Elect Exiles 1 Peter 1:1-2

We began our study of First Peter by taking some time to get to know the author of the letter, Simon Peter, the fisherman who became a rock. We walked with Peter through the lowest point of his life, when he denied he knew Jesus three times. We also witnessed Peter being restored, not condemned or chastised, but restored by Jesus following His resurrection. If forgiving and restoring Peter weren’t enough, Jesus then chose Peter to deliver the sermon that lit the fire for the spread of the gospel at Pentecost. Luke tells us, in Acts 2, that 3,000 people responded to Peter’s sermon that day and became followers of Jesus. In the very next chapter, Acts 3, Peter and John saw a blind beggar and instead of giving him money, Peter said, 

6 ..."Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. (Acts 3:6-8 NIV)

I’d say things were looking up for ol’ Peter! That is, until we turn the page and find out that Peter and John’s boldness for the Lord had made them public enemy number one in Jerusalem. Peter and John were arrested and brought before the powerful Sanhedrin. They wanted to kill Peter and John, but instead…

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, "Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:18-20 NIV)

“You’ve been warned!” Peter and John knew there would be consequences, but they were even more certain that what they had seen and heard with their own eyes was more real than anything they had ever known so they could not stop telling others about Jesus. In Acts 5, we read that the authorities heard Peter and John had not done what they were told so they had them brought in again. Luke tells us, 

27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood." 29 Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than human beings! (Acts 5:27-29 NIV)

“We must obey God rather than human beings!” Years had passed since Peter was jailed by Herod in Acts 12. He had continued to experience harassment and persecution for no other reason than he was unwilling to compromise his commitment to his Savior. He was not the only one who had paid dearly for his commitment to Jesus. He had heard about brothers and sisters who had been beaten, jailed, and even killed because of their love for Jesus and their unwillingness to stop telling others about Him. Near the end of his life, Peter sat down to write to the followers of Jesus scattered throughout Asia Minor. After serving the Lord and His people for many years, Peter was well aware of the hardships of life, the questions they can stir in one’s heart and mind, and the toll they can take on one’s soul. Peter’s letter, even though it was written so long ago, is a powerful road map for believers all over the world today. Many of Jesus' followers are suffering the hardship of persecution and harassment for no reason other than they are followers of Jesus. All of Jesus' followers will have to endure the hardships of life. Let’s take a look at our Scripture for this morning found in 1 Peter 1:1-2.

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. (1 Peter 1:1-2 NIV)

It is interesting that Peter tells us very little about himself. He simply writes, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.” The reason he is so brief in his description of himself is because the letter is not about him, but it is about God’s purpose in the lives of those he is writing to who are scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. I went back this week and took a look at those who were present in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, which took place about 30 years prior to Peter writing this letter. I learned there were people from Pontus, Cappadocia, and Asia who were present when Peter preached that powerful sermon and the Holy Spirit moved upon 3,000 people’s hearts who became followers of Jesus that day. There is no Scripture in God’s Word that I can find to prove my theory, but I can imagine that many of those who had traveled so far couldn’t wait to get back home and tell others how they had become followers of Jesus. My reason for believing this is because of how the church in these areas had grown over the 30 years since those new converts at Pentecost had traveled back home! They went home and told their wives, their children, friends, and neighbors what the Lord had done in their life and many more people became followers of Jesus. We learned last week that the people who lived in the provinces named by Peter, all of which were under the rule of the Roman empire, were very diverse in their make-up. They spoke different languages, were part of different ethnicities and cultures, and were at different places in their lives and yet Peter begins his letter by calling them “elect exiles.” Those two words are as important for you and me to understand as they were for those who first heard this letter read to them. Edward Clowney wrote,

Peter is writing a travelers’ guide for Christian pilgrims. He reminds them that their hope is anchored in their homeland. They are called to endure alienation as strangers, but they have a heavenly citizenship and destiny. …But how are we to understand the Christian pilgrimage? Does the Christian flee from the world, fight it, conform to it, change it–or is there a deeper meaning to the call to pilgrimage? (Clowney, Edward. The Message of 1 Peter. pgs. 20-21)

So Peter was writing to God’s people, the “elect,” who were exiles, pilgrims, sojourners, or strangers and “scattered” throughout the Roman provinces. He was writing to them to remind them of who they were in Christ and how they were to navigate life in that strange land that was not their home. And this is exactly what we will be discovering for ourselves over the next few months. There is another word Peter used to describe the situation of the elect exiles in Asia Minor–they are the “scattered” people of God. The word translated “scattered” in the New International Version is the word “diaspora" which was used to describe the Jews who were scattered from their homeland beginning with the conquest of their land by the Assyrians and later the Babylonians. The diaspora of the Jews has continued at various times and for various reasons throughout history. Even though they were no longer in their homeland they were reminded that they were the people of God, God’s chosen people. Peter picks up on this idea. He isn’t just writing to Jews, but to all of those who are followers of Jesus, Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus. Also, Peter isn’t thinking about Jerusalem or Israel when he writes, but he has heaven in mind. He wanted all of the followers of Jesus, across Asia Minor, to know that this world was not their home. Paul reminded the people of Philippi of this same truth in Philippians 3:20-21 when he wrote,

20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21 NIV)

In Hebrews 11, after we read the names of people like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, great people of faith who trusted God, we learn,

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country-- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16 NIV)

If you have been attending BCC for any amount of time then hopefully you have become friends with some people who have come here who are refugees or immigrants who have made their way to the United States. I met a man two weeks ago who had just come to America from China. He had never stepped foot in a church until he came to BCC two weeks ago. Oklahoma City is far different than his home back in China. We have also come to know and love our Afghan friends who have come to America under very different circumstances than our new friend from China. I was talking to Abdullah about one month ago and I asked him how he liked living here. He said, “It is so good to live in a safe neighborhood.” I have to admit, I have never heard our neighborhood described as safe, but when you consider what Abdullah, Sherifa, and their kids have experienced during the past two years in Afghanistan–this neighborhood is like a gated community. Living in a foreign land can be very difficult–everything is different from your homeland. And this is the mindset you and I are to maintain while living apart from our homeland, not some country on planet earth, but our home in heaven. If we are faithfully following Jesus then we will become increasingly aware that we just don’t fit in the world’s culture. The world’s ways of doing things are totally different from the ways and customs of our King and the culture of His Kingdom. I want us to spend the rest of our time this morning taking a look at what Peter writes in verse 2. This verse is a powerful description of the elect exiles in Peter’s day and of God’s elect exiles who are scattered across the globe in our day. God’s elect are exiles…

2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. (1 Peter 1:2 NIV)

This verse is connected to verse 1 from the standpoint that it modifies what Peter has already said about the elect exiles scattered throughout Asia Minor. If you go back to verse 1 you will see there is an order to the description Peter gives to the followers of Jesus in Asia Minor. They are first the “elect” and second they are “exiles” or strangers or aliens. They are God’s elect, chosen by God. Now, for some of you, maybe for many of you, when you hear me speak about God’s “electing,” the hair on the back of your neck stands up. You’ve heard about the doctrine of election and you just don’t believe it or like it. I want to ask you to put aside everything you’ve heard about the doctrine of election before today and open your heart and mind to consider, not what you have heard in the past, but what God’s Word will speak to us today. The biblical doctrine of election is inescapable. It is found both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. In the opening verses of Genesis 12, we find God choosing a man named Abram. Read it with me. 

1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:1-3 NIV)

Why did God choose Abram? Was it because he went to church every Sunday? He helped little old ladies across the street in his neighborhood? Or, maybe he was just better than everyone else who lived in Ur of the Chaldees? None of those are true. Joshua 24:2 tells us that Abram and his father “worshiped other gods.” They worshiped idols. God chose Abram, God set His affection upon Abram because He chose to and because He had a plan to use Abram to bless the nations, all of the nations on the earth. God chose the nation of Israel out of all of the nations of the earth. You may have heard that Israel, the Jews, are God’s “chosen” people. We can ask the same questions about why God would choose the Jews? In Deuteronomy 7, Moses spoke to the people to remind them why God had set His affection upon them in choosing them. Listen to this…

6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. 7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:6-8 NIV)

To use our modern-day criteria of choosing. God didn’t choose Israel because they were the biggest, most beautiful, most promising, smartest, or most capable–they were none of those things. In Exodus 19:6, Moses shared God’s message with them–“you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Let me give you just one more example, this time from the New Testament. There was a man named Saul and he was from Tarsus. He was no friend of Jesus by the way. Saul was a Pharisee, a committed pharisee who was opposed to the followers of Jesus. Saul was on his way to Damascus when he was confronted by Jesus and struck blind. The Lord went ahead of Saul and found a man named Ananias who was given the task of going to Saul, laying hands on him, and restoring his sight. Ananias thought it was a crazy idea because he had heard about the things Saul had done to the followers of Jesus. Yet, the Lord said, 

15 ..."Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." (Acts 9:15-16 NIV)

The Lord chose Saul, changed his name to Paul, and sent him out to share the good news about Jesus until his dying day. There is just no way to escape the doctrine of election and yet so many people in the church today do not even want to talk about it. I’ve witnessed the doctrine of election misapplied and mangled.  I have some friends who believe in the doctrine of election and so they have concluded that they don’t need to share the good news about Jesus with anyone because God’s going to choose who He will choose. That is a misapplication of this beautiful biblical truth and let me tell you why. After Jesus was raised from the dead He spoke to His disciples and told them to go into all nations and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This was Jesus' parting instruction to His followers. We have been called to go and share the good news about the saving power of Jesus with everyone. So, to say that because of the doctrine of election we need not share the good news of Jesus with others is just wrong, it’s crazy, and a misapplication of the doctrine of election.  Others have questioned me about why God would leave some out. My question is, “Who did He leave out? How do you know He has left them out?” I spoke at a funeral on Friday for Joe Dan Trigg. Joe Dan was 95 years old when he died. For 93 years of his life he had no interest in the Lord, but then he began to ask questions, he attended Alpha, friends shared the good news with Joe Dan, and the Lord moved on Joe Dan’s heart. I love how J. Vernon McGee describes the doctrine of election. 

So, my friend, you can argue about election all you want to, but you can come. And if you come, He’ll not cast you out. Someone may ask, ‘You mean that if I’m not the elect I can still come?’ My friend, if you come, you will be the elect. How tremendous this is!’… Does election shut out certain people? No. Life eternal is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ Whom He has sent. Do you have a desire to know the true God and Jesus Christ? Then you are not shut out. You must be one of the elect. He gives eternal life to those who have heard the call and have responded down in their hearts. They have come to Christ of their own free will… We cannot avoid the doctrine of election, nor can we reconcile God’s sovereign election with man’s free will. Both are true. (J. Vernon McGee)

There are three phrases in verse two that tell us about our election. First, We are elected “according to the foreknowledge of God.” Second, we are elected “through the sanctifying work of the Spirit.” Third, we are elected “to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:” All three phrases modify the subject, which are those who have are God’s chosen people. Did you notice that all three Persons of the Trinity play a role in your election if you are a follower of Jesus Christ? If you are a follower of Jesus you have been elected “according to the foreknowledge of God.” This is an interesting phrase that many have interpreted to mean that God looked through the lens of history out into the distant future and saw that you would choose Him one day and so He chose you. That is not what “foreknowledge” means at all. We find the same Greek word used in 1 Peter 1:20. Take a look at it with me.

18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. (1 Peter 1:18-20 NIV)

God didn’t look through the corridors of time and see that Jesus would choose to die on the cross for you and me and therefore God chose Jesus. It was God’s perfect plan. And God choosing you was part of His perfect plan from all eternity past as well. Second, if you are a follower of Jesus, you have been chosen through the “sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.” The Greek word for “sanctify” really has two meanings. First, it means to be set apart. God has set you apart for His purposes. This is why we don’t fit with the world’s plan. We are not walking the path we used to walk any longer. The Lord has set us on a new course. We have died to ourselves, our ambitions, our plans, and are now living for His glory and His will for our lives. Second, the Holy Spirit continues His work in us throughout our lives to mold us and shape us into the image of His Son, that is the Holy Spirit’s “sanctifying” work in you and me.Last of all, we have been chosen by God for a purpose and that is “to be obedient to Jesus Christ.” My allegiance is to Jesus and Him alone. God’s choosing me and choosing you was for a purpose and it is that we might be obedient to Jesus. We will go where He wants us to go, do what He wants us to do, and seek Him above all else in life. What is He doing in your life? Where is He leading you? What changes is He working out in you and for you?The phrase that follows “to be obedient to Jesus Christ,” the phrase “and sprinkled with his blood,” has been confusing to many people, but it need not be if we know the Old Testament. There is a powerful story found in Exodus 24 where Moses gathered the freed slaves from Egypt together at Mt. Sinai. He read to them all that God commanded of them and the people responded, "Everything the LORD has said we will do." (Exodus 24:3 NIV) After that, Moses took half of the blood of bulls that had been sacrificed and he splashed it on the altar. Then we read, in Exodus 24:8, 

8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." (Exodus 24:8 NIV)

The action was part of the covenant ceremony God initiated with His people. The blood of the covenant was a sign, a guarantee of the forgiveness and cleansing God’s people needed to be in right relationship with a holy and righteous God. Jesus used that sign and transformed it when He gathered with His disciples during Passover, took the cup and said, “This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:20 NIV) Peter wrote, a little later in the first chapter,

18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19 NIV)

We are out of time so let me close our time together by giving you something to think about. In our day, how we "self identify" has risen to the top of the list of what’s most important to us and there are a million and one ways that people self-identify today. Let me assure you that however you identify, if you do not first and foremost identify as a follower of Jesus, someone who has been chosen by God, set apart by the Holy Spirit, for the purpose of living out your life in obedience to Jesus Christ who has shed His sinless blood for your forgiveness and cleansing–you will never know the peace, contentment, and purpose that you long for in life. We will find out that those Peter wrote to in Asia Minor were undergoing some hard trials in life, but Peter would not allow them to see themselves as victims. No, no, they were chosen by God, what they were going through was part of His plan, to fulfill His purpose for their lives, and to draw them ever closer to trusting in and relying upon Him alone.The same holds true for you and me. Are you a follower of Jesus? If so, then you are not a victim, you have been chosen by God, He is using His Holy Spirit to mold you and make you into the man or woman He desires for you to be. Trust Him, lean on Him, press into Him–He will never fail you my friend.If you are not a follower of Jesus, but this morning you have sensed the Lord is nudging you, drawing you, calling you to Himself. Do not walk away from this morning without coming to choose Him. Mike HaysBritton Christian ChurchJanuary 21, 2024