1 Peter 1:18-21
We Buy Ugly Houses
Woodlawn Baptist Church
October 15, 2006
Introduction
Show this morning’s billboards. According to the company’s website, this ad originated in the mind of Ken D’Angelo way back in the 1970s. Working in Houston and Dallas, he decided to focus his real estate efforts on recycling single-family houses. In the early 1990s, Mr. D’Angelo created a unique billboard advertising campaign that attracted people who were motivated to sell their houses quickly and at a discount. Mr. D’Angelo was willing to purchase the properties - even when they were in dire need of repair - thus the beginnings of the "We Buy Ugly Houses" slogan. Mr. D’Angelo resold some of the houses to local real estate investors, and in other instances he repaired the properties - enhancing the neighborhoods where they existed - and sold them, often to first-time homebuyers.
Today I don’t know what the shape of your house is in, but I want to tell you that whenever I see this billboard I am reminded that God has been in the business of buying ugly houses much longer than any real estate agent ever dreamed of being. In 1 Peter 1:18-21, we read,
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who be him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”
From Genesis to Revelation we read the story of God’s wonderful work of redemption: of His work in the world buying ugly houses. These are not houses made with hands, but houses of flesh and blood: body, soul and spirit, and according to Peter we were bought with the precious blood of Christ, a plan worked out in the mind of God before He even created the world.
God may have thought up the plan thousands of years ago, but He’s still working that plan, and today I want to share it with you again by reminding you of some of its key points.
All Our Houses Are Ugly Compared To Christ’s House
Paul said it this way in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” How do I know I’m a sinner? It’s not by looking at the man or woman next to me, but by looking at the glory of the God embodied in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus was perfect in every way! Holy and righteous and just!
Sometimes when I see our billboard I wonder what exactly an ugly house is. This week I went to the website to find out. Here’s what they said in short:
Our definition of an "Ugly" house is (a) property that has structural issues, and which issues are regularly not apparent on the surface of the property, such as foundation problems; (b) property which raises memories that the owner desires to move away from, (c) property where the owner views the nature of the neighborhood in which the property is located as less than desirable from any standpoint, including, for example, such things as commuting distance to work, located within a flood plain or located in a high crime area, (d) property whose current mortgage financing is structured in a manner that the owner does not like; (e) property whose current mortgage financing rate is higher than the owner desires or can afford; (f) property in which the amount of the current mortgage is more than the owner can handle or just does not want to deal with; and (g) property from which an owner would like to move for any other reason, including, for example, wanting to move to a bigger house or needing to move to a smaller house or to another city.
I couldn’t have said it any better! Think about what it means to be without Christ, ugly with sin. We are houses with structural issues beginning at the foundation. Jesus said that unless our lives are built upon Him we’re like the foolish man who built his house on the sand. Your life may be wrecked with bad memories: choices and decisions that have left a wake of guilt and shame. Perhaps there is something there that is less than desirable. Whether you know it or not, you can’t afford to stay in the condition you’re in – the cost is too high and you’ll pay for eternity with your soul.
I don’t care how great you think you are, without Jesus Christ as your Savior you fall short of the glory of God and are in need to salvation. That’s why the second point is such great news…
Christ Can Redeem Even The Ugliest Houses
Too often we’re guilty of quoting Romans 3:23 without reading the context. In Romans 1 Paul stated in no uncertain terms that man is at his best filled with unrighteousness. But like today, there were some who would read his letter, look at all the sins Paul mentioned, then who would stand back and judge themselves better than those vile people. In Romans 2:1 he says to those people,
“Thou art inexcusable O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.”
Romans 3:9 says that all are under sin. You see, “there is none righteous, no, not one person.” Verse 19 says the whole world stands guilty before God, and there’s no amount of good things you can do to make yourself right before God. Think of it this way: the other night my truck was sitting next to Ron’s truck after he had it detailed. I made the statement, “With enough Bondo and paint my truck would look as good as yours.” But you know as well as I do there’s no amount of Bondo or paint I could apply that would make my truck measure up to a new one.
The same is true of your life. Verse 20 says, “by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.” In other words, there’s not a thing in the world you can do to make yourself measure up to the glory of God. We all fall short.
That’s why verse 24 is so wonderful! Romans 3:24 says,
“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” We all fall short of God’s glory. We all are sinners. We are all on our best days just ugly houses. But Jesus has made possible the redemption of the whole world! One of my favorite verses in the whole Bible is 1 Timothy 4:10.
“For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe.”
In other words, when Jesus died on the cross, God didn’t drive through the neighborhood and pick out the houses He wanted to buy. “I’ll take this one and that one, but not those over there.” No! He bought them all! He paid the price to redeem us all! Jesus died for all of humanity, but only those who believe…those who put their faith in Him will benefit from that purchase. Don’t you ever forget that every soul in hell goes there with a Savior they would not accept.
Does God buy ugly houses? Even the ugliest! But listen…
Not Only Does Christ Buy The House, He Takes Up Residency
The Bible takes up this subject again in 1 Corinthians 6:9-20. We’re told in verse 9 that those without Christ cannot enter the kingdom of God. Verse 11 tells us though that “such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus…” Paul then makes an appeal to the believers there to live like those who had been redeemed. Drop down to verse 19 and read with me,
“What? Don’t you know that your body is the temple, dwelling place, residence of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
When Jesus bought your house, when He paid your sin debt and you accepted Him as your Savior, He didn’t purchase you and sell you off to the next highest bidder. He moved in Himself! He lives in you! That ought to mean something to us, that the God of all glory would take up residency in our souls and live within us!
The Master Architect of the universe, the Creator of heaven and earth, the supernatural carpenter of Galilee bought you, the ultimate fixer-upper, moved in and began a good work of recreation in you!
Every House Christ Purchases Becomes A Center Point For Missions
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 tells us that…
“If you are in Christ, you are a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”
How does that work? It works like it did in Andrew’s life. Jesus moved into his life, and the Bible tells us that Andrew first found his own brother and brought him to Jesus. In John 4 Jesus moved into the Samaritan woman’s life, and the Bible says that she went right back into her own neighborhood and testified to the grace of God to all she knew. The result? They were saved too! When Jesus healed the demon possessed man at the country of the Gadarenes, the Bible tells us,
“the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, return to thine own house, and show how great things God hath done unto thee.”
That’s just how God works! Listen, Jesus didn’t buy you, move into your life just to settle you into a pew. He saved you, redeemed you so He might begin to work out of your house to redeem your entire block: your family, your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers and anyone else He can reach through your life. You’ve been called to the ministry my friend! The ministry of reconciliation! God has a work to do through your life surrendered to Him. Your life is God’s center for a great mission work. Don’t let Jesus move in and then lock Him in.
Once Christ Buys Your House, It Is Off The Market For Good
This is my favorite part! Let’s finish reading in 1 Peter where we started. Remember, you were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Let’s read verses 3-9 where this subject began for Peter.
Read 1 Peter 1:3-9.
Do you see it! Your house is off the market for good! You have an incorruptible inheritance! It cannot be defiled! It will never fade away! It is reserved in heaven for you, so rejoice! Rejoice today because you’ve been redeemed by the blood of the lamb!
Aren’t you thankful today that God paid the price to buy an ugly people like us? Without Christ we’re all ugly with sin, but thanks be to Him that He can redeem the most uninhabitable souls, take up residency in them and begin to work outward from there to reach those around us.
No matter how long I live in the parsonage and work on it, I’ll always look around and find things that need to be repaired and updated. It’s a never ending job. My life isn’t much different. Until my dying day there’ll be remodeling Christ will have to do to bring me into His likeness. But unlike the parsonage, I have a say in it. If I want to take out a wall or put in a new window, the house just sits there and lets me, but all too often you and I fight and resist the redeeming work of God in our lives.
Are you allowing God to do the good work in your life He wants to do? Are you still growing and changing and being conformed to His likeness? Are your growing in love and grace and mercy? Are you being renewed day by day? Are you fresh and alive with the presence of God? Does your life reflect the presence of the sweet Spirit of God?
God buys ugly houses. Have you put yours on the market? Do you recognize today that you are in need of a Savior? A Redeemer? Would you come to Him today and allow Him to move into your life?
