Sprinkled Exiles

Transcript

– Good evening, church family. Please turn with me, if you will, in your copy of God's word to the book of 1 Peter. Our sermon text this evening will be the first two verses of the book, and so we'll be looking at 1 Peter chapter one, verses one through two as we begin this new series on the book of 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter one, beginning now in verse one, this is the word of the Lord. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

According to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood, may grace and peace be multiplied to you. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. And I ask that you join me now in prayer as we begin.

Father in heaven, we love you, and we do thank you for the great opportunity that we have to continue in worship on this Lord's day evening through considering your word. Father, would you please build us up in your truth, and would you please cause your grace and your peace to be multiplied to us, even now in this hour? And we ask all of this in Christ's holy name. Amen. Imagine this, imagine that you and I are Christians living in first century Cappadocia around the year 62 or 63 A.D.

If we could place ourselves in that hypothetical context, I think we would observe two things. I think the first thing that we would notice is we would notice an element of excitement in the Christian community. By now, some of the Apostle Paul's letters would have been known in this region, and most Christians in this part of the Roman Empire would have heard of all that Paul was doing. And knowing this, the Christians would know that the gospel was reaching new people throughout the Roman Empire. That would be exciting, and it would understandably be cause for joy.

However, in that same context, if we could place ourselves there, we would also know an element of great concern within the Christian community. Not only would there have been a fear of false teachers and a fear of potentially believing the wrong doctrine as these false teachers are spreading their poison, but there would also be the daily experience of Christians being ostracized from the community around them. In this context, Christians would have been mocked and rejected by Jews and Gentiles alike. And sometimes, they even experienced being shunned by their own families. And furthermore, we would have heard, if we could place ourselves in this context, that Christians in this region have already started experiencing persecution for their faith.

And unfortunately, the context of this day doesn't give us much hope at all of that changing anytime soon. If anything, there seems to be a whole lot of signs present and on the horizon that things will be getting worse. So here's the question for us to consider this evening. How does the gospel offer to these believers in this scenario? How does it offer hope to them?

How can the gospel strengthen them in this context? And how can the gospel work in their lives in such a way that they no longer view themselves as suffering victims, but rather as joyful saints? Brothers and sisters, this is the historical context behind the book of 1 Peter. And this question of how the gospel can strengthen Christians in these circumstances, well, this is the question that this book so helpfully answers. And that theme, that theme of standing firm in the grace of God as joyful saints despite the trials and the suffering.

Well, that is the key theme of the entire book. And all of this is what we will have the joy of seeing over the next several months as we work through the book of 1 Peter. Now, I trust that all of us are familiar with this wonderful book. If you're not, I have a pastoral exhortation to you from the very beginning. Read it and read it frequently.

And don't worry, doing so won't take long. I timed it. It takes anywhere between 15 to 20 minutes depending on how quickly you read. And when you do so, what you'll discover is you'll discover quickly why this book has been treasured by Christians for all generations. Not only is this book full of helpful exhortation and godly wisdom, but it is also full of rich theology.

A theology that always seems to be highlighting the gospel and pointing to our savior and king, the Lord Jesus Christ. And our desire as pastors in this series is that each of us would come to love and treasure these words over the coming months and receive from them what God would say to his church. Now, in just a moment, I want us to dive into the actual text. And like we read at the beginning, we'll cover the first two verses of the book. But before we do so, we need to work through some helpful background information that will help us to properly interpret and understand the book.

And to be specific, what I'm talking about is this. I'm talking about a brief review of who actually wrote the book, who the original recipients of the book were, and what the main goal of this book is. Again, knowing all this will help us to properly interpret the book and apply it to our lives in a very helpful way. So with all of that in mind, let's consider first this. Who actually wrote this book?

Who is the author? And I'll give you a hint. You don't have to go to seminary to figure this one out. It's in the title. And if you miss the title, it's in verse one.

And if you happen to miss most of verse one, it's the very first word of verse one. Peter, the Greek word petros. This is the author of the book. And of course, we're talking about the apostle Peter, the former fisherman of Galilee, who by God's grace was turned to a fisher of men. He was a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ and later one of his apostles, and a man who gave the rest of his life to boldly proclaim the gospel and build up the church of his Lord.

This is the same Peter who walked on water with Jesus. This is the same Peter who saw the Lord Jesus transformed at the Mount of Transfiguration. This is the same Peter who denied Christ three times at his hour of greatest need. And this is the same Peter who Christ graciously restores in the gospel of John to feed his sheep. And that is exactly what Peter is doing in writing this book.

He is feeding Christ's sheep. He's giving them the very word of God. Now pertaining to Peter's original audience, who was it exactly that Peter was writing to? And I'll state from the beginning, and I have to be honest about this, there is some debate on this particular subject. Some argue that Peter is writing only to Jewish Christians, while others argue that Peter was writing primarily to Jewish, or excuse me, to Gentile believers, but also wrote to a community that would have had Jewish Christians within them as well.

The majority of commentators will argue that Peter was writing to an audience primarily made up of Gentiles, but still including Jews who were a part of that region. And the argument for that view goes something like this. If Peter was writing to Jews only, as some would suggest, then why does Peter say, and you can look here in your text, look later in chapter one, verse 18, why does Peter write that his audience was ransomed from the futile ways of their fathers? Though it's certainly not impossible, it seems unlikely that Peter would have used that language to talk about the Jewish inheritance. And furthermore, later in chapter four, you don't have to turn there, but this is helpful to know.

Later in chapter four, verses three and four, Peter writes these words. He says, quote, "For the time that is passed "suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, "living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, "drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. "With respect to this, they are surprised "when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, "and they malign you." In other words, here's what Peter's highlighting. The pagan culture is participating in all of these sinful activities, and Peter's saying to these Christians, "I know that they're surprised "when you don't join them in doing all this." But here's the question. Would unbelieving Gentiles of that day really have been surprised when Jews didn't participate in those activities?

As a matter of fact, the broader Jewish community of the Roman Empire at this time was well known for not participating in these activities. So it seems to make the most sense that Peter is writing to a predominant Gentile audience, most of these regions being in the Northern and Eastern Roman Empire, though there obviously would have been some Jews there present as well. And what's helpful to us in noting that is that if Peter is writing to both Gentiles and Jews, then these words given here in this book are not only applicable to all of us, but they are applicable to every Christian in every generation. That's very important, and it will come in handy as we work through the book. And then finally then, what is the purpose of this book?

We touched on this a bit earlier in talking about its overall theme, but this is well worthy of our time to bring up again. To state the purpose of the book, I'm gonna quote from Dr. Tom Schreiner, who in his commentary on First Peter I think does an excellent job of summarizing in short words what the purpose of this book is. Dr. Tom Schreiner argues that the purpose of this book is this, quote, "The purpose of this letter "is to encourage believers to stand fast "while they endure suffering and distress "in the present evil age." Let me say that again.

The purpose of this letter is to encourage believers to stand fast while they endure suffering and distress in the present evil age. As we work through this book in the weeks ahead, something that you'll notice, especially in chapter one, but also in other chapters as well, is you'll see how much of this book is focused on this idea of future salvation and a future hope. It focuses on the hope of glory that we have in the future coming and second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the phrase that I just read a moment ago, standing fast while enduring distress in the present age, in the present evil age, does a really good job at emphasizing that we stand firm right now despite the hardship because we are looking towards to the hope of the future, which is the second coming of Christ. And furthermore, the use of the phrase stand fast that I just read in that purpose statement is very appropriate because all Tom Shriner is doing there is quoting 1 Peter 5, verse 12, which many commentators will argue is the central command of the entire book.

That's 1 Peter 5, verse 12. After all that Peter writes before, he says there in chapter 5, verse 12, quote, "I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring "that this is the true grace of God. "Stand firm in it." That's the central command of the book. In other words, Peter's saying all that I've written before is the grace of God, it's the gospel of God, and as we'll see in the book, that demands holy living in the midst of a lost and fallen world. But now that we know that, and now in light of that gospel, and now in light of that way of holy living, Peter's command is stand firm in that way.

Despite the trials, despite the scorn, despite the malignment, despite all of that, stand firm. Stand firm in the gospel. And that, brothers and sisters, is the overarching message of the book that we will see in the months ahead as we work through it, verse by verse. Now with all that information in mind, let's finally dive into the text, and we'll look this evening at verses one and two. And as we work through those verses, I want us to notice three points, three points this evening in these first two verses.

First, I want us to notice the name that Peter gives these Christians. This is not a randomly selected name, it's a purposeful name, and we need to pay attention to it. So first, we'll pay attention to the name that Peter gives them. Second, I want us to consider why these Christians have this name. Believe it or not, Peter does actually explain why they have that name in just these opening two verses.

And third, and finally, I want us to briefly think through why Peter's greeting at the end of verse two is appropriate for his overall goal of the book. And of course, what I hope we'll see by the end is that this is not a flippant, casual Christian greeting that Peter just kind of wrote down really quickly, and it didn't matter that much, and then he got into the meat of the book. Rather, this greeting and this introduction is strategic. Every word matters, and it was designed to strengthen the Christians that he was writing to. And of course, we pray by God's grace that these same words will strengthen us in Christ this evening.

So first, let's consider the name, the name that Peter gives these Christians that he's writing to. Look with me to verse one there in the text. "There Peter writes to those who are elect exiles "in the dispersion, to those who are elect exiles." I want us to pay attention to that word, exile. That is the title, and that is the name that Peter chooses to address these saints with. In his view and in his theology, these Christians, both Jew and Gentile alike, are exiles.

Now, the particular Greek word that Peter's using for exile here is the word, and it's a mouthful, but I'll try to pronounce it right. I think most of you know in the life of this church, that's never going to happen for me, so we'll just get through it. The particular Greek word Peter's using for exile is the word parapidomis, and it can also mean sojourner, or another translation would be a temporary resident. And of course, when we, as Bible-believing Christians, hear that word exile, where do our minds naturally run to in Holy Scripture? Don't we naturally think of the people of Israel taken into exile in 722 BC by the Assyrians?

Don't we naturally think of the southern kingdom of Judah being taken into what? Into exile by the Babylonians in 586 BC? That's where our minds should go, and that is the image that Peter is drawing on here. And the basic idea behind what this means to be in exile is simply this. It's one who dwells in a land that is not their home.

For the people of Israel living in Assyria in 722 BC and beyond, they were dwelling in a foreign land that was not their home. They were exiles. For the people of Judah living in Babylon in 586 BC and beyond, they were dwelling in a foreign land, one that was not their home. And what Peter's doing here is this. This is really interesting that he's doing this.

He is identifying these saints as exiles or as temporary residents or as sojourners, even though he's writing to both Jews and Gentiles. Here's what's interesting about that. Some will argue, and of course these are individuals that believe Peter is writing mostly to Jews, that based on what we read in verse one, that he's referring specifically to the dispersion. You'll notice that specifically in our ESV translation. The text says to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion, and then for whatever reason, probably to identify it with the dispersion that I'm gonna talk about in just a moment, the ESV translators capitalize that D.

But here's the thing. In the original Greek, that article, the, is not there. It's not in the original Greek. As a matter of fact, that phrase, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion, is actually just three Greek words. It's the word elect, it's the word exile, and it's the word dispersed.

In other words, perhaps a better translation would be to those elect exiles who are dispersed. It's not necessarily the dispersion. It's not necessarily the group of Jews that had left the land of Palestine and were living in the Roman Empire. He's writing to all Christians who he calls elect exiles who just happened to be dispersed. The emphasis is on the fact that they are elect exiles, not that they are dispersed.

And what's so fascinating about that is that if Peter really is writing to a primary audience of Gentiles, which I think he is, then he applies this word exile to Gentiles, many of which were probably living in the same place that they have always lived. And that doesn't seem to compute with us. When we think of the idea of exiles biblically, mentioning Israel going into Assyria, or Judah going into Babylon, we think of people not living in their homeland. But Peter is writing to Gentiles who are living in their homeland. And yet he still gives them the title of exile.

Here's why all of that is so important to note. Because what we can derive from that is a very, very important lesson that all of us as Christians need to be reminded of on a daily basis, and that is this. This world that we live in is not our home. It's not our home. Our home as blood-bought citizens of heaven is wherever Christ is.

That's our home. At present, Christ is seated on his throne in glory. One day, Christ will come again, and when he comes, he'll reign on the earth, and he'll establish the new heavens and the new earth. And if Christ returns before we die, then our home will be here because that's where Christ is. But this lost and fallen world is not our home.

And the point I'm wanting to emphasize here in verse one is that Peter did not take issue with referring to both Jews and Gentile believers in Christ as exiles. That means that all of them were exiles, and it means that all Christians for all generations are exiles, and if you're in this room this evening and you're a born-again Christian, congratulations. You're an exile. You're a sojourner. To pull from John Bunyan's imagery, we are merely pilgrims passing through on our path to the celestial city, the very city of God.

And just as a reminder, we know Peter's words here aren't the only time that we find this same theme in the New Testament, this theme of the world not being our home, this theme of our being adversaries with this world because we belong to God. The Apostle John writes in 1 John chapter two verse 15, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. "If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father "is not in him." The Apostle Paul would write in Romans chapter 12 verse two, "Do not be conformed to this world, "but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." James writes in James chapter four verse four, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is what? "Enmity with God. "Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world "makes himself an enemy of God." What does Paul say in Colossians chapter three verse two, set your mind on things that are above those heavenly things, those things that are not on earth.

And why should we do this? Well, again, just a quote from another New Testament author, the Apostle John in 1 John two, because this world is passing away along with its desires. And because you and I who are in Christ, we are exiles. And because our primary citizenship is not here on earth, it is in heaven with Christ where he is. By addressing them with this title, Peter is helping these Christians to have a proper view of themselves.

And if you don't see how helpful this would be, just put yourself back in that hypothetical scenario again, like we did earlier. Just imagine what it would be like to be ostracized from your entire community, what it would be like in the first century to be shunned by your family, to be scorned by Jews and mocked by Gentiles and persecuted by both. Wouldn't you find yourself on occasion stopping to think, why does it just seem like I don't have a place of acceptance here? Here's how Peter would answer that question. Because you don't.

Because you're an exile. Because you're a sojourner. You're just a pilgrim passing through. That title would have helped these saints. It would have helped them to think correctly about themselves.

It would have helped them think correctly about how they relate to the world around them. And it would have fostered a deeper love for Christ's church because that's where they will find fellow exiles who they can experience true communion with. Brothers and sisters, remember this. As Christians, we are sojourners. This present evil age and this lost and fallen world that we dwell in presently, this is not our home.

And even this nation, and I'm gonna make this point here because this has been on my mind recently, even this nation and this community that we love so dearly is not our ultimate home. It is not our final destination. And to be honest, as much as we love America, as much as we love Georgia, as much as we love our community here in Douglasville, it's not our ultimate home. And I would even go so far as to say this, and this might be a little bit offensive at first, I promise I'm not trying to be, but you'll understand where I'm going with this in just a moment. I'm actually very thankful that America is not my ultimate home, and that Georgia is not my ultimate home, and that Douglasville is not my ultimate home.

Two weeks ago, my wife and I had the chance to visit Washington DC for the very first time in my life. I'm not sure if you've been to DC before. If you haven't, I'd encourage you to go. We went and saw the Declaration of Independence. We went and saw the Constitution.

I had to confirm to my son James, who's seen the movie "National Treasure," that the Declaration of Independence is still really there. So we affirmed that. We saw the Declaration, we saw the Constitution, we saw the Lincoln Memorial. We even took a tour of George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. So my American patriotism right now, admittedly, is sky high.

It's never been as high as it is right now. I love this nation. I love America, and I'm proud to be an American. But brothers and sisters, how on earth can we live here as Christians and not see the moral decay of our nation everywhere around us? How can we not pick up on that and notice that?

The culture of our day here in America openly accepts godless ideologies like the acceptance of homosexuality, acceptance of godless ideologies like critical race theory, and even the wicked practice of abortion that continues to allow millions of innocent children to die. I love this nation, and I love being a Georgian, but I am so thankful that my primary citizenship is not here. I'm so thankful for that. Church family, we are sojourners. We're exiles.

Embrace that mentality. That is how we should think of ourselves as Christians. Now that we know what name Peter gives them, let's address a second point. Why do they have this title? Why are they able to have this status and this privilege of being one of God's elect sojourners?

Well, verse two answers that question for us. Peter says that we are exiles, quote, "According to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood." That's how we have that title. And when we read through that, did you notice the threefold action? Did you notice the Trinitarian formula that Peter gives? Church family, this is something of a Petrine Ordo Salutis.

This is Peter's reminding these saints and us by extension of how we as Christians are saved and how we become sojourners and exiles. Peter says first that we are saved in accordance with the foreknowledge of God. And to make sure that we all know what Peter means by that word foreknowledge, he is not saying that God is looking into the future to see who all would choose him, and that's how he foreknows his people. That's not the idea. That's not a biblical understanding of the term or the doctrine behind it.

The Greek word used here in 1 Peter 1.2 for foreknowledge is the word prognosis. And it comes from the Greek term progenosco. And what that term literally means and what it refers to is God's pro before knowing on a relational intimate level. It refers to God's special and covenantal knowledge of his people that he had before the foundation of the world. It does not refer to his looking into the future and learning something that he didn't already know.

If you hold that view, just fair warning, you're gonna run into a huge problem later in this chapter. When Paul uses the exact same Greek term to talk about how God the Father foreknew the Son, let me just ask you a question this evening. Did God the Father look down the corridors of time to see whether or not Jesus of Nazareth was going to be perfect and sinless and obedient? Not at all. As a matter of fact, if we start having those thoughts, we probably will very quickly realize we're getting close to leaving Orthodox Christianity.

That's not biblical at all. What's meant here by foreknowledge is God's special covenantal love that he sets on someone before the foundation of the world. So God's foreknowledge here in this verse simply speaks to his electing love. That's why these saints aren't just called exiles, they're called chosen exiles. Because they were chosen.

They were chosen to be God's elect and holy people as saints before the foundation of the world. It is in accordance with this foreknowledge that the spirit of the living God actually moves to sanctify. That's what comes next in this Trinitarian formula. Peter says in verse two, in the sanctification of the spirit. The Holy Spirit, we should know, both positionally before God and progressively unto Christ likeness sanctifies souls.

Peter is saying to these saints that due to God's sovereign love and foreknowledge, they have been made new by the regenerating and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. The foreknowledge was the plan, but the work of the spirit is the means by which this salvation is applied to them. And of course, the final point that we see coming next in this Trinitarian formula is the one that points us to our Lord and Savior. Peter says that we were foreknown, that we were sanctified, and that we were foreknown and sanctified for these two reasons. Number one, for obedience to Christ, and number two, for sprinkling with his blood.

We of course know that the central ethic of biblical Christianity is to love and obey Jesus. That's why our Lord says in John 14, 15, if you love me, you will do what? Keep my commandments. That's the central ethic. In our fallen state as sinners, none of us could obey Christ or come close to obeying the law of God.

We were only condemned sinners, only deserving God's eternal wrath and judgment. But now being saved by God's grace alone, through faith alone and Christ alone, we seek to glorify God by obeying him. And God's will for our lives is that we should believe in him who he sent. That's the Lord Jesus Christ. And his will is that we should obey his commandments.

We as Christians must obey Christ, no matter what the cost. That is why we were foreknown. That is why we were sanctified. That is why we were saved. But not only are we saved for obedience, we are saved, to quote Peter here in verse two, we are saved for sprinkling with his blood.

And of course, this refers to an image of atonement. One of our sins being covered and washed away by the blood of Christ. If you recall from way back in the book of Exodus, and we haven't got there yet in our sermon series on Sunday mornings, but we will. If you recall all the way back in Exodus, Exodus chapter 24, you'll recall there a scene where the people of God appeared before Moses to hear the words of God's law read. When they heard those words, they affirmed that they would obey them as the people of God.

Now remember this, what happens next in that story? They are sprinkled with blood. That's what happens next. They come before God's man Moses, they hear his law, they say we will obey, and then they are sprinkled. Brothers and sisters, the whole idea of God's covenant people drawing near to him has always been based on a blood atonement that brings them into a covenant relationship of obedience.

That's the imagery that Peter's drawing on here. And that imagery would have helped these saints remember that they were purchased by Christ, and that they belong to him, and that they likewise were foreknown by the Father and sanctified by the Spirit so that they would be sprinkled with his blood and that their sins would be washed away. Peter wants them to remember this. He wants them to remember who they are and why they are who they are. They are who they are as sojourners and exiles because of the grace of God in the gospel.

Now the third and final point that I want us to consider comes from the end of verse two, in considering this specific greeting from Peter. Verse one and verse two, it should be noted, of this book is laid out very similarly to the way other epistolatory greetings are found in the New Testament. You have the mention of the author and his office, then you have the mention of the intended recipients, and then you have a formal Christian greeting. We see this exact same formula in Paul's letters as well. The greeting that we are most familiar with here at Praise Melbabdis Church is Paul's greeting that he gives to the church in Rome, in Romans chapter one, verse seven, because here's how that greeting goes.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We say that every Sunday. But here, Peter gives these Christians a slightly different greeting. We still see the element of grace and peace, but it's slightly different. This greeting says, may grace and peace be multiplied to you.

In other words, may God cause that grace and peace that you already know to abound all the more. Another way to say it would be this, may more of God's grace be poured out on you, more and more and more. And may you know even more of the peace of Christ, to quote Paul and Philippians, the peace that surpasses all understanding. May you know even more of that. Church family, Peter loved these saints, and he knew, as we will soon see in the rest of the letter, that they were undergoing various trials and tribulations.

And Peter knew that this sort of thing for them was going to continue. And he knew that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Paul wrote that, but Peter knew it was true. And what Peter wants for these Christians is simply this. Going back to what we talked about earlier with the final command in 1 Peter 5, 12, is he wants this.

He wants these Christians to press on in the faith. Again, to quote him, 1 Peter 5, 12, stand firm. Stand firm in this. So with this goal in mind, how does Peter start? How does he introduce his book?

How does he give this greeting? Well, he reminds these saints of who they are. They are sprinkled exiles. They are blood-bought saints who live in an evil age. And he reminds them that they belong to God.

They are his people. They were foreknown by him, chosen by him, sanctified by the power of the Holy Spirit, and then redeemed by Christ Jesus, their Lord. And he reminds them that they already know God's grace and peace, and that now, through his word, God will be faithful to extend and grow that grace and peace among them so that they can do the very thing that Peter wants them to do, and that is to stand firm. So church family, I'll just say this to you, as I prepared for the sermon this week and studied that and considered all that Peter's going to do in the book, and considered, again, how specific he is in his language here in these first two verses. I think, and this may be a shocker, but I think Peter knew what he was doing.

I don't think he really just threw words on a page, almost like we do sometimes when we're writing a letter or sending a text. We don't pay so much attention to the specific words that we're using. I don't think Peter did that. I think these words were strategic, and I think they were massively helpful for these Christians, and they should be massively helpful even for us today. But of course, the ultimate question must be asked in light of all of this and in light of the gospel that Peter's going to clearly proclaim later in the book.

The pressing question for all of us this evening is this. Are you a sojourner? Are you a blood-bought saint? Are you a sprinkled exile that belongs to God in the midst of this present evil age? If you're here this evening and you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, then press on.

Stand firm in the faith. Cultivate the mindset that you are chosen, that you're a sojourner, that you're one of God's precious exiles, and that the reason you were left here in this world is because God wants you to engage this lost and fallen world. He wants you to engage it with the gospel. So don't just stand firm in this grace, but pray that God would multiply his grace and his peace to you so that you can be a more faithful servant to him. And take the gospel to everyone around you.

Every family member, every neighbor, every friend that you know who is still at home in this world, take the gospel to them. And pray that by God's grace they would come to realize that they should be sojourners and exiles instead of being friends with this world. And do it all with joy, because as a Christian, you were foreknown, you were chosen, you were loved, you were sanctified, and you were purchased by the Lord of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you're here this evening, and if you're honest, and you would say, I'm not a sojourner in this sense, I'm not a sprinkled exile, I'm not a blood-bought saint, then hear this good news this evening. The same gospel that saved and sanctified in Peter's day is the exact same gospel that saves and sanctifies today.

And it's still in the business of saving God's elect people. And all of the blessings and all of the benefits of the gospel can be yours if you will turn away from your sins and place your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course we pray that by God's grace you would do so. Now as we prepare to close out this Lord's day, may each of us march ahead into a new week full of joy in light of what we've seen here in these verses, ready to stand firm in this gospel and in this grace. Let's pray.

Father, we love you and we do thank you for this evening. We thank you for the opportunity that we've had to consider some helpful background information to this book and to consider the opening two verses. Carefully chosen words by Peter that would have helped these Christians to think rightly about themselves and think rightly about how they relate to the world around them. Father, would you please strengthen your sprinkled exiles here in the life of this church? Would you help us to cultivate an ongoing mindset that our home is wherever you are?

And that though our home is with you and though we are still here, you have placed us here so that we might suffer well as your joyful saints, not as suffering victims. Father, help us to cultivate that mindset because of the gospel. And Father, for any individual here this evening who is not in Christ, we pray by your grace, would you please lift the veil from their eyes so that they can believe your gospel and see your glory for the first time? Please draw them to yourself. Please renew them by the sanctifying power of your Holy Spirit.

And please raise them up to be instruments of righteousness in your kingdom. And Lord, again, we pray, please strengthen your church with these words, and we ask this in Christ's name. Amen.