He Lives to Build His Spiritual Temple

The Christian church is in trouble. No one can doubt that in the previous century the church stained more glass, laid more brick, laid more carpet, and spent more money than at any other time in the history of Christianity. Yet over the past five decades, church membership in all kinds of Christian churches has been shrinking like a dandelion sprayed with Weed-B-Gon. Mission expansion is down.  While it is true that our church is doing mission work in 45 countries with 49 missionaries, with prospective new missions in 18 new countries—these numbers are down from the time when Pastor Hering was a missionary in Japan when we had over 70 world missionaries.  And we’ve all heard about the shortage of pastors in our churches, with about 130 of our 1,250 churches without a pastor today.  Most of us here today can tell stories about how the church’s influence is dropping like a barbell in Lake Ray Hubbard.  Why do you suppose this is?  I think you would agree that more and more people are viewing the church as a “harmless little institution” only needed so they can be hatched, matched, and dispatched.  Or as some would say, “Sprinkled three times, with water, with rice, and with dust.”  In their opinion the church is interested mainly in preserving itself, asking people for money, and has outlived its usefulness.  How many people do you know that when you talk to them about coming to church all they do is give you a great big, gaping yawn.

It’s in these challenging times that God has called us to live. The big question is, “Can the Christian church still make a difference in people’s lives?” Humanly speaking, the answer depends to a large extent on how you understand your God-given role as a member of God’s Church. That’s why today’s reading from the Apostle Peter’s first letter is so soul-searching and practical for you and me.  The Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul to write down this Word of God to make it perfectly clear that

Jesus Lives To Build His Spiritual Temple

Built With Living Stones

Today when you heard the word, “Identity” in the news it usually has to do with gender.    Webster gives this definition for the word, identity.  “the condition of being oneself, and not another.”  So, have you ever struggled with your identity?  For instance, some people talk about teens who wrestle with self-esteem.  They want to know who they are and how they fit into their culture and surroundings. So, let’s be honest, we’ve all been there and maybe still are there.  You can try to point to your upbringing or to past mistakes that leave you empty and feeling guilty, but one way or another, when we take a look inside ourselves, we might have some days when we’re feeling pretty good about ourselves.  But, then on other days we aren’t too pleased with what we see, and some days we’re downright disgusted. “How can I be who I want to be when others keep pushing me down?” “How can I be who I want to be when I keep shooting myself in the foot by shooting off my mouth?”  St Peter has something to say in this regard.

First, let’s remember that this letter was originally written to the scattered, tattered Christians of Asia Minor (modern Turkey).  As Christians they were harassed and hassled, taunted and terrorized. They had lost their status in society and had to accept a lower standing in their neighborhoods all because they confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord. They were degraded, demoralized, and ready to give up hope. They needed more than a little “pick-me-up” because of who they identified with, Jesus.  It was a tough cross they were bearing and they needed a whole new lease on life.

What better way to do that than for the apostle to proclaim their real status, not the opinion of pollsters and pundits but the opinion of the Chairman of the Board of the Universe who also just happens to be the Lord of the Church? “— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.”  I must confess that when I began to think about this business of people being like stones built into a house, a rather unpleasant image came to mind. The only people I know who are like stones built into a house are the ones who are dead, laid out flat on slabs of cement, and slid into place in the wall of a mausoleum.  But that’s not what is stated here. Peter wrote, “You also, [are] like living stones,” living because “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ”  You know who that stone is—Jesus Christ! He had been rejected by the religious leaders of his day. They wanted to build a kingdom according to their own blueprints. But God turned the tables on them. They ended up tripping over the stone they rejected to their eternal harm. [This is what happens] “to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” ⁸ and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall…. They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.”  The Lord God kept his promise to send the Messiah—the cornerstone of the Holy Christian Church, but due to their rejection of Jesus Christ they fell under his eternal condemnation.

Yet, even while this unbelief of happening, and in spite of the fact that they killed him, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” of God’s spiritual temple—of all believers from Adam and Eve to you and me.  Do you hear echoes of the Easter message?  Jesus was rejected and crucified, but he is the living stone who rose from the dead.  Jesus is the cornerstone that supports God’s spiritual temple and gives direction to its walls, all by God’s design as Peter quoted from Isaiah 28:16: “⁶ For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” The Christians of Asia Minor may have been put to shame by their neighbors, but they never would experience the ultimate shame of standing before God with all their sins exposed. Jesus died on the cross to wash away all their sins. They may not have had status in society, but they had status with God, “being built into a spiritual house.”  And just where is this spiritual house?  God’s temple exists wherever his gospel is proclaimed, and where baptism and the Lord’s Supper are celebrated. That’s because these are the tools the Holy Spirit uses to create faith in the hearts of people.  This means God’s temple is in human hearts, in Garland, Rockwall, Camp Shiloh, Sachse, in your heart and mine. Praise be to God!  Jesus Lives to Build Us, His Living Stones, Into His Living Temple. 

(Transition) But, just like the Christian church is facing its challenges today, the Israelites had their own challenges.  After 1,500 years of seeing the tabernacle and the temple served by Levites and priests, they would have had a very hard time envisioning God’s temple without seeing a very honored group of people hard at work, the priests. So, the apostle picks up that image, too.  Jesus Lives to Build His Temple With Living Stones….

To Be a Holy Priesthood

The Apostle Peter shares this thought. “⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.”  Scripture gives many titles to Christians.  We are called children in God’s family, laborers in God’s vineyard, branches on a heavenly vine, and one of my favorites—we are called citizens of a heavenly kingdom.  But the title which Peter uses for us is probably the least understood.  We all get it that Pastor Hering could be called a “priest.”  But how is it that Peter calls you and me a “priest”?

Among the ancient Israelites, the priests were the only ones with direct access to God—as we think about Aaron, the first High Priest, who could go into the Holy of Holies before God’s ark of the covenant where God would show himself as a pillar of smoke fire.  If you brought an sacrifice to the Lord, it would be handed over to the priest who would offer it on the altar for you.  Being a priest was the ultimate position of honor, set apart from every-day folks.  Every Old Testament believer understood, “The way to God is through a priest.” We know from history that the church of the Middle Ages tried to perpetuate the role of priests as a special class of people who supposedly were the only ones with direct access to God. What a bomb Martin Luther exploded five hundred years ago when he discovered through his study of Scripture and announced in his classroom and from his pulpit that every Christian is a priest of God, that every Christian has direct access to God because Jesus’ sacrifice gave them that status and identity!  Through faith in Jesus Christ our identity is a child of God with direct access to God!  Listen how Peter describes our identity: “⁷ Now to you who believe,…. you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.”  Jesus Lives To Build His Spiritual Temple With Royal Priests Like You and Me!  

Knowing our identity is in Christ as his Royal Priests gives us a whole new attitude toward life!  Dear Christian Friends, if you are going to have patience and yet a firm resolves to deal with those who have shallow attitudes toward God’s Word, if you are going to proclaim the good news about Jesus in spite of social opposition, if you are going to make a difference in your home with your spouse, your children, your neighbors, and your Facebook & Twitter friends, then you first of all need to remember who you are. You are a royal priest, built into his spiritual temple.

Knowing who we are in Christ also comes with knowing our responsibilities as his royal priests.  Have you thought of this? God did not wipe our slate clean so that we can lean back like a sunbather on a beach and soak in the rays of his Son only to fall asleep while the tide of evil washes in and pulls us and others into the murky sea of sin with the undertow of Satan’s clever “we’re-OK-and-don’t-need-to-be-on-guard” attitude. He not only removed the guilty verdict that hung over our heads but also freed us from its power to serve him. He not only gives us the status of being priests but also gives us the power to live as priests. 

“⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…..  ⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

“Offering sacrifices….and…declaring his praises” may strike you as a daunting task.  However, the Lord never calls a person to do a job for him without equipping that person to do the job. Jesus Christ has supplied all we need.  First remember that the Lord has graciously “called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” You have been pardoned for all your sins.  You are free from Satan’s control.  You have a new purpose in life….to do everything to the glory of God.  Now what resources has the Lord given you to do this? Jesus is your strength.  Jesus loves you and the people you meet.  Remember, God has not called us to be failures.  Jesus promises, “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit” (John 15:5).  We often call our service to God as his priests the doctrine of vocation.  Martin Luther explained it like this:

“The whole world abounds with services to the Lord – not only in churches but also in the home, kitchen, workshop, and field.”

There are many places where we serve as God’s royal priesthood to bear fruit, for instance, right here at Divine Peace.  We give glory to God when we willingly give time and energy in service through our church—which is vital for a healthy congregation.  But there’s more to priesthood than what happens at church. Mothers have a huge impact on their kids, partnering with family to model what it means to love hearing from the Savior and talking about what he did on the cross and outside his tomb. Single people work wonders in their circle of friends by offering a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, a heart full of concern, fingers on a keyboard sharing links to messages that comfort and console. Kids and teens get their classmates attention in a positive way by humbling sharing Jesus’ love with them.  Can you imagine the reaction of someone who says to you that their life’s goal is to be comfortable and make lots of money and you say, “Your life’s goal might be to make money. Mine is to share Jesus’ forgiving love with others, and I’m planning on attending our church this Sunday to be encouraged by my Savior’s love for me!”  Talk about being a priest in service to God!  Wow!

The message about what Jesus did always leads to the mission Jesus gives. On the first Easter the angels said to the women at the tomb, “Come and see,” and then, “Go and tell” (Matthew 28:6-7). That’s exactly what Peter meant when he told his readers about spiritual sacrifices, not sacrifices to pay for sin – that’s done – but sacrifices of thanks, “declaring the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  Yes, Jesus Lives to Build His Temple With Living Stones To Be a Holy Priesthood in Service to Him.

When we hear statistics about the decline of the Christian church it is concerning for us.  But, that doesn’t mean our service and sacrifices to God are worthless.  We have Jesus!  With Jesus the Christian Church is still relevant in the twenty-first century!  With Jesus the Christian Church makes a difference in people’s lives?  Why?  Because Jesus Christ identified himself with you so you can identify with him.  You and I can make a difference in other people’s lives!  Jesus Christ is the Savior of all, and all are included in his promise of love.  And since there is no other name under heaven by which we are saved, and those who don’t believe it are missing out, we have work to do. You and me, God’s Royal Priests, together with our pastors are just the ones to do it.  Let’s go.  Let’s act.  Let’s pray. Let’s give. Let’s speak up.  For Jesus died and is alive to Build His Spiritual Temple with Living Stones like you and me to Be A Holy Priesthood in Service to the Kingdom of God!  Amen!