_ELECTION_ ‘Elect … through sanctification of the Spirit’ 1 Peter 1:2 The subject of Election is a difficult one, but as brought before us in our text it is one of great simplicity. I. ELECTION FIRST SHOWS ITSELF IN A MAN’S SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD WHICH LIETH IN WICKEDNESS.—This is the first h... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE GOSPEL OF THE RESURRECTION_ ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.’ 1 Peter 1:3 It was St. Peter who preached the first sermon on the Resurrect... [ Continue Reading ]
_IN HIS KEEPING_ ‘Kept by the power of God.’ 1 Peter 1:5 In other words, heaven is kept for God’s people, and they are kept for heaven. To every true Christian such a thought is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable consolation. I. WHAT THE TEXT DOES NOT MEAN. (_a_) _ It does not mean that... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE LIFE OF FAITH_ ‘Whom having not seen, ye love; in Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.’ 1 Peter 1:8 We often think, if we had only lived in the days when Christ walked on earth, it would have been so much easier to believe. Many g... [ Continue Reading ]
_LIGHT FROM DARKNESS_ ‘Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister.’ 1 Peter 1:12 Those holy men of old, who spake as moved by the Holy Ghost, were sometimes in darkness as to the things they uttered. They understood them only in part, even when they spoke m... [ Continue Reading ]
_COMING GRACE_ ‘Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end [perfectly marg.] for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.’ 1 Peter 1:13 There is to be a revelation of Jesus Christ. He is to appear, to be unveiled, to manifest Himself... [ Continue Reading ]
_CHRISTIAN OBEDIENCE_ ‘As obedient children.’ 1 Peter 1:14 There are three, and only three, motives for obedience: Interest; Fear; Love. There is the obedience of the hireling; of the slave; of the child. I. THE OBEDIENCE OF THE HIRELING.—It has often been mistaken for Christian obedience. Here... [ Continue Reading ]
_PERSONAL HOLINESS_ ‘Be ye holy; for I am Holy.’ 1 Peter 1:16 The question at once meets us, ‘What is holiness?’ The original word, which we have translated ‘holiness,’ means ‘without earthliness.’ We are ‘of the earth, earthy’; the contrast to holiness, so that, more practically, God only is hol... [ Continue Reading ]
_SOJOURNING IN FEAR_ ‘Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.’ 1 Peter 1:17 That seems to be a discouraging kind of exhortation to give, and it contrasts very remarkably at first hearing with the raptures of the previous part of this chapter. But it is not really so. Let us think for a mom... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE ABIDING WORD_ ‘All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you.’ 1 Peter 1:24 In order to enter into the... [ Continue Reading ]