My message for you today is taken
from 1 Peter chapter 2. I'm going to go verse by verse
through the first nine verses of 1 Peter chapter 1. Now, there's a phrase that's
used over and over again in the book of Acts referring to the
people of God, referring to the people who believe God, who believe
the Scriptures, who love our Lord Jesus Christ. They're called,
in the book of Acts, the people of the way. This is used six
times in the book of Acts. The people of the way, or the
people of this way, or that way. Let me give you just two or three
places where the people of God are referred to as that way.
In Acts 9, verse 2, Paul desired letters to Damascus. that if
he found any people of this way, he might arrest them and bring
them bound to Jerusalem to be put in prison, if he found any
people of this way. And then in Acts 19, verse 9,
the scripture says, many were hardened, and they didn't believe
the message preached, but they spake evil of this way. the way of grace, the way of
Christ, the way of the gospel. In Acts 22, Paul, giving his
own testimony about how he used to feel about the people of the
way, he said, I persecuted this way unto death, the people of
the way. That's how they're referred to
in the book of Acts about six times. And then the apostle Peter,
in chapter 2, of 1 Peter, he gave a wonderful description
of the people of the way. He said, you are a chosen generation,
the elect of God. He said, you're a royal priesthood,
king priest. He said, you are a holy nation.
He said, you are purchased people. You're not your own, you're bought
with a price. Purchased people. He said, you're
called people. God called you. out of darkness
into his marvelous light. In times past you were not a
people, but you're now the people of God. You have obtained mercy. Didn't earn it. Didn't deserve
it. Didn't work for it. Didn't buy it. We obtained it. And he says, and you're strangers
and pilgrims on the earth. You'll find these people of the
way. this way, these people of God,
these peculiar people. You'll find them in every nation.
You'll find them, as John wrote in Revelation, in every tongue,
tribe, and kindred on earth. You'll find that they're male
and female. They're old and young. Some are rich and some are poor.
Some are wise, some are unwise. But the Lord Jesus calls them
mashish. My sheep hear my voice, and they
follow me, and I give them eternal life. The Lord Jesus called them
my brethren. He said at the judgment, inasmuch
as you've done it to the least of these, my brethren, you've
done it to me. He calls them my church. He told
Peter and the apostles, I'll build my church. On this rock,
I'll build my church. And then he calls them my jewels.
I gave this scripture a few services ago in our church worship service. In Malachi 3, verse 17, the Lord
said, and they shall be mine, these people of the way, these
people of God, these believers. They shall be mine, saith the
Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels. I will spare
them as a man spares His only Son. But I've selected this passage
in 1 Peter 1, in which Peter, writing under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, gives such a full and rich definition of
the people of God, the people of the way, the people of that
way, that I want to give you these marks, these characteristics
of the people of the way. First of all, in verse 1, you
have your Bible, look at it. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ
to the strangers, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, Bithynia. Peter calls the people of God
scattered strangers. Why would he call them strangers?
Well, they're not strangers to God. I just quoted, our Lord
said, I know my sheep and they know me. I called them by name.
They're not strangers to God. And second, they're not strangers
in heaven. Our Lord said they're angel.
These people have angels, they have guardian angels. He'll give
his angels charge over you lest you dashed your foot against
the stone. Also the angels, Hebrews 1, 14, the angels are ministering
spirits sent to minister to those who are the heirs of salvation.
Did you know that? Angels minister to God's people
right here on this earth. That's what it said. The angels
of God are ministering spirits sent to minister to those who
shall be the heirs of salvation. So they're not strangers in heaven,
and they're not strangers to one another. The Lord Jesus said
concerning the believers, he said, who is my mother? Who are
my brethren? Who are my sisters? These who
do the will of God. The same with my mothers, my
brothers, my sisters, my people. I'll tell you why he called them
strangers. Now listen, I'll tell you why. They're strangers in
this world. The world knows them not, esteems
them not, regards them not. Most cases, loves them not, the
people of God. They're strangers in the world.
Their master was a stranger. He said, the world hated me before
it hated you. In John chapter 1 verse 10, he
was in the world and the world was made by him and the world
knew him not. It said in John 1 11, he came
to his own, his own nation, his own people, his own synagogue,
his own temple. and his own received him not.
He's called in one psalm the stranger of Galilee. He's not a stranger to his people,
but he's a stranger in this world. That's right. And believers,
God's people, can expect opposition from the people of the world.
Because, you see, the natural man receiveth not the things
of God. Neither can he know them. Their
spirits are understood. And he says there in 1 Corinthians
2, verse 7, If the leaders of this world had known who Jesus
Christ is, they would not have crucified him. But I had not
seen, and ear had not heard, neither hath it entered the heart
of man the things God has prepared for them that love him in this
man Christ Jesus. They didn't know him. He's a
man of sovereigns, acquainted with grief. They hid, as it were,
their faces from him. Everybody that was anybody turned
thumbs down on Jesus Christ when he was on this earth. They spit
in his face. And they went into a cross. They crucified him.
Strangers. Strangers. Our fathers in the
Old Testament days, the scripture says they all died in faith.
But while they were walking this earth, they were strangers and
pilgrims on this earth. This world is not the friend
of God. And this world will not be your friend if you walk with
God, and if you believe God, and if you love the gospel of
God. Our Lord said to His disciples before He went back to Gloria
and sent them out to a hostile world, sent them out to preach
the gospel, and He said, now listen, He said, they'll persecute
you, they'll harass you, they'll cast you out of the synagogue,
and there'll come a time when Well, a man who killed you will
think he does God a service, but they'll do this to you because
they neither know me nor my father. And if you, listen, if you were
of the world, the world would love you. But because you're not of the
world, now listen, this is the master talking. It's not Brother
May and this is the Lord Jesus. If you were of the world, the
ways of the world, the behavior of the world, the unbelief of
the world, the rebellion of the world. The world would love you,
but because you're not of the world, I've chosen you out of
the world. Therefore, the world hates you,
and they'll cast you out. So Peter said the people of God
are scattered strangers. I'm writing to the scattered
strangers, strangers to the world. And then in verse 2, the people
of God are called his elect. Let me read verse 2. You follow
as I read. It says, he's writing to the
strangers, elect, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you
and peace be multiplied. They elect. You know, the first
one called the elect is Christ. In Isaiah 42, verse 1, Christ
Jesus is called God's elect. Listen, let me read it. God says,
Behold, my servant, my servant, Christ was called the servant
of the Father, whom I uphold, mine elect, mine elect. Christ be my first elect, God
said, and then chose us in our head. He's mine elect. in whom
my soul delighteth." God's never said that about a man except
Christ. This is my beloved Son in whom
my soul delighteth, in whom I'm well pleased. This is mine elect. I put my spirit upon him without
measure. He shall bring forth judgment.
Christ is mine elect. And then the people of Israel
were called God's elect. In Isaiah 45, Verse 4, Jacob,
my servant, for my servant Jacob's sake, and for Israel, mine elect's
sake, I have called thee by my name. And then in Colossians
3, verse 12, now Christ, God says, is mine elect. Israel,
mine elect. Now in Colossians 3, verse 12,
all believers are called the elect of God. Here's what Paul
says, Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved. Put on mercy, kindness, humility,
meekness, patience, and forgive one another as Christ forgave
you. Mine elect. What's the cause
of our election? What does that verse 2 say? Elect
according to the foreknowledge of God. What's the cause of our
election? Is it because we know Him? No.
It's because He knows us. We elect according to the full
knowledge of God. We didn't know Him. He knew us.
He said, Jeremiah, before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee.
I knew thee. He said to those people at the
judgment that tried to gain interest to heaven by their works, He
said, I never knew you. But, Jeremiah, He said, I knew
you before I formed you in the belly. before you came out of
your mother's womb. We didn't choose him, he chose
us. We elect according to the foreknowledge
of God. We didn't love him, he loved
us. We love him because he first loved us. That's what the scripture
says. What's the means by which we know our election? We're called
man elect, we're called God's elect, and the reason we're God's
elect, the cause is the foreknowledge of God, And then he says, elect
according to the foreknowledge of God. According to the foreknowledge
of God through sanctification of the Spirit. Through sanctification,
through setting apart of the Spirit. The Spirit of God set
us apart. The Spirit of God. Sanctification
is God setting apart something common, ordinary, for His glory,
for His use. God sanctified the Sabbath day.
That's one day out of seven. set it apart. God sanctified
the firstborn son in all the homes of Israel, set him apart. God sanctified the vessels of
the temple from the other vessels, set them apart. The Lord Jesus
Christ said, I sanctify myself for your sake. I set myself apart
to be your Redeemer. And you're sanctified by the
Spirit. Listen to II Thessalonians 2. We're bound to give thanks
for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from
the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit, setting apart by the Spirit and belief of the truth.
The Holy Spirit set us apart. God the Father sanctified us
from all eternity. Christ the Son sanctified us
on the cross. Sanctify them by your blood.
The Holy Spirit sanctifies us by setting us apart And we hear
the gospel, in whom you trusted after you heard the word of truth,
after you heard the gospel of your salvation, and then you
were sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. Yes, God's elect. The cause of it, the foreknowledge
of God. The means of it, the Holy Spirit
and the word of God. And the end of it, listen, unto
obedience. elect according to the foreknowledge
of God, through sanctification of the Spirit, belief of the
truth, unto obedience. He hath created us unto good
works, unto obedience. Faith in Christ brings obedience
to Christ, and the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, obedience,
righteousness, justification, and this is what he says about
us. You're washed, you're sanctified, You're justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of God. One more question
on this verse. What's the evidence that we're
God's elect? He gives us grace and peace multiplied. Elect scattered strangers, he
said, and elect according to the foreknowledge of God through
the power and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. unto obedience,
unto the sprinkling of the blood by which we're washed and purified,
justified, sanctified. Grace must in peace be multiplied
to you. He giveth more grace when the
burdens grow greater. His love has no limit. His grace
has no measure. His power has no boundaries known
unto men. Out of the infinite riches of
God in Jesus, He giveth, giveth, giveth, giveth more grace every
day. We know it. Grace multiplied. Grace multiplied. All right,
the people of God. Verse 3, they're born of God. It says in verse 3, will blessed
be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to His abundant mercy, have begotten us. Now you know what begotten
means. He begat Jacob, begat Esau, and
Esau begat this one, and Jacob begat Isaac, and Abraham begat
Isaac. We're born of God. He has begotten us again. We're born of God. We're born
from above. We're born of the Spirit of God,
and He has begotten us to a living hope. to a living hope of eternal
divine life by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from
the dead. Did you read that? Did you listen? Begotten of God. Our first birth was of man. Our second birth was by the power
of God. Our first birth was the flesh.
Our second birth was the spirit. Our first birth ends up in death. Our second birth A living hope. Life everlasting. He has begotten
us again. Again. The first birth made me
a son of my daddy. My second birth made me a son
of God. A son of God. Think of it. Behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we
should be called sons of God. And it doth not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know when He appears, we'll be like Him. For we shall see him as he is.
And you know what the next verse says, verse 4? We're not only
sons of God, but we're heirs of God. Now think about this. We're rich. He hath begotten
us again unto an inheritance, an inheritance. Everybody knows
what an inheritance is. But our inheritance is incorruptible
and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven. for you. Now, if you're a son
of God, you're an heir of God. Our sons are heirs. Nobody doubts
that. The Scripture says in Romans
8, 16, The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirits that
we're children of God, sons of God. And if we're children of
God, then we're heirs of God. And not only that, but joint
heirs with Jesus Christ. What He has, we have. He said, Father, you have loved
them as you love me. And the glory which you gave
me, I've given them. We're heirs of God. Think about
the riches of His kingdom. Think about the riches of His
grace. Think about the riches of His glory. That's our inheritance. It's incorruptible. It's unchanging. Years have no effect on this
inheritance. It's undefiled. It's untouched
by sin or decay. It fadeth not away. All of your
earthly joys are fading away. Fade, fade, each earthly joy. But, my friends, swift to its
close ebbs out life's little day. Earth's joys grow dim, and
its pleasures fade away. Change and decay in all around
me I see. But O thou who changes not, abide
with me." My inheritance is incorruptible, unchangeable, undefiled, and
it fadeth not away. And what's this? And it's reserved
in heaven. It's reserved in heaven for you.
For whom? For you who are sons of God.
Not for anybody else. It's reserved for you. You scattered
strangers. You elect. You folks that are
born again, who are children of God, who are heirs of God,
this inheritance is reserved for you. For as many as are led
by the Spirit of God are sons of God. And if they're sons of
God, then they're heirs of God. And John heirs with Jesus Christ.
Now, watch the fifth verse. They are kept people. They are
secure. They're scattered strangers,
strangers in this world, strangers in pilgrims. Scattered, they're
elect of God. And they're born of God, sons
of God, they're heirs of God. Now listen, and they're secure
people. Notice how these verses are written.
And notice there's not a period. We need to learn to read the
Word of God and watch the punctuations. There's no period here. He hath
begotten us as sons, to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that
faith is not away, reserved in heaven for you." There's no period
there. "...for you who are kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time." That's one sentence. In other words, all
who are born of God, are sons of God. And all who are sons
of God are heirs of God. And all who are heirs of God
are kept by God. Kept secure. They'll never fail,
they'll never fall, they'll never perish. Born, sons, heirs, and
kept. Now listen, a son of God, born
of God, can no more cease to be a child of God Then my children,
who are born to me and carry my name, can cease to be my child. I have three sons and a daughter.
They'll never cease to be my sons and daughters. They're my
children. And God's children are forever
His children, born of God, heirs of God, loved of God, and kept
by God. His children are born by power.
His children are given life by power. His children are made
new creatures by power, and his children are kept by the power
of God. Who saved you? You say, God did. Did God save you on purpose or
was it an accident? He saved me on purpose. It took
the power of God to save you, didn't it? What kind of power?
The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the power
that made you a son of God. It took the same power to make
Jesus Christ a son of man. It takes the same power to make
you a son of God. And that's not going to change.
It took the power of God to make Christ a son of man. It takes
the power of God to make a son of man a son of God. And that
power will keep them through faith, not apart from faith,
not without faith. We believe. And we're going to
believe tomorrow if we believe today. John said they'd been
of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. If we repented,
we repent now and we will repent. If we believe, we believe now
and we will believe. And we'll keep on believing because
God keeps us by his power through faith. He that hath begun a good
work in you, did he begin it? He'll finish it. Verse 6 and
7 says God's people are tried people. Let me read this to you.
You're sons of God and heirs of God wherein you rejoice. Though
now, verse 7, verse 6 and 7, in this world you are in heaviness,
you are in distress, you are in sorrow because of many trials. God sends us trials. He gave
Paul a trial. a thorn in the flesh, he said,
lest you be exalted above measure. But he said, my grace is sufficient
for you. And our faith is tried to prove
the genuineness of it, to strengthen it, to give us patience, and
to enable us to help others. And our Lord told his disciples,
these things have I spoken unto you, that you might have peace. In this world you'll have trials
and tribulations, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world."
Now, here's the last point, verse 8. The people of God love the
Lord Jesus Christ. They're strangers. They're God's
elect. They're born of God. They're
sons of God. They're secure people. They're
tribe people. But they are people who love
Christ. They believe on His name and they rejoice in His salvation,
whom having not seen. I've never seen Christ with these
eyes. I've seen Him in His Word. I've seen Him in creation. I've
seen Him in His people. But though I haven't seen Him,
I love Him. Though we see Him not, we believe
and we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. God's people
are rejoicing people. If you want this tape, it has
on one side the book, and it has on this side the people of
God. If you'll send two dollars, we'll
mail you these two messages on the same tape. The book, the
people of God. Till we meet again, may the Lord
bless you.