The average American, I believe whether Christian or not, thinks that they are generally a good person. Often people will appeal to that basic “good-ness” when talking about heaven and hell. One student in an interview said, “I’m an atheist and I don’t really care about Christianity mostly because I believe that if there is a God he’s not going to send me to hell just because I’m an atheist.” Another says, “When I die God, if there is a God, will see all the good things I’ve done and then he’ll let me into heaven because I’m a good person.” These are just normal responses from people on the street about human goodness. I should say though that these views may be skewed to the beliefs of more privileged Westerners. I think if you are a member of an actively oppressed people group then you might look into the more evil base instincts of humanity, but that’s a different issue.
Peter is giving us a handbook for life. He’s been describing what it means to be a Christian so far. If the first chapter was a sermon than Peter is ending with two implications and an application.
- Implication #1: Be holy in what you do (vs. 13-16)
- Implication #2: Be fearful in what you do (vs. 17-21)
- Application: Love one another (vs. 22-25)
Let’s look at the second implication now, coming from 1 Peter 1:17-21.
And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourself with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 1Peter 1:17-21
Live in Fear
I think the “fear of the Lord” is another one of those statements that Christians throw around without really thinking about what it means. We try to soften the language by implying it means that we ought to listen to God with respect but then what we do is kind of separate. I think we like to have a basis for calling someone else’s actions wrong, but we need to maintain a separation from God so that we can do whatever we want without that same judgment. The language here doesn’t allow for ambiguity.
A Judging Father
“If you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds…”
It is unpopular today to talk about God as a judge. We like to say that God is love and forgiveness, mercy and grace, but certainly not judgment. Admittedly there seems to be a tension in the Bible about this. God is holy, like we talked about before, and He demands holiness, but at the same time He is relating to humans, who certainly are not holy. There is a lot of talk, especially in Proverbs, about the righteous man and what he does compared to the wicked man. Then in Romans 3 we find out that “no one is righteous, no, not one.” So God will judge man according to his righteousness but none is righteous. Sounds like a lose-lose situation.
The Bible doesn’t ignore God’s role as Judge. He will judge rightly, impartially. So therefore, be careful what you do. Live holy, as holy as you can I guess. That’s the language: live in fear. I don’t think this is paralyzing fear, but if we have a proper view of God and His holiness then we must be very aware that we don’t measure up.
Coram Deo
There is a phrase used by many to talk about how we should live our life, coram deo, that is: “in the presence of God”. There is a good article on the meaning of this phrase by R.C. Sproul here. He ends his article with this:
Integrity is found where men and women live their lives in a pattern of consistency. It is a pattern that functions the same basic way in church and out of church. It is a life that is open before God. It is a life in which all that is done is done as to the Lord. It is a life lived by principle, not expediency; by humility before God, not defiance. It is a life lived under the tutelage of conscience that is held captive by the Word of God.
Coram Deo … before the face of God. That’s the big idea. Next to this idea our other goals and ambitions become mere trifles.
Living conscious of the presence of God can be a scary idea at first thought. Upon more thought the goal should be that we should act fearful rather than scared. What I think is fantastic about this passage in 1 Peter is that he doesn’t tell us to live fearfully and then just leave us there. Rather he gives us a truth that will sustain us.
You Were Ransomed
So nobody can live up to God’s holy standard. There is a debt to be paid and as much as we try to pay that debt with our own works we will never get there. How can any finite thing pay off an infinite debt?
Perishable and Everlasting
We were ransomed from this debt, not by something perishable like silver or gold. Wait, what? I thought the one thing in this world that is eternal is gold and silver and diamonds. We are told to invest in gold because it never loses its value. It is always there for us. We can hold it in our hands and it is assuring. No matter how bad the economy will get, gold will always be there for you, just ask Scrooge McDuck.
Peter is trying to claim that gold and silver are perishable, and this isn’t the first time he’s said this… So then what is the eternal, lasting thing with which we were ransomed? Blood, precious blood. Think about the contrast, decaying gold and precious blood. Gold dies but this blood is precious. Kind of makes you question a lot of your motives in life.
Conclusion
This is the second implication at the end of the “opening sermon” in 1 Peter. The first was to be holy, the second is to live fearfully. We are not told practically what that looks like, but that will come. Peter could give us a list of things to do here. Instead what he does is talk about Jesus.
Jesus Christ was perfect and spotless in character. He was the One without blemish that all of those lambs had been pointing to. He existed before the foundation of the world and doesn’t need us. He didn’t enter humanity because he was lonely or because he needed us, rather it was “for your sake” and mine. It was for us that Christ came and lived and died. It is his blood which ransomed us at a cost that no silver or gold could cover, because the debt was infinite and eternal.
But our faith and hope are not in a man alone as an exemplar or teacher, rather we put our faith and hope in a God-man. The only way we can do that is through the resurrection of Christ. We don’t live in fear and with respect for a dead person. We live in fear and with respect for a living savior.
The attitude then is not a fearful one in the negative sense, but rather a loving respect. Living in the presence of God, coram deo, is not living a divided life, but rather a life of integrity of wholeness.
And this can only be done through the grace of God which we can have because Christ paid our ransom with his blood. Live in that reality and don’t try to buy off God with your works. Only with that attitude can we then begin to do good things out of worship rather than obligation.
In the next few verses Peter will give us an example of living this out in community.
Tessera Sola 