Hear the word of the Lord.
Resist him.
Firm in your faith.
Knowing that the same kinds of sufferings.
Are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
And after you have suffered a little while.
The God of all grace.
Who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ.
Will himself restore.
Confirm.
Strengthen.
And establish you.
To him be dominion.
Forever and ever.
Amen.
Right now there is a woman named Kelsey Finler.
Who has captivated the attention of really probably millions of people.
Particularly in the United States.
Maybe around the world.
Anybody seen Kelsey Finler's videos this week?
Kelsey Finler is attempting to be the first American woman.
To travel alone.
From California to Hawaii.
In a rowboat.
She's a solo rower.
In a rowboat.
She left about 11 days ago.
From the coast of California.
And she's attempting to be the first American woman to do it.
Alone.
All the way to Hawaii.
She's almost two weeks into a feat.
That if she accomplishes it.
Will take probably three months.
To finish.
And each day.
I'm not sure.
Maybe she has satellite access in some way.
I know there's lots of people who are tracking her.
But each day.
She takes a moment to record about a 60 second video.
A brief update on her condition.
And on her progress.
And she posted online.
There's ocean rowing experts.
Who are tracking her progress.
Who are keeping up with what's going on.
And they're posting.
And they're commenting on what she's doing.
Earlier this week.
A fairly significant weather system moved over Kelsey's location.
For about a day and a half.
There were significantly high winds.
14 foot waves.
For a day and a half.
Through the middle of the night.
Her updates around that time were fascinating.
I would encourage you to go and watch them.
As she was told by those who are helping her support team.
This weather system is coming in.
She's preparing herself.
She's preparing her ocean rower for this particular event.
She's recording videos as she's going through the event.
And it's fascinating.
The most interesting video that she posted though.
Wasn't during the storm.
For me it was the one that she posted the day after.
On day 8.
After the weather had cleared.
The sea had begun to calm.
A westerly wind came in.
Moving from west to east.
And it began to drive her in the completely wrong direction.
Here for 8 days.
She has rowed.
And rowed.
Trying to go west to Hawaii.
She prepares herself.
She gets even almost excited.
About the reality of this big storm that's coming in.
She's well prepared for that.
She's eager.
And then the storm goes away.
And she's made it through.
And then suddenly a completely different obstacle comes in.
Just a wind.
And all of that ground that she gained during that storm is suddenly lost.
As the wind pushes her in the wrong direction.
She needs to go.
And as you can imagine this was emotionally difficult for her.
Through tears she recorded a video.
She spoke of how demoralizing it was to have weathered the storm.
Only to encounter yet another unforeseen obstacle.
That causes you to lose precious miles that you worked so hard to gain.
And on that video at various points she said this.
I'm summarizing.
She said this.
I knew it was going to be hard.
And this is just one of the hard things.
Tomorrow is going to be better.
I'm still rowing.
The fact of the matter is.
Every day on this journey that she's taking.
Is going to be hard.
There won't be a single day that's easy.
The difficulties will change.
Sometimes it's a big weather system.
That comes in and threatens to capsize your boat.
Other times it's a strong wind that comes in.
And it begins to push you in the wrong direction.
There's going to be other difficulties that come along the way.
Every day will be difficult.
Every day will come with its own kind of dangers, toils, and snares.
But as long as Kelsey keeps rowing.
Eventually she'll reach her destination.
And that elusive and ultimate better tomorrow will actually come.
Now it's watching her videos and following her progress this week that her experience reminds me a little bit of what Peter is doing in this letter.
And what he has been saying to the suffering Christians in Asia Minor here in 1 Peter.
Life in this fallen world is hard for everyone.
Right?
But the Christian experience in this life is one that Peter calls a kind of exile.
It's not that our lives are necessarily more difficult.
But we face a kind of suffering and a difficulty that is unique to our faith.
It comes with suffering specifically for the name of Christ.
And though the obstacles that we face in relationship to our faith may vary from day to day.
Each day brings its own kind of trouble.
Its own kind of danger, toil, and snare.
And through those hardships, the temptation will be specifically to give up.
To fall away.
To stop rowing.
And that temptation can, on some days, seem almost impossible to resist.
And it's not always in the big storms that we have to weather.
Sometimes it's after having come through a huge storm and then just to only be met immediately by another, even if lesser, obstacle.
Where the temptation becomes increasingly strong to just say, I think I'm done with this.
Maybe this isn't worth it.
So in this final section of 1 Peter, God calls us through Peter's writing to persevere.
To be faithful to the very end.
Loved ones, I want you to make it to the very end.
I want you to make it to the very end.
I want you to make it to the very end because Jesus himself said that only those who endure to the end will be saved.
Those who fall away will not receive the eternal inheritance that God has promised to his own.
Which means that we must prepare ourselves by God's grace to stand firm in the faith of the gospel of Jesus each and every day as we press on towards heaven.
And Peter helps us to see how to do that here in these verses.
And he gives us two exhortations first.
He instructs us on two ways that we need to actively persevere in the faith.
And then the third thing that he does is actually quite different.
And it's all kind of rooted in this third thing.
Where instead of telling us something to do, he gives us an assurance, a comfort of God's preserving grace.
And that's what I want you to see.
As we're seeking to be faithful to the end,
I want you to see from Peter's language here what it looks like to persevere in faith,
a real act of perseverance on our part that's rooted in the comfort and the rest of God's preserving grace.
That in his grace, he will see us through to the very end.
First thing Peter says in verses 6 and 7,
humble yourselves before God.
Humble yourself before God.
If you're going to be faithful to the end, if you're going to make it to the end and be saved,
you're going to have to humble yourself before God.
We'll look at it in verse 6.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God,
so that at the proper time, he may exalt you,
casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Now this first exhortation, it's reaching back,
it's finding its ground in verse 5,
verse 5, where quoting Proverbs 3,
Peter says that God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
Do you see it there in verse 5?
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
What's Peter saying then?
Because God sets his face against the prideful
and meets the humble heart with an outpouring of divine favor,
Peter now urges us to actively humble ourselves before God.
And in the context of this passage,
humility is persevering in faith
that God will indeed fulfill his promises to us in Christ.
Humbling ourselves before God here
is to patiently await the future glory
that he has promised his children
by enduring the sufferings of this life,
trusting that he will indeed deliver his people.
That's the significance, actually,
in the language that Peter's using here.
He doesn't just say, humble yourself before God.
Notice what he says.
Humble yourselves, therefore, before what?
The mighty hand of God.
Now, Peter just isn't using random language.
This isn't literary flourishing
that he's doing with this phrase.
This is a description of God and of God's power
that's prevalent in the Old Testament Scriptures.
It's always used particularly in relation
to God delivering his people,
delivering them from trouble,
delivering them from sin.
Think on that.
This God who has called you,
whom you believe and follow,
is a God of salvation.
He is a God of deliverance.
And Peter says,
in the midst of your suffering,
in the midst of your hardship,
humble yourselves before God.
Humble yourselves before the God
who indeed delivers,
who is your salvation.
To humble ourselves then
is to trust
that our eternal salvation
comes from God alone.
And whoever thus humbles themselves before him,
Peter says,
will at the right time
be exalted.
Exalted with Christ
Christ.
And at Christ's return.
What is that telling us?
It's telling us that anything less
than persevering faith
is pride
that God opposes.
Not only that he will oppose here in this life,
but that he will oppose
in the judgment at Christ's return.
Those who humble themselves
before the mighty hand of God
will be exalted by God
at the proper time.
Those who do not humble themselves
before the mighty hand of God
will not be exalted,
but will be condemned
and judged.
So trust
that he alone
is your salvation.
And that at the appointed time,
at Christ's return,
he will exalt you.
And you will share
in Christ's glory.
Now in verse 7,
Peter says that this humility
manifests itself
in a particular way.
It manifests itself
when believers
hand their worries
over to God.
Look what he says.
This is not a separate imperative.
This is how you humble yourself
by casting all your anxieties
on him
because he cares for you.
Casting all your anxieties
on him
is one way
that you humble yourself
under the mighty hand
of God.
It follows then,
logically,
in what Peter is saying,
that worry
or anxiety
is a form of pride
that God will oppose.
at the heart
of all of your anxieties
is pride.
It's not always
pride alone.
Don't misunderstand me.
There are all kinds
of things
that contribute
to our emotional distress.
distress.
But the one thing
that is always there,
no matter what else
may be contributing
to your distress,
is a kind of pride.
It's at work
in every anxious heart.
Pride always
makes little of God.
Worry and anxiety,
giving in to worry
and anxiety,
is a diminishment
Diminishment
of God
and his faithfulness
and his power
and his goodness.
The mighty hand of God
is diminished
when we live
in worry
and anxiety.
Steve Schreiner
said this,
or Tom Schreiner,
excuse me,
when believers
are filled with anxiety,
they are convinced
that they must solve
all the problems
in their lives
on their own.
The only God
they trust in
is themselves.
When believers
throw their worries
upon God,
they express
their trust
in his mighty hand,
acknowledging
that he is Lord
and sovereign
over all of life.
Now,
I want you to notice
what Peter's saying
and what he's not saying.
Notice it isn't
the mere experience
or feeling
of worry
that matters.
It's what we do
with those anxieties
that matters here.
So,
I don't want you
to walk away
thinking if you get
nervous about
something today
or if you have
a sense of anxiety
about a particular
thing in your life
that that means
that you've sinned
and your heart
is lifted up
in pride against God.
No,
he's not saying
the experience of it
or the feeling of it.
It's what we're doing
with that anxiety
that can become problematic.
Pride
manifests itself
by taking matters
into our own hands.
We buy into
the illusion
of control
that really
the one
who is sovereign
over my life
and actually can
control the events
of my life
is me.
And so,
we put our trust
and our hope
ultimately
in ourselves.
That's the problem here.
That doubts
God's faithfulness.
Humble faith,
on the other hand,
takes all of those concerns,
those moments
of worry
and anxiety
and cast them
on the Lord.
Cast them
on the mighty
hand of God.
This means
trusting
your soul
to Him
and to His
sovereign care.
In the immediate
context of this passage,
suffering
as a Christian,
casting all our anxieties
on Him
means persevering
in faith
and obedience
despite
the constant
threats
and ridicule
from those
who are hostile
to God
and His ways.
Do you see that here?
Humble yourselves
before the God
of your salvation
at the right time,
at His appointed time,
at Christ's return,
in other words.
He will exalt you.
You will share
in Christ's glory.
The way
you will do this
is that when
you're overcome
with anxiety
because of the suffering
you're facing,
instead of trying
to control it yourself
or taking matters
into your own hand
or just living
in despondency,
you,
by God's grace
and through
persevering faith,
cast those worries
and anxieties
on the Lord,
trusting your soul
to Him,
trusting in His goodness
and His faithfulness
in your life,
entrusting all things
to His sovereign care.
Now,
Peter could have rooted
this exhortation
in so many attributes
of God,
couldn't he?
He could have said,
cast all your cares
upon Him
because He has all power
and can defeat
all your enemies.
That would have been great.
It's not what he says.
What is it that he says?
Cast all your cares
on Him
because He cares
for you.
This exhortation
is rooted
in the attribute
of God's providential care.
What a wonderful comfort
that is.
It's wonderful
to know that God
is all powerful
and that He can
defeat all of our enemies
and He can conquer
all of our hardships.
It's amazingly comforting
to know
that He's not a distant God
but He's a personal God
who not only has that power
but actually has the care
to perform it
and the concern
and the love
and the compassion
to do it.
Do you know
that God cares for you?
He really does.
He loves you.
If you are His,
you will always be His.
He has set His love on you
from before the foundations
of the world.
He has called you.
He knows
what you're going through.
Indeed,
He is sovereign
over what you're going through
and He will see you through it.
He will not abandon you
and He invites you
to cast all of those concerns
and worries
and anxieties on Him
primarily because
He cares about you.
He loves you.
How do I know that?
How do we know
that He really does care?
because He
who did not spare
His own Son
but gave Him up
for us all,
how will He not
also with Him
graciously give us
all things,
Paul wrote
in Romans 8.
God's care for you
was proven
at the cross.
His eternal love
and care
was proven
as Jesus,
the righteous one,
died in your place
and took your sin
and suffered God's wrath
for your sake.
That's the pinnacle
of love and care
and if He's so willing
to do that,
how could we not
entrust Him
with our lesser hardships
and difficulties?
Therefore,
you can cast
your anxieties
on Him
trusting that He is good
and that He will
fulfill His promise.
Second,
Peter says,
not only
are we to
humble ourselves
before God,
second,
we are to
stand firm
in the faith
against the devil,
stand firm
in the faith
against the devil,
verses 8 and 9.
He moves on
and He says,
be sober-minded,
be watchful
because your adversary,
the devil,
prowls around
like a roaring lion
seeking someone
to devour.
Resist him,
firm in your faith,
knowing that the same
kinds of sufferings
are being experienced
by your brothers
throughout the world.
This is now
the third time
that Peter has
called us
to spiritual sobriety
in this letter.
Remember,
it takes sober-mindedness
to set your hope
fully on the grace
that will be completed
at Christ's return.
We saw that
in chapter 1,
verse 13.
We also saw
in chapter 4
and verse 7
that faithful communion
with God
and prayer requires
a kind of
spiritual sobriety,
a sober-mindedness
as well.
Here,
the call
to spiritual sobriety
and alertness,
be sober,
be watchful,
is for the purpose
of recognizing
and resisting
Satan's schemes
against you.
Peter says
the devil
is a real adversary.
He compares him
to a lion
who is prowling about
seeking that he might
destroy us.
And he says
we need to be alert
to this reality.
We need to think
clearly about this.
We need to keep
our heads about this
and recognize
that of all the hardships
you're facing,
of all the enemies
that you may have
in this life,
there is a great
spiritual power
behind them.
Your sufferings
for Christ
are not about
that person
who is ridiculing you.
That's not the extent
of the power
that is at work
against you.
No,
it's far greater
than that.
It is a power
that is far more
significant
than you probably
imagine.
And he is seeking
to destroy you.
He wants to destroy you.
And you need to be
alert to that reality
lest you're devoured.
Now,
we need to keep
all of this in context
to really understand
why Peter is saying
this here.
Why is he suddenly
jumping to this idea
about Satan
as a roaring lion?
Let's put it together.
Remember,
the primary
suffering
facing believers
in this letter
was not the threat
of death.
Even though that was
a possibility,
it always is a possibility.
That's not really
the primary means
of suffering here.
The primary means
of suffering
in the letter
is public ridicule.
It is social
ostracization
specifically because
of your faith
in Christ,
because you're
a Christian
and you have decided
to faithfully live
as a Christian
before the watching world.
Relatively few Christians
will ever be called on
to give their lives
for the faith
in death,
in martyrdom.
Every Christian,
every faithful believer
without exception
will face the ire
of unbelievers
in their lives.
The Bible makes
this abundantly clear.
The world is not
on your side.
Your unbelieving family
is not on your side.
Your friends
that you love
and that you enjoy
friendship with
and that you enjoy
fellowship with,
when it comes
to your faith,
faith,
they do not love you.
They cannot
love you.
Your expectation
should be
that they will
be hostile
toward your faith
and the life
that it produces.
Jesus.
They say,
how do we know that?
Well,
Paul really
straightforwardly told us
that in 2 Timothy.
2 Timothy 3
says,
indeed,
all who desire
to live a godly life
in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted.
Not put to death,
but you will face
the ridicule of the world,
of people that you love,
because of your faithfulness
to Jesus.
And Paul goes on to say
that evil people
and imposters,
they're going to go on
from bad to worse.
They're going to keep deceiving
and being deceived.
Our expectation,
then,
should be that
our suffering
in this life
for Christ
will be real
and it will be experienced
by us all.
That's the context
in which Peter is writing.
That's what he's dealing
with here.
This immersion
into a world
that is hostile
toward what we believe
is extraordinarily difficult,
which is why
compromise
is such a pervasive problem
in the church.
It's not because
people come
to Christ
automatically thinking
that they're just going
to do Christianity
their own way.
It doesn't work like that.
When someone first
comes to Christ,
they come genuinely,
at least ostensibly,
prepared to be
a genuine follower.
But Jesus said
there is a category
of person
that comes to him
and then the sun
gets real hot
the cares of this life,
the trouble
of this world
comes our way
and they fall away
and they fade away.
Why?
Because compromise
is often born
suffering,
hardship.
No one wants
to be an outcast.
Peter wants us
to know
that this is
Satan's tactic,
that this is happening
intentionally
to you,
that we must
remain alert
to it
lest we fall away
from the faith.
The hostility
from the world
is Satan's roar,
this roaring lion.
What is the roar here?
A lion roars
to intimidate.
What is the
intimidation
tactic
that Satan
is using?
Is it not
persecution?
Is it not
hatefulness
and hostility
from those
who do not
believe what we believe
or maybe even
think that it's
dangerous?
And if he can
succeed in
intimidating us
to fall away,
then we will
have been
devoured.
To be devoured
is to stop
rowing.
To say,
enough,
this isn't what
I thought it
was.
Maybe this
isn't actually
real.
As a result,
Peter,
his warning
reminds us
that while
our enemies
may have
many faces,
there is a
real spiritual
power behind
them all.
And the
spiritually
complacent
and asleep
are susceptible
to the
devouring
lion.
I don't want
you to be
susceptible
to the
devouring
lion.
I want
you to be
alert.
I want
you to
recognize
what's
actually
happening
in this
spiritual
war that's
going on
around you,
lest you
fall away.
What does
Paul say to
the Ephesians?
We don't
wrestle against
flesh and
blood.
We wrestle
against
rulers,
against
authorities,
against cosmic
powers over
the present
darkness,
against spiritual
forces of
evil in the
heavenly places.
There is a
significant power
that is seeking
your destruction
and you must
remain alert
to him.
Spiritual
sleepiness,
lacking those
spiritual disciplines,
not staying
faithful to the
word, not
spending time in
prayer, not
being faithful to
your church, not
doing all the
things that Christ
calls us to do
as his people.
Spiritual
sleepiness,
complacency,
that puts you
at great risk.
It makes you
vulnerable to
Satan's schemes.
What then does
it mean to be
faithful to the
end?
Well here,
Peter says
clearly you have
this enemy,
resist him.
Resist him.
How do we
resist him?
Firm in the
faith.
This devouring,
This
temptation,
this isn't
about luring you
to do something
you shouldn't do.
This is about
luring you away
from Jesus.
This is about
luring you away
from the
gospel.
This is about
calling you to
abandon the
faith that you
have professed.
That's what this
devouring is.
That's what the
warning is about.
What does it mean
then to resist?
It means to
stand firm in
Christ, to
stand firm in
the faith no
matter what it
is that you're
facing.
And you need to
recognize that
the stakes are
high.
They're higher
than you might
imagine.
giving in to
Satan's schemes
by compromising
the gospel
and you
will go to
hell.
That's the
stakes.
That's from
Jesus who
said only
those who
conquer,
only those who
endure to the
end will be
saved.
Friends, you
can't afford to
take that risk.
You can't afford
to take the risk
of complacency
and of
vulnerability.
Peter says,
be sober-minded,
be alert,
resist him
firm in the
faith.
And then he
gives us this
final statement
in verse 9.
He corrects an
error that's
often at work
in those facing
the hostility of
the world.
The error is
believing that
what you're facing
is unusual
and that you're
alone in it.
And is that
not what Peter
has been
describing this
whole letter?
If anything,
he's been
saying, you
should expect
this to happen,
this hardship.
And you need
to be prepared
for it and you
need to trust
God in it.
That's basically
the point of the
letter, isn't
it?
Peter is seeking
to comfort the
weary soul here.
He's reminding
us that this is
what we should
expect.
And then he
says, you are
not alone.
What you're
facing is what
your brothers all
over the world
are facing.
It's the same
experience.
Just think about
how we prayed
today.
We've got it
easy, don't
we?
What about
Kevin and
Denise, whose
lives are at
significant risk
just to be where
they are doing
what they're doing?
they may come
home this summer
and that elder
might lose his
life as a
result.
That's a high
risk, isn't
it?
What about
Val and
Angela?
For years
now, in the
middle of war,
they have church
services while
bombing sirens
are going around
them in Odessa
and Ukraine.
Val right now
is trying to
minister the
gospel.
On the front
lines of war.
They're going
through a lot,
aren't they?
When we face
hardships, that
doesn't mean, I'm
not trying to
diminish the
hardship that we
would face for
Christ.
That's not at all
what I'm trying
to do.
In fact, I
think Peter's
trying to stay
away from that
thing as well.
He's basically
saying, don't
think that what
you're going
through isn't
real persecution.
But whenever
you're having
that hard time
with that family
member, you're
having that hard
time with that
friend or colleague
or whatever it
is, or the
world or this
community is
coming against
us.
You know what
can bring a
comfort?
Is to say, you
know what, I
can think about
Val and Angela.
I can think about
Kevin and Denise
and their church.
I can think about
Christians all over
the world.
You know what I'm
going through?
That's not unique.
We're in this
together.
And the Lord is
faithful.
Is that not a
comfort to your
soul?
You see what
Peter's doing in
this comforting?
Our sufferings are
first and foremost
a share in Christ's
sufferings.
We know that if we
suffer with him, we
will also share in
his glory in
eternity.
But we also share in
the sufferings of
other believers.
We enter into it.
Therefore, we can
take heart.
We're not actually
alone.
We suffer together
and we stand firm
in the faith together.
So Peter says, you're
going to be faithful
to the end.
If you're going to
make it to the end
and you must make it
to the end, you're
going to have to
humble yourself before
the mighty hand of
God.
And he says, you're
going to have to
resist the devil firm
in the faith.
And then he does
something different in
the last part of the
paragraph.
Look at verses 10
and 11.
After you have
suffered a little
while, the God of
all grace who has
called you to his
eternal glory in
Christ will himself
restore, confirm,
strengthen, and
establish.
To him be the
dominion forever and
ever.
Amen.
He does something
different here.
In 6 to 9, he's
exhorting us to
persevere in faith so
that we will receive
that eschatological
reward at Christ's
return.
He doesn't do that
here.
This isn't an
exhortation.
This is an assurance.
We can be faithful to
the end because God
will be faithful to the
end.
That's his point.
What's he doing here
at the end?
He's saying, rest in
the preserving grace of
God.
That seems paradoxical to
everything that he's just
said, doesn't it?
But it's not.
We're going to think on
it.
He said, listen, you got
to go to the end.
Only those who make it to
the end will be saved.
You're going to make it
there by humbling yourself
before God, standing firm
in the faith despite the
trials that you go
through.
And by the way, you can
rest that God will be
faithful to the end for
you.
It's amazing.
The little while here, he
says, after you've
suffered a little while,
that's not a temporary
season in your life.
That's all of your life.
The little while here,
that's all of life.
At the end of this life, he
says, after you've
suffered in this life for
Christ, then God is going
to exalt you.
Peter calls it a little
while because the
suffering is limited.
It's minuscule in
comparison to the glory
that awaits us, that God
called us to in Christ
Jesus.
Again, Romans 8, for I
consider that the
sufferings of this present
time are not worth
comparing with the glory
that is to be revealed in
us.
That's what Peter's saying
when he says a little
while.
He doesn't mean for a
couple of months you're
going to suffer.
He means, no, this life is
going to be a life of
suffering for you, but
it's going to seem like a
little while compared to
what is to come.
And then he says, after
this, after this life, God
himself will restore and
confirm and strengthen and
establish you.
Now, that's not four
different things that God
is doing.
That's one thing.
What's he saying?
This is what God's going
to accomplish in your life
after this time of
suffering.
He will bring your
salvation to completion
at the return of Christ.
That's what he's saying.
This is the eternal
reward that will be made
complete at Christ's
return.
It's that imperishable
inheritance that is
ours in Christ Jesus.
But I want you to notice
what it's grounded in.
This assurance of
eternal salvation is not
grounded in your
persevering faith.
Do you see that?
In other words, we don't
get to the end and God
say, you know what?
Great job.
Because you did this, let
me reward you with
heaven.
That's not how it works.
That's not what he roots
it in.
It's not resting ultimately
on you.
What is he rooted in?
He roots it in God's
preserving grace.
After you've suffered a
little while, the God of
all grace, the God who
possesses all grace and
gives all grace, he will
then bring your salvation
to completion.
He's the God of all grace.
He gives that grace to
everyone he calls in Christ
to eternal glory.
And he is able to do it
because he has all dominion
forever and ever.
He is able.
He is willing.
He has called you.
He will do it.
Again, Romans 8.
Those whom he predestined,
he called.
Those whom he calls,
he justifies.
Those whom he justifies,
he will glorify.
And then Paul says,
what should we say to that?
If God is for us,
who can be against us?
The ground of our assurance
is not ultimately in what we
do.
It is in the sovereign grace
of God.
And we must rest in him
knowing that he will
complete the work that he
has begun in us.
He has secured eternal
salvation for his people
and he has secured his
people for eternal salvation.
That's what we saw all the way
back in chapter 1.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Glory to God alone.
Must we persevere?
Yes.
Does it ultimately rest on us?
No.
It's all of God's grace.
This is his work.
It's his work.
And you can rest in him.
Because here's the thing.
Day by day,
as you're going through
struggles and hardships,
whatever it is,
temptations to sin,
whatever it is,
there's going to be a lot
of days where you're going
to think,
you know,
if this is up to me,
I'm not going to make it.
If it's up to me,
I'm not going to make it.
And let me tell you,
if it was ultimately up to you,
you wouldn't make it.
But it's not ultimately up to you.
Your life is in his hands.
He calls us to persevere in faith.
But it's his preserving grace
that makes that possible.
And you can rest in that.
I want you to be faithful to the end
because only those who persevere
to the end will be saved.
Perseverance is not passive.
It doesn't happen to us, right?
We must actively humble ourselves
before God.
We must actively resist the devil
and all his schemes.
We must actively seek
to be faithful to Christ
and to his gospel.
We must do that
just like we must believe
to be saved.
And yet,
it is only through God's
preserving grace
that our persevering action
is energized
and achieved.
These commands
and these warnings
through the scriptures,
and there are many of them,
this is written to
who Peter understands
to be true believers.
And then he writes
as a significant warning,
doesn't he?
These warnings,
these commands
in the scriptures,
they are the means
by which God
preserves our souls.
and all those
whom he effectively calls
will obey them.
They will keep the faith.
As John said,
those who don't keep the faith,
they left because
they didn't belong to us
to begin with,
not truly.
God's preserving grace
is then demonstrated
through our active faith.
Therefore,
it's not a paradox.
both things are running
parallel to one another.
You can rest
in God's grace
and using that
as the motivation
to pursue
all the means
of a persevering faith.
In other words,
we trust
and obey.
And that's how
we thrive in exile.
That's how we thrive
in exile.