1 Peter 2:8b-10
A People for Praise (part 2)

What is man's chief end? To glorify God and enjoy him forever.

1. God has appointed some to reject Christ (8b)
   1. Some "stumble" at Christ, refusing to believe
   2. God appointed them to that rejection.
2. But He has chosen you as a people to praise him (9a)
   1. You are a chosen generation
   2. A royal priesthood and a holy nation
   3. A people for God's possession
      1. Here Peter pulls out all the stops, using the word that over and over designated Israel in the OT "the people"
         1. The Israelites prided themselves on being God's own special people
         2. Had not God said to them "I will be your God and you shall me my people" over and over?
         3. Constantly, God calls them "my people", indicating his interest in them as a people that belongs to him and him alone.
         4. And Psalm 33.12 had declared "12Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance."
         5. Peter takes all of this and gives it to his Gentile audience. He gives it to you.
         6. The promises to "My people" are yours. The Psalms speaking of God's love for "My people" are yours. And when Isaiah says "For the transgressions of my people was he stricken," you are the one for whom Christ died.
      2. You are the "inheritance" of God, his purchased possession, his treasure.
      3. You are the personal possession of God in a way that unbelievers aren't
         1. It's true that all things and all people belong to God in that he has control over them and governs all their actions for his glory
         2. But unbelievers bring glory to God against their will, for as Jesus said they are sons of the Devil. They don't belong to God as a purchased possession but as resentful slaves to do his will.
         3. But you he has chosen in a special way that you should glorify him by belonging to him.
         4. God said in Ex 19.5,6 "'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'"
         5. You have kept the covenant in Christ and so this promise comes down upon your head. You reign with him (kings). You worship through him (priests). And so you are his special treasure.
      4. So what exactly do you belong to God for?
3. To proclaim the praises of Him who made you what you are (9b,10)
   1. That you may proclaim his praises
      1. Here it is in a nutshell: your mission statement. If you want to know "why am I here?" Here's your answer
         1. Isa 43.21 "This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise."
         2. You belong to God that you might praise him
      2. Here we have man's chief end, that you should glorify God by enjoying him and enjoy God by glorifying him
         1. Unbelievers glorify God but they do not enjoy him
         2. Rather they glorify God in the demonstration of his justice against vessels of unrighteousness
         3. But you have been called to glorify God by constantly recounting his marvellous deeds on your behalf
      3. Remember last week, how the Jews to this day talk about the Exodus, God bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
         1. Shall we not much more talk about how God has saved us from our sins and given us an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven?
         2. And shall we not also talk about the Exodus since that event was given by God as a picture of our great salvation in Christ?
      4. Oh that we would constantly meditate on the greatness of our salvation that we should be moved to praise.
      5. Let us praise God each day that he has redeemed us and that we belong to him.
      6. Let us encourage one another from day to day with the knowledge that God has acted mightily on our behalf and will one day bring us to himself.
      7. Let us live our lives in the knowledge of that identity, not pursuing the things of this world, but thinking and acting as those who have been saved by God in order to declare his praises
         1. To those who don't know him while he tarries
         2. To one another and the angels; to God and to the Lamb for eternity.
      8. So Peter goes on to remind you of God's mighty act on your behalf that you might be moved to praise him.
   2. Who called you out of darkness into light
      1. Once you stumbled around in the darkness
         1. And you loved the darkness rather than the light because your deeds were evil
         2. The darkness covered those evil deeds and you pretended that no light would ever shine upon them. No one need ever know the things you did in secret or the secret corruption of your heart.
         3. And in the dark, you no way of knowing where to turn. There was no light to guide you or set you on the right path. As Jesus said "he who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going"
         4. There was no light to illumine your mind with the knowledge of the truth. You were ignorant of the things of God for a shadow covered your mind and heart
         5. This may not be true of you as an individual. You may be a covenant child.
            1. But it's true of you by racial origin.
               • If Gentile, you were a "people that walked in darkness"
               • If Jew, your ancestors fell into this darkness, rejecting the Lord and stumbling about in their own ways.
            2. It's true of you because of Adam who plunged the whole race into darkness
      2. But the people that walked in darkness, upon them a light has shined
         1. Note the vivid contrast
            1. Have you ever flicked on a light switch in a totally dark room
            2. This is how radically God has changed your identity
         2. 2 Co 4⁶For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
         3. And in Christ your deeds are no longer evil but righteous; you do not fear the light.
         4. Christ, the light of the world, the risen sun of righteousness has shone upon your hearts and removed your evil longings
   3. Once you were not a people/Once you had not obtained mercy
      1. Peter here refers back to the incident in Hosea.
      2. Hosea prophesied against Israel shortly before the Assyrians came and conquered the land.
         1. Read Hosea 2:6-2:1
         2. God rejects his people on the basis of their works, but accepts them on the basis of his grace
         3. Hence the promise extends to all who have faith, including you
      3. You had no right to the mercy of God. No right to be his people.
         1. You were separated from God in Adam
         2. And when you walked in darkness, you had no mercy

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