Apostle of a Grace-Changed Life, Part 2

of Jesus Christ. We saw that
Peter’s understanding of the Word, his appreciation for the
Word, not only the Word incarnate in the Lord Jesus Christ, but
the Word written. They were the words of life.
Life itself. And Peter speaks of them repeatedly
in those terms. Where else but from the divine
instructor, would you get words like this? All flesh is like
grass and all its glory is the flower of grass. The grass withers,
the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever.
And Peter says, and this is the word which was preached to you. And he went on to exhort them
to long for the pure milk of the word. Not only was his view
of the Word changed, transformed. His personal vigilance was changed. This is the same man that fell
asleep several times at the most crucial moment of Christ’s ministry.
The night in the Garden of Gethsemane. Christ preparing to go to the
cross for us. Peter learned his lesson. And
he went on to exhort us, not hypocritically, but as one who
knows the weakness of the human flesh, when he said, prepare
your minds for action. We have sluggish minds, don’t
we? We let our minds almost, you know how the computer can
go to sleep, as it were, standby. We let our minds go on standby
far too often. He says, prepare your minds for
action. Keep sober in spirit. Fix your
hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation
of Jesus Christ. As you begin to delve into this
epistle, you see a man who God reached in and personally changed
his life in dramatic ways. The holiness of God we looked
at last week. In Luke 5.8, It records that Peter’s initial
calling into the ministry, when Simon Peter saw that, he fell
down at Jesus’ feet saying, Go away from me, Lord, for I am
a sinful man. Peter knew who he was. Peter
knew he didn’t have anything to offer to the ministry. Peter
knew that he wasn’t commending himself to the service of Christ.
Peter knew wholeheartedly that in him, God didn’t get a good
deal. It’s amazing to me. Five years
after somebody gets saved, it’s amazing to watch the transformation
that people begin to strut around like so many peacocks thinking
that, oh, God saw in me some kind of potential. And I don’t
know what it was, but it was something. It wasn’t anything. And what he recognized there.
was that God’s holiness is not this austere, foreboding presence
that’s to be avoided at all costs. God’s holiness is intended to
draw us toward Him in holiness. Verse 14 of Peter’s epistle,
first chapter, as obedient children, do not be conformed to your former
lusts which were yours in ignorance, but like the Holy One who called
you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior. This is a man
who had come face to face with the Holy One Himself and walked
with Him and served with Him. And rather than be repulsed by
Christ’s holiness, he was drawn to it. Rather than send people
away from Christ and from His presence, he calls them to it. Finally, and again, just by way
of review, Peter’s view of the church. Peter didn’t invent this
greatest illustration of the church ever spoken. When he says
that we are all called as living stones and as living stones were
being built up into a royal priesthood. Peter didn’t invent that illustration,
he got it directly from the Lord Jesus Christ, who said upon this
rock, I will build my church. Jesus gave Peter that illustration.
of a great edifice that is slowly and systematically being constructed
for God’s glory. Peter got that from Christ. And now the new material. And
my fear is that this isn’t even going to be finished today. I told you last week I’ve never
preached a message on one word. Now it looks that I’ll preach
two, and I fear that it may even be three messages on one word,
Peter. Turn, if you would, to Matthew
chapter 17. Matthew chapter 17. In Matthew chapter 17, we’re
going to flip back and forth just like we did last week. So
have your fingers perhaps in first Peter and be ready to adeptly
flip back and forth. Matthew chapter 17, verse 24,
Matthew records when they came to Capernaum, those who collected
the two drachma tax came to Peter and said, does your teacher not
pay the two drachma tax? And he said, yes. And when he
came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first saying, What do
you think, Simon, from whom do the kings of the earth collect
customs or poll tax from their sons or from strangers? When
Peter said from strangers, Jesus said to him, the sons are exempt.
And what he was doing was instructing Peter into the fact of his own
sovereignty. Jesus is essentially spelling
out to Peter that he is the Lord of all the universe. He’s not
obligated in that sense. But watch what Jesus Himself
instructs Peter to do. Verse 27, However, so that we
do not offend them, go to the sea, throw in a hook, take out
the first fish that comes up. I don’t suggest that you try
this. And when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take
that and give it to them for you and for me. Jesus says, you
know, look, these earthly things were not inherently obligated
to them. We submit for conscience sake. To these earthly governments,
and that is exactly the lesson that Peter dishes out to us in
first Peter, chapter two, flip back if you would. 1 Peter 2, verse 12, keep your
behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing
in which they slander you as evil doers, they may, because
of your good deeds as they observe them, glorify God and the day
of visitation. It’s exactly what we came across
in in the third chapter of Titus, where you have the watching world. We’re called to live in front
of them in such a way that we can point them to Christ. And
in Peter’s epistle here in verse 13, he says, submit yourselves
for the Lord’s sake to every human institution. We are citizens
of heaven, not in the future, but already now, but that does
not exempt us from witnessing by way of our lives in submission
to the earthly laws and to the taxes and those kinds of institutions. Peter goes on to clarify whether
to a king is one an authority or the governors is sent by him
for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do
right. Was chatting with Bill just at break. You know, I’ve
never been pulled over yet to be commended for my good driving.
Now, some of you would say amen to that, but what he’s saying
here is that we are to be in submission to the earthly governors,
to those who are in charge, so that we don’t have to be in view
of them as evil doers being punished. But rather, as those should be
praised who are doing right, Peter goes on and says, for such
is the will of God that by doing right, you may silence the ignorance
of foolish men. So they look for ways. And this
is what grieves my heart with within the folds of Christianity,
those who impugn and repudiate and refuse to submit to earthly
government. I even had one brother tell me
or a proposed brother tell me that stop signs are optional. Taxes are optional. Driver’s
licenses are optional. That as Christians, as citizens
of heaven, we don’t need to submit to those things. And Peter, God’s
word says you’re wrong. Act as free men, but do not use
your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves
of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood,
fear God, honor the king. They’re beautiful words and I
can’t wait to preach them. Peter’s view of the sufferings
of Christ was also changed. Verses 2, 18 through 25, but
I want to go first. to Matthew’s Gospel in chapter 16 this time. In no other area of Peter’s life
and ministry was the transformation so great and so dramatic as in
this area, as you will see in a moment. Matthew chapter 16,
and I want to begin in verse 21. Matthew 16, verse 21, from
that time, Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the
elders and chief priests and the scribes and be killed and
be raised up on the third day. And people, this was utterly
shocking. This couldn’t have been any further
away from what their ideal of the Messiah was to be. They envisioned
a conquering Messiah. One who was going to come in
and was going to liberate them from the oppressive evil government. I’ll tell you, when they heard
this, they were utterly shocked. to know that they had been following
this Savior that now is proposing this plan that they couldn’t
even conceive. And look at what Peter’s response
is there in verse 22. Peter took Him aside and began
to rebuke Him. There’s another thing I wouldn’t
recommend. I mean, can you imagine the scene? Here’s the Lord Jesus Christ
instructing the disciples as to the plan, how the things are
going to unfold. And Peter pulls Jesus aside and
rebukes him, saying, God forbid it, Lord, this shall never happen
to you. You know what? And I’ll tell
you, I believe in my heart, I believe this was every bit as much about
Peter as it was about Christ. It wasn’t so much that Peter
didn’t want Jesus to suffer. I know he didn’t, but Peter didn’t
want to suffer. Because he knew that if that
kind of treatment was going to be before the Savior, he knew
that he was downstream. He knew that he was going to
get his. And Peter didn’t want that. Peter didn’t want that
kind of a kingdom. Peter didn’t want to be that kind of apostle.
Peter didn’t want that kind of a Messiah. Because Peter didn’t want that
kind of treatment himself. And Jesus turned, verse 23, and
said to Peter, get behind me, Satan. He attributes not that
Peter has become Satan, but his whole thought process, his mentality
is satanic. It is satanic influence to think
that this world is, as the hymn writer said, a flowery bed of
ease. It’s not. It’s not going to be. Jesus said, you are a stumbling
block to me for you are not setting your mind on God’s interest,
but on man’s. We want it easy. We want it a
piece of cake, cakewalk, walk through life on a bed of roses,
right? We want it trouble free. That’s man’s interest. We want
to be unbothered and unaffected. And that’s what makes life. for us sometimes such a turmoil. Why people write books. Why do
bad things happen to good people? I don’t know who they were talking
about, the good people. But bad things do come. And as
one of the most dramatic books in all of Scripture, Job. I mean,
right? Good man. From our standards,
righteous man in God’s eyes. Suffered. Like nobody else, perhaps
outside of Christ ever has. Then Jesus says to his disciples,
if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take
up his cross and follow me. Jesus didn’t imply that they
were all going to be literally crucified. Such a thought is
absurd. It didn’t happen. That’s not
what Jesus was saying, but in a very real sense, there were
crosses, as it were, to be born. There were sufferings that were
going to be born. Whoever wishes to save his life
will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find
it. Now, I want to take you to the
transformation. God changed his mind. He changed his heart. And
in chapter two, verse 18, we begin to see how dramatically
and how thoroughly God had changed Peter’s mind regarding suffering.
It is part of life, it is part of the Christian life. And Peter
learned it. Verse 18, servants be submissive
to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good
and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. I don’t
know how many of you have had bosses like mine, but that’s
exactly who Peter was talking about. I’ll give you his name
if you want after the service. Peter says, you know what? It
doesn’t matter who your boss is. You don’t have an excuse,
even if you’ve got Attila the Hun as your regional manager. Why? For this finds favor if,
for the sake of conscience toward God, a person bears up under
sorrows when suffering unjustly. All of a sudden now, Peter has
a new view, a new understanding of sufferings, that they’re part
of God’s economy. For what credit is there if when
you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience?
But if when you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently
endure it. This finds favor with God. You know what Peter’s thinking
of? He’s thinking of Christ and the
cross. Who else is there in history
who’s ever suffered unjustly? To the degree of Christ, he goes
on and he begins to clarify it. For you have also been called
for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving
you an example for you to follow in his steps, who committed no
sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth. You think that
you’re innocent? Christ was perfectly innocent. You think that you’re
just? Christ was perfectly just. While being reviled, he did not
revile and return while suffering. He uttered no threats, but kept
in trusting himself to him who judges righteously. And he himself
bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we might die
to sin and live to righteousness, for by his wounds you were healed.
Peter says, you know what, you have a great example. We’re not
going to be exempted from suffering, and so you might as well do it
as Christ did it. Peter’s whole understanding of
this was changed, totally transformed. Turn to chapter 3. Chapter 3, verse 13, Peter takes
up the same thought, same argument about sufferings. They’re going
to come and you might as well take it and you might as well
take it as God intended it. And you might as well take it
as Christ took it. Who is there to harm you if you
prove zealous for what is good? You almost get this, you know,
pie in the sky thinking that, you know, like if you just do
what’s right, you know, you’re going to go scot free, scot free
through life and no troubles at all. Right. That’s not what
Peter says, but. Even if you should suffer for
the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear their
intimidation, do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in
your hearts. Turn to chapter four. Chapter 4, Peter again takes
up this subject of suffering. Chapter 4, verse 1, Therefore,
since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also
with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh
has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in
the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
We’re in chapter 4. Turn to verse 12 if you need
to. Down to verse 12. Again, the
subject of suffering comes up and Peter deals with it clearly,
pointing us to Christ. Beloved, do not be surprised
at the fiery ordeal among you. Now, these first century Christians
were facing literal fire. Persecution, such as the church
has only seen on sporadic occasions, intense, fiery persecutions where
people were literally put to death for their faith. That kind of keeps us from whining
about, you know, the neighbor that looks down his nose at us
because we carry our Bibles or, you know, that’s it’s amazing
to me what people call persecution nowadays. Beloved, do not be
surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you
for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening
to you. But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ,
did you get that? This is part and parcel of Christ’s
persecution, not yours. You’re not so righteous that
you’ve drawn the attention of all the heathen in the land.
It’s Christ that they’re after. But keep on rejoicing so that also
at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. If you’re reviled for the name
of Christ, you’re blessed. Down to verse 16. But if anyone
suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. But in that name,
let him glorify God. Peter had learned this lesson,
people. There was a time where Peter went straight to the Lord
Jesus Christ and wagged his finger in his face and rebuked him.
And God in His grace and Christ in His mercy patiently taught
Peter and showed him slowly that sufferings are part of the Christian
life and that they are to be embraced as part of God’s plan. Peter’s understanding of sufferings
was totally changed and transformed. I’ll take you to the next one,
one that I don’t have a whole lot of chapter and verses for
you as far as where God specifically worked in Peter’s life and transformed
him, as I’ve suggested. I think I’ve established a pattern
so that you can see that God took an unrefined fisherman,
poured His grace into him, and what came out was completely
different than what we saw in the Gospel accounts. Peter’s understanding of marriage.
I believe, was totally transformed. I’m not talking about your weekend
fisherman. I’m talking about a guy who does
this for a career, who was gone sometimes for weeks on end. A
cold, callous, hardened man. Probably had a collection of
both Greek and Jewish and Aramaic words that would make us blush. We know that Peter was married
to a poor woman. We know that because when Jesus
came into Peter’s home in Matthew chapter eight, he saw his mother-in-law
lying sick in bed with fever. He touched her hand. The fever
left her. She got up and waited on him. Paul mentions again that
Peter was married in First Corinthians nine, five. Do we not have a
right to take along a believing wife if we have one? Even as
the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and
Cephas, Peter was married, which makes his, you know, some people’s
claim that he was the first pope a little difficult. We’ll take
that up another time, but listen to the counsel of this rough,
crude fisherman. when he finally begins to turn
his heart towards the home and the family and the precious institution
of marriage. I don’t have chapter and verse,
but if what we’ve seen of Peter is true, and I believe it is,
then we know that his home life was a little bit difficult for
Mrs. Cephas. You just don’t get These words
from the mouth of a fisherman, except by God’s grace. First
Peter three. In the same way, you wives be
submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are
disobedient to the word, they may be one without a word by
the behavior of their wives as they observe your chaste and
respectful behavior. And your adornment must not be
merely external, braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, putting
on dresses, but let it be the hidden person of the heart. with
the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious
in the sight of God. In this way, in the former times,
the women, the holy women, also who hoped in God, used to adorn
themselves, being submissive to their own husbands. Just as
Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. And you have become
her children if you do what is right without being frightened
by any fear. Now, I know that in our 21st
century years, ladies, those are difficult words and they’re
much maligned and much misinterpreted. And I can’t wait to preach this
passage either. But what Peter so graciously
lays out there, This is the picture of a beautiful and godly woman. And I’m sure Mrs. Cephas was
no gem herself, either, before the grace of God. But the words
that have rung true in my own life so many times, this is the
single… I told my brother Brian this
past week, this is the single verse that God has most often
used in my life. Isn’t it true, men? You husbands,
Live with in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding
way. And which of us hasn’t been most
of our lives lacking in understanding, in that compassion, that care
as with someone weaker since she is a woman and show her honor
as a fellow heir of the grace of life. That couldn’t have been
true of Peter’s home before Christ because they didn’t know the
grace of life, neither of them. Peter was a violent man as well.
Flip to John’s Gospel. In John’s Gospel, a rather intense moment is recorded
there for us. And this is proof to me that,
you know, you can learn all the apologetics you want. You could
go up and gather wood off of Ararat from Noah’s Ark and parade
it through the lands and you would gain zero converts. You
could find the cross that Jesus was died on or the Holy Grail
itself, whatever it is that’s not going to make you one convert
outside of what God’s grace would already do by His Word and His
Spirit. And this is proof. Watch this.
Therefore, he asked him, Whom do you seek? And they said, Jesus
of the Nazarene. Jesus answered, I told you that
I am he. So if you seek me, let these go their way. To fulfill the word which he
spoke of those whom you’ve given me, I lost not one. Simon Peter. Here he goes, right? Having a
sword. And now you just begin to shudder,
right? If you know Peter, you know, you don’t put a sword in
his hands. Or you do the rounded one with the rubber tip. Simon
Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest slave
and cut off his right ear and the slave’s name was Malchus.
And you know the amazing thing is Jesus healed him, right? Picked
his ear up, put it back on. And you know the way the story
should end. And they all repented and came to faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And that’s not how it reads.
They just kept right on arresting him. Hauling him to the cross.
That’s why I say, find whatever relic you will offer up, whatever
apologies you will. Aside from the Word of God and
the Spirit of God, they will not be saved. Turn to first Peter
chapter three. This was a violent man, a rough,
crude, obnoxious fisherman, a man whose first instinct Upon the
thought of the Lord Jesus Christ being arrested was to reach out
and whack off some guy’s ear, and I think he missed. I think
he wanted the guy’s neck. But he was a fisherman and not
so adept with a sword, and so he got his ear instead. First
Peter three, verse eight. Listen to this. I mean, if this
doesn’t give you an image of a man who is absolutely touched
and transformed by God’s grace to sum up Let all of you be harmonious,
sympathetic, brotherly, kind hearted and humble in spirit.
It’s almost as if, you know, what was the show in the 60s
with the guy that always changed his sweater and his shoes? Mr. Rogers. It’s almost like Mr.
Rogers, right? harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly,
kind hearted, humble in spirit. And then you change your shoes
and then you go on and say not returning evil for evil or insult
for insult, but giving a blessing instead. This is not the same
man, people, this is a man who is changed and touched by God’s
grace. This is a man who chopped off
a soldier’s ear and was ready to go to battle. It’s another mark of God’s transcendence. And this gives us hope, especially
us men who are, I believe, violent by nature. What courses in our
blood just is always ready to stand up and defend and to go
to battle. And some of those things are
good. But there is a gentleness that needs to be worked into
us by God’s grace. And this is where all the women
in the congregation say, Amen. Peter’s testimony of Christ will
close with this, and I’ll try to preserve my ministry and going
into a third week on one word. Turn, if you would, to John,
the Gospel of John in chapter 18. You know the story. In fact,
we’ve already alluded to it, that Peter’s, you know, in his
own selfish, self-assertive style, he says, I’m never going to deny
you. I’m never going to let go. I’m never going to stop proclaiming
Christ. Oh, really? How about this little
slave girl? Let’s try this. Verse 17, the
slave girl who kept the door said, said to Peter, you’re not
also one of this man’s disciples, are you? I mean, how cowardly
do you have to be? To deny Christ to a little girl
who stands at the door and Peter did, and he said, I am not. And
there was his first of three denials, and he goes on, verse
25, Simon, Peter was standing, warming himself and they said
to him, you’re not also one of his disciples, are you? He denied
it and said, I’m not. One of the slaves of the high
priest being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off.
See, he’s got skeletons in the closet is what he has. Did I
not see you in the garden with him? The third time, Peter denied
it again and immediately a rooster crowed. This is a man who was
ashamed of Christ. And if you don’t get the total
transformation by God’s grace from this verse, And I will fail to make my point
completely. Turn to 1 Peter 3. The same man who was so cowardly,
he couldn’t even acknowledge to a little girl, just a doorkeeper,
not the daughter of one of the elders of the church. You know,
not the queen. A little girl standing at the
door, a slave girl. Listen to these words. Who is
there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But
even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you’re
blessed and do not fear their intimidation and do not be troubled. As I said over repeatedly, so
many of these elements. You either have to look at Peter
and call him the biggest hypocrite that ever lived, or you have
to acknowledge that this man was transformed by the grace
of God like no other in history. Do not fear their intimidation,
what kind of intimidation could a little girl have offered at
the door that day? I don’t know what, but she did. And he was troubled. Verse 15, but sanctify. Here’s
the remedy. Sanctify Christ as Lord in your
hearts. And Peter knew the way. He knew
exactly what it took to stand boldly for Christ. Sanctify Christ
as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense
to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that
is in you. And yet with gentleness and reverence. People, my argument
is simple. This is a man, rough, crude. And you know what? He’s every
bit like you and me. Unrefined, sinful, impetuous,
unfaithful. And look over and over and over
again, you either have to conclude that the epistles of Peter are
not written by him, which many liberals have done. Or that he’s
so hypocritical, such as would give such kind of grandfatherly
advice, do as I say, don’t do as I do. Or you have to conclude
that Peter’s life was so changed and so transformed that he can
say with all integrity, don’t fear their intimidation. Don’t
be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord of your hearts. I believe
Peter had done that. Let’s examine our own hearts.
as we stand before Him. Our merciful God, we continue
our view of your servant, Peter, the great apostle. But Father,
as we look at Peter, we don’t see Peter, we see Christ. Father,
and we want to see Christ in our own lives. We want to see
Christ in the testimony of our own lives and the testimony of
Christ. We want to see Christ in showing
forgiveness to others and being kind and gentle. We want to see
transformation such as Peter experienced. Lord, I pray that
we would just draw from this, this example of Peter’s life,
that we are not beyond the scope of your work. Grant us grace,
Father, to come before you humble and broken. Help us to come before
you with our weaknesses and our failings and to plead with you
for grace to change us. Father, change us for your glory. It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray,
Amen.