Sermon Notes from "To This You Have Been Called: Following the Steps of Jesus in Unjust Suffering." Sermon by Mitch Chase.

[From the 10:45AM worship service this morning at Kosmosdale Baptist Church.]

1 Peter 2:21-25.

I. Introduction

A. "Peter did not always link suffering to the Messiah's mission" (Matt 16:22).

B. The resurrection changed Peter's point of view.

C. Peter, who once wanted "Messiah" and "suffering" as far apart as possible, became the NT author who most alluded to Isaiah 52-53.

D. 1 Peter 2:21-25 is the theological center of this letter.

II. The Christian's Calling to Unjust Suffering (v. 21)

A.  When Christians endure unjust suffering, we are fulfilling a call of God upon our lives.

B. Our calling is connected to the example of Christ in His suffering on our behalf.

III. The Example of Christ in Unjust Suffering (vv. 22-24)

A. The example of Christ is MORE than a path to follow, but it IS a path to follow; we must take up our cross.

B. The idea of following in His steps is the idea of discipleship.

C. In John 21, as He restored Peter, the last words Jesus spoke to Peter were, "Follow Me."

D. xref. Isa 53:9; This verse falls in a passage that points to our need for both deliverance from exile and salvation from sin.

E. xref. Jer 11:18-20.

F. Christ died to sin "substitutionary-wise," and we die to sin that we might not live in it.

G. Christ took the curse we deserve, that we might have the blessing He deserves.

H. We are to be the kind of people who live lives that reflect the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

I. Those who preach a false gospel use 1 Peter 2:24 to try and guarantee physical healing.

IV. The Reason for Christ's Unjust Suffering (v. 25)

A. xref. Eze 34:4-11.

B. Believers are no longer lost sheep; we have been rescued.

C. Bonhoeffer: "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."