Stand Firm in the Grace of God

We are finally at the end of the book of 1 Peter! I promise, this is the last message I am going to give on 1 Peter this week. So let’s read the conclusion of the letter:

1 Peter 5:12–14 CSB
12 Through Silvanus, a faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you briefly in order to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! 13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

I don’t know about you, but when I get to a section of verses like this my first reaction is to read them as fast as I can… and then forget them! They can seem insignificant or unimportant to us, almost as if we are eavesdropping on someone’s private conversation.

However, these words were recorded for a reason – because God intended them to be! While the majority of that reasoning may have been for the first century church, there are still some nuggets for us to mine today.

1 Peter 5:12 “Through Silvanus, a faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you…”

Your translation may have changed that from Silvanus to Silas. It is the common belief that this is the SAME Silas we read in some of Paul’s letters and also in the book of Acts. Thought this person, Silas, Peter has written to the churches in Asia Minor.

“Through” does not necessarily mean that Silas was the scribe, or that he helped write it – though that could have been possible. Most times in our NT letters, if more than one person was involved in writing the letter they are introduced in the beginning. FOR EXAMPLE: Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus: To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.”

In our passage in 1 Peter, “through” was most probably a reference to Silas being the courier of the letter. Why would I think that? Well, because there is another time that a letter was delivered by Silas that he did not write:

Acts 15:22–32 CSB
22 Then the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, decided to select men who were among them and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men among the brothers. 23 They wrote: “From the apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers and sisters among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some without our authorization went out from us and troubled you with their words and unsettled your hearts, 25 we have unanimously decided to select men and send them to you along with our dearly loved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27⭐ Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who will personally report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it was the Holy Spirit’s decision—and ours—not to place further burdens on you beyond these requirements: 29 that you abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. You will do well if you keep yourselves from these things. Farewell.” 30 So they were sent off and went down to Antioch, and after gathering the assembly, they delivered the letter. 31 When they read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 Both Judas and Silas, who were also prophets themselves, encouraged the brothers and sisters and strengthened them with a long message.

• From this we read that Silas was a “leading man” among the brothers. He was looked up to, he was revered by the church. So much so that they selected him to take the message to the Gentiles.
• Silas was trusted to present the meaning of the letter, explaining it and answering questions.
• We also learn that Silas was a prophet, and taught in Antioch giving them a long message.

Silas traveled with Paul on multiple journeys, visiting places like Thessalonica, Corinth, Macedonia. He was imprisoned, beaten and threatened while with Paul. And, apparently, he was in Rome with Peter! IF you were sending someone to a place you have never been, to share a message that is important, you would want someone like Silas who was recognized by others and proven by his experience.

SILAS WAS FAITHFUL.

Silas was faithful. Faithful to the gospel and the truth of who Jesus is – even when he was previously imprisoned or beaten for it. He understood the good news, how it applied to the Jew and the Greek, he understood persecution and he had proven himself faithful.

SILAS WAS A BROTHER.

He was not an apostle, but Peter, the apostle to the Jews, called him “brother”.

MEN: it is so important that we have brothers that are faithful that we can count on. Even elders in the church need to have brothers in the faith. I have found that most men do not have other men that they get together with and share their faith and life with. We need that. Married men – you need to be there for your wife and family, but you also need to have time with other brothers!

PETER gave Silas an introduction so that those who are receiving this letter would know that Silas was coming under Peter’s authority. Like a letter of recommendation. That would also be one of the reasons this section was actually written by Peter. The rest of it was most likely scribed, but this part would have been in his hand.

1 Peter 5:12 “I have written to you briefly…”

According to scholars, the phrase “written briefly” is a polite social statement. It implies it could have been longer, but it was also impolite, even rude, to send LONG letters.

Would you consider this a short letter? What is short today? Probably NOT! We have texting and tweets!

When Twitter launched in 2006 it was popular BECUASE of its limit of 140 characters/ tweet. Small bytes that took no time to digest #briefly

~ the above message is exactly 140 characters.

Peter’s letter was certainly not a brief letter for the first century. It is well beyond the average of 87 words for typical Greco-Roman letter of that time. The typical letter was written on papyrus made from reeds which made it more affordable. The ink used crafted from a combination of soot, oil and gum from balsam trees. Writing, literacy, book production, and the creation of libraries grew exponentially during the reign of the Roman Empire. Peter’s letter is 2396 words which is over 27 times longer.

~ the above message is exactly 87 words.

Peter’s letter is 2396 words in the CSB. I am not sure an of us would consider this a “brief letter”.

The author of Hebrews uses the same phrase: Hebrews 13:22 “Brothers and sisters, I urge you to receive this message of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.” This letter has about 6,900 words!

So, brief really means that there could have been more, but there wasn’t. It was a social construct of the day – it really had no reference to the actual number of words that were in the letter.

Peter also reminded us WHY he wrote the letter:

1 Peter 5:12 “…in order to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!”

Encourage you.

Have you been encouraged by our time studying the book of 1 Peter? What a great reminder of who we are in Christ, what God has done for us, the real purpose of life on this earth, and of what we can expect to happen as we follow Jesus!

Testify of the true grace of God

This letter explains the true grace of God. We spent time looking at that last week. Peter affirms that the goal of this letter is for us to be encouraged because of the character and work of God which reveals itself in grace through the Messiah.

The true grace of God is not seen in our earthly possessions, positions, or pleasures, but in what God has made us to be through Jesus: redeemed, restored, and repurposed. It changes the way we live, not for earthly passions but for our heavenly Father. It changes the way we treat others – we love them even if they oppose us.

Stand firm in it.

Peter then gives a very stern command. Stand firm in the true grace of God.

When you know the truth, you need to stand in the truth. Do not change it, do not try to improve it. Do not deny it, STAND FIRM. Your beliefs in God will be tested. Your fortitude to follow his Word will be challenged. Stand firm in the true grace of God. Do not waver. Do not back down.

• Do not allow your circumstances and trials to shake your faith – stand firm.
• Do not allow our culture to redefine what God has already defined – stand firm.
• Do not allow false teachers to lead you ways from the truth – stand firm.

If there is a hope that I have for each of you, it is that you would be found faithful to God and his truth for the rest of your days. Sadly, some will choose to re-write the scriptures to make salvation by works and not faith, or to say that everyone will be saved. Some will try to redefine truth according to social acceptance instead of God’s word.

Clarification: Last week I said we need to “accept who God made us to be, that we are not born in the wrong body”. I want to be clear on what I meant by that because I do not want anyone to misinterpret my words. Our culture tells children they are born in the wrong body and therefore need to be surgically altered to match their “true” identity. That is wrong. God does not make mistakes. The psychology is wrong, not the biology. Our culture is trying to redefine genders as if they are not a biological reality. What is even more grieving is that mainline denominations have not only accepted the psychology, but have attempted to redefine God’s truth according to social norms. I do not normally call out other denominations, but in the past decade there has been a departure from God’s word in many of them. Denominations like the PCUSA, United Methodists, Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the Episcopal church have ordained LGBTQ+ clergy. They are attempting to rewrite truth according to social acceptance and it is wrong and makes a mockery of the sacrifice of Christ. While it is imperative that we love people, regardless of their gender ideology, or what denomination they are a part of, we love them by standing on the truth and pointing them to the truth, not by redefining truth or the gospel.

Peter started his letter with this admonition:

1 Peter 1:15–16 CSB
15 But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

We are called to live in such a way that we are “holy” or “set apart” from the world so that we can point people to God. Stand firm. Stand on the scriptures. Stand on what God’s word says to be true. Stand on the gospel – the good news of salvation through faith alone in Jesus Christ. In a culture that is increasingly hostile towards God and constantly trying to redefine truth in an attempt to undermine God’s authority – STAND FIRM.

1 Peter 5:13 CSB
13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does Mark, my son.

We have mentioned before that the phrase “she who is in Babylon” most likely refers to the church in Rome.

• “she” – some have conjectured that Peter was referring to his wife, since he was married. There would be no need to hide her name. Other authors name women in the closing of their letters. So that does not make sense.
• “Babylon” – there is no record of Peter going to Babylon. Though it is remotely possible that he could have gone, there is nothing recorded. At the time of this writing, Babylon was in ruin. The Persians, Greeks, and Parthians had all ransacked it. Historical accounts point to much of it being abandoned and other parts sparsely populated.

Some of our modern translations have done some work for us and translated this, “the church in Rome”. Why not just say that?

By referring to Rome as Babylon, Peter is connecting all oppressors of God’s people as being the same. Rome is no different than Babylon in that it conquered God’s people, removed it’s worship, introduced pagan gods, and scattered the people. Babylon was also the source of one of the great exiles of the nation.

It is a powerful way to make sure that every generation that reads this letter will understand that until the return of Jesus there will be “Babylon” and Jesus followers will be “exiles”.

Peter is also closing his letter by pointing back to its beginning:

1 Peter 5:13–14 “13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.”

1 Peter 1:1–2 “1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

His reasoning is done, his thoughts are concluded.

And then he mentioned Mark. He didn’t have to, but he did! Mark my son.

Most consider this to be the same John Mark that went with Paul & Barnabas on their first missionary journey. Then he left P&B which Paul considered “abandoning”. Paul would not take Mark with him on his second journey. Barnabas stood up for Mark and split from Paul. Now it appears Mark is with Peter. And this John Mark is believed to be the one who wrote the gospel according to Mark, which would have been written around the same time as this letter while Mark was with Peter.

Between 60-66AD: Paul was imprisoned in Rome, Peter was in Rome and eventually martyred there, and the Gospel of Mark was written in Rome to a Roman audience.

MARK was a spiritual “son” to Peter.

OLDER PEOPLE: and by this I mean older in the faith, who do you have that you are pouring into? What spiritual children are you mentoring?

1 Peter 5:14 “14 Greet one another with a kiss of love…”

OK – this is probably NOT going to end up in our Constitution & Bylaws. #justsaying

Greeting family and close friends with a kiss is still common in many countries today. [if you REAALY want to know more about this, check out https://www.expatica.com/global/living/integration/greeting-customs-around-the-world-11731/ ]

The apostle Paul told the church to greet each other with a “holy kiss”. Peter’s kiss is different than the “holy kiss”. It is an “agape” kiss. A kiss of unconditional love. It was common for family and close friends to give each other kisses on the cheek – though only men to men and women to women. Peter is saying that the love we have in Christ makes us all greater than family, and it is now appropriate to greet each other as if we are family – because we are!

THIS would have been a very unusual thing for their time, but it would have made quite a statement! In the same way, the way we treat each other as family, the way we accept others as part of the family, should make a statement. We accept because they are family and we have the same Father.

One of the amazing things about NCF is that we have had the joy of getting to meet SO MANY cool family members over the years! Yes, it is sad to say goodbye when they PCS, but I am proud of the way this family has embraced families from all over the world because you know that they are all part of the same family if they know Jesus. We just might not kiss them!

1 Peter 5:14 “… Peace to all of you who are in Christ.”

The final greeting is one of peace. Very common. Just like it was common in the intro to the letter, it is a common closing remark. Of course, Peter adds one little phrase as a reminder.

PEACE is not the absence of conflict or persecution, it is not the absence of fighting or problems. Peace is a state of mind and of heart that comes from trusting God:

Isaiah 26:3 CSB
3 You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you.

And with that, Peter’s letter to the churches in Asia Minor is closed. I hope you have been encouraged by the letter, and that you will live out your days as exiles on this earth for the glory of God.

Jude 24–25 CSB
24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.