How Firm a Foundation

Pastor Don Carpenter / General

Not From Around Here: The Complicated Life of a Sojourner / Foundation; Rock; Jesus / 1 Peter 2:4

 A sailor in a shipwreck was thrown upon a rock where he clung in great danger until the tide went down. Later a friend asked him, “Jim, didn’t you shake with fear when you were hanging on that rock?”

“Yes, but the rock didn’t,” was the significant reply. Christ is the Rock of Ages.

—Sabbath Reading

A building is only as stable as the foundation upon which it was built. Faith is only profitable if the object of that faith is truly trustworthy. It is all about the foundation.

As we continue our series “Not From Around Here: The Complicated Life of a Sojourner” we come to 1 Peter 2:1-4.

1 Peter 2:1–4 KJV

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 

If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 

To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

Last week the subject how to develop a healthy appetite for God’s Word by getting rid of the junk food of worldly cravings. Verse three Peter tells us that we should do that if indeed, or since, we have tasted that the Lord is Gracious.

The thought of the Lord Jesus and His grace causes the Apostle to go down a wonderful pathway of thought about Jesus, the foundation of everything that he has been discussing so far. Jesus is the author if salvation. Jesus is the one who secured eternal life and waits for us in Heaven. Jesus is the one who shed his precious blood for us. Jesus, THE WORD, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus is the reason we can and should lay aside the junk food of lust and feast on His perfect truth. Jesus is the reason for it all. Jesus is the bedrock upon which everything rests, and how firm a foundation it is!

Jesus, the Living Stone

1 Peter 2:4a

To whom coming, as unto a living stone…

Living Hope

1 Peter 1:3 KJV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Living Word

1 Peter 1:23 KJV

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Constant Communion

The words “to whom coming” in the Greek text do not refer to the initial act of the sinner coming to the Lord Jesus for salvation, but indicate a close and habitual approach and an intimate association made by faith when the believer realizes the presence of and seeks communion and fellowship with his Lord.

Foundation Stone

1 Corinthians 3:11 KJV

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Matthew 16:18 KJV

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

1 Corinthians 10:4 KJV

And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Jesus the Rejected Stone

1 Peter 2:4b

To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men

The word “disallowed” is the translation of a word that refers to the act of putting someone or something to the test for the purpose of putting one’s approval upon that person and thus receiving him, this act of testing being carried to the point where no further testing is needed, with the result that one comes to the settled conclusion that the one tested does not meet the requirements of the test and is therefore disapproved, repudiated. This Living Stone in the Person of God the Son became incarnate, lived for thirty-three years in the midst of Israel, offered Himself as its Messiah, was examined by official Israel for the purpose of approving Him as its Messiah, and then repudiated because He was not what official Israel wanted in a Messiah. What a commentary on the totally depraved condition of man’s heart.

John 1:10–11 KJV

He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 

He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Psalm 118:22 KJV

The stone which the builders refused Is become the head stone of the corner.

Acts 4:11 KJV

This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

Hebrews 4:15 KJV

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus the Precious Stone.

1 Peter 2:4 KJV

To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious

The word “chosen” is not a verb in the Greek text but a noun, literally “a chosen-out one,” thus “elect.” “Precious” is the translation of a Greek word used in Luke 7:2, describing the centurion’s servant as “dear” to him. The word speaks of one being held in honor and as dear to another. “Of God” is literally “in the sight of God.”1

1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 53.

Isaiah 28:16 KJV

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, A tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: He that believeth shall not make haste.

The First Epistle of Peter 4. Christian Identity (2:1–10)

But the foundation, the cornerstone of the temple of God is Jesus, who, far from being rejected, is a choice or select stone, a precious or valuable stone, even if the world does not yet share that valuation. This is the one to whom they have come and whose dual fate they share.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 4:31 PM April 8, 2020.

Junk Food Addiction

Pastor Don Carpenter / General

Not From Around Here: The Complicated Life of a Sojourner / Repentance; Read; Bible

 Several years ago, park rangers in the Grand Canyon National Park had to kill over two dozen mule deer, because they became hooked on junk food left by visitors to the park – things like potato chips, cheese curls, and candy.

Once they got a taste of the sugar and salt, the deer developed an extreme addiction and went to any lengths to eat only junk food. As a result, the animals ignored the food they needed, leaving them in poor health and on the edge of starvation. Their junk food cravings caused them to lose their natural ability to digest vegetation. One park ranger called the junk food “the crack cocaine of the deer world.” (Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Spring 1995, www.PreachingToday.com)

So it is when we ingest thoughts of sweet revenge, bitter treachery, sugar-coated hypocrisy, sour envy, and acidic slander. Such a diet keeps us from hungering for the things of God.

As we continue our series “Not From Around Here: The Complicated Life of a Sojourner”, we discover that Peter has turned his focus from the beauty of being Born Again, to the Beauty of the Word that wrought that Saving faith within us.

1 Peter 1:23 KJV

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

This evening’s text comes from chapter 2.

1 Peter 2:1–3 KJV

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 

If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

These three verses are one sentence that refers back to verse 23 of chapter. Since we have once tasted the pure Word of God, but later developed an appetite for spiritual junk food, we need to put away the garbage and once again develop a craving for the pure milk of the Word. We need to break our Spiritual Junk Food Addiction.

You Once Had A Healthy Appetite.

1 Peter 2:3 KJV

If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament 8. The Believer-Priest’s Spiritual Food (2:1–5)

The “if” is a fulfilled condition. They as newborn babes had tasted the Word of God, and had found in it that the Lord was gracious. The word “gracious” is the translation of a Greek word used in Luke 5:39 where it is translated “better.” The word means literally, “excellent.”

 • Remember the Convicting Power of the Word

 • Remember the Enlightening power of the Word.

 • Remember when you used to get truths you could use from preaching and teaching.

 • You once had a taste for grace.

Get Rid of the Junk Food that Has Spoiled Your Spiritual Appetite.

1 Corinthians 3:1–3 KJV

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 

I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

1 Peter 2:1 KJV

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament 8. The Believer-Priest’s Spiritual Food (2:1–5)

“WHEREFORE” goes back to the fact of the new life imparted (1:23), and argues in 2:1–3 that therefore a new kind of experience is demanded of the believer. “Laying aside” is from a participle that has imperative force. In view of the fact that divine life has been imparted to the believer, it is imperative that he “put away once for all” any sins that may be in his life. The preposition prefixed to the verb implies separation. The believer is commanded to separate himself from sin. This act of separating himself from sin must be a once for all action, as the tense of the participle suggests. There must be a complete right-about face.

 • Malice = any kind of wickedness

 • Guile = “To catch with bait” – Craftiness

 • Hypocrisies – judgement from behind a mask- the true identity of the person is covered up… impersonation or deception

• Envy – Jealousy

 • Evil Speakings = speaking down – the act of defaming or slandering

Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament 8. The Believer-Priest’s Spiritual Food (2:1–5)

Peter then singles out five sins that the recipients of this letter were guilty of. The Greek word translated “malice” refers to any kind of wickedness. “Guile” is the translation of a word which in its verb form means “to catch with bait,” and in the noun which Peter uses means “craftiness.” The word “hypocrisies” is the transliteration of the Greek word hupokriseis (??????????) which means literally “to judge under,” as a person giving off his judgment from behind a screen or mask. The true identity of the person is covered up. It refers to acts of impersonation or deception. It was used of an actor on the Greek stage. Taken over into the New Testament, it referred to a person we call a hypocrite, one who assumes the mannerisms, speech, and character of someone else, thus hiding his true identity. Christianity requires that believers should be open and above-board. They should be themselves. Their lives should be like an open book, easily read. The word “evil speakings” are in the Greek text “speaking down” a person, referring to the act of defaming, slandering, speaking against another.

Develop a Healthy Craving For The Word.

1 Peter 2:2 KJV

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament 8. The Believer-Priest’s Spiritual Food (2:1–5)

“Newborn babes” is from the Greek word brephos (??????), used only here in the New Testament in its metaphorical sense. Luke uses it (2:16) of the babe in the manger. In classical Greek it was used of a babe at the breast. Peter probably took the figure from Isaiah 28:9, “Whom will he teach knowledge? Them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts.” The recipients of this letter are called just-born infants, speaking of the recency of the Christian life in their case.

Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament 8. The Believer-Priest’s Spiritual Food (2:1–5)

The Greek word translated “desire” speaks of an intense yearning. That which they are exhorted to have is an intense yearning for milk. The word “sincere” is from the same Greek word translated in 2:1, “guile,” but with the Greek letter Alpha prefixed which makes the word mean the opposite to what it meant before. It is guileless milk, thus unadulterated. It has nothing added to it. The Word of God has no ulterior motives like so many human teachings, but has for its only purpose that of nourishing the soul

Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament 8. The Believer-Priest’s Spiritual Food (2:1–5)

 The word “milk” here does not refer to that part of the Word of God which is in contrast to the meat or solid food of the Word as in Hebrews 5:13, 14, but to the Word of God in general. The words “that ye may grow thereby” could also be rendered “in order that ye might be nourished up.” There is a phrase in the Greek text not brought out in the translation, “resulting in your making progress in your salvation.”

Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament 8. The Believer-Priest’s Spiritual Food (2:1–5)

The prerequisite to the act of intensely yearning for the Word of God is the act of once for all putting sin out of our lives. Sin in the life destroys the appetite for the Word. The Christian who tries to find satisfaction in the husks of the world, has no appetite left for the things of God. His heart is filled with the former and has no room for the latter. A healthy infant is a hungry infant. A spiritually healthy Christian is a hungry Christian. This solves the problem of why so many children of God have so little love for the Word.

Once you have broken the addiction to spiritual junk food, you will be able to re-train your appetite for Healthy Food found in the Word of God.

 A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion. Evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about him in his book The Wonders of the Word of God. The victim’s face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible.

 Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion. One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had “read” through the entire Bible four times.

 How many of you can say you’ve read through the Bible four times—with two good eyes? This man had a craving—and even losing his eyesight wouldn’t prevent him from reading God’s Word.

Source: From a sermon by Larry Wise, Craving Soul Food, 2/24/2010

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 4:49 PM April 1, 2020.

Next Level Love

Pastor Don Carpenter / General

Not From Around Here: The Complicated Life of a Sojourner. / Agape; Love; Power / 1 Peter 1:22–25

John 15:13 KJV

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Various persons have observed that no one has any more religion than he or she can demonstrate in an emergency. This was certainly true of Arland D. Williams, Jr., a bank examiner with the Federal Reserve System in Atlanta, who was aboard the ill-fated Boeing 737 that crashed in the frigid Potomac River shortly after taking off from Washington’s National Airport, January 13, 1982.

Identification of the hero was announced in June of 1983. Representatives from the Coast Guard said when a helicopter lowered a line to survivors, Williams indicated he was trapped (it was later discovered his seat belt was jammed) and passed “the line on to other injured persons.” By his not grabbing the rescue line, thus saving valuable time, other passengers were saved.

In presenting the medal to Williams’s mother, Virginia L. Williams, Mattoon, Illinois, his teenage son, Arland D. Williams, III, and daughter, Leslie Ann Williams, President Reagan said: “You can live with tremendous pride in your father.” (Read John 15:13).1

1 G. Curtis Jones, 1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1986), 49.

How does one cultivate the unnatural act of selfless love? Sure we know that Christians should love selflessly, but how can we reprogram our minds to have that kind of self sacrificial love?

We have been studying 1 Peter chapter 1 and discovering that we believers in Jesus are sojourners. We are called by a higher calling, to an inheritance that is reserved, guarded by God Himself.  

We saw that since we were redeemed with the Blood of Jesus we should live as stewards of that salvation.

Tonight we discover that since we have been Born Again, by the Power of the Word of God, we need to take our love to the next level.

(Show the two words for Love in 1 Peter 1:22)

Brotherly Love Is A Natural Result of Salvation.

1 Peter 1:22 KJV

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

You have already purified your souls through obedience.

James 4:8 KJV

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

1 John 3:3 KJV

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

 In Old Testament purity laws, people purified themselves from defilement by ceremonial bathing; although Judaism continued to practice literal ceremonial washings, it often used the image of washing figuratively for spiritual or moral purification (as occasionally in Old Testament prophets, e.g., Is 1:16; Jer 2:22; 4:14).1

1 Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 1 Pe 1:22.

 The words “have purified” are from a perfect tense verb in the Greek. That is, a past completed process, that of a consistent, habitual obedience to the Word, had resulted in the purifying of their souls as they obeyed, with the result that their souls were in a present state of purification. They also rectified an existing evil practice in their lives, that of a hypocritical affection for their Christian brethren. The lesson for us is that when we obey God’s Word, our heart-life is being purified, and this purification puts sin out of our experience.1

1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 47.

Brotherly Love is a Natural Response to this Obedience.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 KJV

And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:

The recipients of this letter had purified their souls with the result that they came to love their Christian brethren with an unfeigned love, the implication being clear that at one time these Christians were guilty of feigning love for certain of their brothers in Christ. The word “unfeigned” is the translation of the Greek word from which we get our word “hypocrite,” with the letter Alpha prefixed which makes it mean “not a hypocrite.” The Greek word for “hypocrite” was used of an actor on the Greek stage, one who played the part of another. The word means literally, “to judge under,” and was used of someone giving off his judgment from behind a screen or mask. Some of these to whom Peter was writing, had put a mask of feigned love over their usual countenances when associating with certain others of their brethren.1

1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 45.

Believers are Commanded to Practice Agape Love without Hypocrisy.

1 Peter 1:22

…see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

 To those who were now loving their brethren in the sense of a fondness and affection for them, God gives the exhortation, “See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.” The question arises, “Why does God exhort those to love one another who are already loving one another?” The answer is found in the use of another distinctive word for “love,” agape (?????), which Peter uses. This word speaks of a love which in its classical usage refers to a love called out of one’s heart by the preciousness of the person loved, which usage is carried over into the New Testament, but which word has an additional content of meaning poured into it by the way it is used in certain contexts such as John 3:16, where the idea of self-sacrifice for the benefit of the person loved is added to its classical meaning, I Corinthians 13, where the constituent elements of its Biblical usage are listed, and I John 4:8, where it is said to refer to the love that God is.1

1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 47.

Pure Love Comes From The Pure Word

1 Peter 1:23–24 KJV

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

John 15:12 KJV

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

John 13:34 KJV

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Born Again Through an Incorruptible Word

 • God has protected His word from corruption.

 • Your salvation is based on that perfect word.

 • All other flesh fades and dies… the Bible you based your faith on remains perfect.

Isaiah 40:6–8 KJV

The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: Because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: Surely the people is grass. 

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: But the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Psalm 12:6–7 KJV

The words of the LORD are pure words: As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 

Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

Agape Love Comes From The Everlasting Word

1 Peter 1:25 KJV

But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Psalm 119:89 KJV

LAMED. For ever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven.

Because your salvation comes from an everlasting Word, you can have everlasting love.

1 Corinthians 13:7–8 KJV

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

Selflessness is an art. By nature none of us are really into it nor do we really aim to master it. It requires a change in us, something that puts away the old nature of selfishness and takes on a new nature of selflessness. Our nature is to keep “us” for us. Or, at the very least, share some but keep some. But, like that carbonated drink, sharing implies using, not retaining. To truly deny oneself, to die to oneself, requires an all or nothing effort.

In Ernest Gordon’s true account of life in a World War II Japanese prison camp, Through the Valley of the Kwai, there is a story that never fails to move me. It is about a man who through giving it all away literally transformed a whole camp of soldiers. The man’s name was Angus McGillivray. Angus was a Scottish prisoner in one of the camps filled with Americans, Australians, and Britons who had helped build the infamous Bridge over the River Kwai. The camp had become an ugly situation. A dog-eat-dog mentality had set in. Allies would literally steal from each other and cheat each other; men would sleep on their packs and yet have them stolen from under their heads. Survival was everything. The law of the jungle prevailed…until the news of Angus McGillivray’s death spread throughout the camp. Rumors spread in the wake of his death. No one could believe big Angus had succumbed. He was strong, one of those whom they had expected to be the last to die. Actually, it wasn’t the fact of his death that shocked the men, but the reason he died. Finally they pieced together the true story.

The Argylls (Scottish soldiers) took their buddy system very seriously. Their buddy was called their “mucker,” and these Argylls believed that is was literally up to each of them to make sure their “mucker” survived. Angus’s mucker, though, was dying, and everyone had given up on him, everyone, of course, but Angus. He had made up his mind that his friend would not die. Someone had stolen his mucker’s blanket. So Angus gave him his own, telling his mucker that he had “just come across an extra one.” Likewise, every mealtime, Angus would get his rations and take them to his friend, stand over him and force him to eat them, again stating that he was able to get “extra food.” Angus was going to do anything and everything to see that his buddy got what he needed to recover.

But as Angus’s mucker began to recover, Angus collapsed, slumped over, and died. The doctors discovered that he had died of starvation complicated by exhaustion. He had been giving of his own food and shelter. He had given everything he had — even his very life. The ramifications of his acts of love and unselfishness had a startling impact on the compound.

As word circulated of the reason for Angus McGillivray’s death, the feel of the camp began to change. Suddenly, men began to focus on their mates, their friends, and humanity of living beyond survival, of giving oneself away. They began to pool their talents — one was a violin maker, another an orchestra leader, another a cabinet maker, another a professor. Soon the camp had an orchestra full of homemade instruments and a church called the “Church Without Walls” that was so powerful, so compelling, that even the Japanese guards attended. The men began a university, a hospital, and a library system. The place was transformed; an all but smothered love revived, all because one man named Angus gave all he had for his friend. For many of those men this turnaround meant survival. What happened is an awesome illustration of the potential unleashed when one person actually gives it all away. (Tim Hansel, Holy Sweat, 1987, Word Books Publisher, pp. 146-147.)

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 3:38 PM March 25, 2020.