Sermon for Trinity Thirteen – Sunday September 11, 2022
Calvary/Marquette ● Soli Deo Gloria

God’s Grace, mercy and peace are yours in abundance, for you have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. Amen.
1 Peter 2:7-12 – EHV
7 Therefore, for you who believe, this is an honor. But for those who do not believe: The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, 8 and, a stone over which they stumble and a rock over which they fall. Because they continue to disobey the word, they stumble over it. And that is the consequence appointed for them.
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10At one time you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. At one time you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy.
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul. 12Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.

In the Name of Jesus, the Christ,
Who is Himself the difference
Between Eternal Life and Death,
Dear Fellow Redeemed in His Blood –

For many people, for many years, Christ was the dividing line in human history. The years of antiquity were designated with the letters BC, which stood for Before Christ. So also, the years after Christ’s Birth were designated with the letters AD, which do not stand for ‘After Death’ but the Latin phrase, ‘Anno Domini’ which means ‘in the year of our Lord.’ Our current year by this designation is AD 2022.

I’m not clear when it happened, but it has become popular to use a different designation for time...one that leaves Jesus Christ out of the equation. The years are divided the same, but today the favored designated letters are BCE (before the common era) and CE (in the common era).
For many in our world, Jesus of Nazareth is little more than a historical figure, one with little consequence in the whole of history.

Jesus Christ is the Dividing Line.

When the infant Jesus was brought to the temple 40 days after his birth, the elderly believer Simeon spoke to Mary and foretold how humankind would react to her child. He would be a dividing line for all of humanity. Some would reject him while others by God’s grace would believe in Him. Simeon foretold (Luke 2:34-35a, EHV):

“Listen carefully, this child is appointed for the falling and rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed... “

We continue our study of the 1st Letter of Peter this morning and we note that the Apostle Peter pictures Christ as the Dividing Line. He is either honored or rejected. If honored, He gives purpose. If rejected, there is no purpose. He teaches those who believe to glorify God, not satisfy self.

This is the very word of God, not merely the musings of a first century Jewish fisherman. We therefore seek the blessing of the Holy Spirit that we may grow in our faith in Christ. We pray: “Sanctify us by your truth, O Lord, Your Word is Truth.” Amen.

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Last Sunday we noted that in the first six verses of this 2nd Chapter, believers in Jesus are compared to infants dependent upon the nourishment of God’s Word and to stones being used to build a spiritual building. We are urged to keep coming to Jesus, the Living Stone, that we may be joined to Him and become part of something bigger than ourselves, the Holy Christian Church (the sum total of all believers).

However, not everyone who is told that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, will believe it. In fact, when human beings hear of Christ, they either honor Him or reject Him.

7 Therefore, for you who believe, this is an honor. But for those who do not believe: The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, 8 and, a stone over which they stumble and a rock over which they fall.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, a large crowd of people followed the Savior and another crowd came out from the city to meet Him. The assembled crowd laid their clothing and branches on the road before him and they cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” In so doing, the recognized Jesus, for one day, as the Promised Savior.

Some of the assembled crowd spoke the words of Psalm 118, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” They honored Jesus as the Christ, the Chosen Savior of God.

Psalm 118 also speaks of those who reject the Savior, when it says:

“The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey, He was entering the mouth of the lion. He came to a city whose name means ‘city of peace’...but it wasn’t a city of peace for God’s Prophets. When God sent His Prophets to Jerusalem they were often rejected and even killed.

The religious leaders of Jesus day rejected Him as the Promised Savior, despite His powerful word and miracles. They were like builders who counted a certain stone to be worthless...that turned out to be the most important of all.

Jesus still is the dividing line. Even today the ‘wise’ and ‘learned’ of our age reject Jesus as worthless. Religion is the opiate of the people, some say. If they haven’t denied the existence of God, they imagine that they are good enough to stand before Him. When people throw aside the Living Stone as something worthless, they are bound to stumble over that same Living Stone and fall. In considering the Living Stone, the Cornerstone worthless, they are themselves rejected by God, who placed the Cornerstone to save even them. They reap the consequences of their actions.

Because they continue to disobey the word, they stumble over it.
And that is the consequence appointed for them.

When Jesus is again placed before them, they continue to disobey and reject Him as worthless. The sad truth is that God would have everyone believe and be saved. They stumble over Christ and reject him of their own accord, not because God doesn’t want them. Worst of all, their rejection of God’s Son results in eternal consequences.

In this world, Jesus is either rejected, or by God’s grace, He breaks through the unbelief of man and makes of human beings his own people, giving them purpose in this life.

9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10At one time you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. At one time you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy.

As we grow up, we all look for our place and purpose in life. We try and figure out what we want to do the rest of our lives, what occupation we would live from. As Christian parents we pray that our children find their place in life, that they find a godly spouse and are each led to the occupation that satisfies them.

As Christians, we are given our purpose by Christ.

 We are a Chosen People. We may be of different ethnic backgrounds and may even grow up in different countries, but as Christians are chosen by God to be his people. In the OT, God chose Abraham’s descendants to be his people, the people through whom He would make known His Savior. In the NT, God chooses those who believe in His Son to be his people, the spiritual people of God.

 We are a royal priesthood. We don’t need another human being to offer up sacrifice for us or intercede with God, for God is our Father through faith in His Son. We are a royal priesthood, members of the family of God, who serve the King. Our role is to speak to others about what the Father has done for us all through His Son, Jesus.

 We are a holy nation...having been cleansed of sin by faith in His Son.

 We are God’s possession...for He is the one who redeemed us, purchased our release with the blood of His Son.

What is our purpose? It is to proclaim the praises of Him who called us from the darkness of sin and death to his marvelous light. We are to make known how we became God’s people and how He showed us mercy.

God has made us who we are and has given us purpose in life. We are blessed. We can undermine our work and purpose by returning to the old ways. So, for our eternal good, we are warned:

11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul. 12Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.

When we first began our study of this letter, we learned that some of the people to whom the Apostle Peter first wrote were living outside of their homeland. Others had become like strangers in their homeland when they became Christians. The Holy Spirit through Peter urged them all to consider themselves spiritual immigrants, to remember that they were citizens of heaven.

As Christians, we are also to think of ourselves as strangers passing through this world. Thus, we are not to live like the locals, like those who live for this life. We are to conduct ourselves in a way that pleases our heavenly father, like temporary residents in this world.

If there is anything that could change our status with God and put our eternal inheritance in jeopardy it would be returning to sinful lives. In fact, the Apostle Peter tells us that following the desires of our sinful flesh is to enter into war against our own soul!

As we sit here in padded pews, we may think to ourselves there is no real danger. My faith is strong. I’ll never forsake Jesus! This warning is not here for no reason. Our fallen natures would take over and destroy our faith. It’s easy to live for this world, to do what feels good. It’s easy to get comfortable here, to try and get more and more stuff. There are consequences to such actions.

We should also consider our witness to the world. If we are no different than those who live for this world, then those who see us will conclude that religion is empty. If we join with the crowd to laugh at sin...we aren’t the only ones defamed, so is the Savior Jesus.

We are urged to live honorable lives (according to God’s Will) so that when the unbelieving see our actions, they will see that belonging to Jesus means something. It means turning from sin. It means doing the right thing no matter who is watching. They may not be led to seek the reason for the hope that is in us, but when the Savior returns at last to visit this earth, they will have to glorify God.
Christ is still the Dividing Line. He is either honored or rejected. If honored, He gives purpose. If rejected, there is no purpose. He teaches those who believe to glorify God, not satisfy self.

May He enable us to do just that.
Amen.