◆“Stand Firm in Grace” (1 Peter 5:12) December 8, 2024

We have been reading through the First Letter of Peter for a long time, and now we have come to the final session. So far, Peter has spoken about who Christians are and what kind of hope they hold, as well as about judgment and trials. Though he spoke of very difficult matters, his closing words are, after all, about “grace.” “Stand firm in this grace.” Now, what comes to mind from this phrase? There are two things.

First, grace is not just one thing; there are various kinds of grace, like that grace and this grace. Peter tells us to stand firm in “this” grace among the many graces. What kind of grace is he referring to?

Second is the phrase, “stand firm.” Let me talk about this second point first.

When I read this phrase, I immediately recall an incident from when I was a university junior. It was in February, the depths of winter, and I was climbing Mt. Akaishi in the Southern Alps. After reaching the ridge, with just a little way to the peak, I slipped because my crampons caught on my gaiters and I began to fall. Normally, one would not survive such a fall. I still don’t know why I survived. I clung to my ice axe, and although my head was pointing downward, I used all my strength—my whole body and soul—to desperately stop my fall. I remember managing to hold on. The other members had apparently given up hope. But miraculously, my body stopped, and I was saved.

What I want to say is that standing firm is an act done with one’s whole body and soul.

Christians are forgiven of their sins by grace, made children of God, and live within grace. Peter says that God calls us to stand firm there. It is not something that happens automatically.

There are people who, without standing firm in grace, have left it by themselves. For example, 2 Timothy 4:10 says, “Demas has deserted me because he loved this present world and has gone to Thessalonica.” He once walked in grace as a believer, but was drawn by the world’s allure and stopped following the Lord.

Also, 1 Timothy 1:19–20 says, “Certain persons have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith, among them Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.” They too had faith, but they left God’s grace. As a result, they were handed over to Satan.

This is not a cartoonish story about being possessed by Satan and suffering misfortune; it means they have gone outside God’s grace. Outside God’s grace is Satan’s realm.

I know some people like that. One was overwhelmed with anxiety in life but did not stand firm and return to the Lord, instead sinking into alcohol. Yet the most unfortunate are those who no longer feel anything about having left the Lord’s grace. I believe this is the ultimate result of being handed over to Satan.

Next, what kind of grace is meant here? Christmas is coming soon, and the New Year as well. I’m looking forward to my grandchildren coming. That is a great grace. The fact that the children are living properly without going astray is also grace. I have never bought a lottery ticket, but if the year-end Jumbo Lottery were to come in and unexpectedly bring a large sum of money, that too would be grace.

But Peter says, “Stand firm in this grace.” Not that grace, but this grace.

It likely refers to everything Peter has spoken about in this letter. In chapter one, we heard that we have been made holy according to God’s plan, that though there are trials, we are those who see great hope beyond them. We heard that we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people. We also heard that we have been called to serve one another in the church.

That is the grace. Peter tells us to stand firm in that grace.

This requires daily devotion. It requires service in the church. It requires working and living daily in the Lord. And it depends on communication with God, and the protection and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

We will fail. Abraham, Moses, and David repeatedly made great mistakes. But they stood firm. Through faith. Without faith, they would have ended by regretting, blaming themselves, and saying, “I’m no good.”

But they turned their eyes to God’s grace. They focused on the God who loved them and promised a Savior. Peter and John were the same—Peter, a bit clumsy and bold, John, quick to anger. And when Jesus was arrested, they ran away as fast as they could.

If they had relied on themselves, their character, actions, or achievements to stand firm in grace, they would have failed. But because they kept their eyes on God’s grace, they could remain within grace.

Only Judas Iscariot left grace and fell. His last words were, “I have betrayed innocent blood.” That is absolutely true. But he stopped there. He never looked beyond that fact to God’s love and grace that can overcome it. He perished.

What about Peter? He denied Jesus three times to protect himself. He betrayed Jesus and abandoned him to save himself. That is absolutely true.

But he met the risen Lord and realized that Jesus’ grace surpasses the unerasable reality of his sin, and he remained there.

We too commit sins every day that cannot be erased. What do we do then? If we stop there, we cannot remain in grace. But if we look up to Jesus further and fix our eyes on God’s love shown on the cross that covers our sins, then we remain in grace.

We must remain in grace. We must stand firm.

For that, the church is necessary. Because the church is the body of Christ, the place where the One who fills everything in every way dwells. (Ephesians 1:23) The church alone is the pillar and foundation of truth.

The church is imperfect. We know that well. But we cannot stand firm in God’s grace apart from the church.

And when we stand firm in God’s grace in the church, that church—though bruised and battered—can also stand firm in God’s grace.

Sermon script modified based on proofreading and translation with ChatGPT.