BYOB: Peter
1 Peter 1:22-2:3
August 1, 2004
St. John United Methodist Church
David Beckett, D.Min.

Context

Up to this point we have witnessed Peter’s leadership with this brand new Jesus movement. The term, "Christian," had not yet been used to describe these followers of Jesus. We’ve seen Peter thrown in prison, interrogated, and whipped by authorities. We’ve learned the power of people coming together in prayer. We’ve seen miracles of healing and prison escape. We’ve watched as Peter’s vision helped him expand the gospel beyond the Jews to the Gentiles. Peter did so much to prepare the way for Paul’s ministry which expanded this Jesus movement beyond the boundaries of Israel.

Now Peter is an old man in Rome. We can’t be sure Peter wrote 1 and 2 Peter, but for our purposes today we will assume he is the author. He is writing to encourage Christians who are suffering because their faith has called them to break with the social fabric of their community.

Purity of body and heart was a major emphasis in Judaism. So it comes as no surprise that it creeps into early Christian thought. "Genuine mutual love" is more literally "not hypocritical." These were times where one Christian may betray another to local authorities. This first reference to love is from the Greek word, "Philadelphia," which means "brotherly love." But when Peter writes, "Love one another deeply from the heart," he uses "agape," which is "God love." Agape is the word used most often in the NT for "love."

Early Christian ethics could be summed up in this simple statement: "Be what you are." Being genuine and real was very important within this early Christian culture. When I would drive my young children to elementary school I would say to them as we parted, "Remember who you are."

Times were hard in Peter’s day. There were lots of religions and gods to follow. But following Jesus is about being born again. Being a Christian is about getting a brand new life. And this new life will last because God’s word is alive forever.

Peter here is quoting Hebrew scripture…Isaiah 40:6-8. In the first century there was this desire to see life in terms of flesh and spirit. Yes, Christians were being persecuted for their faith. But it was only the body that was being hurt. Their spirit, because it comes from God, could never be destroyed. This gave them hope, a much needed quality in those tough times.

Much of what Peter writes in this letter is a contrast between the old life and the new. Because God’s agape love is born anew in your heart, then here’s what you need to do: get rid of malice and envy. Don’t be a gossip. Be genuine, especially with other fellow Christians. A major feature of the new life is the mutuality and trust that Christians have with one another.

Peter introduces the metaphor of newborn babies. It’s not that baby’s milk is inferior to solid food. It’s just different. And it’s about desire. Peter advises these suffering Christians to "long for the pure, spiritual milk." Do what you can to increase your desire for God. The result of this is growth into salvation. Keep your taste of God in your mouth and it will help you grow into wholeness and salvation.

WHAT GOD MIGHT BE SAYING TO US THROUGH THIS SCRIPTURE

Are you saved? Has anyone ever asked you this question? What does it mean to be saved? I want to talk about your salvation today. How is it that people come to saving faith in Jesus Christ? Is there a single experience of grace that is universal for all people? Or is it different for different people?

Donal Dorr, in his book, "Remove the Heart of Stone," cites three patterns or ways people come to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I believe it can also apply to how we come to faith in Christ.

The first is the Dramatic Pattern. In the dramatic pattern people notice a definite change after an experience of grace. With this kind of salvation experience Christians can tell you exactly when they were saved. One moment they were unsaved. The next moment they were saved. The dramatic pattern is marked by a sudden change that is usually accompanied by strong emotions.

People tend to have strong memories of their dramatic salvation event for the rest of their lives because of the feelings that echo in their consciousness. In other words they will often bond with their conversion experience in a way that continues to provide meaning in their lives in the future. What is it that you remember about your life? I suspect the strongest memories are the ones with the strongest feelings, good or bad.

In churches across the world the Dramatic Pattern is often lifted up as the norm for all people to come to faith in Christ. Pastors and leaders often give great care to creating an experience for others that includes emotions. As a young man I remember thinking that as long as I could get people to cry, salvation would happen for them.

Growing up I also remember times when Christians would give "testimonies." These were individual stories of how people were saved. The testimonies that were often shared were the dramatic stories. In their old lives they were drug addicts or alcoholics or criminals. But then Christ came into their lives and they were new people. People like drama. We are captivated by sudden changes in someone’s story.

But there is a danger in making this pattern normative for all people. We can mistake the event for the state. How we come to faith in Christ is not as important as living in a state of faith and grace. You might have a great story of a dramatic conversion in your past. But what is God doing in your life right now?

The second way people come to salvation in Christ is through the Delayed-Action Pattern. This is similar to the Dramatic Pattern in that a person does have a dramatic experience of grace. The difference is that the experience is delayed for some time, perhaps even years. He or she is not ready to admit their sin and receive God’s forgiveness. Hardened hearts delay the grace God desires to do in their lives.

The third way is the Cumulative Pattern. This experience of faith does not happen in a single, dramatic moment, but over time. It comes as a result of a succession of God-moments. Donal Dorr writes, "There may be a growing desire for prayer, an apparently unrelated breakthrough in one’s openness to other people, and a healing of old emotional hurts which at first has no obvious connection with the other developments. But each of these contributes to a new and deeper integration of the person."

My grandfather and my mother could not tell you when they were saved. They both grew up in the church and in religious homes. They always had a sense of God loving them and could not remember being outside of that love.

What is your testimony…your story of coming to salvation in Jesus Christ? Which pattern did you experience? As the Dramatic Pattern was being lifted up as THE model when I grew up, I also remember reading 1 Peter 2:2 which talked about "growing up into salvation." I could never reconcile that verse with the Dramatic Pattern.

What I want to say is that there is no one way to come to faith in Christ. Yes, it can happen in a sudden, dramatic fashion. But it can also be delayed. And it can happen cumulatively, over time. We can grow into our salvation.

Remember that salvation also means wholeness. Christ desires to bring wholeness to our bodies, our minds, and our hearts. It’s about integration, not separation. It’s about being born again to a new life that unifies our souls and the world.

Lord Kenneth Clark, internationally known for his television series "Civilization", admitted in his autobiography that while visiting a beautiful church he had what he believed to be an overwhelming religious experience. "My whole being," Clark wrote, "was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense than anything I had known before." But the "gloom of grace," as he described it, created a problem. If he allowed himself to be influenced by it, he knew he would have to change, his family might think he had lost his mind, and maybe that intense joy would prove to be an illusion. So he concluded, "I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course."

The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that you can allow God to change the course of your life. You can open your heart to incredible light and joy. It doesn’t matter what pattern you follow. It does matter that you act. It matters that you say yes to God’s invitation of love. It matters that you are on an intentional journey of wholeness and salvation. It matters that you come to God with open hands to receive the bread and the cup, the Light and Life of the world.

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