Last Sunday we continued with our sermon series on 1 Peter which we began the previous week. In this second week of this study, our topic was once again – the call to holiness. You may recall that in week one we heard Peter issue that call in 1 Peter 1:15, “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” Last week we focused on personal holiness and the call to embody the character of God in our personal lives.
This week, our focus shifts. We read in 2:9 “for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession.” In Exodus 19:6 the Lord told the people through Moses, “And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ ” This is a continuation of God’s vision for redeeming the world that was shared with Abram in Genesis 12:2 “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.” God’s plan for rescuing humanity from the effects of sin and disobedience was to bless one man and his family so that they would become a blessed and holy nation that God would then use to bless all the nations. They were blessed so that they would be a blessing. In 1 Peter, we see that God’s vision continues with the church. He sets apart the church and blesses them so they would be a blessing to others. By the power of the Holy Spirit who makes us holy, God uses the church to reach people so that by believing in Jesus they are also redeemed, blessed, and made holy.
Peter makes a beautiful connection between the Spirit’s work of bringing holiness into individual lives and His work in creating a holy people. He says that each believer is a living stone and that these living stones are brought together to build a spiritual house. The cornerstone of this spiritual house is Jesus.
As Methodists, we joyfully embrace the call to personal holiness and the call to be a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We call this second call to holiness, “social holiness”. Just like the priests who served in the Temple, we are called to mediate between God andthe people. As a holy people we are called to embody the character of God and represent God to a hurting and broken world. As people who have been brought out of darkness into God’s marvelous light, we are called to help others do the same.
Over the next several Sundays we will be talking more about social holiness and what life looks like as a holy people. Are you seeing the beauty of our call to holiness and embracing it in your life? Lakewood Methodist Church is engaged in many different ministries that we could not do apart from each other but together as a holy people, God is using us to accomplish His plan. It’s an exciting time to be God’s holy people.
