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Each week a new verse-by-verse Bible study podcast given in expository style. Join us and see the Bible come alive as we study the truths that God‘s Word has for us.
Episodes
Tuesday Aug 23, 2016
Tuesday Aug 23, 2016
Last week we began this section on why we suffer for our faith. Peter has told us that we are in enemy territory, and we cannot expect to get through it unscathed. Jesus tells us that since He was persecuted even unto death, then His servants will be persecuted as well. But the wonderful good news of this chapter is that we can get through it victoriously, and in fact, God expects us to do just that. We are not to spend the rest of our lives giving way to our flesh or to our fears. We are to live in harmony with God's will, whatever that may be. We preach the gospel message of Christ because of the coming Great White Throne Judgment, where all of those who reject Christ will be judged. It is God’s desire that this gospel is preached to each person before they die, and if they don’t respond to the Gospel, then God makes it very clear that they are already dead in “trespasses and sins.” But if they accept Christ, they can then “live according to God in the Spirit.” The Bible repeats this message of death and life over and over again. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we pass from death to life.
John 5:24
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
KJV
Jesus is the resurrection, and the life. When we believe in Him, we are no longer dead, instead we have life.
John 11:25-26
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
KJV
We know that we are raised from the dead to walk in the newness of life.
Rom 6:4
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
KJV
Paul continues with this message in
Eph 2:5
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
KJV
In other words, before you and I were saved, we were dead in trespasses and sins. We were spiritually dead. Peter is saying the same thing here in this verse. The gospel is being preached, and when the gospel is being preached, two things happen. Some accept it, and if they accept it, they are going to live for God and live throughout eternity. Others reject it, and those who reject the gospel are the men who are dead in sins and are dead to God throughout eternity; that is, they have no relation to Him whatsoever.
The cause of suffering for a believer is the sinfulness of the world that we live in. We are not of this world, and because we stand against the sin of this world, we will be persecuted. We will have lies told about us. We will face judgment at the hands of the ones in leadership positions of this world. Peter did. Paul did. Jesus did. Therefore, we will also. The wonderful good news is that on the other side of the grave is a Savior with His hands outstretched saying “Welcome thou good and faithful servant.”
Listen to this podcast to learn the true cause of the suffering that a believer encounters as he stands for Christ.
Sunday Aug 14, 2016
Sunday Aug 14, 2016
A large part of this book has been addressed by Peter to people who are undergoing incredibly severe torture and death for their faith in Christ. It is easy to understand how people who are facing this type of constant persecution would be discouraged, even asking God why He is allowing this to occur. Peter understands this and he is writing this section of the letter to help them deal with it. So God has provided these lessons to us, as believers, in order to show us how we are to deal with the persecution that we face, in whatever form that it takes.
Christ has told us to expect persecution.
John 15:18-21
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
KJV
Peter dedicates this whole section to helping believers know why we are being persecuted for our faith in Christ, and how to deal with that persecution. Our faith is in Christ, and we know that our Lord will provide for our needs during this time. He will provide the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us, strengthen us, and encourage us. This is our faith. Christ will not fail us. The wonderful good news is that Jesus Christ is alive and enthroned at the right hand of God! It is an unfortunate fact that the history of mankind is full of monsters like Nero. They each have their day, but no matter how strong they are, no matter how evil they are, nothing they do can alter the fact that Jesus now sits on the supreme throne of the universe. The mystery of the suffering of God's people is a mystery as great as the mystery of iniquity. All we see down here are the seemingly tangled threads on the reverse side of the tapestry of life. When we get to heaven, we shall see the magnificent picture on its other side. Meanwhile, Christ is on the throne. That certain fact is the foundation of our promise, our hope, and our faith.
We are in enemy territory. We cannot expect to get through it unscathed. But we can get through it victoriously. God expects us to do just that. We are not to spend the rest of our lives giving way to our flesh or to our fears. We are to live in harmony with God's will, whatever that may be.
Why do we suffer? God says that He will use suffering in your life in order to keep you from sin, “That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” This means that we no longer take life for granted, for we have suffered, and that God will use that suffering to keep us from sin.
Sunday Aug 07, 2016
Sunday Aug 07, 2016
Certainly, the best example we have of how to prepare ourselves to endure the suffering and persecution for our faith in Christ, is Christ Himself. Christ is not asking us to do anything that He Himself has not endured. In fact, the persecution and suffering that Christ endured was far greater than anything we can imagine. But there was a God-planned purpose in Christ coming to this world knowing that He would be persecuted even unto death, just as there is a God-planned purpose in our suffering as well. The fact that the Son of God entered into human life and became a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief is truly an awesome thing to consider.
1 Peter 3:18
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
KJV
This verse explains exactly what Christ did when He died on the cross. It tells us why Christ died and what the death of Christ does for man. It is so clear, that it leaves the reader without an excuse. Why did Christ have to suffer and die?
It was for the sins of all mankind that He died. Man is sinful, he stands guilty before God. Man has to be judged; he has to bear the punishment for his sins.
What is that punishment? Death and separation from God forever.
But this is the glorious gospel; this is the declaration of this great verse: Jesus Christ died for our sins. He took the sin and guilt of man upon Himself and bore the judgment and punishment for man. Note one other fact: Jesus died once for our sins. His death never has to be repeated. His death upon the cross satisfies God completely and covers the sins and death of believers forever. Notice carefully that I said believers. Christ died for the sins of all mankind so that the question is no longer have you sinned or not?
If you wish to have eternal life with Christ in heaven, the question is now, did you accept the free gift of grace that God has offered you by sending Christ to die in your place? Have you made Christ your Lord and Savior? Once you have said yes to this, then nobody can take your salvation away from you, and you cannot do anything to lose it. For if you could, Christ would have to die again for your sins to be forgiven.
Christ died so that he might bring us to God. It is our sin that separates us from God. It is our sin that makes us imperfect and unacceptable to God. But note the most wonderful truth, when Jesus Christ took our sin upon Himself, sin was removed from us. Therefore, as believers we stand before God in the righteousness and sinlessness of Christ. We are made righteous in Christ.
The vicarious atonement accomplished for us by Christ on Calvary's cross is the great God-planned reason for His sufferings.
Sunday Jul 31, 2016
Sunday Jul 31, 2016
How we face suffering and persecution is one of the defining characteristics of the Christian faith that sets us apart from the world. Let’s be honest, it is not hard to face the good times, when things are going your way, and when the people around you support your words and actions as they relate to living for Christ. Christians look at the source of those blessings differently than the rest of the world does, but how they react to them is very similar to everyone else.
Being persecuted for your faith comes in many forms, from simple disrespect on the part of someone you meet or the government that rules over us, to being excluded from something or somewhere, to serious physical harm to your body by torture, death, and imprisonment. All because we stand and identify ourselves as Christians and live our lives accordingly. The world reacts to these kinds of persecutions by saying “That’s not fair, I want justice!” They get angry, they march in violent protest, or they take the baker or the florist to court and have the government shut them down. We are going to learn in our lesson today that God wants His children to face this kind of suffering with joy in our hearts.
Now, my first reaction to suffering is often the same as the world’s, shouting “That’s not fair,” and wanting someone to do something about setting that injustice right. My thoughts run immediately to the fact that this nation was founded on Judaeo/Christian beliefs and the constitutional guarantee we have of freedom of religion. So where is my government that is to support me and defend me? Well, as we all know, that government has long gone and now believes that we are to be free from religion, instead having freedom of religion. They now willingly persecute Christians for saying what they believe. In many other countries, the government violently attacks and kills Christians for living a life for Christ.
The secular world turns to those around them, or to their own brand of religion, or the government for help. As a Christian we are to turn to God and say “Lord, what am I to learn from this,” or, “Lord, who am I to be witnessing to? Who do you have watching me to learn how a Christian faces persecution?” The truth is that not all suffering is a lesson for the believer, sometimes it is a lesson for the persecutor, and sometimes it is just the face of evil doing everything it can to destroy Christianity. Satan hates mankind, but he has a special hatred for Christians, and there are times that he uses evil people to do great harm to the people of God.
The difference between how a Christian faces persecution and all others comes from their personal relationship with, and their knowledge of, Jesus Christ as their Lord and Master. They know from personal experience that God is in control of all things. His hand of protection is around His children, and His Spirit is in the believer’s heart providing the strength, courage, faith, and hope, to deal with whatever Satan and the world can dish out. It is not easy, but the focus of the Christian is not to be on the short term of our lives on this earth, but on the eternity that we are going to have with Jesus Christ in heaven. That is our promise from our Lord, and that is the reason we can face persecution and suffering with a God-given joy in our heart. That is the defining difference in how a Christian faces persecution. This is what sets us apart from the world. This is what identifies us with our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. We have the promises of the Word of God, and the Spirit of God, in our hearts.
Listen to today’s podcast to learn how a Christian is to face persecution.