A chosen people

1. A chosen people 1 Peter 2:4-12 Guido 2011.6.15

2. The Living Stone • 1 P. 2:4-5:As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 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.

3. Christ is the living Stone. He is the foundation of our Faith. • 1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” • But why does the Scripture also compare us “living stones”? • Bible compares us with Jesus in several occasions, for example:In John 8:12, 9:5 Jesus states “I am the light of the World.” However in Mathew 5:14 he says “YOU are the light of the world”.

4. The comparison in 1 Peter is not unlike the one made by Jesus himself. So we can conclude that:BECAUSE HE IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, HE MADE ME LIGHT AS WELL. AND BECAUSE HE IS THE LIVING STONE, HE MADE ME A LIVING STONE AS WELL. • The purpose of the Christian life is to learn to be like Jesus. Nothing else matters more. Nothing is more important than this one thing: To learn to be like him.

5. After Jesus rose again, and he was getting ready to go back to the Father, he gave his disciples a final commandment: Go out, and make more disciples. • Jesus entrusted us to be the kind of person he was, and to do the kind of things he did. • He is the light, we are expected to be light to others. He is the Living Stone on which our lives are being built. In the same manner, our lives should serve as reliable foundations for others to start building up their relationship with God.

6. Gold or Straw? • 1 P. 2:5 “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.” • There is no need to go through the details of what is a spiritual sacrifice. Enough is to say that God gave us a very specific calling: To be His holy house, and a holy priesthood for Him.

7. As Christians, we are responsible for what we have received from God. • 1 Corinthians 3:10-15:“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

8. We are building, day by day. We are building a life that will be tested by God himself. And the test won’t be easy. • Jesus said, in John chapter 17 that we “are in this world, but we are not of this world”. So if we are not of this world, we shouldn’t live as if we were. We should not have the same priorities unbelievers have, we should not go after the things they go after. If we live the way unbelievers live, we are building a lousy building, for we are using the cheapest materials to build it: Wood, hay and straw.

9. A lousy building can look very beautiful in the outside. It can be very catchy as well. But what it looks like in the outside is not necessarily the real thing. • We can choose to live like the world does, or to stick to the biblical pattern. We can choose to use gold, silver and costly stones to build Him a house He’ll be proud of, or we can give him the left-overs of or life. It is our decision what kind of house we build for Him.

10. A Heavenly Destiny • 1 P. 2:7-10Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, •    “The stone the builders rejected    has become the cornerstone,” •  and, •    “A stone that causes people to stumble    and a rock that makes them fall.” • They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. • But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11. The following section of this passage is a bit controversial: • In verse 9 it says: They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. • And in verse 10, it goes on saying: “But you are a chosen people…” • The doctrine of divine predestination is rejected by many, however it is a biblical doctrine and cannot be ignored.

12. Romans 8:29-30: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”Ephesians 1:5, 11: ““He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.”

13. Matthew 24:22,31 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened…And He will gather his elect…” (Same in: Mark 13:20,27) • Romans 9:10-13 “…Rebeka’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet before he twins were born or had done anything good or bad –in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls –she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” • Romans 11:5 “So too, at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace…” • Romans 11:28 “As far as the gospel is concerned, they (Israel) are enemies on you account, but as far as election is concerned, they are loved…” • Ephesians 1:11 “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” • 2 Timothy 2:10 “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain salvation…” • 1 Peter 1:1-2 “…God’s elect…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God…” • 2 Peter 1:10 “Therefore… be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure…”

14. In Jeremiah 1:5, God says “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you: before you were born, I set you apart…” • There are many things we don’t know about God and his plans, especially regarding his foreknowledge and election, but Bible makes it clear that He did choose us before we even existed. • Because of this, we should be more grateful and fearful for our salvation.

15. 1 P. 2:11-12“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

16. Conclusion • The message of this sermon is clear: we have a responsibility. • We were chosen by him for a purpose. We are his chosen people, we are his holy priesthood, we are his elect… and so we have a responsibility, and that is, to live for him.