Rejected by the World, Chosen by God
Sermon Notes
Welcome! We're so glad you're here! This Sunday, David Leventhal will be walking us through 1 Peter 2:1-10 pointing us to the big idea that believers are called to grow in holiness & spiritual nourishment as we cling to our chosen status, while being shaped together as a community to proclaim the excellencies of God. David reminds us through scripture of who we were before we met Christ and that, without gratitude for what Christ has done on the cross, there is no desire in us to proclaim the excellencies of God. Let us be a church that grows in our desire to read the Word of God and tell of His glorious name.
In this series, we're focusing on the main theme of 1 Peter: as God's chosen people, believers are called to endure suffering with hope, following in the footsteps of Christ, trusting that their trials serve to sanctify them and prepare them for the glory to come. Join us as we walk through 1 Peter verse by verse over the next eight weeks!
Key Takeaways
1 Peter 2:1-3: Longing for Spiritual Growth
1 Peter 2:4-8: The Living Stone, A Community Of Living Stones & A Cornerstone
1 Peter 2:9-10: A People For God's Possession
Discussion Questions
What are you struggling with that is keeping you from craving "pure spiritual milk," which is Peter referring to the word of God?
What steps can you take to clear out the "garbage" or turn from destructive behaviors? How can your community hold you accountable in doing so?
Pray for your desire to get into the word of God to grow and that the Lord will give you opportunities to share the gospel this week.
Additional Readings
As David mentioned in his message, the last part of 1 Peter 2:8 reads: “They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” That final phrase, “as they were destined to do,” can be challenging to understand. As David promised, here are his notes from that part of the sermon, copied & pasted verbatim.
Okay…we’re about to dig into a tough topic that has created infinite questions over the centuries. So…let’s all take a collective deep breath & remember that it’s going to be okay! The last clause in verse 8 ends with “as they were destined to do.” Now, if you’re reading this slowly & really trying to take it all in, then when you get here, you’re probably going to want to raise your hand & say “Did Peter just say they were destined to disobey the word? Destined by whom? What does that mean?” Good questions deserve good answers & though I don’t have time to fully unpack this (this concept is worthy of 3 or 4 individual sermons), but I also don’t want to just skip over this tough clause & pretend it’s not there. So let me make five observations with 48 applicable Scripture references that will be available in its entirety the sermon notes::
First, in the NT the verb “destined” (Gk. tithēmi) often refers to things God has appointed (Acts 1:7; Acts 13:47; Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 12:18; 1 Corinthians 12:28; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; 1 Timothy 2:7, & others)
Second, Peter leaves open the possibility that the unbelievers who’ve stumbled over Jesus can still repent. It’s hard to see this in our English translations but in the Greek the three verbs “do not believe” in verse 7 & “stumble” & “disobey” in verse 8 are in the present tense. If you were to try and translate the idea literally you would end up with something like this “…but for those who are presently not believing…who are presently stumbling because they are presently disobeying the word, which they were destined to do.” Now we don’t know if those who are in this state of hard-heartedness ever come to faith, but Peter does stop short of saying their eternal condemnation is inescapably signed, sealed & delivered.
Third, this feels morally hard to digest, doesn’t it? The idea that calamity comes from the hand of God can be a tough topic & yet, Scripture does not shy away from this reality. To get started try reading Lamentations 3:38, Amos 3:6, & Isaiah 45:7. Scripture is really, really clear that God is sovereign & in control of all things – from the decision to destroy the world by flood (Genesis 6), the decisions made by kings, dictators & US Presidents (Proverbs 21:1), to the throw of the dice (Proverbs 16:33., Isaiah 46:9-11). In fact, the single greatest act of cruelty & injustice – the execution of Jesus Christ was predestined by God (Acts 2:23, Acts 4:27-28).
Fourth, it seems nearly impossible to avoid the conclusion that the text is affirming – which is that present disobedience which continues until a person comes to the end of their life (& therefore into eternity) has been “destined” by God. This is a hard truth, but it is affirmed all over Scripture (Acts 4:24-28, Jude 4, Genesis 45:5 paired with 50:20, Exodus 10:20 paired with 7:15, 2 Samuel 16:11, Acts 2:23, Romans 9:17-23, Romans 11:7, 2 Thessalonians 2:11, and others). Additionally, Scripture is clear that if you’ve been transferred from darkness to light – it’s because you were chosen (Ephesians 1:4-5, John 15:16, Romans 8:29-30, 2 Timothy 1:9, 1 Peter 2:9, John 6:44, Acts 13:48, & others.)
Fifth, Scripture is also abundantly clear that human beings are never exempt from personal responsibility (Romans 9:14-23). We see Peter, in the Book of Acts, indicting those who crucified Christ, even though His execution was predestined by the Father himself (Acts 2:23). Peter speaks to a theme we see throughout the Bible: people are accountable for responding to the gospel message, even while God orchestrates every event in history (John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10, Matthew 11:28-30, John 1:12, Revelation 3:20, Acts 17:30, 2 Peter 3:9 & others).
The Bible doesn’t explain how the two truths of God’s sovereignty (my observation #4) & mankind’s responsibility (my observation #5) fit together philosophically, & connecting those dots has been logically elusive for centuries – which is why we so often fall into trouble by clinging to one but denying the other. But make no mistake about it – Scripture teaches BOTH of these truths. As Spurgeon once said when asked to reconcile these two ideas, “I never try to reconcile friends…they are both in the Bible.”
It’s a little cliché, but I heard a guy say once that as we approach the gates of heaven, we’ll see a sign that says, “All who wish may enter through the blood of Jesus Christ” & when you walk under it and look back it will say “You were chosen before the foundation of the earth.” Cliché as it is, that’s not a bad illustration. The question is, are you going be okay living in a world where we can’t spreadsheet out every single aspect of the God who spoke matter into existence (Genesis 1:3, Psalm 33:6, Hebrews 11:3)? Who holds all things together by the word of his mouth (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:17)?
Additional Resource: Geisler, Norman L. Chosen but Free: A Balanced View of Divine Election. 3rd ed., Bethany House, 2010.