I begin this message with something
all of you know and in which you rejoice, that the redemption of a sinner,
the redemption of a sinner is the work of God. And it's a work of God for us,
on our behalf, and a work of God in us. both the truth. Redemption is salvations of the
Lord. It's a work for us and a work
in us. Can you think of a verse? You
can think of many, I'm sure, but one that indicates it's a
work for us, outside of us. Well, 1 Corinthians 1.30, "'Ab
him are you in Christ Jesus.'" who of God is made unto us, wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Everything God
requires, commands, the sinner needs, is in Christ, fulfilled
for us. What's another one? Well, he
was wounded for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was laid on him by stripes we're healed. But this redemptive work
is a work in us. Let's see a verse on that, Ephesians
2, 8 and 9. It says both for us and in us. For by grace have you been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of
God, not of works, lest any man should boast. We are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, whereby he hath ordained that
we should walk in them. That's a work in us, for us and
in us. He chose us. I don't have any
input in that at all. He redeemed us. Christ came before
I was born, died on that cross and redeemed our souls. no input,
nothing whatsoever. He called us. He called us by
His Spirit. He accepts us in the Beloved.
All right? In the choosing, in the redemption,
in accepting grace, we have no input or part. But now wait a
minute. In the calling, think about that
a minute. In the calling, there's a response.
That's right. In the calling, when God calls
us, there's a response. You say, but He gives us ears
to hear. But we hear. I hear. He gives me ears to hear,
but I hear, I do hear His voice. My sheep hear my voice. And they
follow me. He gives us eyes to see, but
we see. I know whom I have believed,
Paul said. Some people talk about blind
faith. Blind faith is not blind. Unbelief is blind. Faith sees. He gives me ears to hear and
I hear. He gives me eyes to see and I
see. He gives me faith. Faith is the
gift of God. No question about that. But we
do believe. We do embrace Christ. Listen
to this verse. He was in the world, the world
was made by Him, the world knew Him not. Came unto His own, His
own received Him not. But, as many as what? Received Him. Faith receives
Christ. Faith believes Christ. Faith
trusts Christ. Paul said, The Spirit didn't
commit it to him. The Spirit enabled me to commit
it to him. That was I committed to him. That's response. He gave me a new heart. But that
heart does love him. Peter said, you know all things
you know. Simon Peter loves you. Simon Peter loves you. He wrote
his word in our minds, he said, and on our hearts. And as obedient
sons, we rejoice to obey our Father. That's response. And
without response, there's no redemption. But we're quick to
say, now wait a minute, we're quick to say, and the natural
man doesn't understand this, this is not his language at all.
His language is a language of exchange. I do this and God does
that because I do this. But we know that what we are and what we know and what we
do is not of us, it's of Him. And we take no credit, we take
no glory and no praise. Because it's God who works in
us to will and to do His good pleasure. And Paul wrote this in 1 Corinthians
4. He said, who makes you to differ? But you do differ. You've got
a different language. You've got a different conversation. You've got a different walk.
You are different. But we know who makes us to differ. Isn't that right? We know who
makes us to differ. What do you have? We do have
it. We have a knowledge of the gospel, and other people do not. We differ. We have a love for
Christ. But who makes you to differ?
What do you have you didn't receive after you received it? You don't
glory in yourself, but in Him who gave it. That's what Paul's saying over
here. Turn for a moment while I'm on this to 1 Corinthians
15. This is what Paul's saying. And what I'm trying to say is,
God does a work of grace. It's all grace, but He does a
work for us, for us, for us, in which we have no input, no
part. But bless your heart, He does
a work in us in which there's a response. There's a reception. There's a willingness. Thy people
shall be willing, willing, willing. And here Paul said in 1 Corinthians
15, verse 9, I am the least of the apostles.
I'm not fit, worthy. You'd say, come on, that word,
meet, before he hath made us meet. I'm not sufficient, worthy
to be called an apostle. I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was
bestowed on me was not in vain. I labored more abundantly than
they all. I worked harder, walked further,
diligently, yet not I, quickly, yet not I. but the grace of God
which is in me." Now, young, I know you understand what I'm
trying to say. I know you do. I know because
you've experienced it. And this is what Peter's writing
about in this chapter here, the grace of God experienced. The
grace of God experienced. I remember trying to teach one
of my sons to swim. I wanted them to learn how to
swim early in life. He was about five or six and
he had never, he hadn't been able to get it, he just hadn't
been able. He knew what you're supposed
to do, he knew, he saw other people doing it and I instructed
him and all these things but to no avail, to no results. But now it was
working on him. And one day we were coming back
to Ashton from Birmingham. Doris and I and the children
had been to Birmingham. We were coming back. And back
then it was a two-day trip, about 14, 15 hours from Birmingham
to Ashton. We stopped in Lake City, Tennessee
at a little motel to spend the night. We stopped early in the
afternoon. The children liked to stop early so they could go
swimming. Motel had a swimming pool. Now him, he hadn't learned
to swim. I watched him struggle. And then
suddenly, suddenly, almost like that, he jumped into that pool
and started swimming. He started swimming. He experienced
the facts. What I've been trying to teach
him got from here to his feet. and his arms. He got it like
that. And he went to swimming and swimming
and swimming. That never got him out of there,
you know. He experienced it. And that's what I'm saying about
all that we preach. The facts are true. We know them. We see them in others. And oh,
when the day comes, when it gets from here And a person actually,
in reality, learns to swim in the mercy of God. Experiences the grace of God
in the heart. Oh, what a day. What a day. Experience, become more than
a doctrine or a fact. And it's just like that swimming.
You cannot do it wrong. Just cannot do it. And the same thing with this
business of grace, that God doesn't work for us in redeeming us,
it doesn't work in us, and He enables us to experience the
grace of God. Oh, Spirit of the living God,
give us that experience of grace. This is what He's talking about.
So let's look at this chapter, verse 1. all malice and guile and hypocrisies
and envies and evil speaking. Lay aside those things. You know,
if a person plans to write with a new pen, I get lots of pens,
do a lot of writing, but sometimes they run out of ink. And when
I get ready to write with a new one, I throw that one away. Lay it aside. Have no further
use for it. Just lay it aside. When we intend
to to write with a new pen or work with new tools, we lay the
old ones aside. If we intend to walk with God,
the way of God, with the people of God, there's some things to
be laid aside. But the thing about this is it's
always laying it aside. You keep on laying it aside.
Keep on laying it aside. Old ways, old companions, old
habits, Attitudes, listen, lay aside all malice. What is malice? Ill feelings, bad attitude. When we have bad attitude and
ill feelings and malice toward others, we're hurt lots more
than they are. And lay aside guile, that's deceit,
craftiness and dishonesty to gain our goals. Hypocrisies,
pretension. Hypocrisy is the opposite of
sincerity. Envy, we all know what envy is.
We have no cause to envy anyone. No believer has any cause to
envy anybody. We are what we are. By the grace
of God, I have what I have. By the grace of God, I'm where
I am. By the grace of God, so why should
I envy anybody? Lay it aside. Look at this, evil
speaking. You mean believers are still
involved in evil speaking? You know, when you think of evil
speaking, you think of cursing, of blasphemy, of swearing. But I don't believe that's what
Peter's talking about here. I believe he's talking about
those things, evil speaking, that comes so easily, even to
the redeemed. And that is unkind words. Unkind words. to or about someone. And we're not free from that.
I don't curse, and you don't either. I don't use God's name
in vain, and you don't either. I don't swear, and you don't
either. I heard a woman preacher before
I came to church tonight, and she was so profound, she said,
the Lord knows what He's doing. I said, well, isn't that wonderful? I know what I'm doing, too, but
I'm not the Lord. But with evil speaking, unkind words about or to a person. Lay that aside. Gossip, that's
evil speaking. Just don't have to tell things.
I'll tell you another form of evil speaking is an inaccurate
report. Exaggeration, that's evil. Lay
those things aside. Let me show you a verse over
here in Psalm 141. David prayed for the Lord to
help him. And this is something that has
to be prayed every day, laid aside every day. He prayed the
Lord would help him to control his tongue, to order his tongue,
to put a guard. Listen to Psalm 141, verse 3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my
mouth. Keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to say,
I think he's saying here, he's talking about his mouth, any
evil thing. To practice wicked works with
men that work iniquity. Let me not eat of their danish.
You know the tongue is the principle, listen to this, I read this somewhere,
the tongue is the principle instrument in the cause of God and truth. The tongue is the principle instrument
in the cause of God and truth. It's the way the gospel is preached. It's the way the word of God
is taught. It's the way men and women are comforted. It's the
way we pray. The tongue is the principle instrument
in the cause of God and truth. word, but the tongue also according
to James is the principal instrument of Satan and evil. Would you
say that's true? The principal instrument. The tongue is so hard to control.
So he says lay aside malice, ill feelings, lay aside deception,
don't Don't be deceitful. Lay aside pretension. You don't
have to pretend. Lay aside envy. We don't have
to envy anyone. God has us where he wants us,
gives us what he wants us to have. Let our conversation be salted
with grace, seasoned with grace. And then verse 2, As newborn
babes, isn't that what we are? We're newborn, but we're infants.
We're born into the family of God as babies, like babies are
born into our homes, infants. And what's the first thing an
infant desires, and what's the most important thing to an infant?
Well, here it is. As newborn babes in the family
of God desire, seek after the sincere milk of the Word. Why
is it called sincere? Undiluted. unmixed. It's the pure word of God. I really believe that this is probably what the churches of
today, the religion of today, is why they're suffering like
they are, that their preachers are not doing what I'm trying
to do tonight, and that's read the word, the pure word. The
pure word, the sincere word, unmixed with human ideas, undiluted
with human helps. Desire the sincere milk of the
word, you know, helps all right, but too much helps, too much
input from man becomes a hindrance. It's all right to illustrate,
but don't overly illustrate. Because you start explaining
the Word instead of preaching it then. When you get too many helps,
too many helps become a hindrance. If you're not careful, you're
explaining, you're doing the work of the Holy Spirit. Instead
of just giving people the Word, what God says, His way, His will,
His purpose, His commandments, His Word, You're explaining it. And you're having them, instead
of listening to him, they're listening to us. So this is what
he says to these new Christians, and all of us infants, babes,
children of God. Seek after, pant after, hunger
after, desire the pure, undiluted, unmixed, faithful Word of God. The Word of God. Our bodies grow
by what we put in these mouths. Our souls grow by what God puts
in these ears. That's how we grow. Faith comes
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. I lack books, and books are fine,
and helps are fine, but what I'm saying, I'm warning Too much
of man and too little of God's pure, unmixed, undiluted Word. Too much man, too little of the
Word. That's the danger. And we want
the Word so we can grow. Grow how? Well, turn to 2 Peter
3. Grow how? The two things are
given here. In 2 Peter 3, 18, grow in grace. and grow in the knowledge of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That's the two areas. One, growing
grace. What does that mean? Well, what
is growing love? Every grace grows. The grace
of love, grace of faith, grace of humility, kindness, all of
these things. Let me show you an example of
that. Turn over there a moment. 2 Corinthians
8, verse 7. Paul is talking here
about giving, about helping others, about sharing what God has given
us, sharing it with others, helping others. He says in 2 Corinthians
8 to this church at Chiron, therefore as you abound in everything,
in faith, in utterance, as preaching, believing God,
preaching, witnessing, knowledge, diligence, in your love, See
that you're bound in this grace also. Oh, see that this grace
grows also. So that's what we're talking
about here. Go back, Peter says, 2 Peter
3, verse 18, grow in grace. Every grace of the Spirit of
God grows. Love, faith, patience, gentleness,
kindness, meekness, humility. And then he says, grow in the
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grow in the knowledge of His
person and Word. Grow in the knowledge of Christ.
How do we grow in the knowledge of Christ? Through the preaching
of the Word, teaching of the Word, reading the Word. That's
how we grow. All right, verse 3. If so be it, you have tasted
the Lord is gracious, and we certainly have." This is a quotation
from Psalm 34. Let's go over there and see it,
Psalm 34. Psalm 34, verse 8. You've tasted and see that the
Lord is good. If you have actually indeed tasted
and know by experience the goodness of God, the love of God, Verse 8, Psalm 34, O taste and
see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. If we taste his love toward us,
we'll show it toward others. If we taste and know the mercy
and goodness of God toward us, we'll be merciful and kind to
others. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, as God, for Christ's sake, forgave you. So that's the reason that Peter
gives us here in 1 Peter 2 verse 3 for this lifestyle. If you've tasted that the Lord
is gracious, you'll be gracious. Now look at verse 4. To whom
coming? You know, to whom coming as under
living stone. I looked at this and at these
first four verses here, and Peter gives us two vital, all-important
things. Set forth here, two vital, all-important
directions. The first one's in verse 2, "...desire
the sincere milk of the Word." There is no substitute for the
Word of God in the life of a believer. There's no substitute for the
Word of God. spend the next little while talking
about the things that come through the Word. Faith, comfort, growth,
grace, all through the Word of God. But here's the second in
verse, beginning there in verse 4. Desire the sincere, pure,
true Word of God and keep coming to Christ. To whom coming? Keep coming to Christ. I came
to Christ, preacher, keep coming. I've tried to say this over and
over again, repentance is not an isolated act. We are still
repenting. Faith is not an isolated act,
it's a state of being. Let me show you that in the life
of Paul. Turn to Philippians 3, Philippians chapter 3. This is a This is the Apostle Paul writing
to the church at Philippi in the very last days of his life. He's in prison in Rome here.
He's just about to finish his course and go to be with the
Lord. And these are his, listen to
this, in verse 8 Philippians 3. Yea,
doubtless, I count all things but lost for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and do count them but done, that I may
win Christ, that I may be found in him, not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness of God which is by faith, that I
may know him, and the power of his resurrection, The fellowship
of his suffering be made conformable to his death, if by any means
I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead, not as though I
had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow
after, if that I may lay hold," the word apprehend is lay hold,
that I may lay hold of that for which also I am laid hold of
by Christ Jesus. I count not myself to have arrived, but this one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind, I reach forth unto those things
which are before, and press toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Keep coming. To whom
coming? To whom coming? To whom believing? To whom trusting? in whom we're
resting. Your children keep coming to
you. They're born into your family. You raise them up, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, all the way. They keep coming. Keep
depending. Keep looking. Keep receiving.
Keep coming to Christ. I tell you, they're not nearly
as dependent on us as we are on Him. Not nearly. Keep coming. Keep coming to Him, listen, as
a living stone, a living foundation. A living stone. Disallowed indeed
of men. They rejected Him, but He's chosen
of God, and He's precious. He's precious to the Father,
and He's precious to us. And listen to verse 5, you are
living stones, you are lively, that word living, you are living
stones. God cued us from the pit, chose
us, separated us, gave us to Christ, put us in that living
temple. Christ is the chief cornerstone,
but we are living stones in that temple of God. Let me show you
a couple of verses here. Turn to Hebrews 3. Hebrews 3
verse 6. Hebrews 3, verse 6. It says here, "...but Christ
as a Son over His house." Whose house are we? If we hold
fast to confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end,
we're His house. We're His living temple. We are
the house of God. You know, what you told that
fellow the other day, that the building is not the church, it's
a church of people. God dwells in his people, and
they're built up as living stones, a living temple. Turn to Hebrews
13. Let's read this. Hebrews 13,
verse 15. Hebrews 13, verse 15. Hebrews 13. By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of
praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips,
giving thanks to his name. But to do good and communicate,
forget not, with such sacrifices God is well pleased." We are
the living temple, the house of God, living stones, living
stones. All right, look at verse 6 now
in 1 Peter 2, verse 6. You 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 Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone,
this is Christ, elect, precious, he that believeth on him shall
not be ashamed. Where is that Scripture found?
Well, Isaiah 28. If you want to, look back at
Isaiah 28. I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone,
elect precious, he that believeth on him shall not be confounded."
Isaiah 28, here it is, verse 14. He's rebuking these folks
that have a false profession, a false foundation, who are not
looking to Christ. Wherefore, hear the word of the
Lord, ye scornful men that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. We've made a covenant with death.
With hell are we at agreement. When the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, it shall not come unto us. We've made
lies our refuge. Under falsehood have we hid ourselves.
Now here's what Peter was quoting. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, behold, I lay in Zion a foundation. Other foundations can no man
lay. durable, eternal, the rock of ages, a tried stone, tried
by men, tried by the law, tried by Satan, tried by God, in all
points as we are, yet without sin, a precious cornerstone. He's the first and the last,
a sure foundation, a sure foundation. It's of grace that it might be
sure, a sure foundation. Oh, there is no other gospel.
Paul was so confident. He that believeth shall not make
haste. That's what Peter's quoting. Turn, if you will, to Romans
4, just a moment. Paul was so confident of his
gospel and salvation by grace. So confident he could say, if
any man preach any other gospel, let him be cursed. They didn't
be on the curse of God. But now watch this, Romans 4
16. Therefore it, salvation, redemption,
is of faith, that it might be by grace, not of works, it's
by faith, that it might be by grace, to the end, or goal, or
results, that the promise, promise of life, promise of glory, eternal
joy, might be sure. That's the only way it can be
sure. A sure foundation, that's the only way. By grace, they
might be sure. Listen, to all to see, all believers
of all nations, kindred, tribes, not only to that which is of
the law, not only to the Jews, But to that also, which is of
the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all us Gentiles
alike, is a sure foundation. And he that believeth on him
will never be confounded. He'll never be put to shame.
Our gospel is the gospel. There is no other gospel. It's
sure. It's got to be by grace. It's got to be in Christ. It's got to be received by faith,
not works, that it might be sure. If you didn't, if you didn't
have Christ, answer Peter's question, to whom shall we go? Answer, to whom shall we go?
He has the words of life. He is life. It's sure in him. Alright, then in closing, Peter
divides everybody into One of two groups. There are religions
all over the world, there are philosophies and denominations
and all kind of thoughts about salvation. But Peter narrows
it down to two groups. He's talking about Christ now,
the sure foundation, the tribestone, chief cornerstone, chosen of
God, precious. Unto you therefore which believe. He's precious. He, he's precious. He's all you need. But to them
which do not believe, that's the only two, but to them who
do not believe, listen, the stone which the builders, the Jews,
and the religious disallowed, rejected, the same is made the
head of the corner, the true cornerstone. holds this whole
thing together. He's the living stone, the chief
cornerstone, and every stone in the temple of God is laid
on Him. Other foundations, no man laid,
were laid on Him. Built up a holy temple, the house
of God. But to those who do not believe,
He's not a living stone. What is He? He's a stone of stumbling. They stumbled at His birth. They stumble at his poverty.
They stumble at his claims to be God. They stumble at his ignominious
death. They stumble at his gospel. He's
a rock of offense. The gospel's offensive to them.
The blood's offensive. The righteousness of Christ is
offensive. To those who believe, He is precious. He is my life, my hope, my all. He's precious. To those that
do not believe, He's a stone of stumbling, a rock of a fence,
even to them that stumble at the Word. We believe the Word. They stumble
at the Word. We receive the Word. They reject
the Word. We love the Word. They hate the
Word. being disobedient, but look at
the last line, whereunto also they were appointed. We're appointed to life. They
were appointed to death. But you, who are you? You're chosen generation, chosen
of God, elect and precious too, just like Christ. Your royal
priesthood. What does that mean? Royal priesthood.
Your king priest. He hath made us unto our God
kings and priests. The king priest. Your holy nation. True Israel. Israel was a nation,
but not a holy nation. All true Israel will be saved,
and all true Israel is a holy nation. Holy in Christ. You're peculiar people. What
does the word peculiar mean? A special people. That doesn't
mean strange. To the world we're strange, but
we're not strange to one another. A peculiar people means a special
people. It means a purchased people. Different also, yes, that's true.
But special. You're special people unto the
Lord your God, he said. A peculiar people. that you should
show forth the praises of Him, the riches of His grace, who
called you out of darkness. And you responded. He called
you out of darkness. He called you into His marvelous
light. And in times past, you were not a people. We were children
of wrath, even as others. But now the people of God. We
had not obtained mercy, but now By His grace, we have obtained
mercy. I pray the Lord will be pleased
to make that a blessing to us all.