Reality Check :: 1 Peter 4:12-19, 5:6-11

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The God of all grace, the one who called you into his eternal glory in Christ, having suffered a little himself, will restore, establish, strengthen, make you steadfast. To him be the power into the ages of ages. Amen.

It’s great to be a Christian! 

It’s great to be a Christian because Our Lord has elected us, sanctified us, caused us to be born again to a living hope that is uncorruptible, unfading, and unstained, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed. 

It’s great to be a Christian because Our Lord has given us a great promise ... that he will always be with us ... that he will never leave us or forsake us ... that he will make us holy because he is holy ... and will unite himself with us here on earth and ultimately into the eternal life in his paradise. 

It’s great to be a Christian because our Lord has included us in his great mission to bring all people to the knowledge of the truth that there is life in the name of Jesus, who has redeemed you ... all of you who were once lost and condemned ... through his holy precious blood and innocent suffering and death, so that you may be his own and live with him in innocence and righteousness forever.

Yes, it’s great to be a Christian, knowing we have a great King, a great promise, a great mission. Now, we get the reality check of what it really means to bear this name. 


Brothers and sisters in Christ, have you been reading the fine print in your own private devotions of what it means to be a Christian? 

Do you know what you’ve gotten yourself into? 

Peter’s first epistle to the Holy Christian and Apostolic Church has certainly made it clear. You will be grieved by various trials ... some of which will be fiery. He will prove the genuineness of your faith. You might suffer. You might be insulted. You might be slandered. And persecuted. 

Yes, it’s great to be a Christian, but do you remember the 21 Christians who were beheaded a few years ago in Egypt because they thought it was so great to be a Christian that they refused to deny that Jesus Christ is our Lord? 

Yes, it’s great to be a Christian, but did you realize that a Christian is murdered every six minutes somewhere in the world simply for confessing that they are a Christian? 

Here in the United States, we are kind of immune to this kind of persecution. We have laws protecting us from these kinds of hate crimes. So we know we are free to declare that it’s great to be a Christian. 

But is that what we’re really doing? 


As we close out the Easter season, it’s time for a reality check. It’s time to recognize as Peter reminds us that ...

THE REALITY OF EASTER PREPARES YOU FOR THE REALITY OF DISCIPLESHIP

I urge you this week to read again Saint Peter’s entire epistle to the Holy Christian and Apostolic Church. It will take just 10 minutes. Peter reminds us over and over of what the reality of Easter really means for you. The resurrection gives us a living hope and makes it great to be a Christian. 

Because he is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah! 


But it is nevertheless very difficult being a Christian. So Peter is equally reminding us of the reality of discipleship. Some days we may in fact start asking ourselves what’s so great about being a Christian. 

My oldest daughter just reminded me of this truth as I was preparing this sermon, not because of anything that happened to her ... she’s in a good place today ... but because of what’s happening to her Christian friends who say ... Well, I am a believer. Why do I need to go to church? 

I really wanted to tell Rachael to just say, because it’s great to be a Christian! And if you don’t want to be here, well, then, are you really a Christian? 

But you know, it’s never that easy. 


The world around you has lost sight of the reality of what it really means to be a Christian. Suddenly, we find ourselves constantly afraid of proclaiming the good news of the living hope that is within us. That Jesus Christ not only died for my sins, but he is risen. He is risen indeed. Hallelujah!

When I tell the world who I am ... that it’s great to be a Christian ... it immediately puts a bullseye on my forehead. That’s because the unrighteous one, the devil, is a roaring lion walking around looking for someone to swallow.


And to be frank, he’s looking for you ... all of you Christians. He is trying to take the resurrection away from you. 

I was shocked to learn that there are churches that don’t talk about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead on Easter Sunday! 

Jesus is risen. He is risen indeed. Hallelujah. You have eternal life.


The reality of this is horrifying ... Without the resurrection, what hope do we have? Why would we have faith? What would there be to love? Thank God, that he has not only lived a life of active righteousness, obeying every dot and tittle of the law, but a life of passive obedience ... going to the cross to die and more than that rise from the dead.

The devil’s greatest lie is convincing the world that neither he nor hell exist. The rest of his lies are certainly close seconds. ... including but not limited to .. the scriptures have errors in them ... you have to prove you are worthy of heaven ... you have to give your heart to Jesus ... and that the Baptism and Lord’s Supper might lose their specialness if you return to them too often and that they do not give you the forgiveness of sins. 


While swallowing the world of unbelievers to worship in the name of science, the devil is prowling around among you, looking to take as many with him as he can. 

Jesus had warned Peter of the same thing, long before Peter ever put this reality to paper. Behold, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves, Jesus said. Those wolves, like the devil, are looking for someone to swallow with lies.

Satan seeks to harm Christians in any way possible. Under Nero, some Christians literally faced death by lions in the Roman arena. What is happening to us?


Listen to Peter’s reality check. You can resist him. 

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in time, casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you. 

You know this reality because you know your heavenly Father has given his only son to die for you and for his sake he forgives all of your sins, today and every day. God has forgiven you in Christ. To those who have faith in his name, he gives the power to become the children of God and has promised you his Holy Spirit. He that believes and is baptized will be saved.


And so you are because of the reality that baptism indeed now saves you. And next week when you return for the Day of Pentecost, the Lord’s Supper will indeed deliver to you the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Receive it with the joy of joy. 

Eternal life is your reality. Today.


Therefore, beloved, don’t be bewildered by the fiery ordeals that come upon you as if something strange is happening. But considering you have fellowship in Christ’s sufferings, rejoice! Because it is great to be a Christian! 

Just as certainly as Jesus died and rose again, so too will you who are living in your baptism as Christians. Baptism is not just a washing of water. It is life-giving water, just as Titus writes, and through it, you are being raised into the reality of eternal life, just as Paul once told the people to whom Peter is writing today. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. 


In this new reality, you are therefore able to be sober and watchful, to withstand the devil steadfast in your faith. Thank God we can now realize how great it is to be a Christian. 

Each Lord’s Day is a witness to this resurrection. We live with the reality of our Lord’s victory over sin, death, and the devil. That reality causes us to be glad, to exult before God, and to be jubilant with joy, as we await the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls. 

Therefore, don’t neglect your calling. 


As we gather as a body of Christ in worship to hear our savior’s word of forgiveness and strength, just as his apostles did ... draw near to the word and sacraments, knowing that through them Christ enables you to stand firm in the faith he gave you to save you. 

Cast all your worries upon the Lord. Keep a clear mind about what scripture declares ... that God has come to you in the person and work of Jesus, who lived for you, died for you to redeem you, and has risen from the dead for you, and has now ascended into heaven to prepare a place for you. 

And the God of all grace, the one who called you into his eternal glory in Christ, having suffered a little himself, will restore you, establish you, strengthen you, and make you steadfast. 


It is tough to be a Christian, but it is great to be a Christian. 

We have a great king, who has given us a great promise, and we know through him we will be victorious. To him be the power into the age of ages. Amen.

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