1 Peter 1:17–25

3^rd Sunday of Easter

¹⁷And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake, ²¹who 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. ²²Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, ²⁵but the word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

"Conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile," St. Peter tells the believers he is writing to. Does he really mean fear? Why fear? "Because," he says, "God judges impartially according to each one's deeds." That is to say, God takes our sin seriously. God hates sin. We have every reason to fear God's wrath and anger. Martin Luther, talking about the Ten Commandments in his Large Catechism, tells us: "It is most important that people get their thinking right on this...God will not overlook when people turn from him and will not stop being angry until the fourth generation. Therefore he is to be feared and not despised. All through scripture and daily experience he makes it known that he is utterly opposed to all idolatry. God has uprooted both heathen people and [even his own] Jewish people and to this day [continues to do so.] Therefore everyone should take this passage seriously to heart and not regard it as if some man had spoken it. These words do not lie or deceive."

Today we don't seem to take God's word seriously. We have become lulled into thinking small sins aren't all that important, or that God doesn't really care. We might avoid doing wrong things, but don't seem concerned when we think sinful thoughts or have sinful attitudes, these don't seem quite so bad. Sometimes we confuse Law and Gospel by telling ourselves that "if we are forgiven, then it is OK to sin at least a little. God will overlook it. He knows we are all sinners after all, and won't hold it against us." We are well aware that there are many things God tells us to do that we don't think are all that important. He tells us not to neglect worship still many of us feel that it doesn't make much difference if we skip church now and then on Sunday, especially if we have other things to do. This is barefaced disobedience. God commands us to study and learn his word, but we think we already know it and don't need to stay for Bible Class of Sunday School. We have all heard that God calls us to spread his Gospel in order to bring others to faith in Jesus Christ, but we usually think he is talking to someone else beside me and are content to "let someone else do it." We have all heard that we are to "give our gifts and financially support the work of the church," but we don't make giving a priority in our finances. We all know that we are to love our neighbor and forgive one another when they offend us, but we keep on holding grudges and grinding old axes hoping that one day the score will get settled.

When we allow these sinful thoughts, words, and deeds to continue in our lives we don't taking God's threats of punishment and wrath seriously. If we really took God's word seriously, we would cower in fear when we find ourselves doing these things for they merit God's wrath and punishment. Such disobedience deserves death. The fact is God takes our sin very seriously whether or not we do, and there will be a judgment.

We have every reason to fear because the Father judges impartially according to our deeds, there is no escape, there is no favoritism, there is no way to bribe him or talk our way out. So, Peter tells us to "conduct yourselves with fear;" fear of God's wrath and punishment for our futile and sinful ways.

We have reason to fear because, as he says in verse 18, "we inherited futile ways from our forefathers." What are these futile ways? Futile ways are a life of sin and uselessness which we have inherited from our forefathers. He specifically says we inherited them. This speaks of original sin, that corruption of human nature which we have inherited from Adam and Eve. We are sinful by nature. We are born into futility. From birth we do not honor or believe in God, and St. Paul says those who do "not honor him are futile in their thinking and their hearts are darkened." Not only did man inherit futility, but the creation itself was subjected to futility by Adam. Futility means uselessness, having no useful or practical result. Like the rich man who stored up his harvest in granaries, then died in the night, his labor was futile. He worked for nothing all his life long. Such are the futile ways of the sinner. The ways we have inherited from Adam and Eve.

Futile ways are following the desires of the flesh. The desires of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. These are the futile ways we inherited from our forefathers and into which we were all born.

But is there any escape from this fear of judgment? Let us take a look at verse 18: "knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers." There is an escape from the terrible judgment of God. We have been ransomed from the futile ways into which we were born. What does ransom mean? It is the same word as "redeemed." It means to pay for someone's release. Like when someone is kidnapped and the kidnapper asks for money to free the person. The word "redeemed" was used to set a slave free. In Roman times, a slave could earn money, and when he had saved up the purchase price for himself, he could buy himself and become a freeman. Or, in another scenario, a brother of friend could buy the slave and set him free. This process was called "redeeming;" the word that is translated here as "ransomed."

In other words, we have been purchased and set free. We have been bought from futility and set free from futility; set free from bondage of sin that we inherited; set free from fear of God's fierce wrath and judgment. That is what the resurrection of Christ proclaims. It decrees that we have been ransomed from futility. We have been set free from fear of judgment. There is one thing that stands between us and the fury and anger of God's righteousness: it is the death and resurrection of God's Son, Jesus Christ.

It was Jesus who ransomed us. He purchased our freedom, but not with money. As verse 18 says, "not with perishable things such as silver or gold." We were ransomed with the "precious blood of Christ." verse 19. It is the very blood of Christ which has freed us from the futility of sin and from the fear of God's judgment. That very blood which we receive in the Sacrament of the Altar sets us free from sin and judgment. That blood of Christ means our sins are forgiven and we are freed from the power of sin.

But who received the payment? When you ransom someone from slavery, you pay the slave owner to purchase the slave. When you ransom a kidnapped person, you pay to kidnapper who holds the person in his possession. But when Christ paid for us with his blood, to whom did he make payment? He paid God. He purchased us from the judgment of God that. It is from God's righteous wrath and anger that we were purchased and set free. It was from God's condemnation that we were ransomed. God's right hand of mercy bought us from his left hand of judgment.

Therefore, although we were once sinners and living in the ways of futility we are now forgiven. Christ has paid for our sins and offers us forgiveness through his word and sacrament. Those who believe and are baptized are forgiven and set free from the fear of judgment. If you once lived in sexual immorality, or enslaved to pornography or lustful desires that was a terrible thing, deserving God's punishment and death. But now you are ransomed with the blood of Christ; there is release for this bondage and forgiveness for your sins! If you once lived in idolatry trusting in wealth and power, living for comfort and ease, this was futility and sin, but now by the blood of Christ there is forgiveness! If you once practiced sorcery, witchcraft, divination, trusted horoscopes and spiritists and Tarot cards, those were Satanic practices, but now you are set free from the power of Satan! If before you caused strife, dissension, and division, you acted shamefully, but in the blood of Christ you can find forgiveness! It means that if you were a drunk or drug addict or participated in orgies and things like these, these were disgusting things, but blood of Christ has sets you free from all addictions and there is forgiveness!

We have been ransomed by the blood of the Lamb without spot of blemish. We have been purchased by God and set free from futility. Purchased for sincere brotherly love. We read in verse 22: "Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart since you have been born again." We have been ransomed from futile sinfulness and purchased for brotherly love through faith. Notice the words, "obedience to the truth." This means faith. The "truth" is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and "obedience to the truth" is an expression meaning "faith in the Gospel." We have been born again. When we were born in the flesh we inherited the futile ways of sin. Now, in Christ, by faith we have been born again, not as slaves to futility, but born unto love. Therefore, putting aside all hostility and envy and dissension and strife, let us love one another earnestly from a pure heart. In baptism we were born again and our souls purified from the futile sin we inherited and we were purchased by God for love. We have been ransomed from futility with the precious blood of Christ and our souls have been purified for a sincere, brotherly love.

Verse 23 tells us, "you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the abiding word of God." It is the Word of God, attached to the water of baptism that gives us new birth. It is God's word and promise that cleanses our soul of sin. That eternal word of God. That word that remains forever. That word that is the same yesterday, today and forever. That word which though the world despises it at thinks it is full of old, antiquated morals, that apply to another time and another place, is nonetheless, the eternal word that applies to all mankind at all times and in all places. For the word of God remains forever. Verse 24 uses an illustration: "Flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls but the word of the Lord remains forever." Unlike flesh that comes to an end, unlike a flower that dries up and dies, unlike grass that withers, the Word of God is forever. The gospel is true today and forever. We are redeemed from futility; our sins are forgiven; our souls purified; we are born again to love and that will never change. It is forever.

Verse 25 says: That word is the good news. It is the gospel that is God's power of salvation to all who believe it. It is the gospel that was preached to us. It is the Gospel that we proclaim. As we just sang in the Hymn of the Day, "With high delight let us unite in songs of great jubilation. Ye pure in heart, All do your part, sing Jesus Christ our salvation. To set us free forever he has risen and sends good news to all the earth to save every nation." He has ransomed us from futility so we let praises ring; giving thanks and adoration. We speed his honor by word and deed to every land and nation by proclaiming his deeds of salvation. That is the Gospel. The good news of his powerful salvation for all who believe.

Amen.