Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Peter’s purpose, as we get to this point in the epistle, is to instruct Christians in their role in God’s kingdom.

It gives us valuable and useful insight into the plan and purpose of God.

Peter focuses on the now, and the future.

This is an epistle addressed to new, Jewish Christians (everyone was a new Christian in A.D. 60) who needed instruction on what was expected of them.

They were living in various places around the Roman empire and they were beginning to experience suffering and persecution because of their faith.

This suffering and persecution would build from social persecution to systematic government persecution over the next few years.

This life was not easy for them - they may have expected something different as a result of their new relationship with God, but they were still living in a world that was in total rebellion against God and genuinely hated Him.

The world hated Him because they knew, deep down, that they loved sin and they wanted to continue to wallow in it without fear of accountability.

The small, but growing and evangelistic community of Christians reminded them of their lost, fallen, and ultimately condemned state, and they resented it.

Christ was the perfect man and they hated Him because He was the light, and that light showed their sin and iniquity in stark relief.

They would rather stay in the dark, but God would not have it.

After Christ ascended, Christians reflected the light of Christ, and so the world began to direct their anger and resentment toward them.

The Christians to whom Paul was writing were already beginning to feel the social stigma of being His disciples and they likely did not know how to respond to their situation.

Interrogative:

As members of the kingdom of God, what are we to do?

Imperative

We are of a chosen, royal heritage, saved by the grace and mercy of God, and we need to act in accordance with our station.

Transition

We can summarize Peters message in three points, 1) What were we?, 2) What are we?, and 3) What shall we become?

To the first point:

Point 1, v. 9: What are we?

Read the verse.

Dt 7:6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.

The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

This is what Moses prophesied to the Hebrews, God’s covenant people.

He explains further in Dt 14:2:

Dt 14:2: For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth

Isaiah passes down this message in Is 41:8,9:

But you, Israel, my servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,

the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

9  you whom I took from the ends of the earth,

and called from its farthest corners,

saying to you, “You are my servant,

I have chosen you and not cast you off

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.

(2016).

(Is 41:8–9).

Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Matthew Henry makes the point that Paul was writing to Jewish Christians, and that as Jews, they considered themselves highly privileged, since they were the chosen people of God.

The argument Peter brings here is that that does not change when you become a Christian.

All the true servants of Christ are a royal priesthood.

Another commentator notes that Peter is expressing that through Christ, these Jewish followers have recovered the great honor and dignity from which the the Jewish people had fallen.

These Christians were called out of the Jewish nation, which God had called out via Abraham, when He called him out of Ur.

Paul builds on these prophesies in Romans 11:5-6: So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.

6  But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

He goes on to say in 2 Timothy 1:8,9:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.

(2016).

(Tt 2:11–14).

Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

All Christians are members of a holy nation, which Peter is picturing as the new temple of God, in the verses above.

Rev 20:6 John says: Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection!

Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

God’s faithful are a chosen race, in a covenant relationship with God.

God initiated this covenant with Abraham in Gen 15, it is a covenant to redeem and bless His people - a covenant He made with Abraham, and confirmed with Isaac, Jacob, and re-affirmed with the prophets.

It is a covenant that was confirmed by the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus Christ, when He died to atone for the sins of His chosen people.

God called Abraham out of Ur to sanctify a people to Himself and He continues to call His people out of the world to sanctify them as His people.

Now, during the Exodus, God called out the tribe of Levi to minister as priests in the tabernacle.

As we learned from Deuteronomy last week, the priests of Levi had no property, but the children of Israel were expected to provide for them.

When Peter proclaims that Christ’s followers are a royal priesthood, he is putting it in the context of the Levite tradition.

Like the Levites, Christians are chosen out of the world to worship God and to intercede for the people.

Like the Levites of the nation of Israel, Christians bring the world to Christ.

Because we are the priests, and Jesus is our great, high priest, there is no longer any call for a separate priesthood to intercede for God’s people.

We, as Christ’s followers, have an open door to approach the Lord ourselves, through the mediation of Christ.

What is their priestly duty?

It says they proclaim the excellencies of Him who called them out of darkness and into light.

This word translated “Proclaim”, in the greek, means to make a report or to report on.

This suggests that Christians are to make an accurate report to those who will listen.

They are expected to report on the “excellencies”” of Him, meaning the Lord.

Excellencies, in the greek, can be more specifically rendered excellency of character.

The Lord’s priests are called from darkness to light.

Darkness is a metaphor for the ignorance, sin and iniquity that characterizes the world.

Light, is also a metaphor, for the righteousness of Christ, which is a light to the world.

In other words, Christians are to accurately report on the excellency of character of Him (Jesus), who called them out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

Isaiah 60:2 (ESV)

2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples;

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and his glory will be seen upon you.

Put simply, in light of what He does for His people, we are to glorify God.

But we don’t need to embellish.

The account does not need to be embellished or exaggerated.

We, as God’s priests, simply proclaim the good news from His word, and our own experience.

Point 2, v. 10: What were we?

To make this point, Paul draws on an OT illustration from Hosea 1 and 2. God instructed the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute who fathered two children.

One of the children was to be named “not my people” and the other i “no mercy”.

This was an analogy of God’s relationship with his covenant people (Israel), who had become rebellious and sinful and the result - children that are cut off from God and who are entitled to no mercy.

But God then goes on to declare in chapter 2, that He loves His people, and He will not abandon His people, but He will have mercy on them and He will forgive them.

Peter, as he writes these Jewish Christians, is applying Hosea’s prophesy.

God created Adam and Eve in His own image, and blessed them mightily.

They had free will, but within days of their creation and blessing, they allowed themselves to be seduced by Satan and rebelled against God.

They lost their trust in Him and violated His commandment.

God redeemed a people through Abraham, who then lapsed into sin and idolatry.

We are the children of Adam and Eve and we inherited the guilt not only for their sin, but a sinful attitude and have committed our own sins against God and each other.

We are as guilty of idolatry, envy, adultery, and of spiritual fornication, as was the wife of Hosea.

Yet God had mercy on His people, and has continued to redeem a remnant.

First by sending a saviour, and then by turning them in faith, to that saviour.

Make no mistake about it, Christ did not call us through any righteousness of our own and no one deserves mercy; we are descended from a corrupt and sinful line.

Out of an abundance of love, He showed mercy on us and adopted us into the royal line.