Living in Harmony - 1 Peter 2a
June 29, 2008
Turn with me this morning to the end of your Bibles, to the book of 1 Peter, chapter 1. We want to continue on in our study of the book of 1 Peter. Remember that Peter is writing to give practical help to Christians dealing with daily problems. He starts by reminding us that we all face trials. They come in all shapes and sizes of trial. Peter says we can expect them to come; so don’t be surprised when they do come. They can be very hard to deal with, but with God’s help, we can make it through. Peter says in spite of the trials in our lives, we are to Live in Hope. Hope is not a futile wishing for a good future, rather hope is the confident expectation that God will work, based upon his character. I can have hope in the midst of trials, Peter tells me, because I am chosen of God - God loved me and elected ME! I am born of God - God not only loved me, but he made me his child. I am destined for good - I have an incorruptible inheritance waiting for me. I am shielded by God’s power - I am completely protected as I face these various trials. Therefore, I can have JOY in the midst of the trials, and I can GROW spiritually.
Last week we saw that God’s call to us today is to Live in Holiness. To do that, Peter calls us to
control our minds, imitate our master, inquire of scripture, anticipate judgment, and confirm our faith. Today we continue on to see the next step. We live in hope, we live in holiness, and we are to Live in Harmony. Look with me as I read from 1 Peter 1:22-25 - Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands for ever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.
Let’s Pray! (prayer)
Peter calls us to holiness - remember this word holiness is really the idea of being “different” than the world - and then he continues on in today’s passage to call us to live in harmony in response to the holy life we live. Peter tells us iv verse 22 HOW we become different, holy - we are purified by “obeying the truth” - by thinking and acting in line with what God’s word teaches. And Peter tells us what will happen to us when we do - we will love one another. We develop a “brotherly love” for each other - we view each other as brother and sister. We develop a “commitment” to one another. At Mildred’s funeral on Friday, one of the ladies there said how beautiful it was to come together and feel such a kinship and love with brothers and sisters in Christ that she had just met. Even though we don’t really know each other, there is a bond of affection between us.
But Peter tells us that that affection is not good enough. Often we want to do just enough good to get by. We don’t want to go overboard, we just want to do enough to make God happy. But Peter says that we don’t just have an “affection” for other Christians -- a brotherly love -- but we need to go on to a deep, godly, sacrificing love. Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. Peter says since you have “phileo” - brotherly love, now you need to go on to have “agape” - deep self-sacrificing love. And he says we are to have this agape love “deeply” or “fervently” - a word which literally means “stretching out the hand.” To really love like God wants us to love, we need to extend a hand to others -- not just to those we like or those who like us - but even to the unlovely. We give of ourselves to meet the needs of others.
Ephesians 4:28 tells us, He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Why do we work? Not just to put food on the table and pay our bills, but so we can help others in need.
Here at Bethel we have been hit with a lot of needs -- several health problems, financial problems, relational problems -- and as a church, we need to show God’s love to one another by coming alongside each other and helping in whatever way we can.
You might say, “I don’t know of any needs” - if so, take the time to ASK others how they are doing. And don’t just take “FINE” for an answer. Ask open-ended questions - “What’s been the most difficult thing for you to deal with this week?” But these type of questions aren’t asked in the two minutes before service on Sunday morning. Maybe God will lead you to invite someone over for ice cream or a movie. Spend time sharing and then pray together. We extend our hands - we give of ourselves to come alongside others and show them God’s love.
But the concept of “stretching out the hand” has another idea to it: to truly show God’s love to others, we will need to “stretch ourselves” - to allow God to take us out of our comfort zones and use us to do things we are not comfortable with, and in the process God helps us to grow spiritually.
This past week of VBS, Sandy Root was our VBS director. And that was a big step of faith for Sandy, for she never did anything like that before. But God helped her do a wonderful job, and Sandy is already starting to think of ideas for next year. Her husband Jason is very shy -- if you ever wonder why he doesn’t talk to you, it’s not that he is unfriendly, he’s just shy -- but Jason stepped out of his comfort zone and spoke in the microphone to be the voice for one of the puppets.
In the same way, when it comes to loving others, God may have to take you out of your comfort zone. It might mean going over to someone’s house who has clothes all over the floor, dog hair all over the couch, and crumbs of food left on the plates. But God can stretch you to show God’s agape unconditional love if you will make yourself available to be stretched.
Peter tells us we have a base level of love, but we need to bump it up to a much higher level, and extend ourselves in loving one another. And he says that love comes from the heart. Don’t try to pretend to love someone, because hypocrisy is easy to spot. If you can’t really say you love someone, that’s okay, just start praying for them and ask God to give you a love for them. Our love comes from our hearts. Prov. 4:23 tells us, Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. We live from our hearts. If God touches your heart, he will have your time, your money, your attention. Allow your heart to love freely.
So, Peter tells us here that because we are different than the world, we are to love in a different way. In the sermon on the mount Jesus taught the very same thing - Luke 6 - If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.
Peter goes on to remind us we have been born again through the word of God, which will endure, so our love for one another should continue to endure as well. And then Peter goes on to talk about our living in harmony. He gives us four word pictures to remind us of the need for harmony in the body of Christ. The first we’ve already seen:
1. We are children in the same family - he has already told us we are like brother and sister. We have been born again by the word of God, by the spirit of God, and we need to learn to get along. Jesus stated this in John 13:35 - By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. How can you show the world you are a Christian - not by going to church or carrying your bible, but by having this self-sacrificing love for one another.
Peter continues on in chapter 2 to warn us how we should act in the family of God. He warns us,
• Don’t be spoiled children - in every family there can be harmony or there can be tension. Tension always arises when one member of the family puts their wishes above the good of the family. A spoiled brat - they want everybody in the family to do what they want. Everything revolves around them.
What does a spoiled Christian look like? Chapter 2, verse 1 - Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Spoiled babies have malice - a general word for all kids of evil, they have deceit - they try to get their own way by craftiness and manipulation, they have hypocrisy - they cover up their sinfulness and try to appear good on the outside - they try to look good before others, they are motivated by envy - wanting what other people have, and when they don’t get what they want, they turn to slander tearing others down by words, by saying untrue things about them.
Peter’s list of sins provides a pretty good description of the trouble makers in churches - focused on self, instead of focused on the good of the church. Attacking those who disagree with them. Manipulating to get their own way. Peter warns us not to be spoiled children, because we are children in the same family.
When these attitudes are present -- and they start as attitudes of the heart -- even though you might not have acted out yet, if the desire for wrong is in your heart, you can be sure that wrong action will follow - right thinking brings right action; sinful thinking brings sinful action. Prov. 23:7 reminds us, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. When these attitudes are present, we lose our appetite for the word of God.
Why is that? Because the word of God will convict us of our sinfulness. And we don’t like to be confronted with our sinfulness. Heb. 4:12 - For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. The word of God gets down to our hearts and points out our sin. So, when we live sinfully, we don’t like to hear what God’s word says. We lose our spiritual appetite. Peter tells us that is just the opposite of what we should want.
He says in verse 2, Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. • We need a passion to grow - we should desire the word of God. When a child gets used to sugar-coated cereal, it is hard to get him to eat things plain. He wants everything to have sugar on it. And there are many Christians who want everything sugar-coated. They want to be entertained. They don’t want to have to work at all - read the bible for themselves, to study, to go through a workbook or devotional book - they just want to be entertained and have their ears scratched.
When you visit our home, our dog Bobby will come and greet you. And if you sit down on the couch, Bobby comes to your feet. He lies down so you can scratch him, and he will sit there as long as you are scratching him or rubbing his tummy. There are a lot of Christians who want their spiritual tummies rubbed.
But Peter says we are going to grow by craving spiritual milk, the word of God. The word of God is like milk, helping us grow; it is like meat, challenging the mature Christian; it is sweet like honey; it sustains like bread. We grow by personally desiring to know and apply and live out the word of God.
When babies drink milk, they often suck in a lot of air, and they ned burped. Often in the church there are a lot of Christians filled with hot air who need to be burped. They need to get rid of the ungodly thoughts and ideas and attitudes so they can digest the good, pure word of God.
Peter calls us to live in harmony, with deep, intense, sacrificial love for one another. Why don’t we have harmony in the body of Christ? Because we have a lot of spiritual babies who have never grown up; they still want their own way.
Peter says we grow up in our salvation by using the word of God. What does it mean to grow up spiritually? Heb. 5:12-14 - You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food. And a person who is living on milk isn’t very far along in the Christian life and doesn’t know much about doing what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right.
We gain spiritual maturity by constantly applying the scriptures to every area of our daily lives. What are you going to do on Friday night? Where do you go? What do you watch? What do you read? How do you deal with a difficult neighbor? How do you resolve family tension? Scripture applies to all areas of life, and we build spiritual maturity by constantly applying scriptures to the problems we wrestle with in life.
So, Peter tells us we live in harmony because we are children in one family. Second,
2. We are stones in the same building - the second word picture Peter gives is that of a building. Verse 4 -
As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.
Each of us is a stone being used to build a spiritual house. What is the house God is building? The church!
Matt. 16:18 - I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. The church, the body of Christ, is a force in this world for righteousness so great that Hell has no power to withstand its attack. But instead of waging a spiritual battle, often the soldiers in Christ’s army are huddled around the campfire. We need to be seeking to join God in building his church! We’ll talk more about that in two weeks, when we consider more about our call as Christians to be faithful in being a witness to those around us.
When you look at a stone building, the stones in the wall come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Unity does not mean uniformity. Being stones in the same building does not mean we all look alike or think alike. In fact, God specifically uses our unique differences for the good of the church. Each of us plays a different role. In Eph. 4:11-16 we see that each of us has a unique gift, and all the gifts blend together for the common good.
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith . . . become mature . . . then we will no longer be infants . . . the whole body . . . grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Each of us has a part to play. In a similar passage in Corinthians, Paul says, The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ . . . In fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be . . . so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
We are to live in harmony because we are in the same family, parts of the same building, and that building grows to become a temple.
3. We are priests in the same temple. The building, the church, is the temple of God where God dwells. Verse 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. In Eph. 2, we find the same image - In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Paul writes to the church at Corinth and tells them, Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
We live in harmony because the church is the temple of God, and God says he personally will destroy anyone who attacks the church of God. God desires unity in the church. Psalms 133:1 - How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! Rom. 12:16 - Live in harmony with one another. Eph. 4:13 - Paul writes that we have been given spiritual gifts to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ. What is the sign of spiritual maturity? It is living in unity and harmony with one another.
As priests, Peter says we present sacrifices to God. Not sacrifices for sin, but sacrifices as an act of worship. What are those sacrifices?
• Our bodies - Rom. 12:1 - Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
• Our praise - Hebrews 13:15 - Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.
• Our good works - Heb. 13:16 - And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. We are not saved BY good works, but we are saved TO good works.
• Our generosity - Phil. 4:18 - I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
• Our love - To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
So, when we remember that God lives in us, it affects how we live. Israel was called to be a kingdom of priests, witnessing to the nations around them. Ex. 19:6 - you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Instead, they ended up trying to be like the people around them, and they ruined their testimony. Many Christians fall into the same trap. We are called to be different, but often we end up loving the world and the things of the world.
Peter says in 2:9 - 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.
Our job as Christians is to live in harmony and present Christ to the world around us. We are to live differently so the world can see there is something unique about us. Matt. 5:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Harmony comes when we stop living for ourselves and live for the glory of God.
And then very quickly, we won’t talk about it, but Peter says we live in harmony because
4. We are citizens of the same nation - a holy nation, a people belonging to God. We understand what Paul says in Philippians, But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We live in expectation of the return of our Lord and savior who is even now preparing our home for us in heaven. We are visitors here on earth. It is not our home. So we live in harmony because we are expecting to go home soon to be with our Lord and Savior.
Today, you may have a fond affection, a brotherly love for one another, but go on to extend yourself to sacrificial love, and seek to live in unity, because we are
children in the same family,
stones in the same building,
priests in the same temple,
citizens of the same nation.
May God help us to live as one, and to show the world we are his disciples.
