled on the altar to show the removal of God's wrath, the appeasing of God's wrath. It was sprinkled on the people, which pointed to cleansing. And in the Passover, it was smeared on the doorpost of the house, covering those that God might pass over those who were covered by that blood. The blood had to be shed for the forgiveness of sins. And this blood had to come from an unblemished animal, sheep, goat, or bull. That means the animal had to be as defect-free, as perfect as possible. But also when God gave Moses the different laws and rules when it came to diet, to the diet, what they could eat and what they couldn't, God made it clear that they could not eat the blood of the animal. Why? Because life is in the blood, God said. When Peter speaks of the precious blood of Christ, he is referring to Christ's sacrifice and death on the cross, which we know was the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrifices. Those sacrifices which pointed to the truth that blood had to be shed. Jesus Christ died a bloody death, beloved, for you and for me. His blood is precious. Because He was a completely unblemished, the only completely unblemished lamb. He was perfect. He was without fault because He Himself is God. And His blood flowed freely so that He might buy back His own, so that their sins might be forgiven, so that they might have life. You see, again, life is in the blood. That's what God said. Your eternal life and mine is in the blood of Jesus Christ. Count the cost, beloved. Count the cost. One of us needed to die to satisfy God's anger against our sin. But only Jesus, who was both God and man, could do it. Think about it. There was absolutely no other way. God approved of this and only this payment process. so many spin their wheels looking for another way. But there is no other way. And therefore, beloved, it comes down to this question. As you stand before God one day, what do you do with this Jesus? What do you do with Him? Count the cost. That cost included that He leave His throne in glory. That He humble Himself and become man. that He was humiliated as He lived a perfect life on this earth, and that He died. And Jesus Christ suffered the torment of hell, separation from God for you and for me, and His blood washed out the crimson stain of all of our sin. As the song says, Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. What precious blood, huh? What a payment. What a cost. And what are these pilgrims then, and you and I redeemed from? Peter says, from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers. That empty way of life is referring back to the evil desires and the ignorance that Peter talked about in verse 14. Those things then that lead to the eternal torment of hell. That empty way of life, you see, is that life without the knowledge of and without the presence of God and His grace. It's that life going nowhere fast. This redemption is from the guilt of sin and also from the actions of life, the sinful actions of life. This redemption includes new life in the sense of eternal life, but it also includes new life in the sense of the life we live on this earth. In other words, this is a life-changing experience today. You see, our outward actions do matter. There's a connection, an intimate connection between the motivation and the carrying out of our works. This new life includes a new walk, a new talk, new actions, new ideas, new desires, new motives, new allegiance to God and God alone. Old things have passed away, and behold, all things are new. This life change is from a life that is unserviceable to the honor of God to a life that is serviceable to the honor and glory and praise of God. You and I, beloved, are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ to holy living in godly fear. And that means that our lives are not to be lived in intimidation and fear of being laughed at by the world. whether we're boys or girls or young people or adults, mature adults, we are not to live in intimidation and fear of being laughed at by the world, for example, because we go to a Christian school. Or because we give this day, the Lord's Day, to Him. And we spend our day in worship of Him. Or because we profess to be Christians. Or because we practice our work practices in an ethical way. You see, beloved, we are not to worry about being accepted by the world. But our desire is to live in a way that is pleasing to God because my life belongs to Him. And at the end of the day, only His judgment of me matters, not the judgment of the world. Oh, may I be found to be in Christ Jesus. And you know that holy, living, and godly fear that includes the comfort of what Reverend Green preached about this morning. The trumpet call of God. Beautiful. Those four things, if you remember, that we are called to come again into God's presence. Think about that. That is a gracious privilege. Because apart from Jesus Christ, we cannot stand foot in His presence. But He opens His arms and He says, come and the second thing that we are called to march and god leads us by his fatherly hand as we march through this life living for him and the third thing that comfort of of god's presence as he promises to rescue us from all of our enemies from those who seek to attack us but then finally that fourth thing which struck me probably the most and i hope it did you as well that we are called to recognize that God is a part of all of life. Maybe that's where we have the most difficulty. Young people, or for those of us in our work, depending on what we do, oh, it's easy to remember that God is a part of our life when we're sitting in here together surrounded by God's people in worship and we come here with the intention of worshiping God. But even when we're out there, when we're outside of these walls, when we're engaged in our activities of the week, whatever they may be, God is there. He's a part of it. Whether we acknowledge Him or not. Our Heavenly Father judges us daily. He takes notice every day to see if there has been a life change in your life and in my life, to see if your works reflect a knowledge of the cost of your redemption. People of God, when you count the cost of what God has done for you through Jesus, you should be driven to your knees in humility and godly fear. That's the posture of an obedient child. What is your posture before God? Are you a mirror image of the Pharisee with his face uplifted toward heaven who said, God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, especially this tax collector over here, because I do all these good things. Is that your posture? Is that how you sit here in church for worship tonight with a false piety? Or is your posture like the tax collector who hung his head, beat his breast, and cried, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Counting the cost of Christ's work for us for our redemption must remind us of how great our sin and misery is. That's the first thing we must know, remember? But you cannot and you may not stop there. Indeed, you must know your sin and misery. And once you know it, you must never forget it. But you also don't wallow in it. You don't stay there. That's wrong because the gospel is what? It's good news. And the second thing that you must know is how you are delivered. from your sin and misery. The good news that there is deliverance and how I am delivered. And you must embrace the assurance that is yours and take comfort in the fact that Jesus Christ bought you back. You belong to Him. He owns you. And He will preserve you until the glorious day of His coming. Beloved, is this your comfort tonight? Do you have this very assurance? If you don't, then count the cost again. Examine again the price Jesus paid and then in obedience to His command, strive for holy living in godly fear. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank You and we praise You. for your redeeming love. For our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Every day, O Lord, as we open our eyes to another new day, may we consider the cost of our redemption. What it is that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, gave up and paid. That we might have life and have it abundantly. May we never take it for granted. May our lives in every way demonstrate a knowledge and understanding and thankfulness for that precious cost, the blood of Jesus Christ. Hear our prayer, O Lord, for Jesus' sake and in His name alone. Amen.