Reading: 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 1-10.
Ill:
• A reporter was interviewing an old man on his 100th birthday.
• "What are you most proud of?" he asked him.
• "Well, " said the man, "I don’t have an enemy in the world."
• "What a beautiful thought! How inspirational!" said the reporter.
• "Yep," added the centenarian,
• "I’ve outlived every last one of them."
Ill:
• Every form of life has its enemies;
• Insects have to watch out for hungry birds,
• Birds must look out for cats,
• Cats must look out for dogs etc
• We humans have our enemies;
• We are constantly fighting germs which cause infections and disease
The Christian too has his enemies:
• One of those is what the Bible calls ‘sin’.
• Verse 1 starts this passage by mentioning five sins, enemies to avoid.
Ill:
• A party of school children were being showed around a hospital;
• And the nurse who was giving them a tour round asked if anyone had any questions;
• One child asked,
• "How come the people who work here are always washing their hands?"
The nurse gave the answer;
"They are ’always washing their hands’ for two reasons.
First they love health; and second, they hate germs".
I AM GOING TO DIVIDE THESE VERSES UNDER 4 HEADINGS:
(A). Children in the same family (vs 1-3):
“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good”.
When a person becomes a Christian they are ‘born again’:
• They become the children who are not only related to God;
• But also to the other members of his family.
• When you were born physically you were born immature;
• You had to grow through various stages to become mature (ill: childhood, teenager etc)
• Spiritually that is also true, no-one is born mature, that is the complete package;
• All of us were reborn as spiritual babies and must learn to grow up.
Ill:
• With physical birth; if a baby is healthy and feeds on the right things (i.e. milk);
• It will automatically grow into a healthy child.
• Spiritual parallel there;
• Every Christian also needs to feed on healthy, nutritious food.
In verses 1-3 Peter gives us two principles to help us grow as Christians:
• Verse 1: What to avoid,
• Verse 2-3: What to crave.
Ill:
• When you and I have a meal, we have a choice.
• We can eat junk food or we can healthy.
• Our physical and mental health will be affected by that choice;
• A diet of constant junk food into our bodies will result in us becoming unhealthy.
• But if we feed our body on good healthy, nutritious food;
• Then that too will also produce visible results.
There is of course a spiritual parallel to that illustration:
• As Christians what we allow into our hearts and minds;
• Will also affect our spiritual health.
• So Peter tells us two important principles at the start of this chapter.
• Verse 1: What to avoid if we want to be spiritually healthy.
• Verse 2: What to crave if we want to be spiritually healthy.
(1). What to avoid (verse 1)
“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy,
and slander of every kind”.
• There are five unhealthy traits that Peter outlines for us in this verse;
• They all refer to the way we treat other people.
• They are not just ’personal’ sins that affect only our lives;
• They are sins that have an effect on others.
Peter’s instruction in this verse is very simple:
• He says; ‘rid yourselves’ of these sins:
• Notice he is placing the responsibility on us and not on God!
Quote: Eleanor Roosevelt:
“One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words.
It is expressed in the choices one makes.
In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves.
The process never ends until we die.
And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.”
Ill:
Our lives have been described like a garden:
• In which we choose whether we allow weeds and stones to dominate;
• Or whether we want plants and beautiful flowers to flourish.
THE POINT PETER IS MAKING FROM VERSE 1 IS SIMPLE:
• We must make the right choices if we want to be spiritually healthy,
• There must be a turning from what is wrong to a turning to what is right.
(2). What to crave (verse 2-3)
“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good”.
The importance of the Bible is emphasised throughout this letter:
• His readers have already have heard the word (chapter 1 verse 25b):
• “This is the word that was preached to you”.
• And they have responded obediently to it (chapter 1 verse 22):
• “You have purified yourselves by obeying the truth”.
• So far so good says Peter;
• The next step is to go on, or rather GROW ON into maturity.
Ill:
• Peter uses this illustration of a newborn baby:
• Newborn babies of course display real craving for milk:
Ill:
• Kathy at Christmas had as a present baby Annabel.
• It’s a doll that makes noises from both ends and does a whole lot more.
• For us Boxing day was like having a new born baby in the house again;
• There was the constant sound of urgent crying,
• Which only died down and went quiet;
• When she had her dummy or more importantly her bottle of milk!
• All healthy new born babies crave milk;
• And the amount of noise they make until they get it, can be quite incredible!
Unlike baby Annabel (who is only a doll):
• The vast majority of newborn babies also put on weight quite rapidly from birth:
• With good appetites and a healthy intake, growth and development are natural!
• A healthy baby will grow and eventually progress;
• From milk to meat, from liquids to solids.
Peter tells us here in this verse that there is a spiritual parallel:
• As Christians we should have a desire for God’s word;
• Like a new born baby craves milk.
• The result desiring God’s word;
• Is that it leads not just to better knowledge, information regarding the truth,
• God does not want us to become more informed sinners;
• But more mature Christians.
• So the purpose of the word of God is to create greater growth.
• “So that by it you may GROW UP in your salvation”.
Question: What is our motivation for being growing Christians?
Answer:
• In verse 3 Peter tells us, he reminds his readers of there first experience of God.
• When they first trusted Christ, & when they ‘tasted & discovered that the Lord is good’.
Ill:
• When you go out to a restaurant to enjoy a meal, if the starter is tasty;
• The likelihood is that our appetites will be whetted for the main course.
• Likewise, those who have had an initial ’taster’ of God’s goodness in the gospel;
• Should want to experience more as they grow in Christ.
• The first step is to ’Taste and see that the Lord is good’ (Psalm 34 verse 8).
• Everything else flows out from that!
(2). stones in the same building (vs 4-8)
“As you come to him, the living Stone–rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him– 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”[a] 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,[b]”[c] 8and, “A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”[d] They stumble because they disobey the message–which is also what they were destined for”.
Ill:
• Each year it is visited by thousands of tourists.
• It is one of the most famous constructions in the world.
• It is 179 feet tall but………… the builders only used 10 feet of foundations.
• As a result of their folly the Tower of Pisa has become well known around the world.
Just as a building is only as good as its foundations:
• So the status of a Christian depends entirely on the status of Christ.
• For we are joined with him.
• Ill: He is the head and we are the body.
• Ill: He is the vine and we are the branches.
• Ill: He is the foundation and we are the building.
Ill:
• Remember that Peter started out in life as Simon;
• It was Jesus who gave him his new name ‘Peter’, which means ‘rock’.
• And in chapter 1 verse 1 this is the apostolic name he used for himself;
• ‘Peter’ which means ‘rock’.
• But notice in these verses;
• He is not pointing his readers to himself as the rock;
• He is pointing very clearly to Jesus Christ who he calls;
• ‘The chosen and precious cornerstone’.
Peter is actually quoting from the Old Testament book of Isaiah (chapter 28 verse 16):
• In that chapter the princes of Jerusalem were building on their own foolish foundation;
• In their pride they foolishly supposed that their city was secure against invasion.
• But God tells them through Isaiah, that their pride, their way is no refuge at all.
• Only one structure can stand against the storm of destruction.
• That is God’s building;
• Established upon one sure foundation.
Notice:
• What Peter calls Jesus in verse 6:
• He is ‘the precious’ and ‘chief’ or ‘ tested cornerstone’.
• Remove from your minds the idea of a ornamental topstone;
• On the coping of a building or surrounding columns.
A foundational cornerstone is precious because it is labour-intensive in selection and preparation.
• It would be the first stone to be put in place.
• Since both angles of the walls & the level of the stone courses would be extended from it,
• The corner stone must be square and true.
Peter also calls Jesus the ‘living stone’:
• Unlike the precious foundational stones used in the temple;
• This stone is alive! He is a living person! The resurrected Christ!
Peter not only quoted Isaiah chapter 28 verse 16 but also Psalm 118 verse 22:
• These quotes remind us that this stone that God chose;
• Was rejected by men.
• Men rejected God’s stone; they thought him to be unsuitable.
• He was not what they wanted.
• To the proud religious leaders of Jesus’ day;
• Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they were expecting,
• And so instead of being a foundation for them;
• He became a hindrance and they stumbled over Him.
Ill:
• When Jesus debated with the Jewish leaders he quoted these scriptures to them;
• (Matthew chapter 21 verse 42 and Psalm 118 verse 22).
• He warned then that though they might rejected him;
• God would exalt him!
NOW HERE IS AN INCREDIBLE THING:
• Peter spells out for us in these verses;
• The wonder of God’s goodness.
• The delight that the Father has in his Son;
• Is given to us!
(a). We are precious:
• Verses 4, 6 & 7 tells us Christ is precious to God the Father.
• Verses 9-10 demonstrate the fact we too are precious to God.
(b). We are stones.
• Verses 4, 6,7 & 8 refer to Jesus Christ as a stone (capstone).
• Verses 5 says we too are stones in the house of God.
(c). Not just stones but ‘living’ stones.
• Verse 4: Christ is the living stone.
• Verse 5: We too are described as living stones.
BELIEVERS ARE LIVING STONES IN HIS BUILDING.
Ill:
• Some Christians today may call a local church building the "house of God,"
• But if you want to be pedantic, that is not strictly true!
• What Christians mean by call a local church building the "house of God," is:
• The building is dedicated to God and His service,
• But it is not His dwelling place.
• God does not live there.
• The New Testament clearly tells us in verses like Acts chapter 7 verses 46-50:
• That ‘God does not live in temples, buildings, dwellings made with hands’.
The New Testament teaches that the dwelling place of God is twofold.
• God the Father & God the Son are enthroned in heaven.
• God the Holy Spirit dwells, tabernacles in the hearts and minds of every Christian.
• The true building or temple is Christ’s body, the Church;
• ill: Tyndale: congregation.
Quote: Warren Wiersbe:
“Each time someone trusts Christ, another stone is quarried out of the pit of sin and cemented by grace into the building.”
• Peter wrote this letter to believers living in five different provinces,
• Yet he said that they all belonged to ONE "spiritual house."
• There is a unity of God’s people;
• That transcends all local and individual assemblies and fellowships.
• Unity does not eliminate diversity.
• Not all children in a family are alike, nor are all the stones in a building identical.
• In fact, it is diversity that gives beauty and richness to a family or building.
• The absence of diversity is not unity; it is uniformity, and uniformity is dull.
• God may call us into different ministries, or to use different methods,
• But we can still love each other and seek to present a united witness to the world.
Quote: St. Augustine said it perfectly:
"In essentials, unity. In nonessentials, liberty. In all things, charity."
• Peter reminds us that we belong to each other;
• Because we belong to Christ!
Clearly that also means that Christianity is community;
• The individual Christian finds his true place only when he is part of the building.
• "Solitary religion" is ruled out as an impossibility.
Ill:
• So long as a brick lies by itself it is useless;
• It becomes of use only when it is incorporated into a building.
• So it is with the individual Christian.
• To realize his destiny he must not remain alone, But must be built into the fabric of the Church.
Ill:
• There is a famous story from Sparta.
• A Spartan king boasted to a visiting monarch about the walls of Sparta.
• The visiting monarch looked around and could see no walls.
• He said to the Spartan king, "Where are these walls about which you boast so much?"
• His host pointed at his bodyguard of magnificent troops.
• "These," he said, "are the walls of Sparta, every man a brick."
The point is clear.
• Suppose that in time of war a man says,
• "I wish to serve my country and to defend her from her enemies."
• If he tries to carry out that resolution alone,
• He can accomplish nothing.
• He can be effective in that purpose;
• Only by standing shoulder to shoulder with others of like mind.
• So too with the Church. Individualistic Christianity is an absurdity;
• Christianity is community to be practiced & lived within the fellowship of the Church.
(3). We are priests in the same temple
(verses 5 and 9)
5”you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”.
PETER EMPHASISES TWO THINGS TO US IN THESE VERSES:
• Our status.
• Our ministry.
(1st). He describes our status, our standing before God:
• We are a spiritual house and a holy priesthood.
• He validates that in verse 9-10 by saying:
“We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, the recipients of mercy”
(2nd). Peter describes our ministry.
• Then, after saying who we are,
• Peter tells us what we do.
• We offer spiritual sacrifices that God accepts.
• And he supports that statement in verse 9 by saying:
“We declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light”
ill:
• In the Old Testament the Hebrews, Children of Israel had a priesthood;
• But today, all Christians are God’s priesthood.
• In the Old Testament priests could only come from the tribe of Levi,
• But in the New Testament each individual believer is qualified.
• Each Christian has the privilege of coming into the presence of God;
• (Hebrews chapter 10 verses 19-25).
This means that our lives should be lived as though we were priests in a temple:
• The role of a priest was important;
• They offered up prayers(interceding on behalf of the people.)
• They emphasised the spiritual side of life;
• And they offered up sacrifices.
Ill:
1. In the Old Testament the priests offered animal sacrifices.
But in the New Testament Christians offer "spiritual sacrifices."
2. We ought to give our bodies to Him as living sacrifices;
(Romans chapter 12 verses 1-2),
3. We are to offer him the praise of our lips;
(Hebrews chapter 13 verse 15) ,
4. The good works we do for others are also described as sacrifices;
(Hebrews chapter 13 verse 16).
5. The money and other material things we share with others in God’s service;
Is also described a spiritual sacrifice (Philippians chapter 4 verses10-20).
6. Even the people we win to Christ Paul describes as sacrifices for His glory;
(Romans chapter 15 verse 16).
(4). We are citizens of the same nation
(verses 9-10)
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”;
The description of the church in these verses:
• Parallels God’s description of Israel,
• In the O.T. (Exodus chapter 19 verses 5-6 and Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 6.).
• Sadly, Israel in the Old Testament were a disobedient and rebellious people.
• In contrast God wants his Church to be obedient and holy.
• What Israel failed to be in times past;
• God wants his Church to be in the present and future.
ENJOY THE DESCRIPTIONS OF VERSES 9-10:
(a).
• We are a chosen generation,
• Which immediately speaks of the grace of God.
• God has chosen us purely because of His love and grace.
• "You did not choose Me, but I chose you" (John chapter 15 verse 16).
(b).
• We are a holy nation.
• We have been set apart to belong exclusively to God.
Ill:
• Paul told the Philippians in chapter3 verse 20:
• "Our citizenship," he says, "is in heaven."
• It was a picture his readers could understand.
• Philippi was a Roman colony.
In order to help protect their empire:
• The Romans settled some of their loyal citizens (often army veterans)
• In various cities around their empire.
• The great characteristic of these colonies was that,
• Wherever they were, they remained fragments of Rome.
• Roman dress was worn;
• Roman magistrates governed;
• The Latin tongue was spoken;
• Roman justice was administered;
• Roman morals were observed.
• Even if they were living in the ends of the earth they still remained unshakeably Roman!
Paul says to the Philippians,
"Just as the Roman colonists never forget that they belong to Rome,
as Christians we must never forget that we are citizens of heaven; and your conduct must match your citizenship. "
• So we obey heaven’s laws;
• And seek to please heaven’s Lord.
(c).
• We are the people of God.
• In our unsaved condition, we were not God’s people;
• Because we belonged to Satan and the world (Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1-3, 11-19).
• Now that we have trusted Christ, we are a part of God’s people.
Now all of these privileges carry with them one big responsibility:
• Verse 9b: We are to be revealing the praises of God to a lost world.
• The verb translated “declare” or "show forth" means "to tell out, to advertise."
• Each citizen of heaven is a living "advertisement";
• For the virtues of God and the blessings of the Christian life.
In Summary:
Each of these pictures emphasizes the importance of unity and harmony .
• We belong to one family of God and share the same divine nature.
• We are living stones in one building and priests serving in one temple.
• We are citizens of the same heavenly homeland.
Therefore says Peter:
• Verses 11-12 are his punch line;
• Verses 11-12 are his applicational summary.
• He says in the light of who you are in Christ Jesus;
• You should now live in a certain way.
• But they are verses I was not asked to speak on;
• So go home and think them through for yourselves!
