Pilgrim Living in a Fallen World: Hope in Time of
Trial
I Peter 1:6,7
Introduction: As we began
our look into this first letter of the Apostle Peter on Palm Sunday and Easter,
we noted that the apostle wrote to believers in Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles,
who were scattered through the nations of Asia Minor. They were exiles and
pilgrims, sojourners in a fallen world. Even so, as the letter begins it is
already clear that the “brokenness” of the world does not leave us in despair.
As we quoted Dr. Ed Clowney: “Our hope is anchored in the past: Jesus
rose! Our hope remains in the present: Jesus lives! Our hope will be completed
in the future: Jesus is coming (1:5,7,14)!”
As
pilgrims living in a fallen world, we have hope, but that does not mean we are
exempt from suffering. We shouldn’t be surprised by suffering. The “Hall of
faith” in Hebrews 11 reminds us of the suffering believers experienced in the
past. And then the writer invites us to consider the example of Jesus
himself...
Therefore,
since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside
every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance
the race that is set before us, 2
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that
was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the
right hand of the throne of God. 3
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that
you may not grow weary or fainthearted (12:1-3).
Jesus endured the humiliation of the cross to give us
victory. Remember our look at Psalm 84
around Thanksgiving? The writer said in
84:5-6a,
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose
heart is set on pilgrimage. 6
As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring...
The “pilgrims” were passing through a desert on
their way to Zion, the City of the Great King. The “Valley of Tears” can be a
metaphor for life in a fallen world. There is pain. There are even “grievous
trials.” Our hearts can be broken. We
can feel alone or abandoned or misunderstood. We can be treated unfairly. But “Consider Him who endured from sinners such
hostility against himself...” Don’t grow weary. Don’t lose hope.
The Maine Idea: As pilgrims,
we have hope, even as we pass through trials in life, knowing God is working
all things together for our good and for His glory.
I. A
Pilgrim’s Promise: Your sorrow
will be turned to Joy! Trials are not
fun, but they have a purpose, and they are temporary (6).
“In this [or, “in whom”] you
greatly rejoice...” Dr. Ed Clowney said: “...it is possible that he is
thinking, not just of all the blessings we have in Christ, but of Christ in
whom we have the blessings...” The
translation of the relative pronoun could be “in this” or “in whom.” The previous context was talking of the Lord,
who intervened in human history to accomplish his gracious purpose. If you know
Jesus you are “in Christ,” that is your position and He is the source of our
joy. What He has done for us also brings us joy, so maybe this is a case of
“both/and” rather than “either/or.”
Verse 6
refers back to the sure hope that Peter has alluded to the opening of this
letter. Read again verses 3-5,
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is
imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being
guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
“In this you
greatly rejoice...” If we understand that truth we have reason for
rejoicing! This is cause for “great
rejoicing!” The resurrection of Jesus
from the dead, the inheritance that is ours because of God’s amazing grace
toward us, the initiative He took to give us new life, all of this allows us to
rejoice in the Lord always, despite the trials we face in this life.
Peter is
writing as one pilgrim-exile to another. Our hope is based on history, that is
the resurrection of Jesus, and it looks forward to the promise of an eternal
inheritance that will never fade, kept for us in heaven. We can have joy now, because we know that the
best is yet to come! Remember the story
of the believer who died, and she had asked that when her body was placed in
the coffin that a fork be placed in her hand so that it was visible at the
funeral. The reason was that it was
always said at the church pot-luck dinners, after the entrees were served but
before the desserts were put out, “Hold onto your forks, the best is yet to
come!” She wanted to give her pastor the opportunity to tell her family and
friends that this life is not the end of the story, God has a future in store
for us that is better than we could possible imagine. The best is yet to come!
Peter tells his readers that our future hope brings joy to our hearts,
we know that we are His, we are forgiven, we have peace with God, and He has
prepared an eternal inheritance for us. As
pilgrims, we have hope, even as we pass through trials in life, knowing God is
working all things together for our good and for His glory.
II. A
Pilgrim’s Pain: As Christ
suffered, so will those who set their eyes on Him...
“...though
now for a little while, as was necessary,
you have been grieved by various trials...”
One of the inevitable facts of life is the consequences of living in a
fallen world impacts us all. Many times
over the years people going through trials have asked in frustration, “What did
I do to deserve this?” The truth is,
sometimes it is our own sin. A lifetime of alcohol abuse may well result in
liver disease later in life. Sometimes it may be God chastening us to correct
us and draw us back. As a loving Father
he will not leave us indefinitely to our wandering. He’ll give us a loving slap
upside the head to get our attention. You’ll know it when it happens! Much of
the time our suffering is just the fact that we live in a world under the
curse, a universe that is fallen. The
description of the pilgrims experience is powerful,
“...you have
been grieved by various trials...”
The trials we experience as pilgrims in a fallen world
can be grievous. They can bring grief to our hearts that sometimes seems almost
too much to bear. Paul spoke of God’s knowledge of our limits in I Corinthians
10:13,
No temptation has overtaken
you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be
tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the
way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
The word “temptation” is the same Greek word, peirasmos, that appears in James 1:2,12 and I Peter 1:6; 4:12. It can mean “try, test, or tempt.” Paul is saying in I Corinthians that God
knows us intimately and precisely. He is our Creator. He not only read the
manual, He wrote it! The trials can be
grevious, but God knows our limits. He
knows what we can take.
Our
sufferings are temporary, “...for a
little while.” Someone may be dealing with a handicap or a chronic illness
and think, “I don’t see how you can call this ‘a little while’!” I don’t
want to minimize the suffering or hardship that anyone is experiencing. I’ve
seen enough people go through persistent pain and heart-wrenching grief that I
realize none of it feels like “a little while.” But if we can fix our hearts on
heaven just for a moment, if we can
remember that the “suffering of this
present age is not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in
us.”
“...as was necessary...” Our trials are
necessary? We know discipline is
necessary. Whether of not you have children you have been around them enough to
know that most kids don’t spontaneously love what is good and cherish every
opportunity to obey their parents. At some point, in some way, they will test
the boundries. One dear sister in our church has said a few times, “I have
never seen a child yet who had to learn to disobey!” So discipline is
necessary. And God chastens every child he receives. Because He loves us. And
it is necessary to teach us. But what
about other trials that we pass through?
Are they too “necessary”? This
seems like an odd phrase, until we consider how this word is normally used in
the New Testament. It is typically used to describe “divine necessity,” that
is, something that has been integrated into the master plan of our sovereign
King. Jesus himself is the example in that it is the word that Jesus typically
used when he described the certain and “necessary” unfolding of history that
would including his suffering, death, and resurrection.
Luke 9:22 “...saying,
‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders
and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.’"
Luke 17:25 “But
first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”
Luke 22:37 “For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: 'And
he was numbered with the transgressors.' For what is written about me has its
fulfillment."
Luke 24:26 Was it not necessary
that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?"
Then in Acts we see the same word applied to
believers, like Paul,
Acts
9:16 “For I will show
him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."
God is
that big. He is sovereign over history, and somehow he works all things,
even the hard things through which we pass, together for our good, and
ultimately, for His glory. James similarly said at the beginning of his letter
that God is at work, and will use trials to accomplish something in us,
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet
trials of various kinds, 3
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its
full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing...”
(James 1:2-4).
We are sojourners, living for
a time in this fallen world. We are not home yet, we are just passing through. Somehow,
our experience of suffering and perhaps our tested and growing faith in the
midst of it, reveals the brokenness of creation and the depth of God’s love for
us. After all, Jesus left Heaven to
enter this sin cursed world, to make it possible for sinful humans to be
reconciled to a holy God. Remember
Paul’s words in his second letter to the Corinthians, “If any man be in Christ—a new creation!” We are already citizens of
heaven and are only sojourners in this fallen world. As
pilgrims, we have hope, even as we pass through trials in life, knowing God is
working all things together for our good and for His glory.
III. A
Pilgrims’ Path: Through the
Fire! God is interested in the journey, not only the destination! God is
working in us, to teach us, to grow our faith, to deepen our love for Him, and
to show as off to the world!
7...so that the tested genuineness of your faith-
more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire...
Gold,
like other metals, can be refined in the fire. The impurities are burned away,
and the metal comes out purer than before. Even so, as Peter says in his second
letter, the day will come when this creation will be destroyed by fire. Gold
and all! Our hope is in a new heaven and a new earth. We pass through the fire – and God uses it to
purify us, to make us more like Jesus. That is one of the ways that He uses
trials for our good... Dr.
Cain is often reminding us that “God is good—all the time!” That is easy for me
to say when things are going well and my prayers are being answered the way I
would like. When I experience affirmation and love from the people I am sent to
serve. I want to be so solid in my
belief of that truth that I can say it the valleys, when I am struggling: “God
is good and He does good – all the time!” Our faith in Him and our love for Him
should be strengthened through our times of hardship. Remember Jesus. Remember
His grace, and the merciful work on our behalf. As we are tested, as we
persevere in times of hardship and trial, God is glorified!
...may
be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus
Christ...
Like a
good grandparent, I think I have the cutest grandchildren. I like to hold up
their picture and brag about them just like you do about yours. I find joy in watching them grow and learn.
Arden is 3 and a half and goes to an AWANA “cubbies” program. She quoted about
10 Bible verses she has learned in her book. Hunter’s only one and a half and
doesn’t talk much yet, but is a good tackler and can hop really well! Ok, they’re my grandchildren and you expect a
little of that from me! We are God’s
children. We are “...His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus...”
Our faith brings Him praise, honor, and glory. The song writer said, “If I should gain any praise, let it go to Calvary!” Though it is
grammatically possible to read this as affirming praise, glory, and honor going
to the believer, that seems to me to run contrary to this context. The emphasis
on God’s sovereignty, His gracious intervention in history for our good. His
initiative on our behalf. It should be our desire that any praise, any honor or
glory, go to the One who did it all on our behalf. Is that your prayer in our trials? Job, in the
midst of his trials, said “Though He slay me, yet shall I trust Him.” That kind of faith brings glory to our
gracious Father. That is the kind of photo that the Father can pull out before
the angels and before all creation. “Have you considered my servant?” That is
pilgrim faith. And...
What is God
saying to me in this passage? As
pilgrims, we have hope, even as we pass through trials in life, knowing God is
working all things together for our good and for His glory.
What would God have me
to do in response to this passage? It may be that you
are going through the fire even at this moment. There may be a trial that you
are struggling with, a hardship, opposition, physical sickness, an addiction, whatever
it might be. Know this: none of it is a surprise to God. And nothing touches us
that has not first passed through the hands of our loving heavenly Father –
nothing. Does it help you to know that
God’s sovereignty is such that He will use that trial to deepen your faith, and
that your perseverance, your trust in the valley, will ultimately bring Him
glory? As Satan appeared before the Lord
after going to and fro in the earth, God asked, “Have you considered my servant
Job?” Twice the same invitation was
given (Job 1:8; 2:3)! He not only
allowed the testing of Job’s faith, He invited it! For Job’s good, and for God’s glory. We were talking about this at an early
morning prayer time and Herb Mullen asked rhetorically, “Am I willing to be
considered?” It’s easy to trust God on the mountain tops, but will we trust Him
in the valleys? Psalm 2 pictures a world
in rebellion against God and His anointed. It ends with the statement, “Blessed
are all who put their trust in Him.” Think about that, AMEN.
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