So, I have some questions I'd like to ask you. If you had to get out your iPad or a piece of paper and with a pen, how would you describe yourself as a Christian? What would that paragraph be? How would you then describe the life that you've been called to? And what is it that gets you up in the morning? Be honest, what motivates you?
You know, when you hear the message of the gospel so powerfully presented as Peter has, maybe the next question is, so now what? So, what do I do with this? And what Peter does in these next verses, is gives us three perspectives on the Christian life. They may not jump off the page to you; I'm going to organize them for you.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies 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've received mercy.
So here are the three perspectives on the Christian life: security, identity, and calling. What's the security of a Christian? Here it is, "But you are a chosen race." Here it is, I am what I am by God's choice! I'm not here because I behaved well. I didn't earn my way into this, and hear this, "I do not keep myself secure by my obedience. I'm secure because I was chosen before the foundation of the earth. And God never turns His back on those He's chosen!" That's my security. I love this, "You are a chosen race"-God's people by God's choice.
What's my identity? Here comes these word pictures, again, royal priesthood-priests of the King of kings, invited into God's presence, a holy nation, the new Israel of God, the people of God, citizens of a greater kingdom.
Listen, when you're facing the chaos of the kingdom of this world, and look around, there's chaos everywhere, sometimes it's so discouraging. Remember that you are now a citizen of a greater kingdom, and this kingdom will live beyond the sadness and suffering of sin. That's who I am. A people for God's own possession. I don't belong to me anymore. I belong to my Lord. I don't own my mentality, I don't own my emotionality, I don't own my physicality, I don't own my relationships, I don't own me-God owns me!
Security, identity, and then calling. What am I meant to be doing between the 'already of my conversion and the not yet' in my home going? Proclaiming the glories of the One who called you from darkness into light.
Listen, I hate when we call people in full-time Christian ministry 'ministers' because it separates everybody else from that. Listen, you are called to be a minister of the gospel. Maybe that's to your children, maybe that's to your husband or wife, maybe that's to your neighbor, maybe that's in the workplace, maybe that's at your university. But all of us are called to look for opportunities to point to the glory of the Lord. Psalm 145 says, "One generation shall proclaim Your Excellency to the next generation."
Now, that just reminds us that there's a glory war. Will I live for my glory, or will I live to point to the glory of my Redeemer? And for that, I've been given mercy, that's where the passage ends. I once didn't have mercy, but now I live with the new mercies of my Lord every day!
