I don't think I need to tell any of you that our church is going through a new phase. We are about to enter into a new stage of growth for this church beginning in January. I have asked God what words can I bring to the church that would make this transition a lot easier so that we can remain an authentic church.
Then I asked, "Just what is it that makes a church authentic?" Do you think that Southeast Baptist church is an authentic church? I believe strongly that we are, especially after I began studying about what makes up an authentic church. So, for the next few weeks leading up to our Christmas season I want us to focus closely on what makes a church authentic.
The pastor does not make a church authentic. You are the church. It is you and your actions that will make this church authentic or not. So, for the next few weeks we'll be looking at a church that is built on Christ, that shares Christ, that is growing in Christ. A church that worships God and serves in God's name. Then we will wrap this up by talking about doing life together in Christ. PRAYER
If you don’t already realize it, let me tell how our world views things. On April 15, 2019, the world paused to process the videos that were shared on every news and social media outlet as Notre Dame, the famous cathedral in Paris, was engulfed in flames. The fire caused enough devastation to close the structure for years. But thankfully the blaze didn't claim any casualties.
6 days later, terrorists in Sri Lanka coordinated a military attack on a number of churches, 321 adults and children died as they gathered to worship and yet this event barely made the news.
The world was more in shock that Notre Dame wasn't open on Easter than it was with the hundreds of Christians that died in Sri Lanka. Do we associate the church more with the building? Or the people? Jesus didn't give His life to build a building. He gave His life to create a people, a church.
The apostle Peter wrote his first letter to encourage suffering believers. He knew that following Jesus didn't free us from ever suffering again, but he also was convinced that the way of Christ was superior to any other way. In chapter 2 of 1 Peter, he taught how necessary it was for believers to build their lives and their assemblies on nothing other than Jesus. I want to begin by backing up a little into 1 Peter 1 as Peter quoted something that the prophet Isaiah prophesied.
1 Peter 1:24-25 – “For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.”
Have you ever thought about how quickly we get tired of what's new? When we compare our life span to eternity, we haven't lived that long. We operate with technology that hasn't been around that long. We live in a nation that hasn't existed that long. And yet we are always looking for the next new thing.
So Peter writes to remind us that we're just like grass. The grass is frail and doesn't last that long. Flowers appear, but they're beauty is short lived. Everything that we see and think of as secure in this life is not going to last. God's word is the only thing that will be here forever. Our opinions are unreliable. The policies of our culture are inconsistent. But God's word is unchanging.
The greatest challenge that we find as we try to follow Jesus is dedicating ourselves to the truth of the Scripture in a culture that tends to base their lives on their own opinions instead of on the truth of God's word. What are we going to do when the world says one thing and God's word says another?
In these opening verses, we learn a truth that is essential for a Christian as well as a church. God's word is necessary. Not only is it vital for our character, but it's also the only thing that is stable. Remember Satan's first question to humanity when he said, "Did God really say that? And his strategy hasn't changed.
We spent about 6 weeks talking about how to discern God's voice from the false teachings that are out in the world. Have you ever allowed an individual's opinion to alter how you interpret God's truth? Which standard is more reliable- Yours, culture's, or God's? Let's get into the meat of our Scripture.
1 Peter 2:1 – “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.”
That sounds exactly like what Paul said we need to do in last week’s message. Getting close to Jesus means that we need to align ourselves with others who are following Jesus. The first step is ridding ourselves of sins that hinder the church's growth. Our disobedience discourages others. Our actions affect others. So, Peter warns us about 5 particular sins. A lot of times we try to convince ourselves that our choices don't really affect anyone except ourselves but deep down we know that's not true. The sins that Peter lists here directly affect others. Let's look at them individually for a moment.
Malice - This is the type of hatred that wants someone else to suffer. If you are guilty of malice, then you are wrongly assuming that you have the right to be judge, jury, and executioner to whoever challenges you.
Deceit - If you are guilty of deceit, it means that you are intentionally trying to mislead others for your own selfish benefit. There's no end to what you might seek to justify your actions.
Hypocrisy - A hypocrite is someone who tries to deceive others about their true character. It tries to lead others to believe something different about them than what is reality.
Envy - This goes against the commandment about coveting. If you envy someone, it leads you to the belief that you ought to have what another person has. Not only does envy admit that we think we don't have enough, but it also proposes that the other person isn't worthy of what he or she has.
Slander - This is simply the willingness to talk bad about someone and to degrade that person in the eyes of others.
Through Peter's writings, God is asking us to honestly assess our lives. Which one of these sins mostly affects you? If you are guilty of any of these, then simply go to God and confess the one that is affecting you and your relationship with God and others. Ask God to give you the strength to choose His path over everything else.
1 Peter 2:2-5 – “Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, 3 if you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God— 5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Remember when I have said that once you accept Christ, don't think that your job is finished--that in reality, your journey is just beginning? Salvation is the starting point rather than the finish line. As we mature as Christians, something much grander takes place. Our development encourages the development of others. Every disciple, every question, is like a stone stacked on top of another. No one marvels at a brick sitting by itself. But they marvel over a magnificent structure that's complete when these stones are put together.
1 Peter 2:6-8 – “For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame. 7 So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected— this one has become the cornerstone, 8 and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.”
We are talking about a church that is built on Christ. God builds the true church on no other foundation than Jesus Christ. But that doesn't mean there aren't impostor churches that are built on other things. These churches often are built on flashy features or magnetic ministries.
Many in our culture today stumble over Jesus not really knowing what to do with Him. They want a simple historical teacher who only shows love and never gives warnings. You can't have a church if you get rid of Jesus. People who are openly defiant to the word of Christ cannot make up a real church, no matter how hard they claim to be one.
So how do we remain a church that is built on Christ? I can tell you that daily time in God's word keeps us grounded in Him. How long have you been following Jesus? You may have just started or maybe you've been walking with Him for some time. Are you growing in your walk with Jesus? A lot of people can point to a time when they made a decision to follow Christ. But they rarely think about how they're making progress along the way.
Peter is highlighting the need for us as individual stones to be built on Jesus, who is the cornerstone. To make progress, we have to build on Jesus as the foundation. The corner stone of any building is the foundational stone for the rest of the building. That cornerstone is what establishes the design and provides the stability for that building. We can only build our walk with the Lord if He is what undergirds our entire structure. That's why 1 Peter 2:2 is so vitally important to our growth.
1 Peter 2:2 – “Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation. . .”
When we accept Christ, we are an infant in Christianity. In this stage of life, we're growing in knowledge in our jobs, education, relationships, and so on. The knowledge that we need to crave over everything else is the purity of God's word.
In our schedules today, we may be busier than we've ever been. But we seem to find time to do whatever it is that we value the most. What Peter is telling us here is that if we aren't regularly creating time to read Scripture, we're not fully developing in Jesus. Our culture sends many negative messages our way. There is too much negativity in our world to think that one sermon and one Bible study a week can help us stay grounded in God's truth. That's why a habit of daily time in God's word is so important. Our souls need more work than our social lives or extracurricular activities.
What is it that keeps you most connected to a daily habit of reading the Bible? What is it that distracts you from having this time? Answer those questions and start there. Again, I will say, just challenge yourself to read one verse of Scripture per day. One verse. That should take about 20-30 seconds. Can you at least give God that much time? Do you realize how valuable you are to God?
1 Peter 2:9-10 – “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Peter classifies us as disciples of Jesus in 4 ways. These descriptions reveal more of whom God has called us to be.
Chosen race - God chose us and desires us. It's amazing when we realize that almighty God knows everything about how weak and dysfunctional we are and he still wants to be in a relationship with us. We don't serve a God who needs us. But we're invited by the one who wants us.
Royal priesthood - As a part of the royal priesthood, we have direct access and fellowship with God, but we're also called to expand His kingdom and influence the world. God wants to use our lives and legacies for the work of His kingdom.
Holy nation - As a holy nation, God wants us be people who are set apart for His purposes. Our lives should be different from the world- not so that people would marvel at us, but so that people would seek God.
A people for His possession - We no longer belong to ourselves. Jesus purchased us with His blood so we belong to Him and His purposes. We don't work to earn Jesus's love. We work because we already have it. We belong to Him, meaning our decisions will be focused on our connection with Him.
1 Peter 2:11-12 – “Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. 12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.”
So Peter calls us to live honorably. He calls a strangers. He wants us to view our lives as foreigners with our citizenship from a different land. He calls us exiles. He reminds us that we're temporary residences journeying through this world. In some translations of the Bible he calls us aliens. So, we are strangers, exiles, or aliens. Doesn't that give you confidence? But let's think about what Peter is saying.
When you think of an alien, you probably think of a sci-fi movie with visitors from a different planet. They don't look like us and don't operate from a standard set of values. Their values are different. Their customs are peculiar. It doesn't take long to realize that they don't belong here. And it challenges everyone else who does belong.
Is this the type of invasion that we are meant to portray to this world as Christians? In a way, yes. We don't belong here. If it looks like we do belong here or if we blend in with the world, we fail in Christ's objective that we point others to a new way of living. That's why Peter tells us that we need to abstain from the sinful desires that are common in our day. We don't live by this world's standards. The world view and practices of this world wage war against us.
But here's the key. While, as Christians, we live differently, it doesn't mean we live disrespectfully. We should not look down on those who are not yet Christian. We are not better than them. We do have a joy and a hope that they don’t have. We are called to live honorably among the Gentiles. In Jesus's day, the Gentiles were those who did not accept God's way. Peter is not taking sides here. He is simply saying that those who know God ought to live differently than those who don't know Him. Let them see your good works. Live in such a way that they notice a difference in you. If they ask why you seem so happy and calm, tell them about your relationship with Jesus.
We have been talking about a church that is built on Christ. As a church, we gather to give glory to the only One deserving of it. In our sin, we were separated from God and isolated from one another. But in Christ we're united with Him and His people. We live differently because Christ has made us different and the world needs to see a different path than the worn out, sinful one. We gather to worship Jesus. And we scatter to share Jesus. We glorify God with our lives so that others may one day do the same.
That describes a church that is built on Christ. And that is a characteristic of being an authentic church. That's a church I want to be a part of.
