Who Am I? - Pt 5

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV).

As we come to the fourth characteristic Peter lists for us, we also arrive at the most unlikely truth. He says we are “… a holy nation” (v. 9). We have been chosen and pitied and possessed by God; and therefore we are not merely part of the world anymore. We are set apart for God. We exist for God. And since God is holy, we are holy. We share his character, because he chose us, pitied us, and possessed us. We are holy. If we do not act in a holy way, we act out of character. We contradict our essence as a Christian. For our identity is holiness to the Lord: we are holy. The Apostle Peter explains in today’s reading that we are this royal priesthood; we are a holy nation. This truth has much more to say about access rather than behavior. It means we are a people who need none but Christ to stand between us and the Father. Martin Luther pointed out in his Babylonian Captivity of the Church that “all we who are Christians are priests,” and no believer has greater access to the Creator than any other. We know from the Scripture that pastors and elders are appointed to teach the church the will of God from His Word (cf. 1 Timothy 3:1-7), but they do not represent us before the heavenly throne like the Levitical priests did under the administration of the old covenant. In Christ, there is a true priesthood of all believers. All believers have free access into His presence, and all of our lawful vocations are set apart for true God-honoring service. The janitor who does his work to the Lord is in no worse position spiritually than the most gifted preacher on the planet, for all Christians have been declared righteous servants of the creator God. There is enormous freedom in this truth. On more than one occasion I have been told by some of the most Godly saints I have known that they regretted not being able to do more as their physical health deteriorated. My response has always been a request for them to do the most important thing a believer may do, pray. Enter into the presence of God as a priest might and make your intercession known to God. We all have that access and that power! He has chosen us for every circumstance of our life. We are perfect for that moment and that time!

Who Am I? - Pt 4

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV).

We go back to the beginning of our reading today to see the third descriptor of our identity. Peter says: We “… are a people for God's own possession" (v. 9); and, again we were “… once were not a people, but now you are the people of God" (v. 10a). We saw in the last two days that we are chosen by God; we are pitied by God; and the effect of that pity, that mercy, is that God takes us to be his own possession. Perhaps beginning at the beginning is helpful at the point of our examining this truth. First, we must recognize that God owns everything. Obviously he created all things. Just as I might write a particular devotional, or sermon, it is mine. I created it. Actually, I am writing a new work now. It is a work of fiction. It has some Christian themes throughout, but it is not intended to be anything more than an entertaining work of fiction. I can write that kind of book because I have the power to do so. And, it is mine. I possess it. I can do whatever I desire with the work. Hopefully it will be published and distributed for others to derive the same joy from reading it that I have in creating it. So, with God it is similar. He has created each of us. We are thoroughly unique. We are special in his eyes. However, God has not created us for the pleasure of others. He has created us, chosen us, and redeemed us, so that we might be His inheritance. We are the ones he will spend eternity with. When God says, "I will be their God and they will be my people [my possession]," what he means is that "I will dwell in them and walk among them." (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:16). We are chosen; we are pitied; we are God's possession. We are the ones he will walk among and reveal himself to in a personal relation forever. That thought should change everything in our life. Knowing this we have an unshakable hope. It ought not to surprise us that the Apostle Paul takes this thought and says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39 ESV).

Who Am I? - Pt 3

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV).

A second thing Peter says that identifies who we are is found in the last part of the reading: "… you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy" (v. 10b). I like the word "pitied" because the word for mercy in Greek here is a verb and the closest word we have in English like "mercied" is "pitied." It's not a bad translation. When God chose us, he then saw us in our sin and guilt and condemnation and he pitied us. We are not just chosen. We are pitied. We are the not just the objects of his choice, but the objects of his mercy. I am chosen and I am pitied, or you could say I am "graced." Perhaps the reading I most go to when I begin to think of this incredible gift from God is found in the writing of the Apostle Paul. To the Romans he wrote: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:6-11 ESV). God did not just choose me and stand aloof. He chose me and then drew near in mercy to help me and save me. My identity is fundamentally this: I have been shown mercy. I am a "mercied" person. I get my identity not first from my actions, but from being acted upon with pity. I am a pitied one. Now, take caution. This is not the same as saying that we are “pitiful.” Far from it. We are adopted children of the King of the ages! We are the chosen people of the mighty Creator of all things. However, we must recognize that we receive this position because God took pity on us and chose us. This is a grand way of describing the depth of the love of God for us!

Who Am I? - Pt 2

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV).

I know that it may seem a bit microscopic; however, I believe that we have come to a passage Scripture with our reading today that bears this depth of scrutiny. I remember well my New Testament professor from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary my first semester telling us that the Gospel of John was one of the best book of the Bible for both the beginner and the accomplished theologian. He said, “John is like an old river; it is both narrow and very deep.” These verses are much the same. They are both simple and profound. Keep in mind that Peter is identifying Christians. This is who you are if you are a Christian. This is how you got your identity as a Christian. This is what you are here for as a Christian. The apostle gives us five ways of describing our identity, answering the question of who we are. The first of the is “a chosen race” (v. 9). I know that this is a corporate identity, he's talking about the church, the true Israel. But the implication is individual, because this race is not racial. The chosen race is not black or white or red or yellow or brown. The chosen race is a new people from all the peoples, all the colors and cultures, who are now aliens and strangers among in the world (cf. v 11). What gives us our identity is not color or culture. It is that we are chosen. Christians are not the white race; they are the chosen race. Christians are not the black race; they are the chosen race. We are the black chosen and the white chosen and the yellow chosen and the red chosen. Out from all the races we have been chosen, one at a time, not on the basis of belonging to any group. That's why this amazing phrase is individually crucial for you; you are part of the "chosen race" because the race is made up of individuals who were chosen from all the races. So your first identity is that you are chosen. God chose you. Not because of your race, or for any other qualification, God chose you. Who am I? I am chosen. I do not know why. It was nothing in me of value above other humans. I did not earn it or merit it, or meet any conditions to get it. It happened before I was born. I stand in awe of it. I tremble with joy at it. I bow and accept it. I long to be faithful to its purpose. I am chosen. Let that seep into your mind and heart today!

Who Am I? - Pt 1

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV).

I had some time on my hands while Mary was away on her excursion to the Mediterranean last week. I decided to get an old movie out and watch it. I chose “I Robot.” It is a fun action movie. I found myself being very thankful for being a human being. While we may not be able to process calculations as quickly, nor have the strength of a robot, we have the astonishing capacity to see and hear and feel, and then to think about all this amazing reality, and then to form judgments about it all and know right and wrong and good and bad and beautiful and ugly, and then to feel profound emotions of love and hate and joy and discouragement and wonder and hope and gratitude, and then to reason and plan our lives in ways that accomplish things. It was one of those rare moments, like a brief brush with eternity. To be alive as a human being with indescribable mysteries at every turn, and to have in front of us an eternal destiny of spectacular glory or inexpressible horror is a weight that can either press you down with fear and trembling or bear you up with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Whether it does the one or the other depends in large measure on whether you know the answer to the big basic human questions or not: Who are you? That simple question is one that we should not take for granted. It is not a privilege given to any animal. Not one of them has ever lost one night's sleep pondering those questions. Only humans ask these questions. Only humans kill themselves and kill others when they don't get true and satisfying answers to these questions. Not often do we find such resoundingly clear answers to questions such as this in such a small space as we do in our reading today. In fact, we get the answers to three of these very basic, essential questions: Who am I? How did I get this identity? Why am I here? As we continue our look at the Apostle Peter’s first letter, we’ll spend some time examining those answers in depth. Today I would encourage you to take a deep breath and go back to the beginning as it were, to go down to the basic foundational questions of life, and listen to the Word of God. Read our passage again. It should cause you to wonder and stand in awe of what he has done for and in us. It certainly does for me.

Got Milk? - Pt 4

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1-3 ESV).

One last thing in these verses: we should note that the Word is also powerful for destruction. The first verse of our reading describes the destructive side of the Word of God: "Therefore, putting aside [get rid of, destroy] all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.” One of the ways the Word of God creates desire for the milk of God's kindness is by destroying desire for other things. Peter lists some of these things:  Malice: a desire to hurt someone with words or deeds.  Guile: a desire to gain some advantage or preserve some position by deceiving others.  Hypocrisy: a desire not to be known for what really is.  Envy: a desire for some privilege or benefit that belongs to another with resentment that another has it and you don't.  Slander: the desire for revenge and self-enhancement, often driven by the deeper desire to deflect attention from our own failings. The worse light we can put another in by slander, the less our own darkness shows. Malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy, slander are things we must put away, destroy. This is the other side of longing for the spiritual milk of God's kindness in the Word. If you want to experience desire for God's Word; if you want your desires to grow; if you want to taste fully the kindness of the Lord, realize that as our satisfaction in God's kindness rises, the controlling desires of malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy, and slander are destroyed. And the reverse is true: as you resist them and lay them aside, desires for God grow stronger and more intense. Peter's point is: don't think that they can flourish in the same heart. Desire to taste and enjoy God's kindness cannot flourish in the same heart with guile and hypocrisy. So fight against spiritual fatalism from both sides: fight to destroy the desires of guile and hypocrisy; and fight to taste the kindness of the Lord in his Word. The result will be "you will grow in respect to salvation" (v. 2b). Literally: "you will grow into salvation." Salvation is reached by growth. To be sure, God gives the growth, but growth is necessary. Do not fall into the spiritual fatalism that says, "I can't grow; I can't change; and I don't need to." Throw that idea away like an old smelly garment, and seek God with all your heart for help in desiring his Word, and let us grow up together to salvation.

Got Milk? - Pt 3

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1-3 ESV).

So, if Peter tells us to “desire it,” perhaps we need to know what “it” is! Our reading is from the English Standard Version. It does not say "milk of the word" as in other translations. That's accurate, however, it is a bit limiting. This “spiritual milk" is not merely the Word of God. It is something more specific. Look at the reading again with some explanations inserted. It says, “Like newborn babes [who were born by the Word of God], long [the way babies do] for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if [that is, since!] you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” (vv. 2-3). Do you see the connection between the intense longing or craving for the "spiritual milk" in verse 2 and the tasting of the kindness of the Lord in verse 3? Put them together: "Long for the spiritual milk, since you've tasted the kindness of the Lord." So it seems to me that the “milk” is the milk of God's kindness. That is what we are commanded to long for. This does not raise a contradiction. Where did the readers taste the kindness of the Lord? The answer is: in the gospel, the Word of God (v. 25). They were born again by that kindness through the Word of God. So the spiritual milk is the kindness of the Lord experienced through the Word of God. Or you could say, the spiritual milk is the Word of God revealing or transmitting the kindness of the Lord. You were born again by that Word, namely, by the powerful kindness of God in that Word, and now go on longing for that Word and for the day-by-day experience, “tasting” of the kindness of the Lord through his Word. If the Word of God is powerful enough to create new Christians through new birth, then the Word of God is powerful enough to create desire in our souls. Again I say: Don't be a spiritual fatalist. The power at work within you just to bring you to life is like the power that raises the dead (cf. Ephesians 1:19-20). Can it not create desire just like it created you? Trust it. To paraphrase Bunyan's poem that I quoted yesterday: Run, John, run, the law commands But gives us neither feet nor hands, Far better news the gospel states: It bids desire and then creates.