June 25 2023

June 25th 2023

Frankie / General

Christian Faith and Life / 1 Peter 2:11–17

1 Peter 2:11-17

1. Today, we congratulated the students graduating from the 12th grade of high school. They have successfully completed the regular educational curriculum over the past 12 years and are now ready to move on to the world. Some students will start college, while others will find jobs and begin working. Over the past week, I have prayed and pondered on what message to convey to the graduating students. During this time, when I was reading the book of 1 Peter, I came across Chapter 2, verses 11-17, which I thought could serve as a message for the graduates. So today, I would like to briefly discuss our lives and how to live them based on this passage. To be honest, the graduating students are facing a big challenge. Living in the world and maintaining their identity as Christians is not an easy task. However, living in the world is truly meaningful, and especially living in this world as Christians is an incredible privilege bestowed upon us by God. Of course, living as a Christian requires making many sacrifices. That's because people who don’t believe in Jesus have higher expectations of Christians when they meet them. The world sets higher moral standards for Christians. 

2. Despite the high standards and criteria of the world, living in this world as Christians is an incredible privilege and meaningful. That's because the world is the field where God works, and we live in His work, witnessing His work in our lives. Without faith, we would simply attribute the things that happen to us as either misfortune or luck. However, through the faith given to us, we confess that everything that happens to us, whether it appears good or bad, is the work of God in our lives. That's the privilege we, as believers, possess, and because of it, we can pray and worship the Lord. Now, let’s turn to our eyes to the Lord and read what God wants us to listen to His message through 1 Peter 2:11-17. 

1 Peter 2:11–12 NKJV

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

1 Peter 2:13–17 NKJV

Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

3. At first glance, today's passage appears to be a kind of moral guideline. It says, "As believers, let us live with higher ethical standards on this earth to exalt the name of the Lord. If we fail to live such a noble life according to the law of God, we cannot spread the fragrance of Christ among the Gentiles." On the surface, it seems like perfectly fine content. Our lives should undoubtedly be cleaner and different from those who do not believe. However, if Peter's exhortation ends here, we would encounter a law that is even more challenging to keep than any other law. The Bible does not simply tell us to live morally acceptable or noble lives only. It is the natural consequence of believing in Jesus Christ, a guide for our lives. It is akin to the principle of the Israelites having a special food diet after the redemptive work of God from Egypt. After the Exodus, the Israelites received the law from God after two months and began to keep it in the wilderness according to its principles. However, it was not given to the Israelites for the purpose of salvation. The reason Israel had to keep the law was that they had become God's people through the exodus. God's salvation came first, and then they began to live according to the law as the people who received salvation.

Exodus 19:1–3 ESV

On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:

Exodus 19:4–6 NLT

‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”

Leviticus 11:1–3 NIV

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.

4. God commanded Moses to give His law to the Israelites because they had already witnessed the things God had done through the Exodus and how He had covered and protected them with eagle's wings. In other words, the reason the Israelites received God's law was not to complete or receive salvation by obeying the law, Torah, but because they had already received salvation through witnessing God's deeds and knowing Him through His actions. Therefore, as those who had received salvation, they were to live according to God's law. This also implies that merely adhering to God's laws does not make them distinguish before God as a uniquely chosen people. Instead, the world will recognize that they are already God's people—a holy nation, a priesthood, and a precious treasure of God. This is because God has already designated Israel as special, and their obedience in the world is the means to demonstrate it, namely, by living according to God's law as His people.

5. Therefore, the beginning of a saved life starts with the recognition of a new identity that comes from God, rather than a mere change in one's actions. In order for the Israelite people to keep God's law, they had to recognize that they had come out of Egypt and were now on a journey to the new land that God would give them. It was through this awareness that they were able to apply God's law to their lives. Similarly, when we recognize in our daily lives that our lives have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ and that we now have a new identity, our redeemed life begins, and God's law becomes the law of our lives. We are familiar with the story of Caleb, who entered the Promised Land of God. When Caleb entered the land of Canaan, he was 85 years old. He was certainly of old age, and it would have been a suitable time for him to live a peaceful life. Since he had entered the land of Canaan, the Promised Land of God, it would have been a time to pass on the task of conquering that land to the next generation. However, he did not stop there. He approached Joshua and requested permission to take possession of the land of Hebron, saying that he would conquer it himself. Usually, we focus on his age or his adventurous spirit in this part. However, what I see is the underlying reason behind his mindset.

The people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite spoke: “You’ll remember what God said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me back at Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of God sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. And I brought back an honest and accurate report. My companions who went with me discouraged the people, but I stuck to my guns, totally with God, my God. That was the day that Moses solemnly promised, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance, you and your children’s, forever. Yes, you have lived totally for God.’ 

Now look at me: God has kept me alive, as he promised. It is now forty-five years since God spoke this word to Moses, years in which Israel wandered in the wilderness. And here I am today, eighty-five years old! I’m as strong as I was the day Moses sent me out. I’m as strong as ever in battle, whether coming or going. So give me this hill country that God promised me. You yourself heard the report, that the Anakim were there with their great fortress cities. If God goes with me, I will drive them out, just as God said.” (Joshua 14:6-12, The Message Bible)

6. Caleb saw not his circumstances or his age, but the promise that God had made to him. He was not someone who settled for his surroundings, but rather he continuously remembered the promise that God had made through Moses 45 years ago, and it guided Caleb's identity throughout his 45 years of life. And now, he requested the land of Hebron, which God had promised, and he conquered that land. Despite the presence of the powerful Anakim, Caleb conquered the land according to God's promise.

 Joshua blessed him. He gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite still today, because he gave himself totally to God, the God of Israel. The name of Hebron used to be Kiriath Arba, named after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim. And the land had rest from war. (Joshua 14:13-15, The Message Bible)

7. Today, we celebrated the graduation of high school students. They are now embarking on a new journey in life. They must break free from the protection of their parents and live their own lives. They will start looking for jobs and enter university. However, life passes by in an instant. Youth passes by in an instant. It is a time that can flow meaninglessly. The word "present" is a wonderful word, but it only lasts for a second. Once a second has passed, it becomes the past. The present given to us, as fleeting as a second, quickly slips away. In this passage of time, in order to live the life that God has given us, we must live with the right purpose and identity. Caleb teaches us what has sustained his life. It wasn't a life that constantly pursued changes in actions, but rather the promise that God gave him, which became his identity and enabled him to live for 45 years until he could finally fulfill it in his life.

8. The reason why having the right identity is important is that changes in actions are based on circumstances, and the circumstances given to us never change according to our expectations. And circumstances are always variable. They are never constant. However, the identity given to us never changes. No matter how much Canada's political system changes, or new laws are enacted, our Canadian identity remains unchanged. Similarly, our identity does not change depending on the situation and environment. In the first century, most Christians were slaves. They did not enjoy the status of freedom and were not even treated as human beings. However, instead of trying to change such circumstances, they focused on the identity given to them and the new perspective of life that God had given them. And because of that, they rejoiced not in the changed circumstances but in the midst of suffering and persecution. They rejoiced in the faith they possessed in Jesus and in the new identity given to them.

God's chosen ones /Faithful and true Royal priests / With a royal view

You are His own  / A holy nation With  a heavenly home

No greater love  /  Can one man find

Than to look more deeply In His eyes

Your lives transformed in Him In victory you'll sing

And praise the living King.  Oh, hallelujah

1 Peter 2:9–10 M:BCL

But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.

9. The message I want to deliver to the graduating students through today's sermon is not to rejoice according to the circumstances. It is about embracing our identity that God has already given us in this world - being His chosen children, holy priests, and companions of God at all times. It is to never forget that God is our Father and that we are the ones who live by the power He gives us. At that time, it's not about the gospel being proven by the changes in our environment or the glorification of the Lord's name, but rather about our identity, our perspective, and our faith glorifying the name of Jesus Christ, and the world coming to know God. Live according to the identity in Jesus Christ. Always renew and transform your heart to live a life that pleases the Lord alone. That is the calling that God has given us.

Romans 12:1–2 M:BCL

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.