P.S. Stand Firm

Well take your Bibles for the last time together and turn to one Peter chapter five. I come before you this morning with thankfulness and I guess a sense of accomplishment. It's always a joy to have completed another book of the Bible as we try to study through these books word for word, line by line, verse by verse, chapter by chapter. And there's always a sense of accomplishment when you complete a book like this. But there's also a bit of sadness because as you spend so much time, when you spend so much time studying a book together like this, it becomes like a dear friend and you don't want to say goodbye, you don't want to see it go. But we've come to the final three verses of Peter's letter here, and so we're going to look at them this morning, one Peter chapter five, verse 12.

Peter writes through Salus, our faithful brother, for so I regard him. I have written to you briefly exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God stand firm in it. She who is in Babylon chosen together with you, sends you greetings and so does my son Mark, greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ. Father, thank you for granting us grace as we've gone through this exceptional letter written by Peter so many years ago, but it seems like he could have written it yesterday. It's so timely, it's so relevant for our lives today.

And Lord, while we've crossed many mountaintops here in this book, many extremely important passages critical to our lives as Christians. It seems like these verses are more of an afterthought and not very consequential in any way, but I just ask that as we know that every word of the Bible is inspired by your spirit. These verses are here for a reason, and I pray that we would learn from them what you would have us to learn today so that we could be who you want us to be. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, ever since digital devices became mainstream and computers and smartphones and tablets became accessible to most people, communicating with each other has become much easier, quicker, and more frequent. Email, texting, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, a myriad of other apps really have revolutionized the way that we share information, the way we stay in contact with one another.

And I am grateful for the many benefits and advantages of these technological advancements provide us. But one downside is fewer and fewer people take the time to write a card or a letter by hand. Handwritten notes and letters are becoming a thing of the past. When I was in high school, I had the privilege of serving as a counselor at a local Christian summer camp. And at the end of every summer, I would want to reach out and encourage each one of those young men that I had a chance to minister to over the course of the summer. And so I couldn't text them. I couldn't instant message them. Really, my only option was to write a letter of an encouragement. So I would do that, a handwritten letter, and I would put it in the mail and send it to them. When I was in college, I met a young lady who I really liked, but she happened to live on the opposite side of the country, which meant that when we went home for the summer, the only way we could communicate besides calling each other on a landline that had a cord connected to the wall, there was no such thing as FaceTime or email or zoom or anything else.

So the only way we could communicate was through writing letters. And Kelly and I both saved the letters that we wrote to one another in our college years. We still have them in boxes somewhere in our house. I think the only difference between hers and mine is hers probably has a nice little pre ribbon around them or something like you ladies like to do with your letters. Kelly still makes fun of me, however, because I never closed my letters with the standard sincerely or affectionately, affectionately or love. And back in those days, I just scrawled at the bottom of my letters righteous and radical.

And again, another evidence of God's grace that she even married me. But one of the things I often did when I finished writing a letter to Kelly or to one of the young men from that summer camp was I would add a Ps, which for some of you younger folks, this may be the first time you've ever heard that expression. You've never seen one A Ps. It was simply an abbreviation of the Latin postscript, which literally means written after. And so a postscript or a PS is an additional thought added to letters oftentimes simply to provide just a quick summary thought or to give a final word of encouragement. And it's typically the one thing that the one writing the letter wants the recipient of that letter to remember most.

Well, I think these last three verses of first Peter are sort of like a Ps. They provide a quick summary of all that Peter addressed already in this letter along with a final word of encouragement. You may remember from last week I mentioned that one of the major themes of pers Peter is suffering, and specifically how we can have joy and hope amid the suffering in our lives. And Peter introduced this theme of being joyful and hopeful while suffering in the opening verses of the first chapter, chapter one, verses three through nine. I won't take time to read that again, but that's really like a bookend that he just plopped down at the beginning of his letter and then put the other plopped down the other bookend in chapter five, verse 10, which we looked at last week. After you've suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus will himself perfect confirm strength and establish you to him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen as if that's where the letter should have ended or didn't. That's a wrap.

Again, really those two verses are really the crescendo of the letter in which he reminded us one last time that God will see us through this hostile world until the day we arrive at our home in heaven. So what's going on in verses 12, 13 and 14? Well, I think Peter was simply summarizing how and where and in why he wrote this letter, including a final appeal along with a couple of greetings and a benediction or prayer. And so I think this PS gives us an opportunity to step back and to consider some of the most important truths and principles and lessons that we've learned from this letter.

And I was thinking about this this week about the many countless resources available to us today to equip us and encourage us in our walk with the Lord. I mean, we've got not just one Peter, we have second Peter. We have first and second Corinthians, we have Romans, we have the book of Revelation, we have the Gospels, Matthew, mark, Luke, John. We have the whole Old Testament at our fingertips, not to mention a myriad of books written to help us grow in our walk with Christ and bookstores and Amazon and the internet. And you can find all sorts of Bible studies. Bible study helps online. And so we kind of take things like one Peter for granted because it's just one of many things that God uses to impact our lives. But for the recipients of this letter, this was it. I mean, they didn't have access to all of the things that we have access to.

And so just imagine for a minute what a blessing it must have been for these lonely, frightened, isolated saints, scattered all over as a minor to receive a letter from the apostle Peter, the man who Christ himself had commissioned to lead his church. I mean, surely this must have been a much needed breath of fresh air, a shot in the arm that served to encourage them and sustain them amid the trials of sufferings and persecution. They were enduring for the cause of Christ. And so again, I say that so that we never take a little letter like this for granted, but to put ourselves in the sandals, if you will, of those who heard it or read it for the very first time. But what I want us to do this morning is just to consider some things here that are not necessarily explicitly stated here, but are more implied from these verses.

And so I want us to consider five ments, five encouragements that are implied from what Peter said in verses 12, 13 and 14. So what are these encouragement? Well, he wanted us to stay constant. He wanted us to stay committed. He wanted us to stay connected. He wanted us to stay close, and he wanted us to stay calm, all of which really summarized the main exhortation in verse 12, which is to stand firm, to stand firm. So let's look at these five encouragement together. Number one, stay constant notice, verse 12 through Snis, our faithful brother for, so I regard him. I have written to you briefly, this is the same Snis who Paul mentions in his letters who accompanied him on his second missionary journey. He's mentioned in second Corinthians 1 19, 1 Thessalonians one, one, second Thessalonians one, one he's mentioned along with Timothy. So he was a co-labor of the Apostle Paul.

He is also mentioned at least 13 times by Luke in Acts 15 to 18. And Luke referred to him as Silas, which may have been his Greek nickname. And so we see him really all over the place for several chapters during Paul's second missionary journey. We see him introduced to us in Acts 15, verse 22, when the apostles and elders at the Jerusalem Council chose men from among them to send to Antioch with the results of their council. And it included Paul and Barnabas, Judas called Bar Saabas and Silas leading men among the brethren. We also see how Paul picked Silas for that second missionary journey over John Mark who had deserted them. And so as you know, Barnabas wanted to take John Mark again with them. Paul wasn't having it. So Barnabas took John, mark and Paul chose Silas and they went their separate ways. And so Paul and Silas during the second missionary journey had all sorts of adventures, like being in the Philippian jail at midnight, singing hymns in the earthquake takes place. That's the Silas, the Sanna that Peter's referring to here.

And I think that's why some translations, like if you have an NIV in front of you, it says here in first Peter chapter five, verse 12 through Silas, same guy. And so Silas or Sylvans likely served as Peter's nuis, which means a secretary or a literary assistant. And so it's likely that Peter dictated this letter to Sylvans, which was a common practice in the ancient world. In fact, Romans chapter 16, if you remember from our study of that book says in verse 22, I tertius who write this letter greets you in the Lord. You're like, wait a minute. I thought Paul wrote Romans, who's this guy? Well, he was probably his E mannu. His secretary is literary assistant. Paul wrote many of his own letters by hand. In fact, he mentions that in Galatians, Galatians chapter six, verse 11. He says, see with what large letters I'm writing to you with my own hand. And so some say that Paul had some kind of eye disease or eye condition that made it hard for him to see. So when he wrote, he had to write really big so he could see what he was writing. But those letters that he dictated, he often included a little PS at the end in his own handwriting. Like for example, one Corinthians 1621, he says, this greeting is in my own hand, Paul two Thessalonians chapter three, verse 17.

He says, I Paul write this greeting with my own hand and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter. This is the way I write. So apparently his handwriting was notorious and anybody could notice it like Paul Peter May have taken the quill from S'S hand at this point and penned these final words. And I find it interesting that some commentators note how the Greek grammar and syntax and vocabulary changes in these last reverses and it becomes noticeably simple. And if you remember from our introduction to Peter, there are some that object to the fact that Peter wrote this letter. They don't think he wrote it, they don't think he was the author of this letter. And their main objection is they can't see how Peter being a provincial, uneducated fishermen could write such polished Greek prose. Well, unless he had the help of a cultured Roman citizen like Sanna who was well educated, well traveled, and ironically for those who deny Peter's authorship, it could be argued that this phrase was Peter's way of claiming that he was the inspired, authoritative writer of this letter. He's saying through Sylvanus, our faithful brother for. So I regard him. I have written to you briefly, I don't know how it could be any clearer than that.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of liberal scholars just love to overthink things and to make more out of things that are necessary, just take it at its face value. Peter wrote first Peter, well, Peter not only dictated this letter to savannas, but it's likely that savannas also delivered this letter to the church as an Asia minor according to the circuit that Peter mentioned in verse one, to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bethia. And so this was the route perhaps that savannas followed as he brought this letter and delivered this letter to these suffering saints. Again, Silas was one of the men who was originally assigned to deliver the letter from the Jerusalem council in Antioch. So he had experience in this. He was a trusted individual, but he was more than just a courier. He was a representative of Peter, who Peter trusted to not just deliver the letter, but to also explain it further if necessary.

And so Sianna's knew Peter's mind and heart so well, he was able to accurately expound on what Peter had dictated to him. And so that's why I think Peter referred to him as our faithful brother. In other words, he was a trustworthy, dependable, reliable co-labor in Christ and a model of loyalty and fidelity to the word of God and to the church of Jesus Christ. And he may have already been known by the churches in Asia Minor because he had visited and labored among them during his second missionary journey or Paul's second missionary journey. But whether they knew him or not, what Peter wanted them to know and to hear at this point is, Hey, listen, I trust this guy. You need to trust him too.

I think it's also important to note how Savannahs humbly served in a subordinate supportive role and was content to play second fiddle to both Paul and to Peter. And I think he's the kind of person that the church desperately needs more of people who are happy to serve away from the limelight and are willing to work behind the scenes and faithfully fulfill the ministry that God has assigned to them and gifted them to do. And they don't need all the attention or the accolades. Paul said it well in one Corinthians four, two, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy or faithful or constant. So stay constant. Number two, we need to stay committed. We need to stay committed. Notice the end of verse 12 though through Sylvanus, our faithful brothers for, so I regard him. I have written to you briefly here it is exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God stand firm in it.

Just to warn you, I said that at the end of second service, or excuse me, just the second service, first service can't keep my services straight. And everybody stood up and I was like, they thought, I said, stand for a minute. It's really awkward. I said, no, no, I said, stand firm in it. I will learn to pronunciate my words better. Thankfully, it was at the end of the service and we all left and the awkward moment was over quickly. But notice what he says here. He says, I've written this exhorting and testifying that this is a true grace of God. So Peter succinctly summarized the purpose of this letter. His goal in writing this letter to these suffering believers was to both urge them and bear witness to them.

And so this is why there's such a beautiful blend and balance of indicatives and imperatives throughout the entire letter that he was both testifying and he was exhorting. And if you're not familiar with this indicative and imperative motif, which many of the New Testament letters follow, it's essentially like Paul for example, in the book of Ephesians, the first three chapters are all indicatives, which are simply statements of faith or statements of fact. This is who you are in Christ. Nothing is asked of you, nothing is commanded of you, nothing is required of you. You just need to know these are all, this is theological instruction that I'm giving you right now. And then in chapter four verse one, he says, therefore, live in a manner worthy of these things. And then he begins commanding them and exhorting them for the remainder of the book. Well, so indicatives are statements of fact imperatives or commands to obey.

Every letter in the New Testament has both theological instruction and both practical application. And again, what's unique about Peter, he didn't just front load the book with Indicatives and then spend the rest of the book just talking about all the imperatives, but he weaved indicatives and imperatives together throughout the entire letter. And so he would give a few indicatives and then he'd give some imperatives and then he'd give a few more indicatives and then he'd imperatives. And you can see this in chapter one would be a good example, something that we're very familiar with, we looked at many times. One Peter chapter one, verse three, blessed to be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy, has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this, you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while if necessary, you've been distressed by very trials. So the proof of your faith being more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though test by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor the revelation of Jesus Christ. Has he asked them to do anything? Has he told them to do anything? No, he's just telling them the way it is. This is who you are in Christ. But then you get to verse 13 and he says, therefore, prepare your minds for action. Keep sober in spirit. Fix your eyes, fix your she, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ as obedient children do not be conformed to the form of lust, which are yours and your ignorance, but like the holy one who called you be holy yourselves all also in all your behavior.

And then he goes back in verse 17 to some more indicatives and starts talking about how if you address as Father, the one who impartially judges according to each one's work, again, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay, talking about our salvation, our redemption, not with perishable things like silver, gold, but with the precious blood of a lamb, unblemished, spotless the blood of Christ. And then he goes to verse 22, since you have an obedience of the truth, purified your souls for sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart. And then he goes back to talking about how we've been born again, not of seed, which is perishable, but imperishable. That is through the living and enduring word of God. And he talks about how the grass withers and the flower falls off with the word of God endures forever.

But then get to chapter two verse one. Therefore put aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all envy and all slander like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word. So the by you may grow in respect to salvation chapter two, same thing. First, really verses four through 10 are all about who we are in Christ. We're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation of people for God's own possession. We've been shown mercy, we're living stones. And then verse 11, beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly, luge wage war against your soul. So back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, testifying, urging, exhorting, bearing witness. But notice really the bottom line of all this testifying and exhorting, urging and bearing witness is simply this, that this is the true grace of God in Paul's mind.

All that he had said up to this point in this letter can be boiled down to one simple phrase, the true grace of God. In other words, this letter contains all the truths of the gospel, which is all about how God, by his grace, saves us, sanctifies us and will someday glorify us. And so he's already mentioned grace multiple times. We looked at that last week when we were considering the phrase the God of all grace. He mentions grace three times in chapter one once in chapter three, another time in chapter four, twice in chapter five. So we are saved by grace, but just because we're saved doesn't mean we're immune to suffering. And in light of the suffering and the persecution that these believers were experiencing, I think Peter didn't want them to wonder or to doubt if they'd made the right choice that they'd been right to embrace Christianity. He wanted them to know that what they believed in, what they had committed their lives to was indeed the truth, even though it resulted in their lives becoming way more difficult.

We know as Christians that we are never promised an easy life free of pain and suffering. Trials and tribulations should be expected, and so we should never question our faith, but rather stand firm in it. And that's exactly what Peter says here to stand firm in the grace of God, which I've explained in multiple ways here in this letter, these five chapters. I don't need to tell you this, but we live in a day and age when the truth of God is being reinterpreted, it's being marginalized, it's being compromised. I mean, even in our own community, churches are splitting over the issues, over issues that the Bible is crystal clear about the role of women in same-sex marriage. I mean just the Methodist churches right around us have recently gone through splits. Why? Because there are some people in those churches that want to embrace same-sex marriage and want to have women pastors and others in those churches are saying, no, that's not what the Bible says.

And we can't be a part of a church that promotes these things or allows these things. And so we're going to go and do some things different. You may have watched the news this week and saw that the Church of England just blinked on this and that they're going to begin embracing same-sex marriage. Well, guess what? That's going to cause a schism and a division in that church that's kind high level like church stuff, right? But how about individually? And you're aware of this, I'm sure that more and more people who claim to be Christians are doing what seems to be all the rage these days, and that is deconstructing their faith, which basically means punting their faith and saying they no longer believe what they used to believe. And typically it's when people face some kind of crisis in their life and they have a hard time reconciling what they've always thought about God and believed about God and what the Bible says.

And they have a hard time reconciling that with what's happening in my life. And I can't accept a God who would allow this kind of thing to happen to me. And so it is what it is. So I guess I got to do away with God, or at least the God I thought I used to believe it. It's tragic. And so we of all people need to hear this phrase stand firm in it. We need to stand firm in the faith. Paul said it multiple times. One Corinthians 16, 13, be on the alert stand firm in the faith, two Thessalonians two 15. So then brethren, stand firm hold fast to the traditions which you were taught whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. That's a great verse by the way, for kids going off to college to memorize so they don't get led astray by some liberal professor atheistic evolutionary thinking three times in Ephesians six, Paul mentioned this idea of standing firm standing your ground and when it came to spiritual warfare and he paints this picture of a soldier refusing to retreat, refusing to run away and hide. We must stand our ground against the assaults of our enemies. We need to hold fast to what we know to be true. We need to cling to the grace of God, which is the sure and the lasting foundation for the Christian life. And in the end, the Christian life is all about not what we do for God, but what God has done for us in Christ. That's grace.

God's undeserved unearned kindness in favor to help us hopeless sinners like us. And so we need to stay committed to these fundamental biblical truths which have revolutionized our lives and which also stabilize our lives and enable us to persevere and remain steadfast no matter what happens or what the future holds. We need to stay committed. We also need to stay connected. We need to stay connected. Verse 13, she who is in Babylon chosen together with you, sends you greetings and so does my son Mark. Now let me just begin by saying it is impossible for us to know for sure who or what Peter's referring to here in this feminine tense, the she who is the she. He's referring to wherever Peter was writing this letter from, someone wanted him to pass on their greetings to these suffering saints that were going to get this letter.

Some scholars say that was some prominent lady who would be known by the recipients of this letter. Others suggest that this is a reference to Peter's wife. Peter was married. We know that based on Matthew eight 14 when Jesus arrived at Peter's house and his mother-in-law was sick. If you have a mother-in-law, that means you have a wife. You got that. Just want you to know that. I'm kidding there. But so he was married, Paul said first Corinthians nine, five, that his wife often traveled with him. So she was a partner with him in ministry. I was not aware of this, but according to church tradition, Peter's wife was martyred for her faith in Christ, which Peter witnessed with his own eyes that she went home to be with the Lord before he did.

Well, while that makes for a great story there that Peter's there with his wife and she's wishing, sending greetings along with him, I think it makes more sense that the she here that Peter was referring to is the bride of Christ, namely the church in Babylon, which was most likely a cryptic reference to the city of Rome. And again, it's really by the process of elimination that we come to this conclusion because the ones famous city of Babylon, the literal city of Babylon on the Euphrates River by this time had become a place of little consequence. And there's no record of Peter ever visiting Babylon, but historical evidence shows that Peter was in Rome during the final years of his life. And this is where he wrote this letter. The book of Revelation also refers to Rome as Babylon on a number of occasions in chapter 14, 16, 17, 18. And so does Jewish literature equate Rome with Babylon?

I think Wayne Gruden put his finger on it when he said this, just as in the Old Testament, Babylon with the center of worldly power and opposition to God's people. So in the time of the New Testament, Rome is the earthly center of a worldwide system of government and life which opposes the gospel. And so in light of the context of the entire letter, which we said is a pocket guide for pilgrims, how to live holy hope filled lives in a hostile world, that's not our home. I think this is a fitting comparison since the Christians in Rome surely felt like they were in exile in a foreign land like the Jews did when they were in Babylon again, which is exactly how Peter described Christians in this letter. He said in chapter two, verse 11, beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers.

You say, well, is that the only reason why he may have called Rome Babylon? Well, perhaps Peter used this code name for Rome so as not to endanger his readers or the believers in Rome who were sending their greetings to their brothers and sisters in Asia Minor. He didn't want to cause anyone to be persecuted even more than they already had been under De Niro. And so if this letter was discovered or intercepted by hostile authorities and traced back perhaps to having been written in the Imperial city, it wouldn't go well for anybody. And then notice, I think the other evidence that this is talking about the believers in the church in Rome, he says, chosen together with you. She was in Babylon chosen together with you. And if you remember, that's how Peter started in chapter one verse one. He said, I'm writing to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout pon, his cappadocia inia who are chosen. So right out of the gate, he launches into the doctrine of election. And look what he does as he closes another reference to the doctrine of election chosen together with you.

And so he's just reminding them and us of this precious doctrine of election which simply affirms the reality that God took the initiative in our salvation. In other words, God chose us, we didn't choose him. Or if you want a little more man's responsibility included, which the Bible does talk about and emphasize there's God's sovereignty and salvation and man's responsibility and salvation. We would've never chosen Christ if God hadn't first chosen us. Now that's what we're talking about. That's the doctrine of election. And the doctrine of election interestingly is what connects every true believer with every other true believer, whether they accept the doctrine of lecture or not, that we are chosen together, we're all part of God's chosen people.

And notice the second phrase in verse 13. She who was in Babylon chosen together with you sends you greetings and so does my son Mark. Now there's no indication in church tradition that Peter had a biological son named Mark. Most scholars agree that Peter was referring to his spiritual son who he may have met when he showed up to the prayer meeting at his mother's house. John's also called Mark's mother's house after the angel released Peter from the prison. Remember that? And they're all praying for his release and he comes to the door and he knocks on the door and the little slave girl comes out and it's Peter, he slams the door in his face and runs back and says, Hey, Peter's out the front door and answered a prayer. But that was John Mark's house.

And this mark again is also known as John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas who deserted he and Paul on their first missionary journey, acts 13, 13, which may Paul not want to take him along on their second trip Acts 15. But by the end of Paul's life in ministry, mark had redeemed himself and Paul's eyes, and Paul had found him to be useful. In fact, in two Timothy four right before he was executed, he asking Mark to come to be with him that he wanted him by his side. In Colossians four 10, Paul placed Mark in Rome at the same time that Peter wrote this letter. And so I think it's clear who this mark is. This is the John Mark of the New Testament. We don't know if Peter led him to Christ, but he definitely discipled him and helped him grow in Christ.

And Mark was to Peter, what Timothy was to Paul. Paul often referred to Timothy as his spiritual son, his son in the faith, one Timothy one, two Timothy chapter one. So this was Peter's son in the faith, if you will, and you may know this, but according to church tradition, Mark's gospel is based on Peter's eyewitness accounts which he shared with Mark during all the time they spent together. And he wrote them all down, and we have the gospel of Mark, which is actually the gospel of Peter. It's looking at Christ through the vantage point of Peter's perspective. But Mark was the one who actually wrote all these details down. I was thinking as we studied through first Peter, why Peter didn't include more of those stories and those cool things that happened with him and that he observed and witnessed in the miracles and this and that.

He doesn't really include any of those things. In one Peter, he does in second Peter, he talks about the transfiguration, but that's about it. Well, perhaps it's because he kind of got all that out of his system with Mark and he knew Mark was going to put it in his gospel, and so he didn't have to include a lot of that in his letters. But all that to say, there's a connection here being made between the church in Rome, the churches in Asia, between John Mark and other believers, and there is this connection between the members of the body of Christ. And we need to remain faithful. If we want to remain faithful to Christ, we need to stay connected to one another. We need to stay within the network, right? There's a network when it comes to the body of Christ. We talk about that in Christ. It's a small world when you meet a Christian, it's like you have an instant connection with them, right? And so we need to stay connected to the network of God's people.

Number four, we need to stay close. We need to stay close. Not only are we to stay connected, we need to stay close. Verse 14, greet one another with a kiss of love. Four other letters in the New Testament end with the same or similar admonition. Romans 16, one Corinthians two Corinthians one Thessalonians. And in the same way all written by Paul by the way, but the fact that he referred to it as a holy kiss, he's very specific. Greet one another with a holy kiss. Peter just says, yeah, greet one another with a kiss of love, but Paul's careful to say is a holy kiss, which I think clarifies and confirms that there was nothing immoral about this public display of affection between fellow believers. Now, I think it's important for you to know that the men kiss the men and the women kiss the women.

And at that time and in that part of the world kissing someone was the standard way that people would greet one another. They'd be bid farewell to one another. Sort of like how we give a handshake or a hug when we see someone that we love and appreciate in our culture. You remember in Luke chapter seven, Jesus gave the Pharisee the hard time because he hadn't greeted him with a kiss when he came to his house for supper, but the gal with the oil was kissing his feet all over the place. The prodigal son when he came home, he embraced his father and kissed him in Acts chapter 20 when Paul called the Ephesian elders together for that final meeting before he was going to go to Jerusalem and get arrested and head off to Rome and be executed. They were all weeping and kissing him.

I think this is why it was such a heinous and treasonous act when Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Because kissing someone was supposed to be an outward expression of the love and affection that you had in your heart towards them, and he violated that. But for Peter to say, Hey, greet one another with a kiss of love was a tangible, practical way that his readers could put into practice what he had exhorted them regarding the love that we're to show towards one another. And he mentioned in chapter one verse 22, that we are to purify our souls for sincere love of the brethren, we're to fervently love one another from the heart, chapter four verse eight. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers the multitude of sins. Well, how are you supposed to show that? Peter says, Hey, greet one another with a kiss of love.

And if you want to look at it from another perspective, the New Testament likens the church to a family or a household, and we are to relate to one another like spiritual moms and dads and sons and daughters and brothers and sisters. And so how do you greet your family members? I hugged my mom and dad and even kissed them on the cheek when I saw 'em this morning. I hugged my kids, I hugged my daughter, gave her a kiss, and of course I do the same with my sister. Even in our day, this familial love is still practiced in places like Russia, for example, where the men in the church, godly men greet one another with a kiss on the lips, which is why I've never gone to Russia on a mission trip. I'll stick with India. They don't do that kind of stuff.

But the obligation to physically express the fellowship and the love that we share as Christians, I think can be just as faithfully fulfilled in our church in our day with a hearty handshake or a hearty hug. That's the spirit of this. I don't think Peter or the spirit of God expects us to start kissing one another. That was a cultural thing at that time. The point is we need to stay close to one another. Grudem says this, it's much harder to get mad at someone you've just hugged or kissed, and it's much easier to feel accepted in a fellowship which has such a warm welcome.

So we need to stay close. And then finally, we need to stay calm. We need to stay calm. Notice how Peter ends peace. Excuse me. Peace be to you all who are in Christ. Peter opened his letter with a greeting of peace, chapter one, verse two, may grace and peace be yours in the foolish measure. And now he ended it with a prayer for peace, which I can't think of a more appropriate benediction for storm tossed saints who were enduring affliction and persecution for the sake of Christ than to hear the word peace. This is similar to Paul's benediction in his second letter to the church in Thessalonica, second Thessalonians three 16, may the Lord of peace himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance the Lord be with you all. Again, Paul, this is interesting because Paul normally closes letters with references to grace, but Peter chose to mention peace, which perhaps was because that's what he most often heard coming from the lips of Jesus, particularly in the upper room discourse.

Remember John 1427, peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you not as the world gives to you. Do I give to you? Do not let your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful. John 1633, these things I've spoken to you so that in you may have peace in the world, you have tribulation. But take courage. I have overcome the world. So Peter was praying for peace. He was wishing peace for his readers, which is abundantly available to all who by faith have been united with Christ, who the Bible says is the prince of peace and who is peace. Don't miss this peace be to you all who are in Christ. It's only those who are in Christ who know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and saver who can experience the peace that Peter was referring to. Here. You cannot experience the peace of God unless you are at peace with God. And the only way you can have peace with God is by turning from your life of sin and placing your faith alone in Christ's death on the cross as the only way you can be reconciled to God.

And so I ask you as we close our time in this letter, have you been born again to a living hope through the living and enduring word of God? Have you been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb unblemished and spotless? Have you been called out of darkness into his marvelous light? Have you acknowledged that Christ himself bore your sins in his body on the cross so that you might die to sin and live to righteousness? Have you returned to the shepherd and guardian of your soul? Have you embraced the fact that Christ died for sins once for all, just for the unjust so that he might bring you to God? Have you obeyed the gospel of God?

I've mentioned this multiple times in our study that after Jesus died and rose again, he met with Peter on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. And as you know, he restored Peter for denying him. He reinstated him as the leader of the apostles and he requested that Peter Shepherd his sheep the church. And that's exactly what Peter was doing in this letter. He was shepherding Christ sheep. And like Jesus had so clearly prophesied during that seaside encounter with Peter, Peter would eventually have to personally apply everything that he wrote in this letter. And not only did he have to witness the death of his own wife by the hand of those who opposed Christ, but he exemplified all that he has been saying to us in the manner in which he died.

Tradition says that Peter was crucified by the Romans upside down per his request because he did not consider himself worthy to die in the same way that his savior and his master had died. And when Peter breathed his last, he into eternal glory, and Jesus himself welcomed him into heaven and awarded him with the unfading crown of glory for being a faithful shepherd. And he received his heavenly inheritance, which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away. And he obtained the outcome of his faith, the salvation of his soul, and he was instantly perfected and confirmed and strengthened and established. And to this very day, he has been greatly rejoicing with joy in expressible. And someday all of this will be true for us. I want us in closing just to listen to a song. I know we're a bit over time here, but this song is I think just really summarizes and wraps together so much of what we've learned together in first Peter. It's the song by city of light called on that Day. And if you can hang with us a few more minutes, I just want us to listen to it and then I'll come up and I'll close this in prayer.

I believe in Christ risen from He now reigns his kingdom knows no way through his resurrection. Death has lost to its to. I know on that final day our rises, Jesus rose on that day, we'll see you shining brighter than the sun on that day. We'll know you as we lift our voices one till that day. We will praise you for your never ending grace and we'll keep on singing on that gl. We'll spend it around our from. We grieve our losses. We grieve not in vain for we know out of glory on that day. We'll see you shining brighter than my son on that day. We'll know you as you our that day. We'll praise you, grace and singing, hallelujah. I grew Father who is for me. On that day, we'll see you shining brighter than the sun on that day. We'll know you as we live our as one that day. We'll praise you for never ending grace, and we'll keep on singing on that that day You as we lived our day. We'll, we on singing on that,

Beloved. This is the true grace of God stand firm in it.