Well, I'll turn again, if you will, back to 1 Peter chapter 2.
The sermon this night will be through verses 1-3, the first three verses.
Just a reminder, next Sunday begins our new series in Adult Sunday School on the means of grace,
on the preaching and reading of scripture, on baptism, on the Lord's Supper and prayer.
So each week we'll go through each one of those, and if you can, it'd be very edifying for all of you to come.
And this evening we look at those very topics here in 1 Peter chapter 2.
Peter addresses those for us.
Well, last Thursday, of course, was Halloween, but it was also another very special day.
Does anybody know what we celebrate on October 31st?
Reformation Day.
Reformation Day, all right, good.
So Reformation Day is the day we remember on October 31st, 1517,
that Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg
and started the Protestant Reformation.
And the theology of the Reformers swept across Europe,
and thousands and thousands of people were converted to the true gospel.
But things didn't always go so well.
So in 1546, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
sent his imperial troops into Germany to destroy the Protestant delegation there.
The Roman Catholic Emperor had decided that the Protestant princes had given him enough trouble,
and it was time to take them out.
And thousands of Christians were killed in Germany.
Many more fled for their lives, and fear swept across Europe.
All the Protestants were in fear that this was it.
This was the end for them.
They would be exterminated.
The Reformed churches in Geneva also grew worried with this act of Charles V.
There were rumors that the Pope himself was leading an army of 25,000 men into Geneva
to slaughter the Reformed church there.
Well, the entire population of Geneva was about 12,000 people at the time,
so it wouldn't have been much of a fair fight.
The political and religious leaders in Geneva knew that the internal squabbles
that they were having in that day would only weaken the defenses of their city
against this external threat.
And so in March of 1547, the pastors of that city summoned all the people together,
and they encouraged them to reconcile with one another.
They knew that internal unity was absolutely essential for them to survive these potential attacks.
The pastors called for a day of prayer for their brothers and sisters in Germany,
and also for their own unification.
Now, as it turns out, the rumors were not true.
The Pope, indeed, did not lead an army into Geneva.
The city was spared.
But this unity that had developed over this time,
it served to strengthen the city,
and it continued to unite them in years to come.
And Geneva was enabled to endure future threats that came from Roman Catholics,
and it became a haven of refuge for exiled Protestants from across Europe
to come there fleeing the persecution from Roman Catholics.
Many in this country, indeed, fled to Geneva and were strengthened there.
And they were strengthened in part because of this internal unity
that had developed in the city.
Now, although we in this country do not often face the threat of physical persecution,
we do have to remember our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who do face it every day.
Those who are persecuted for the cause of Christ.
We must remember them.
We must pray for them.
We must seek to help them, not only as individuals, but as the corporate body of Christ.
And even if we here are not in threat of physical danger for our faith,
we have to remember that all Christians live as pilgrims.
We are exiled from our ultimate home in heaven.
And as we suffer the travails of life lived under the sun,
we must seek unity within the body of Christ,
as we are assaulted from without and from within,
while we journey to the promised land.
And Peter instructs us here in these matters in 1 Peter 2.
He urges exiled pilgrims to discard the sinful encumbrances
and to nourish their souls on their journey to heaven.
In our passage, we see Peter's instructions for exiled Christians.
These instructions come in three parts.
First, Peter's instructions for exiles are based on their redemptive relationship with Christ.
Secondly, Peter instructs exiles to long for Christ.
And finally, Peter instructs exiles to reconcile with one another.
So first we see Peter's instructions for exiles are based upon their redemptive relationship with Christ.
Now, if you look at verse 1 of chapter 1,
Peter addresses his letter to the exiles, the elect exiles of dispersion.
Again, in verse 17 of chapter 1, he references the exiles.
This idea of Christians as exiles or pilgrims, it goes all the way back to the time of Abraham.
In the Greek translation of the Old Testament,
the same word is used of Abraham when he's speaking to the Hittites.
He says, I am a stranger and an exile among you.
The other time in the New Testament that this word is used is in the book of Hebrews,
where again it refers to Abraham,
but also Christians before and after him as exiles on the earth.
So Peter, in one sense, is addressing all Christians in his letter,
and he's addressing them as exiles, as those sojourners without their home.
Peter later encourages these exiles in chapter 5 to stand firm in the grace of God
as they journey throughout the world.
In chapters 3 and 4, he instructs these pilgrims on the path to salvation
that they will indeed face persecution.
In chapter 5, he sums it up and he says,
he instructs us here to remain faithful under pressure,
living as exiles in this world as they progress towards God's ultimate rest.
Interestingly here, in verse 3 of chapter 2,
Peter quotes Psalm 34,
If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
We saw in the version of that psalm earlier in the service.
Now the heading of that psalm reads,
You recall that David was a fugitive from King Saul,
and for many years he sojourned throughout southern Israel.
He was forced to leave his homeland,
and Saul is on the run.
He's after David, seeking to kill him.
And Saul eventually drives him out of the land of promise,
and David is forced to seek refuge in the hand of Israel's greatest enemy,
the Philistines.
And he goes to King Abimelech,
seeking refuge from Saul.
David never is able to settle in peace.
He's never able to rest in the land of promise that God had given his people.
And so he's driven into the hands of the Philistines.
Thankfully, David was able to escape,
using his cunning, using his trust in the Lord.
And Psalm 34 references this.
Psalm 34 tells us of God's faithfulness to his servant,
and deliverance from suffering.
Even though the psalmist is deceived on all sides by his enemies,
he knows that he can trust in God,
that God indeed will deliver him.
The hearers of 1 Peter immediately would have recognized this quotation from this psalm.
They would know Psalm 34.
They would know that he's speaking of David,
and especially that context of exile,
of dispersion and his activity as a fugitive.
Peter here is associating his hearers with David in exile.
They too long for deliverance from the persecution that they face from the hands of the Romans.
They too long for rest in their homeland that God has promised them.
Like David, they must sojourn outside of the land of promise,
as they await God's ultimate rescue.
These pilgrims are compelled by Peter to remain faithful to God,
and to anticipate that ultimate Sabbath rest that one day they will enter as their reward.
Just as God rewarded David with the kingdom of Israel,
although it too was a mere type and shadow of the heavenly kingdom that is to come.
Now these instructions that Peter gives these exiles here
are based on their redemptive relationship with Christ.
He tells them,
If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Now this phrase here, it's kind of like a rhetorical question.
The answer, of course, is yes.
Now children, imagine if your parents said,
We can get ice cream if indeed you really want some.
Well, of course you want some.
Who doesn't want ice cream?
That's what Peter is basically saying here.
If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
And of course you have.
You know what it means to taste that the Lord is good.
He writes to those who intimately know Christ.
They know what it means in verse 3 of chapter 1 when he says,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
According to his great mercy,
he has caused us to be born again to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
They know this.
And they know it intimately.
They know what it means to taste that the Lord is good.
They recognize the Christ as the living stone, as we read in verse 4.
In the sight of God, he is chosen and precious.
Just as Peter's hearers were exiles from their homeland
and they suffered persecution in this present evil age,
more so our Savior Jesus Christ was the ultimate exile.
He left his home in heaven and came to earth to suffer as a man for our disobedience
and to earn the righteousness that we need to stand before God as holy and justified in his sight.
He came to his own and his own received him not.
Just as David was persecuted by Saul, even more so.
Christ was despised and rejected by men.
He was exiled outside of the city of Jerusalem and crucified by his own people.
The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus suffered outside the gates
in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
He was sent outside the city to suffer and die as a common criminal
so that he could bring us one day into God's heavenly city
as citizens, as heirs of Christ.
Christ was exiled as a man of no esteem
so that we could be adopted as God's own children.
Now when David was exiled by the hand of Saul,
in Psalm 34 you recall that he had already been anointed king
by the prophet Samuel.
He was the true king.
But his own subjects rejected him
as they followed the former king, the false king Saul.
Well, the Lord Jesus, the king of kings, came to earth
and he inaugurated his kingdom
but his own subjects rejected him.
The exiled king died on behalf of his people
so that he might make them citizens of his eternal kingdom.
And one day he will return as conferring king,
no longer the humble suffering servant
but as the victorious monarch.
And he will vanquish his enemies
and establish his kingdom which will last forever.
And he will bring us into that kingdom
and we will be his loyal subjects,
no longer his enemies but his faithful servants
ruling alongside him.
Reconcile to God and we will remain forever
as obedient servants in Christ
and testimonies to his great rule.
We long for that day.
But even now, even today,
we have tasted that the Lord is good.
We know what it is to go from darkness to light.
We know what it means to be forgiven
and to be reconciled with God.
And we long for that day
when Christ will consummate his kingdom
and establish his throne forever.
But even today,
we know that God has declared us righteous in Christ
and we have experienced that he is good.
We have tasted the goodness of the word of God
and the powers of the age to come,
as Hebrews tells us.
We taste that goodness
every time we feed upon
the body and blood of Christ
in the supper of the Lord.
This is where we taste
that the Lord is good.
We receive Christ and all his benefits
through the means of grace
that he has ordained for us.
You see, early on in the history of the church,
the early Christians recognized
that this passage was referencing
the Lord's supper.
And the only two uses of this word
in the New Testament
are in clear Lord's supper passages.
So the early church actually incorporated
this verse into the form
that they would read
before they celebrated the supper.
They knew they received Christ
and all his benefits
when they came to the table of the Lord.
Nothing unites Christians together more
than when we partake of the Lord's supper.
When we are assaulted from without,
we come together as the body of Christ
and we eat from the same loaf
and we drink from the same cup.
We are one
as we assemble around this table
and we experience a supernatural unity
as we feed on the body and blood of Christ.
Now when we come to the table,
we are brought back to the cross of Christ
as we partake of the same body
that was crucified for us
and we drink the same blood
that was shed for us.
Christ is the sacrificial meal.
But he not only takes us back to the cross,
he takes us forward.
The supper foreshadows the eternal Sabbath rest
when we will eat and drink together
in the presence of the Lord.
Our King is no longer exiled from his homeland.
He has completed his redemptive work
and he has entered into the age to come.
Christ is the first fruit of the final resurrection
and we will follow him in that resurrection.
He has already been rewarded
with the blessings of that consummated kingdom.
And every time we partake of his body and blood
here in the supper,
we taste the powers of the age to come.
We experience a foretaste
of that eternal Sabbath rest
where we will again partake of the supper with Christ
in the marriage feast of the Lamb.
Peter's hearers knew
what it meant to go from darkness to light.
They knew that formerly they had not known God
but now they had come to be known by God
in an intimate way.
And not only known by God,
but by Christ.
You see, in Psalm 34,
it says,
Taste and see that Yahweh is good.
But when Peter translates it here,
he says,
Taste and see that the Lord Jesus Christ is good.
It's not enough to know the Father.
You must know the Father through the Son,
Jesus Christ.
He is the Lord.
We have to come into a relationship with Him.
We have to be known by Him.
This is a thoroughly Trinitarian passage.
God the Father feeds us
with the true and proper
body and blood of Christ
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
It is through the Spirit
that we taste that the Lord is good.
This is why we confess
in Westminster Confession 29.7,
speaking of the supper,
Worthy receivers,
outwardly partaking of visible elements
in this sacrament,
do then also,
inwardly by faith,
really and indeed,
yet not carnally and corporately,
but spiritually.
And this spiritually should be capital.
It's speaking of the Holy Spirit.
We spiritually receive
and feed upon Christ crucified
and all benefits of His death.
We feed on Christ
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
So our redemptive relationship with Christ
serves as the foundation
for Peter's edifying instructions
for his fellow exiles.
We pilgrims are sustained
on our journey to our heavenly home,
for we indeed have tasted
that the Lord is good.
Now secondly,
we see that
based on this redemptive relationship,
Peter instructs exiles
to long for Christ.
Look down at verse 2.
Like newborn infants,
long for the pure spiritual milk.
Now this analogy of infants
stresses the desperate need
that we have for spiritual nourishment.
Now unlike those
whom Paul scolds in Corinthians
when he tells them
you haven't grown up to solid food,
you're still stuck on milk,
or those in the book of Hebrews
who were equally stunted,
Peter here is not rebuking them
for their need for this milk.
Indeed, he's commending them.
Long for this pure spiritual milk.
This is a perpetual need.
This is a need that we will have
throughout our entire life.
Now this infant metaphor
is entirely appropriate.
Children, those of you
who have younger brothers and sisters,
do you remember
when your little brother or little sister
came home from the hospital
and your parents brought them
into the house?
What could they do?
Did they make dinner for you?
Did they help you clean up your room?
No, they didn't do anything.
They're helpless.
They just kind of sit there.
They can't help you.
They can't do anything.
They have nothing.
They have no way
to defend for themselves.
They can't even feed themselves.
And so are we.
We are weak.
We are vulnerable.
We are highly susceptible to harm.
We can't defend ourselves.
We are completely dependent
upon another for sustenance.
We need this life-giving milk
above all else.
We cannot survive
unless we are fed.
Also, like infants,
not only are we helpless,
but as infants,
we must be free
from the corruption
of living in a sinful world.
Now, although infants
aren't free from original sin,
they bear the guilt of Adam's sin.
Yet they are free
from the guile
and the deceit
that we develop
as we grow into adulthood.
Infants don't willfully
harm their neighbor.
They don't have this
hardness of sin
that we experience
as we grow older.
They're naive.
They're in a good sense.
They're as gentle as doves.
And so we exiles
are instructed
to long for milk
as infants.
Now, even though
this longing here
is not a command
by Peter,
it's really more
of a reminder
of the benefits
that we receive.
Infants don't have
to be told to eat.
They don't have to be commanded
now is the time to eat.
They have this longing.
They instinctually know
they need this milk
to survive.
And so, too,
we need the spiritual milk
to survive
on our pilgrim journey.
Now, there is much debate
as to the identity
of this milk.
You may have seen
translations that say
the pure milk
of the Word.
Certainly, this milk
is related to
the inscripturated
Word of God.
At the end of chapter 1,
Peter reminds us
of the greatness
of the Word of God.
Verse 22,
Having purified your souls
by your obedience
to the truth
for a sincere
brotherly love,
love one another
earnestly from a pure heart.
Since you have been
born again,
not of perishable seed,
but of imperishable,
through the living
and abiding
Word of God.
For all flesh
is like grass
and all its glory
like the flower of grass.
The grass withers
and the flower falls,
but the Word of the Lord
remains forever.
So this milk,
of course,
includes the written
Word of God,
but it's much more
than that.
Based on our
redemptive relationship
with Christ,
we are commanded
to long for this
pure spiritual milk,
which is the sustenance
of the Christian life.
And the sustenance
is Christ Himself.
We long for Him.
We are nourished by Him.
We grow as we are fed
by Him.
Just as infants
need milk all day,
every day,
so too we exiled
Christians need
Christ to survive.
We need Him
and all His benefits
to sustain us
on our Christian journey.
He is the fine
that sustains us
as we sojourn
in this world.
Well,
how do we receive Christ?
How are we nourished
by this milk?
Of course,
it's through the Word of God,
but more specifically,
it's through the preaching
of the Gospel.
Peter mentions this
at the end of verse 25,
chapter 1.
And this Word
is the good news
that was preached
to you.
We receive Christ
and all His benefits
every Lord's Day
when the minister
preaches the Gospel
to us.
This is why we confess
in the Second
Helvetic Confession.
Wherefore,
when this Word of God
is now preached
in every church
by preachers
lawfully called,
we believe
that the very Word
of God
is proclaimed
and received
by the faithful.
Christ Himself
speaks to us
through the mouth
of the minister
as He faithfully
proclaims His Word.
We also confess
in the Westminster
Larger Catechism,
155,
the Spirit of God
makes the reading,
but especially
the preaching
of the Word
an effectual means
of enlightening,
convincing,
and humbling sinners,
of driving them
out of themselves
and drawing them
unto Christ.
This is primarily
how we long
for that pure
spiritual milk.
We attend
to the means
of grace.
We attend
to the preaching
of the Gospel
and the administration
of the sacraments.
This is how
we are granted faith
and this is how
our faith is nourished
and strengthened.
That great passage
from the Apostle Paul
in Romans chapter 10.
How are they
to call on Him
in whom they have
not believed?
And how are they
to believe on Him
of whom they
have never heard?
And how are they
to hear
without someone
preaching?
And how are they
to preach
unless they are sent?
As it is written,
how beautiful
are the feet
of those
who preach
the good news.
So faith
comes from hearing
and hearing
through the Word
of Christ.
It is through
the preaching
of the Gospel
that the Holy Spirit
creates faith
in our hearts
to believe
and we are adopted
into God's family
and then He works
through the administration
of the sacraments
to strengthen
and nourish
our faith
in Christ.
The preaching
of the Gospel
and the administration
of the sacraments
are the life force
for exiled Christians.
And as we journey
on our pilgrim way
when we suffer persecution
or when Christians
around the world
suffer
we must cling
to Christ
and we must cling
to Him
as we have received Him
in the means of grace.
This is what is
really real.
When we face
moments of doubt
or when we stare
death in the face
we will not
cling to our experiences.
We will not trust
our feelings
and emotions
to tell us
that we are safe
in Christ.
When we face
that final hour
we will cling
to Christ
and we will cling
to Him
as we have received Him
in the preaching
of the Gospel
and the administration
of the sacraments.
When we receive Christ
and all His benefits
we will know
that the Gospel
that has been
proclaimed to us
is true
and it's true
for us.
Martin Luther said
it's not enough
to know
that Christ died
for my sins.
We must know
that Christ died
for my sins.
And when we take
that last breath
we will trust
those promises
for us are true
as we have received
them through
the means of grace.
Just as sure
as we eat
this bread
and we drink
this cup
so too
we are sure
that we have
eaten His body
and we have
drunk His blood
and that we have
eternal life
and that He will
raise us up
on the last day
as He promised us
in John chapter 6.
Just as sure
as we've been baptized
whether you remember
it or not
just as sure
as you've been a witness
to others
who've been baptized
we know
that Christ
has taken us
through those waters
of death
and He has brought us
out safely
on the other side.
And just as sure
as we've heard
the minister
proclaim the Gospel
to us
we know
that Christ
has delivered
to us
the good news
that He has died
for us
that He has
reconciled us
to God.
When we're confronted
with the difficulty
that comes
with the life
of exile
we must look
to the means
that God
has given us
to receive Christ
and all His benefits.
It is true
we have tasted
that the Lord
is good.
Peter's exile
here is new
what it was
to trust in Christ.
They have tasted
that the Lord
is good
and based on
their redemptive
relationship
with Christ
God instructs
them to long
for Christ
to desire
this pure
spiritual milk
with the result
that they could
grow together
in unity.
This is our
third point.
Peter instructs
exiled Christians
to be edifying
to build up
one another
as they reconcile
with one another.
It's only because
we have received
Christ and all
His benefits
through the Word
and the Sacraments
that now
we can grow
in Christ
and love
our neighbor.
So,
verse 1
of chapter 2
we must put away
all these
sinful encumbrances
that weigh us
down as we
journey to our
final homeland.
Peter instructs us
here that this
isn't all going
to happen at once.
We can't snap
our fingers
and instantly
be sanctified
as much as
we would like to.
We know that
we will deal
with the presence
of sin
as long as
we journey
on earth.
We will never
be perfectly
sanctified
while we are
still in these
sinful bodies
but we must
begin to put
away these
sinful behaviors.
This is a
lifelong process
but we can
begin to set
aside these
encumbrances
that weigh us
down.
Now,
Peter writes
and,
you see,
in between
each of these
lists of
bad things
and he wants
the reader
to stop
and focus
on each
one and so
we'll do
that now.
We must
put away
all malice.
This is a
mean-spirited
disposition.
Peter places
all before
there to
signal every
kind of
malice,
every kind
of mal-intention.
These exiles
must shed
every evil
disposition
which is the
opposite of
love,
whatever form
that manifests
itself.
Peter then
instructs his
hearers to
be free
from all
deceit.
This is the
taking advantage
of another
person through
underhanded
means or
crackiness.
Isaiah speaks
of Christ
that no
deceit was
found in
his mouth.
We sojourners
on the road
to salvation
must be
truth to
one another
and avoid
this deceitful
speech that
is so harmful.
Put away
all malice
and all
deceit
and hypocrisy,
the opposite
of truth.
In ancient
Greek,
this word
was used
for actors
who played
a role
on the
stage.
You recall
that Jesus
repeatedly rebukes
the scribes
and the Pharisees
for playing
the role
of the
truly righteous.
This sin
is devastating
to the
church.
We have
to be
open and
honest with
one another,
warts and
all.
And as we
journey on
our way,
this sin
of hypocrisy
is especially
dangerous in
times of
hardship and
suffering.
We have to
know who we
can count on
when we
are assaulted
from without.
We must
put aside
this hypocrisy.
Put aside
all envy.
This inhibits
the love and
affection within
the body of
Christ.
In the
ancient world,
many people
believed that
the success
of one person
inhibited the
success of
another.
The cake
was only so
big, so if
my neighbor
got a big
slice, well,
that means that
my slice will
be much smaller.
And so they
were very
envious of
one another,
wished ill on
their neighbor.
These exiles
are victims of
the slander from
the Gentiles in
chapter 2,
verse 12, who
speak evil of
them as
wrongdoers.
But the only
other time that
this word is
used in the
New Testament
is of slander
of fellow
Christians.
Why do we
turn on one
another in
times of
trial?
How much
more in
times of
hardship do
we need to
be edifying
instead of
tearing down?
Pilgrims
traveling to
ultimate
salvation must
cast away
these sinful
impediments
that block
our path.
And this
improper
behavior remains
a constant
temptation, but
it is a great
distraction from
our journey, and
we must avoid
these restrictive
encumbrances and
embrace the
nourishing benefits
that come from
Christ and the
gospel.
our survival as
the church depends
on us.
And we have to
be reconciled to
one another so
that we can all
grow up into
salvation as we
are fed by the
pure spiritual
milk.
Look again at
verse 2.
Like newborn
infants, long
for the pure
spiritual milk that
by it you may
grow up into
salvation.
This word you
hear is plural.
In fact, all the
verbs in this
passage are plural.
Peter is
addressing us as
one.
We are united in
the body of
Christ.
We're in this
together.
We journey
together on our
way to the
heavenly home.
We are knit
together in the
body of Christ, and
we have tasted that
the Lord is good.
And it is based on
these promises that
we must long for
Christ and be
reconciled to one
another so that we
can all grow up
together into
salvation.
This salvation
starts when we are
regenerated, when
we're born again, as
Peter referenced in
chapter 1.
And it comes to
completion when our
exile is finally
over, and we
enter that heavenly
rest.
But until that day, we
must cling to Christ,
who more importantly
clings to us, as we
hold on to one
another, united in
love for our
Savior.
Well, I'm sure that
many of you have
read the book,
Pilgrim's Progress.
At one point, it was
the second best-selling
book in the English
language behind the
Bible.
Now, it's probably
been passed by
Da Vinci Code or
Harry Potter or
something.
But if you haven't
read Pilgrim's Progress,
please do so.
It is very rewarding.
And you recall the
main character,
Christian, journeys on
the Pilgrim pathway
toward his final home
in the celestial city.
Along the way, he's
attacked by doubt
and temptation, and he
trusts in the Lord,
and he remains faithful
to the end.
And as great as that
book is, one of the
main petitions of part
one of that book is
that Christian basically
travels alone.
He does have his two
friends, faithful and
hopeful, who travel
with him at different
points in the journey.
But where's the church?
Where's the body of
Christ for Christian as
he travels on his
Pilgrim way?
If the story were a
little more accurate,
Bunyan would have told
us of a countless
throng of believers,
as far as the eye
could see, journeying
together on the
Pilgrim path as we
make our way to the
heavenly home.
Christians, innumerable,
would be walking
together, carrying one
another, reminding one
another of the benefits
that are theirs in Christ
and promised by the
Holy Spirit, helping one
another along the way.
The body of Christ
journeys together on the
Pilgrim way toward the
heavenly city, and we
remind one another of the
promises that are ours
in Christ and the
wonderful benefits that
he has given to us
through the means of
grace.
As we are led by the
Holy Spirit to the
eternal kingdom, where
one day we will be
greeted by our Savior,
the crucified King, who
will welcome us to his
table, and forever we
will sit and eat and
drink with the Lord.
Let's bow together in
prayer.
Let's bow together in
prayer.
Let's bow together in
prayer.