I am one of the younger members of Generation X -- apologies. We are the generation that brought you bands like Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, Green Day, and Nirvana. We are often called the Slacker Generation. Ours was a cynical and skeptical generation -- divorce and drugs and disease and kidnappers were everywhere. We didn't have a whole lot of hope.

It is said, however, that when the Twin Towers fell in 2001, many in our generation woke up. We were all young adults by that time, and the crisis of that moment propelled many into action. Many of the heroes of that day were from Gen X, but our response went beyond the day. Many joined the military. Many others regained a sense of purpose. Many developed a love for country. Many even decided to finally commit to marriage. It was a significant moment that jolted many into a greater understanding of their identity. Slackers no more!

In our previous study of 1 Peter, we learned we are God's people, house, and priesthood. In our passage today, Peter wants us to drill down deep into our identity as God's people. The significant event that shapes us is the greatest event in all of history, the cross of Jesus Christ, the gospel. But there are smaller events that can help us snap back to an understanding of who we are as God's people. Peter's readers were in the middle of such an event; they were enduring light persecution, the beginnings of growing hostility against Christianity. I believe we are living in such a time. When in times of relative peace, we might not ask the crucial questions, but in chaotic times, we are forced to confront the truth.

We need to ask:

• How do we become God's people?
• What are God's people?
• Why does God make us his people?

Wrong answers abound. But Peter gives us the right answers. He shows us what God's people are.

I am praying that the tumult of our age will help us regain a biblical sense of identity. We are not a group of good people who only want to do good deeds during our lifetimes. We are not a group trying to solve social ills with philosophies or politics. We are not a social club warmly inviting people to join us for fun times. We are not our building. We are not a political party.

Instead, we are a group of people who needed (and still need) God to redeem us through his merciful kindness only found in the cross of Christ. We have been reborn and remade into his special people, his representatives who are meant to declare him to our world during our lifetimes through our words and works!

And this passage helps us reconnect to this vision.

How Are We God's People? (2:7-8)

7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

More Stone Scriptures

In these two verses, we have two quotations from the Old Testament -- Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 8:14. Both passages continue the theme Peter started in our last study together. Jesus is the living stone (2:4). He is the cornerstone of the new spiritual house God is making with us and all other believers (2:5-6). And these two extra verses carry on this theme that Jesus is the cornerstone, a special rock in human history.

The first reference (from Psalm 118) tells us that Jesus is the rejected cornerstone. The image is of a cornerstone being considered but then totally overlooked and rejected by the builders. Israel's religious leaders should have helped everyone realize Jesus was the Messiah-Christ the Old Testament had promised, but instead, they rejected him.

The second reference (from Isaiah 8) tells us that Jesus is the stumbling stone. The image is of people who trip over a stone on the ground. And Jesus -- his person, his claims, his death, and his resurrection -- stumbles and offends many. He is exclusive, claiming that no one gets to God without him. He is truthful, claiming our sin has damaged us to the point that we cannot know God without his substitutional death. He is confrontational, telling us we must repent and believe the gospel. All this stumbles and offends humanity. Our pride gets in the way. We struggle to lower ourselves to receive this message.

This is the truth: many will stumble at the message of Jesus. Many will be offended by him, his claims, and his demands. When the true gospel is preached, some will always scoff and reject Jesus. It is the nature of him and his message.

Peter highlights this by saying, "They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do" (8).

To disobey the word is to reject the gospel, to reject Jesus. There is great debate about Peter's words. It all centers around the word "destined." What were the people Peter thought of destined to do? Were they destined to reject Jesus? Or were they destined to stumble as a result of rejecting Jesus? What is destined, unbelief or the result of unbelief? Various answers abound, but they are usually connected to whatever theological framework the answerer has already adopted. If you know me, you know I would lean towards it meaning not that unbelief is destined, but that the consequences of unbelief are destined, set in stone by God.

But even if human disobedience is part of God's plan, it does not mean that humans aren't worthy of blame. Judas and his actions were foreknown, but he was still accountable for his actions. And human disobedience is never presented in Scripture as final or irreversible while someone lives. Anyone can turn and repent and receive the gospel.

Many of us know this from experience. We did stumble at the cross. We were offended. We did not want to receive it. But, at some point, we turned. God persisted with us. And now, the message that used to offend us has brought us into God's family.

By Faith

But remember our first question: how are we God's people? The passage tells us how people are not God's people. But it also shows us we are God's people by faith. Peter said, "the honor is for you who believe" (7).

This is a basic truth of the gospel but easily forgotten. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Jesus died in place of broken humanity. He rose. And God gives his righteousness to those who trust Jesus and his work on the cross to save them (Romans 3:21-22).

But this truth is all-important for Exile Christians, Exile People. We become God's people by faith. Your voting record does not get you in. Your social compassion does not get you in. Your attendance at Christian events does not get you in. Your acts of service do not get you in. It is the reception of the gospel that brings you into God's family.

This is important to Exile People because we live in a day of labels. Many live and think as if there are two buckets for humanity these days. So if you identify with Jesus, some might attach many other labels to you. But gospel belief does not mean you have to feel one way or another about guns, vaccines, masks, politics, race, government, big tech, etc. There will be nuance and discussion in such areas, and Exile Christians will likely find themselves unable to be labeled or put into the extreme buckets that exist. As I said in a previous sermon, we will often feel homeless. But our home is the gospel. It is the thing that makes us into God's people.

We Are Honored

And it is truly an honor to receive Jesus (7). That's what Peter said: so the honor is for you who believe (7). Peter's readers received all kinds of threats for their Christianity. In that first-century Roman society, belief in another god was no big deal; they had many gods floating around the empire. But it was a major concern that these Christians acted as if they had a new king to who they had to give supreme allegiance. Their morals and their social commitments were radically different than the rest of society. All this meant belief in Jesus lowered their social standing in that era.

So Peter wants us to know that even when society dishonors or cancels us, we are honored by God. The honor is for those who believe in Jesus! We have true honor.

Major League Baseball made a decision recently that I think was long overdue. They took the statistics and records of the Negro Leagues and made them count as official Major League Baseball statistics. Though it in no way remedies the atrocities that generated such a league, it was the right thing to do. Finally, long-forgotten players are receiving a bit of the attention and honor they rightly and always deserved.

In a more significant way, generations of Christians who have been beaten, bloodied, and killed for their belief in Jesus will one day receive the greatest honor. For all time, exile Christians will be home, honored with the presence of God.

What Are God's People? (2:9a)

This leads us to our second question: what are God's people? We become part of God's people by faith, and this leads to honor, but once we become God's people, what are we meant to be? What do we do? Who are we? Peter answers:

9a But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession...

Old Testament Allusions

Every one of these statements is lifted from the pages of the Old Testament (Exodus 19:4-6, Isaiah 43:20-21, Hosea 2:23). Peter knew the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were a chosen race. He knew God had called the nation to act as a royal priesthood to the nations. He knew they were meant to be a holy nation. And he knew God thought of them as his own possession.

But now Peter comes along and applies those timeless truths to the current iteration of God's people. This does not necessarily mean the church has replaced Israel -- we haven't. And God still has plans in the millennial reign of Christ for his original holy nation. But this does not discourage Peter from bringing the church -- Jew and Gentile alike -- into the high calling of God. So, again, what are God's people?

1. A Chosen Race

First, Peter says we are a chosen race (9). We all have blood relatives, but when we are born again, we receive new blood. This new blood is not literally flowing through our bodies, but the blood of Christ unites God's people. We become part of a chosen race God has created by the gospel.

This is important to Peter. He has a goal to motivate us to form internal bonds within our Christian community. And the fact we are "blood-relatives" (connected by Jesus' blood) should motivate us to do so.

I have a Costco card. I am proud of it. I like holding up my little card and walking into this massive warehouse of American glory. Each year, Costco members have a decision to make: will I still be part of this shopping club?

But our membership in the church is nothing like a Costco membership. Some years we do, some years we don't. We are a chosen race, Peter says, bound by the blood of Christ. Church fellowship is not an optional facet to life, something to choose or ignore. Instead, it is our calling and identity.

2. A Royal Priesthood

Second, Peter says we are a royal priesthood (9). This idea trips up many because ancient Israel had kings and priests, and they were always separate. So how can we be both royal and a priesthood?

The answer is that the analogy likely isn't from Israel's monarchy or priesthood. It comes from God's view of Israel itself. Listen to this major passage regarding God's will for Israel in Exodus:

Exodus 19:6 (ESV) — 6 You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

With a royal calling from their God-King, Israel was meant to serve as God's representatives to the nations. Remember when Jesus came to the temple before his death? He cleaned out the place while saying, "My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations" (Mark 11:17, Isaiah 56:7). God meant for Israel to take up their royal calling, lead the world, and tell the world about God. They were to be an illuminating presence in the midst of darkness. They were meant to show the world who God is and what it looks like to center yourself completely upon him.

And that is still our calling. Jesus said we are to let our light shine before humanity, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16). We are meant to broadcast -- in our work and play and words and actions -- who God is and what a life centered upon him looks like.

3. A Holy Nation

Third, Peter said we are a holy nation (9). This was important to Peter's readers because they lived in a time of great pride in the Roman Empire. But the true context of these Christians was not their position in Rome but their position in Christ.

This was an essential lesson for them to learn because they would soon face waves of persecution because their Christianity threatened the status quo of the empire. They weren't really persecuted for worshipping Jesus -- what's one more god in a polytheistic world? No, they were persecuted because they were more loyal to Jesus than Rome. Don't get me wrong; they were great citizens because the best citizens don't worship government but serve it in its proper context. But they were perceived as a threat to Roman dominance, and this brought persecution into their lives.

But we are this holy nation as well. This doesn't preclude us from loving or serving our nation well. It makes us better at both. But we must always remember that believers are a nation inside of the nations, meant to demonstrate God's laws and jurisdiction and kingdom to our world.

4. A People For His Own Possession

Fourth, Peter said we are a people for his own possession (9). What made ancient Israel special? The fact that God had chosen them and lived among them. They were his own special possession, and modern believers are special in a similar way. We belong to God.

If you visit the hall of fame for various sports, you will see shoes, jerseys, and equipment previously used by star athletes. They are valuable and important to fans because of who owned and used them. You will never find, for instance, a pair of my old high school baseball cleats in the baseball hall of fame. Everyone would be confused by such a display.

The reason we are special is not because of who we are but who owns us. We are a people for his own possession. You are special because you belong to God. And, together, exile Christians should know of their great value because God has set his mark upon them. We belong to him.

C.S. Lewis said something beautiful about the great truth that we are God's people:

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day [in glory] be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. -- C.S. Lewis

Imagine what he alludes to: that if you saw your fellow believer in their glorified state, they would appear so majestic to you that you might be tempted to worship them if you didn't know better.

And Peter has the same idea. What are God's people? We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's precious possession.

Why Does God Make Us His People? (2:9b-10)

This leads us to our third and final question: why does God make us his people? What is our purpose? And what does God get out of this arrangement? Why did he do all this for us? What motivated him?

9b that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 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.

To Proclaim His Excellencies

The reason why God makes us his people, our mission once we become his people, is really clear to Peter: we are meant to proclaim the excellencies of God (9).

What does it mean to proclaim the excellencies of God? Well, this proclamation is meant to travel in two directions. We praise God for his excellencies, and we also tell everyone else about his excellencies.

And we have so much to praise and proclaim about God. Peter says here that God called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light (9). Though we might've been stumbled and offended at Jesus for a time, God kept calling, drawing us out of darkness and into the light of the gospel. We are blind, but now through Jesus, we see.

And Peter also says that 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 (10). Peter draws upon the prophet Hosea when he says this (Hosea 2:23). God told a rebellious Israel, through Hosea and Hosea's life, that though he had to withhold mercy and discipline them for a time, his mercy and grace would breakthrough. A people who were not his people, without mercy, would become God's people again, a people draped in God's mercy.

That's us! We have been brought from darkness to light. We are now clothed with God's mercy. And this gives us a reason to proclaim God's excellencies to everyone around us.

So what is our mission? Why did God make us into his people? He was driven by his own mercy to rescue us from darkness. And now our mission is to declare God and his goodness for the rest of our lives!

At the heart of all good evangelism, you will find praise. The good evangelist loves God and is grateful for all he's experienced from God. He can't wait to tell others how good God has been to him.

As creatures, we often love to tell others about experiences that we've enjoyed. Go to a good movie? You want to tell someone. Enjoy a great restaurant? You want to tell someone. But God is the delight of all delights -- and our mission is to tell others of his excellencies.

Let me say two things about this mission:

First, it is not a highly complicated mission. It is more natural than it is formulaic. There is certainly a place for study, research, and preparation when sharing the gospel or talking about Scripture. But Peter is suggesting something simple: declaring that God has been excellent to you.

Second, it is a fulfilling mission. We are made, born again, to declare his excellencies. Self-preservation or even our own eternal well-being will never be a satisfying goal for life. Ultimate meaning is found in declaring God's goodness through our lives.

Conclusion

I hope you feel called up by the word today.

I have told you that Exile Christians do not angrily fight back, do not create a holy huddle separate from everyone else, and do not conform all their views to society. But when the marginalization of our faith happens, we might be tempted to all three. So Peter's words today are helpful. How so?

Well, this high calling from God -- the fact we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession meant to declare his greatness -- should help us resist each temptation.

Want to angrily fight? Remember, you are God's representative on earth, meant to declare his excellencies. The people who anger you are stumbling over the rock of Christ. We hope and pray that one day they won't be offended by him any longer, so we must faithfully represent him.

Want to flee and create Christian communities that are completely separate from society? That will never work because your life calling is to declare his excellencies and be a light to all nations. Detachment renders declaration impossible. So a detached Christian community is actually a disobedient Christian community. How can we become a house of prayer for all nations if we don't interact with our nations?

Want to conform your convictions and biblical standards to back up whatever society approves of today? You are honored to have Jesus. You are a holy nation. You have been brought out of darkness and into the light -- the word gives you the truth. You belong to God, so it doesn't matter if society won't have you.

Peter is calling us up. God is using his word to lift our heads. Don't hang your head. You are important to this city. You are honored by God. You are meant to declare his excellencies to this town. You are God's Exile People.