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Pilgrim Living: Who is your King? - I Peter 2:6-8

 

Pilgrim Living: Who is your King?

I Peter 2:6-8

Introduction: The passage this week builds on verses 4 and 5, and gives the Scriptural basis for Peter’s thesis. Last week we saw that Jesus is the precious cornerstone of our faith and our greatest privilege is to know Him and to serve Him. This week Peter points to the Scriptural basis of that truth. This is the pattern we see in virtually every book of the New Testament, the writer appeals to the Old Testament as the inspired Word of God which looked ahead to the coming of the Messiah, our Rescuer, the Savior who would lay down his life for sinful humans, and provide the way to true life in fellowship with God. Jesus IS the Son of God, it is not Him who is on trial, He has nothing to prove. He isn’t running for office. Election day is coming. So is Judgement Day. We will be judged on the basis of our response to Him. John said in John 3…

"The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (Jn 3:35-36).

Who is your king? Those verses in John always lead me to reflect on Psalm 2, another text that relates to this passage. It is such a key psalm I’d like to read it again. It begins with the world in rebellion against the Lord and against his rule and shows that all who take refuge in Him find life.  Listen to it in the ESV translation:

 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?  2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his anointed, saying,  3 "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us." 

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.  5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,  6 "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill."

 7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you.  8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.  9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.  11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

The World is in rebellion. Even so, God is in control, He is Lord, He is the Sovereign ruler of all creation. God is God, we are not. Do you believe that? Our eternity is determined by our response to Jesus. Based on Psalm 2 we can ask: Is Jesus your king? We started this series in I Peter asking that same question. Remember the initial response of the people as Jesus entered Jerusalem that week before that last Passover? They proclaimed him as the One who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel. Yet a week later the leaders rejected him saying, “We will not have this man to be our king!” …even as Pilate mockingly crucified Him as the King of the Jews. Which is it? Are we so at home in the world that we reject (or ignore) the sovereignty of the One whose kingdom is not of this world? Have we forgotten that we are pilgrims in a fallen world, and that we aren’t home yet? What will you do with Jesus?

The BIG* Idea: Our response to Jesus reveals our heart and our standing with God. Is He the most precious thing in your life? Is He your King? Let’s pick up with v.6 and…

I. God’s Plan: God revealed in His Word the promise of a coming Rescuer, the Messiah (2:6a). Every human will be judged on the basis of their response to Jesus (6-8). We read in I Peter 2:6a,

For it stands in Scripture: ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious…

         The invitation is to come in Faith to the Precious and Chosen Cornerstone. By the way, faith is about believing God, taking Him at His Word. At the outset of the passage, in case the reader might miss it, he makes it clear that he is quoting from the Bible. “It stands in Scripture...” The Bible was an unshakable authority for the apostles, and it should be for us as well. This is why we preach through books of the Bible. My ideas are one thing, take them for what they are worth. But God’s Word is truth, it is what we need to know God, and to grow in our relationship with Him. It is through His word that we are built up and equipped for life and ministry in this fallen world. God has given us His Word, written. We are not called to preach our ideas or plans to the church. Pastors are called to “preach the Word.” It is God-breathed Scripture that is profitable for instruction, for reproof, and correction, and for training in righteousness…  The apostles had unique authority to speak for the Lord, to bring new revelation. But much of what even they did was based on preaching the Scriptures, and especially showing how the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings pointed to, and found their fulfillment in, Christ (Luke 24:45).  For us, we have the whole Bible, the Old and New Testament, all of which points to Jesus.  The whole Bible fits together, from Genesis to Revelation. 66 books, one Story. It is HIS story. We take God at His word. So, we submit to his Lordship, and we “come to Him” as we saw last week in 2:4, and we take Him at His word. We’ll see in v.7 that “honor is for those who believe.” We haven’t seen Him, but we believe Him. We hear His voice, He knows us, and we follow Him. We recognize who He is, and so submit to His lordship in our lives. Peter points to God’s plan, revealed in Scripture, to lay in Zion

        “...a cornerstone chosen and precious...”  The same adjectives were used in in 2:4, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious...” Peter now shows the Old Testament Scriptures that he is alluding to, first by quoting the Greek version (LXX) of Isaiah 28:16 that refers to an “elect” and “precious” cornerstone being laid in Zion.  In the context of the failures of not only the northern kingdom, but also the Davidic kings in Jerusalem, God offers the hope of an unshakable foundation. 700 years before His coming, the prophet spoke of God’s plan to send the elect and precious cornerstone, the One upon which God’s Temple, the church, would be constructed. He is the ultimate foundation, yet, as Psalm 118 predicted, he became the “stone the builders rejected.” In the fulness of time God sent forth His Son, and our response to Jesus reveals our heart and our standing with God. Is He the most precious thing in your life? Is He your King?

II. God’s Promise: Deliverance and blessing for all who put their trust in Him (2:6b-7a).

Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame. So the honor is for you who believe...”

       The phrase “be put to shame” occurs with frequency in the Old Testament Scriptures in reference to the judgement that God brings to those who reject Him. It occurs multiple times in the book of Jeremiah, in reference to the humiliating defeat that God would allow his people to suffer. Essentially “to be ashamed” is the opposite of being saved – it implies suffering a humiliating defeat rather than the joy of salvation.  The language here is emphatic, a double negative, the idea is: Whoever believes in Him will certainly not be ashamed.” By no means will the believer in Him suffer that final, humiliation and shame. The criteria for escaping that shame and humiliation is “believing in Him.”  As we look at the New Testament there are two aspects of that. First, it means recognizing who He is, acknowledging his identity as Messiah, Savior, and Son of God. The second aspect of “belief” is trusting in His finished work as your only hope of salvation. He is who he claimed to be, He did what he said He would do. In other words, we take Him at His word, and rather than foolishly thinking we can do just fine on our own, we see our need, and we entrust ourselves to Him. As Paul said, Confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved…” (Rom 10:9).

       Jesus came to save, to build His church...  And the ESV continues, “So, honor is for you who believe...”  The English translations vary quite a bit with this phrase. The NIV for example says, “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious…” The idea would be that we see the value of the Stone, we recognize HIS honor.  The NET Bible is even more explicit, “So you who believe see his value…” That point is certainly being made in this context as the response of belief and unbelief is being contrasted. The NKJV agrees, reading “Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious…” This reading is possible, it fits well. But there is also a contrast here between the result of our response to Him. The more literal reading may be the ESV which says, “So the honor is for you who believe…” So, in contrast to the stumbling unbelievers who will be put to shame, believers have the honor of being living stones in God’s house, and as we’ll see next week in v.9 are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession…” I think that may be Peter’s point with this phrase.

       God’s story is being worked out in history. The universal problem of humanity is sin. The truth is all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And, “By one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all humans because all have sinned...” We live in a fallen world. Since Adam, we are, by nature, children of wrath… BUT GOD, being rich in mercy, not because we deserved anything, but because of His great love with which he loved us, made a way. He sent the Son. He made possible peace between us and God. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the only way to the Father is through Him. Our response to Jesus reveals our heart and our standing with God. Is He the most precious thing in your life? Is He your King?

III. The Penalty for Rejecting Him: The Verdict: Our response exposes us—it shows if we have faith, or reveals our unbelief  (7b-8). As John said it in Jn 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." Shame, dishonor, stumbling, all point to that ultimate shame of standing guilty before our Holy God on that Day.

       “...but for those who do not believe...” Our first thought might be, “How, or why, could someone not believe?” It seems shocking to us to think that some who saw Him and heard Him eventually rejected Him. When we consider that even of his closest followers, Judas betrayed him, Peter denied Him, and Thomas said he would NOT believe unless he saw the nail prints in his hands for himself, perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised! Here we are 2000 years later, telling people to trust Him! That is why Jesus said to Thomas, “You believe because you see? Blessed are those who have not seen, but yet believe!The call is to take him at His word, to hear His voice in the Bible and believe. And He is still building His church! He still, at the right time, prompts faith in the hearts of His sheep when they hear His voice… and they follow Him.   

      But some will not listen, they will not hear, they refuse to believe. For them and in them the Scriptures cited here are being fulfilled. He has become to them not the “chosen and precious cornerstone” that He is to God and to all who believe, but the “stone rejected by the builders,” and “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” In other words, they have taken offense at His rule, and chosen to take their stand with the “kings of the earth” and the “peoples” who are plotting in vain against the Lord and His anointed in Psalm 2. They are saying with Jesus’ tormenters, “We’ll not have THIS MAN to be our King!” That is unbelief, rejection of the provision God has made for us in Christ. It reveals a heart still facing the wrath of God.

       The response to God’s word: Some manuscripts say disobedience [“...apeithountes...” from apeitho] (as in Jn 3:36) while others say unbelief[“...apisteuo...”]. Like most such variations in the biblical manuscripts, the ideas are so closely related it really doesn’t impact the meaning. Remember at the end of John 3,

Whoever believes [pisteuo] in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey [apeitho] the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

“Believing” in the Son is contrasted with “not obeying” the Son. Jesus is the Son of God. He is the King of Kings. He is the only way for sinful humans to be reconciled to a holy God. Those are facts. He doesn’t need your vote. He is not running for office. But humans will be judged based on their response to Him. Remember the exchange between Jesus and the Jewish leaders in John 10:24-31,

24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."  25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,  26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.  27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.  30 I and the Father are one."  31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

They knew what Jesus was saying. Remember the “Shema,” the declaration of faith of Israel from Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” The translation is a study for another day. Moses said Yahweh, the Lord, is one. But notice what Jesus said: “I and the Father are One.” It was understood by the leaders as an explicit claim of deity, and so they took up stones to stone Him. God incarnate stood before them, and they didn’t recognize Him. They tried to kill Him. But His hour had not yet come. Jesus is the truth and He only spoke the truth. Our response to Him reveals our heart and our standing with God. Do we recognize who He is? Do we believe that He shed His blood for our sins, and rose again the third day? Have you entrusted yourself to Him? Is He the most precious thing in your life? Is He your King?

What is God saying to me in this passage? Our response to Jesus reveals our heart and our standing with God.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Is He the most precious thing in your life? Is He your King? If you refuse to acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior, you are without excuse. He has provided for you what you desperately need, a means, the only means, to be reconciled to God. If you know Him, if you have received Him as Savior, you can take no credit, it is all of grace. You are called to walk with Him, to follow Him, to obey Him. He is the precious and chosen cornerstone. We, by grace, are living stones in God’s building! As we live in the light of that truth, as we see in this context, it will impact the way we relate to one another and to the world.

       We’ve been called to a sincere brotherly love, to love one another from a pure heart. Living like that brings glory to God, and it testifies to the world that we are His disciples. By the way, it’s not a suggestion, it is a command. And Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Think about those in your sphere of influence. God has sovereignly and strategically has you exactly where you are at: in your family, your neighborhood, your workplace, or school. There is a small group of people around you that are your first mission field. You are God’s ambassador. Pray for those in your sphere of influence who don’t know the Lord, and for those who are not walking with Him. Seek to bring encouragement to those who are believers. And for the unbelievers, pray that God would soften their hearts, and ask God for an opportunity to give a reason for the hope that is in you (Ps 67)!    Amen.

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