1 Peter 2:1-10

1 Peter 2:1-10

The Fifth and Sixth Great Ends: Working For Righteousness, Showing God to the World

Part 5 of The Great Ends of the Church series

August 20, 2006

As Sally and I are packing and preparing for our move to South Carolina, I have been – as I have told you the last several weeks — praying and thinking a lot about what messages God would have me bring to you these last few weeks we have together. As I continue to pray about this, I continue to be struck with the feeling that God would have us to look at what it means to be a Church – what the Church is to be about – what the Church is to be doing.

The past 4 weeks we have been doing this by looking at one of the first statements in our denomination’s Book Of Order – which has become known as “The Six Great Ends Of The Church”.

Listen to what the Book Of Order says:

The great ends of the church are the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world. (G-1.0200)

These are great words! They also give us a vision for what it means to be the Church — what the Church is to be about – what the Church is to be doing.

You see – the Church is not about the building – it’s not about the Minister – it’s about God – it’s about Christ – it’s about people who are trying to fulfill these “Great Ends” the Book Of Order lay out for us. If Wentworth Presbyterian Church is going to be the Church God wills for it to be, then it will have to be a Church that is committed to living out these “Great Ends”.

Listen to them again:

The great ends of the church are the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world. (G-1.0200)

6 “Great Ends”.

1. the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind

2. the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God

3. the maintenance of divine worship

4. the preservation of the truth

5. the promotion of social righteousness

6. the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world

4 weeks ago we looked at the first of these Great Ends — the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind – and saw that – if Wentworth Presbyterian is going to be the Church God is calling it to be – then you are going to have to be people who are committed to the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind – or evangelism.

3 weeks ago we looked at the second Great End of the Church – the second thing necessary for Wentworth Presbyterian to be the Church God intends for Wentworth Presbyterian to be. That is:

the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God – or LOVE.

If the Wentworth Presbyterian Church is going to be the Church God intends for the Wentworth Presbyterian Church to be, you are going to have to be committed to be loving people – people who experience God’s love for yourself – share it with each other – and share it with the world.

2 weeks ago we looked at the third Great End of the Church –

The maintenance of Divine Worship –

and discovered that – if Wentworth Presbyterian is going to be the Church God intends for Wentworth Presbyterian to be, you are going to have to have a heart for worship – and focus on God – not just when you are gathered here – but all the time!

Then – last week – we looked at the fourth Great End of the Church –

the preservation of the truth –

and discovered that – if Wentworth Presbyterian is going to be the Church God intends for Wentworth Presbyterian to be, you are going to have to be committed to shining the light of Christ into a world that would be very dark with Christ’s light.

So – 4 things that are needed if the Wentworth Presbyterian Church is going to be the Church God intends for Wentworth Presbyterian to be – 4 things for you to be committed to:

1. the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind

2. the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God

3. the maintenance of divine worship

4. the preservation of the truth

But – there is more!

Not only do you need evangelism — love – and a heart for worship – and a commitment to shining God’s light into the world – but the 5^th and 6^th Great Ends are also needed:

the promotion of social righteousness

the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world

Listen to how Peter calls on us to be a holy people – people who work for God’s will in the world and show God to the world:

READ 1 PETER 2:1-10

Some of the most popular shows on TV are the “reality TV” shows – and some of the most popular of these are what I call the “makeover shows”, in which a team of experts are brought in to transform somebody’s wardrobe, car, backyard, house, family, or physical appearance.

A few of the titles of the shows are “Extreme Makeover”, “Ambush Makeover”, “Head to Toe”, “Star Makeover”, “Renovate My Family”, “Makeover Mamas”, “Style Court”, and “How Do I Look?”.

The one considered the most bold and brash of them all – and one of the most popular — is a show called “The Swan” — which promises to turn “ugly ducklings” into “beauty queens”. Each contestant is assigned to a team of makeover experts, including a therapist, a personal trainer, a life coach, a dentist, and a cosmetic surgeon. They undergo a three-month treatment program that is supposed to result in a mental, emotional, and physical transformation. Upon completion of their treatments, some are selected to participate in a beauty pageant, with the chance to become “The Ultimate Swan”.

The website for the show gives information on former contestants.

One is a 33-year-old mother of 5 children. She has never felt beautiful and was the ugly kid at every age, in every class.

Another is a 28-year-old flight attendant in a serious rut. She has incredibly loving parents who want nothing but happiness for her. Unfortunately, she can’t see the beautiful person they see. She wants a total life change.

Still another is 27, an office worker, and has been married for one year. She grew up feeling that no one expected much from her, and so she didn’t expect much from herself. She’s tired of feeling average and is ready to dedicate herself to getting in shape and becoming a better person.

Then there is another who is 36 and recently divorced. She has worked most of her life managing volunteer services. She works so hard helping others in order to avoid doing any work on herself. She needs this life transformation to stop running and start being the person she wants to be.

These women, and the men who appear on similar shows, don’t just want to be a little bit thinner or a little bit healthier. They want to be transformed; they want to become new, better, different people.

These shows are so popular because there are many people who want to be transformed – to be changed. There are many people who want to be what they consider to be “better people” – who are not just curious about what they would look like, but want to know what they could be like if they had 3 months with a team of “makeover experts”. Maybe they not only want to look better – but want to be more disciplined, more patient, more kind, more organized. Maybe they want to be better parents, or have happier marriages, or want to be more successful in their work.

These “Makeover Reality TV” shows speak to those longings. They tell us that, with the right help and some hard work, we could really be somebody.

Time magazine analyzed the shows’ success this way:

“What people want is a new identity. They want to believe that this new, glorious self was inside them all along. These shows cater to the fantasy that if someone with a gifted eye took the time, that person would see your beauty and uniqueness, and would probe past the lie of your drab existence and bring the shimmering, true you to the surface.”

In a sense we all probably want to be better, healthier, more beautiful people.

Well, there is good news.

The good news is you can be.

The good news is we can be.

Transformation is possible.

In fact – I’ll tell you a secret — with God’s help, you can become one of the most beautiful people on Earth.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

The 5^th and 6^th great ends of the Church are:

the promotion of social righteousness

the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world

If Wentworth Presbyterian Church is going to be the Church God intends for Wentworth Presbyterian to be, you are going to have to be holy people – transformed by God into the people who promote social righteousness and exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

In other words, you are going to have to become the most beautiful people on earth.

The last 4 weeks – as we have been focusing on the 6 Great Ends Of The Church and what it means to be the people of God – we’ve seen several times that in many cases it means going against what the world says and does and going towards what God says and calls us to do. As followers of Christ, we might sometimes feel like strangers in a culture that wants less and less to do with God and His truth. Peter uses the word “stranger” several times in his epistle to describe Christians in a pagan world. We are to be strangers in the sense that we’re on a mission as we make our way through this world. We don’t just drift along with the cultural current; we don’t just mark time here until we get to our heavenly home. We are people of purpose, pointing others toward God as we travel through this world.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

The 5^th and 6^th great ends of the Church are:

the promotion of social righteousness

the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world

If Wentworth Presbyterian Church is going to be the Church God intends for Wentworth Presbyterian to be, you are going to have to be holy people – transformed by God into the people who promote social righteousness and exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

I believe that followers of Christ are to be people of distinction who, by the beauty of our lives, show people a better way to live.

Christians are to be the most beautiful people on earth.

How so?

First of all — Christians are distinguished by their moral excellence.

The first thing that distinguishes followers of Christ is moral excellence.

Peter says in 1 Peter 1:13-16

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

Now that you are free from your past, that your future in heaven is secure, and that the blessings of God’s Kingdom are already yours to enjoy, live like it.

Live differently.

Live distinctively.

That expression, “prepare your minds for action,” could be paraphrased by saying: “Roll up your sleeves,” or, “Get on with it.”

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

In thinking of some of the contestants in The Swan—women who always thought of themselves as ugly ducklings, who never expected much of themselves, they were –- in a sense — living in ignorance; they weren’t aware of their uniqueness and potential and inherent beauty. That ignorance shaped their life and behavior. They thought they were unattractive so they dressed like it and acted like it. They thought they had no potential so they didn’t strive or dream or take risks. They were living in ignorance.

Peter doesn’t want that to happen to his readers, or to us. He tells us:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

For decades now, some people have been telling us that our existence on this planet is an accident, a cosmic coincidence, and that human beings are nothing more than highly evolved animals. They try to tell us that when we die we simply cease to exist; we return to the Earth from which we came. So why are we surprised when people act like animals, satisfying every physical appetite with no sense of self-control or propriety? Why are we surprised when life is so cheap that a person will kill another human being for $20, or because someone got cut off on the highway? Why are we surprised when so many people live aimlessly, drifting from one relationship to another, one party to another, with no sense of purpose? If this life is all there is, if there are no eternal consequences, if there is no God to whom we must give an account, why shouldn’t people just live for today and do what they please?

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

Followers of Christ know better than that.

We understand where we came from, why we’re here, and what we were created for. So, we should live like it. We should value life. We should control our appetites. We should take care of our bodies. We should respect other people’s rights and property.

Peter says in 1 Peter 2:2: “Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.”

These are behaviors that demean us and demean other people, so we take them off like a pair of dirty old clothes.

So, negatively speaking, moral excellence means not conforming to the standards of a culture that is ignorant of God’s truth and love. Positively speaking, moral excellence means being holy.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

Now, at first reading, this doesn’t sound especially appealing.

“Holy” isn’t one of the top 10 wannabe’s in our culture. People wannabe popular, they wannabe famous, they wannabe good-looking, they wanna have some fun. But you don’t see many magazines at the newsstands offering “10 secrets to a more holy you.” To most people, holiness sounds like a stuffed shirt; it sounds boring and stifling and joyless.

But the root idea of holiness is “otherness.”

To be holy is to be set apart from the rest, to be different or distinctive.

And since God is the ultimate “other,” holiness also means being like God.

There are some ways in which we can never be like God. We can never be all-powerful, all-knowing, or everywhere-present. But God is also good and kind and merciful and just and faithful and pure and generous and true. And we can be these things! We can’t be perfect, but we can be excellent. And when we are, we will stand out in a culture of moral confusion.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

The 5^th and 6^th great ends of the Church are:

the promotion of social righteousness

the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world

If Wentworth Presbyterian Church is going to be the Church God intends for Wentworth Presbyterian to be, you are going to have to be holy people – transformed by God into the people who promote social righteousness and exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

In other words, you are going to have to become the most beautiful people on earth.

Unfortunately, many Christians are not doing a very good job of being that these days.

The pollster George Barna has done an extensive survey of people who claim to have a personal, life-changing relationship with Christ, and he finds an appalling lack of distinction from the rest of the population when it comes to lifestyle and behavior. Christian couples are almost as likely to get a divorce as the rest of the population. Christian singles are just about as likely to be active sexually as single people who are not Christians. Nearly 50 percent of people who claim to be born-again followers of Christ believe that it is morally acceptable to live with someone without being married. That’s only 10 percent less than the general population. No wonder so many people have a hard time taking Christianity seriously—they see no discernible difference in the quality of our lives.

Suppose someone were to follow you around for a week or so.

Would they see a discernible difference in the quality of your life, or would it look pretty much like everybody else’s?

Suppose they were to listen in on your conversations in the hallway or the lunchroom or the locker room.

Would they hear gossip or backstabbing or foul language or sexual innuendo?

What if they sat beside you as you surfed TV channels or the Internet, would they find you lingering over shows or sites that were excessively violent or exploitive or pornographic?

Suppose they were to follow you around as you did your daily work, whatever that happens to be.

Would they find you wasting company time or money, losing your temper when things go wrong, humiliating people, or cutting corners on jobs when no one is looking?

If they were to sit at the dinner table in your home, would they be surprised at the lack of meaningful conversation between you and your spouse, or at how harsh or inattentive you were to your children?

Suppose they were to go shopping with you, would they see you spending money as freely as everybody else on things that really don’t matter and don’t last?

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

The 5^th and 6^th great ends of the Church are:

the promotion of social righteousness

the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world

If Wentworth Presbyterian Church is going to be the Church God intends for Wentworth Presbyterian to be, you are going to have to be holy people – transformed by God into the people who promote social righteousness and exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

In other words, you are going to have to become the most beautiful people on earth.

Our behavior ought to be so distinctive that it causes people to stop and take notice. Not because it’s so weird, but because it is so attractive, so excellent. That’s what it means to be a person of distinction: showing people a better way to live.

` But, you know, moral excellence alone won’t give us influence with the people around us. Holiness, while it is admirable, can also be intimidating and distancing. How do you get close to a person who seems to be morally superior? And how do you pursue moral excellence without appearing self-righteous or judgmental?

If we are holy as God is holy, people may notice that we’re different, they may even admire certain aspects of our lives, but they won’t be influenced by our lives unless something else is present. That something else is love.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

The 5^th and 6^th great ends of the Church are:

the promotion of social righteousness

the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world

If Wentworth Presbyterian Church is going to be the Church God intends for Wentworth Presbyterian to be, you are going to have to be holy people – transformed by God into the people who promote social righteousness and exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

In other words, you are going to have to become the most beautiful people on earth.

You have to be distinguished by a moral excellence.

You also have to be distinguished by a remarkable love.

That’s the second transformation God wants to work in your life. He wants to turn you into people of remarkable love.

Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:22:

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.”

Peter uses two different words for love here. The first is the Greek word philos, which we know describes brotherly love. It’s the love that people commonly feel toward their friends and family. And certainly, as God’s people, we ought to have positive, loving relationships with the important people in our lives.

But then Peter uses a second word that is not quite as familiar as the first, but one we use from time to time because there is no English word that quite captures the richness of it. It’s the word agape.

agape is the word the Bible uses to describe God’s kind of love.

It’s a unique love, unlike anything you find in human relationships.

It’s unconditional love, sacrificial love. This kind of love doesn’t just respond to people, it reaches out to people. It seeks people—even when they don’t want to be loved, even when they are hard to love. This is the kind of love that sets followers of Christ apart from the rest of the population.

Anyone can love their friends and family, but Christians are called to love everyone.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

Now, Peter is mainly speaking here about the way Christians love one another. He’s saying that the quality of relationships we enjoy in the church ought to be so honest, so sincere, so transparent, and so authentic that the world can’t help but notice a difference.

Is that true of us?

Suppose someone were to be visiting the church this morning, sitting right here in the service for the very first time.

Would they be surprised at how friendly we were toward one another, and toward them?

Would they be amazed at how many people said hello to them and introduced themselves?

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

But even though Peter is speaking primarily about love for the family of God, certainly this agape love ought to spill over into other relationships as well—to the people in our neighborhood, to our clients and co-workers and competitors, to strangers we meet on the street, extended family, even to people who might be described as our enemies.

We all have people in our lives who are difficult to love, who have snubbed us or hurt us or taken advantage of us.

Are we willing to forgive past offenses, to overlook shortcomings, to give people a second chance?

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

The 5^th and 6^th great ends of the Church are:

the promotion of social righteousness

the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world

If Wentworth Presbyterian Church is going to be the Church God intends for Wentworth Presbyterian to be, you are going to have to be holy people – transformed by God into the people who promote social righteousness and exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

In other words, you are going to have to become the most beautiful people on earth.

You have to be distinguished by a moral excellence.

You have to be distinguished by a remarkable love.

One without the other isn’t good enough.

Moral excellence without love is cold; people admire holiness, but they keep their distance.

Love without moral excellence is flimsy; people feel comfortable around us, but walk away unchanged.

But combine moral excellence with remarkable love, and you produce people of irresistible influence.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

God can transform you into the most beautiful people on earth – people of moral excellence and remarkable love.

Have you experienced this kind of transformation, this total makeover?

It’s not a three-month project. It’s a lifelong process, but it begins when you let God work in your life and make a difference in your life – then work through you to make a difference in the world.

God has already begun that work in many of our lives, but Peter reminds us here that we are still a work in progress.

“Like newborn babies, grow up in your salvation.” (1 Peter 2:2)

If you were to ask God to do some work in your life these days, where would it be?

In the area of moral excellence?

Changing some behavior?

Or would it be in the area of remarkable love?

Enabling you to reach out to someone you might have overlooked or stuggled with?

Invite the Lord to begin that transforming work in your life today.

At the beginning of the message, we talked about the fantasy that, if someone with a gifted eye took the time, they might see our inherent beauty and uniqueness. They might probe past our drab exterior and bring our shimmering, true self to the surface.

It turns out that is no fantasy at all — it’s the gospel.

It’s the good news that you have been created in the image of God, that your failures and flaws can be redeemed, and that by God’s grace you can become a person of distinction who, by the beauty of your life, shows the people around you a better way to live.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

The 5^th and 6^th great ends of the Church are:

the promotion of social righteousness

the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world

If Wentworth Presbyterian Church is going to be the Church God intends for Wentworth Presbyterian to be, you are going to have to be holy people – transformed by God into the people who promote social righteousness and exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

In other words, you are going to have to become the most beautiful people on earth.

The good news is that each of you have been created in the image of God, that your failures and flaws can be redeemed, and that by God’s grace each of you can become a person of distinction who, by the beauty of your life, shows the people around you a better way to live.

In other words, God through you can fulfill the 5^th and 6^th Great Ends of the Church:

the promotion of social righteousness

the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world

In other words, God can transform you – so that by your moral excellence and remarkable love you can become the most beautiful people on earth. Amen.