Living Like the One Who Called – Who Is He?

The sermon opens with the background of 1 Peter, in which the apostle writes to believers enduring a fiery trial of persecution and hardship. Peter explains that salvation is the work of the entire Trinity: the Father purposed it from eternity, Jesus Christ accomplished it through His death on the cross, and the Holy Spirit sanctifies believers and opens their spiritual eyes to receive the gospel. Peter then calls believers to live holy lives because the One who called them is holy (1:15), but the foundational question is: Who is this One who called us?

The pastor uses Matthew 11:2-6 to examine John the Baptist's question from prison: 'Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?' Two reasons are identified for John's doubt: his distressing circumstances in prison, and the demanding nature of Jesus' self-claims. From this passage, the pastor draws two key lessons. First, John the Baptist's question was sincere and unconditional, unlike the thief on the cross who demanded that Jesus prove Himself by rescuing him before he would believe. Second, even those who reject Jesus Christ still inevitably seek something to worship, as author David Foster Wallace observed in his 2005 Kenyon College commencement address.

The sermon critiques two widespread misunderstandings about God today. The Prosperity Gospel reduces the gospel to a means of comfort and material blessing, turning God into a servant of human desires. Cults like Jehovah's Witnesses deny that Jesus Christ is the center of all Scripture. Both lead to a distorted view of the One who called us, making genuine obedience and holy living impossible.

Jesus' reply to John the Baptist (Matthew 11:4-6) lists the signs of the Messiah: the blind see, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor hear the Good News. These are also spiritual portraits of the person who is saved—blind, deaf, and dead in sin, brought to life only by God's power. The declaration 'Blessed is the one who does not stumble on account of Me' implies that Jesus' self-claims will disturb, offend, and even anger those who hear them, but those who accept and believe will receive true blessing.

The sermon concludes with a personal challenge: Who is the One who called you, in your own heart? Is He the One you approach to command according to your will, or the One you come to in submission? If we believe that Jesus Christ is truly God incarnate who died for the sins of all people, and that our spirits were dead in sin and can only be saved through His cross, then we will receive blessing and have the foundation to live holy lives like the One who called us.