God’s Chosen
Text: 1 Pet. 1:1-2
Introduction
1. Illustration: A pastor finally gets an opportunity to speak at a large community association gathering. He feels rather proud that he was asked, so he refuses the check saying that "he felt special enough by being chosen" and that the check should go to a better cause.
Reluctantly, the person giving the check did say that they had a special fund that this money could be used for. When the pastor inquired further about this special fund, the person said, "It’s so that we can get a better speaker next year."
2. The central message of First Peter is that Christians, God’s chosen, are special and precious to God.
3. As God’s chosen we must understand:
a. We are in the world, but not of the world
b. We are hand picked
c. We are set apart
d. We are people who obey
e. We experience grace
4. Read 1 Pet. 1:1-2
Proposition: As Christians, we are God’s chosen people.
Transition: As God’s chosen people we must understand that...
I. We Are In the World, But Not of the World (1)
A. Pilgrims
1. Peter writes this letter to "the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia."
a. Some translations use the term "strangers," however, "pilgrims" gives us a better understanding of what Peter is trying to say.
b. First of all, the modern understanding of word "stranger" carries with it the idea of being weird, and God has not called us to weird.
c. Secondly, the word that Peter uses here word means pilgrim, sojourner, visitor, or exile.
d. The idea is that of a person visiting a place for a while, but he is not a permanent resident.
2. As Christians we are not citizens of our state or nation, but citizens of heaven.
a. Phil. 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
b. This world is not our home, but heaven is our home.
c. We are only here temporarily; we are destined for a better place.
3. We are only pilgrims on earth.
a. We shall soon be called to go home—to go to our permanent home in heaven and be there forever and ever.
b. And there shall be no hunger or poverty or suffering or hardship in heaven.
c. Heb. 13:14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.
B. Not Our Home
1. Illustration: The Christian artist, Larry Norman, in his song Readers Digest said, "What a mess the world is in, I wonder who began it. Don’t ask me, I’m only visiting this planet. This world is not my home. I’m just passing through."
2. We live in this world only temporarily; we just passing through.
3. We must understand that we are like Abraham; we are pilgrims in a foreign land.
a. Heb. 11:9-10 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
b. We were not made for this world, but we were made for the New Jerusalem.
4. However, we must also understand that because our time on earth here is short, we must make the most of our time here.
a. God has not sent us here permanently, but he has sent us here for a reason.
b. As long as we are here we must be about the Father’s business.
c. We must be faithful witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Transition: Life is short, so seize the day!
II. We Are Hand Picked (2)
A. Elect
1. Peter tells us that we are "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father."
a. The word elect means "to be chosen by God; separated or set apart.—Practical Word Studies in the New Testament
b. We have been hand picked by God.
c. God called believers out of the world and away from the old life it offered, the old life of sin and death.
2. There has been much disagreement and debate in the church over the years about the concept of the elect of God.
a. Being “chosen” does not remove the necessity for people to choose to follow him.
b. The fact that God knows all events and decisions beforehand, even ordains them beforehand, does not mean that he forces the actions of his creatures, leaving them no choice.
c. God took the initiative and chose people before they had done anything to deserve it.—Life Application Concise New Testament Commentary
3. Notice how we are chosen "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father."
a. The word "foreknowledge" means to see before; to know beforehand; to see and know the future.
b. God is God; therefore He sees the future.
c. No matter how far a person looks into the future, God sees it.
4. God knows...
a. Exactly what will happen, every single event and its consequences.
b. Exactly what could happen, every single possibility and its consequences.
B. Chosen
1. Illustration: In this year’s NFL draft, quarterback Brady Quinn was expected by many to go within the top three picks. However, he dropped all the way down to pick twenty-two, where he was chosen by the Cleveland Browns. This is the team he wanted to pick him all along.
2. We have chosen and elected by God to be His holy people.
3. John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
4. We were chosen to:
a. Holy
b. Bear Fruit
c. Make a difference
Transition: Thirdly...
III. We Are Set Apart (2)
A. Sanctification of the Spirit
1. One of the things we were sanctified for is the "sanctification of the Spirit."
a. To be sanctified means to be set apart unto God; to be made holy, pure and righteous unto God.
b. Before a person can come to God, he must be attracted and pulled to God—convicted that he should turn to God.
c. He must be convicted that he needs the forgiveness and acceptance of God.
d. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.
2. The Spirit comes to the chosen people to make them holy, meaning that God sees his children as holy because they have been cleaned by his Son’s shed blood.
a. But believers also are becoming holy as they learn to live for God.
b. This is called “sanctification”—the process of Christian growth through which the Holy Spirit makes us like Christ.—Life Application Concise New Testament Commentary
3. The most important thing to remember about sanctification is that it is a process and not an event.
a. Many people misunderstand this and it keeps them from God.
b. They say "I have to get my act together first, and then I’ll come to God."
c. However, that isn’t how it works. We come to God just as we are and He changes us.
d. It is a process; not an event.
B. Holiness
1. Illustration: "Sanctification is the work of Christ in me, the sign that I am no longer independent, but completely dependent on Him." Oswald Chambers
2. We can often get discouraged in our Christian life because we compare ourselves to other Christians, and we think that if our lives don’t match up to them so we get discouraged and give up.
3. We need to understand a few things about sanctification.
a. It’s the Holy Spirit’s work and not ours.
b. It is a gradual process; it doesn’t happen over night.
c. We need to remember the phrase "Be patient with me; God isn’t finished with me yet."
Transition: Fourthly...
IV. We Are People Who Obey (2)
A. For Obedience
1. Peter says that we are sanctified "for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."
2. The only kind of faith that really saves a person is the kind of faith that is obedient, that diligently seeks God.
a. Believing faith is obedient faith.
b. A person who really believes in Christ, who really trusts the blood of Christ to cover his transgressions, obeys Christ.
3. The very end or purpose of sanctification is that we might be obedient to God.
a. The one thing God wants is obedience—obedient children—the very same thing that any good father wants.
b. God wants us to follow His Word and its instructions.
4. It does not matter what a person may be professing; it does not matter to which church or religion a person may belong.
a. What matters is obedience: is the person obeying God?
b. We have been chosen by God so that we may be obedient, that is, so that we may respond to the demand of the gospel and become children of obedience and pure children of God (McKnight, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: 1 Peter, 54).
B. Better Than Sacrifice
1. Illustration: One question that is often asked to challenge believers to live out their faith is the question that asks, “Would you obey God even if nobody was watching?” That’s a good question to ask, but that circumstance is technically impossible. There is no place anyone can go where “nobody is watching.” You are always in God’s presence.
- Mike Leiter
2. 1 Sam. 15:22 Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
3. God has not called us to question; He has called us to obey.
4. When God calls us to do something:
a. We don’t have to consider it
b. We don’t have to think about
c. We don’t have to investigate it
d. We have to do it!
Transition: There is no gray area in "thus says the Lord!"
V. We Experience Grace (2)
A. Grace to You
1. Peter ends this benediction with "Grace to you and peace be multiplied."
2. Grace means the undeserved favor and blessings of God.
a. The word undeserved is the key to understanding grace.
b. Man does not deserve God’s favor; he cannot earn God’s approval and blessings.
c. God is too high and man is too low for man to deserve anything from God.
3. Peter also prays that peace would be multiplied to them.
a. Peace means to be assured, confident, and secure in the love and care of God.
b. Peter is writing to a church that has been persecuted and scattered because of their faith.
c. Here he tells them that they can have peace because God would love and care for them.
d. That’s why he can say in 1 Pet. 5:7 "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."
B. How Sweet the Sound
1. Illustration: Our worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.
2. As God’s chosen we are:
a. Saved by grace
b. Accepted by grace
c. Exist by grace
3. The problem is we don’t always live by grace.
a. We expect others to give it to us, but we are not always willing to give it to them.
b. We expect to be extended grace for our failures, but we neglect to bestow it when others failures become obvious.
4. Grace is not just a gift we receive, but it is also a gift we give.
Conclusion
1. As God’s chosen:
a. We are in the world, but not of the world
b. We are hand picked
c. We are set apart
d. We are people who obey
e. We experience grace
2. We are God’s chosen. The question is what will we do with it?
a. Will we live to make a difference in the world?
b. Will we live lives of faith?
c. Will we live lives of obedience?
d. Will we live lives of grace?
3. Remember, to whom much has been given, much will be demanded.
