1 Peter 1:13-19, 2 Corinthians 5:9-11 (NASB)
David Bruce Linn, Pastor-Teacher
5 March 2006
All Rights Reserved

Charles Dickens wrote the book Great Expectations about a boy of humble birth named Pip who grows up in the home of a blacksmith. Pip assumes that when he comes of age that he will be apprenticed to his adoptive father, Joe, and take up the life of an honest blacksmith.

One night while Pip is visiting the graves of his parents he is overtaken by an escaped prisoner who compels Pip by threats to bring him some food and a file to remove his leg irons. Pip is afraid for his life, and sees his entire future in jeopardy. The convict might very well take his life, or perhaps Pip will be caught stealing the things the convict demands. In fear he complies and is relieved to escape safely.

Shortly thereafter, Pip is taken to meet Miss Havisham, a wealthy spinster with a bizarre manner of life. She had been left at the altar on her wedding day, and instead of getting over it she chose to try to stop the clock. Miss Havisham wears her original wedding gown every day as a recluse in her home, which is still festooned with the moldering remains of her wedding reception, including the decorations, the place settings, and the cake! Pip does not know what to make of her, except that through her he is introduced to beautiful young Estella. Pip falls for the girl and dreams of rising in status in his life so that one day, as a wealthy gentleman, he may ask for her hand in marriage.

Then the dream begins to happen! Out of the blue a lawyer named Jaggers arrives at the house with unbelievable news. A secret benefactor has given Pip a large fortune, and suddenly his life changes, for he is no longer destined to live out his days as a blacksmith. Now he must go to London immediately to begin his education as a gentleman. He goes to a tailor and has clothes made which are suitable for his newly-elevated station in life. He moves to London and takes up with another rising young gentleman, Herbert Pocket, with whom he lodges. Pip begins to speak and act differently as he is tutored by Herbert's father. He receives an allowance in view of his impending fortune. Though he does not yet have it, Pip's prospects change decisively in the present on the basis of his promised future. How Pip's life falls out from there is the subject of the rest of Dickens' book.

1. THE REVELATION OF OUR GREAT BENEFACTOR

In the same sort of way every Christian's life is supposed to change in view of our coming inheritance, as Peter wrote: "Blessed 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..." (1 Peter 1:3-4). But the reception of an inheritance in the future, though a blessed prospect, is not the Christian's only motive for change in the present. Young Pip, in fact, became something of an impulsive and foolish person when he knew that he was in line to receive a great fortune. So would most of us.

The missing element is revealed in a key part of the plot of Great Expectations. Pip is looking forward to the revelation of his benefactor. Who was it who gave him this fortune? Was it Miss Havisham, as strange as she was? Pip could not imagine who else it could be, but he did not know. Believers in Jesus Christ also await the revelation of our Great Benefactor. But he, who grants us grace now as we await the fullness of our inheritance, is not merely a kindly old uncle or someone who has taken pity on us. The revelation of our Benefactor will bring us face to face with the supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. He, in fact, has the right of disposition over every living being on earth because he is the Judge of all the earth. John recorded these words of Christ in his gospel: "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him" (John 5:22-23).

Let us not forget that our Lord will judge every believer, as Paul wrote: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences" (2 Corinthians 5:10-11).

Christ, in conjunction with the Father, will also judge every one who does not trust in him, as is recorded in the book of Revelation: "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:11-15).

As we live through the church age we must do so mindful of the future revelation of Christ at the end of that age in his role as victor: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself" (Revelation 19:11-12). We make a great mistake if we only think of him in his role as our Comforter. The future described here, with Christ returning on a white horse with the armies of heaven, is not in doubt.

So the revelation of our Benefactor when he comes will strike awe into our hearts for we will also be facing our Judge. It is instructive to notice that the basis for the judgment pronounced on believer and unbeliever alike is the evidence of our lives, which will be paraded before all created beings as the irrefutable evidence of our faith or the lack thereof. That should be a sobering thought!

2. THE FEAR FACTOR WHICH CHANGES OUR LIVES

All of this ought to create a wholesome sense of fear about the way we live day to day. As we saw, Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "...Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men..." Have you integrated the fear of the Lord God Almighty into your manner of life? Perhaps you have been like many Christians who have reasoned that since the Bible says that "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18) that there should be no fear at all in the Christian life. This is a confusion of two kinds of fear. Jerry Bridges, in a book entitled The Joy of the Fear of the Lord, makes a distinction between "servile" fear and "filial" fear. These are technical terms the first of which refers to the fear which enslaves us and works death in our lives. The second term is the "loving fear of a child toward his father....That indefinable mixture of reverence, fear, pleasure, joy and awe which fills our hearts when we realize who God is and what He has done for us." (p. 27).

Peter described this very thing at the beginning of his first letter: "If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth..." (1 Peter 1:17). There are no believers left out of this!

And Peter goes on to show that the good kind of fear is filled with love and appreciation for the sacrifice of Christ: "...Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19). The One who judges us from the supreme seat of judgment in the universe is also the One who gave his only Son for us.

3. LIVING IN VIEW OF THE REVELATION OF CHRIST

What concrete things should we do in light of all this? Peter gives us five specific things in this passage upon which he expands in the rest of his first letter. To begin, he writes: "Therefore, prepare your minds for action..." (1 Peter 1:13a). Literally, Peter writes: "Gird up the loins of your mind for action!" This refers to the first-century practice of wearing long, multi-use garments which hung loosely below the waist and down the leg. Leaving them loose was fine for walking and the normal activities of the day, but when it was time to do some serious physical activity those clothes would have to be tucked up into the waist band to keep from getting in the way. Construction, sheep shearing, harvesting, and battle were typical reasons for men to "gird up their loins."

Peter is saying that in view of Christ coming back as our beloved Savior and also as the frightening Judge of all the earth, we should stop drifting from one momentary attraction to another. Preparing for action in Christ's kingdom means to take stock of the energies and resources of our lives and focus them upon him. It describes a life lived in view of all that he is. Nearly all Christians start their walk with Christ thinking: "Whew! Glad I'm not going to hell!" Far too many stop right there and fail to engage the energies God has given them for the work of the Lord.

The world, the flesh, and the Devil will present us with every manner of tempting distraction to divert us from our focus on Christ and his work. We may be living in one of the most spiritually distracting times of all history. Watch out for hyphenated Christian activities. For example, Christian publishing can easily become all about publishing and little about Christ. Christian music can become about everything except Christ, especially careers, fame, and money. Christian policy institutes can become all about public policy rather than redemption.

Peter's second direction about what do to in view of the coming of our Redeemer and Judge is that we "...keep sober in spirit..." (1 Peter 1:13b). The words "in spirit" are not in the Greek text, so the command to keep sober is bare. Let's just start with keeping sober in body. Do you want to be facing Christ at the rapture drunk or stoned? "Whoa, Lord, don't yank me up into heaven too quick or I might hurl!" Although this sounds absurd, the use of mind-altering substances for pleasure is an earthly attraction that will make us ineffective for Christ and will dishonor him when he comes for us. Don't love this world or the stuff in it! It is all destined for the flames. The sober Christian knows that our souls can become attached to useless things on earth and distracted by activities of limited value.

Thirdly, Peter says: "...Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13c). I once heard a youth pastor ask a large room full of teenagers this question: "What are you burning in the engine room of your soul?" In other words, from where do we draw our encouragement for life? What makes us tick? There is only one worthy object for our hope for life, and it is our Benefactor and Judge at his coming. Yes, we live on his grace day to day, but the full reception of it will not come until his revelation

Paul wrote: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10). All the wonderful things Paul became as a redeemed man, apostle, healer, and writer of Scripture he attributed to the grace of God. Many people are burning something else in the engine room of their souls: "By XYZ Diet Plan I who I am!" "By working out with the ABC Fitness plan I am who I am!" "By my successful career I am who I am!" The Lord does not deny us the benefits of wise living, but these things do not make us who we are. For those who have fixed their hope on the revelation of Christ the grace of God makes us who we are! Do not allow your hope to become diluted. When you face him at his coming you will see that he was the only worthy object of hope.

In the same vein Peter's fourth word is a warning: "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance..." (1 Peter 1:14). The term "obedient children" is actually a Hebrew construction (in Greek words) which means "those who were born of obedience." In other words, if we have come to Christ at all, it had to have been through the presentation to him of an obedient heart. Now that we know how to live let us not go back to patterns of life which were characteristic of our ignorance. Those things work death in us, not life! Don't go back to picking up people for casual sex, cheating on your taxes, cursing at your family members, spending money the Lord did not give you, eating like there's no tomorrow--make your own list!

Finally, Peter brings the word which encompasses all: "...But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY'" (1 Peter 1:15-16). Positive holiness is the sweetest and most surprising thing on earth, for earth is no longer its home. The previous command was to avoid unholiness--that does not make a Christian! I see holiness when I watch a mother tenderly caring for an infant, or a father chasing down a wayward toddler and scooping him or her into his arms. I see holiness when people show up to worship God with the church of Christ, when the custodians do their job, when the budget is run so that nothing of what was given to God is wasted. I see holiness when people pray and study God's word, when ministries are pursued for God's glory only. Holiness means "set apart for God's use," and since he is morally perfect, his use of us will always be morally perfect.

Taken together, this is what it means to conduct ourselves in fear in view of the revelation of our Great Benefactor and Judge. Pip, from Dickens' story, has a shock when he discovers the identity of his benefactor. We will be overwhelmed as well with the shock and awe of facing the Lord Jesus Christ in his supremacy. In the mean time, we live day to day by burning his grace in the engine room of our souls, looking forward to the reception of our full inheritance. Are there things which need to change in your life in order to live in view of his coming? I know there are, and God himself will help you change them. I urge you to repent of your momentary distractions, earthly follies, and unworthy patterns of life. You won't want to be in them when Christ comes back in all his glory.