1 Peter series – “Holding onto Hope in a Hostile World”

1 Peter 2:4-12

⁴ You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. ⁵ And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. ⁶ As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” ⁷ Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him.^[d]But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” ⁸ And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. ⁹ But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” ¹¹ Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. ¹² Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

For those who have responded to the Redeemer Peter now reminds us of our:

• Riches – Who We Are in Christ

Today many Christians have an identity crisis because they are basing their identity on their careers or circumstances instead of on Christ. Is your identity rooted in your relationship with Jesus or your resourcefulness? Before Peter talks to us about our responsibilities he reminds us of our riches in Christ. So often we try to start first with what we are to do instead of who we are to be. But without a clear picture of who we are in Christ we will never live out what we were created to do through Him. Don’t forget who you are because of whose you are. As Peter point out our privileges in Christ he reminds us first that we are: 

• A Family with a Foundation. 

When you come to faith in Christ you enter the family of God with Jesus as your foundation. Look at verse 5: “you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple” I like how the KJV translates this, which most of us miss as we don’t read the KJV because its hard to understand, but that’s because you speak American English and not real English but that’s for another time, just kidding. The KJV calls us “lively stones” Not just living but alive, now some of us could stand to be a little more lively. Most of us act more like stoic stones than saved ones. Do you remember the cheers of the crowd on Palm Sunday how they ecstatically erupted in euphoric  worship. Do you remember the response of the Pharisees, they told Jesus to tell the crowds to stop singing and be silent. To which He replied in Luke 19:40: “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” That’s what I call a rock concert. Look the society is still telling us to be silent and stop speaking about the Savior. Satan wants to shut you down and steal your joy, but you are a living stone.  Now these living stones are placed upon each other to make a spiritual house, we are the church, called to live in community. While Christianity is deeply personal it’s not meant to stay private. God calls us individually but He’s designed for us to live in community with others. We’re made to do life together, to love one another and to lean on each other. Did you know that almost all the ‘you’ exhortations in the New Testament are in the plural and not in the singular? If you were from the South and you were reading the New Arkansas version we would translate them as “ya’ll.” Yes you can apply the promises of God personally, but remember that much of what we’re told to do can only be fleshed out in community, as we live out the gospel together. We’re not to be independent but interdependent. When we come into contact with Christ, we are made alive and we are called to come together as the church. The church is an ever-growing collection of living stones, being built one upon another by Christ the chief corner stone. You are dependent on those around you and under you…and you support the ones placed on top of you. Because you are built into the body when you stop gathering and pull out, it affects everyone. Because we are connected to Christ we’re connected to each other. Because we have the same foundation we’re in the same family. Yet many believe that they can live a flourishing Christian life without being connected to the church, but a churchless Christian is an oxymoron. Instead of doing life in the family we are living on the fridges. Part of the problem is our perception of family, we see it as more of a bother than a benefit. We want to be free to do what we want and not be burdened by other believers. Caring for other Christians is not a pain it’s a privilege. Remember Peter was preaching to believers who were suffering and had been scattered, Not only did that recognize that they needed each other they would have rejoiced in it and reached out. They saw community as a source of comfort and not constraint.  We need to see the church as a people, not a place, as an opportunity to serve and support and not a sentence.