But Now! Series

I. THEIR STUMBLING

Jesus is the cornerstone of God’s temple, Peter cites Isaiah 28:16 therefore thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation.” Eschatological (end-time) honor belongs to believers, but unbelievers will find the prophecy from Psalms 118:22 fulfilled The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. The stone the builders repudiated is the foundation of God’s temple, His new people. In stumbling, unbelievers fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah 8:13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken, where the stone that God has established becomes the means of their falling. Their stumbling, however, is their own fault, for they are tripped up because of their refusal to obey the "word' of the gospel. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. Peter teaches that God appoints all that will occur (Ephesians 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory). In teaching this, Peter does not deny human responsibility, for he emphasizes that people are guilty if they fail to believe (they "stumble because they disobey").

II. OUR STANDING

- We are called a “chosen generation” and this term has to do with the glorious truth that God reached into the teeming masses of lost humanity and chose a people for Himself. When the Lord called Abraham, the Hebrew race of people was born. A race that had never existed came into being. The same thing is true about believers. We are a distinct people! That is the reason why the world does not understand us. This is the reason why we are strangers in this strange world!

- We are called a “royal priesthood”. When we were lost, we were totally separated from God. BUT Now, in Jesus, we have been brought “nigh” to God by the blood of Christ, Ephesians 2:13. We do not need another priest for our Mediator, 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, He has broken down all the barriers that once stood between us and God, Ephesians 2:14. We can come into the presence of the Lord and we now have instant access to the Throne of Grace, Hebrews 4:16.

- We are called a “holy nation”. God, in Christ Jesus, has produced a change in us that now allows us to be what we never could have been before: holy! You see, lost men can do no good! They have no spiritual good in them, Romans 3:12. However, when a person is saved, they are given a new nature, 2 Peter 1:4 and must be holy! This is set apart! This is sanctified! God said, 1 Peter 1:16 “it is written, be ye Holy for I Am Holy!”

- We are called a “peculiar people”. The meaning of the word “peculiar” is of “a purchased possession, a unique possession, some of rare beauty and of a priceless nature.” In time past we were not worthy, BUT NOW GOD DECLARED us worthy! God!... considered you worthy to pay your ransom!

III. HIS SAVING

Illus: As a story goes, a man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eagle hatched with the chicks and all his life, he did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and clucked like the chickens. Years passed and the eagle grew old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among powerful wind currents. The old eagle looked up in awe. 'What is that?’ he asked. 'That's the eagle, the king of the birds," said his neighbor. 'He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was. Peter lets us know that we may have been that THEN, BUT NOW…!