I Peter 2:1-17
“Four Portraits Of The Christian Life” • 6.24.18
• Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- We have necessarily had to take
a break, but Peter's train of thought from chapter 1 continues. God's people have received a new nature which issues
in love toward one another.
- This is what the gospel message
has produced in our lives! The Spirit of God has brought about a new kind of
life that we can choose to respond to. But what does that look like?
- In the section before us, Peter sets
out four illustrations that best describe how we are to respond to the Lord's
work, as we attempt to serve His interests.
- He begins by comparing us to
"Newborn Babes." Verse 1.
Text
• I Peter
2:1-3 : "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy,
and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may
grow thereby, if
indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious." : Whenever God calls us to add something to our lives, there are
things which must be set aside.
- Peter lays out a command, not an option, to
set aside these attitudes which are counterproductive to the flow of love that
God intends.
- As such, we are again reminded that there is
an act of our will involved. We are to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to see
that these characteristics are removed from us.
- He begins with "malice," a word
that we have considered multiple times throughout the New Testament. The
sentiment behind the word refers to an ill will bent upon another's hurt.
- There are varying degrees of malice, ranging
from an all out, unfair campaign against another person, to a seething, passive
aggressive indifference. In any degree, it is sin to harbor malice.
- What about deceit? This is an interesting
word. It refers to the act of entrapping by bait!
- Peter, being a professional fisherman, would
have known what it meant to bait a fish. You present a decoy that entices the
fish toward something that looks good for them, but really isn't!
- Don't speak out of both sides of your mouth.
Speak the truth in love. Say what you will do and then let your actions prove
it. Next comes hypocrisy.
- How many can say that they have been guilty
of putting on a show spiritually? Who hasn't put on a happy face when things
are going poorly? That's hypocrisy! Then, there's envy.
- This word speaks of jealousy but can also
become something quite wicked if allowed to fester in an individual heart.
˚ "It looks at a fine person, and is
not so much moved to aspire to that fineness, as to resent it. It is the most
warped and twisted of human emotions." [i]
- Be careful of looking at another person's
gifting or call with jealous eyes! Be thankful for what He has made you and
what He is doing through them!
- Peter's final admonition is against
"evil speaking," which the NKJV translators call
"backbiting" in II Corinthians
12:20. It's character assassination and defamation!
- Remember that Peter is writing to a group of
people who were likely among the first converts to Christianity, though there
may have been some novice believers as well.
- On the whole, these were "veteran"
believers and they were living under the growing fear of persecution! Peter still
needs to tell them that these kind of behaviors are out of step with Christ!
- Two things occur to me. First, our flesh is
never as defeated as we believe it to be. Just add pressure to unresolved anger,
add in fatigue or fear, and you have the recipe for flesh stew!
- Second, the church will never be an
organization of equally experienced and educated believers! The church is
always a place of refuge to the latest refugee!
- Grace must be given to those that need time
to rid themselves of these qualities as well!
- Whatever the condition, I would pray that you
and I would hold up this list and see it eradicated from our lives! How can it
be? What is the antidote? We are to be as "newborn babes."
- In other places, the use of this metaphor is
actually derogatory. Paul uses it to describe immaturity. Peter's admonition is
not a remark upon maturity, but appetite. Newborns crave their food.
- If you would avoid these negative
characteristics, you must feed your appetite with that which brings spiritual
nourishment and naturally fights off spiritual infection!
- God's word is pure. It's undefiled. It's
without deception. In other words, it will not lead you astray. It will not
offer a decoy. It alone has the capacity to grow a right heart!
- Friends, I cannot sugar coat this: Your
desire, intake and application of the word of God will be the measure by which
you have the capacity to grow!
- You may have been a Christian for many years,
but if you feed sparingly or specifically, you will find yourself stunted,
immature and prone to cater to these counterproductive and sinful attitudes.
- Those that feed upon the word find that the
Lord is gracious and they respond to that grace by being gracious themselves.
Peter offers us a new picture in verse 4.
We are "Living stones."
•
I Peter 2:4-6 : "Coming to Him as to a living stone,
rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are
being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in
the Scripture, 'Behold,
I lay in Zion A chief
cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on
Him will by no means be put to shame.'" :
Keep in mind who you are coming to. You are coming to Him, to the Lord, who is the
living stone, the "litho," from which we gain our word
"lithograph."
-
There is a double allusion here, first to Christ as the Word of God. He is the
sum total, the axis point of the Word of God! All that is written is summed up
in Him!
-
Christians come to Him, whom Peter admits is rejected, disapproved by men.
Don't be surprised when the world around you thinks your allegiance to Christ
is odd.
-
Peter is referring both to Jews and Gentiles who had looked upon the claims of
Christ and considered them insane. But that isn't God's opinion. Jesus is
chosen by God and precious!
-
God's choosing of Christ and His opinion of Christ is what matters! Be sure
that you remember that! This world's opinion is based upon it's own faulty and
ever changing knowledge!
-
Second, Christ is the foundation stone from which the entire body has it's
being.
-
He is the Living Stone and we are also living stones! We are pieces of His
body, which God is uniting to form something greater than ourselves.
-
God is establishing a new kind of temple through us! More than a building which
houses the presence of the Lord, His Holy Spirit dwells in us and works through
us as His priests!
-
There isn't a specific place on Earth where a person has to come to meet with
God. God meets with them through a people, you and I!
-
Today, like the priests of the Levitical system, we bring God our sacrifices of
praise and thanksgiving for what the Lord has done for us!
-
This is why Isaiah 28:16 says that
God has laid a Chief Cornerstone in Zion! Those that believe upon Him will
never be put to shame!
-
The world will not understand our faith and it will never applaud our service
to Him, but we will one day be vindicated for our belief in Him! Verse 7.
• I Peter 2:7,8 : "Therefore, to you who believe, He is
precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the
builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone,' and 'A stone of
stumbling and a rock of offense.' They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they
also were appointed." : You see what effect the
Lord has had in your life? What is there to be ashamed of?
- To us, He is precious, honorable, valuable.
Sadly, while He is that in Himself whether we consider Him so or not, those
that are disobedient have a different attitude.
- Peter continues to consider the Old Testament
theme of the Cornerstone, this time referencing Psalm 118:22.
- There is a legend that is connected to this
verse regarding the initial building of the Temple.
- Stones were pre-cut at a nearby quarry and
delivered to the Temple site.
- Somehow, the cornerstone, the stone by which
all other stones were measured, was set aside by the builders of the Temple and
thought to be defective.
- Consequently, they were unable to fit the
other stones together until they actually placed the cornerstone properly. Only
then, did the pieces fit!
- Unfortunately, this is what every life
experiences that rejects Christ. They try to make their life fit with any other
stone, only to discover that unless Jesus is in His proper place, it won't
work!
- The builders, in this case, the Jewish
nation, had rejected Christ, but when He rose, it was clear that their Messiah
had come! Instead of the prized stone that He is, to them, He is an obstacle.
- That is how the Jewish nation and any other
non-believers consider Christ! He's an obstacle in their way, a rock which is
offensive, literally a scandalous thing!
- The word refers to a trap that is triggered
by a movable stick. Peter quoting Isaiah
8:14, is telling us that when God's people would rejected their Messiah, He
became an obstacle.
- They stumble because they will not obey the
word regarding Christ, their greater Moses and David! Peter tells us that this
is what they were appointed to.
- Now, this obviously does not refer to every
Jew or every Gentile. When a person, regardless of race, considers Christ and
subsequently rejects Him, they are appointed to stumbling and a trap!
- None of the New Testament writers are Anti-Semitic,
especially since all except one is of Jewish descent!
- Rather the warning persists: If you reject
Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are destined to stumble and fall throughout
life and if you die in that condition, it has eternal consequence!
- We are living stones, a part of that living
stone, that exist to testify to the reality of our God, by showing the world
that life only works when Christ takes His proper place.
- Peter offers us a third illustration
beginning in verse 9. We are a
"royal priesthood!"
• I Peter
2:9,10 : "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who
called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are
now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." : Peter is applying a phrase which Moses was to speak to the
people of Israel in Exodus 19:5,6.
• Exodus
19:5,6 : "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My
covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all
the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.'" : Those that would obey the voice of the Lord, the ones that
would keep His covenant, would represent Him.
- Notice the connection. Peter is addressing
those that had come to the Lord in belief (v.4-6), that have come to value Christ, even though the builders
rejected Him. (v.7,8)
- Earlier in the epistle, Peter had called his
listeners the "elect of God." These then are people who are in a
covenant relationship with the Lord. They have obeyed Him!
- There are those in certain camps who believe
that there is a discontinuity in the Bible, that Israel was saved by keeping
the Law, and that Christians are saved by believing in Christ!
- That is not the case at all! The Old
Testament saints believed forward in Christ, their Savior and Redeemer.
Christians are saved by believing backward in the Christ who fulfilled
scripture.
- All are saved by obeying His voice! And all
believers are members of this chosen generation, this royal priesthood, a holy
nation and His own special people!
- God has selected a people from all races, who
are obedient to His voice! These people are a collection of priests. They are
holy people who act as "go-betweens."
- A Priest represents God's commands to other
people and at the same time, they represent people before their God! Is this
not your experience?
- There are those that you love, that you are
trying to communicate the gospel to! There are also those that are saved, that
you are attempting to share the word with.
- You are representing God's interests in their
lives and when they are slow to receive, you bear them before the Lord in
prayer! "Lord, please reach or teach them!"
- That is what it means to be a part of the
Lord's royal priesthood! We are also a part of His holy nation, literally a
holy people!
- If our "religious affiliation" is
known by our priesthood, then our familial affiliation is known by our being a
people. What is the difference?
- Our priesthood represents our responsibility
in this life, regardless of where we are planted. Our "nationality"
refers to the way in which we live this world!
- We are a people that are joined together by
the blood of Christ, united under the principles found in His Word and guided
by His Holy Spirit. Our "way" of life is set before us!
- This makes us His special people. The word
speaks to "aquisition." We are owned by Him! Why is this the case? We
have become His possession that we might bring Him praise!
- Our praise of Him is directly related to what
He has done for us. He has called us out of darkness and into marvelous light!
- When a person considered darkness in ancient
times, it was symbolic of confusion, danger and uncertainty, whereas the light
spoke of safety and security.
- God reached into the darkness of our minds
and caused us to respond to Him, as He brought us into a new position with Him,
who is the Light! To us, the light is marvelous, not terrifying!
- He brought us into a secure and abiding
relationship with Himself and He joined us together with people that have
experienced the same story!
- We weren't anything before He met us. Now, we
are a people that is ruled by His mercy! No wonder we are a people of praise!
Verse 11 begins our final portrait
as "Honorable Pilgrims."
• I Peter
2:11,12 : "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly
lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they
speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they
observe, glorify God in the day of visitation." : Peter makes an
impassioned plea! This is a continual request from the Apostle's heart.
- You are strangers and pilgrims in this land.
Therefore, abstain from fleshly lusts. This might sound like this to us: As
long as you are here, always keep your flesh in check!
- As far as I can tell, the word
"war" comes from the strategic command post, where the plans for war
are made and assigned. Your flesh will always be planning to usurp your mind's
control.
- Your flesh always wages war against your
soul! It is never conquered. It is never negotiated with. Our flesh is either
subject to us or it is seeking to take us over!
- Why is it important to conquer our flesh? So
that our conduct will be considered honorable among the Gentiles. Have you ever
heard someone say, "Who cares what other people think?"
- That person has not understood this passage!
We are to conduct ourselves in such a way as to leave a good impression upon
the nations that surround us!
- Like it or not, the reality is that being a
Christian means that you live with a target on your back! The world is watching
you to see if Christianity is true!
- Show them that you are honorable. It will be
the best defense of your character when they speak evil of you! Your good works
will be unavoidable evidence to the contrary!
- This will lead them to honestly say of God
that He is real! It could even lead to their salvation when God visits them.
Verse 13.
• I Peter
2:13-17 : "Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the
Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who
are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who
do good. For this
is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of
foolish men—as
free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the
brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king." :
On this account, with the testimony of the unbelieving world at stake, Peter
commands them to order themselves behind every ordinance of man.
- Don't do this because you enjoy it or because
you benefit from it. Do it for the Lord's sake! Obey every supreme ruler and
every local government.
- These are the instruments of the King to
enforce the law, punishing the wicked and praising the innocent! Peter is
echoing Paul's exact sentiment from Romans
13:1-5!
- What is interesting here is the kind of
government that Peter is telling them to submit to. He is not calling for their
government's overthrow. He is calling them to be model citizens!
- This is God's will for all of us! When we are
known for every good work, our behavior serves as a muzzle to those that would
accuse us!
- We are free in Christ, but we are never to
use our freedom as a cover up for evil. We are to use our freedoms in order to
be slaves of God!
- With that respect, everyone that we come into
contact with deserves our respect. We are to treat anyone, regardless of race,
social status, gender identification, with all genuine respect!
- Whether they know it or not, they are made in
the image of God and as much as is possible, it is our intent to treat them as
we have been treated!
- As long as I live though, my preference, my
duty bound love will be reserved for those who love the Lord!
- In everything, you and I are to reverence the
Lord God and as much as it depends upon me, I will honor our highest rulers.
Conclusion
- Peter gives
us four portraits of the Christian life that best serve His interests in this
life. Do these look like you?
- Peter
describes us as "Newborn Babes,"
harmless to others and hungry for His Word. We are "Living Stones," connected to Christ in order to testify that
life doesn't fit without Him.
- We are a
"Royal Priesthood," set
aside to proclaim God's praise for calling us into light. Finally, we are to be
"Honorable Pilgrims,"
whose behavior in this world is our best defense.
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