CORNERSTONE LIVING
Text: I Peter 2:1 - 10
Mark Twain is quoted as saying , “Most people are bothered by those passages in the Bible which they cannot understand; but as for me, I always notice that the passages of Scripture which trouble me the most are those which I do understand”. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie. ed. Mastering the New Testament: James, 1 & 2 Peter; and Jude. Paul A. Cedar. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1984, p. 134). I am inclined to agree with Mark Twain because it is the passages of Scripture that are clear that can be the most alarming when we fail to live up to what God’s Word requires. Our text for today, I Peter 2: 1- 10 is one of those kinds of Scriptures. We read what it says but at the same time we struggle with living up to what is required of us! What is this Scripture telling us that we must do? What is the first step to living the way that God intended for us to live as we ought to live as Christians?
THE PROBLEMS OF UNHOLY LIVING
What do you think the problems of unholy living might be? 1) Our list: We could all come up with a list. What would our list of things look like? 2) Augustine’s list: Augustine who was one of the fathers of the early church had something had list that was based on his own personal experience. Augustine’s list would was based on his own 20/20 hindsight. We all know that God created us all with a free will. A) St. Augustine would have told us that you can use your free will to pursue your own agenda. B) But, he would also would have told us that we are “… restless until we find our rest in God”. (Confessions). c) A third thing that St. Augustine would have told us is that there are “… two wills and that each one possesses what the other one lacks”. (Confessions). Again, St. Augustine would have known because he used his God-given free-will to rebel against God. Augustine would have told us that unholy living always proves to be an exercise that ends in futility.
Peter gave us his list of things that lead to unholy living. 1) Peter’s list: Look at Peter’s list: a) malice (a desire to do harm); b) and all guile (sly and deceitful); c) insincerity (hypocrisy and artificial); d) envy (Jealous of another’s success or good fortune); e) and all slander (false testimony that defames the character of another). 2) Hindrances: Matthew Henry once said that “all of the things on this list combine to hinder our profiting by the word of God.” (Matthew Henry. A Commentary On The Whole Bible. Volume 6. Iowa Falls: World Bible Publishers, no date listed, p. 1014). He also said that these are the “sins … [that] destroy charity [love], hinder the efficacy [effectiveness] of the word, and consequently prevent our regeneration.” (p. 1013). 3) Tainted love: Satan uses all of the things in Peter’s list to taint---pollute our love for God as well as our love for our neighbors. The Sadducees and the Pharisees once conspired together to ask Jesus which was the greatest commandment in the law. Jesus answered Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Jesus then said the second commandment was like the first one he mentioned. “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”. Jesus said that “all of the law and the prophets hang on those two commandments” (Matthew 22:34 -40 quoted and paraphrased). How often do any of the things on Peter’s list catch us off guard? Every day we see the things on Peter’s list in daily living---in our behavior or in the behavior of others. There can be no question that the things in Peter’s list lead to unholy living because they pollute the way our love should be for both God and our neighbor! That is why we must rid ourselves of these things on Peter’s list!
CORNERSTONE LIVING
What did Peter mean when he was talking about living stones and the Living Stone? 1) Connections: When Peter said come to the “living stone” and be like “living stones” (I Peter 2:4 –5) he was talking about how Christians are connected to Jesus Christ the solid rock (Matthew 7:24). 2) Calling: Is it possible that Peter was also recalling when Jesus told him that he would be that Peter was the rock on which he would build his church? (Matthew 16:18). 3) Construction: Is it possible that Peter was also talking about how God builds His kingdom with people from all walks of life? When Jesus told the parable about the net He told us “… the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish” (Matthew 13:47).
The original audience of this letter were people who were disconnected. 1) Against the odds: They were what we might call misfits. As some (Walter Brueggemann, Charles B. Cousar, Beverly R. Gaventa and James D. Newsome) have pointed out how God took those who were “displaced and dispossessed socially, religiously, economically and politically and gave them a place where they did not have a place before”. (Walter Brueggemann,Charles B. Cousar, Beverly R. Gaventa and James D. Newsome. Texts For Preaching: Year A. Louisville; Westminster John Knox Press, 1995, p. 296). 2) God’s assembly: God has always been in the business of giving a place to those who had no place! (I Peter 2:10). God is still giving a place to people who otherwise would not have a place today! 3) With God all things are possible: Have you ever seen a house that was made of stones? Have you ever wondered how all those odd shapes fit together so well? It is because the builders had to carefully fit those odd shapes together. Bricks are easier to work with because they are usually one size and shape. Spartanburg Methodist College and Duke University are campuses that have buildings that are built out of different size stones. I mention this because I was once a student at both of those schools. Only God can unite us together in spite of diversity!
How many times does Peter mention our priesthood in this passage of scripture? 1) Purpose: Peter mentions our priesthood twice. Peter tells us that we are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1Peter 2:5). As God’s priests to the world, we have an awesome responsibility---an awesome evangelistic responsibility. 2) Place: Until people find the place That God wants them to have, they might wander trying to find their purpose. 3) Stumble-proof: Jesus is the stone that unbelievers stumble over and the solid rock that Christians build upon in harmony with God’s design because unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers will labor in vain (Psalm 127:1) while working for bread that will not satisfy (Isaiah 55: ). 4) Sacrifices: God wants us to live to be holy as God Himself is holy. So what does it mean when we say “cornerstone living”? God wants us to participate in our role in the priesthood of all believers offering sacrifices (I Peter 2:5) that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ!
How well do we live up to living a “corner-stone life” ---- a life that is harmony with the way God wants us to love? Like Mark Twain (a.k.a. Samuel Clemmons) once said do we find that the passages of Scripture which trouble us the most are those which we do understand?” Corner-stone living does not happen by default. We have to remember that neither our witness nor our study of the Bible---the pure spiritual milk that helps us grow up in our salvation happens by default! If we do not practice our corner-stone living, the will we no t trip over the cornerstone ourselves? God wants us to live our lives in such a way that we lead others to the cornerstone rather than become the blind who lead other blind people astray!
