I Peter 2:1-12
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A Holy People
A Holy People
Good morning my friends!
I hope you’ve had a good week..., we had a great week of Vacation Bible School, and I am so thankful to each of you who came out and helped make it successful.
Thank you!
As a church, this is important. That we as a community of believers come out and help the church fulfil its purpose. I am grateful to each of you who were able to help.
This morning I want to share a passage for you about the necessity for holiness in our walk before the Lord. I bring this to mind because we live in a world, where unlike never before, the world is pulling at us, our children and society as a whole.
And my friends, we must be careful each day. Each day presents is challenges, items that seek to distract or pull us away from what is truly important.
So what do we do? We strive to walk in holiness before the Lord.
Now this morning lets go to I Peter 2: 1-3, we will start here with this passage.
1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
There is a lot a being said there, so lets start here....
1 Abstain from All Evil....
As you look at what Peter is saying here, a major theme within His book is the necessity for holiness.
Why?
Holiness is a necessity for the person or persons who seek to walk in fellowship with the Lord their God.
When we strive for holiness, we are separating ourself from the world and its ways, teachings, in devotion to God.
When God brought the children of Israel up out of the land of Egypt, God told Moses this.... Exodus 19:6 “6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
And while it is a necessity, it is one that often proves to be difficult for us unless we make it our goal.
So it should be our goal, each day.
Peter’s words are fairly simple, a challenge is being given here, “...Peter says - So put away all —— (rid yourself) of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ”
We (as the children of God) are to put these things away, literally lay aside, or rid yourself of the things, because they can and will cripple your life and the life of the church.
Think of trying to walk a long distance, while wearing a hobble, a device that would restrict the way you move, it hinders your gate, your pace and walk… So you just cannot go any farther and you have not reached your goal.
These such things and more will hinder the Christian’s spiritual growth. And Peter isn’t the only one who mentioned this, God was directing others to speak in the same way.
Paul and James echoed this call. Let me share a couple verses with you.
Listen to Paul in Hebrews 12:1 “1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”
Romans 13:12 “12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
And James in James 1:21 “21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
So think of it like getting up in the morning, you rise and take off the bed clothes, and you dress for the day. So we are to take off, cast off those evil things and put on what is good, pure and right.
And this isn’t a one time event, this is continual, we are to lay aside sin daily.
Dr. Thomas Schreiner said “....that Sins listed here will tear at the social fabric of the church, ripping away the threads of love that keep them together.”
Malice is simply wickedness...ill will toward one another, it destroys harmony.
Deceit and hypocrisy are the means with which a falseness has entered into the a life or community. It will rob the church of a sincere love .
Envy is contrary to love, and instead of desiring the best for others, it hopes for the downfall of other… by chasing our own desires.
And slander, are words that tear down which cannot build up. It’s the spreading of false stories and insinuations that seek to hurt.
We are to leave these things alone and my friends if you insult or speak words that are not love, even in private you have done a disservice to the Lord and the grace He has extended to you.
Let us strive that our speech would be wholesome no matter if we are in public or private..
Put away all evil...
And contrary to this, we are called to Long for what is pure.
2 Long for What is Pure....
So instead of carrying these sins, instead of walking hand in hand with the world, we are called to long for what is good and pure in our walk with the Lord.
I heard someone say this week you cannot walk hand in hand with Jesus and the world at the same time. Why? Because they are headed in opposite directions.
Now, if you look with me at verse 2, we see this is the key admonition that is being communicated by Peter.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—
Understand Peter is not calling us infants here, as if we have not learned how to grow in and understand the deep truths of God, no, not at all.
Peter is telling us to be like infants, infants crave milk, thus we should be like infants who crave pure spiritual milk.
The phrase “long for” is the word crave “e-pip-othe-sate” in the Greek and its a strong one. It is intense desire for God and his ways.
So just as babies long for pure milk that will sustain their health and growth, we as the children of God should desire pure milk for the growth in our salvation.
And look, even the milk or type of of teaching that is needed for our lives, it is to be pure and spiritual. The idea of pure is it will have no deceit in it. The Word of God is true my friends, there is nothing wrong or false in it. And being true we can depend upon it.
Do you believe the Word of God is true and pure?
And this teaching being spiritual will ensure that it is the means by which God sanctifies the believers mind through the continued proclamation of the Word of God.
It it through the Word of God that the believer is comforted, directed, strengthened, transformed and edified.
You know in our world today, we have the blessing of knowing all the ingredients and nutrients in our food. Here the Word of God is the true milk, or substance needed for life.
But listen, believers aren’t to long for milk only, but for adult food. We need the meat of God’s word, it is the substance which is necessary for our daily life, without it we would surely be dead.
Just as man needs food for life so the man needs the Word of God for life, Remember the Scripture tells us ....So faith some by hearing and hearing by the Word of God...Romans 10:17.
So it is good to stop and ask ourselves, “Do I long for what is pure? Do I long for what is good? Do I hunger and thirst for the Word of God?”
Quick test - What do you allow your eyes to see, What do you allow your ears to hear and what do you allow your mouth to say....”
What do you really want in your life, and in your families life, Is it what God wants for your life?
God wants you to have life, a life that is full and freely found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
As a child of God, you would want this as well.
Now lets move forward here,
The last thought I want to share with you is this… Be a Chosen people...
3 Be a Chosen People.....
I was listening to Tim Tebow the other day and he was talking about being made in the ‘image of God.” And the more I thought of point he was making, the more I thought of how much God loves us.
God loves us so much not only are we made in His image but also, He has purposed us to have the opportunity to be His people, who are made with the capacity of enjoying a relationship with the Lord our God.
We are called to come and know the Lord , and taste that He is good and that He is God.
How can we do this?
It begins with salvation of course and after coming to the Lord we have the blessing of understanding our role as God’s people.
So lets look at what Peter says in verses 4-5 I Peter 2:4-5
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Check this out....
The Lord here, who is clearly Yahweh of the Old Testament, and is none other than Jesus Christ in the church age.
And look, Jesus is called a “Living Stone”, why, the religious leaders, the High Priest and the Sanhedrin rejected him and had him crucified, put to death on a tree.
Oh, But God raised him from the dead, and having conquered death and the grave, He is now a living stone. In fact the chief cornerstone. The one stone that sets the tone, the direction for the whole building.
Psalm 118:22 “22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
And my friends, as you come to Jesus, you who are made in His image, you are moved from death of sin unto life. And Peter says you are chosen and precious.
Man, I love this, Here is why.....we are transformed from the figure of death and sin, unto life, made in his image for His glory.
And it doesn’t end there, we are being made into what? Peter says “living stones” but that’s not all....verse 5 says that these stones are being built up into a spiritual house.
This is incredibly beautiful my friends, as the children of God those believers Peter was writing too were despised and terrorized by many. It was difficult to be a Christian in the 1st century
And listen for the children of God, even here, in America people have been persecuted for their faith and those truths we hold dear.
Christians past and present continued to be despised for our desire to end abortion, to hold the world of God as true and call men and women to abandon their sin and come to faith in Christ.
But listen while the world might hate you, know this … you are chosen and honored in God’s sight.
So because of our faith, believers are living stones, those which make us the building stones, the blocks that is making believers into a spiritual house.
The term “house” here (oikos) is a word in the Greek that is more than just a house, a dwelling place but instead refers to a house that refers to God’s house, a temple for the living God.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:16 “16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
I mean think of this, as believers, the Holy Spirit indwells us, but the church will one day be a New Temple the place where God will dwell in our midst.
And us, well as living stones will exist to function as a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God.
But what are the spiritual sacrifices that we are to offer up to the Lord? What can we bring to Him that are acceptable?
Remember these two passages my friends..
First the Apostle Paul in Romans 12
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
And with it
15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
There is a common thread here, it is the evidence of our life in Him. Because of his love and mercy we can .....
A. First, Paul’s encouragement for us is to present ourselves as living sacrifices. We are to lay aside us, our life for His glory. We are to choose God and His plans or desires for our life and not our own. .
When we surrender our life to His plan, this becomes a holy and acceptable sacrifice in the presence of almighty God.
B. And secondly, We are to continually offer up the sacrifice of praise, the very fruit of our lips.
You see when we allow the praise of our heart to be poured out of us, given to Him.. What a gift you have given to the Lord. You have shared the deepest, fullest expression of your life.. And it isn’t forced, coerierced, No! It is freely given just like a tithe..
And the Lord receives is and is blessed by it..
Two quick questions we can ask in light of the sacrifices we can being to the Lord...
1. Are we surrendered to self or to God…
Self might bring happiness and joy for a season, but it will ultimately leave us empty and barren of joy and peace.
Yet surrendered to God, leads to life, full and abundant.
2. Do you have something to praise Him for today?
Man, what could I praise God for? Oh I am saved and His, Oh my wife is saved, my children are saved. This place isn’t my home, I am just passing through. I am going to a kingdom, a land whose city and maker is God. I am going to rule and reign with him, I will be with him for all eternity..
If you don’t have something to praise him for, you need to do a spiritual health check and see if you are spiritually alive.
And for just a moment, look down with me to verses 9-10.
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.
You who believed, which came about because of God’s grace.. it wasn’t your effort or work.
You are a chosen race… In spite of those who did not believe, God has called those who do believe by several adjectives.
Listen to them.
A Chosen Race… Chosen indicates those who have believed as His people. The great work of God, salvation is accomplished in the person and work of Jesus Christ and God while He loves Israel, has opened the door and welcomed all.
From the highway and the hedges, God has called people unto himself as a chosen race.
A Royal Priesthood… Now remember, this once applied only to Israel, whom God entered into a covenant with at Sinai. The priesthood was to be a mirror to the nations, reflecting the glory of YHWH for all to see and know there is no other God but Him.
But Israel failed in this work, and the church has now been called to mediate the blessings of God among the nations.
A Holy Nation… You are a people set apart for the Lord, and you you enjoy his favor and presence continually.
A people of His own possession… Now this seems to be a given, but its important to see it stated again. Again, the privilege of belonging to the Lord is that He has now appointed us to be a people who can bring Him the blessings of praise, and we would do this volunetarily, freely because we have been called out of darkness into the light.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
I am thankful the day Jesus called to me, I was in darkness, and in a moment he gave me light.
Are you able to rejoice in the Lord today and for all that He has done in your life?
I want to encourage you to look deep today,
I believe with all my heart that God is calling some this morning,
God is convicting some of mistakes or sin that has remained present
God is calling some to surrender self unto him once and for all,
He might be directing you… lay aside you and embrace What the Lord wants...
Lets pray
