For our scripture reading, turn
with me to 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 2. Wherefore, laying aside all malice
and all guile and hypocrisy, and envies, and evil speakings,
as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may
grow thereby, if so be ye tasted that the Lord is gracious. To
whom coming is unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men,
but chosen of God and precious And ye also, as lively stones,
are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained
in the Scriptures, Behold, I lay in sign a chief cornerstone,
elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be
confounded. Unto you, therefore, which believe,
he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense,
even to them which stumble at the word being disobedient, whereunto
also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should
show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light. Wherein in time past ye were
not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not
obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. I beseech you as strangers and
pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Having your conversation honest
among the Gentiles that whereas they speak against you as evildoers,
they may by your good works which they shall behold glorify God
in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves. to every ordinance
of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme
or unto governors as unto them that are sent by him for the
punishment of evildoers and for the praise of them that do well.
For so is the will of God that with well-doing you may put to
silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free not using your liberty
for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor
all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the King. Servants, be subject to your
masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also
to the froward. This is thankworthy if a man
for conscience toward God endure grief and suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if when
you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently? But if when you do well and suffer
for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
For even hereunto were you called, because Christ also suffered
for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps.
Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who when
he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. who his own self bear our sins
and his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should
live under righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. For
ye were a sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the
shepherd and bishop of your soul. if you will turn back with me
in your Bibles to the passage that we just read in 1 Peter
chapter 2. I want us to consider, to look at, and hopefully by the grace of
God incorporate the Apostles exhortation into our daily walk. The subject of these verses that
we've just read is talking about the remainder of our days in
this world. That's what he's talking about.
Not talking about something that happened years ago. Not talking
about what happened in eternity. He's talking about our life. the remainder of the believer's
life until he dies. And before we get into our study,
I want to be as clear as I can be to whom he's writing these
things and who he's encouraging to walk this walk. This is not
a foundation text for fallen man to work himself into favor
with God. Men, use this. I was taught this
as a child. If you do this, the Lord will
bless you. You can walk this walk, you can
quit doing this and start doing that, and you can win the affection
of God and He'll bless you and bless you and bless you until
you die. This is not a foundation text
for that kind of thing. This is not a foundation text
or an outline for progressive sanctification. It's not talking
about you getting holier and holier. And this is not a formula for
troubled folks to straighten out their lives by adopting some
new and better habits. In fact, this is not an exhortation
to the world at all. I don't think I ever fully realized
that until I started studying this text. This is not an exhortation
to the world at all. He's not talking to people out
here. Who's he talking to? Well, he
takes 35 verses of this epistle to tell you exactly who he's
talking to. Huh? Starts out, he's writing,
I'm writing to the people, they're strangers scattered throughout
conscious Galatia, all over the place. That is, they're not Jews,
they're Gentiles. They're strangers. But even more
than that, they're strangers to this Word. These words are
directed to believers. He's writing to God's elect,
men and women chosen of God, redeemed by Christ, regenerated
by the Holy Ghost. These are people the Scripture
says have been made meat in Colossians 1, if you want to read it. made
meek to be partakers of the inheritance of enlightened saints. That's
who he's writing to. In the first 35 verses of this
epistle, Peter goes into great detail to define who he's writing
to and how they come to be what they are. Their election, Christ's person
and work, the preaching of the gospel. The Spirit's inward work
of grace, and he's writing to those who have tasted, he tells
us. I read that to you in chapter
2. If so be you tasted that the Lord is gracious. They are they
who have been made living stones, built up a spiritual house, made
a spiritual priesthood, a holy priesthood. And he tells us that
to believers in Christ, Christ is precious. And to the disobedient,
he's a stumbling block. A stumbling block. A rock of
offense. And then just before he opens
his text, he summarizes again who he's writing to. Listen to
this summary. Look at it there in verse 9 of
our text. 1 Peter 2 verse 9. Now he just finished saying that
to the disobedient, whereunto they were appointed, He's a rock
of offense. He's a stone of stumbling. But
ye are a chosen generation. Who's he writing to, a chosen
generation? A royal priesthood, an holy nation,
a peculiar people. Now listen, that ye, not the
world, that ye should show forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light. Which in time past were not a
people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained
mercy, but now have obtained mercy. And when he says, which
were not a people, he's not talking about how they were considered
by God, but how they appeared before men. They've always been
the people of God. He chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world. That's when we were made His
people. But we didn't appear that way when we were born. And
we didn't appear that way when we were growing up. But you appear
that way when God comes and intervenes in your life. When He says, which had not obtained mercy,
not talking about what they obtained in Christ, but what they experienced
in time in their calling. Christ obtained mercy for us
long before we were born. But we didn't know anything about
it until He intervened in our lives. Our knowledge of God's
election is made known by faith and the fruit which this faith
produces. And because faith is the gift
of God and the work of the Spirit of God, it's called the fruit
of the Spirit. But no man who has faith has
not the fruit. Faith and fruit go together.
Faith comes, actually, when God gives faith, He calls it in the
book of John, a grafting into the vines. And then He tells
us what that grafting is for. We produce fruit. If there's
no fruit, but somebody professes the grafting, he said, we just
cut that limb off. We don't need an apple tree that
don't produce apples. Our knowledge of God's election
is made known by faith and the fruit which it produces. And
verses 9 and 10 of this text are dealing with what believers
have obtained by faith, through the means of faith, and the inward
work of the Spirit of God. And without this work of grace,
if you don't hear anything else I say, you hear this. Without
this work of grace, there can be no walk with God. You can't do it. You can't do
it. walked with God. That's what
the scripture says. He walked with God. And he kept
right on walking with God, and all of a sudden, he wasn't to
be found anywhere. God translated him. But before
his translation, he left this testimony that he walked with
God. He pleased God. But without faith,
it is impossible to please God. Without this work of grace, There's
no walk with God. Now these things made clear. Peter gives us five things pertaining
to the life and walk of believers in this world. And may the Lord
who inspired him to write these things inspire us to believe
them, adopt them, put them into action in our lives. And the
first thing he tells us is to walk in the reality of our place
with God. I'm preaching, what are you talking
about? He tells you in this verse, as pilgrims and strangers in
this world. Strangers and pilgrims. In Hebrews
11, verse 13, talking about the old patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob. He said, These all died in faith,
not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off,
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, now listen, and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. They saw something They saw that where they were
and what they were doing was just temporary. It's just temporary. It's like Israel when he led
them through the wilderness. The wilderness is not the end,
it's just the way. It's just the way. The promised
land is the end. You see what I'm saying? We're
just here for our life. James describes our whole life
from birth to death as a vapor. Like steam on an old tea kettle
on the stove. Some of you old enough to know
what that is. You watch that steam come out
of the tea kettle and it just disappears. Don't take but a
few seconds. And I tell you what, I'm going
to be 75 in a few months. 75, three quarters of a century.
You know how fast my life went by? Just like a vapor. Like a vapor. And then he goes on in Hebrews
11 verse 14 and said, For they that say such things declare
plainly that they seek a custom. I'm not seeking anything this
world can produce. I'm looking at what God has already
set and built and ready and finished and waiting. And truly, he said, if they'd
been mindful of that country from which they come out, they
might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire
a better country that is a heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. That's what they were looking
for, a city that had foundations whose builder and maker was God. And our Lord prayed to his Father,
Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with
me where I am. Where is he? He's in glory. Where's your heart? Here? We're just here for a little
bit. All these relationships that are so dear to us, and rightfully
so, they need to be dear to us, but they're going to be resolved
there. There's no marrying or giving in marriage there. We
all be one. We all are one. Oh, I pray that they be with
me where I am, that they may behold my glory that thou hast
given me. For thou lovest me before the
foundation of the world. And in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul
writes, if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are
of all men most miserable. I tell you, when people get miserable,
When all their hopes is in this world and they're ready to die,
then they get miserable. You can't comfort them, you can't
do anything for them, because they're going to lose their treasure.
They're going to lose this world. But not God's people. Paul said,
if I had my way, I'd rather die. I haven't met anybody yet with
that kind of faith. But Paul said he was. He was. It's better, he said, for me
to die and be with the Lord. But for your sake, he said, he's
leaving me here. And that's why we're here. We're
just pilgrims. We're the strength. We're just
whatever life we got left. Why does God leave us here at
all? Why don't he just translate us like he did in it and just
take us up to glory? Why don't he do that? Because
he's granted us a high privilege. to be fellow laborers with him
in the calling out of his people. And he leaves us here. Now we
live that way. Live that way. Believers are men and women like
the saints of old who hold dear the promises of God, covenant
promises Promises of life eternal, promises of an eternal resurrection,
promises of being with Christ and being like Christ. To be
absent from the body, Paul said, is to be present with the Lord.
Oh, what a comfort. A better country, a better place
to live, a sinless habitat, no darkness, no pain, no sorrow,
no weeping. God himself should wipe away
all tears. No weeping. No death. And I'll tell you what's better
than all of this. No ignorance. You'll know as you are known.
Oh, our ignorance. How we needlessly suffer because
of our ignorance. I beseech you, Peter writes,
as strangers and pilgrims, just gonna be here for a little while,
abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Fleshly
lusts or desires are enemies to your soul's comfort and welfare. They cannot destroy your soul
because your soul is preserved in Christ, but they can yield
a present life of misery. And that's what Peter is warning
us of and encourages us not to do. Misery and trouble. Everything that we suffer in
this flesh will soon come to an end. And so we're told in
Colossians 3, verse 5, to mortify our members which are upon the
earth. Fornication, number one on the list. I'd say that's number
one on the list, on everybody's list in this world. Inordinate
affection, evil concupiscence, covetousness which is idolatry,
for which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children
of disobedience, and we've already seen what their end is. These were all things in which
we walked when we lived in them, Colossians 3 said. But now we're to put off the
old man. Put him off. You already know what he is.
He's been exposed to you. Put him off. We were in the trouble we were
in because of the old man, but we want to go back to the old
man and be buddies. You see what I'm saying? Put
off the old man with your deed. Put him off. You know what he
is. You know what he's about. What seemed right to him and
what he desired more than anything else, worldly fleshly lust, Put
those things off and put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of him that created him. All right, here's the second
thing. We're to walk as strangers and pilgrims. We're not going
to be here long. So don't act like you're going
to live forever because you're not going to live forever here. We have a better place. A better
place. All right, here's the second
thing he tells us concerning the life we have left to live.
We're to live out our days in this world being honest among
the heathen and submitting ourselves to every ordinance of man. So if this world has Christmas
as an ordinance, we're supposed to keep it. No, that ain't what
he's talking about. What he's talking about is things
like tribute or taxes. That's an ordinance. We're to
keep it. We're to keep that. We're to
be subject to whatever government that we're in. We live in the
United States. We're to submit to this government
the way it is. I've submit to their laws and
rules. You know, they say I have the
right to vote, I have the right to vote. You follow what I'm saying? These
are ordinances of men, and we're to submit to it. Might be different
one day. We might fall under a Russian
government. We might fall under some other
government. And we're to submit to those
things. Daniel didn't fight Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian government,
did he? No, he submitted to it and was
made a ruler over men concerning him. But now I want you to hear me. What Peter's talking about here
is civil law and taxes and men in authority. He's not telling
us that we have to keep pagan holidays or do anything that
they command that's contrary to the will and way of God. People in authority in Israel
commanded Peter and John not to speak at all in the name of
Jesus. They had the position. But what they were telling them
run contrary to God's will and way. And they didn't know it.
Both the apostles answered, whether it be right in the sight of God
to hearken unto you more than unto God, you judge. We cannot but speak the things
which we've seen and heard. They didn't do it. Daniel was
commanded to make no petition except to Nebuchadnezzar for
anything that he desired. But he didn't do that. He went
into his room and prayed to his God. And a bunch of guys who
set him up, ran and told Nebuchadnezzar what he'd done, and had to be
thrown into the lion's den. But no harm come to him. But
my point is, he didn't bow to them, and neither did the three
Hebrew children when the Pope and Tate made this golden image
of himself and commanded everybody to bow to it. They said, we're
not careful how we answer thee, old king. We ain't bowing to
that statue. They said, OK, we're going to
throw you in the furnace. And they did. But no harm come
to them. But here's my point, whether
harm comes or it don't come, we're not to obey anybody contrary
to God. Not here or in any other country. When they command us to do things
contrary to the will and way of God, we're to buck up and
say, no, we ain't gonna do that. And boy, how this was brought
to life during this thing of COVID. Churches were commanded
to not gather themselves together. Churches were commanded not to
sing. Basically, you don't worship
God. Preach with a mask on. We're not to follow government
blindly, but we're to consider what they say in the light of
Holy Scripture and judge these things by the will and way of
God. But in general, we're to submit
to these authorities who have their powers and ministry of
God, and it's given to them for our good. I can't imagine a world
of fallen men without restraint. Can you? Under restraint, they're
almost uncontrollable. Obedience and submission to the
powers and ordinances of men demonstrates the glory of God
in the lives of his elect. That's what Peter's telling you.
And we do these things, he said, for the Lord's sake, for his
sake. Taxes, laws, general seats of
authority, military, law enforcement, governors, so on. Now these men are not godly men,
but their ministry, he calls it his ministry, or their ministry,
is of God. Can God use ungodly men to minister? Yes, He can, and He does. He
does. God has a higher purpose of maintaining
peace in the world. He has a purpose of salvation,
for the glory of His name, and we're to get along with the heathen
for Christ's sake. First of all, we walk with God
in faith, knowing that our stay here is just temporary. We walked
with strangers and pilgrims. You know, I was studying this
and I got to think, Abraham never ran for office. He didn't back
anybody running for office. And he was a wealthy man. Abraham never tried to build
a home. But he lived in places where they thought he was something
else. They admired him. They were ready to give him land.
He never built a house there. His whole life, and he's the
father of the faithful. This is an example of faith.
His whole life he lived as a pilgrim. His whole life. And if you really
want to read something good, read Pilgrim's Progress. That
whole book is a picture of the believer as a pilgrim in this
world. Abraham lived in a tent until
he died. And we're to live honest among
the heathen and obey their authority and submit to their ordinances
for the glory of God and for Christ's sake. And then thirdly,
in verse 15, look at this. Peter tells us that our obedience
and submission is the will of God. We're going to live like God
says to live because that's His will. And I'm going to tell you
something you may not know. God does His will always. Always. Not just in heaven, but in heaven,
earth, and all deep places. He said in verse 15, for so is
the will of God that with well-doing you may put to silence the ignorance
of foolish men. And foolish man is here talking
about natural man who's not only ignorant of God, but refuses
to receive the things of the Spirit of God. And there's foolishness
to him. He's a fool. And men mock and
make fun of what they don't understand. And it's far more effective to
demonstrate grace and love than to simply declare it to men. He might not hear what you say,
but he can see what you do. Huh? So before you jump up in
somebody's face next time, you might want to think that over.
Men see what you do. They see what you do. And they see it more than they
hear what you say. And you can explain and explain
and explain, but I tell you what, one example will go further than
what you could preach in six months. Men can argue against words and
doctrines. There's no argument against a
godly life. You cannot live like a heathen
and expect men to receive you as a child of the Lord. It's the will of God, he said,
that with well-doing you may put to silence the ignorance
of foolish men. I just thought of something.
Our Lord had an example. These Pharisees came to him and
they were accusing him. These were ignorant men accusing
him of all kinds of stuff. And here's what he said. Which
of you convinces me of sin? Huh? Which of you convinces me
of sin? And if I say the truth, why do
you not believe me? If I'm living an absolute perfect
life before you, what's your kick? What's the foundation of
your argument against me? You ain't got nothing. John 8, verse 46. Everyone that
doeth evil hates the light, he said, neither cometh to the light
lest his deeds be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh
to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they're
wrought in God. The words put to silence in the
original here means to muzzle. You put the muzzle on them. Believers are not to get creative
when it comes to godly living. We seek to live according to
the will of God. And it's the will of God that
with well-doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
men. James said this. Show me thy
faith without your works, and I'll show you my faith by my
works. Now that's the difference. That's
the difference. Scripture said the fool is known
by his much speaking. And foolish men are big talkers,
ain't they? They're big talkers. Walk as
men and women, passing through as strangers and pilgrims. walk
and live for the glory of God and submit for the Lord's sake,
and live a life that's in harmony with the will of God. And then
fourthly, we're to live our lives as honest servants, not taking
advantage of our blessed state. Look with me here at verse 16. We're to walk as free and not using your liberty for
a cloak of maliciousness, but as servants of God. God's people
are recipients of a great and precious privilege. They're chosen
in and made provision for in Christ. Nothing can change your
state before God. Our Lord said to the Pharisees,
I give unto them eternal life and they'll never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. And my Father, which gave them
me, is greater than I, and no man is able to pluck them out
of my Father's hand, and I am my Father alone. And no matter what shall befall
this body and time in this world, my life is hid
with Christ in God, and when Christ is, our life shall appear,
then shall we also appear with Him in glory. Nothing is going
to change our state before God. Nothing. We're free. We're free. Believers are truly
free. Free from the curse of sin, the
power of sin, the punishment of sin, and free from the ignorance
and lies and all these things that men talk
about. We're free from those things. But we're never to use this liberty
for a covering of malicious for evil intention. What's he talking
about? Maliciousness. Mean, nasty, hurtful
things. Vindictive things. Vengeful,
cruel, unkind things. We're not to use it to mask that. Christian liberty is not a covering
for sin. We're able to walk as bond slaves. That's what Peter's talking about.
Walk as a bond slave. You're free to go out. At the
end of his service, he'd come to pass, and he's free to go
out. But he said, I love my master. I won't go out. And he said,
well, you come over here then. And stood him up against the
doorjamb and took an owl, hit it with a hammer, bored a hole
in his ear. They don't say this, but I believe
they put a ring in him. And that ring marked him as a
bond slave. bond slaves of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We are to walk as bond slaves
of Christ, willing, loving servants. Servants free to go out, but
prefer to stay in service. Servants of God. And then fifthly,
we walk committing all judgment to God. Boy, I tell you, I need
work on all these things. I don't know about you, but I
need work on every one of these things, but especially on this
one. Walk committing all judgment to God. Verse 23. Christ suffered
and endured grief, false accusations, and pain of heart, but reviled
not in return, rather committed himself to him that judgeth righteously,
who himself bare our sins in his own body on the tree." It's
not up to me to settle the score, that's what he's telling me.
God will settle the score. He'll run in that. I'll tell
you why we feel so impulsive to settle things ourselves, because
we don't believe he's in charge. But I tell you, the longer I'm
in this thing, the more I realize just how much in charge he is. And he can settle the score.
Now look with me at verse 17. Here's the sum of all our duties
of life. Here it is. Honor all men. Now back up and look at that
carefully. Men is in italics. He said, honor all. All of what? All that he's been talking about.
Kings and governors, ordinances, honor these things. These things
are of God. Honor all. We're not to honor all men, but such as are set before us
in this passage. And we're not to honor false
preachers. We're to judge them accursed of God. We're not to honor Judas. He betrayed Christ. We're not to honor murderers
and so on, but rather we're to honor all that is set in the
purpose of God for our good. We're to honor those things.
Honor all. Now watch this. Love the brotherhood. Love them. Well, yeah, but don't they have
some stipulations? Uh-uh. Uh-uh. What if God put some stipulations
on his love for you? Huh? That wouldn't work, would
it? No, we'd love the brotherhood.
Love them. Yeah, but every now and then
they step on my toes. Well, put some medicine on it,
go on about your business. You'll be all right. Love them. Love them. You know, it's so easy for us
to find fault in somebody else if we don't see it in ourselves.
We got a beam in our eye, and he just got a moat. But boy, we can see the moat,
can't we? Can't see that big. Oh, my soul. Love the brotherhood. Love them.
Love them. Christ died for them. He made
provision for them, same as he made for you. You're going to
spend eternity with them. Love them. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. All man can do you is destroy
this body. That's all he can do. God can destroy both soul and
body in hell. You fear God. And that's also talking about
a reverential fear. Fear him as your father. And honor the king. Honor the
king. Honor Nebuchadnezzar. He come
down there, boy, I tell you, he set Jerusalem on fire. He
took everything out of the temple. Honor him. Yeah, but you didn't
know what God had in mind for him. I believe God saved old Nebuchadnezzar.
If you read Daniel 4, I think you'll come up with the same
thing. honor the king. I don't know,
but if you don't honor him for anything else, you honor him
for why God made him king. Might not be my choice, but he's
God's choice. He might not be willing to do
what I want him to do, but he'll do what God wants him to do. He'll use him to punish or bless
according to his will. And the heart of the king, he
said, is in the hand of the Lord, just like the rivers of water.
He turneth it with him soever he will. Oh, may the Lord teach us how
to walk with this time that we have left in this world, how
to walk with him. I'll tell you, I'm tired of walking
by myself. I'm tired of walking trying to please myself and please
men. I want to know something about
what it is to walk with God. Don't you? Why? Because my hope is to spend
eternity with Him. That's why. Alright. May the Lord add His blessing
to the preaching of His Word.