The All-Important Stone Part II 1 Peter 2:4-12

We started 1st Peter back in late June and Today we find ourselves in 1st Peter chapter 2 Verses 4 through 12. What I'm going to do is I'm going to begin by reading the text. Last week we did part 1 of this of these verses.

1st Peter 4. No, sorry. 1st Peter 2 4 through 12 and today we're going to be looking at part 2. So if you'd follow along with me, I encourage you to turn in a by with me to 1st Peter chapter 2. 1st Peter 2 verses 4 through 12 as You come to him a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious.

You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house. To be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture behold I am laying in Zion a stone a cornerstone chosen and precious and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

So the honor is for you who believe but for those who do not believe the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone and a stone of stumbling in a rock of offense. They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do 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 beloved.

I urge you as Sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh. Which wage war against your soul? Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak evil against you.

They may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. So here's our big idea for this to Sunday sermon on first Peter 2 verses 4 through 12. The big idea is this this is what it's calling you to do what this text is calling you to do.

Know that Jesus is the stone that demands a response. Jesus is the stone that demands a response and there's four ways how in these verses. We saw the first two ways how last Sunday. The first way how is by receiving rejection from the world and what we saw one week ago.

Is that most of the world rejects the stone the living stone the cornerstone? Most of the world rejects him and this is not just true of Jesus Christ. This is true of all prophets down through history going back to Moses.

Moses was rejected three times. By the people of Israel as he led them out of the promised land. Sorry led them out of Egypt into the promised land and Moses is a type of Christ. So Moses experience is similar to that experience that the Messiah would experience.

And of course when Jesus came 2 ,000 years ago, what happened is that he was largely rejected by the Jewish people. The Jewish leadership rejected him. In fact, they were the ones who delivered Jesus up to the Romans to be crucified.

So.

The first way that he is the stone that demands a response is that the response that he got from the Jewish leaders and The response he gets from most of the world even in our day and down through history is a response of rejection.

The second way how you were to know that Jesus is the stone that demands a response that we saw one week ago is by Receiving delight from the father. Okay, and this is so important. So the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus.

Most of the world rejects Jesus. But at the end of the day, there's only one opinion that matters. His father does not reject him his father Delights in him and the second half of verse 4 says this in the sight of God.

He is chosen and precious. He is the true king of the world. He is precious to his father. And now we're gonna see who the people whom he's also precious to in the third point and the third point is this so know that Jesus is the stone that demands a response and the third way how is by welcoming people built on him as the foundation and we're gonna see this in verses 5 through 7 and verses 9 through 10.

So I just mentioned that not everyone rejects the living stone. The father does not nor does every fallen sinner. This is what we must understand. Is that? Everyone who is born into this world is born a sinner.

We are sinners by nature and by choice. Romans 3 23 says that for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So we're all born in this world rejecting Jesus at some point along the way. People have the opportunity to believe in him as the gospel as the good news is preached them and the good news Of course is that Jesus came into this world on a rescue mission to save sinners.

He came 2 ,000 years ago. He died on the cross for our sins. He rose gloriously from the dead and everyone who believes in Jesus Has their sins forgiven his righteousness becomes their righteousness and they have eternal life.

This is this is the story of the Bible. This is the Bible in a nutshell everything. I just said to you Jesus came into this world to save sinners. So not everyone rejects them and we see this. You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ for it stands in Scripture.

Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone a cornerstone chosen and precious and whoever Believes in him will not be put to shame. So the honor is for you who believe. Not everybody just goes to heaven. Faith faith alone in Jesus and Those who believe in him will not be put to shame.

So what we learn in verse 5 is that those who follow Jesus are joined with him. Scripture describes his followers as the church. Okay. The church is not a building. The church is a people. Matthew 16 18 Jesus said I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

To be a member of Christ Church means that you believe in Jesus and There's people like this all over planet Earth. Every corner of the earth. There's people who believe in Jesus and every one of those people is a member of what is called the Universal Church.

But how do we find these people. We find them in places like this local churches. The local church makes the invisible Church visible and we see people who are Alive in Christ you believe the Holy Spirit's been given to you have this life in Christ.

You've been born again. And so you are found in a local church. And what Peter writes is that whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. This is once again a prediction from the Old Testament. Peter is quoting Isaiah.

Verses verse.

Sorry, Isaiah chapter 28 verse 16. They needed to hear this but they needed to hear this in the first century. That whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. Why do they need to hear this? They needed to hear this because we need to understand how Jesus died.

He was humiliated. He died the most humiliating death possible. He died a criminal's death on the cross. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 118. I am NOT ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God to those who believe.

Even though the cross was Jesus humiliation the power of God is shown through it since through his death and resurrection Jesus conquered sin Satan and death and through his saving work. He gives you eternal life.

You are not to be ashamed of being a follower of the suffering Messiah. He is the one you want to be allied with through his death. He is the conqueror and one day he will reign in power. To believe in Jesus means that you are not throwing away your life like the rest of the world.

Because this is the meaning of life. People ask that what is the meaning of life? Jesus Christ and him crucified that is the meaning of life. Now the beginning of verse 7 describes something special about humans all over planet Earth who did not reject Jesus like the Jewish leadership did and most of the world does.

But ally themselves with him. What Peter writes is that the honor is for you who believe. The Greek word means value. The value is for you who believe. The New American Standard version of the Bible brings this out.

This precious value then is for you who believe. As one author writes this benefit is the joy of loving.

Jesus.

Far from shame to believe in Jesus is the most joyful thing possible. Just as the father knows his precious value so everyone who believes in him also understands How precious he is? Number six mentions that those who believe in Jesus are believing in a chosen and precious cornerstone.

There is a very close attachment a very close connection between believers and their Lord the church that is. The community of believers is made up of believers from every tribe tongue and nation. Who believe in Jesus since the time he ascended to heaven?

2 ,000 years ago at Eureka Baptist. As I mentioned already we are a local expression of the universal church. In verse 4 describes Jesus as the living stone verse 5 describes him as the cornerstone and Verse 5 also describes his followers as living stones that are being built up as a spiritual house.

Now you can see why we saying what we have the last two Sundays last Sunday we saying The church is one foundation this morning. We saying Christ the solid rock. Now the church is one foundation. What we sang last Sunday is a song written in the 1860s by Samuel John Stone a pastor in the Church of England and a poet and.

The first stanza of the song says the church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. She is his new creation by water and the word from heaven. He came and sought her to be his holy bride with his own blood.

He bought her and for her life He died. There are several metaphors given in Scripture concerning Jesus intimate relationship with his church. In John 15 the relationship is described as Jesus being the vine and the church being the branches.

In Ephesians 5 Jesus is described as the bridegroom while the church is described as the bride. Here in first Peter 2 verses 5 and 6 Jesus is described as the cornerstone. Well, his followers are described as Stones being built up as a spiritual house.

Peter is describing Jesus in such a way that Prophecies described him long ago. We've already looked at several process prophecies of the Old Testament in the Psalms and Isaiah. Earlier, I quoted Isaiah 28 16 and I focused on the part where those who believe in him will not be put to shame.

But now we're looking at the first part of this prophecy where Isaiah writes that the Lord is laying a stone in Zion. Why is Zion? Okay, what is Zion? Zion is another way of saying Jerusalem. But what Isaiah predicted in Isaiah?

28 16 and what Peter is echoing here is intended to be figurative. Sinai in Galatians 4 verses 24 through 26 and Hebrews 12 18 through 23 Symbolizes the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was never meant to save anyone because no one could truly keep the law.

And this is a question we ask people who are about to be baptized. Can you earn your own way to heaven? The answer is no. You cannot. You cannot it is only through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Jesus paid it all all to him.

I owe Sin had led left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. So Zion Symbolizes something different than Sinai. Sinai is the Old Covenant. Zion is the New Covenant. Where Jesus earns your salvation for you, which comes through faith and I know you're probably saying, okay.

Well Dude, is it that simple? It is but you must understand this when you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You are completely transformed. You become a new person if anyone is in Christ. He is a new creation.

You have new works that are produced in you the Spirit enters your life. You actually live differently. You don't live like the world you start to live like a different person. You love God's law where before it was a burden and and you had you felt like you had to keep it just to go To heaven.

Well now you you say, you know what? He is my treasure. I want to follow him. You understand that this is the path of joy so what happens is that anybody who truly believes in Jesus has good works and This is accomplished Through the New Covenant when Jesus shed his blood at Calvary.

Now as we read that the Lord is laying this stone in Zion. He's not just any stone but the cornerstone and once again Isaiah 28 16 says that he is chosen and precious and everyone who believes in this cornerstone Will not be put to shame.

So why is Jesus described as the cornerstone? We've been building up to this over the last two Sundays Foundations in ancient times. Had what was called a head corner and is translated into English as a corner stone and sometimes the capstone.

It was a very strong stone. Placed on the four corners of a building upon which the rest of the building would be built it was on these corner stones that the entire building depended as I mentioned in the introduction last Sunday.

It does not matter how well built the rest of the building is it doesn't matter how good.

It looks.

What matters is the foundation. The foundation must be strong for the building. To be upright for the building to be long.

Lasting I.

Remember when we came to the church six and a half years ago. I asked Sean our head deacon About the soundness of our church buildings and the first thing he told me is that the foundations are sound.

It's okay. We're good. We could do a remodel then we don't have to condemn the building. And when it comes To the church the body of Christ Jesus is the most important part. Without him there is no church.

He is the part on which everything else depends. Just like in the vine and the branches analogy in John 15. You cannot have branches without the vine in the same way. You cannot have a house or building without a sound foundation.

Jesus is not just any foundation. He is the firmest foundation upon which the entire community of believers is built. Every other foundation a person builds on is faulty and will ultimately collapse as.

The song we sang this morning says on Christ the solid rock. I stand all other ground is sinking sand. When you believe in Christ you are being built up on the sturdiest of foundations last week. We looked at this in chapter 2 verse 2 where Peter writes.

Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation. When you believe in Jesus what happens is that the Spirit makes you like Jesus. As Peter writes again in verse 5 you are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

We are a holy priesthood in that the priesthood was to be set apart as holy as they offered sacrifices on behalf of Israel for their sins as Members of Christ Church. The way believers offer up sacrifices is by living a life.

Pleasing to the Lord a life where he looks on and accepts our spirit-generated works. Now let's look at verses 9 and 10. Where he writes again, you are a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation of 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.

What Peter is doing here is he's comparing the church with? Israel. He repeats here again how the church is compared to the Old Testament. The Old Testament priesthood specifically once again as they were set apart for service to God.

So our believers who belong to the church then Peter writes how the church is a holy nation. Just as God called out the nation of Israel to be a people for his own possession. So the Lord calls out the church to be his own possession and they become his possession through the sacrifice of Christ.

The church is different from Israel in that Israel was chosen as a nation. We're not everyone was a true follower of the Lord. Well, everybody who is in the church is A genuine believer by definition if you belong to the church, you are born again, and you are heaven-bound.

This wasn't so with Israel. They had in fact, most of the people didn't even truly follow the Lord. But he's comparing the church to Israel here. But this is important to understand. Just because Someone attends a church does not mean that you belong to the true church.

Once you believe in Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit. This is when you belong to the community. This is when Jesus becomes your foundation and you are being built up into a holy life as you follow him in his word as.

The end of verse 9 says everyone who belongs to the church has been called out of darkness into his marvelous light. Because of this as verse 9 says you proclaim the excellencies of him. There's a rejoicing.

I'm no longer lost. I'm no longer blind. I'm alive. I can see What a hopeless state it is. Before someone comes to faith in Christ. It was indeed darkness, but you were brought to his light. This is the place you were in when you were not counted among his people as Peter writes in verse 10 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. This is where you were and I was Before we became followers of Jesus and my prayers that everyone here Would have would experience this transfer from darkness to light.

What an enormously blessed place once you belong to the Lord Jesus you are built on the solid rock the cornerstone and no one who believes in him ever regrets it as the old prophecy. That Peter writes about in verse 6 whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

And we live in a world where people laugh, you know you Christians. You guys are so gullible. How could you believe in these fairy tales right these stories from the Bible? I mean people think that but this does.

Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. No one who believes in Jesus ever Regrets it it's the opposite. Anybody who rejects Christ will eternally reject will eternally regret it. So know that Jesus is the stone that demands a response and the third way how is through welcoming people built on him as the foundation.

So the question is do you want to be built on this foundation? And here's the fourth and final way how you were to know that Jesus is the stone that demands a response and that is by displaying transformed people to the world.

This last point starts out with a command. To the believers in Asia Minor to whom Peter is writing. But very much. This is to us as well verse 11.

Beloved I.

Urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. Okay, what we see if Peter do here is once again He says exile and this goes back to the first verse of this letter first Peter 1 1.

Where Peter is writing to the exiles and What I explained then is that the exiles are people who are exiles in this world? This is not your home as A believer heaven is your home. You are just passing through here, and it gives the image here of sojourners sojourners.

What do they do they just pass through a land? They're foreigners. They're not natives and they're passing through until they reach their home. So believers were described this way. We are exiles we are Sojourners.

Philippians 3 verses 20 and 21 says our citizenship is in heaven and from it We await a Savior the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body. Peter also describes believers as those who are sojourners right as I mentioned and as believers and my prayers that everyone in this room is a follower of Jesus Christ.

As believers we need to understand that this is the reality of our lives. As Much as this earth may feel like home it most certainly is not. With how crazy this world is it should feel less like home than ever.

And as citizens of a different land how important it is to live like the people. Who will live in that future land? Let me think about this when this earth is recreated in the future. One thing that will not be present is sin.

Revelation 21 27 says nothing unclean will ever enter it. Nor anyone who does what is detestable or false. But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. This world this future world that's coming that's described at the end of the Bible is Going to be a completely different world than this world.

We live in right now. This present world is first. John 5 19 says lies in the power of the evil one. We wonder what what would a world look like with when the devil is in charge will we live in it. This is what it looks like and obviously God restrains him to a certain extent.

But this is a wild place we live in. This is an evil place, but it won't always be this way. World history is moving toward a time when a redeemed people those who have been bought by the precious blood of Christ.

Will live on a new earth and on this new earth. Everyone there will reflect the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone you meet will be pleasant. Everyone you meet will truly love you. I mean, can you imagine that and we get a taste of this in this life?

That's what this world is. It's a taste. It's a taste of what is to come. In this life when you have a relationship with fellow Christians you see the pleasantness of a person who is being made more and more like Christ and You wonder there's something I really like about this person.

I like this guy. I like this woman. What is it that you like about this person. It is Christ in this person. You have friendships like this where you can spend hours and hours together. Keith Johnson one of our elders.

He's not here today, but Keith and I drove to Whitefish Point in Northern Michigan nine hours one way nine hours on the way back. We talked the whole time. And by the end of it, I was pretty tired. But but it but you we talked the whole time and never ran out of things to talk about.

I think I like this guy, you know, and and I hope he said the same about me, too. But it was just an enjoyable time. This is the experience of believers. Think of what it would have been like for the disciples when they spent time with Jesus during his ministry.

We can imagine all the laughter. They had sometimes we think it was always serious. I don't be fooled by that. People who are truly following the Lord laugh a lot, you know church should be a place of laughter.

This is not a just a serious place in there. Obviously, we don't just joke around all the time. But but you know what? I mean We're serious. But we also laugh at my old boss. I used to what the motto for his company was.

We take our work seriously, but we don't take ourselves seriously, you know, I thought that was a good way to say in it. You know, we can make fun of ourselves right. Why not. I mean we can we can laugh with each other.

This is what it's like. To be a follower of the Lord. It's a place of joy. It's a place of laughter and it's it's not sinful laughter. It's not sinful joking. It's it's there's a holiness to it that is that is present there now what Peter is saying in verse 11 is Don't be like the world.

Be like Jesus. Don't give in to the sin that wages war against your soul as he says in verse 11. Here he describes the passions of the flesh. There's a reason that people sin it feels good for a time.

But then you find out how empty and painful sin is. People who drink alcohol do drugs engage in sexual immorality and so many other sins it never ends. Well, I mean there's a reason there's a place like Hazleton, right?

This isn't too far from here. It's people who. They went down that path and I have shared this illustration that I learned before but it's worth sharing again. I remember as a child Watching cartoons and there was a cartoon character Who's going through the desert and he looks off in the distance and he sees this well where there's this plentiful water and He keeps going and he sees it in the distance and he keeps going and then he finally arrives to find That it was all a mirage.

There is no well and he's in the desert and this is what sin is like this Momentary pleasure that comes from it after that momentary pleasure. What's present is pain? It sin never delivers on its promises.

God.

Always delivers on his promises. Sin promises happiness, but never delivers. But if you live for that better land described in Revelation 21 and 22 You will find that God delivers for those who follow him as Psalm 16 11 says in your presence.

There is fullness of joy at your right hand our pleasures forevermore. So Peter is saying stay away from those passions. Which wage war against your soul as you travel on your journey to your heavenly home?

Why would you deal with these sins you've been delivered from them? That's the very thing we're focusing on today with this baptism. You've been set free. You are alive in Christ. You no longer have to be in bondage to this sin.

Now it's important to understand this as you stay away from sin and live your life for the Lord. People are watching. Okay, this is what he says in verse 12. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers.

They may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. And we need to hear this in this world you will be called all kinds of names for following Jesus and The closer you are to him the closer you walk with him the more pushback you are going to receive.

It has always been this way and it's very much in our day. And we see this in America the unbelieving world is being told by the secular elites to fear Christians. They are the problem. These are the ones you have to watch out for.

But you know that the truth ultimately prevails. What's the definition of integrity? There's lots of definitions of integrity, but here's one definition of integrity. Doing what is right even though it costs you knowing that in the end?

You will be vindicated. Okay. Let me say that again doing what is right even though it costs you knowing that in the end. You will be vindicated. When you do something that is right most people might say oh this person was wrong, but in the end everybody's gonna know.

You were actually on the right side. Most people don't want to do that. No most people don't want to do the right thing. Because they care too much what the world thinks. I don't want to have that image.

I don't have the image of being a bigot, you know all these names that you're called. But the Lord calls you to stand with him no matter what. To follow Jesus means the world will hate you. That's what John 15 says and they will view you as the problem this man-centered world.

Desires to move on from God and the Bible. But one day no one will be able to deny who was in the right and who was in the wrong. Who was truly good and who was not? As Philippians 2 10 and 11 says at the name of Jesus.

Every knee will bow every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So not only is Jesus triumphing in the end. But so too is everyone who is allied with him. And this is what Peter writes in verse 12 at the time when Jesus returns and the final judgment as Peter calls it the day of visitation.

Everyone is going to know who was truly good and who was not. Who followed the timeless truths of Scripture and who forsook them to go their own way in? The end of the world. People will not be able to say all these insults against you.

Because they are baseless insults as you follow Jesus in Fact they will be shown that they were in fact those people. And this is what you must understand in a world where Christians are called lots of things.

People are just describing what they themselves are but they're projecting it on to you. We must understand this. It is true also that those who were once lost. Who believe these lies for a time who believe the lies about Jesus about the Bible about his followers?

That some people are gonna believe some people are gonna see it for what it is in this life. And those people will praise God saying Lord Thank you for sending these believers along who I was able to watch and and at first I didn't like them at first I believe the lies, but then I saw that these people as they follow Jesus were virtuous.

They were following the narrow path. They were following the way to life and and people are gonna praise God someday on the day of visitation. That this that the Lord sent these people across their path so understand That God is glorified through your faithfulness to him in this world as you pass through as exiles.

And.

Sojourners he will vindicate you in the end. Even if people think all kinds of evil about you. People see these works that God has produced in you and whether in shame or in joy. These true works of God are recognized and the Lord is praised.

So know that Jesus is the stone that demands a response. And in this text over the last two Sundays we have seen four ways. How? Through receiving rejection from the world receiving delight from the Father welcoming people built on him as the foundation and displaying transformed people to the world.

No one can be indifferent toward Jesus. He's either the foundation of your life or the stone that people stumble over. So which stone is he ask yourself that is he your firm foundation? Where you understand that without him I'm nothing.

My life my hope is built on him. If that's you you are in an amazing place. But if that's not you then he is the stone. That you stumble over where you will forever be under judgment. Just make sure This day that he is your foundation.

Now next time next Sunday or Lord willing Peter transitions to talking about something that has been very relevant to us over the last few years. What does biblical submission to government look like?

And I look forward to looking at that with you, but at this time. Let's bow our heads in prayer father in heaven. Thank you for sending Jesus. He is our firm foundation. He is the foundation upon which Eureka Baptist is built and my prayer is that that would be the case for everyone in this room and Lord as we go out to Baptize five people or we are excited to to declare The victory that they have in Jesus Christ and that he indeed is their foundation.

And so we ask for your blessing upon the rest of this afternoon and as we go downstairs, too. We thank you for this food that has been provided and we ask this in Jesus name. Amen. So today I'm just gonna do it right from up here.

Let's close with the gospel song. The gospel song is Holy God in love became Perfect man to bear my blame on the cross. He took my sin by his death. I live again. Okay, if you know it.