Living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that represents Jesus well by respecting government authority...

At the church where I serve, we are in the midst of a sermon series entitled “Living as part of God’s kingdom community”. During this series, we are addressing the reality that as followers of Jesus, the hope we have in Jesus should lead to us embracing our identity as part of God's kingdom community. However, to truly embrace our identity as part of God’s kingdom community requires that we live out our identity as part of God’s kingdom community.

But how do we do that? In other words, what does embracing our identity as part of God’s kingdom community look like? How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture? How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community when our faith is minimized and marginalized? How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community when our faith is ridiculed, criticized, and slandered?

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off last week by jumping into the next section of a letter that the Apostle Peter wrote to early followers of Jesus in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 Peter, where we will discover a timeless truth about how we are to live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in 1 Peter 2:13-14:

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.

Peter begins this section of his letter by commanding the readers of this letter, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to submit yourselves to every human institution. Now to fully understand what Peter is communicating with this command, we first need to understand a few things. The first thing that we need to understand is what Peter means when he uses the word submit. The word submit here, in the language that this letter was originally written in, means to place oneself in a submissive role in a relationship where appropriate respect is shown to someone based on the role that they have within an ordered structure.

In other words, we are to willingly place ourselves under others by placing others first based on one’s role in the relationship. Now that leads us to the second thing that we need to understand, which is what Peter means when he uses the phrase, every human institution. When Peter refers to every human institution, he is referring to a system of established authority that is the result of human action.

Peter then reveals several examples of systems of established authority that are the result of human action. The first example is that of a king. For the readers of this letter, Peter was referring specifically to the Roman Emperor Nero, who ruled over the Roman Empire during the writing of this letter. And as the Roman Emperor who ruled over the readers of this letter, Emperor Nero was the one in authority. In other words, Emperor Nero was in the controlling position of the established authority of the Roman Empire who ruled over the readers of this letter. In our culture today, the person who holds this controlling position of human authority that is the result of human action is the President of the United States.

The second example that Peter provides is that of governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For the readers of this letter, Peter was referring specifically to the head imperial provincial administrator, who was appointed and dispatched by the Emperor to represent the Emperor in terms of exercising and maintaining Roman rule and authority over a specific region of the world that was a part of the Roman Empire.

The Imperial Provincial Administrator represented the Roman Empire and acted on their behalf to maintain authority and enforce Roman law. That is what Peter is referring to when he uses the phrase for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. As a representative of the Roman Empire, the Imperial Provincial Administrator was responsible to make sure that criminality and wrongdoing was punished with a penalty that was designed to serve as a deterrent to such behavior.

And the Imperial Provincial Administrator, as a representative of the Roman Empire, was to express admiration and approval by giving formal recognition to those under Roman rule who did what was good and right. Now this little phrase who do right does not simply refer to obeying civil and criminal law in the Roman Empire. This phrase also referred to doing something as a citizen of the Empire that advanced the common good of the Empire.

So the governor was to represent the Roman Empire in a way the repressed the evil of people and reinforced the good of people that strengthened the Empire in a way that promoted good citizens and punished evil citizens. In our culture today, those who hold such positions of human authority that is the result of human action would be those in state and local government, along with law enforcement and public safety.

Now a natural question that could arise at this point is “why should I submit to every human institution? Why should I willingly place myself under the authority of any government by placing government authority first in my life?

I mean, didn’t you just say a few weeks ago that the hope we have in Jesus should lead to us embracing our identity as part of God’s Kingdom community. Didn’t Peter say that we are strangers and aliens here as Christians? So, if my true identity is as a citizen of God’s kingdom community, then why do I have to submit to authority that is not a part of that kingdom?”

If those questions or objections are running through your mind, I just want to let you know that those are great questions to be asking. And we begin to answer that question by understanding the third thing that we need to understand, which is what Peter means when he uses the phrase for the Lord’s sake. Now the phrase, for the Lord’s sake, conveys the sense of representing Jesus well in regards to a relationship with someone.

You see, Peter recognized that the followers of Jesus who were reading this letter were under the authority of those who did not believe in Jesus. Peter recognized that the followers of Jesus who were reading this letter were under the authority of those who were becoming more hostile toward Jesus and toward those who claimed to be followers of Jesus. Yet, in spite of that reality, Peter commanded followers of Jesus throughout history to submit to the systems of established authority that are the result of human action that had been established around them so that, by doing so, they would represent Jesus well in their relationship with authority in a culture that did not believe in Jesus.

And it is here, in this timeless command by Peter to followers of Jesus throughout history, that we discover a timeless truth about how we are to live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are a part of God's kingdom community in a rapidly changing culture in that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that represents Jesus well by respecting government authority. And in 1 Peter 2:13-17, we see Peter reveal for us four reasons why living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that represents Jesus well by respecting government authority.

First, in verses 13-14, we see that we are to represent Jesus well by respecting government authority regardless of the level of government. As followers of Jesus, we are to respect those in authority as part of the federal government. As followers of Jesus, we are to respect those in authority as part of the state and local government.

We are to do so because those in government authority have been given the responsibility to punish wrongdoing. And we are to do so because those in government authority have been given the responsibility to recognize those who do right.  Peter then reveals for us a second reason why living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that represents Jesus well by respecting government authority in verse 15.

Tomorrow we will discover that reason together…

Why should a follower of Jesus live a life of high moral quality?

This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Peter, where we discovered that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that refrains from feeding our old nature. In 1 Peter 2:11-12, we see Peter reveal for us three reasons why living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that refrains from feeding our old nature.

First, in the first part of verse 11, we see that we are to refrain from feeding our old nature because we are strangers here for a short time. As followers of Jesus, who are a part of God’s kingdom community, we are to understand and remember that we are strangers living in a place that is not our true home. And as followers of Jesus, who are a part of God’s kingdom community, we are to understand and remember that we are strangers living in here for only a short while.

Then, in the second half of verse 11, we see that we are to refrain from feeding our old nature because we are in a conflict for our soul.  As followers of Jesus, who are a part of God’s kingdom community, we are to understand and remember that we are in constant conflict with our old nature that desires what is forbidden by God because our old nature has pledged its allegiance to the things in the world around us that are hostile to God and that place themselves in opposition to God’s Kingdom Community.

And as followers of Jesus, who are a part of God’s kingdom community, we are to understand and remember that we are in a conflict with our old nature for the center and core of our being. You see, this is not a minor issue; at stake here is our soul, which is the center and seat of life that transcends our earthly existence. And in this conflict, we will do one of two things: Either we will choose to feed and satisfy the desires that are forbidden by God that flow out of our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by selfishness and rebellion. Or we will choose to feed and satisfy the desires that flow from our new nature and identity that we have as a follower of Jesus who is part of God’s kingdom community.

And as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community, we are to engage in this conflict in a way that refrains from feeding our old nature. Today, we will see Peter reinforce this reality by providing us a third reason why we are to refrain from feeding our old nature in 1 Peter 2:12:

 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Now when Peter uses the phrase “keep your behavior excellent”, this phrase, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: Make sure that you are living out your day to day life as followers of Jesus in a way that is in line with the high moral standards that Jesus calls us to as His followers. Now a natural question that could arise here involves what Peter means when he uses the phrase among the Gentiles. When Peter uses the word Gentiles here, he is referring to those in the world around us who are not believers in Jesus. Peter is referring to non-Christians, to those who do not buy the whole Jesus, Bible, church thing.

Peter here is revealing for us the reality that as followers of Jesus who are a part of God’s kingdom community, we are a part of God’s kingdom community while living in the midst of the kingdoms of the world. Notice that Peter does not call followers of Jesus to withdrawal from the culture. And notice that Peter does not condemn everything about the culture. Instead, Peter calls followers of Jesus throughout history to engage in the culture in a way that embraces the aspects of the culture that line up with the message and teachings of Jesus while refraining from those things in the culture that arouse a desire for what is forbidden by the message and teachings of Jesus. By doing so, these followers of Jesus would be revealing and reflecting their distinctive identity as a follower of Jesus in the midst of those who do not believe, trust, and follow Jesus.

Peter then explained that by living out their day to day life as followers of Jesus in a way that is in line with the high moral standards that Jesus called them to as His followers, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. But what does that mean?

When Peter uses the word slander here, to slander is to speak ill of or to defame someone. You see, as Christianity spread throughout the known world, there were many people who spoke ill of and attempted to slander this new movement of Jesus and His followers. For example, in his writings called “The Annals”, the Roman historian Tacitus described Christianity as a dangerous superstition and Christians as a race detested for their evil practices. In addition, in his writings called “Nero”, the Roman writer Suetonius considered Christianity to be a mischievous superstition.

There were many people who viewed this new movement in history called Christianity as being evil and who viewed early gatherings of followers of Jesus as being filled with evildoers. Many who were opposed to Christianity claimed that Christians were guilty of incest, because while married, they called each other brother and sister. In addition, Christians were accused to be cannibals that drank the blood and ate the body of someone, which is how they referred to communion. Christians were also accused of being atheists because they didn’t have a statue of their deity when most other religions at that time did.

And because of that reality, Peter commanded followers of Jesus to live out their day to day life as followers of Jesus in a way that is in line with the high moral standards that Jesus called them to as His followers, because as they embraced the aspects of the culture that lined up with the message and teachings of Jesus while refraining from those things in the culture that arouse a desire for what is forbidden by the message and teachings of Jesus, they would reveal that the accusations against them were malicious and unjust slander that was designed to discredit them.

Peter reinforced this reality by using the phrase “as they observe them”. Now the word observe means to pay close attention to. You see, Peter recognized what we all tend to recognize, which is that people watch strangers, or those who they perceive as being strange, more closely. Peter recognized that as these early followers of Jesus lived as citizens of God’s kingdom community, that they would be watched closely by those around them as they lived distinctively different lives than those in the community around them.

Peter was concerned with the key question “Are followers of Jesus representing Jesus well? What is the reputation of followers of Jesus in the eyes of unbelievers?” Peter then explained that, as followers of Jesus represented Jesus well, the result would be that those who did not believe in Jesus would glorify God in the day of visitation. In other words, when Jesus returned to usher in God’s kingdom community in its fullest sense, those who were not a part of God’s kingdom community would enhance the reputation of God as a result of the influence that followers of Jesus had on their lives by how they had lived out their day to day lives.

As followers of Jesus lived out their day to day lives in a way that is in line with the high moral standards that Jesus called them to in the face of slander by those who rejected Jesus, their life would influence the opinion of those who slandered them in a way that enhanced God’s reputation upon Jesus return.  And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that we are to refrain from feeding our old nature because we are called to live a life that is of high moral quality.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to live a life of high moral quality in spite of being spoken of as evildoers. As followers of Jesus, we are called to live a life of high moral quality because those who do not believe are watching all our actions. And because those who do not believe are watching all our actions, as followers of Jesus we are called to live a life of high moral quality that enhances the reputation of God among those who do not believe by how we behave.

As followers of Jesus who are a part of God’s kingdom community, we are a part of God’s kingdom community while living in the midst of the kingdoms of the world. As followers of Jesus, we are not to withdrawal from the culture and we are not to condemn everything about the culture. Instead, as followers of Jesus, we are to engage in the culture in a way that embraces the aspects of the culture that line up with the message and teachings of Jesus while refraining from those things in the culture that arouse a desire for what is forbidden by the message and teachings of Jesus. By doing so, we will reveal and reflect our distinctive identity as a follower of Jesus in the midst of those who do not believe, trust, and follow Jesus.

So here is a question to consider: Are you representing Jesus well? What is your reputation in the eyes of those around you who do not buy the whole Jesus, Bible, church thing? What is the reputation of this church in the eyes of those who do not buy the whole Jesus Bible church thing?

And what are you feeding? Are you choosing to feed and satisfy the desires that are forbidden by God that flow out of our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by selfishness and rebellion? Or are you choosing to feed and satisfy the desires that flow from our new nature and identity that we have as a follower of Jesus who is part of God’s kingdom community?

Because the timeless reality is that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that refrains from feeding our old nature...

Living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that refrains from feeding our old nature...

At the church where I serve we have been spending our time together looking at a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 Peter, where we discovered that followers of Jesus have hope for the future that is greater than any trial. We then discovered the timeless truth that the hope we have in Jesus should lead to a life that is dedicated to looking like Jesus. We then discovered that the hope we have in Jesus should lead to a life that loves like Jesus.

And we discovered that the hope we have in Jesus should lead to us embracing our identity as part of God’s Kingdom community. We talked about the reality that our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built on the foundation of Jesus who entered into humanity to begin to usher in the kingdom of Heaven here on earth by establishing a new kingdom community that would be responsible for bringing the light of the kingdom of heaven into the dark spaces and places of this world.. Our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built on the fulfillment of God's promises and plan. And our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built for the fulfillment of God's kingdom mission in the world.

However, to truly embrace our identity as part of God’s kingdom community requires that we live out our identity as part of God’s kingdom community. But how do we do that? In other words, what does embracing our identity as part of God’s kingdom community look like? How should our identity as part of God’s kingdom community impact how we live out our day to day lives as followers of Jesus in the midst of a rapidly changing culture? How are we as followers of Jesus to respond to our faith being minimized and marginalized? How are we as followers of Jesus to respond when our faith results in us being ridiculed, criticized, and slandered?

To answer these questions, we are going to spend the next several weeks in a sermon series entitled Living as part of God’s Kingdom community. During this series, we are going to continue looking in 1 Peter, where we are going to discover several timeless truths about what it means to live as part of God’s kingdom community. So this week, I would like for us to spend our time together by jumping into the next section of this letter that the Apostle Peter wrote to early followers of Jesus, we will discover a timeless truth about how we are to live as followers of Jesus who are a part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in 1 Peter 2:11:

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.

Here we see Peter, give the readers of this letter, and followers of Jesus throughout history, a timeless command that reveals for us a timeless truth when it comes to how we are to live as followers of Jesus who are a part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture. However, to fully understand Peter’s command, we first need to define some terms.

First, when Peter uses the word urge here, this word literally means to make a strong appeal. What Peter was making a strong appeal to the readers of his letter to do was to abstain from fleshly lusts. Now to abstain is to avoid contact with or to avoid using or engaging something. And what followers of Jesus were to avoid contact with; what followers of Jesus were to avoid engaging were fleshly lusts.

When Peter uses the phrase fleshly lusts, he is referring to a desire for something that is forbidden that flows from our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by selfishness and rebellion. And it is our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by selfishness and rebellion that has a desire for what is forbidden by God. And because of this reality, Peter explained that these desires for what is forbidden by God wage war against the soul. In addition, when Peter talks about the soul, the soul refers to the center and seat of life that transcends our earthly existence.

Peter here is revealing for us the reality that there is a conflict that occurs within us as followers of Jesus between our old nature apart from Jesus and our new nature and identity that we have as a follower of Jesus who have the presence of the Holy Spirit within us.  In the core of our being, there is a conflict over which desires we are going to engage and satisfy. In the core of our being, there is a daily battle over which desires we are going to feed.

And in this conflict, we will do one of two things: Either we will choose to feed and satisfy the desires that are forbidden by God that flow out of our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by selfishness and rebellion. Or we will choose to feed and satisfy the desires that flow from our new nature and identity that we have as a follower of Jesus that is part of God’s kingdom community. Every day, we feed the desires that flow from one of these natures.

The question isn’t whether or not you are going to feed one of these natures; the question is which nature are you going to feed? And Peter recognized and responded to this reality by commanding followers of Jesus throughout history to abstain, to avoid, and to refrain from feeding the desires of our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by selfishness and rebellion.

Peter then explained that the reason why followers of Jesus are to abstain, avoid, and refrain from feeding the desires of our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by selfishness and rebellion is due to the fact that followers of Jesus are aliens and strangers. But what does that mean? When Peter uses the word alien here, this word was used in the culture of the day to describe someone who lived in a place that was not one’s true home. This word was used to describe someone who was a resident foreigner.

Similarly, the word stranger was used to refer to a person who was staying for a temporary period of time in a strange or foreign place. These words were used to describe someone who was not a permanent citizen of a country, but who traveled through and resided in the country for a period of time. In the culture of the day, much like today, foreigners and aliens did not fully participate in the customs or practices of the host culture that they found themselves residing in temporarily. In addition, much like today, foreigners did not have the privileges or responsibilities of the citizens of the host culture that they found themselves residing in temporarily.

Peter is addressing how followers of Jesus are to live in the unbelieving society and culture that they may find themselves in. Peter’s here is calling followers of Jesus throughout history to understand and remember that they were here for a temporary period of time. Peter here is calling followers of Jesus throughout history to understand and remember that they were no longer citizens of a world system that was hostile to God and that placed themselves in opposition to God and the kingdom of God.

Instead, as a result of believing, trusting, and following Jesus, they were now citizens of God’s kingdom community who were living in a place that was not their true home. And while they were to engage in the kingdom mission that they had been given by Jesus to bring the light of the kingdom of heaven into the dark spaces and places around them, they were to be careful that they did not feed the desires of their old nature that was dominated by selfishness and rebellion and that desired to embrace what was forbidden by God.

As citizens of God’s kingdom community, they were not to participate in the customs or practices of the culture that they found themselves residing in temporarily that embraced what was forbidden by God. As citizens of God’s kingdom community, they were to recognize the reality that they were foreigners who would not have the privileges or responsibilities of the citizens of the culture that they found themselves residing in temporarily.

However, while they may find themselves marginalized, ridiculed, criticized, and slandered for being citizens of God’s kingdom community, they were not to give into the temptation to feed the desires of their old nature apart from Jesus that were dominated by selfishness and rebellion so that they would fit into where they were residing temporarily. And it is here that we discover a timeless truth about how we are to live in a rapidly changing culture as followers of Jesus who are a part of God's kingdom community in that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that refrains from feeding our old nature.

In 1 Peter 2:11-12, we see Peter reveal for us three reasons why living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that refrains from feeding our old nature. First, in the first part of verse 11, we see that we are to refrain from feeding our old nature because we are strangers here for a short time. As followers of Jesus, who are a part of God’s kingdom community, we are to understand and remember that we are strangers living in a place that is not our true home. And as followers of Jesus, who are a part of God’s kingdom community, we are to understand and remember that we are strangers living in here for only a short while.

Then, in the second half of verse 11, we see that we are to refrain from feeding our old nature because we are in a conflict for our soul.  As followers of Jesus, who are a part of God’s kingdom community, we are to understand and remember that we are in constant conflict with our old nature that desires what is forbidden by God because our old nature has pledged its allegiance to the things in the world around us that are hostile to God and that place themselves in opposition to God’s Kingdom Community.

And as followers of Jesus, who are a part of God’s kingdom community, we are to understand and remember that we are in a conflict with our old nature for the center and core of our being. You see, this is not a minor issue; at stake here is our soul, which is the center and seat of life that transcends our earthly existence. And in this conflict, we will do one of two things: Either we will choose to feed and satisfy the desires that are forbidden by God that flow out of our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by selfishness and rebellion. Or we will choose to feed and satisfy the desires that flow from our new nature and identity that we have as a follower of Jesus who is part of God’s kingdom community.

And as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community, we are to engage in this conflict in a way that refrains from feeding our old nature. Friday, we will see Peter reinforce this reality by providing us a third reason why we are to refrain from feeding our old nature…

An identity built for the fulfillment of God's mission in the world...

This week we have been looking at a section of a letter that the Apostle Peter wrote to early followers of Jesus, called the book of 1 Peter, where we discovered a timeless truth about how the power of the hope we have as followers of Jesus should impact our lives as followers of Jesus in that the hope we have in Jesus should lead to us embracing our identity as part of God’s kingdom community.

In 1 Peter 2:4-10, we see Peter reveal for us three different aspects of the kingdom community that should shape our identity as followers of Jesus. First, in 1 Peter 2:4-5, we see Peter reveal for us the reality that our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built on the foundation of Jesus. As the foundation, Jesus is the one who is life and who gives eternal life. As the foundation, Jesus was rejected by humanity as being unworthy to build their lives upon.

However, as the foundation, Jesus is viewed as being the best of the best by God. As the foundation, Jesus is viewed as being of great value and worth by God. And as followers of Jesus, our rescue from rebellion into relationship with God gives us a new identity as we are being built into a kingdom community by God. We are being built into a kingdom community that has eternal life with God and that is set apart and dedicated to the ministry and mission of God: A ministry that mediates between God and humanity so as to reveal and reflect Jesus to humanity: A ministry and mission that lives in a way that demonstrates that we view God as being of supreme value.

 Then, in 1 Peter 2:6-8, we see Peter reveal for us the reality that our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built on the foundation of God's promises and plan. God promised a rescuer that was worthy of trust and would not disappoint. And God's promise of a rescuer would be fulfilled regardless of response. Those who trust in God's promise will view Jesus as being worthy of honor and respect. Those who refuse to trust in Jesus will view Jesus as unworthy and reject Him.

However, their refusal to trust in Jesus does not change who Jesus is. Their refusal to trust in Jesus is based on stumbling over who Jesus claimed to be. Their refusal to trust in Jesus is based on rejecting Jesus message. And their refusal to trust in Jesus was anticipated, predicted, and brought to fulfillment as part of God's plan. Today, we see Peter conclude this section of his letter by revealing a third aspect of the kingdom community that should shape our identity as followers of Jesus. Let’s look at it together, beginning in 1 Peter 2:9-10:

 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰ for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

Here we see Peter make a sharp contrast between those who refuse to trust in Jesus and view Jesus as unworthy and reject Him with those who trust in Jesus and view Jesus as being worthy of honor and respect. For those who have trusted in Jesus and who are being built up as part of God’s kingdom community called the church, Peter explained that they now have a new identity as a part of God’s kingdom community. Peter reveals five different aspects of their new identity as a part of God’s kingdom community.

First, Peter explains that, as part of God’s kingdom community, followers of Jesus are a chosen race. Peter quoted from Isaiah 43:20-21, where Isaiah predicted, proclaimed and promised that God would deliver the Jewish people from captivity in the nation of Babylon. Peter quotes from the prophet Isaiah to reveal the reality, that, as followers of Jesus, we have been chosen by God to be delivered from captivity to selfishness and rebellion to be drawn into a relationship with God.

Second, Peter explained that, as part of God’s kingdom community, followers of Jesus are a royal priesthood. Peter quotes from a section of a letter in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Exodus, Exodus 19:5-6, to reveal the reality, that, as followers of Jesus, we have been dedicated, set apart, to serve in the royal reign of the kingdom of God as a part of the kingdom of God in a way that would mediate between God and the world.

Third, Peter explained that, as part of God’s kingdom community, followers of Jesus are a holy nation. Peter continued to quote Exodus 19:5-6, to reveal the reality that, as followers of Jesus, we have been dedicated, set apart, to serve in the ministry and mission of God by bringing the light of the kingdom of Heaven into dark spaces and places. Fourth, Peter explained that, as part of God’s kingdom community, followers of Jesus are a people for God’s own possession. Peter continued to quote Exodus 19:5-6 and Isaiah 43:20-21 to reveal the reality that, as followers of Jesus, we have been acquired by God through Jesus life, death, and resurrection to be God’s possession.

And fifth, Peter explained that, as part of God’s kingdom community, followers of Jesus are a people who have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. In verse 10, Peter quotes from a section of a letter in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Hosea, Hosea 1:10 and 2:23, to reveal the reality that followers of Jesus have been rescued from our rebellion and into relationship with God for a reason. As followers of Jesus, we experience communion with God and community with others as a result of God’s mercy so that we would proclaim God’s mercy and rescue to others.

And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built for the fulfillment of God's mission in the world. Our identity is based on God's gracious choice that places us into His kingdom community and in His mission for the world. Our identity sets us apart to serving God in the royal reign of God. Our identity sets us apart as the community of God on mission for God. Our identity sets us apart as being God's own possession. And our identity sets us apart to proclaim a life that reveals and reflects our rescue from moral and spiritual darkness into the light of God's kingdom community.

As followers of Jesus, we have been rescued from isolation from God to community with God. As followers of Jesus, we have been rescued to receive mercy from God. And we have been rescued from our rebellion and into a new kingdom community so that we would engage in the kingdom mission that we have been given by God to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal and reflect Jesus to the world as we bring the light of the kingdom of heaven in o the dark spaces and places of the world.

Because the timeless reality is that the hope we have in Jesus should lead to us embracing our identity as part of God’s Kingdom community. Our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built on the foundation of Jesus. Our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built on the foundation of God's promises and plan. And our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built for the fulfillment of God's mission in the world.

So here is a question to consider? Where are you trying to find your identity? How are you answering the question “Who am I?” And how have you answered the question “Who is Jesus?”...

An identity that is built on the fulfillment of God's promises and plan...

This week we are looking at a section of a letter is preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Peter. Yesterday, we looked on as the Apostle Peter revealed for us a timeless truth when it comes to the power that hope has in the life of a follower of follower of Jesus in that the hope we have in Jesus should lead to us embracing our identity as part of God’s kingdom community.

We discovered that in 1 Peter 2:4-10 Peter reveals for us three different aspects of the kingdom community that should shape our identity as followers of Jesus. First, in 1 Peter 2:4-5, we see Peter reveal for us the reality that our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built on the foundation of Jesus.

As the foundation, Jesus is the one who is life and who gives eternal life. As the foundation, Jesus was rejected by humanity as being unworthy to build their lives upon. However, as the foundation, Jesus is viewed as being the best of the best by God. As the foundation, Jesus is viewed as being of great value and worth by God.

As followers of Jesus, our rescue from rebellion into relationship with God gives us a new identity as we are being built into a kingdom community by God. We are being built into a kingdom community that has eternal life with God. And we are being built into a kingdom community that is set apart and dedicated to the ministry and mission of God: A ministry that mediates between God and humanity so as to reveal and reflect Jesus to humanity: A ministry and mission that lives in a way that demonstrates that we view God as being of supreme value.

 

And as Peter continued in this letter to early followers of Jesus, we see Peter begin to provide the evidence to support his claim of the new identity that followers of Jesus have as a part of this new kingdom community called the church. And as a result, we see Peter reveal a second aspect of the kingdom community that should shape our identity as followers of Jesus. Peter begins to provide this evidence in 1 Peter 2:6-8. Let’s look at it together:

For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." ⁷ This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone," ⁸ and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

Here we see Peter begin to provide the evidence to support his claim of the new identity that followers of Jesus have as a part of this new kingdom community called the church by quoting from a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 28:16, during this time in history, the Jewish people were consistently rebelling and rejecting the Lord and the words that the Lord was bringing to the Jewish people through His prophets. And Isaiah was no exception.

Instead of listening to the words of warning from Isaiah regarding their selfishness and rebellion against the Lord, the Jewish people rejected Isaiah’s words of warning from the Lord. Instead of running to the Lord in their times of trouble for help, the Jewish people chose to run to the nation of Egypt for help. The Jewish people decided to trust in the nation of Egypt instead of the promises of the Lord.

And it was in this context that the prophet Isaiah predicted and proclaimed God’s promise of a rescuer, a deliver, a Messiah, who would be sent from God to bring the Jewish people back to God. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed that whoever placed their confident trust in God’s promises would not be disappointed in God. However, whoever refused to place their confident trust in God’s promises would be disappointed and destroyed as a result of their rejection of God’s promise.

Then, in verse 7, Peter explained that God’s promise of this precious cornerstone of a Messiah was for those who would place their confident trust in God and God’s promises. However, for those who rejected God and God’s promise, Peter reminded the readers of this letter of another part of the Psalmists’ words in Psalm 118:22, which both Jesus and Peter had previously quoted and which we had looked at a few minutes ago. Peter then quoted from another section of the book of Isaiah, this time Isaiah 8:14. 

In Isaiah 8, the prophet Isaiah contrasted the responses of those who would trust in the Lord and the promises of Lord by regarding the Lord as Holy as opposed to those who refused to trust in the Lord and the promises of the Lord by refusing to regard the Lord as Holy. And in refusing to trust in the Lord, Isaiah proclaimed that the Lord and the promises of the Lord are a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

You see, the Jewish people just could not get over the Lord and the promises of the Lord. Instead, they stumbled over the Lord and the promises of the Lord. Instead, they took offense at the Lord and refused to trust in the promises of the Lord.

Peter quoted from Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 8:14 to reveal the reality that regardless of what people think about Jesus; regardless of whether or not people place their trust in God and God’s promise of a rescuer, a Messiah; Jesus is that rescuer, that Messiah. Regardless of whether or not people would view Jesus as the life giving foundational cornerstone of God’s movement in history called the church, that is who Jesus is.

Jesus is the life giving foundational cornerstone of God’s movement in history called the church, who has began to usher in the kingdom of Heaven here on earth by establishing a new kingdom community that would be responsible for bringing the light of the kingdom of heaven into the dark spaces and places of this world. Whether you like it or not; whether you believe it or not; Peter’s point is that is who Jesus is. You see the most important question anyone can ask and answer is “who is Jesus?”           

Peter then hammered home his point in the second half of verse 8 by boldly stating that “they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.” But this morning, what does that mean? What does Peter mean when he says to this doom they were appointed?  Peter’s point here is two-fold.

First, Peter is stating that those who stumble over Jesus, those who cannot get over Jesus, do so because they reject the message and teachings of Jesus. Instead of responding to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by placing their trust in Jesus and obeying the message and teachings of Jesus, they chose to reject Jesus and disobey the message and teachings of Jesus.

Second, Peter is revealing the reality that people should not be surprised that people would choose to reject Jesus and disobey the message and teachings of Jesus, because that was anticipated, predicted, and brought to fulfillment as part of God's plan. When Peter uses the word appointed here this word literally means to cause to undergo a change in experience or condition. Peter’s here is painting a word picture to reveal the reality that the stone that was rejected by them will end up destroying them.

Wherever God discloses Himself, people respond differently. God anticipated, predicted, and brought to fulfillment God’s right and just response to the selfishness and rebellion of humanity. God anticipated, predicted and brought to fulfillment the suffering of Jesus to provide humanity the opportunity to be rescued from their selfishness and rebellion. And God anticipated, predicted, and brought to fulfillment the rejection of the Messiah, as well as His triumph.

You see, God is sovereign and we are responsible. God does not take good people and make them bad. Instead God chooses to confirm and set into place the selfishness and rebellion that is already present in them. The great reformed theologian Calvin referred to this truth this way: “The same sun which melts the wax also hardens the clay”. Because, the timeless reality is that God’s freedom to choose some and reject others is just because no one deserves to be chosen.

Every human being selfishly rebels and rejects God and the relationship with God that they were created for.  God sovereignly chooses to confirm and set into place the selfishness and rebellion that is already present in some. And God sovereignly chooses, by His gracious and transformational activity through His Son Jesus Christ, to melt and bend some hearts to Him.  And we are responsible for our response to the most important question that we can ask and answer, which is “Who is Jesus?” We are responsible for the decisions that we make and God is sovereign to fulfill His plan for humanity.

And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built on the fulfillment of God's promises and plan. God promised a rescuer that was worthy of trust and would not disappoint. And God's promise of a rescuer would be fulfilled regardless of response.

Those who trust in God's promise will view Jesus as being worthy of honor and respect. Those who refuse to trust in Jesus will view Jesus as unworthy and reject Him. However, their refusal to trust in Jesus does not change who Jesus is. Their refusal to trust in Jesus is based on stumbling over who Jesus claimed to be. Their refusal to trust in Jesus is based on rejecting Jesus message. And their refusal to trust in Jesus was anticipated, predicted, and brought to fulfillment as part of God's plan.

Friday, we will see Peter reveal a third aspect of the kingdom community that should shape our identity as followers of Jesus...

The hope we have in Jesus should lead to us embracing our identity as part of God’s kingdom community...

At the church where I serve we have been spending our time together in a sermon series entitled the power of hope. During this series, we are addressing the reality that we live in a time where societal and cultural change occurs at a frequently increasing rate. And as followers of Jesus, we feel this exponential change in culture most acutely when it comes to how the culture views Christianity. It would seem that as culture and society continue to rapidly change, that Christianity is being left behind.

And in many quarters, Christianity is now mocked and criticized for clinging to a religious belief system that is viewed as being outdated and outrageous. So during this series we are asking and answering the questions “How are we as followers of Jesus to respond to such a rapidly changing culture? How are we as followers of Jesus to respond to our faith being minimized and marginalized? How are we as followers of Jesus to respond when our faith results in us being ridiculed, criticized, and slandered?

To answer these questions, we are looking at a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 Peter. This week I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter that the Apostle Peter wrote to early followers of Jesus, we will discover another timeless truth about how the power of the hope we have as followers of Jesus should impact how we are to live in a rapidly changing culture as followers of Jesus.  So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in 1 Peter 2:4:

And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Now to fully understand what Peter is communicating here, we first need to understand a few things. The first thing that we need to understand is what Peter is referring to when he uses the phrase “coming to Him as living stones”. As we discovered a few weeks ago, the word living conveys the sense something that is life and produces life.

Peter then explained that this stone that is living and that produces life has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God. What is so interesting here is that the phrase, has been rejected by men, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to regard as unworthy or unfit and therefore to be rejected.

However, while this living stone has been viewed as unworthy and has been rejected by men, it is choice and precious in the sight of God. In other words, this stone that is living and produces life is viewed by God as being of elite quality and of great value. But who or what is this living stone? With this phrase, Peter is painting a word picture of Jesus as the life producing stone that serves as the foundational stone, or cornerstone, of God’s movement in history called the church.

Peter is painting the image of two building projects, one by men; the other by God.  The human builders find Jesus unworthy of building their lives upon and reject Him. This very imagery was used by Jesus in Mark 12:10-11:

"Have you not even read this Scripture: 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; ¹¹ THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES '?"

In addition, Peter used this imagery in a conversation with the self righteous religious leaders who had sentenced Jesus to death in Acts 4:11-12:

"He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. ¹² "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

Both Jesus and Peter were quoting from a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Psalms. In Psalm 118:22, the Psalmist predicted and proclaimed that the King of the Jewish people would be rejected by men, but would conquer and overcome his enemies. Both Jesus and Peter applied the Psalmist’s words to also be referring to Jesus as the ultimate King and ruler of the universe as the Messiah.

As the life giving foundational cornerstone of God’s movement in history called the church, Jesus would begin to usher in the kingdom of Heaven here on earth by establishing a new kingdom community that would be responsible for bringing the light of the kingdom of heaven into the dark spaces and places of this world. Peter unpacks this reality in verse 5 with the phrase “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Peter’s point here is that as followers of Jesus, we have been rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated us from God. As followers of Jesus, we have been given forgiveness and new life in relationship with God for all eternity. And as followers of Jesus, we have been given a new identity as a part of the new kingdom community called the church.

And as part of this new kingdom community, followers of Jesus are being built up as a spiritual house. In other words, God is actively at work to build, by the power of the Spirit of God, a Spirit-filled community called the church on the foundation stone of His Son Jesus. And as part of that Spirit-filled community, Peter explains that followers of Jesus are a holy priesthood. Peter’s point is that followers of Jesus have been dedicated, or set apart, to serve in the ministry and mission of God as a priest of God in the new kingdom community of God. Followers of Jesus have been dedicated, or set apart to live lives of worship to God that demonstrate that God is of supreme value and worth.

And it is here, in this section of this letter, that we see Peter reveal for us a timeless truth when it comes to how we are to live our lives as followers of Jesus in that the hope we have in Jesus should lead to us embracing our identity as part of God’s kingdom community. And in 1 Peter 2:4-10, we see Peter reveal for us three different aspects of the kingdom community that should shape our identity as followers of Jesus.

First, in 1 Peter 2:4-5, we see Peter reveal for us the reality that our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built on the foundation of Jesus. As the foundation, Jesus is the one who is life and who gives eternal life. As the foundation, Jesus was rejected by humanity as being unworthy to build their lives upon. However, as the foundation, Jesus is viewed as being the best of the best by God. As the foundation, Jesus is viewed as being of great value and worth by God.

And as followers of Jesus, our rescue from rebellion into relationship with God gives us a new identity as we are being built into a kingdom community by God. We are being built into a kingdom community that has eternal life with God. And we are being built into a kingdom community that is set apart and dedicated to the ministry and mission of God: A ministry that mediates between God and humanity so as to reveal and reflect Jesus to humanity: A ministry and mission that lives in a way that demonstrates that we view God as being of supreme value.

As Peter continued in this letter to early followers of Jesus, we see Peter begin to provide the evidence to support his claim of the new identity that followers of Jesus have as a part of this new kingdom community called the church. And as a result, we see Peter reveal a second aspect of the kingdom community that should shape our identity as followers of Jesus.

Tomorrow, we will discover that second aspect…