Introduction:
- Chat with those around you…
- As a politically engaged Christian where do you place your hope?
- What makes you happy and excited?
- What leads to despair and anger?
People don’t get into politics unless they care. The vitriol, hard work, and relational stresses of a life in politics are not worth it otherwise. Instead, dreams of making the world a bit better, of achieving justice, of tackling the major issues of the day, are the fuel that keeps many politicians going.
And it’s good to care, isn’t it? Biblically we are designed to steward the earth, "to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God" (Micah 6:8), submit to governments and do good.
Yet is our political vision and passion rightly guided and limited by the truths of the gospel? Or are we tempted to let our political ideologies get out of hand and form our foundations. Building our politics on utopian ideologies is like building our house on the sand, their foundations are weak and eventually the building will crumble.
Passage: 1 Peter 1:3-12
- Have a look back through the passage. What repeated words and phrases can you spot?
- Praise & rejoicing (v3, v6, v7, v8)
- Inheritance (v4 x2)
- Waiting (v4, v5, v6)
- Faith/belief (v5, v7, v8, v9)
- Salvation (v5, v9, v10)
- Revelation of Jesus (v5, v12)
- Suffering (vv6-7)
- Why is God worthy of praise? What are the wonderful realities Peter longs for his readers to know?
- New birth into a living hope through Christ’s resurrection
- Partakers to an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade
- Believers are shielded by God’s power until the coming salvation
Application:
- Think about the claims and achievements of your party/politician of choice – how do they compare to the realities of which Peter speaks in terms of …
- Permanence (how long-lasting are these promises/changes?)
- Certainty (how likely are they to deliver or come true on what has been promised?)
- Transformation (how likely are they to deal with the root cause and bring change?)
This is a now and not yet hope, in which we have new life and a living hope and yet we await the inheritance that is stored up for us until the last time.
- In what ways do we neglect this future hope for the more temporary hope of political action?
- What would it look like for us to have this heavenly perspective in our political work now?
Politics promises so much, especially when an election comes around. And, although politics matters greatly, it cannot compete with the beauty and assurance of God’s promises to us. How can we better cultivate this heavenly mindset?
Peter calls on God’s people to rejoice even though they may face trials and suffer grief (vv6-9).
- How might these truths sustain God’s people amidst hardship? Why can they rejoice?
- How is faith described? How might this change our view of suffering?
The salvation that Peter speaks of has a long history. At which point do Peter’s readers stand in this story? (vv10-12)
- Why would this encourage a chosen and scattered people?
- Truthfulness of the message (v10)
- Suffering -> glory is the model of Christ (v11)
- Blessed to gain access to these truths (v12)
- How might we fit into this picture? How might these truths encourage us?
Application:
- What might it look like to suffer for Christ in politics?
- What is our gut reaction to this possibility?
- How do these truths help us to prepare for potential suffering?
Pray:
- Thank God for his great mercy and all the wonderful realities he bestows upon us.
- Pray that we would so cultivate these truths in our hearts that we would be willing to suffer in the faith.
- Pray that our political identity would be shaped by these heavenly realities. Pray that this is where our hope and dreams would be found.
