“Chosen, Ordained, and Holy”

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:1-10

For the past two weeks, we have been considering the qualities that elevate our fellowship from being just some other organization, into the living and breathing Church of Jesus Christ. We’ve seen the vitally important part that faith plays in growing the Church, as well as the fact that we aren’t just an organized group of people, but that being a part of the Church is about relationship – that there is an unbreakable bond between both us and God, as well as between each and every member of the Body. Today we begin to consider what the Church is all about, and how each one of us fits into its fabric.

First, we need to think about the foundational basis for the Church. In Luke’s gospel, 6:46-49, Jesus tells a parable about 2 houses – one that was built on the rock, and the other on the sand. If the underpinning of the Church isn’t rock solid and immoveable, it can, in no way, be grounded in Almighty God – the Lord is the same from eternity to eternity, and his Church must rest on the same principles. In the parable, both houses would be subjected to floods and storms, but the only one that would survive was the one that had a solid and unshakable footing.

When the Church is founded and built on the teachings of Jesus Christ, there is nothing that can waylay it. It can withstand controversy and heresy and divisiveness, and still survive. But when the church’s teaching begins to waiver and surrender the solid foundation, it will surely fall. Galatians 5:19-21 provides us with a list of what Paul calls “acts of the sinful nature” - those things that will divide any church every time and will, without question, be its downfall! You might want to take a look at these sometime, and consider the impact that they can have on the Church.

So how are we supposed to live and act and respond as Christians?

Read 1 Peter 2:1-3

Peter begins to teach how the Church is to live if we are to solidify the relationships that develop here. And he begins with a rather disheartening list of attitudes that we need to leave far behind as we move into and within this new life in Christ. Let’s take a quick look at each of this issues:

- Malice – Those cruel and hateful acts whose only purpose is to tear someone else down.
- Deceit – Those dishonest and deceptive times in our lives when we are out to cheat and steal to make ourselves appear to be better.
- Hypocrisy – Insincerity, living out our life in a double standard - acting one way with certain people, and in a completely different way with others.
- Envy – Jealousy, greed – that desire to have not only the same things that someone else has, but wanting the very things that they have.
- Slander – The lies that we spread regarding another person with the intent of demeaning them.

A very interesting list, to say the least! These are the everyday attitudes that people of the world live within, and I imagine that if each of us is honest, we just may see ourselves, at some point in our lives, in at least one of them, and maybe even more. And if they hit home in our current lives, Peter says that we need to do some deep, spiritual cleansing as soon as possible! If these attitudes are allowed to thrive within the Church, it won’t exist for long.

But when we put that old life behind, we can begin to grow and flourish in this new life in Christ. And just a thought on his reference to “new born babies”, and to “spiritual milk” – Peter is telling us that this life in Christ isn’t immediately complete and mature – it takes time to grow and to begin to understand the teachings of Jesus. Consider Jesus’ words to Nicodemus – “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again from above” (John 3:1-21) – the birth process may be complete in a relatively short period of time, but after the birth, children have many years of growth and learning and maturing ahead of them. So too, does the disciple of Christ.

Read 1 Peter 2:4-8

And whether we are “newly born” or “fully matured” in Christ, we who are his disciples are called to be “living stones”. So what does that mean? To get a handle on this, we have to begin with Jesus, who is referred to as the cornerstone in Isaiah 28:16, he is described as the foundation of the Church in 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, and of course the parable of the two houses points toward Jesus as the foundation that can’t be moved (Luke 6:46-49). But now we are being told that we, too, are stones – and not just any old stone, but living stones! Jesus is the Living Foundation, the Living Rock that the Church is founded upon, and those who follow him must also be living and solid. To put our living “stonage” in perspective, in Joshua 3:14-4:7, we read of the nation’s crossing the Jordan and entrance into the Promised Land. They are led by the Arc of the Covenant, which causes the waters of the Jordan to part (sound familiar? [Exodus 14:10-31]), and after the entire nation was on the other side, 1 man from each of the tribes of Israel was called to return to the middle of the river and select a large stone from the spot where the priests stood with the Arc, and to set them up as a memorial to the power and blessing of their God.
And as his “living stones”, we, too, are called live in and through his life, to be memorials to our Lord Jesus Christ – witnesses to his power, to his grace, to his glory, to his mercy. And when we are asked who we are, we are to tell them that we are followers of the Living God, the Redeemer and Savior, the resurrected and living Jesus. If we are to live in him, then his name must live in us. This is our destiny!

Read 1 Peter 2:9-10

And we don’t simply proclaim Jesus as Lord because we are obedient servants of his – it’s because, in him, he has raised us up into greatness. Last week, I asked the question “How many here are comfortable with the fact that they are holy?” No one raised their hand, which, quite honestly, is a predictable and common response. Peter now takes this is issue to a whole new level – he tells us that those who follow Jesus are also “chosen”, “a royal priesthood”, a “holy people”, and a people who belong to God. If you didn’t like being called holy, you will probably like these terms even less!

And yet, here it is! God has chosen those who follow Jesus to be his messengers and heralds to the world. We are to tell others just how good and wonderful the Lord is, how grace-filled and glorious he is, how loving and forgiving he is.
We are also a Godly priesthood and, once again, holy in nature – not that we are necessarily those who perform the sacraments and who preach on Sunday, but that we are the ones who offer God’s blessings and comfort and hope and promise to others. In Exodus 19:4-6, God tells his people that even though the entire earth is his, they have been given a higher calling, that they “will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” That’s us, my friends! And as his priests, as his Church, as those who are “chosen, “royal” and “holy”, we are to be proclaiming him to the entire world, that while this life is immersed in spiritual darkness, he offers a glorious light to all, and it will bathe his own for eternity. And this all comes to us because we have exchanged our old life for the new and marvelous one in Christ, and because we have claimed the same principles that has perfected our Rock and our Foundation.

That is the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it is the Church’s responsibility to spread that good news throughout the earth. It isn’t an invitation, it isn’t an option, it isn’t a “once in a while” possibility if you happen to get around to it – it is a commandment (Matthew 28:18-20). Remember Jesus’ parable of the Talents? (Matthew 25:14-30) Remember the servant who buried his coin instead of using it? He not only suffered the wrath of the Master, but he lost all that the Master had given him. And none of us want that for the Church!

The Church, and all who live within her, have been Chosen for a great task and a great responsibility; they have been Ordained to spread the message of Jesus Christ throughout the earth; and they have been given a Holy covenant and a Holy charge for their Holy lives. Whether we are comfortable with being called the Chosen of God, or with being Ordained as the Priests of Christ, or with being made Holy because of our relationship with Jesus, we are all of these things, just the same. And we are called to share our Lord with the world.

And there are many opportunities for all of us – if a friend is struggling, can you visit them and pray with them, can you join your Christian brothers and sisters in the Strawberry festival parade in June, or bring a friend to the Glory tent to hear a Christian message during that celebration, or invite an unsaved friend to join you at one of the Revival events in September? Remember that this isn’t just an obligation that we have as followers of the Living Lord – it is an honor and a blessing that we can be in ministry together with Jesus Christ, and that we can be part and parcel in bringing others out of the world’s darkness and into the Light of our Lord.

Are we going to truly be the Church, or aren’t we?