If you would turn with me to
the first epistle of Peter, chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. We'll be going
to Exodus 19, but we're going to take the long route tonight. 1 Peter chapter 2. In verse 1, Peter writes, Wherefore,
laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and
envies, and all evil speakings, and as newborn babes desire the
sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby, if so be
ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to whom coming as
unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of
God and precious. The Lord Jesus here is referred
to as a stone and Peter here by use of this metaphor is letting
us know that he himself is not the rock. that Christ is the
rock upon which the church is built. You remember the story
where the Lord asked His disciples who men said that He was. And He got a variety of answers. One said that you're John the
Baptist. Another that you're Elijah. Another
said that you're Jeremiah. And the Lord said, who do you
say that I am? You see, that's the issue. That
is the issue. Who do you say that Christ is? What think ye of Christ? That's all that will matter when
you stand before God Almighty. What you think of Christ. Most
important and crucial question that could ever be asked anyone.
What think ye of the Lord Jesus Christ? Now Peter, who do you
say that I am? And Peter said, thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. And do you remember what
our Lord said? He said, flesh and blood didn't
reveal that to you. No, sir. And flesh and blood
can't. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
this to you. Man didn't reveal this to you. But my Father which
is in heaven revealed it to you. And then the Lord said, And I
say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build
my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Now the Lord here is not saying that Peter is the rock that Christ
will build His church upon. He's saying that Peter's confession
of who Christ is, that's the revelation given to believers
on which the church is built. What was that confession again
that Peter gave? Thou art the Christ, the Messiah,
God the Son, the Son of the living God, and the gates of hell cannot
prevail against that confession. Jesus Christ, God the Son, is
the rock on which the church is built. And he's the foundation
stone in which every believer is laid. That's what Peter's
saying here in verse five. He says, ye also is lively stones
are built up a spiritual house. and a holy priesthood to offer
up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. You see, God's people are compared
to stones and called lively or living stones because they live
upon Christ, having His Spirit, having His grace, having His
life in them. Verse 6, Wherefore also it is
contained in the Scripture, Behold, I, and that being Christ, lay
in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that
believeth on him, Christ, that's who this is talking about, the
sure foundation, the chief cornerstone, he that believeth on him shall
not be confounded, unto you therefore which believe he, Christ, is
precious. Let me pause and just ask you,
isn't that so? Isn't He precious? When you see
Christ and what God has made us in Him, He's made us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification and redemption. All we need,
all that God requires is found in Him. Isn't He precious? Unto them that believe, unto
them that God gives grace and faith, to them Jesus Christ is
precious. Now that word precious means
beyond price. It means cherished, treasured,
beloved. Unto them that believe Christ
is precious. Jesus Christ my substitute, my
savior, my surety. He is so precious. That's what
God called Him in verse 6. Christ, the chief cornerstone,
is elect and He's precious. Do you know that Jesus Christ
is God's elect? We are electing Him. We're chosen
in Him. That's why no sinner is ever
going to take pride in their election. No sinner will ever
take pride in their salvation. You know why? Because they didn't
have anything to do with it. They were elected and chosen
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And apart from Christ, well,
there is no election and there is no elect. The first thing
Paul tells the church at Ephesus is, according as He, God hath
chosen us in Him, in Christ, before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him
in love. Ephesians 1-4. And then again
verse 7, but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which
the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the
corner. Now there's two types of people
spoken of here, them that believe and them which be disobedient."
And Peter informs all of us, believers and the disobedient,
that Christ the stone, which the builders disallowed, the
same is made the head of the corner. Christ is the very foundation. Now listen. I know this is very
basic, but we go wrong here, we miss it all. Christ is the
very foundation and strength of the whole building of God.
The whole church of God is built upon Him. And look what Christ
has made to those who do not believe, to those who are disobedient. Verse 8, He's a stone of stumbling. He's a rock of offense. Even
to them which stumble at the Word, being disobedient, whereunto
also they were appointed. To those who do not believe,
Christ is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. You talk
to men and women about the true Christ of the Bible, and they
just stumble. He's a rock of offense. Men and
women found our Lord offensive. The Scripture talks about the
offense of the cross. The true gospel is offensive
to the natural man and woman. The gospel is offensive to man's
so-called righteousness. God says that apart from Christ,
men and women have no righteousness. There's none righteous, no not
one. Does that offend you? It won't offend a believer. It
won't offend a true Christian. Why? Because it's the truth.
The Lord has revealed that to and in His people. The gospel
offends a self-righteous person's pride. The gospel of God's free
and sovereign grace in Christ doesn't give men and women anything
to be proud about. Not a thing. We did the sinning
and God did the saving. He gets all the glory, all the
honor in our salvation. Isn't that right? You tell a
man that, it defends his pride. A natural man wants to work to
contribute. What must I do to be saved? The
gospel is offensive to man's wisdom. Salvation is not by the
wisdom of man. Salvation is by divine revelation. And it's God who reveals these
things to us. Salvation is by sovereign mercy. You can't figure these things
out. Why? Because they're God's ways, and
God's ways are past finding out. And I've said this before and
I say it again with no hesitation. I don't need a God I can understand. I need God. I'll never understand. His ways are past finding out.
And we're not saved by enticing words of man's wisdom. We're
totally dependent on God making Himself known to us. But when
it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by His grace, Oh, when it pleased God to save me. When
it pleased God to do what? To reveal His Son in me. Paul
said, I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached
of me is not after man. He said, for I neither received
it of man, neither was I taught it, but by what? The revelation
of Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 1.17, Paul said
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and
the knowledge of Him. How that by revelation He made
known unto me the mystery, Paul said, Ephesians 3. And in chapter
1, here of Peter, 1 Peter, look at verse 13, we're right here. We read, wherefore, gird up the
loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace
that is to be brought unto you at the, what? Revelation of Jesus
Christ. Our hope to the end for grace
is brought unto us, how? He tells us right there. At the
revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is salvation. Has
God revealed that to you? That's the revelation of Jesus
Christ. And that's why Paul said, for
I determined not to know anything among you save or except Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. That's the only thing that'll
save you. Beloved, if Christ died for you, trust me when I
tell you that everything's gonna be alright. Why? Because He fulfilled the law
in your place. Why? Because He satisfied the
justice of God on your behalf. Why? Because He paid for you
the debt of sin's wages, which was death. And the justice of
God cannot punish Him and punish you also. God's justice won't
allow it. The Gospel is offensive to man.
It's offensive to man's rights. But we don't have any rights.
We forfeited them all. We live in an entitled world
today, don't we? Sin's made it so. Men and women
think that we have a right to expect something from God, that
somehow or another we're entitled to something. By the fall of
Adam, along with our own practice of depravity, we've forfeited
all the rights that man once had. We don't have any rights.
And again, verse eight reminds us that those who stumble at
the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed. Now, Matthew Henry wrote this.
He said, all those who go on resolutely in their infidelity,
in their rebellion, and in their contempt of the gospel, are appointed
unto eternal destruction. Only those whom God knew, loved,
and chose in eternity would and will be called, justified, kept,
one day glorified. And all the others, all the others
that are and were offended, they stumble and they're disobedient,
and they don't believe on Christ. And the Word of God here says,
whereunto also they were appointed. Over the years, I've seen a lot
of people get upset when you talk to sinners about sinners
being appointed unto destruction. I've been around long enough
to know that there are a lot of people that seem to think
just because you believe in the doctrine of election that you
somehow think that God delights and finds pleasure in the death
of the wicked. He doesn't. It's not so. He says
so Himself. And it's in your Bible. Ezekiel
33-11. Listen to God's words. Say unto
them, As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way. And you know,
to repent is to turn, isn't it? That the wicked repent from his
way. And live, turn ye, God says,
turn ye from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house
of Israel? And then, at the same time, Paul
says in Romans 9, hath not the potter power over the clay? And
of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another
unto dishonor. He said, what if God, willing
to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with
much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction,
and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the
vessels of mercy which He had aforeprepared unto glory? Now,
I'm going to be honest with you, friends. I don't understand all
that. But I know that it's so. And
if believing both makes me to be what some call a hyper-Calvinist,
that's okay. I call it being a believer. I
don't understand God. He's past finding. But I know
He does all things well. And I'm going to trust in Him.
And that's what Peter's talking about here in verse 9. Peter
speaking to these believers tells them, look at it with me, verse
9, 1 Peter 2. He says, but you are a chosen. You see that? You are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a procure your
people that ye should show forth the praises of him who has called
you out of darkness into his marvelous light. A chosen generation. The Lord said, you've not chosen
Me, but I've chosen you. Aren't you glad that God chose
you? Peter says that we're a royal priesthood. Every believer can
come boldly into the throne of grace, confidently into the presence
of God and be heard. How? Christ is our great high
priest. And we in Him are made a royal
priesthood. Does God hear our great high
priest? You better believe He does. The
Lord said that He did. He said, I know that thou hearest
me always. And He said that when He was
on earth. Now He sits on the throne of God, at the right hand
of God, forever making intercession for His people, mediating on
His elect's behalf, seeing that their faith fail them not. Isn't
that a wonderful thing? God chose us and God hears us,
but only when we're found in Christ. And Peter says that those
who believe and trust in Christ are a holy nation. Holy means
without sin. That's hard for someone who is
nothing but sin to get a hold of, isn't it? My, my, how are
we cleansed and made without sin? Just one way, the blood
of Christ. The blood of Christ has cleansed
me. We've been made nigh. How? By the blood of Christ.
Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission, there's
no forgiveness of sin. I was reading in the 86th chapter
of Psalms this morning, and David was praying there, and in verse
one he said, bow down thine ear, O Lord, and hear me. He said,
I am poor and needy. And then in his very next breath,
David said, preserve my soul for I am holy. How can you be
poor and needy and at the same time holy? Only in Christ. In and of myself I'm poor and
needy. In my flesh dwells no good thing. Oh, wretched man
that I am, not that I was. Yet, being in Christ, I am holy. I'm perfect without sin. That's
what the word means. Because Christ, by His perfect
work of righteousness and substitution in my place, presents His elect
perfect in Christ Jesus. Colossians 1.28. So Peter's speaking
here to God's people. Let's just review for a second.
He said, you're a chosen generation. You're a royal priesthood. You're
a holy nation. And then he says you're a peculiar
people. Now the word peculiar here does
not mean strange in context. I'm not saying that some of God's
people aren't strange, but that's not what the word peculiar means.
The word means purchased. You're a purchased people. Oh,
I like that. God's elect, God's people are
purchased people. Christ died for the elect. He
died for all that the Father gave Him. He died for all those
who would believe. Christ accomplished salvation
for all He died for. Christ finished the work of all
who believe in Him. It all goes together. And that
is all my hope. That's all my confidence. That's
all my assurance. Christ purchased me. with his own blood, been bought
with a price. And what a price it was. We're a purchased possession
to the praise of God's glory, Paul said in Ephesians 1. And
I love this passage here in 1 Peter chapter 2 that we are looking
at. But did you know that when it
comes to salvation, everything that's in the New Testament's
in love. I got a call yesterday from a pastor friend of mine.
He said, hey, let me give you an outline, a good outline. You
know, preachers do that. We like to give each other outlines
and all. And he rattled to the office.
I heard and he wrote it down. There's nothing original with
any of us. There better not be when it comes
to preaching and when it comes to the Gospel. Peter got his
outline here in 1 Peter 2 from Moses. Way back in Exodus chapter 19.
Go ahead and stick your marker here in 1 Peter. We may come
back to it, I don't know. But turn with me now to Exodus
chapter 19. I'll try to be brief. But look at Exodus chapter 19.
We'll begin in verse 1. In the third month, when the
children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt,
the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they
were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of
Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness. And there Israel
camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and
the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, thus
shalt thou say unto the house of Jacob, and tell the children
of Israel. Now the Lord told Moses here
to address both the house of Jacob and the children of Israel. I thought it was interesting,
since that was actually both of Jacob's names. As you know
the name Jacob, it means heal, it means supplanter. Jacob was
a deceiver, he was a liar, he was a deceptive man. Jacob was
the name given to him at his first birth. And then God renamed
him and called him Israel. And that's what God changed his
name to, Israel. And it means a prince of God.
It means one who prevails with God. What a picture of you and
I. Jacob and Israel. And we see here that God calls
His people by both names. And that's okay. When God calls
me Jacob, I say, yeah, that's me. That's me. By nature a heel,
a supplanter, a deceiver, a liar, we're prey to wicked wretches. And when He calls out my name
Israel, I say, blessed be God, that's me too. He's talking about
me. Every believer answers to both
names and every believer knows what I mean. In Christ, God has
changed our name to Israel, showing us how in Christ He's made us
heirs to His throne by lifting us up from the dunghill and setting
us among princes and making us the sinners that we are to prevail
with God. In Christ, I'm a prince of God.
What a thought. In verse 4, God tells His people,
He says, You've seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I
bear you on eagles' wings and brought you unto Myself. Do you notice the language of
Scripture here? Oh, may God reveal to us what
many still don't know. Salvation is what God has done
for us. God first says, I destroyed your
enemy. You saw what I did to the Egyptians.
And secondly, God said, I bear you on eagles' wings. You know,
there are no stronger wings than that of an eagle. This represents
the strength and the power of God by which we're brought to
Christ. Did you notice where God brought
us? He said, I brought you to Myself. That's where we have
to be enabled to come, to God. How is a thrice holy God and
a sinner like me going to be reconciled together? That's the
issue. And you tell a sinner how that's accomplished, you
preach the Gospel. I brought you to myself. Our
Lord said no man can come to Me, except the Father which sent
Me drawing. No man can come. No man has the
ability. I can remember, I think maybe
I was in about the fourth grade, and I didn't understand this
until years later. But I remember raising my hand
and asking the teacher if I could go to the bathroom. And she said,
well, I suppose you can, but you may not. And I thought, well,
what in the world does that mean? I gotta go. And I went and I
got in trouble. But what she meant was, is I'm
sure that you have the ability to go, but you don't have the
permission. But here the Lord is saying,
you don't have the ability to come, you can't come. You're
dead in trespasses and sin. A dead man or woman can't come.
No man can come except the Father growing. Unless our great King
come to where we are and fetch us the spiritually crippled Mephibosheth
that we are, we cannot come and we will not come. Unless our
Good Shepherd comes to us and puts us on His shoulders and
brings us to His fold, we would be just prone to wander further
and further and further away from Him. And though it's true
that a sinner has to come to Christ in order to be saved,
it's equally true that God must give that sinner life before
the first step can be taken. Now look at verse five. God said,
now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant,
then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for
all the earth is mine, and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation. And these are the words which
thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. Did you notice the
word obey in verse 5? That's a big word to only be
four letters. Obey. We have a problem with
that. Always had a problem with it. Our children have to learn
to obey. We have to teach them to obey. The word obey could have been
easily translated here though as hear. Many times the same
Greek word is translated hear. with your ears. If you will hear
My voice. You will not obey His voice if
you don't truly hear it. And if you haven't truly heard
His voice, you won't obey it. Faith is obeying God's voice. And God says to repent and believe
the Gospel throughout the Scriptures. And it's a command to be believed
and kept. God says here, keep My covenant.
And the word keep here means to guard. Do you know what we
guard and watch over the closest and the most? The things that
are most precious to us. Faith is the gift of God's grace
and it's the evidence that He has given me is that I believe. The evidence of my faith is that
I believe. And that's why I believe. I believe because of His grace.
And if we deny the necessity of faith, we're basically saying
that we don't really have to believe on Christ to be redeemed.
God says, if you will obey my voice, if you will hear my voice,
those who truly hear will obey. It's the same thing. What are
we to obey? God's voice. God's Word. Not
the voice of a stranger, but the voice of God. Not the voice
of a harling, but the voice of the shepherd. Now look at verse
5 again. I'll wrap this up. Now therefore,
if you will obey, or if you will hear my voice indeed, and keep
my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above
all people, for all the earth is mine. You see, it's in believing
that we see that God has done something for us, that He has
not done for everyone. When God here says, for all the
earth is Mine, we know that includes the fullness thereof. The earth
is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Everyone in one sense
or another belongs to God. He's their Creator. He's their
God. But there are some here who God
says are above all people. Because God made a difference
in me. God distinguishes. Did you know
that God discriminates? I need not apologize for that.
It's God that does the distinguishing. Grace is discriminating. I need
not to make excuses for God. He has mercy on whom He'll have
mercy. God says, I'm going to make you
a peculiar treasure unto Me, above all people. I don't know
about you, but I have a hard time thinking that God could
look at me as a peculiar treasure. A treasure? Me? And then you're
always going to have someone that says, well, that's not fair.
Do you know what fair is? Fair is sending all of a state.
God having mercy on any is a great grace. Who maketh thee to differ? What do we have we didn't receive?
What do we have besides sin that God didn't give us, friend? And
if God gave it to you, why do you glory as if you obtained
it yourself? Now look at verse six. And you
shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. And these are the words which
thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. Oh, those who obey God's voice,
those who keep God's covenant are made first a kingdom of priests. A true priest is someone who
can come into God's presence and be heard. God hears His children. God hears His people. He says,
come boldly into the throne of grace that you may find mercy,
help, and time of need. Come boldly. He hears me because
Christ intercedes at the Father's right hand for me. And our union
is such with Christ that He makes us a kingdom of priests who have
the ear of God. And secondly, those who obey
God and keep His covenant, those who hear God, keep His covenant
are a holy nation. Holy, set apart, sanctified. You know, when I was born again,
I was given a holy nature. Do I see it? No. Do I feel it? No. Do I believe I have it? Absolutely. Within me is that holy nature
that now believes God. I mean, that me that really believes. Within me is that holy nature
that loves the Lord Jesus. I mean that part of me that really
loves and adores and cherishes my Savior. That's the nature
that walks in obedience. That's the me that really hears
and obeys and believes God. Now if you have your markers
still in 1 Peter, look back there with me. If not, that's okay.
But look at verse 9 again in closing. I love to think about
what God has made us here. Child of God, you're a chosen
generation. Verse 9, you're a royal priesthood. You're a holy nation. You're
a purchased people. And it was God that chose you.
And it was God that purchased you. And God gets all the glory. And He says that you should bring
forth the praises of Him of whom hath called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light. Is there any doubt in your mind
the salvations of the Lord?