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Holy Fear Before the Father (1 Peter 1:17) · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed thinking. Today we have a mission that
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requires some careful thought and a really willing heart.
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We are going to examine the tension between God's fatherly
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love and his perfect justice. And specifically, we're looking
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closely at First Peter chapter one, verse 17.
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And to accomplish this mission, we are conducting a deep dive
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into two very specific theological commentaries.
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The first source is titled Holy Fear Before the Father.
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The second is the theology of the Holy Exile.
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Right. And what we want to do is really
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unpack this text. It is a single sentence in the
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New Testament that holds immense theological weight.
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What makes this particular verse so fascinating to me is how it
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forces a balancing act. It challenges you, the listener,
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to hold 2 glorious biblical truths in perfect tension.
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Both of these texts center on an exhaustive word by word exegesis
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of that verse. The authors breakdown the
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original Greek grammar, the historical context of the 1st
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century Roman Empire, and the practical doctrinal
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applications, and we are approaching this conversation
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anchored firmly and Protestant Reformed theology.
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Absolutely. On one side we have the
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breathtaking intimacy of knowing God is Father, and on the other
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side we face the terrifying holiness of God as an impartial
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judge. Those two realities are not
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contradictory at all. They are entirely harmonious.
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Our goal today is to help you see that harmony and understand
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how it shapes every single aspect of your daily life.
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As believers who hold of these historic truths, we will be
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drawing heavily on the Westminster Confession of Faith
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to understand the concepts of grace, justification, and the
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moral law. What stands out immediately in
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these commentaries is how they argue that the apostle Peter
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prevents his readers from falling into extreme theological
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ditches. I really appreciate how the
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commentaries set that up, because the authors point out
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that Peter will not allow you to view God as a harsh,
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unapproachable tyrant. At the same time, the text
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completely demolishes the modern idea of God as a casual buddy
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who just ignores sin. This deep dive will challenge
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you to hold those truths together, and we will do that by
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walking through the logical sequence Peter uses in his
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letter. So what does this all mean for
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where we start? It means we have to look at the
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broader literary context of first Peter before we even touch
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the specific command in verse 17.
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This is something the authors stress right away.
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Yeah, Peter's not start his letter with a list of rules.
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He does not begin by telling his audience what they must do to
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earn their standing. If you open your Bible to first
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Peter chapter 1 and read verses one through 12, you find a
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massive sweeping doxology. It is an overwhelming song of
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praise. Peter blesses God for divine
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election, for causing believers to be born again to a living
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hope, and for an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled
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and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
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He talks about how the ancient prophets searched and inquired
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carefully about this very salvation.
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The commentaries point out that in the original Greek, verses 3
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through 12 are actually 1. Long breathless sentence.
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I mean, Peter starts with grace. He starts with what God has
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already done. He establishes your identity in
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Christ first. This sequence is absolutely
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everything. You cannot understand the
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command in verse 17 until you grasp the grace poured out in
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the first 12 verses. If we connect this to the bigger
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picture of Reformed theology, this sequence is absolute
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bedrock. Salvation always precedes
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ethics. The authors of these
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commentaries highlight the dynamic between the indicative
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and the imperative. The indicative is the statement
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of fact. It is the declaration of who you
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are in Christ. The imperative is the command.
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It is the instruction on what you must do.
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In verse 13, Peter uses a pivotal word which is Therefore,
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he says, therefore preparing your minds for action.
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That single word signals a massive shift.
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Right, because God has elected you.
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Because God has caused you to be born again, because God has
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secured an inheritance for you. Therefore you must act a certain
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way. Duty always rests upon prior
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divine grace. The authors argue that if you
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reverse that order, you get moralism, and moralism tells you
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to clean up your life, obey the rules, and fear God so that he
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might eventually they decide to adopt you as a child.
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The true gospel, however, tells you that God has already adopted
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you through the blood of Christ, and because you are his child,
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you must now live a holy life. Reversing the order destroys the
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Gospel entirely. That distinction between the
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indicative and the imperative is so helpful.
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Think of the indicative like having a billion dollars
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deposited directly into your bank account by a generous
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benefactor. The wealth is yours.
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It is secure. And the imperative is the
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financial advisor sitting down with you afterward, telling you
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how you must manage and spend that wealth responsibly.
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The wealth comes first, the action comes second.
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Moralism is trying to do the actions of a billionaire in a
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desperate attempt to earn the billion dollars.
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It is exhausting and impossible. Here is where it gets really
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interesting for you, the listener.
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The commentaries ask the reader to evaluate their own spiritual
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assumptions. Think about how you approach God
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on a daily basis. Do you wake up and approach God
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trying to earn your salvation first?
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Do you think that if you read your Bible enough, or if you
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avoid enough bad habits, God will finally look at you with
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fatherly affection? Or do you act out of gratitude
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for a salvation that is already permanently secured?
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When you face temptation, is your internal dialogue saying I
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have to resist this so God will love me?
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Or is it saying God already loves me and has made me a new
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creation, therefore I must resist this?
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Peter's sequence crushes the exhausting treadmill of trying
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to earn God's favor. He gives you the solid ground of
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grace before He ever hands you a command, and the very first
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phrase of verse 17 builds directly on that grace.
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Peter writes, and if you call on him as father, let us examine
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that opening phrase. The commentary spend a lot of
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time on the Greek verb translated as colon, which is
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epical AC. They certainly do.
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The grammatical analysis here is quite revealing.
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Epical AC is in the present middle indicative tense.
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For those of us who do not speak ancient Greek, let us breakdown
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why that matters. The present tense means this is
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an active, habitual, ongoing action.
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It is a continuous practice. It is not a sporadic cry of
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desperation when you get a flat tire on the highway or when you
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face a sudden medical emergency. It is the defining everyday
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posture of your life. Furthermore, the middle voice in
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Greek indicates that the subject is participating in the action
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for their own benefit. You are actively invoking God,
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entering into covenantal communion with Him, and drawing
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near to Him because it actively nourishes your own soul.
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It is a relational dynamic where the 1:00 calling is directly
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impacted by the act of calling. That is a beautiful way to
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understand it. You are not just checking a
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religious box, you are engaging in a relationship that sustains
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you. This grammatical insight brings
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us straight to the historical documents of our faith,
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specifically the Westminster Confession.
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Chapter 12 of the Confession deals extensively with a
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doctrine of adoption. The framers of the confession
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taught that all those who are justified are made partakers of
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the grace of adoption. By this disgrace, they are taken
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into the number and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the
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children of God. They have His name put upon
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them, they receive the spirit of adoption, and they have access
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to the throne of grace with incredible boldness.
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They are unable to cry out ABBA father.
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They are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by
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Him as by a Father. This title of Father is a
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specific covenantal blessing. It is not a universal truth
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applied broadly to all humanity. In a saving sense, while God is
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the Creator of all people, the saving, redemptive fatherhood is
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granted only to those united to Christ by faith.
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When Peter says if you call on him as father, that word if is
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not expressing doubt or skepticism.
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It is an if of logical consequence.
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It means since you do in fact call on Him as Father, certain
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realities must shape your life. This brings up a critical
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distinction made in our source texts regarding how we view
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fatherhood today. The authors of these
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commentaries take a really hard stance against what they view as
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modern sentimentalism. They argue that modern culture
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loves the idea of a father, but it frequently redefines that
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fatherhood to fit its own preferences.
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They point out that a common error today is treating God like
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a cosmic therapist. In this view, people want a God
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who exists solely to validate their feelings, endorse their
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life choices, and hand out comfort whenever they feel sad.
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Or, alternatively, they treat God like a casual buddy, a pal
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who hangs out with them and never makes any demands on their
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behavior. The commentaries label this as a
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liberal, universalist view of fatherhood, arguing that it
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strips God of His Majesty and holiness.
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On the opposite end of the spectrum, the texts point out
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the historical error of Deism. Deism views God as a distant
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clockmaker who wound up the universe, set it in motion, and
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walked away, showing no personal care or intervention for his
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creation. The Reformed view, rooted in the
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biblical text, rejects both the cosmic therapist and the distant
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clockmaker. God is the sovereign God of the
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covenant. He is infinitely tender, yet he
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is not a permissive parent who overlooks sin because of some
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vague natural affection. His fatherhood is entirely holy.
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I love the analogy the source uses to explain this dynamic.
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Think of young children running to their father.
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Picture a good, loving human father coming home from a long
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day at work. His children might run to the
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front door and throw their arms around his legs.
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They have total, steady confidence in His love.
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They do not wonder for a second if he is going to reject them or
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cast them out. They know they belong to Him.
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Yet if that same father gives them a direct command to stop
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running near a hot stove or to stay out of a busy St. those
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same children immediately Revere his authority.
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They know he is not their peer. He is not just another kid on
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the playground. He is their father.
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They possess total access and total reverence at the exact
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same time. Peter's telling you that this is
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your incredible privilege. You get to call the creator of
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the universe your father. But he refuses to let you stop
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there. He immediately introduces a
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massive theological tension in the second-half of the verse.
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That tension is found in the very next phrase Peter writes.
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And if you call on him, his Father, who judges impartially,
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let us look at the attribute of perfect justice.
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The Greek term used here for impartially is aprosuppolimptus.
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Literally translated it means non face receiver.
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To grasp the massive weight of this term, the commentaries say
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we need to understand the cultural context of the ancient
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Greco Roman world. In human courts of that era, the
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legal system was heavily reliant on the patron client dynamic.
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A judge would often literally receive the face of the person
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standing trial. If the person wealthy, if they
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wore the fine clothing of a patrician, if they had a high
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social status, or if they came from a prestigious family with
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political connections, the judge would rule in their favor.
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The verdict was blatantly swayed by the outgird appearance, the
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face of the defendant. The Roman legal system was
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fundamentally built on social stratification.
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Peter completely shatters that concept when applying it to God.
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God does not receive your face. He pierces right through the
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veneer of your religious performance.
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He is not impressed by your church attendance, your
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theological vocabulary, your bank account or your social
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standing. He cannot be bribed and he
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cannot be manipulated. He judges with absolute perfect
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righteousness. This raises a highly debated
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question regarding a theological nuance that often confuses
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readers. If we hold to the Reformed
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doctrine of justification by faith alone, which the
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Westminster Confession Chapter 11 clearly teaches, why does
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Peter explicitly say God judges according to each one's deeds?
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That is the crucial question, is it not?
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Wait, So if the Westminster Confession says salvation is
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completely secure based on faith, why even have a judgement
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of deeds? Doesn't that contradict the idea
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of grace alone that the source just established in the 1st 12
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verses? Let us unpack this carefully,
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because the commentaries argue that if we get this wrong, we
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lose the clarity of the gospel. The apparent conflict is this I
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am saved by faith alone, trusting solely in the finished
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work of Jesus Christ. My works contribute nothing to
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my legal justification before God.
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Yet Peter says the Father judges impartially according to deeds.
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The Reformed distinction provided by the authors here is
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a lifesaver. You have to differentiate
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between the ground of your salvation and the evidence of
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your salvation. The ground of your salvation is
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the perfect obedience and the substitutionary death of Jesus
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Christ on the cross. That is the solid Rock You stand
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on. It is immovable.
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But your deeds, your daily works, are the visible evidence
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of that salvation. A living faith always produces
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visible fruit. This judgment Peter is talking
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about is an evaluative judgment of faithfulness and stewardship.
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It is a father evaluating the conduct of his children in his
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house. It is not a penal judgment
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determining whether you go to heaven or hell.
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That penal judgment, that criminal trial resulting in
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condemnation, was entirely settled at the cross for the
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believer. Jesus absorbed the full wrath of
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God, so there is no condemnation left for those who are in Christ
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Jesus. But the Father still evaluates
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how you live. He still disciplines those He
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loves. He still looks at your deeds to
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see the manifestation of the new heart He gave you.
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The authors of these texts argue that understanding this
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distinction is how we dismantle false teachings.
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The commentaries point out two specific false teachings that
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are dismantled by this verse, the prosperity gospel and the
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doctrine of cheap grace. First, let's look at how they
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address the prosperity gospel. This movement teaches that you
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can essentially manipulate God through your deeds.
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It suggests that if you give a certain amount of seed money to
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a ministry, or if you speak certain positive declarations,
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God is obligated to grant you financial wealth and physical
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health. The authors argue that this
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treats the Sovereign Lord like a cosmic vending machine.
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You put your good deeds in light quarters, and you pull the lever
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to get your earthly reward. But Peter says God is the
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impartial judge. He cannot be bought.
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He does not receive your face or your bribes.
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The prosperity gospel is completely dismantled by the
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reality of an impartial God who demands genuine holiness, not
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transactional bargaining. 2nd, the commentaries address cheap
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grace. Cheap grace is the idea that
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because you are justified by faith and because there is no
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condemnation, your daily actions no longer matter at all.
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It promotes the thought that you can continue in deliberate,
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unrepentant sin because God's grace will just cover it anyway.
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Cheap grace wants the title of Father without the reality of
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the impartial judge. But.
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Peter binds them together. You cannot separate them.
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If you truly call him Father, you must reckon with the fact
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that he actively evaluates your deeds.
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This leads directly to the core command of the verse.
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That is right. The command is the logical
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conclusion of holding both of those truths, Peter writes,
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Conduct yourselves with fear. This is a comprehensive life
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orientation. The Greek word here is an
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astrophy. The source texts make it clear
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that this is not asking you to simply add a quick 5 minute
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devotional to your morning routine.
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This is not about sitting in a Pew for one hour on Sunday and
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then living however you want from Monday to Saturday.
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An astrophate demands a total holistic orientation of your
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behavior. It encompasses your thoughts,
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your business practices, your private Internet habits, the way
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you speak to your spouse, and how you manage your finances.
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It covers the entirety of your conduct in every sphere of life.
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But the manner in which you are to conduct yourself is what
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often shocks modern sensibilities.
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Peter says to conduct yourselves with fear.
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Now we need to define true fear because the word carries a lot
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of baggage. The Greek word is Fobo.
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The author's warned that if we do not define this properly,
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readers will slide right back into the moralism and sheer
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terror we just warned against. We have to distinguish clearly
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between servile fear and filial fear.
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That distinction is paramount in Reformed theology.
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Servile fear is the cringing terror of a slave who expects a
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beating from a cruel, unpredictable master.
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A slave with servile fear obeys only because he is terrified of
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the whip. He does not love the Master, he
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just wants to avoid physical pain.
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The commentaries note that this is how the demons fear God.
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They shudder, but they do not love him or desire to please
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him. Filial fear, on the other hand,
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is the reverend awe of a son or daughter who deeply loves their
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father. A child with filial fear dreads
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grieving the heart of a loving father.
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It is a fear born out of intense love, respect and a staggering
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awareness of the Father's holiness and grace.
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As Reformed believers, we connect this directly to the
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third use of the moral law, which is outlined beautifully in
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Westminster Confession Chapter 19.
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The third use of the law teaches that while the moral law cannot
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justify us or save us, it functions as a perfect guide for
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grateful obedience. The law shows the believer what
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actually pleases the Father. Filial fear drives the believer
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to look at the law and say, because my father loves me and
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because I Revere his absolute purity, I want to conduct my
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life according to these commands.
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To make that distinction really practical, think about it like
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the servile fear is driving the exact speed limit on the highway
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only because you see a police officer in your rearview mirror
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and you do not want to pay a hefty ticket.
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You are motivated entirely by avoiding a penalty.
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Filial fear, however, is driving carefully, checking your blind
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spots and obeying the traffic laws because you have your
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newborn baby in the backseat. You are terrified of getting
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into an accident, not because of a fine, but because you deeply
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love and value the life you're protecting. 1 is a fear of
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punishment, the other is a fear born out of love and immense
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value. The commentaries argue that this
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understanding of filial fear forces a severe critique of
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seeker sensitive pragmatism in modern churches.
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The authors observe that in many evangelical circles today, the
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word fear is watered down to simple respect.
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Pastors might tell their congregations, oh, fearing God
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just means you respect him like you respect a police officer or
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a school principal. They soften the language because
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they do not want to offend attendees or make anyone
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uncomfortable. They want the seats full, so
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they domesticate God. But the texts argue that simple
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respect is not what Peter is talking about.
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True filial fear is a trembling all.
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The authors contend that this R is the only real antidote to
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making peace with your own inward corruption.
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If you reduce fear to mere respect, you will start
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prioritizing your subjective feelings over God's objective
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commands. The commentary asks the reader
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to consider their hidden life in light of this.
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This is the concept of living corumdeo, a Latin phrase that
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means before the face of God. Think about the moments when you
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were completely alone. No one from your church is
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watching you, Your family is not around.
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Your Co workers cannot see what you were doing.
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How does knowing that the impartial judge sees your secret
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thoughts and your hidden motives change your daily habits?
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If a person possesses true filial fear, their private life
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will match their public profession.
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They realize that the father is observing the intentions of the
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heart. When someone is tempted to
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harbor bitter resentment against a friend, or when they are
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tempted to look at something illicit on a screen, filial fear
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is the mechanism them that stops them.
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It prompts the believer to say my father sees this and because
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I love him and stand in awe of His Holiness, I cannot engage in
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this behavior. Filial fear regulates the hidden
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life. And Peter tells his readers
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precisely how long this fear needs to regulate their conduct.
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He moves to the temporal setting of this command.
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He says we ought to conduct ourselves with fear throughout
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the time of your exile. Let us.
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Dig into that phrase, the time of your exile.
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The Greek word used here is proecius.
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It identifies believers as resident aliens.
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This brings in the concept of the Church as sojourners,
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believers share the status of strangers and pilgrims on the
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earth. In antiquity, the commentaries
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explain, a resident alien, a peroikos, was someone who lived
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in a city but did not hold citizenship there.
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They did not have the same legal rights.
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As citizens, they often face suspicion from the locals.
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And their ultimate allegiance belong to another king and
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another country. They were essentially temporary
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residents. Peter is telling the church that
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their true citizenship is heavenly.
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This means believers live in the theological tension of the
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already and the not yet of redemptive history.
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We already belong to the Kingdom of God, but that Kingdom is not
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yet been fully consummated on earth.
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Therefore, we live as exiles. The authors argue that grasping
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this doctrine is the primary weapon for combating worldly
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assimilation. Assimilation is a massive theme
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in these texts. The authors discuss the immense,
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crushing cultural pressure out there to blend in with the
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surrounding society. The culture demands that people
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soften their distinctives, adopt the values of the majority, and
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stop being so rigid about biblical truth.
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The world wants you to view this present age as your permanent
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home. But the commentaries argue that
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if you remember your exile status, it directly refutes the
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idol of cultural conformity. If a believer truly fears God,
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they will not be conformed to the passions of their former
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ignorance. The authors provide several
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modern examples of these cultural pressures.
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They look at shifting ethical standards, particularly in areas
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like sexuality and morality, where the surrounding culture
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promotes views that are entirely detached from the biblical
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design. The texts argue that if you
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forget you are in exile, you will eventually cave to that
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pressure. You will start modifying your
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beliefs to avoid being ostracized by your peers.
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It is interesting to think about how this applies to modern
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secular philosophies as well. The commentaries point out how
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current culture constantly promotes self-reliance.
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The message is always that you are the master of your own
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destiny, that you need to look within yourself to find your
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personal truth, and that you should rely entirely on your own
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strength to build your empire. That mindset is the exact
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opposite of the Christian posture of total dependence on
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God. The text also mentioned the rise
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of modern mysticism, the idea that spirituality is just a
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vague, subjective feeling rather than submission to objective
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divine revelation. According to the source
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material, true exiles reject all of these worldly frameworks.
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True exiles hold earthly things lightly.
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They view their wealth, their homes, and their careers as
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temporary tools meant for God's glory, not as ultimate treasures
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to hoard. Furthermore, true exiles are
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willing to endure reproach without compromise.
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The commentary suggests that when you face mockery at work or
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in your neighborhood for holding a biblical worldview, you do not
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need to panic because you know you are an XI.
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You are supposed to look weird to the culture.
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If you fit in perfectly with a fallen world, the authors argue,
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you are failing to conduct yourself with holy fear.
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What is truly remarkable in Peter's letter, and what the
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commentaries spend their final chapters examining, is how Peter
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ensures this high calling does not crush his readers.
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If Peter just told his audience to be holy exiles, fearing an
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impartial judge, they might completely collapse under the
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weight of that impossible standard.
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But he does not leave them there.
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He anchors this fear entirely in the cross.
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This brings us to the Christ centered foundation of the text.
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Peter does not leave believers suspended in terror.
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He grounds this holy fear in the verses immediately following our
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main text, specifically verses 18 and 19.
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He writes knowing that you were ransomed from the feudal ways
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inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such
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as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.
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This introduces the doctrine of the ransom.
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The Greek concept of lutru or ransom would have been
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intimately familiar to a 1st century audience.
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It was the word used for paying the price to emancipate a slave
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from the slave market. The text says that before Christ
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you were enslaved. You were trapped in a futile,
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empty way of life that was passed down to you through
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generations. You could not buy your way out
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of that slave market. You could not behave your way
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out. The price of your liberation was
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not perishable currency. Silver and gold are entirely
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useless in the economy of divine justice.
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The only acceptable payment to satisfy the impartial judge was
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the precious blood of Christ. That imagery of the slave market
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and the ransom price is incredibly vivid.
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Peter goes on to describe Christ in a very specific way.
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He says the blood of Christ is like that of a lamb, without
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blemish or spot. The commentaries take us back to
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the Old Testament to show how Christ acts as the total
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fulfillment of the sacrificial system.
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For centuries, the Jewish people brought lambs to the altar.
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Those lambs had to be physically perfect.
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The priests would inspect them to ensure there were no broken
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bones, no disease and no physical blemishes.
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But as the book of Hebrews tells us, the blood of bulls and goats
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could never actually take away sins.
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It was all a temporary shadow pointing forward to the
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permanent substance. Jesus Christ is the true
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Passover Lamb. He lived a life of absolute,
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flawless moral perfection. He had no blemish of original
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sin inherited from Adam, and He had no spot of actual committed
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transgression during his earthly life.
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He was the perfect spotless sacrifice.
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When Peter commands his readers to feel God, he is pointing them
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directly back to the violence and the infinite cost of the
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cross. Connecting this to the bigger
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picture, the author stressed that this is where we see the
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stark contrast between evangelical fear and legalistic
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striving. This is the core theological
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take away from both commentaries.
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We do not fear God in order to become his children.
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We fear Him because the staggering cost of the cross
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proves that God does not treat evil lightly.
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Think about the scene at Calvary.
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At the cross, absolute justice and infinite love intersect
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perfectly. God the Father loved you so much
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that he willingly sent his Son to die in your place.
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That demonstrates infinite an incomprehensible love.
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But God the Father is also so perfectly just that he could not
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simply sweep humans in under the rug.
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Sin had to be punished. The righteous wrath had to be
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poured out to satisfy the demands of the law that
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demonstrates absolute justice. When you look at the bleeding,
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dying Savior on the cross, you realize that salvation was
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purchased at a cost we cannot fully fathom.
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The authors argue that recognizing that historical fact
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destroys any sense of flippancy in the Christian.
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Life, you cannot look at the cross and then treat sin
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casually. You cannot look at the agony of
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the spotless lamb and then say, I think I will just indulge in a
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little bit of worldliness today because grace will cover it.
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The true fear of God is born directly from contemplating the
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blood of Christ. So as we recap the major
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arguments from these commentaries, we see the
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beautiful balance required of the Christian You are called to
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hold these massive truths together every single day.
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You must have assurance of your salvation without falling into
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arrogant presumption. You know you are saved by grace,
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but you do not presume upon that grace to live lawlessly.
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You must cultivate deep fatherly intimacy with God without ever
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slipping into casual irreverence.
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You draw near to Him boldly, but you do so with trembling awe.
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And you must pursue rigorous daily obedience without ever
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crossing the line into legalism. You obey because you are already
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a child, not to earn the right to become a child.
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This is the tightrope walk of the Christian life, and the
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authors make it clear that the only way to maintain your
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balance is by keeping your eyes fixed on the spotless Lamb who
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ransomed you from the slave market of sin.
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The ultimate challenge these commentaries leave the reader
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with is a highly personal one. They ask you to look at your
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daily actions and see if they actually line up with this
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concept of a holy exile. They ask, does your life
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actually reflect the reality of the Father you claim to invoke
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when you pray and say Our Father in heaven?
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Do your private habits, your financial decisions, and your
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treatment of others validate that claim?
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Are you living distinctly and seriously in this passing world,
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or have you allowed the culture to mold you into its image?
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Are you excusing secret sins because you think God's grace
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means he no longer cares about your purity?
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The impartial judge evaluates the deeds of his children.
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The author's encourage the reader to let that reality
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search their conscience. It is a concept meant to drive
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believers to repentance where they have grown casual and to
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bring immense comfort where they have been striving faithfully,
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knowing that their loving Father sees and values their efforts.
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I want to leave you with one final thought to Mull over.
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Building on what these texts have presented, consider the
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future culmination of this exile.
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We've spent this time talking about living as resident aliens
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right now, conducting ourselves with filial fear while we walk
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through this fallen world. Right now, as the apostle Paul
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says, we only see God dimly, like looking through a mirror.
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We interact with Him by faith, not by physical sight.
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But imagine the day when this temporary exile finally ends.
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If our brief sojourn on earth requires such vigilant, holy
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fear and careful conduct while we are separated by the veil of
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this physical world, imagine the staggering weight of absolute
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purity we will experience when Christ returns.
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Think about standing physically, bodily, in the unfiltered,
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blazing presence of the impartial judge in the new
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heavens and the new earth. On that day, there will be no
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more faith. There will only be sight.
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The reverent fear we practice today, the awe we cultivate in
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our private prayers and our public worship is just a faint
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introductory shadow of the awestruck worship we will offer
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for all eternity. We will cast our crowns before
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the Father, completely consumed by His Holiness, forever safe in
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his love, and forever marveling at the Lamb who was slain.
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Until that day, keep walking the tightrope and conduct yourselves
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with fear.