Sermon Notes - The Church: Distinctively Pure

The Church: Distinctively Pure, 1 Peter 2:9-12
J. Josh Smith, MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church, attended April 25, 2010

If we are going to accomplish the mission of God we have to be a church serious about sin. The most loving thing and individual or a church can do for a person, and for Christ, is deal with sin.

Peter is writing to the churches to encourage them. He points them to the coming of Christ and reminds them that He always keeps His promises.

In 1 Peter 2:9 Peter tells us why we, and the church, are here. Summarized, we can say:

God has chosen a people for Himself who are to be distinctively pure so that they might proclaim Him to a watching world.

God has chosen a people for Himself...

Peter uses the term for Israel and applies it to the church. We are a chosen “race” (Isaiah 43:10). We are a steward of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are a royal priesthood who are called by, belong to and exist for God. We were once not a people but through Christ all those isolated are now a people (1 Peter 2:10). There is a distinction between who we once were and who we are now.

In His grace, He has chosen a people for Himself. Being a Christian is trusting in the death of Christ and submitting to His rule over your life, so we no longer belong to ourselves – we belong to Him.

…who are to be distinctively pure…

A holy nation, set apart. Out of darkness to light. Out of the world to the kingdom of God. We are known by our righteous deeds and the truth of our message. We are a reflection of the glory of God.

1 John 3:10 shows us there are only two groups of people. You are either of God or the devil and the difference should be obvious because of righteousness. Peter talks about who we should be before he talks of what we should do.

Is your life marked by holiness? In other words, in what ways does your life look different from those around you who do not know Christ? Turn your back on any sin that would keep you from being distinctively pure.

…so that they might proclaim Him to a watching world.

A priest mediates between men and God. The plan from the Old Testament is still the plan today. We are mediators between men and Christ in a certain sense. We are priests as we teach others. If we fail to be pure we can’t do what we are called to do because we aren’t different.

In 1 Peter 2:11-12 he urges us to do what we should. He is not saying that people will come to Christ by watching us. We overestimate our lives when we say this. It is very arrogant because no one can come to Christ without hearing the gospel. He is saying that our life either voids or validates the gospel. If we live like everyone else then we aren’t distinctively pure. When they see an obvious difference and hear the verbal proclamation people with come to Him.

In the Old Testament when the people of God failed to be pure:

1. They lost the blessing and favor of God (Psalm 67).
2. They were unable to accomplish the mission of God and wandered in the desert.
3. They were disciplined by God.

He called the church to warn brothers and sisters in Christ out of love for them and out of love for Christ. Their sin is our problem. We must beg them to walk with Christ. If we fail to warn, admonish, encourage and discipline them we are saying we don’t love them. We are also saying we don’t love Christ or His church. We would rather have a false sense of peace than to do the hard, right thing.

The gospel tells us how to be saved and how to live. We forget the second one sometimes.

NOTE: These are my notes, taken as I listened to the sermon live. Any errors, misunderstandings or misinterpretations are my responsibility entirely and not the fault of the preacher.