Untitled Sermon

Small view of church; it is something you are a part of to get something out of it(consumerism), many of us have this view

We need this passage to change our view of the church

1 Peter 2:9–12 ESV

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Coming off of solidifying that Jesus is the foundation and Jesus is the temple, now Peter begins to paint this picture that the believers are now the New Israel

Let’s break down verse 9

Chosen Race

What is a race? - a group of people that are defined by attributes

being a chosen race, this means we are a new race. We are God’s people, we are God’s church

The church should be a representation of the kingdom of God, yet it is the most segregated place on earth. Churches should represent the places that they live. I have no problems with an all black church or an all white church if they are truly representing their geographic area. But when churches are in areas that are diverse, and they are 100% a particular race, then there should be an evaluation as to what is going on. Maybe they aren’t doing outreach, maybe they are unwelcoming to other races, maybe they cater to one particular race.

We, as believers are called to be a race all on its own. Galatians 3:28 “28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

My challenge for us is to be a race all on its own

Royal Priesthood

A royal priesthood and a holy nation point back to Exodus 19:6 “6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.””

You may think that Peter is wrongly applying this to the church. But what Peter is doing is he is now declaring that the church is now the kingdom representative of the nation of Israel. God has set aside a “chosen race” which is not something that is ethnically based. We are now view in the new covenant the way that Israel was viewed in the old covenant.

God called the people of Israel his “kingdom of priests”. We are now his priests in the world.

What are some jobs that a priest has?

One job is proclamation. Peter tells us this in this verse. 1 Peter 2:9 “9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

We are the proclaimers. And what should we proclaim? The excellencies of God who called us out of the darkness and into his marvelous light.

This is what God has done for us through the gospel. The gospel is what brings people to new life in Christ. The gospel is what saved you. The gospel is what saves everyone. The gospel is what we should proclaim.

Small view of church; this is the job of the pastor, not mine

A Holy Nation

Distinct from the world. Are any political nations in the world considered Holy? We are to be different.

Let’s think of our world today. If I, as an American citizen, go to another country and somehow get into trouble, where would I need to go?

The local church is a group of people that have come together to establish an individual congregation. We should look to local churches as embassies. We are an embassy on behalf of the kingdom of God.

Therefore, when someone who is a citizen of God’s kingdom comes to us, they should immediately recognize that we are one in the same. They have a place among us.

Verse 10 is actually a call back as well to one of the minor prophets in the OT. Hosea 1:9 “9 And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.””

We were once not one of God’s children. We were enemies of God. But, God chose us, and brought us into his family.

going back to the beginning of this letter, we are exiles living in a foreign land. So the question is how do we, as foreigners, engage in the world that we live in?

1 Peter for You Disengagement, Activism and Accommodation

Up to this point in the letter, Peter has been showing his readers the privileged status that they have in Christ, in spite of their suffering. Now, in verses 11–12, he begins to explain how our mission flows out of our new identity.

Avoid fleshly desires

1 Peter 2:11 “11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”

What are “passions of the flesh”?

Why would Peter urge people to abstain from them?

How do they wage war on our soul?

Our lives should be glorifying God in everything that we do. When we participate in acts of the flesh, we are worshiping other god’s. We are creating false idols, things that we image as having a greater amount of worth than God.

Our lives are worship services that others are watching and listening to.

Act Right

1 Peter 2:12 “12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

Conduct is pivotal to our Christian witness. Not only words that we say, which is part of it, but also how we act. This shows everyone around us who we truly are. I said Sunday that our reactions say a lot about us. Our conduct is not only our reactions but our actions in general.

How do we know when our conduct is honorable?

We do this also for God’s glory. We are representatives of the kingdom of God. 2 Corinthians 5:20 “20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

As ambassadors, people as watching us and talking about us.

As a society today, Christians may be at an all time high for the negativity that is spoken against us. And it is because there are many, many people who claim to be Christians who do not speak like it, act like it, or live like it.

People will see the way that Christians live and they will critique it. It is their motive to speak evil against us as Christians.

But, if we live in a manner that they have no reason to, then when they talk about us they will actually glorify God.

How amazing is it when someone lives their life in such a manner that no one can say anything bad about them. That they have lived such a life that others will say, “you know, maybe there is something about this Christianity thing that is real”.

How well does our church display the gospel to each other within our church?

How well does our church display the gospel to others?

How might we individually help the church to display the gospel even better?