God's Very Own Possession

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This is the first message in a series of messages on sanctification. A significant portion of the ideas and material used in these messages are adapted from the book, Called to Be Holy by Dr. John N. Oswalt.

Written Excerpts:

I want to read several verses of Scripture to complement the passage that was read earlier in the service. The earlier passage from Hebrews spoke specifically about the new covenant that God has established with His people.

This next passage is 1 Peter 2:1-9 and it describes the character and behavior of those who are in covenant with God.

I’m going to read from a newer translation of the Bible because it seems to clarify the real meaning of some of the words that are used. Upon reading this passage I discovered that verse 9 includes a phrase that I had chosen as the title for this message.

1 Peter 2:1-9 (NLT) But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

Introduction:

Dr. Oswalt’s book that I mentioned a moment ago, Called to Be Holy, is a book that explains the biblical call to holiness for the people of God. I am deeply indebted to his book for much of the content in this sermon today and in the upcoming sermons to follow.

I remember making a statement a few years ago during a sermon that went something like this, “In spite of everything that is now possible in our world because of science and technology, there is one thing that is increasingly considered impossible – that is, living a pure and holy life that is issuing from a holy heart.”

Dr. Oswalt makes some similar statements in the introductory chapter of his book that I feel are worthy of quoting, so I trust that you will grant me tolerance as I read about 5 paragraphs from his introduction.

Oswalt – “… the importance of the Bible’s teaching on holiness is not comparable to its [secondary] teachings on [church structure] or [end time events].

“If a person constantly reads the NT in light of the Old, which the Church Fathers clearly intended by their joining of the two in one [collection], then it becomes unmistakably clear what the purpose of the Gospel is. It is the same purpose that God has had from Genesis 4 onwards: the transformation of human behavior in this world with the consequent possibility of living with God through all eternity. The OT show us what that transformation is, and the NT shows us what God has done to make the transformation possible.

“This means that unless Christians are truly transformed into the character of God, the whole purpose of the Church’s existence becomes blurred and confused. The world looks upon hateful, self-serving, undisciplined, greedy, impure people who nevertheless claim to be the people of God, and says, ‘You lie!’”

After speaking about the problem in today’s church of minimizing the concept of God’s grace, he continues by saying, “The problem with ‘cheap grace’ is that it does not go far enough. It fails to understand that the goal of God’s grace is nothing less than Christlikeness. We want to believe God to escape the consequences of our sin, but we do not want to believe Christ to deliver us from our sinning. We want to enjoy the pleasure of sin while escaping its bitter consequences. But the Scriptures call us to a life which is radically Christlike….

“The Church which has lost sight of the biblical doctrine of holiness tries to market the gospel as a solution for life’s difficulties, a source for personal fulfillment, a means of achieving one’s desires for significance and status and power. In other words, it is not a means of escaping the [control] of [our] desires, it is a means for fulfilling that [control]…. It is a Church that expects to go down the aisle to meet its Bridegroom in a dress as filthy as the one in which He first found her in the gutters of life….”

These challenging words by Dr. Oswalt point to the real need for a revival of understanding and experiencing the grace of God that produces a life of holiness which reflects the true character of our heavenly Father.

As a beginning point in this series, I want to draw your attention to the thoughts expressed in verse 9 of 1 Peter 2.

1 Peter 2:9 (KJV) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

There are three brief observations that I wish to focus on from this verse.

God chooses us.

God chooses us for Himself.
God chooses us to be holy. 

I.    God chooses us.

“… a chosen generation…”

One of the most precious truths of the Bible is the fact that God has chosen us! Jesus said, “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit.”

God is the one who has done the choosing. The message of the Bible from Gen. to Rev. is that we had no inherent ability to choose God and suddenly decide to be like Him; like “turning over a new leaf.” Yes, we do have to “make a choice,” but the very capacity to choose is a gift of grace from the God of heaven who has come searching for us, and He bridged the gap to bring us to Him.

“When I could not come to where He was, He came to me!” – Squire Parsons

I have nothing in myself, outside of His grace, to make me want Him and to make me choose Him. All I wanted was to satisfy my own selfish desires and inclinations. But while my mind and heart were set on finding satisfaction for physical and sensual desires, God’s Holy Spirit penetrated my heart and created a yearning to know Him and to live for Him.

Hallelujah! I’m so thankful for “the love that drew salvation’s plan,” “the grace that brought it down to man” and “the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary!”

I know I would be lost in hell this morning if it wasn’t for the marvelous fact that God chose me.

And, the Bible makes it clear that God didn’t just arbitrarily and capriciously choose some of us to be saved and then condemn everyone else to an eternal hell; lost forever. No, God chooses all of us, then He wonderfully gives us the grace as well as the freedom to choose whether we accept.

“God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

II.   God chooses us for Himself.

“… a peculiar people…”

This second point builds on the first one. God not only was the One who did the choosing, but He chose us for a specific reason – to be in an exclusive relationship with Himself.

The KJV uses the phrase, “a peculiar people.” This does not mean that all God’s children are supposed to be weird! The NLT uses the phrase that I had chosen as a title for this message: “God’s very own possession.”

God never intended to share our devotion and affection with any other deity. He expects to be the only object of our love and worship. He expects us to be committed only to Him, and not allow any other object or person to divide our affection.

This theme is illustrated so beautifully in the OT through the use of the covenants that God had with individuals, as well as an entire nation. As we quoted from Dr. Oswalt earlier, the NT was meant to be understood in light of the OT. So, the whole idea of holiness and what it involves is beautifully illustrated in the use of OT covenants.

God enters into covenant with Abraham, for example, and chooses him purely by grace, then commits Himself to Abraham and requires Abraham and his descendants to be committed to God.

In the book of Exodus God enters into covenant with the nation of Israel through Moses and the law. God made specific commitments to Israel because of His previous promises to the fathers, and He requires Israel to make specific commitments back to Him.

These glimpses of covenants provide insights into the character and nature of God. We won’t go into details today, but through the use of covenants, God reveals to humans what His holiness is all about and why He requires them to be holy. But for right now, we want to use the OT covenants as an example of the truth that God desires and planned for exclusive relationships with mankind and He truly want us for His own special possession.

That is an awesome truth to contemplate: that the God of the universe; the Creator; the sovereign ruler of nature desires an exclusive relationship with each and every one of us!

III.   God chooses us to be holy.

“… an holy nation…”

1 Peter 1:15 (KJV) But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

We’ve already mentioned the fact that God wants us to be in an exclusive relationship with Him; just like He did with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, etc. However, there is a grave problem. How can evil, selfish, sensual, and polluted human beings be in an intimate and meaningful relationship with God?

God is holy!

We don’t have the time today to explore all the meanings of this fact. We will probably start with this the next time, but for now we only need to understand that God’s holiness is what separates Him from us.

God’s purpose all along has been to transform us into His likeness and provide the means whereby we can enter into this exclusive relationship and survive. For, without the intervention of His grace, we would be consumed by the awesome holiness of an almighty God.

Conclusion:

God has chosen us to be His very own possession. God has completed the necessary provision for us to share in His nature and character. It is an affront to the very nature of God for us to refuse His ultimate purposes and essentially say, “I’m okay God, I prefer to remain in my bondage to self-centered motivations and sensual desires.”

I believe it truly is the natural and normal response for every child of God that has really been born again and has become a new creature in Christ Jesus, to desire to have all that God’s grace has provided, not only for our salvation, but for our transformation.

Let us close the service today by singing the song:

Take Time to Be Holy       # 656