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Sermon - January 2010
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David Mannon
2:11 Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul, 2:12 and maintain good conduct among the non-Christians, so that though they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears.
Theme: Holy living as a response to our identity as priests Proposition: Christians should strive to be holy because it is a right response to a priestly call found in 1 Peter 2:4-12.
Introduction Can anyone tell me what this object is that I’m holding? That’s right, it’s a stone. Now, I want you to begin thinking of all the possible uses of a stone. A stone can be a decoration. When I was a kid growing up in Memphis, my grandmother had a rock garden in her backyard. There were stones of various sizes and colors. A stone can also be used as a weapon. We’ve read stories in the Bible of people being put to death by having stones thrown at them. A stone can also be used as an idol for worship. In the Norwegian culture, there are stories of special ceremonies being performed where stones would be sprinkled with water or fresh ale. This was done to worship false gods. But there is one use of stones that I would like you to consider for a moment. In the ancient world, stones were used in the construction of buildings. In ancient times, people built all sorts of structures from stone. Some of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world were made of stone. If we were going to build a structure from stone, there would be certain requirements for the stones that we would use. We would carefully evaluate the size and shape of each stone to make sure that they would strengthen the overall building. In a spiritual sense, God is doing the same thing with us as Christians. 1 Peter 2:5 says that we are living stones that are being built up into a spiritual house. What kind of living stone are you? As we live out our lives before God, are we reflecting the holiness of God to an unbelieving world? Do our actions and attitudes give people a glimpse of what God is like? As we examine 1 Peter 2:4-12, we will discover evidence of a priestly call that should motivate us toward holy living. As God builds His church, He is creating a holy assembly of priests to be His witnesses to the world.
I. The Construction of the Priesthood (v. 4-7) Peter begins this section of his letter with the metaphor of a building. In this section, he uses the word “stone” or “rock” eight times, usually to refer to Christ. I mentioned earlier that my grandmother had a rock garden in her backyard. But when you stop and think about it, a “rock garden” is a paradox because rocks don’t grow. You can water those things all you want and make sure they get plenty of sunlight, but they’re just not going to grow. In much the same way, a “living stone” is a paradox. Stones are not living things. In verse 4, Peter says that Christ is the “living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God…” He uses this metaphor of the living stone to illustrate the life that Christ gives to those who put their faith in Him and to commend the stability that Christ provides to the life of a believer. In the next verse, Peter refers to Christians as “living stones” which are being built up as a spiritual house. I don’t know about you, but a lot of times I don’t feel very stable in my Christian walk. There are many times when I waver in my faith. But we must remember that sanctification is a process. Every day that we walk with Jesus, we become more like Him. Christ is the foundation upon which the priesthood of the believer is built. When the OT priesthood was established in the book of Exodus, specific instructions were given for how they should dress and how the sacrifice was to be performed so that the priests would not incur guilt and die (Exodus 28-29). Now, in the OT, the priest had the responsibility of performing an animal sacrifice. The priest would take a goat or a lamb and slaughter it and burn the fat as an offering before the Lord. In verse 5, Peter makes a startling statement, “You are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God…” Believers are being built up as a spiritual dwelling place to offer up spiritual sacrifices. If I was a Jewish believer in the first century, I might interpret this to mean that God is calling me to be a priest. There is a sense in which this is true. There are two similarities and one key difference between the OT priesthood and the priesthood of the believer. First, the priest must not approach God in a casual manner because He is holy. Leviticus 10:1-3 tells the story of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron who were fond of fire. One day, they were making fire and offering incense which the Lord had not commanded and the holy fire of God came out and consumed them. As priests in our age, we would do well to remember that God is holy and should be treated with reverence and awe. Second, just like the OT priests, we offer sacrifices to God but ours are living sacrifices. All believers are to offer up a sacrifice of praise because of God’s saving work in our lives (Heb. 13:15). More importantly, we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices in thankful service to God (Rom. 12:1). What does it mean to be a living sacrifice? It means offering your time, your energy and your creativity to God so that He can glorify Himself through you. The OT priests committed their lives to following the prescribed ordinances and offer sacrifices on behalf of the Jewish people. But there is one key difference between the OT priesthood and the priesthood of the believer. Verse 5 says that we are to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The only way that we can be priests is because Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sin. Peter goes on to describe Jesus as a precious corner stone upon which this spiritual house is being built up. But he makes it clear in verses 7 and 8 that the value is for those who believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Peter once again uses a figure of speech from the building trade to make his point. In the ancient world, stones that were used in construction had to be uniform in size and shape. They were cut with the aid of a hammer and chisel or even a saw. The chief architect would carefully inspect the stones and ones that did not pass inspection were rejected. Peter says, “The stone which the builders rejected, this became the very corner stone…” Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders of his day but God establishes His eternal kingdom on the rock of Christ. For those who reject Christ now, He becomes a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. The verbs in verse 8 are active and in the present tense. Therefore, we can interpret this to mean that as long as people continue to reject Christ, they will continue to stumble. Simply put, Peter says we will either put our faith in Jesus, the cornerstone, or we dash our foot against it. Perhaps there are some of you here today who have a decision to make about this living stone, Jesus Christ. Will you accept Him or reject Him? II. The Characteristics of the Priesthood (v. 9-10) Peter moves beyond his figurative language on the construction of the priesthood to highlight some characteristics of the priesthood. He communicates to his audience the tremendous privileges they have as believers in Christ. This would have been especially meaningful to Peter’s audience because they were suffering persecution and most of them were scattered throughout the Roman Empire. Many of these believers had lost their national identity because they were forced to leave their homes and travel to different cities in Asia Minor to escape persecution. Verse 9 begins, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession…” These characteristics of the priesthood of the believer that Peter uses are given to clarify our identity as Christians. First, we are a chosen race. This word that is translated “chosen” in this verse is the same word that is used in verses 4 and 6 to refer to Christ being the stone that is “chosen” and precious in God’s sight. Believers in Christ have been chosen from among many to be united in the family of God. It is a privilege to relate to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Second, we are a royal priesthood. The descriptive term “royal” adds the dimension of kingdom and king. In the OT, the Israelites had begged god to give them an earthly king so that they could be like the nations around them. Even though this wasn’t God’s desire for them, He granted their request. For us, while we may understand little of what it means to be ruled by a king in the earthly sense, we are members of a heavenly kingdom that is ruled by a king like no other. We are serving King Jesus. Third, we are a holy nation. This term “holy nation” comes from Exodus 19:6 where God tells Moses that if the Jews obey His voice and keep His covenant, they shall be a holy nation. What does it mean to be a holy nation? It means to be a nation that is set apart for God’s purposes. It is a place where righteousness and justice are lived out among the people. It is easy for us to look at the society of the United States and make the judgment that we are far from being a holy nation. Our nation has become characterized by immorality, greed, sensuality, and sinful pride. But even though our nation as a whole has rejected God, there remains a remnant who is seeking to glorify God. The church in America has a tremendous opportunity to be salt and light in the midst of moral chaos. Christ calls us as His disciples to be a preserving presence for righteousness in society. Will we rise to the challenge? Are we willing to engage this culture with the life-changing truth of the Gospel? Finally, we are a people for God’s own possession. Illustration-Watching our children through the toddler years has given me a very clear understanding of what it means to possess something. When Luke was a toddler, he used to invite me to play cars with him. Although this is not the case now, when he was younger we had to play by certain rules when playing cars. Luke would say, “Daddy, you play with big cars. Luke play with little cars.” And if there was ever a time when I didn’t play by the rules, Luke would say, “No, that’s MY car.” In the cosmic struggle between the kingdom of God and the realm of Satan, there are times when the devil tries to distract us or discourage us with physical illness or by reminding us of past failures. But in the moment when Satan thinks he is about to destroy us, God steps in and says, “No, devil, you better back up, that is a child of mine.” That is what it means to be a people that God possesses. What does God want us to do as a result of our new identity? Verse 9 tells us that we should live out our identity “so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” God has called us to be a royal priesthood and a holy nation so that we may be His witnesses to a world that is dying without the hope of Christ. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12) We have the light and we must shine His light in the darkness, point the way to Christ. III. The Conduct of the Priesthood (v. 11-12) Those of us who have accepted this call to God’s royal priesthood must understand the conduct of the priesthood. In this section, Peter emphasizes one of the recurring themes of this letter, holiness. Just as he does in the first chapter, Peter makes it clear again that we have been called in Christ to be holy, just as He is holy (1 Peter 1:14-15). In verse 11 of our text, he refers to his readers as “aliens and strangers”. An alien is a person who resides in a foreign country but retains the citizenship of their home country. Many of the believers to whom Paul is writing held this status on earth because they had been displaced because of the Roman persecution. But in a spiritual sense, all believers are aliens on earth because our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). To these believers who are sojourners here on earth, Peter makes this appeal: “I urge you to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.” To abstain literally means “to hold oneself constantly back from.” If we are to have the kind of preserving presence in our culture that God wants us to have, we cannot act or think like unbelievers do. Before I came to faith in Christ, I was living in the sinful flesh. Even after I came to Christ, I have been and will continue to be tempted by fleshly lusts. James says that each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. When lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin (James 1:14-15). Sinful desires conduct warfare against our souls. Illustration-I can remember times in my own life when I was in the midst of this warfare. About six years ago, when I was serving as an associate pastor, we were going through an intense trial as a church and I was tempted to just quit the ministry. I was under a lot of stress and people were continuing to leave the church and I just thought I couldn’t take it anymore. I was struggling with the fleshly desire for my own personal comfort in the midst of a very challenging season of ministry. In the midst of temptation, I had to be reminded that Christ is the high priest who was tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Peter is not urging us toward a level of spirituality that is hopelessly out of reach. If our sufficiency is in Christ, then His power will enable us to consistently say, “No” to the enticements of sin. Peter exhorts us further in verse 12, “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles…” The implication here is that believers should keep their behavior pure among unbelievers so that their lives will reflect the goodness and grace of God. Our lifestyle should be so distinct that it serves to arouse curiosity as to what this new life in Christ is about. But when we begin to interact with an unbelieving world, we should be prepared for being misunderstood. People without Christ may look at us and mock us or even slander us. In verse 12, Peter reveals the reason for keeping our behavior excellent. To paraphrase, he says, “even when they make attempts to slander you as evildoers, because of your good deeds, they may end up glorifying God when Christ returns.” We should strive for such excellent behavior that even when the world hurls accusations against us, they will have no support. Illustration-Many years ago, the Communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of the missionary Hudson Taylor. Their intent was to distort the facts and present him in a negative light. They wanted to discredit him in the eyes of the Chinese people. As the author was doing his research, he became increasingly impressed by Taylor’s saintly character and godly life. He found it extremely difficult to carry out his assigned task with a clear conscience. Eventually, at the risk of losing his life, the author laid aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as his personal Savior. Whether we realize it or not, the example of our lives leaves an impression on others. There may be some of you here today who are saying, “This is just too high a calling for me. I struggle with besetting sins on a daily basis. I will never be able to live a holy life.” For those who may be thinking that, I want to refer you to Hebrews 7:25. “Therefore, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Part of Jesus’ ongoing priestly ministry is to intercede for us before the throne of God. When we put our faith in Christ for salvation, we gain a permanent place on Jesus’ prayer list. When it comes to living the conduct of a holy priesthood, we may falter and fail at times, but He is able. Conclusion In conclusion, we have discovered the evidence of a priestly call in 1 Peter 2:4-12 that should motivate us toward holy living. The first evidence is the construction of the priesthood. We are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to holy God for Him to use in the construction of a spiritual house. The second evidence is the characteristics of the priesthood. We are to live out our identity as God’s royal priests to bring Him praise in the midst of a dark world. The third evidence is the conduct of the priesthood. We are to keep our behavior excellent so that through our good deeds, others may come to know Christ. John Piper has written a book called The Passion of Christ, which gives fifty reasons why Jesus suffered and died. Reason #15 is “to make us holy, blameless, and perfect.” I said earlier that sanctification is a process. But it is a process of becoming what we already are. In Hebrews 10:14, we read “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” In his book, Piper says, “Being sanctified means that we are imperfect and in process. We are becoming holy—but are not yet fully holy. The joyful encouragement here is that the evidence of our perfection before God is not our experienced perfection, but our experienced progress.” So, because Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice, we are being made perfect. Because this is true, we should not be discouraged when we display our imperfection. But we should be challenged to ask ourselves, “Am I displaying progress in becoming more like Christ?” And if your answer to that question is “No,” then you have a decision to make about Jesus Christ. Will you turn from your own efforts to make yourself right with God and trust in what Christ has done for you through His death and resurrection? With Christ as your cornerstone, you will not be disappointed. |
So as you come to
him, the living Stone--rejected by men but
chosen by God and precious to him--