God chose sovereignly to bestow his saving grace on some. But to allow the others to do what they Pleased to do. And God simply passed them over so that nobody in this equation is subjected to divine injustice. But those who are redeemed receive grace, those who are not received grace. Justice.
1 Peter 2.9 tells us that Christians are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. This is wonderful, gracious, merciful good news. But it does raise the question. What about those who do not come to saving faith? This is the Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind, where each week we feature the preaching ministry of R.
C. Sproul. And today, Dr. Sproul will not only expound on this good news, he'll also discuss the destiny of those who are not saved. Today's sermon from 1 Peter is the final sermon in this short series, so it is also the final time that you can request R.
C. Sproll's expositional commentary on 1st and 2 Peter when you donate before midnight tonight. At renewingyourmind.org. I'll remind you at the end of the sermon, but don't forget to respond as this offer won't be repeated next Sunday.
Well, turn your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 2. Because here's Doctor Sprawl. The last time we were together, we Spent some time on the metaphor of the Living stone that is Jesus. who assembles to himself A people who also are living stones. And through this group of living stones, He builds his church.
But then Peter tells us that this Stone, who is the foundation of the church. The cornerstone of the church is at the same time a stone of stumbling by which many Find their ruin. And it is called a rock of offense and that's where we Left off. In our last meeting. And so we look at the End of that passage that said, they stumble.
Being disobedient to the word. To which They also Appointed.
Now we notice that this Stumbling. This tripping is a tripping that is occasioned by The rock. That is Christ. and that people who are disobedient to the word of God are the ones who are tripped up by this rock of offence Who is Jesus?
Okay. And we hear from Peter. This grim Message. To which They also Were Appointed. We would not change the meaning of this term if we used a different word, as many translators do.
By reading it to which they also Were Dustin. Again, here in this text, as we already have seen in Peter's writings, we have reference to. Predestination. We have reference on the first hand to The sovereign election by which God pours His grace on those. whom he chooses from the foundation of the world, For that inheritance that will be theirs in Christ.
But we understand also that the doctrine of Predestination is double. That it not only involves election, but it also involves the other side of the coin, which we call. Reprobation. Many of you were with us as we worked through, verse by verse, Paul's letter to the Romans, and we saw that clearly set forth in the ninth chapter of Romans, where we saw the destiny. of Jacob set in contrast to that of Esau.
And again, there are those who want to say yes. We clearly understand that the Bible teaches election in the positive sense. But the idea that there is a another side to it Seems to be a horrible decree. From which we shrink. And which we simply will not embrace.
That is the idea. that some are destined For Destruction. And for judgment. whom we call The Reprobate Let me just say to you that There is a theory that is Set forth in Latin, it says Destinare ad Pecatum, that the idea is that The shadow side of Predestination is that God from all eternity. has predestined people to sin.
that he set forth their destiny. As sinners, in order that they may be damned. This is exactly what the Reformed doctrine of predestination does. does not teach. Rather The doctrine teaches that God's decrees of election and reprobation, Okay.
are given Before the fall. That is from the foundation of the world. But in light. of the fall. That it is not as if from all eternity God considers An unfallen, innocent humanity out of which he destines some for salvation and others to damnation.
Rather As Augustine Point it out. That when God was considering the human race, He knew them prior to the fall. As A mass of perdition. And out of this mass of fallen, unbelieving, disobedient humans. God chose sovereignly to bestow his saving grace On some But to allow the others to do what they Pleased to do.
And God simply passed them over so that nobody in this equation is subjected to divine injustice, But those who are redeemed receive grace. Those who were not Received Justice. And people complain against this. Saying it's not fair. that God would give His mercy to some and not to All right.
That when we complain about God's sovereign grace in salvation, Yeah. We see how gracious that salvation really is. Because when we complain, we reveal. How obstinate our hearts are. towards the majesty and sovereignty of God.
They were appointed. to a destiny of judgment. On the basis of their unbelief, On the basis of their disobedience. Because that is the inevitable conclusion. Of all Who refuse?
to bow before The Christ. All who reject the cornerstone. Find that very stone That which We'll trip them up. Forever. As one commentator mentioned, You can't trip across a stone unless at least your toe touches it.
And so Peter is describing those. who had encountered the living Christ. And who stumbled? Over him. And then, in stark contrast to those who are the disobedient, destined.
To judgment. Peter speaks more comforting. To the ones whom he has addressed this epistle to, but you. R A Chosen Generation A royal priesthood. A holy nation.
His own Special People. Every day that I'm in town, and I'm able. I have breakfast like Mary at Peach Valley restaurant.
Okay. And one of the assistant managers greets me every morning. How are you? I say, fine. I say, how are you?
And his answer is the same always. He never says, I'm fine. He never says good. When I say how are you? he says I'm blessed.
And even when we exchange greetings, I'm reminded. of this man's belief. in the Savior. and understanding of the grace of God. Is that who we are, folks?
We are a blessed people, people who have received the riches. Of God's grace in our lives. A chosen Generation. A royal Priesthood. This is the second time in this epistle that Peter has made reference to our being involved in a priesthood.
In the first instance, he called this priesthood a holy priesthood, and we look at that in light of Luther's understanding of the priesthood of all believers. But now, He qualifies this priesthood in a Different way. He said that we are chosen. And that we are a royal. Priesthood.
That is a priesthood. that serves in the presence of, and under the aegis of, a king. And we see the uniqueness of the role of Christ in the New Testament, in redemptive history, where Christ is not. Only our king. But he is also our great high priest.
And of course, that was an affirmation that people in the Jewish community struggled with. In light of their understanding that in The Old Testament. That the priesthood was given to the tribe of Levi, that is, the Aaronic or sometimes called Levitical priesthood. And in order to be ordained a priest in that Structure, one had to be of the tribe of Levi. Jesus wasn't a Levite.
He was from the tribe of Judah. And you will recall that it was to Judah that the kingdom was given. In the blessing. Given to The sons of Jacob, Jacob said, the scepter. Shall not depart from Judah.
Until Shiloh comes. The Judah. is a Lions, whelp. And so we hear of the lion of Judah. which becomes a title for the king that comes.
out of Judah. Jesus is that King.
Well, if he's a king, how can he be the priest? And you recall that this was the question. that was considered by the author of Hebrews. When his argument was that Jesus Was a priest. from a different order of priesthood.
He was not a Levitical priest. He was not a descendant of Aaron. But rather he was of The order of Melchizedek. And you remember how that in the book of Hebrews, Now, the author recounts the incident in the Old Testament in the book of Genesis. When Abraham meets Melchizedek.
And Melchizedek pronounces his blessing upon Abraham. And in turn, Abraham pays a tithe to Melchizedek. We've been through this before. And the point is, according to the Hebrews, that. It is the superior who blesses the subordinate.
And the subordinate is the one who gives tithes to the superior.
So obviously in this relationship Abraham is subordinating himself. to the authority And the role of this enigmatic character named Melchizedek. And of course the author goes on to say If Melchizedek is greater than Abraham, and Abraham is greater than Isaac, and Isaac is greater than Jacob, and Jacob is greater than Levi. Then manifestly Melchizedek. is greater Then Levi.
But let's look again at this strange figure. of Melchizedek. He's given a name. And the title. He's called Melchizedek.
The king of Salem. That's how he's identified. First, let's look at his name, Melchizedek. The meaning of that name Is based upon two Hebrew words, melech. And said Akah, And literally, his name, Melchizedek, means...
Yeah. The king of righteousness. That's his name. King. of righteousness.
And we are told that his Position was the king. of Salem. Which means the king. of peace And there is some evidence. That prior to Jerusalem's being called Jerusalem.
that it had in antiquity been called Salem. Again, many people think that this appearance of Melchizedek in the Old Testament. was a Christophany. A pre-incarnation appearance. of Christ himself to whom Abraham paid homage.
But the point is that this Melchizedek Was a priest? And the king. And Christ receives his priesthood. From that order. And his kingship.
From his descendancy From Judah.
So that Jesus supremely Is The king priest. Apart from Melchizedek, you understand that in the Old Testament there was a sharp line of division? Between the function of the king And the function of the priest. We remember How Uzziah had reigned so faithfully for decades, Until the end of his life, He arrogated to himself the role of a priest. and came into the holy place.
To offer up sacrifices and the priests. were aghast at what he was doing. And they rebuked him. And he exercised his wrath upon the priest, whereupon God. struck him with leprosy, and removed him From the throne, and he died.
in shame, because He tried to add The Priesthood To his own monarchy. That union. of priesthood and kingship. was preserved. For Christ.
Who is our king? And our great high priest. who intercedes for us daily. At the right hand of God. Isn't that amazing?
The one whom God has anointed as King of the Kings has put in the supreme position of royal authority over the whole universe. is at the same time Our priest. It's our king. Who prays for us? It is our king.
Who intercedes for us? But you see, this conjunction of kingship and priesthood doesn't finish with Jesus. But now Peter gives us this. Astonishing. Affirmation.
That you who are in Christ. are not only a Chosen Generation. But you. Are a royal priesthood. That by virtue of our being in Christ, we participate.
In his kingdom. We participate. In his priesthood. As Those who make intercession. For the lost.
as well as for the people of God. A holy nation. A sacred nation. A consecrated nation. A transcendent nation.
A nation that is other. Or different. From any nation. that has ever appeared. on this planet.
At least two occasions earlier on, and again Soon to follow the passage we're just considering. Peter calls the people to whom he's addressing. Pilgrims The Sojourners. Drawing attention to The past of the people of Israel. who were semi-nomadic people.
Who rarely had a place? To call home. And who, at the heart of the promises God had made to Father Abraham was that they would become a nation. They would have a homeland. They would have a place that would be permanent, a place that would give them stability.
And you know the history. of Israel. is the history of instability. Pick up the paper today. And you will see how many nations have their weapons of destruction aimed.
That is real. But in reality, since the destruction of Jerusalem. The Jewish people have been in dispersion. They have been a people without a home. Yeah.
A people without a country. until the Balfour Declaration in 1948. And we as Christians. are a people without a country. There is never an equation in the Bible.
Between the people of God. and a peculiar nationalism. The kingdom of God is not limited to the borders of the United States of America. It transcends every human body. Order.
The kingdom of God is spread throughout the whole world. And the reason is that people who are citizens in that kingdom. are citizens of a different kind of a country. A holy nation. Really, as the scriptures define it.
A heavenly nation.
So that our citizenship In reality cannot be defined by what is marked on our passports. Because in this world we remain pilgrims. You remember the old gospel hymn? This world is not my home. I'm only passing.
passing through. But it doesn't mean that we're a people without a country. We are a people Who are citizens? of a holy nation. Created by God.
His Own Special. People. Why? Why are we a chosen generation? Why?
Has it been given to us to be a royal priesthood? Why has God conferred upon us citizenship in a transcendent, heavenly, holy country? Why does God call us his own, his possession? His special people. Here's the reason.
That you May proclaim The praises of him. Who called you out of darkness? Into his marvelous light. We've received Our citizenship. In order that for the purpose of Proclamation.
We're proclaiming Gods Praises. That's what we're called to do. That's what it means to worship God. To offer to him not a Burnt offering, an animal sacrifice, or a cereal offering, but we offer to him. The sacrifice of prayer.
Praise.
So that the praise of God should be on our lips Every moment. Because people who are citizens of this heavenly kingdom. Spend eternity. Praising the King of that heavenly nation. Singing with the angels and archangels, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive glory and honor.
God's worthy. of these praises. that we are called. to give. What an incredible truth, worthy of all praise, that God has called us out of darkness to be His people, to be vessels of mercy.
You just heard a sermon from R. C. Sprall on this Sunday edition of RENEWING YOUR MINID from First Peter chapter two. Today's sermon was preached at St. Andrew's Chapel in Sanford, Florida, and Dr.
Sproll's preaching ministry formed the basis for his expositional commentary series. And for the final time, you can add the hardcover edition of his commentary on 1st and 2 Peter to your collection when you donate at renewingyourmind.org before midnight tonight. You can also find a convenient link in the podcast show notes. Walk through these two letters of the Apostle Peter with Doctor Sproul as your thoughtful and pastoral guide when you respond today. But don't delay as this offer will not be repeated next Sunday.
If you would prefer the ebook edition of this commentary, either because you like the ability to search your books or increase the size of the type, there is a global digital offer for the e-book, also ending at midnight tonight, at renewingyourmind. org slash global. What was the first book of the Bible that you read? For many Christians, it was John's Gospel. And that's where we'll be next week.
So be sure to join us next Sunday here on Renewing Your Mind.
