Ignorant Historian

This was the text of my third and final speech for the semester which I presented a couple of weeks ago. This text really meant a lot to me as I studied it, so I though that I would post some thoughts here.

The first thing we see is that Peter is calling believers (the audience for this letter) names that had previously been given to the Israelites. He calls believers seven things:

1. A chosen race. Christians have been selected by God, not because of any special worth, but for His pleasure. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were a chosen race so that God could bless all peoples through them.

2. A royal priesthood. Priests had special access to God. Only the high priest was allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies, the place of God’s special presence, and he was only allowed to do that once a year. Now we believers all are able to enter into God’s presence through prayer, reading His Word, and worship. We even have His Spirit residing in us.

3. A holy nation. We see here the concept of being set apart for God’s purpose. We are called to be holy as our Father is holy.

4. A people for God’s own possession. Wow. We are God’s special possession. In the Old Testament, obedience was tied to being His possession.

5. Called out of darkness into His marvelous light. Darkness represents sin, idolatry, and evil. Light represents blessing and glory. We are made to be creatures of light. When I moved to North Carolina, I felt a damper on my spirits. I later was able to tie that to the decrease of sunlight due to cloud cover and trees. I want to live in the light!

6. The people of God. God has called individuals from many different nations and peoples and has now put them together into one body, the body of Christ, the Church. We now have a new identity as a citizen of heaven.

7. Have received mercy. Because of God’s mercy towards us, we can receive forgiveness of sins and salvation.

Peter doesn’t just stop here, however. He also refers to his readers as “aliens and strangers.” The original recipients of his letter were actual aliens, as they were scattered by persecution throughout lands that were not their own. But we are also aliens in the since that we don’t belong here. Our true citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), which is where our gaze should be set (Colossians 3:1-3). We should not allow the cares of this world to keep us from pursuing God.

We are not called all these things for our own pride. Peter is giving these as the reasons to proclaim the excellencies of God. This word “proclaim” means to tell. This is something I really struggle with, not because I don’t want to, but I find it too easy to focused on my goal. Instead, I need to be looking around to see who God might have placed in my path that needs to hear the good news of hope. There is a hope for the sinful condition that we find ourselves in, and that only hope is in the death, burial, and resurrection of the sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ.

We also see that we are not simply to tell about God, but we are to behave in a certain way. We are to “abstain for fleshly lusts.” There are so many desires within us and not all of them are bad. However, whether good or evil, they must be put in their proper place. No desire that we have should have greater control over us than our desire to honor God, not even close.

The reason for God’s choosing us and the reason for our witness to others by word and deed is so that God can be glorified. Just like we highlight the important information in a chapter with a highlighter, we need to draw attention to the working of God in our lives. We are not to take pride in our deeds, whether good or evil. I find it all too easy to take credit for what I do, boasting in how great I am. Instead, I should illustrate the attitude of John the Baptist in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Have you come to know the love of the one who calls people to be His people? Does all this sound foreign to you? If you want to learn more about what God is offering, please email (ignoranthistorian (at) gmail (dot) com) or message me. If you have come to know Jesus personally, are you fully living out your identity as a member of the chosen race? Are you “abstaining from fleshly lusts” so that you are living in a way that can most fully bring glory to God? Are you seeking opportunities to share with the lost around you about the blessings of God in His Son Jesus Christ?

This was the bulk of my sermon. If you would like more, I can email you my outline. I would also suggest reading the book of 1 Peter, one of my favorites.