A Sermon and a Reminiscence

A Sermon and a Reminiscence

(No. 3112)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1908.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, EARLY IN THE YEAR 1873.

"Unto you therefore who believe, He is precious." 1 Peter 2:7.

[Other Sermons by Mr. Spurgeon upon this passage, are as follows
Sermons #242, Volume 5–CHRIST PRECIOUS TO BELIEVERS; #2137, Volume
36–(same title as #242) and #3014, Volume 52–A SERMON FROM A SICK
PREACHER]

WHEN one has a head cold, it is a very effectual hindrance to thought.
You may do what you will and select what subject you may, but somehow
or other the mind has lost its elasticity. I frankly confess that for
this reason I selected this text for my discourse. I thought that,
perhaps, if the head would not work, the heart might, and that if the
thoughts came not, yet the emotions might. Emotions may well be stirred
in the preacher, if not in the hearer, by the memories awakened by this
passage. For I remember well that, more than 22 years ago, the first
sermon that I ever attempted to make was from this text. I had been
asked to walk out to the little village of Teversham, some little
distance from the town of Cambridge, in which I lived, to accompany a
young man whom I supposed to be the preacher for the evening, and on
the way I said to him that I trusted God would bless him in his labors.
"Oh, dear!" he said, "I never preached in my life. I never thought of
doing such a thing! I was asked to walk with you and I sincerely hope
that God would bless you in your preaching." "No," I said, "but I never
preached and I don't know that I could do anything of the sort." We
walked together till we came to the place, my inmost soul being all in
a tremble as to what would happen. When we found the congregation
assembled, and no one else there to speak of Jesus, though I was only
16 years of age, as I found that I was expected to preach, I did
preach, and this was the text.

If a raw recruit could speak upon anything, surely this theme would
suit him. If one were dying, this would be the text. If one were
distracted with a thousand cares, this would be the text because its
teaching is experimental–its meaning wells up from the inner
consciousness and needs neither a clear brain nor an eloquent tongue.
To the Believer, it is not a thing which somebody else has taught
him–it is a matter of fact which he knows within his own soul, that
Christ is precious to him and he can bear testimony concerning it
although not always such bold testimony as he could wish! I intend to
let my heart run over like water from a full cup–just as the thought
comes to my heart, it shall be poured out. Let us go, then, at once to
our text and speak a little, first, about Believers. Then about their
appreciation of Christ. And then about how they show it.

I. ABOUT BELIEVERS–"Unto you who believe."

Believers are getting to be rather scarce nowadays. Doubters have the
sway–they are the men who claim to possess all the wisdom of the
period. There is scarcely a single historical fact but what is now
doubted. I fancy that the very existence of the human race must be a
matter of question with some persons. I believe some imagine that not
even they, themselves, are actually existent–certain ideas of
themselves exist, but not themselves! We know not how far the human
mind will go in this direction, but surely there must be a limit to
doubting. Wonderful is the capacity of faith, but a hundred times more
wonderful is the capacity of unbelief. The most credulous persons in
the world are unbelievers. He who refuses to swallow the gnat of
Scriptural difficulty, usually swallows camels in large quantities of
other difficulties of all sorts! The text speaks of Believers and, for
my part, I am happy to know that a man is reckoned among Believers of
any sort rather than with doubters.

But the Believers mentioned here are not mere Believers, they are
spiritual Believers, Christian Believers–they believe in Christ Jesus.
It is only to such that Christ is precious. In the Word of God there
are many expressions with regard to believing in Christ. We read of
believing in Him, believing upon Him and believing Him. Now, if I
understand the Word aright, believing in Him means this–believing that
He is what He claims to be. As, for instance, that He is the Sent One
of God, the Messiah–that He is King in Israel, that He is the Son of
God, that He is the Word that was God and Was in the beginning with
God–that He is the Great High Priest making Atonement for our sins,
that He is the Head of the Church and so on. That is to believe inHim,
to accept Him as being what God's Word says He is, to believe God's
testimony concerning His Son.

But believing upon Him goes further than that, for when a man believes
upon Jesus, or on Jesus, he trusts Him, he rests himself upon Him for
the pardon of his sin. He relies upon the Savior's atoning Sacrifice
for eternal life. He rests upon the Savior's immortality for his
resurrection. He looks to the Savior's power for everything. He looks
to his Redeemer. He leans upon Him, he believes on Him. And this, mark
you, is essential to salvation, for we may believe Christ to be God and
yet perish! We may believe Christ to be the Great High Priest putting
away sin by His atoning Sacrifice and yet perish! The faith that saves
is a trustingfaith, a reliant faith, a sacred recumbency, confidence
and leaning upon the Lord Jesus Christ! Dear Hearer, do you possess it?
Has the Holy Spirit given to you to cast yourself once and for all upon
Him whom God has set forth to be a propitiation for sin?

If you have, surely you will, through Grace, proceed to the third form
of faith, you will believe Him–His Person as well as His words. You
will believe Him whatever He may say. You will believe Him whatever He
may do. You will be persuaded that He is, Himself, the essential Truth
of God, according to His own declaration, "I am the way, the truth, and
the life." And then you will know what Paul meant when he said, "I know
whom I have believed"–not "in whom"–but "whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto
Him." If you could have asked a true Believer, in Christ's day, "What
is your creed?" He would have pointed to His Master. He would not have
repeated certain articles of faith, but He would have said, "I believe
that glorious Man. My trust is in Him! I believe Him!" We have seen
many books labeled upon their backs, "Body of Divinity," but of a
truth, Jesus is the only real "Body of Divinity." If you want theology,
He is the true Theologos, the essential Word of God! It is a grand
thing when a man believes Jesus to be what Jesus is–a Savior from
sin–and then believes the Christ to be what Christ is–the Anointed of
the Lord and so makes Him to be his Alpha and Omega–all his salvation
and all his desire!

Divide yourselves upon this question as to how far you are Believers,
for we cannot assert that Christ is precious to you if you are not
Believers. We know He will not be your heart's Monarch if you have no
faith. He will be the very reverse! But if you are Believers in and
upon Him, He will be precious to you beyond all comparison!

II. Now let us consider THE BELIEVER'S APPRECIATION OF HIS MASTER and
observe, first, that every

Believer appreciates Christ Himself–His very Person–"Unto you
therefore who believe, He is precious." Some think the ordinances,
which they call the "sacraments," very precious. So they are, but only
for His sake. Others reckon the Doctrines to be very precious and
always thrust Doctrine into the forefront. We will not deny that every
Doctrine is precious, but it owes its value to the fact that Christ is
in it. Dry doctrine is nothing better than a sepulcher for a dead
Christ to be buried in–but the Doctrine preached in relation to His
Person becomes a Throne on which He is exalted! It is a great pity when
any of you Christians forget that you have a Savior who is alive and
overlook the personality of Christ. Remember that He is a real Man and
as a real Man on Calvary He died for you. And as a real Man He is gone
into Heaven. He is no ideal personage but an actualPerson and the very
marrow of Christian experience lies in the realization of the
personality of the Savior–"Unto you who believe, He is precious." If
you make Doctrine the main thing, you are very likely to grow
narrow-minded. If you make your own experience the main thing, you will
become gloomy and censorious of others. If you make ordinances the main
thing, you will be apt to grow merely formal. You can never make too
much of the living Christ Jesus! Remember that all other things are for
His sake. Doctrines and ordinances are the planets, but Christ is the
Sun! The stars of Doctrine revolve around Him as their great primal
light. Get to love Him best of all. Yes, I know you do if you are truly
believing in Him. You love the Doctrines and would not like to give one
of them up, but still, the Incarnate God is the sum and substance of
your confidence! Christ Jesus, Himself, is precious to you.

Now, as this appreciation concerns Christ, it may here be remembered
that it is, in the case of every Believer, a personal appreciation. As
we appreciate Christ's Person, so we each in person appreciate Him. We
do not pretend to appreciate Christ because others say that they do so.
Nor do we run with the multitude, but we judge for ourselves. Unto
those that believe in Him, Christ is precious on His own account, from
their own personal knowledge of Him. They have not borrowed it. They do
not cry, "Yes, He is precious," because their dear mother, who has gone
to Heaven, used to say so. Her memory helps them, but they have a
better reason than that. He is precious to them. Beloved, there is
nothing like personal religion. The religion which you inherit, if at
the same time it is not yours, personally, is not worth one single
penny. You will not be saved by hereditary godliness. If any man should
say, "My ancestors believed such-and-such, and therefore I do," that
would be a reason why we should be Druids, for our ancestors were such.
If our religion has come to us as an heirloom, like the family pew, or
the family plate–and we have merely taken it at secondhand, [See

Sermon #2624, Volume 45–SECONDHAND] it is of little or no account.

You must value Christ because you have tried Him and know Him for
yourself–for nothing short of a personal appreciation and a personal
appropriation of the Lord Jesus, by faith, to your own case, and in
your own heart–will ever bring you to Heaven! Everything short of
personal godliness falls short of eternal life. Remember that nobody
can be born-again for you. You yourselves must be regenerated. Nobody
can renounce "the pomp and vanities of the world" for you. Sponsorship
in religion is the most transparent of frauds. Nobody can love Christ
for you–your own heart must beat high with affection towards His dear
name! It must be a personal religion if it is to be of any value to
you.

As there must be an appreciation of the Person of the Lord Jesus by our
own selves, so, let me add, our experience must be the basis of that
estimate. Christ is precious to us, this day, because we have proved
Him to be precious. What has He done for us? He has delivered us,
first, from all the guilt of our past sins. You have not forgotten the
day when–

"Laden with guilt, and full of fears"– you crept to the foot of the
Cross and looked up and saw Him suffering there for you. And when you
believed in Him, the burden fell off your shoulders and you received a
liberty unknown before! Christ is very precious to the man who has once
felt the Word of the Law on his conscience. I wish that some people who
slight Him, had been cast where some of us once lay–in spiritual
wretchedness and deep depression of spirit. Oh, the misery of a
tortured conscience! We trembled in anticipation of the flames of Hell
when our sins stared us in the face–but in an instant, by virtue of
the application of the precious blood–fear was gone, guilt disappeared
and we were reconciled to God by Christ Jesus! Is He not precious if
this has been the case?

Beside this, He has emancipated us from the chains of sin. Before,
passions mastered us–the flesh stood at the helm and steered the
vessel which way it would. Sometimes a fierce self-will, at another
time the baser passions of the flesh ruled us. We could not overcome
ourselves! Satan and the flesh were tyrants over us! But now the vices
once so dear have become detestable, the chains of sin are broken and
we are the Lord's free men–and though sin strives to get the mastery
over us and we have much to mourn over–yet that same sword which has
slain some sins is close at the throat of others and, by Divine Grace,
we know that we shall slay them all before long! There is such a change
in the character of some in this place, to my knowledge, that Christ,
the Great Transformer, must be very precious to them! Once at the
ale-house where sinners congregate. Once frequenting nameless haunts of
vice. Once a swearer, once passionate, once dishonest, once a liar,
once everything that is evil! But now washed and sanctified, you cannot
but prize your Deliverer! Oh, when I meet the reformed drunk and when I
gaze into the face of the Magdalene who now rejoices to wash the
Savior's feet with her tears, I know that to such He is precious! A
renewed character going with pardoned sin, as it always does, endears
the Savior to the soul.

And, O Beloved, beside that, He is precious to us because He has
changed the whole bent and current of our thoughts. We were once
selfish and cared for nobody else. But since the Lord Jesus Christ has
saved us, we serve not self, but Christ. We do not now live to hoard
money, or to get ourselves honor, or even to save our own souls, for
that is completed–we now rise above the groveling love of self and our
whole being is devoted to Jesus! He is precious beyond all price, for
He has taught us to live for God's Glory and for the welfare of our
fellow men.

He is precious to us by experience because He has helped us in many a
dark hour of trial. I shall not tell you tonight how often He has
cheered me. If any spirit here is more than ordinarily inclined to
despondency, perhaps it is mine, but, ah, the sustaining influences of
the Presence of Christ! I can rise even to the seventh Heaven of
ecstasy when I do but fully come back to a simple faith in His precious
name! Some of us could not live without Jesus Christ. It has come to
this–it is Hell here if we do not have Christ with us. I remember
slipping the cable of my belief once and being driven out to sea before
a furious wind of doubt. At first I reveled in that speedy sailing
across a sea of fierce unbelief, but, ah, when I began to see where I
was going–and when I stood at the prow of the vessel and marked the
dreary cloud-land that lay before me–and knew not what rocks might be
ahead, I felt a horror of great darkness and cried for deliverance
right loudly! And I was glad when the anchor held fast, again, and my
dreadful cruise was over. On Christ my soul has a hold as tight as the
drowning man's death-grip and I cling with all my might to His
everlasting love, His personal love to my poor soul and to the merit of
His substitutionary Sacrifice on my behalf! Believe me, He is precious
to all whose whole mental thought has come to an anchorage in Him,
whose faculties feel that their utmost reach and stretch cannot go
beyond being for He is All in All. Yes, the text says, "Unto you
therefore who believe, He is precious."

Perhaps you imagine that I speak only of the past, as though Jesus had
been precious. I meant that, but He is precious now–"Unto you
therefore who believe, He is precious." When one of those saintly
martyrs had been tormented by persecutors, they said to him, "What can
Christ do for you now?" And he replied, "He can help me to bear with
patience that which you inflict upon me." When the murdered
Covenanter's head was carried by the dragoon to the poor bereaved wife
and he asked her what she thought of her husband's face, now, she said
that he never looked bonnier when he lived than he did now that he had
given up his life for Christ. Verily, we can say, today, that Christ
never looked bonnier than He does tonight, when we think of Him as
slain for us! We gladly sing that hymn–

"If ever I loved You, my Jesus, 'tis now." Some people grow less lovely
upon close acquaintance, but all lovers of Christ testify that His
beauties bear the closest inspection. Those who lie in His bosom the
longest love Him best–and those who have served Him 70 years are the
most fluent and also the most sincere in singing His praises! Oh, He is
a most precious Savior! Young man, do you trust Christ tonight? If you
do, He is precious to you–but if He is not precious to you, then you
have not believed in Him! May you be led to do so by the power of His
Spirit and then Christ will be precious to you indeed!

But I must add that although Christ is precious to us now on account of
past experience and present enjoyment, He is precious to us with a dash
of expectation. We expect to soon enter the cold shades of death and it
will be precious to have the Savior with us then. The question will
sometimes come over every thoughtful mind, "Shall we, after all, die
when we die? Are we like so many mites in a cheese and shall we soon be
crushed out of being and cease to be?" Oh, dark and dreary thought!
But, then, we remember that Jesus Christ arose from the dead and if any
historical fact is certain, that is! There may be doubts about whether
Caesar was slain by Brutus, or whether Alfred was ever king in England,
for there are no evidences one half so positive on those points as
those which prove the Resurrection of the Savior! I know not that
anybody died as a witness for Caesar's death, but many shed their blood
joyfully rather than deny that the Christ who was hanged upon the Cross
actually rose again from the tomb! In that fact lies our hope of
resurrection! A Man–a real Man who died on a tree–has risen from the
dead! And we are one with that glorious Man who was also God–and
because He lives, we shall also live! He is precious to us when we
think of dying, and that should not be seldom. We shall soon come to
it. Those who are strongest and most hale are nearing their last hour,
and those who are sickly are nearer still, it may be. Oh, it is sweet
to have Christ to live with, for then, let death come when it may, it
will be a joyful thing for us–and once reconciled to our Maker through
His Son, what have we to fear?

III. Lastly, we are to think of HOW BELIEVERS SHOW THEIR APPRECIATION
OF CHRIST.

Some Christians seldom acknowledge that they are such It is a beggarly
business to love Christ in a corner and to be ashamed to acknowledge
Him. He was never ashamed to confess Himself the sinners' Friend, yet
there are sinners who profess to be saved by Him who are ashamed to be
known as His followers. "Oh," says one, "if I were to say that I am a
follower of the Crucified and join His Church and people, I would
expect to be laughed at." And are you afraid of a fool's laughter? Was
Christ ashamed to be laughed at for you? Oh, coward, to be ashamed to
be ridiculed for Him! "Oh, but my friends would make such a hubbub at
home." And did not His friends, who should have helped Him, cast Him
out and reject Him? Yet He bore it for your sake. O craven spirits who
will not take sides with Jesus, take heed as to what will happen to you
when He comes, for those who deny Him before men shall be themselves
denied before God and the holy angels! This day the royal standard
floats in the breeze–let all who are on Christ's side rally to it, for
the hosts on the

other side are many and bold. The foes of Jesus insult Him to His face.
Some deny His Deity and others thrust a human "priest" into His place–

"You that are men now serve Him Against unnumbered foes! Your courage
rises with danger And strength to strength oppose."

If He is precious to you, you will never blush to be called a fool for
His sake!

Those who really judge Jesus to be precious rejoice in possessing Him.
I cannot understand those Christians who say, "Christ is ours," and yet
go fretting and worrying through life. Dear Brother, if Christ is
yours, you have no cause for fretting. "What, none?" asks one–"I am
very poor." You are not poor! He who can call Christ his own cannot be
poor! "But I am comfortless." How can that be when the Lord Jesus has
given you a Comforter? "But I am bereaved." Truly so, but you have not
lost your Lord! Come, dear Brother, if a man were to go through the
streets of London with twenty thousand pounds in his pocket and when he
reached the bank, found that a thief had stolen his cotton pocket
handkerchief, I think the reflection that would rise in his mind would
be, "Thank God I have not lost my money." And the very loss of his
handkerchief would only make him the more grateful that he had not lost
his treasure. Look on all things you have here as nothing compared with
Jesus, and say–

"How can I bereaved be Since I cannot part with Thee?"

If you esteem Christ as you should, you will refuse to give Him up at
any cost–and under any circumstances you will hold to what you
believe. You will have to suffer loss, it may be, in social position or
in business. Very well, do it gladly and only wish you could suffer
more for His dear sake! One might almost envy the martyrs, that they
could earn that ruby crown which is not now within our reach. Let us,
at any rate, be willing to take such little rebukes and rebuffs as may
be given us for Christ's sake. If you love Jesus Christ, my Brothers
and Sisters, you will be willing to make sacrifices for His cause. I
wish this spirit were abroad throughout all the Church, that Christ was
really so precious to saints that they consecrated themselves and their
substance to Him. We need personal consecration! I have heard that word
pronounced "purse-and-all consecration," certainly a most excellent
pronunciation! He who loves Jesus consecrates to Him all that he has
and feels it a delight that he may lay anything at the feet of Him who
laid down His life for us!

Once more, he who really has this high estimate of Jesus will think
much of Him. And as the thoughts are sure to run over at the mouth, he
will talk much of Him. Do we talk so? If Jesus is precious to you, you
will not be able to keep your good news to yourself–you will be
whispering it into your child's ear, you will be telling it to your
husband, you will be earnestly imparting it to your friends! Without
the charms of eloquence, you will be more than eloquent–your heart
will speak and your eyes will flail as you talk of His sweet love!
Every Christian here is either a missionary or an impostor–remember
that you are either trying to spread abroad the Kingdom of Christ, or
else you do not love Him at all! It cannot be that there is a high
appreciation of Jesus and a totally silent tongue about Him! Of course
I do not mean by that, that those who use the pen for Christ are
silent–they are not. And those who help others to use the tongue, or
spread that which others have written, are doing their part well. But I
mean this–that man who says, "I believe in Jesus," but does not think
enough of Jesus to ever tell another about Him, by mouth, or pen, or
tract is an impostor! You are either doing good, or you are not
yourself good. If you know Christ, you are as one who has found honey
and you will call others to taste it. You are like the lepers who found
the food which the Syrians had cast away–and you will go into Samaria
and tell the hungry crowd that you have found Jesus–and are anxious
that they should find Him too! Be wise in your generation and speak of
Him in fitting ways and at fitting times–and so in every place
proclaim the fact that Jesus is most precious to your soul!

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: 1 PETER 2.

Verse 1. Therefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and
hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking. This is what we are to
lay aside, to put away from us, to banish altogether. These are the old
garments of the flesh which we are

to give up to the moths that they may devour them and leave not a
fragment of the old rags for us to wear. "Laying aside all malice." Has
anybody injured you? Are you angry with him because of what he has done
to you? Freely forgive the injury and wholly forget it. "And all
guile." That is everything that is of the nature of craftiness and
deception. Be honest, simple, straightforward, transparent–this is a
trait of character which well becomes all Christians. "And hypocrisies"
of all sorts. Let us not profess to be what we are not, nor pretend to
know what we do not know, or talk of experiences which we have never
felt. In fact, let us never be hypocrites in any respect whatever . The
God of Truth loves His children to be the embodiments of truth.
Hypocrisy He hates with a perfect hatred. "And envies." We must lay
them all aside–all envies of men because they are richer, or more
gifted, or more highly esteemed than we are. Let us not envy anybody,
for envy eats a man's own heart out and slays him, as Eliphaz said to
Job, "Envy slays the silly one." "And all evil speaking." We are not to
be the repeaters of stories to the discredit of others, or to make up
or to exaggerate any evil reports concerning anything in their lives.
Let us have nothing to do with "evil speaking" of any kind. Lay all
these rags aside. Is any one of them still clinging to you? Let it be
laid aside this very hour!

2. As newborn babies, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that you may
grow thereby. The unadulterated "milk of the Word" is the best food for
those who are, spiritually, "newborn babies." Desire this unadulterated
milk of the Word not out of an idle curiosity–but that you may grow
thereby, that you may grow wiser, holier, more earnest, more like your
Savior–that you may grow up into the likeness of Him whose you are,
and whom you serve.

3. If you have so tasted that the Lord is gracious. [See Sermons #459,
Volume 8–A SERMON FOR MEN OF TASTE and #2168, Volume 36– THE TEST OF
TASTE] If you have spiritually tasted this great Truth

of God, you have the flavor of it upon your palate so that it makes you
long for more of it.

4. To whom coming. [See Sermon #1334, Volume 23–COMING–ALWAYS COMING]
That is, unto the Lord. And that name Peter evidently gives to Jesus
Christ and, therefore, we worship Him and call Him, each one for
himself or herself, even as Thomas did, "My Lord and my God." "To whom
coming."

5. As unto a living stone, disallowed instead ofmen, but chosen of God,
andprecious. "Chosen of God." The whole spiritual building is the
result of the election, the choice of God. Jesus Christ, the great
Foundation and the chief Cornerstone, is chosen of God–and all the
living stones that are built upon Him are also chosen of God. The whole
fabric is like the foundation upon which it is laid–"Chosen of God,
and precious"–precious to God and precious to us!

5. You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual horse, an holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by
Jesus Christ.We hear of certain persons being "ordained" first deacons
and then priests, but all who are truly in Christ–whether they are
men, or women, or children–are priests. We are "a holy priesthood" if
we are in Christ. [See Sermon #1376, Volume 23–THE TRUE PRIESTHOOD,
TEMPLE AND SACRIFICE] All the sacrifices that can now be offered are
spiritual sacrifices which are to be offered, not by a few special
persons set apart for that work, but by the whole company of God's
chosen people–and so they are "acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."

6. Therefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in
Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious: and he

that believes on Him shall not be confounded [See Sermon #1429, Volume
24–FAITH'S SURE FOUNDATION] Those who believe on Him are built upon
Him. They rest upon Him, they are cemented to Him and, being living
stones, they grow into Him and He grows into them–they participate in
His life and so the living Temple becomes one–the chosen men and women
who are the spiritual Temple in which God dwells upon earth. We need
not wonder if, like the chief Cornerstone, we are disallowed of men,
but we may rejoice that, like our Lord and Savior, we are "chosen of
God, and precious."

7. Unto you therefore who believe, He is precious.He is preciousness,
He is an honor, He is everything that is glorious to you. You can never
think highly enough of Him, or speak well enough concerning Him. All
the world beside may disallow Him, but unto you He is precious!

7, 8. But unto those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders
disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of
stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to those who stumble at the
Word, being disobedient whereunto also they were appointed.The ungodly
reject Him and regard Him as of no account, but God has made Him

"the head of the corner." And He has done more than that, He has made
Him "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" to them, "even to
those who stumble at the Word, being disobedient: whereunto also they
were appointed." That is a terrible Truth upon which I am not going to
speak just now, but I want you especially to note what an awful thing
it is for men to "stumble at the Word"–to hang themselves upon
Christ's Cross–to turn the heavenly medicine into poison–to make
Christ, Himself, who is to others, "the Savior of life unto life," to
be to them, "the Savior of death unto death." "Being disobedient." The
fault lies with themselves, they willfully disobey the command to
believe on Christ. "Whereunto also they were appointed." So the Divine
Purpose is accomplished, although the guilt and punishment of their
disobedience rest upon themselves alone.

9. But you are a chosen generation. There is the contrast between the
disobedient and all true Believers. "You" have the chosen Savior to be
the chief Cornerstone upon whom "you" who are living stones are to be
built up into "a spiritual house," which is to be the abiding place of
the Most High God.

9. A royal priesthood. "You" are to be like Melchisedec, in whom the
two offices of priest and king were combined in one person. More than
that, "you" are to be like your Lord in respect to His royal
priesthood. That He should have "loved us, and washed us from our sins
in His own blood, and made us kings and priests unto God and His
Father," seems to be an honor which is far too high for us. It appears
to bring us almost too near our Lord, yet it is not so, for Peter wrote
under Divine Inspiration, "You are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood."

9. An holy nation, a peculiar people, that you should show forth the
praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous
light God's Grace has been bestowed upon you in order that you may show
forth His praises. Or, as the marginal reading puts it, His "virtues."
Note what the Lord has done for you–He has called you "out of
darkness" into light, into His light, "into His marvelous light." There
are three thoughts there that are beautifully blended into one. What
marvelous light that is into which God calls us! Try to measure it by
the darkness in which you were! Try to measure it by the deeper
darkness into which you were going! Try to measure it by the eternal
darkness which would have fallen upon you if you had died in the dark.
God has graciously brought you into His

marvelous light! [See Sermon #2765, Volume 48–MARVELOUS LIGHT]

10. Who in timespast were not a people, but are now thepeople of God:
who hadnot obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.How the Apostle
delights to set forth these contrasts between the past and the present
of the Lord's chosen people! By remembering what we were, we are made
to appreciate and enjoy more what we now are. We may well praise Him
who has worked this wondrous change in us. We were not His people, we
were sinners of the Gentiles, not the chosen Hebrew race. In times
past, we were not worthy to be called a people, but we are now the
people of God. We had not obtained mercy, we had not even asked for
it–some of us were so blinded by our self-righteousness that we did
not know that we needed God's mercy, or did not want it! But now we
have obtained mercy.

11. Dearly Beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain
from fleshly lusts which war against the soul Fleshly lusts always hurt
the soul. They do serious injury to the body, for they are contrary to
the laws of health. But the main point for you to consider is that they
"war against the soul." No men or women can ever commit an act of
uncleanness of the body without grievously injuring the soul. It leaves
a weakness, a defilement, a wound, a scar upon the soul–so may God
graciously keep us from it altogether!

12. Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that whereas
they speak against you as evildoers. This they are sure to do and the
more holy your life is, the more they will probably speak against you.
Even if you could live like an angel, some would call you a devil! But
you are not to be judged by men's judgment, thank God for that, and so
live, "that whereas they speak against you as evildoers."

12, 13. They may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify
God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinances of
man for the Lord's sake. "We are to obey kings, and governors, and
magistrates, even when they may not be all that we wish them to
be–"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake."

13-15. Whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as
unto them that are sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers, and for
the praise of them that do well For so is the will of God, that with
well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.
Ignorance, you see, is a noisy thing. An empty drum makes a loud noise
when it is beaten. And empty men, like empty vessels, often make the
most sound. How, then, are we to silence this noisy

ignorance? By argument? No, for it is not amenable to argument.
Ignorance is to be silenced "by well doing." Holy

living is the best reply to infidel talking!

16. As free. For there are no others under Heaven so free as God's
servants are! "As free"–

16. And not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the
servants of God. Not talking about liberty in

order to stab at order. Not prating about liberty with the design of
enriching yourself by robbing someone else. That is

not God's will, but "using your liberty…as the servants of God"
should use it.

17. Honor all men. Whoever they may be, be courteous, respectful, kind
to all men because they are men. Whatever their circumstances, they are
men. Therefore "honor all men."

17-19. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Servants, be
subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle,
but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for
conscience toward God endures grief, suffering wrongfully.Not always
"sticking up for his rights," as an ungodly man says, but feeling that
the greatest right in the world is the right to do without your rights!
To suffer wrongfully will often glorify God much better than to stand
up for what you have a right to be or to have.

20. For what glory is it, if when you are buffeted for your faults, you
shall take it patiently? But if, when you do well, and suffer for it,
you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. It may be hard to
bear, but in that very hardness lies much of the fragrance of it
towards God. As spices must be bruised, so must you be pressed and
crushed to bring out your sweetness. If you want to be where there is
nothing to suffer and no wrong to be endured, you are in the wrong
world for that as yet–that will be in the world to come!

21. For even hereunto were you called. Called to do right and to suffer
for it! Ah me, what a call is that!

21-23. Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example,
thatyou should follow His steps; who didno sin, neither was guile found
in His mouth: who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; and when He
suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judges
righteously: who in His own Self bore our sins [See Sermons #2790,
Volume 48–

OUR LORD'S SUBSTITUTION, #2887, Volume 50–A DIRE DISEASE STRANGELY
CURED and #1143, Volume 19–DEATH FOR SIN AND DEATH TO SIN] in his own
body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,

should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed. For
you were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd
and Bishop of your souls.