I invite you this morning to
turn back with me again to the first general epistle of Peter. 1 Peter chapter 2. My subject this morning is what
we were, what we are. I'm not talking about how we
actually were and are in the sight of God. But I'm talking
about what we were and what we are in our own mind's eye and
in our heart. There's no change on God's behalf. No change. God didn't just suddenly
discover one day that you were lost. He knew you were lost. He loved you when you were lost.
He made provision for you when you were lost. He came and found
you when you were lost. And He gathered you up in His
bosom and brought you back to the fold. There is no change
on God's behalf. His love, His mercy, and His
grace are always the same. Always the same. The change is
in us. Not in Him. I am the Lord, I change not. Now, 1 Peter 2, verses 9 and
10. Let's look at that. But you are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people, that
you 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." Under Joseph's
rule back in Egypt, everybody here knows who Joseph was. Under
Joseph's rule, provision was made for a famine in Egypt. And
it was made for all the land around Egypt. The provision was
there long before the need, was it not? The design for the provision
was long before the provision. The corn was safe in the silo
years before ever a hunger was felt by the people. The corn
was in the silo. The Lord's design for this corn
did not change when the famine was sent. He simply manifested
what He designed to do from the beginning. Are you with me so
far? And the corn, which was stored
for Jews and Gentiles alike, had no value and no benefit to
either one, not to the Jews and not to the Gentiles, until their
need was made known. And they come where the corn
was dispersed, and they received it and ate it and were nourished
by it. That's what Peter is talking
about in this text. if so be you've tasted that the
Lord is gracious. And that's what I want to show
you in this text today. Now let's begin with the first
word of the text, but. I almost titled my message this
morning, but. What does that word mean? What does the word but mean? Lots of sentences start out in
the Bible with the word but. What does the word but indicate? Well, I'm taking this straight
out of the dictionary. It means something contrary to
what might be expected. It means with this exception. It means with this objection
or restriction. We've got a well-known phrase
in our society. We use it all the time when we're
talking about contracts for houses. No ifs, ands, or buts. And we
understood what that meant. In this sense, this word is used
four times in this chapter alone. And each time, it is to show
a distinction between ungodly men and believers in Christ. It is meant to show you the exception
to the rule. Look with me at verse 4 in this
chapter. To whom coming as unto a living
stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. Verse 7. 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, verse 9, ye are a chosen
generation. a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of Him
who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. And
then if you look down at verse 25, For ye were as sheep going
astray, but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop
of your souls. Now what I'm laboring to preach
to you this morning, and to those who may be listening via the
Internet, is the sovereign, distinguishing grace of God in Christ Jesus. Listen to this Scripture over
here in Titus. Titus chapter 3, verse 3. For
we ourselves also, also, just like those that we're preaching
to, we're sometimes foolish disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts
and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating
one another. But, you see how that word comes
into play? But, after the kindness and love
of God our Savior toward man appeared, that is, appeared to
us as individuals, not by works of righteousness which we've
done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. My friend, being
a believer is a great and glorious privilege. It's the highest privilege
that man can be bestowed with. Being a believer, it's a privilege
given to us by the distinguishing grace of God. Who maketh thee
to differ from another? That's what our Lord said. Did
you do it? Who made you to differ from another? Who set this distinction? Who made this sanctification?
Who set you apart from other men? It's the grace of God. And by grace are you saved through
faith and that not of yourselves. Where His workmanship God's workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, works of love and
faith and repentance, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them. Now go back to our text. In verses
7 and 8, Peter tells us of the dark side of humanity. He's telling us where God found
us. He's telling us where we were
before this regeneration. And he's talking about a people
who were disobedient here to the gospel. They were disobedient
to the gospel. People who heard it preached,
but called it out concerning their faith. They heard how God
chose a people in Christ before the world began. They heard how
God made provision for all them and for all His elect in Him.
purposed all spiritual blessings in him for his people, predestinated
them unto the adoption of children in Christ Jesus, making them
heirs of God with Christ. They heard how God came into
this world, being made flesh in the womb of a virgin. They
heard how Christ lived on their behalf, suffered in their room
instead, and died for their sins according to the Scripture. They
heard that He was raised from the dead, appearing to hundreds
of witnesses, and how He ascended up into glory with His holy angels. They heard that He was seated
at the right hand of God, successful, victorious, giving power over
all flesh to give eternal life to as many as the Father had
given Him. They heard about the chosen means
of preaching. They heard about assembling yourselves
together and the presence of the Holy Ghost. But they received
not the things of the Spirit of God. None of them. None of them. Why? Because they were foolishness
unto them. A sovereign Christ did not go
well with their concepts of God. Contrary. I wouldn't serve a
God like that. A man told me that one time.
I wouldn't serve a God like that. Sovereign grace was contrary
to their ideas of works and decisionism. Imputed righteousness had no
place with their self-righteousness. And the glory of God left no
room for their boast. And so the stone which God made
the head of the corner was cast aside. They called it out. They looked at it. They heard
of it. They witnessed the preaching of it. They saw it in the Word
of God. But it didn't fit their concept,
so they threw it aside and looked for another stone. It became unto them, Peter said,
a stumbling stone. Not a foundation stone, not a
great cornerstone upon which the whole temple rested, but
it become a stumbling stone and a rock of offense. This world,
if left to themselves, left to their own wisdom and ideas, left
to their own reasoning and ability, left to evaluate spiritual matters
and to interpret the Word of God, will always embrace the
darkness. and never embrace the truth. That's what's going to happen
if God leaves you alone. Natural men are sent strong delusion
because they receive not the love of the truth that they might
be saved. Natural men are given over to
a reprobate mind because when they knew God, they refused to
glorify Him as God. They changed the glory of God,
Paul said, into an image made like unto man, birds, four-footed
beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore, God gave them up to
uncleanness. They changed the truth of God
into a lie, and God gave them up to vile affections. They did
not desire to retain God in their knowledge, so God gave them over
to a reprobate mind. Men and women who will not believe
on Christ are appointed of God to a stumbling of the stumbling
stone. And having stumbled on it, they
are left to themselves to serve whatever gods their evil hearts
have an appetite for. You don't believe me? Listen
to this. This is over in Joshua, Joshua
24. Joshua said to Israel, If it
seemed evil to you to serve the Lord. What's he talking about? If it seemed evil to you to serve
the Lord. If you think sovereign grace
is a violation of man's rights, sovereign grace seems evil to
you, don't it? If you think election is unjust,
if you think distinguishing mercy robs men of their free will,
if you think imputed righteousness is not sufficient to satisfy
God, if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, choose you this
day whom you'll serve. Whether the God your fathers
worshiped back on the other side of the flood, You can go worship
them or you can worship with the Amorites in whose land you're
in. You're free. This is man's free will. He's
free to choose whatever false religion he wants. That's free
will. You're on your own. Oh, thank God for this little
three-letter word. But. Here's the exception. Here's
the restriction. Here's what natural logic would
never expect. Ye are a chosen generation. Isn't that what Peter said? Ye are a chosen generation. It
didn't appear that way down in the iron furnace of Egypt. It didn't appear that way under
the taskmaster's whip. It didn't appear that way when
they were made to gather their own straw, but the tally stayed
the same. But oh, it did when God's messenger
appeared on the scene. It did when the plagues began
to destroy the kingdom of Egypt, but Goshen went untouched. It
did when the blackness that could even be felt covered the land,
and God passed through and took all the firstborn. But He passed
over that house upon the doorpost where the blood of the Lamb was
struck. It did when the seas split, and
all Israel passed through to the other side. And it did as
they survived their stay in the wilderness, and it did as they
took possession of the land given to them of God. Ye are a chosen
generation. A chosen generation. As Israel
was the generation of Abraham, so spiritual Israel is the generation
of Christ, chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.
Chosen to be sons and heirs of God. Chosen to be beneficiaries
of God's covenant blessings. Chosen as objects of His unchangeable
mercy and grace. Chosen to be preserved by faith
unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time. All of these
things Peter has made clear before he ever got to this text. He
writes to them, calls them the elect of God. Why am I here today? Ask yourself
that question. All of the places that I could
be, why am I here? Why am I here? Why am I listening
to this man? It could be. It could be. I don't know. I just know how
God works in the hearts of men. I don't know. But it could be
that you're one of God's elect. Might be. Might be. You are a chosen generation,
Peter told them. Secondly, he said, A royal priesthood. A priest was chosen of God and
set apart for the work in the sanctuary. That's what he did. That's what his children did.
That's what his children's children did. By divine ordination, every
Levite was born into the priesthood. There was no decision to be made.
Are you a Levite? Then you're a priest. You're
a priest. Every child of God born again
into the body of Christ is a priest. He's a priest. His whole life
has been set apart for serving God. His whole life. He's been protected. He's been
hedged about. Providence has been ruled for
him. His whole life is set apart for
serving God. You're a royal priesthood. And
listen to this, a holy nation. All of them perfectly holy in
Christ, perfectly righteous in Christ, washed in the blood of
the Lamb, washed in the waters of regeneration. Cleansed by
our high priest from all unrighteousness. Placed in the church of the living
God. And we're no more strangers and
pilgrims, but fellow citizens with the saints. We're a holy
nation. And then listen to this. We are
a peculiar people. Now, we often use this word to
describe something odd. That's not what this word means. It means special. Special. God's elect He calls
them the apple of his eye. This right here is the apple
of your eye. They are the apple of his eye. He's sensitive to their needs.
He hears their cry when he hears not others. He hears their cry. The cry of my people, he said,
have come unto me. David confessed what he was,
but he said, here's what I can't get over. The Lord thinketh on
me. His people are special. They're
special to Him. His grace is not applied universally,
but in particular. His love is particular love. Now let me see if I can illustrate
this. I'm going to talk to you men
for a minute. The world's full of women. Full of women. Women
everywhere. Black, white, yellow, red, tall,
short, wise, ignorant, old, young. Isn't it particular how you just
found one as the object of your love? Huh? Why? Because she's special. She's special. In Ephesians 5, verse 31, it
says, For this cause shall man leave his father and mother,
and shall be joined unto his wife, and they too shall be one
flesh. This is a great mystery, Paul
said, a great mystery. But I speak concerning Christ
and the church. Where the rest are concerned,
they are expendable. Does that seem harsh? They're expendable. He sacrificed, and this is the
word of the Lord to His people. He said, I've sacrificed nations
for you. God obliterated Egypt. He came
down on Egypt with such force that they're still, superstitiously,
they're still afraid of Israel. Still. unto this day after thousands
of years. He obliterated Egypt. He threw out and took the land
away from the Amorites, the Hittites, all of the Ites, everybody that
was in that land, He took it away from them and gave it to
Israel. I sacrificed nations for you.
I gave people for you, He tells us. But concerning His elect,
they are not expendable. He said, it is not My will that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. You
see what Peter is telling us? They are peculiar people. They
are special to God. They are special to Him. Now
very quickly, let's talk about why. Why are we chosen in Christ? Why has God set us apart as a
royal priesthood? Why are we a holy nation? Why
are we so peculiar or special to Him? Look down at the last
part of verse 9 here in I Peter 2. That, that is, in order that
ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out
of darkness into His marvelous light. God saves sinners for
the glory of His name. That's why He saves them. That's
why He saves them. And every sinner saved by grace
will be a trophy of God's distinguishing grace. The hymn writer sang,
I will ever tell the story, shouting, glory, glory, glory, hallelujah,
Jesus ransomed me. Glory, glory, glory. And then back in verse 10, and
I'll quit. Which in time past were not a
people. They weren't a people. You didn't
know anything about an elect people. You didn't know anything
about Israel. You thought Israel was that little nation over there
in the Middle East. You knew nothing about spiritual Israel.
You was without God, without covenants, without anything in
the world. You didn't know anything about
the Christ, the Messiah. You just sang about Him at Christmas
time. You didn't know anything about Him, which in time past
were not a people. You were Gentiles. You had no
promise. You had nothing, which were not a people. But
now, now, you're the people of God. You
were a people which had not obtained mercy. Mercy was there, but you
didn't obtain it. But now have obtained mercy. Now, beloved, if you can find
yourself in this text, you're not your own. You've been bought
with a price. You've been set apart for a purpose.
And you now bear His name, not your own. You're a Christian. You're a Christian. And it's
not our name we seek to protect, it's His. And it's not our praises
we desire to promote, but His. It's not our glory we want to
call attention to, but His. We are to show forth the praises
of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. And in love and gratitude we
are to live our lives as those chosen, redeemed, and given the
right and privilege to become sons of God. We are, verse 13,
to submit ourselves, listen to this, to every ordinance of man
for the Lord's sake. Whether it be to the king as
supreme or governors as unto them sent by Him for the punishment
of evil doers. For so is the will of God. that
with well-doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
men." As free men, not under the yoke of the law, not under
the bondage of the law, free men. Not using your liberty for a
cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Now, as
servants of God, Bought, set apart, special in His eyes, born
to be priests. Listen to this. Honor all men,
love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the King. And do it, He said, for the Lord's
sake. For the Lord's sake. We don't
do it because they deserve it. My soul, I don't know any politicians
who deserve anything but jail. We don't do that for them. We
do this for the Lord's sake. For the Lord's sake. Oh, preacher,
if you knew my wife, I may know her better than you do. I'm going
to tell you something. You can love her for Christ's
sake, can't you? You can be patient with her for
Christ's sake. This is what he's telling us.
Do these things for the Lord's sake. Why will we do them? Because we have gratitude and
love for what He's done for us. I tell you, if we served Him
every minute of every day until we died, we wouldn't even begin
to repay what He's done for us. Couldn't even begin.