1 Peter 2 Sermon - Living as God's Chosen: Navigating Faith in a Hostile World

Standing firm in a world that increasingly rejects Christian values requires more than passive faith—it demands the mindset of a spiritual warrior. Drawing from 1 Peter 2, we explore what it means to live as "exiles and sojourners" in a culture that views biblical conviction with growing hostility.

The chapter serves as a comprehensive field manual for believers navigating modern challenges. Peter doesn't mince words: there's a war raging both within our hearts and in the world around us. We examine five critical dimensions of the Christian warrior's life: purging internal sin, understanding our identity as living stones built upon Christ, maintaining honorable conduct among critics, balancing submission to authority with obedience to God's higher law, and enduring suffering with Christ-like dignity.

One particularly relevant section addresses the often-misunderstood concept of Christian submission to governing authorities. While we respect legitimate authority, Peter's teaching doesn't demand blind compliance with directives that violate God's commands. Through biblical examples from Daniel to the apostles, we discover a pattern of respectful yet resolute resistance when necessary.

The world may reject Christ as cornerstone, but God has made Him the foundation of His spiritual house. As we're built together into this living temple, we discover our true identity: "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession." This profound understanding transforms how we view ourselves and our mission in a hostile world.

Ready to strengthen your spiritual armor? Join us as we explore practical strategies for standing firm when culture pushes back, loving authentically in divisive times, and maintaining unwavering faith through adversity.

Christian Warrior Talk is Sponsored by Trident Shield, your trusted ally in violence preparedness. Trident Shield helps safeguard your loved ones with expert training and consulting. Trident Shield, defending faith through empowered preparedness because together, we save lives."

Chapters

• 1:18 Welcome and Announcements
• 9:43 Christ is King Controversy
• 15:09 Biblical Entertainment Debate
• 18:07 Introduction to 1 Peter
• 30:09 Living as Exiles and Sojourners
• 35:50 Submission to Authority
• 42:06 Christ's Example of Suffering
• 50:16 The Warrior's Identity
• 53:10 Lord's Supper and Closing Prayer

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:39

Happy Lord's Day to you. Welcome to Christian Warrior Mission, a home church, community, ministry and farm that forges Christian Warriors for today's challenges. Announcements our first Men's Fellowship Fire will be Friday, march 21st, which is this Friday, coming up at 7 pm Up at Warriors Rest Fire Pet. Please RSVP online so we know if it's just going to be me. It may be just me, which would give me some time alone with the Lord, but I don't think so. But I would love to get up there, you know, hang out and fellowship. No heavy lifting on the agenda, just talking about what we want to do as a men's community and as a group of Christian warriors on preparing, supporting one another, trainings, coming up and seeing where everyone's at, seeing if there's any fires we need to put out in anyone's life, if anyone needs help, that type of stuff. So again, hope to see you there. Chris and I talked to not happen on Wednesday. It seems like the world is conspiring to make that not happen, but we're going to give it a shot again. This week. Lauren and I are going to talk about some things. We started a new forging group and we changed some things within the community. So the Facebook all forging group is not just a community group for people to post whatever they want in there. You know just, you know favorite restaurants, things they're struggling with prayer requests, everything that you could ever want to talk about in there. Fine, and then we're doing a more private, only for people in the forging group, so that people will, when they're sharing their vulnerabilities, they're not putting them on blast, right? We want people to be honest and not just put struggle today. We want to know what we struggle with today. We're also considering some type of buy-in to make sure that people do it. So again, I'm trying to figure out what it is. And it would be refundable if you make it to the end. So, for example, I'll just make a number. Let's say we have 10 people who go into the forging and they all put $100 in the kitty. We'll say, in the bank, when they finish their 90-day challenge, they get their $100 back. If they don't, it stays in the kitty, just some type of added like skin in the game to make sure you're actually going to do it. And I don't know what that amount is. We can discuss about that before we launch it. I do want to give a shout out to Brandy hip, who is right now, I think, on day 63, 64 of the challenge and I'm really proud of him. He's been doing it in spite of my failings. So, brandy, you know, keep going at it, don't stop, hit your 90. And we're going to. We'll be right there waiting to start it all over again and hopefully this time, you know, because this is faith, family, fitness, finances, fellowship Did you get them All right? Good job.

Speaker 1: 3:35

My daughter the spider squasher. I have trained her well. Lauren and I have differing philosophies on spiders. In my opinion, the only good spider is a dead spider. Lauren is one with nature, creature of God, creature of God that can live away from my house, which is why my son with autism our son with autism has emotional scars from going to the camp in Maine and all the spider webs around that. He doesn't remember the tubing, he doesn't remember all the fun. All he remembers is the whole cabin being covered in spiderwebs all over the place, because nature, anyways, so it is.

Speaker 1: 4:35

I want to keep these short, um, but there's two things I have to talk about, um. One is the christ is king controversy that you guys might be hearing out there, or faux controversy out there. For some reason there has been a bunch of people who are very broken and are anti-Semitic and use language that we shouldn't be using, and they have grafted on to using Christ as king is kind of like a dig at Jews. The way I stand on this. Is Christ king or not, he's king. So whoever proclaims it, I don't care If every atheist in the world was screaming Christ is king, glory to God, I don't care, right. So I'm not going to let somebody steal our title on that. And here's the truth of it. Christ is king is a spear in the heart of every false religion. It's meant to be. It's meant to be the most offensive thing known to man, which God said it was going to be. So I'm not surprised when people get their feathers rough when we say Christ is King, because what that means is your God is not right, which is the truth, okay. So again, I don't support the vile things coming out of their mouths and all that stuff, but I'm not going to let them take away and hijack our Lord and Savior. So that's that. And just because you say Christ is King, as we know, faith without works is dead right. So words don't mean anything unless you have action and fruit behind it. So when you see somebody online who's reclaiming Christ as king, look at their fruit, okay.

Speaker 1: 6:27

There's very few times in life where people will take off their mask and show you who they are. For some reason, that appears to be what people like to do on social media when they show you and tell you what they are. If they're showing you that they're wicked or broken or wolves in sheep's clothing, take them at their word from it and move on. Right. Don't move on to a sheep that's lost. Basically, what's happened? You're out there, you're a shepherd, right. You're walking along the woods or in the hills and all of a sudden, you see somebody who looks like a sheep. You go up. It's a wolf in sheep's clothing. What do you do? You beat it on the side of the head and you go and you look for the good sheep that are out there that are worth saving.

Speaker 1: 7:06

It's not hard, it's not complicated. Can we stop fighting over stupid stuff online? Okay, the next thing is there's a new series out on Amazon called King David. You know it's made in the same vein as the chosen and all these things. And, of course, you have our fundamentalist Christians, which I consider myself a version of meaning a strong, traditional Christian who can't have nice things. It's not good enough. So they would rather you watch John Wick or what other stuff on there than watch God-inspired art. It is never meant to be the Bible, it is just meant to be you know art. Okay, it's like a picture. You look at it. Oh, that's beautiful. It may make you think, what's it do? It drives you to the Bible. Go to the Bible and verify what you see there, which means people are spending more time in the Bible.

Speaker 1: 8:01

The Chosen, david, the Ten Commandments all these things are not meant to be the Bible. They are meant to inspire people to get into the Word. So please look at the full equation. One plus one is two, right, it's not that hard. Trying to say that people are trying to take you know the Chosen and make it the Bible. No, but here's what I do know the Chosen has led more people to God than any pastor on the face of this earth. Okay, god can use anything to call them home. So let's have nice things. Let's not be ridiculous, let's not. There's so many vile things we all watch. Watching something that has a biblical flavor or light or spin on it, I don't have a problem with. Okay, now let's get into this. I've got a ton ton, ton, ton, ton ton to unpack. I think you guys are going to like this. Unpack is not the right word, but I hope that you're going to get a lot out of this.

Speaker 1: 9:06

Sermon Peter. Every chapter of 1 Peter is like a manual for some part of your life, and there's a lot here. Heavenly Father, lord, we thank you. We thank you for your word, we thank you for your Sabbath, we thank you for your creation, we thank you for your Son. Lord, help us be grateful for all the things. Lord, when we are not in pain, we are often ungrateful for not being in pain. And then, when we're in pain, boy, do we get grateful when we're not in pain anymore. Lord, help us not have to feel pain, to know that not having it is a blessing. Not having tragedy in our life is a blessing. Lord, every moment of peace and joy we have is a gift from you and is fruit of you, fruit of the Spirit. So help us to always focus on the blessings we have. Help us to never gripe about the trials that we're going through.

Speaker 1: 10:05

I don't know if you can hear my son over there. But he's over there saying this as he's eating a pen. I think I'm not sure what he's eating. Is that the touchless pen? Okay, all right, just don't let him break the one thing that writes on remarkable. Okay, thank you Back into praying, lord.

Speaker 1: 10:27

Sorry, you know we have children, small children, here, and sometimes we have to stop them from committing things. So, lord, thank you again for the gift of children and thank you for the patience that they bring. Lord, we pray that every word that we say today would be of you, by you, for you, through you, and we pray that this would please you and it would honor you. May we proclaim you with every breath of our lungs and may we serve you with every beat of our hearts. In Jesus' name we pray amen.

Speaker 1: 10:58

All right, for those of you who don't know how to pray, the simplest prayer is the honest one is Get humble, get on your knees, get before God, get grateful, and then start talking to your Heavenly Father with respect and awe and very trembling. And then, if you need more of an example, the Bible will give us one In Matthew 6, 9-13, when the disciples asked him how we should pray, this is how Jesus said Our Father, which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. If you do that every day, just that prayer right there, you would be covered on everything, because Jesus is the best prayer in the history of praying. So 1 Peter 1 review, and then we'll get into 2.

Speaker 1: 11:57

In our last sermon on 1 Peter 1, we explained several foundational themes that set the stage for the rest of the letter. One living hope in Christ. We emphasize how our hope is secured in the resurrection of Jesus. This hope isn't wishful thinking. It is confident assurance rooted in God's unchanging promise. Two a call to holiness. God commands us to be holy because he is holy. Holiness is not an abstract concept. It is a lifestyle marked by separation from sin and devotion to the Lord.

Speaker 1: 12:26

The precious blood of Christ. Our redemption was purchased not with perishable things like silver and gold, but with the most precious thing to ever exist the spotless blood of Jesus. This underscores the infinite value of our salvation, that God himself would come down and suffer that bear his own wrath for us. It shows you how important your salvation is and why the devil works so hard to steal your salvation. And lastly, faith and hope in God. We affirm that our entire Christian life, our faith, our perseverance, our final destiny stands upon God's faithfulness and on our own strength.

Speaker 1: 13:09

I'm sorry, two more. Sorry, it was a new pick. I'm using a different format. I'm using a Word document now instead of a notebook. So, loving one another from a pure heart, true saving faith, produces real love for fellow believers. Peter highlights brotherly love as a hallmark of genuine spiritual transformation. And lastly, the enduring word of God. We conclude it by celebrating Scripture's permanence compared to our fleeting earthly lives. God's word is our unshakable foundation, a lasting every-worldly trend.

Speaker 1: 13:41

This review reminds us that 1 Peter 1 roots our identity in Christ's redemptive work, calls us to holiness and motivates us to persevere in the trial essential truths that flow naturally into the commands and exhortation of 1 Peter 2. So 1 Peter 2 continues Peter's exhortation from chapter 1 on holy conduct. In a word, opposed by God, we're not simply individuals wandering about. We're a royal priesthood united under one commander, christ, the living stone. Think of this chapter as a failed manual on maintaining spiritual discipline, understanding our identity and mission, engaging the culture with integrity and enduring suffering like Christ. As Christian warriors, we must learn to balance humility and submission with bold, unwavering courage for the truth. God does not mince words. There's a war both inside our hearts and the world around us. Failure to heed these instructions leads to spiritual casualties.

Speaker 1: 14:58

So the first thing I want to do, because this starts off. Therefore, anytime you start a chapter and it starts with, therefore, there's some things that you need to remember from the previous thing. So I'm actually going to start in 1 Peter 1, the last paragraph. Let's see here, since you have, in obedience to truth, purified your souls for a love of the brothers, without hypocrisy, fervently loving one another from the heart, for you have been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, that is, through the living and enduring word of God, for all flesh is like grass and its glory like the flower of grass the grass withers and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever, and this and this is the word which was proclaimed to you as good news. So now, therefore, therefore, laying aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy, envy and slander.

Speaker 1: 16:08

Okay, the Greek word here is to put away. Okay, and I'm not going to try to speak Greek, but it suggests the way it is looked at is stripping off filthy clothes. We cannot truly gear up for God's battles by wearing tattered rags of sin. Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander are community-destroying sins. These are not even just sins that destroy your own flesh. These destroy the church of God and your community. They corrode unity in the church. Imagine an army where soldiers sabotage each other's morale.

Speaker 1: 16:47

Okay, continue on in verse 2. Like newborn babies longing for pure milk of the word so that by it you may grow in respect and salvation, this pure spiritual milk is the word of God and the nourishing truth of the gospel. A warrior who neglects his daily rations is set up for defeat. God calls word sweeter also than honey. We aren't just gleaming information, we're receiving life-sustaining power, and that's from Psalm 19.10. 1 Peter, 2.3, the next verse If you have tasted the kindness of the Lord, this harkens to Psalm 34.8. We've tasted his goodness and cannot return to the empty fare of the Lord. This harkens to Psalm 34.8. We've tasted his goodness and cannot return to the empty fare of the world. Once you have savored prime steak, you can't go back to moldy bread. Once you've tasted Christ and the peace of Christ and the joy of Christ, you can't go back. When you go back, if you go back, you were never saved at all in the first place.

Speaker 1: 17:58

How do we apply these first three verses? Discipline over sloppiness. If you carry sin, malice, envy and deceit, it's like an infection that festers and weakens the entire body. Warriors must address personal sin ruthlessly, Reload daily. A soldier fighting without ammo is in dire straits. Likewise, no believer thrives without a steady reload of Scripture, continual growth. The moment you think you've arrived, you stop drinking the milk and start weakening. Warriors are lifelong learners of Christ.

Speaker 1: 18:36

Tertullian said the soul is nourished by what it feeds on. If it feeds on godliness, it will become, or godlessness it will become godless. Let it feed on God's word and it will be shaped into his likeness. How many of us just take in so much godlessness through our entertainment, in all aspects of our life, and we save Sunday for 60 minutes, 90 minutes? What do you think you are? Do you think you're godly or do you think you're godless?

Speaker 1: 19:07

Now, going on to verses 4 through 10, verse 4, and coming to him as a living stone which has been rejected by man in his choice and precious in the sight of God. Christ is a living stone, rejected by man but chosen by God. The world scorns Christ's leadership. Don't expect applause for holding to biblical truth. Psalm 118.22 says the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, prophetic fulfillment in Jesus. The cornerstone in the ancient world was the most important stone that you said. It was the first stone. It was the stone that, once you chose your cornerstone, it's how the building was going to go left right. The elevation was going to be all set on that. So when they say the cornerstone, that means everyone back then was building their own houses and knew that that was the most important stone, where you put that sat, where the rest of the house was going to be. And so Christ was the cornerstone that was rejected. Okay, rejected by who? By the Jews. All right, rejected by the Jews. Continuing on in verse 5. All right, rejected by the Jews. Continuing on in verse 5,.

Speaker 1: 20:21

You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Believers aren't random loose stones. We're built together upon Christ. Unity matters. As a holy priesthood, we offer spiritual sacrifices, worship, intercession, proclaiming the gospel and living righteously before God and man.

Speaker 1: 20:52

Okay, it is not easy to live this Christian lifestyle or way of life I hate the word lifestyle, way of life. You are going to die to yourself. You're going to lose a ton of friends. You're going to not get invited to parties, you're not going to be invited to social events. People are going to fall away because, oh, you're different. You're different, which is why we have to fight so hard for our own fellowship amongst each other, because the world is going to reject us. Your friend group is going to go from this to this right, and if you don't find a good church, if you don't find a community to plug into, you're going to be isolated along, which is exactly what the enemy wants. You Don't give up, don't quit.

Speaker 1: 21:30

Verses 6 through 8. For this is contained in Scripture. Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, talking about Christ, and he who believes upon him will not be put to shame. This precious value, then, is for you who believe, but for those who disbelieve, the stone which the builders rejected. This has become the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble because they are disobedient to the word and to this stumbling. They were also appointed. There's some that's another thing of Calvinism that you'll hear right there. The Jews were chosen to stumble over Jesus and to reject Jesus. Okay, so they stumbled because they're disobedient to the word and to this stumbling. They were also appointed. Do with that as you will Honor versus offense. To us he is precious. To the rebellious he is a stumbling block or a stone of offense. That's somebody hitting you with a stone. Stand ready for rejection and hostility.

Speaker 1: 22:47

Our job isn't to remodel the stone to fit the world. Too many churches and too many people try to treat Jesus like he is a used car. Look at these features. You're going to have this and you're going to get this and this shiny bobble and this and all this. No, no, no, no, no. That is why street preachers can be extremely valuable, speaking hard truths to people to convict the sin in them. If the sin can be convicted in you, you can turn back to God and that's God calling you home.

Speaker 1: 23:17

The whole job of a pastor well, there's a couple jobs, but one of the primary roles of a job is to offend the sin in you by exposing God's word to you, by exposing you to God's word and explaining what that means. So you don't try to sprinkle in your own favorite things. I'm going to choose this. This is my favorite part. Oh, that's not my Jesus. Okay, so they choose one part of Jesus in this chapter and then another one in this chapter and we'll skip all this and right here.

Speaker 1: 23:47

And then you have a religion of one, your own religion, that is proclaimed nowhere except in your head, and those are the sins that you think aren't bad. So you do them and it's okay. No, this is the only. This is the manual for everything in life. This is everything you need to know. If it isn't in here, it's not worth knowing Right Now. There's a lot out there. There's scripture and there's science. There's all that. God made all that. It's all part of it. He created that. So I'm not saying don't go and be a scientist, go be a scientist, go be an engineer, go understand. God made it and understanding is that. But what I'm saying for living life and understanding life and understanding your struggles every day, this is the only manual for it Verses 9 through 10.

Speaker 1: 24:38

But you are a chosen family. God chose you to be part of his family. There's always a saying out there You're born with your family and you choose your friends. That's not how it is in Christianity. God chose you in. You got called in. You'll know, when you become a Christian you're even going to lose family members. I remember growing up in Boston I never met a born again, but everyone told me to run away from born agains because once you became born again, they were crazy and you're never going to see them again. It's not that you won't see them again. You don't want to be around them because they're light in your darkness. You can't look at porn around your Christian friends. You can't do this. You can't go to the strip club. You can't do all that. That's all you want to do. What do they want to do? Real stuff, real stuff.

Speaker 1: 25:32

You are a chosen family, a royal priesthood. He's calling each and every one of us a royal priesthood. Royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellence of him, who has called you out of the darkness into his marvelous light, for you once were not a people, but now you are a people of God. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Peter stacks identity upon identity here, highlighting the unmerited grace that we don't deserve that God bestows. We were once not a people, now we are his. In Exodus 9, 19.6, it says you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This old covenant promise finds its fulfillment in Christ's church.

Speaker 1: 26:33

Christian warriors, what do we do with this? Know your foundation. Warriors who forget the cornerstone can't stand when the storm hits. Christ is the immovable rock. Embrace the offensive nature of the gospel. Christ is king. Yes, he is. Deal with it. If you're not prepared for hostility, you'll fall at the moment it arises. Live out your royal priesthood.

Speaker 1: 26:58

Intercession is a part of your spiritual warfare. A warrior prays fervently for the family, for the family, the church and the nation. Offer your daily life as a spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God. When I'm going to the gym and I'm working out in the gym now, I dedicate that workout to God, no matter how bent over I gym and I'm working out in the gym now, I dedicate that workout to God, no matter how bent over I am when I get in there because my back is out or my knees are killing me or any of that. I am moving step forward and I am sanctifying my body to be more the way he made it and the way it aligns with him than with me wanting to sit on the couch.

Speaker 1: 27:36

And, you know, rest and not be in pain. You know, once you find something, once you're in pain, it completely changes everything in your life. There are brief moments in my life where I haven't been in pain, where my back or my knees or something isn't working and you don't have to think how you're going to get to the kitchen. You just get to the kitchen. But when your back is out or your knees are out, you plan every step of that and you're mitigating pain the entire way you're getting there and it becomes almost a defining process or a part of the process of everything you're doing. You know, when you sit up in bed and you go to a level five on the pain scale and you have a high pain tolerance, it changes everything versus someone who just gets to roll out of bed. I know you can whine and you can complain about it or you can use it for your own sanctification. Right, and that is one of the hardest challenges you have.

Speaker 1: 28:38

As you get older, as your body breaks down, as you accrue more afflictions, you will become inherently familiar with suffering in some form and you will have to learn to deal with it. And you can despair and self-destruct, pour yourself into drugs or illegal drug food or other things to escape your suffering video games, binge-watching TV Because what you can get in that one position that doesn't hurt. You forget about it and then you escape everything. That's deteriorating because you can't move. Guilty. Guilty as charged, okay. But this suffering is a test. It is a test is a test how you handle that. You know how you handle easy days. Who cares? It's an easy day. An easy day is whatever.

Speaker 1: 29:41

And what you thought was like last year when lauren almost I had a bunch of problems before, when Lauren went into labor and then when they took her back to try to save her life because she was bleeding out and dying and they couldn't stop it and I didn't think I was ever going to see her again. Do you think I care one bit about any problem other than Lord, give me back my wife. I didn't care about anything. I didn't care if I lived in a cardboard box with her. I didn't care about the cows, I didn't care about this. I didn't care. I just wanted my family back. How many of us take our family for granted and then they're gone? And you didn't say what you need to say. You didn't make amends.

Speaker 1: 30:23

Suffering is a part of life. How you deal with it defines who you are and defines whether you're a Christian or not. So your suffering is a spiritual sacrifice to God. How you deal with that? When you see a Christian weather cancer like a champ, they do more for the grace, the kingdom of God, than anyone who had a healthy life, who did nothing, who never endured that. They're just like. How can they? And then you see the family. When they pass on their identity and their family's rejoicing that their parent or their loved one is in heaven and is still walking it out Changes the world. A Christian hitting the lottery doesn't do anything Right. What do we all get Jealous envious? Who gets jealous, man? I wish I had cancer. No one right. So John Chrysostom said he is the stone upon which the house of our faith rests. Remove that stone and everything falls. Keep firm upon it and we are invincible. Hold on to that stone with everything you've got Verses 11 through 17. We'll start with 11 here.

Speaker 1: 31:39

Beloved, I urge you, as sojourners and exiles, to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against our soul. Our flesh most often wars against our eternity. Our flesh wants things of death, of pleasure. It wants to eat the entire cake. It wants to watch lustful things. It wants to engage in things that destroy marriages and relationships. It wants back before. I mean, you've got to remember back before law enforcement. If you wanted something you could just go take it, and if you were bigger, stronger, you got it. There were no repercussions. Your flesh wars against that, and what we have to remember is that we are sojourners, travelers, in exile. This world is not our permanent home. Your true citizenship is in heaven. Live accordingly. Passions of the flesh wage war against your soul. Sin is a suicide bomber in your own ranks. Don't coddle it.

Speaker 1: 32:50

Verse 12. By keeping your conduct excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing which they slander you as evildoers, they may, because of your good works as they observe them, glorify God in the day of his visitation. Let me read that again by keeping your conduct excellent among the Gentiles, so that, in the thing which they slander you as evildoers, they may, because of your good works as they observe them, glorify God in the day of righteousness. Here they are, they're foreigners in a foreign land and they're hated Hated, but that's a man. They're good people, right? I don't like them. Imagine being a Viking, a Viking's polygamous. They can have whatever they want, they can go raid, they can take whatever. Your neighbor is a Christian and their yard is nice. They're doing everything. Everything is good. They help you when you fall. You do all these things. You're like man. I can't say they're a bad neighbor, right? I don't agree with this and that. But man, whatever that God is that's doing to them really sets them apart.

Speaker 1: 33:55

The Greek for honorable kalen, if I pronounce that right suggests beautiful or praiseworthy behavior. So it doesn't. Honorable sounds right, but it's beautiful or praiseworthy behavior. Even if they hate your message, let them see your irreproachable conduct. Matthew 5.16 resonates here. Let them see your good works and glorify God.

Speaker 1: 34:21

Okay, now I'm going to read this part and then I'm going to unpack this, because this has been horrifically abused during COVID, peter 2.13-15, and we're going to break this part. And then I'm going to unpack this, because this has been horrifically abused during COVID, peter 2, 13 through 15. And we're going to break that down a little bit. Then we're going to go through 17, and then I'm going to really dive into it here. Hold on, this is about to go live. I'm having. That's me, my soul. God doesn't want me talking about this thing here. I'm going to push on through.

Speaker 1: 34:56

Be subject to authority 1 Peter 2.13-15. You can't always get what you want. So verse 13 be subject, for the sake of the lord, to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors, as sent by him, for punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do good, for such is the will of god that by doing good you may silence the ignorant of the ignorance of foolish men. Submission, tomission to authority. How many of the weak churches did we see that closed? Who quoted 1 Peter, 2, verses 13 through 17? Submit, for the Lord's sake, to every human institution Rebellion for rebellion's sake. There's no place in Christ's like Rebellion for rebellion's sake.

Speaker 1: 35:50

Yet we don't obey simple commands that violate God's law. We respect the office of authority, while always remembering who is truly king, who's king? Christ is king. It's funny that they're trying to discredit that title. So 16 and 17.

Speaker 1: 36:10

Act as free people and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as slaves of God. Honor all people. Love the brethren. Fear God, honor the king. We're free in Christ, but not free to sin or disrespect. True freedom is the ability to obey God joyfully, loving others sacrificially. Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor. The Christian warrior is neither an anarchist nor a cowardly sycophant. We walk the narrow road of respectful steadfastness. So after writing this scripture, after writing this sermon, I had to go back and include this addendum resisting evil for authority. So bear with me. We're good In light of 1 Peter, 2, 13 through 17,. Submit to every human institution, for the Lord's sake.

Speaker 1: 37:07

Some may wonder if Christians must always obey rulers, even when they perpetrate evil. Through the scripture and church history we'll see a vital balance. Our ultimate allegiance is to God. We hold dual citizenship, in heavens and on earth. While earthly authorities command what God forbids or forbid what God commands, we must obey God rather than men. That is a no-brainer.

Speaker 1: 37:35

But churches did it. God told us to gather and they did not. Biblical examples of resistance Daniel, civil disobedience when told not to pray to God, hebrew midwives they refused Pharaoh's commands to kill the Hebrew male infants which gave us Moses the apostles. They continued to preach Jesus' name despite the Sanhedrin telling them not to, and it cost them all their lives, except for one. John Calvin and the magisterial reformers taught that rulers receive authority from God to do good If they turn tyrannical. Lesser magistrates and citizens may lawfully resist under the guidance of God's word. We do not despise authority in general. We oppose only that which violates God's higher law. Authority in general, we oppose only that which violates God's higher law.

Speaker 1: 38:32

So what are some practical principles for us as Christian warriors? Respectful disobedience. Resist evil. Mandates with humility and prayer, not with hateful rhetoric or violence for personal gain. Preparedness to suffer. Sometimes resistance incurs legal or social penalties.

Speaker 1: 38:48

We follow Christ's example. When reviled, he did not revile in return. Guard against sin. We are not anarchists. We stand for righteousness, not self-willed rebellion. You are called to resist evil. You are called to fight back against evil. You are called what is evil? Things that go against God's word? Simple Psalm 37, seven through nine. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Refrain from anger. We trust God to bring justice. In Ephesians 6, 12,.

Speaker 1: 39:25

Our battle is ultimately spiritual. The real enemy is sin and Satan, not merely human institutions, not merely Okay, that not merely is huge. Too many people say our enemy is flesh and blood. And it's not flesh and blood, it's powers and principalities. And those powers and principalities have puppets. And those puppets are humans, which are wicked and vile and evil and do horrible things. And, yes, we have to engage them.

Speaker 1: 39:56

We cannot comply with commands that defy our Lord. So we submit to rightful authority for God's sake, but resist any command that would make us sin against God. This is not a contradiction, it is a faithful obedience to the highest king. As Christian warriors, we do so with spiritual prayer, love and courage, knowing we stand on unshakable ground, the eternal rule of our sovereign God. So guard your heart and guard your camp.

Speaker 1: 40:21

The biggest threat might not be the hostile world, but unrepentant sin. We allow to remain rooted out. Live above reproach. Let your actions refute lies about your faith. Let your actions refute lies about your faith. Your actions, not your words. Only your actions refute the lies about Christians. Christians are cold. Christians are this. Christians are that. Your actions should show. Otherwise, in a world itching to discredit Christians, your consistent integrity is a powerful weapon. That's why the second you are a hypocrite. It destroys your ministry. It destroys your credibility.

Speaker 1: 41:00

Strategic submission we submit to rightful authority so long as it doesn't force us to sin against God. That stance requires discernment and courage. Augustine said Obedience to lawful authority is obedience to God's order, but if that authority opposes God's law, we choose to obey the higher law, ready to suffer the consequences. So again now we're going to go through verses 18 through 25 and wrap this up.

Speaker 1: 41:27

Suffering unjustly, following Christ's example, and I'm going to read 18 through 20 right now Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are crooked. For this finds favor, in the sake of conscience, towards God. A person bears up under sorrows when suffering unrighteously. So what? I'll break it down when we get to it. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure? But if, when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this finds favor with God. This principle applies broadly Employees under unfair bosses, citizens under oppressive regimes or failing members in difficult households Enduring in justice, mindful of God, a gracious thing.

Speaker 1: 42:18

Our response to suffering can either reflect bitterness or reflect Christ. 21 through 23,. Christ is our example. Four. To this you have been called, since Christ also suffered for you. God is not telling you to do something that he didn't already lead the way on, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.

Speaker 1: 42:41

Who did no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth. Who, being reviled was not reviling in return. While suffering, he was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously, and even said Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. Christ's suffering as a model. He committed no sin, yet he endured mocking and the cross. He did not retaliate, but entrusted himself to he who judges justly. There's a powerful lesson in the absence of retaliation, it's not weakness, it's strength, under the control of faith and God's perfect justice. I also want to put this in context.

Speaker 1: 43:23

Christ came to be a sacrifice. He did not come to be conquered. He did not come to be murdered. He did not come. No one murdered him. They thought they were murdering him. Christ came to be the perfect sacrifice for us. Okay, that's why that happened. That mission only happens once. Okay, Now we lay our life down for Christ, but we are not the perfect sacrifice for God. Okay, we sacrifice. You know parts of our life and our lives to God, but in a completely different manner.

Speaker 1: 44:06

24 and 25. He himself bore sins in his body on the tree so that, having died to sin, we might live to righteousness. By his wounds you are healed, for you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your soul. By his wounds you are healed. Christ's substitutionary atonement transforms our entire view of suffering. We can endure injustices because our greatest injustice, sin, has been dealt with at the cross In Hosea 53.5,. He was pierced for our transgressions. With his wounds we are healed. This is the anchor for our hope and ultimate sign of God's love.

Speaker 1: 44:50

What application do we have as Christian warriors in this Endure hardship with dignity, a warrior does not whine. We demonstrate resilience, reading Christ as our example and trust yourself to God. We are not naive about evil, but we trust God to right wrongs in his time. Our job is faithfulness, preparedness and diligence. He handles ultimate justice.

Speaker 1: 45:13

Fight the spiritual battle. We do not wage war with bitterness and violence for personal gain. Our weapons are prayer, truth and sacrificial love. And that sacrificial love can be kinetic. Early church father insight would be Athanasius the cross is the power of God, for on it was displayed the triumph over spiritual principalities. We fight from Christ's victory, not toward our own.

Speaker 1: 45:41

Some reflections form Psalm 144.1. Blessed be the Lord, my rock. Who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle Doesn't sound like a pacifist for me. Our hands for war are trained in God's ways. The greatest battles are spiritual within our own hearts and resisting the devil's lies. Physical readiness can be a part of protecting others, but it must always be submitted to the higher spiritual purpose.

Speaker 1: 46:06

If you faint in the day of adversity and this is Proverbs 24.10, your strength is small. Christian warriors are called to perseverance. We must strengthen ourselves in the Lord daily so we don't fold under pressure. And Ephesians 6.10-18, the armor of God everyone talks about. The armor of God teaches us that truth, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit are our essential gear. Each piece is needed to stand firm are our essential gear. Each piece is needed to stand firm. 1 Peter 2 is a master class in a warrior identity and godly living. Under pressure, purge, sin and reload on God's word. No soldier can fight effectively without ammo or with a terrible deadly disease of what Sin?

Speaker 1: 47:00

2. Remember who you are. In Christ, you are a living stone in God's spiritual house, a holy royal priest who offers your life to God. Maintain honor among the nations. Fight sin within, submit to rightful authority without and let your good work silence false accusations. Four endure suffering with Christ's mindset. The ultimate warrior king, won through the cross. Following his footsteps. And then Psalm 1834, he trains my hands for war so that my arms can bend the bow of bronze. The God who strengthens your body also fortifies your soul. We must fight with spiritual discipline, holiness, unwavering trust in God's sovereignty, diligence and preparedness. Tell it like it is. If you toy with sin, disrespect authority or cowl from persecution, you're AWOL from God's calling. If you stand firm on the cornerstone, honor those around you, suffer well for Christ's sake. You fulfill your God-ordained role as a Christian warrior, a light on a hill, a beacon of hope in this dark world and a protector of the weak.

Speaker 1: 48:13

Take heart, you're not alone in this fight. The same God who made you a chosen race and a royal priesthood stands with you. He is an unstoppable king who will ultimately subdue all evil and reign in perfect justice. Stand, therefore, stand on the immovable rock. Equip yourself with his word daily, purify your soul, proclaim his excellencies until he returns in glory. Go forth in confidence, humble dependence, wielding the spiritual weapons he's given you in the battles ahead. Go forth in confidence, humble dependence, wielding the spiritual weapons he's given you in the battles ahead.

Speaker 1: 48:53

So now we get into and we're going to do the Lord's Supper. Okay, this is for baptized believers, and we are called to judge ourself here, to analyze ourself before we do this. As it says in 1 Corinthians 11, 27-32,. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread and drinks of the cup of the Lord, an unworthy man will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Let's go ahead and close your eyes.

Speaker 1: 49:51

I want you to look into your own life now and see where you're AWOL in God's army. Where are you failing? I want you to repent of that. I want you to repent of anything else that you haven't brought to the Lord. Ask him to seek out in you any sin that may have been revealed during this sermon this week, since we last did this or the last time you've done it, but give him permission to search out your heart and expose any sin. Ask him to Pray for it Now. Let's remember that this is a victory toast, that God Christ came down and conquered death, rose from the grave and sits in heaven now as his church conquers the world.

Speaker 1: 51:10

Now, as they were eating, jesus took the bread and, after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples and said Take, eat, this is my body. Go ahead and eat. And he took a cup. When he had given it, giving thanks, he gave it to them saying Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, for the goodness of sins. Go ahead and drink.

Speaker 1: 51:31

Heavenly Father, lord, we thank you. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the book of Peter, a manual on how to live. Lord, help us take today's teaching and apply it to every aspect of our life. Help us to ruthlessly search our own sin and to crush it. Help us to submit to rightful leadership, righteous leadership, and help us to resist the unrighteous, the wicked and the evil. Give us the courage to do so. The wicked and the evil. Give us the courage to do so.

Speaker 1: 52:10

Lord, I pray a blessing over this congregation for the week to come of peace, love and joy.

Speaker 1: 52:18

Lord, protection, I pray that you would comfort everyone today from all their and the week coming forward with all their pains, or to use it in a way to help them get closer to you.

Speaker 1: 52:34

I pray for protection for this congregation and for the persecuted church around the world, for our troops overseas, our first responders at home and our veterans of yesteryear.

Speaker 1: 52:44

I pray that this world doesn't go into World War III. I pray for our beloved leaders, our righteous leaders, that you would use them, lord, that your will will be done and not theirs. Lord, you can use anyone to do your will and I pray that you would do that here in America. And lastly, I pray for our beloved America that America would humble herself, turn from her sin, hit her knees and seek your face, and that you would see her and heal her, so that we could once again be one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Now I call this congregation to put on the full armor of God, strap on the shield, feel the shield of faith, pick up the sword of the Spirit and to boldly step forward in the shield wall, locking shields to the left and right as we march forward to take ground for your kingdom, for your glory forever. Go ahead and stand. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.