“Most Americans worship their work, work at their play, and play at their worship,” wrote Gordon Dahl. Bull’s-eye.

Frivolousness sabotages godly worship. A mark of biblical worship is that it must be just that–biblical. But so much of contemporary worship is man-centeredness with Christianese window dressing and accoutrements. Where’s the reverence?

Scripture’s Testimony: Do we remember the warning in the New Testament book of Hebrews? Here are two verses from that letter that ought to quicken us: “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hb 12:28-29).

With reverence and awe. That’s how we are to worship the Lord. That’s “acceptable worship.”

But where is the seriousness of worship? In many church circles, you’re more likely to see man-centeredness cloaked in Christiany-sounding jargon than you are to encounter the God of the Bible.

More and more often people tell me, “I don’t go to church because there’s just no meat. It’s boiled over TED Talks with a little Jesus sprinkled on top.” And it hurts my soul.

Why? Well, Christ died for His church. There’s no Plan B. So, the church is to be the kingdom made manifest. It is called to be the body of believers that pagans fear to enter because God’s holiness is so palpable.

God Killed: After Pentecost, the Christian church was growing like gangbusters. By the time you get to Acts 5, the momentum of regenerate church growth was staggering. But then you get to Acts 5. This is where God–once again–kills people. Specifically, He kills Ananias and his wife Sapphira for lying. After Peter confronted Ananias for his duplicity, God killed Ananias. The result? “And great fear came upon all who heard of it” (Acts 5:5b).

You’d perhaps think that Ananias’ wife would have learned a lesson from God killing her husband . . . but nope. In verses 9-11 of Acts 5, God again kills. This time, He kills Sapphira because she lied to God, to the Apostle Peter, and to the church. And God struck her down in public:

But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

Surely the point is clear: God takes worship seriously. God’s people are to take worship seriously. We are to do exactly what the New Testament letter of Hebrews says–namely, worship with reverence and awe.

But will we have that Sunday? As Christian churches assemble across the globe this week, and the next week, and the next week, will our assemblies be known for their reverence for and awe of God and His gospel? Or will it be man-centeredness and pride with a Christian gloss and veneer?

Takeaway: All people worship; it’s just a matter of the object of worship. For the Christian, however, he has no excuse because God has revealed the criteria of proper worship.

As part of preparing to teach Peter’s two New Testament epistles to some saints over coming days, I’m reading the Apostle Peter’s two New Testament epistles over and over, in addition to reading several books of scholarship on Peter and his life and his letters.

One of the themes that Peter emphasizes repeatedly is perseverance amidst persecution. He focuses on pressing on, on seeing things through, on intestinal fortitude, to use an Army cliche. I think of his first chapter of his first letter, for example, where he tells Christians who are currently enduring persecution that “you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pt 1:6-7).

Paul expresses the same teaching in 1 Cor 3:13, “each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.” That’s comfort to the diligent Christian; it’s terror to the hireling. Why? Because no one escapes God’s gaze. Because God sees all, if we have any wisdom and self-awareness, we know to keep short accounts with God, because our motives and productivity are known to the omniscient and holy God. No one fools God, in other words.

So if we are Christians, we are to persevere under pressure. That may at times entail “suffering unjustly.” That’s the wording Peter uses in 1 Pt 2:19. But the Apostle Peter writes about this encouragement, namely, that it is a “gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly” (1 Pt 2:19). Mindful of God. That’s crucial to understand. Follow me.

Mindful of God means that we understand and take comfort in the fact that our plight, our circumstance, our lot, etc. is known to God. This is why folks love to quote 1 Pt 5:7: “casting all your anxieties on him [God], because he cares for you.” Folks love that verse. Why? Because it reassures Christians that their suffering, even unjust suffering, is not in vain.

Encouragement: I have no idea who may need to hear this. Maybe it’s just for me. I don’t know. But I do know this: per Scripture, God knows all things (Ps 139); He knows our joys and sorrows (Ex 3:7,9); He knows when I rise up and when I lie down (Dt 6:7); and Peter writes that He knows our sufferings (1 Pt 2:19); and Jesus says He knows every hair on my head (Lk 12:7). Does this mean we won’t suffer? No. Hardly. Just read the lives of the Apostle Peter or Paul or John, for example. Remember the life of John the Baptist? Remember the ending of Stephen, the martyr? Suffering is real; it’s part of God’s plan for His people; but He is with us–even and especially in the valley. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, / for you are with me; / your rod and your staff, / they comfort me” (Ps 23:4).

Question: Is zeal a good thing? Definitions are necessary, of course, so let’s be clear about the term. It’s a noun: zeal. It’s defined as “great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.”

Again I pose the question: Is zeal a good thing? In my career in the military, I’ve known many soldiers who were zealous. They exuded energy and zeal. Were those people always good soldiers? Many were, thankfully. But there were others, too, some who likewise exuded energy and zeal but sometimes that energy and zeal served improper ends.

Wise leaders use zeal properly. Their energies are expended in service of right and proper ends.

Unwise leaders use zeal improperly. Their energies are expended in service of wrong and improper ends.

Again I pose the question: Is zeal a good thing? Hopefully by now it is clear. It can be. But zeal without wisdom is dangerous. If you’ve ever known of a person who was given titular authority but was not ready for it, bad things can happen. What do I mean? How many times have you heard of a company that an entrepeneur built, but something happened to that person, and the company was given to his/her child, and the child destroyed the organization?

That’s what I mean. Sometimes a person can have a title (titular authority, in other words) but be the wrong person for the vocation.

In the New Testament letter of Romans, the Apostle Paul wrote about how most of his fellow Jews had a zeal for God, but that it was “not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2). They wrongly sought to establish their own righteousness and thus rejected the only true righteousness of Christ Jesus, an imputed righteousness that is granted to all who repent and believe the gospel (Romans 10:1-4).

Paul stresses, in other words, our need of the gospel of grace, of Christ’s righteousness imputed to us. Why? Because self-righteousness is damning. It reveals pride. When we recognize our need, we begin to grasp the majesty of God’s grace–that He would save any of us.

Encouragement: So, is zeal a good thing? It can be, but it must be wed to biblical wisdom. That wisdom will be evidenced via a spirit of humility, selfless service, and Christ-centeredness. My grandfather on my mom’s side pastored congregations for over 50 years as a local church pastor, and one of the phrases that Granddaddy often said from the pulpit was this: “Welcome to __________ Church, where there are no Big I’s or Little U’s.”

I love that: No Big I’s or little U’s. That’s not particularly sound grammar but it is excellent theology.

Is zeal a good thing? It can be, but it should be wed to biblical wisdom. The work of Christ will humble you. Every time. It removes our boasting. The godliest people you’ll meet are the most humble. Why? They’ve been gripped by the Good Shepherd, who left royalty and condescended to us sinners. And when that message grips your soul, it’ll reshape you and your zeal for His glory, not our own.

Bottom line up front: Imperishable Seed in a World of Counterfeits

Context: This is part four in a series from Peter’s two New Testament letters. The big picture of Peter’s first letter is straightforward: perseverance amidst persecution. Peter was writing to Christians who were literal spiritual exiles. Their ruling army was pagan Rome, anything but monotheistic. It was shot through with paganism and debauchery. Ever studied the life of Nero? It’ll turn your head.

Peter wrote to encourage the saints, to encourage them to persevere amidst spiritually dark times when fakes and counterfeits were pervasive. I love how Peter filled his letter with quotes from the Old Testament to show that God has always been revealing one coherent story. Listen to how Peter alludes to Isaiah 40 via this quote:

“All 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.”

That’s a direct quotation of Isaih 40, verses 6 and 8. Why does Peter allude to that? To again reiterate his theme: perseverance amidst persecution.

Connection to Our Day: I have a young man that God has brought into my life recently who’s wrestling with theodicy. In plain terms, he sees so much evil in the world that he is quite possibly abandoning belief in God. He says to me essentially this: “God claims to be so good in the Bible, but the world is awful. People are evil. There’s so much suffering. So much. Suffering that seems inexplicable. How can there be a good God amidst such overwhelming wickedness and evil?”

This is one of the oldest questions, of course. There’s nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1:9). Theodicy, or the problem of evil, is an ancient subject. But here’s how I’m trying to encourage my young friend and what this all has to do with Peter’s lessons for us in the New Testament: There’s natural evil, we might say, things like tsunamis, hurricanes, etc. where no moral agency is involved. We don’t say tornadoes are evil, e.g. But there is also moral evil. That is where persons are involved. Moral agency is involved wherein a person acts morally or immorally. Or one might even fail to act, which could also be moral or immoral, depending upon the situation. This is what my young friend is wrestling with—moral evil. How can a good God allow such moral evil, in other words?

There are several options: First, we could say that God is not omnipotent, but that clearly contradicts Scripture. Second, we could say that God is not omniscient, but that also is clearly contradicted by Scripture. Third, we could say that God is not in fact altogether good and holy. But that is certainly contradicted via all of Scripture. God is holy, holy, holy (Isaiah 6, e.g.). The view that Scripture teaches is that evil does indeed exist, that it’s a result of human sin, that all of us are sinful (Romans 3:10, 23), but God uses evil for purposes of good (Genesis 50:20). The crucifixion of the Christ was evil, for example. Jesus was the spotless Lamb of God. Yet God allowed the cross. In fact, the Bible says that God ordained it (Acts 2:23, e.g.) in order to save people. “I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things” (Isaiah 45:7).

If God didn’t exist, we have no right to complain. If we are just random accidents and molecules in motion, then we’ve no ‘right’ to whine. But man is not a random accident; he is the creation of the infinite-personal God, and is known by God intimately, and God has come in fact to save all who repent and believe upon the gospel. God rules over all-even over evil. All things are under the rule of God. Therefore, evil exists to glorify God. The very existence of evil contrasts with the consummate beauty and goodness and glory of God.

Encouragement: To believers Peter writes, “you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Pt 1:23). There it is, guys. Imperishable seed. Life from death. Raised to life. Imperishable triumphing over the perishing. Lazarus was raised. Jesus was raised. So will all be who are in Christ. Light triumphs over darkness and good over evil, but only in Christ. So, to my young friend struggling with issues of theodicy, bring your questions and longings to the person of Christ, and let him redeem not only your questions but your very soul.

Bottom line up front: Tested Genuineness

Historical Context: Part of the reason I love Peter’s two New Testament letters is because Peter was so very human and yet God used him mightily. Peter was the apostle who denied the Lord Jesus three times on the night of His betrayal by Judas and arrest by the Sanhedrin and Roman soldiers. I am teaching through that passage currently to a group of believers each Sunday. It’s heartbreaking to see how fickle the crowds were in Jesus’s day. People have not changed, of course. Human nature’s a constant. Jesus told Peter to his face that he would deny the Lord Jesus three times before the rooster crowed and that is exactly what happened. Peter denied the Lord three times, the rooster crowed, and Peter wept. Bitterly (see Mt 26, e.g.).

Segue: But Peter was the real deal, nonetheless. Did he fail that night and at other times? Yes, absolutely. But he repented and was restored. He kept short accounts with God. And Peter made his theology visible by enduring, by sticking with it, by persevering in the faith. That’s why Peter wrote in the style he did in his two New Testament letters. When the various Ceasars and emperors persecuted Christians for their witness, Peter says it was “so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pt 1:7).

Connection to Our Day: I had a mentor and professor way back in my seminary days who taught me often about the disappointments and ups and downs in ministry. When I would go to him about people whom I thought were Christians who ended up being fakes, he’d tell me again and again in his gentle way, “Jon, there will be surprises. Not all who said they were believers are. And many we may’ve thought were genuine were in fact unbelievers. Again, there will be surprises. Just be faithful. Leave the results to God.” Yes and amen, Dr. C., you were so right.

Encouragement: I’ve been in ministry a long time now. My hair’s now gray. I’ve seen some people that I’ve mentored, purchased books for, discipled, and even baptized seemingly fall away. Perhaps they were not believers after all. I’ve seen still others blossom and stick and persevere in the truth. Some have even gone on to enter the ministry themselves. It is a special joy when that has happened. I thank God for it. And I think that’s what Peter is driving at when he writes of “tested genuineness.” It will be tested; that’s the thing. Pressures come and we learn who the real are and who the pretenders were, eventually. So, be encouraged, Christian pilgrim. Learn to embrace the challenges as they are part of revealing our tested genuineness that is “more precious than gold.”

Bottom line up front: A Living Hope

Introduction: When Peter opens his first letter, by the third verse of the very first chapter he has stressed that the Christian faith, because it is rooted in the personal, transcendent, living God, is a living hope. It’s not some pie-in-the-sky, hope-so theology. No, it is anchored in the God who is. This is no fairy tale bromide stuff.

Peter writes, “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). That’s as plain as day. Why is anyone who is born again in fact redeemed? Because God did it. It’s not something any of us decided for ourselves or worked ourselves into or up to. Peter makes that clear: He [God] has caused us to be born again. To what, exactly? To a living hope. Why? Because Christ has been raised. He is the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).

A living hope. That’s vital for us to remember. Why? Well, because if you look at the 50-meter target only, you’ll be tempted to give in to despair. When you see mobs overrun Boston, it’s sad. When you see Antifa continually destroy Portland, it’s sad. When you see murder after murder after murder in Chicago, it’s sad. Yet people don’t learn the lesson. The mobs continue to do what mobs do. They cannot do anything but steal, kill, and destroy—just like their commander: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10a).

Encouragement: Peter, in writing to believers enduring persecution, then and now, stresses this: yours is a living hope. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). Our job is fidelity and courage in the interim.

Introduction: I love church history. That is, I love studying the history of Christian believers through the centuries. Why? Well, it’s easy to become myopic. That is, it’s easy just to be so self-absorbed that one only sees the immediate. To use a shooting analogy, it’s easy to just focus on the 50-meter target and discount all the other targets. It’s easy to miss the forest for the trees. For many folks in our day, God has been banished, and politics is their religion. It consumes them. They wake up craving the latest breaking news. They’re glued to what’s ‘happening now.’ They want to be tracking the latest posts or tweets or whatever they’re called now. They crave the latest gossip. They live lives perched on the limbs of the immediate. But they miss the historic, the enduring, and the true. Here’s what I mean. Follow me . . .

Scriptural Connection: In coming weeks, I will begin teaching through Peter’s two New Testament letters. Why? One reason is straightforward: I’ve taught line-by-line through Matthew for over a year now, and we’re nearing chapter 28 next week, Matthew’s ending chapter. The ‘Great Commission’ passage is there, and it’s often quoted but less often understood and lived out. Christians are to go out proclaiming Jesus as Lord because death could not and did not hold him. He walked out of the tomb, was seen by hundreds, was touched, spoke, ate, and taught. In other words, empirical evidence undergirds all of Christ’s earthly ministry. We Christians welcome honest investigation. Bring it.

And Peter, a pillar of the 1st century Christian church, opens his first letter by writing to persecuted, dispersed Christians scattered across the Roman Empire. Due to persecution by Rome, he encouraged them with this opening salvo:

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you” (1 Pt 1:1-2).

Questions: Do you see what all Peter’s introducing? First, he’s an apostle, an eyewitness of the Lord Jesus. Second, he’s writing to Christians (“elect exiles”) scattered across the region. Third, it’s all known to the omniscient God of Scripture. Fourth, he tells us why—“for obedience to Jesus Christ.” It’s all right there. Peter was an eyewitness and friend of the Lord Jesus; Christians are persecuted by their plights but are known to the all-good and all-wise God; and we’re to labor to be obedient witnesses.

Encouragement: Is the world a mess? Yes. It has been before. Just ask Peter. Just ask the 1st century Christians/elect exiles dispersed across the Roman Empire, being persecuted for being Christians. Nothing’s new, folks. Be of good courage. There’s a long line of saints who came before you and me. We’re not special. Our job, like theirs, is to be faithful in our time.

The Issue: Uncertainty

Context: Ever had one of those moments when a topic was lingering in the air unspoken but you felt it in your bones? It was perhaps as real as anything you could weigh and measure. That’s what’s going on with this government shutdown. It hit me, too, like a punch in the gut when my paycheck showed up for this pay cycle, but it was filled with all zeros. That’ll get your attention, I assure you, when it happens to you. You work, you serve, you still do your duty, and the political leadership repays you with zeros. It can alter your perspective. It can make you question things. It can shake your confidence. It can rattle you. Moments like this can make you step back and think. I mean, what does it reveal about a nation that is not paying its military? That’s pretty scary, right? If one has skin in the game, it is indeed scary.

Question: Where does one turn in times of uncertainty? I try to put myself in other people’s shoes in order to see things from opposing viewpoints when thinking through an issue. If I were secular, there’s no one to pray to, no one listening, and we are just cosmic accidents, random atoms without intention or design, origin, transcendent meaning, or teleology. If I were like that, I would indeed despair. There are only the human machinations to remedy what human folly has wrought.

But for the Christian, he/she knows that all events in heaven, on earth, and under the earth are under the sovereignty of God. As one of our historic confessions reads,

God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. (WCF 5.1)

Encouragement/takeaway: This Sunday I will again stand before the saints and open the Scriptures and labor to teach faithfully the Word of God. I, too, submit to their authority. I do not trust in chariots or horses but in the God who rules them and all things. We can learn from this moment to stay close to the Lord, to look to Him in all things, not just in the bad times or lean times. For the secularist, he/she has nothing and no one but the very people who got us into this mess. For the Christian pilgrim, however, he confesses this great verity: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).