What does it take to build a strong church family that is rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ?
Peter is going to let us know there are three keys to building a strong church life where Jesus Christ is praised and people are growing into mature believers.
To have a strong church family, each follower of Christ must:
1 – Put off sinful ways
Because of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, in that He has:
Redeemed us from our old sinful life by the blood of the cross
Given us 24/7 access to the throne of grace
Made us His dearly loved, Spirit-filled children
Buried our old life without Him and raised us to a new life in Christ
We now have a new mission in life. In our old life before Christ we served self, sin, Satan, but now we have died to that old life and we’ve been raised to walk in the newness of life in Christ.
Instead of running to sin and away from God we are now running away from sin and running to God.
2:1 – Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander…
Before we put on a strong life in Christ Jesus, we must put off the sin that is going to keep us from reaching the goal of spiritual maturity in Christ.
We can’t go around saying we are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might if our lives are characterized by the sin that kept us in bondage before we received Christ.
What are the sinful ways that each believer in Christ must put off? Peter lists the following:
Malice – ill will toward others
Deceit – trickery that comes from selfish motives.
Psalm 32:2 - How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!
1 Thessalonians 2:3 - For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit;
Hypocrisy – “play acting.” In Greek theatre, the actors would use masks to act like they were someone they really weren’t.
Matthew 23:28 - “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
You can fool everyone, including yourself, but you can never fool God about who you truly are.
Envy – jealousy, always wanting what another person has.
Envy is the begrudging of other’s possessions or accomplishments and wishing for their misfortune while selfishly seeking self advancement. Lifeway, ETB, Living in a New Household, pg. 35
Slander – evil speaking, negatively putting down others
We are called to build people up, not tear people down.
Romans 1:30 - slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents…
Leviticus 19:16 - You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD.
What would happen if each Christian in our church took this seriously?
What if we quit excusing ourselves from our old sinful ways?
What if we asked God to forgive us for living out of His will and we began to desire to grow up into mature and ministry minded Christians?
We if we turned from our sin, turned to the Savior, and started turning more to the Scriptures for our daily strength?
1 Peter 2:2-3 – “ like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
What’s going to help us grow into a strong Christian more than anything is spending time daily in the Word of God and in prayer.
What would happen if a newborn babe went without its daily milk?
Just like a baby craves the milk so that it may grow and become strong, so that believer needs to crave the pure milk of the Word of God so that he may grow into a mature follower of Christ.
Sometimes people say they are okay with Jesus, but they don’t want to join a church. God calls us to walk out the Christian life together (Eph. 4:1-16).
Question: Can I be a Christian without joining the church?
Answer: Yes, it is possible. It is something like being:
A student who will not go to school.
A soldier who will not join an army.
A citizen who does not pay taxes or vote.
A salesman with no customers.
An explorer with no base camp.
A seaman on a ship without a crew.
A businessman on a deserted island.
An author without readers.
A tuba player without an orchestra.
A parent without a family.
A football player without a team.
A politician who is a hermit.
A scientist who does not share his findings.
A bee without a hive. - Encyclopedia 7700 Illustrations
2 – Prioritize every member in ministry
1 Peter 2:4-5 – “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
If we are going to build that strong church family in Christ, every member is going to find their place of ministry and be faithful to fulfill it.
Growing up, mom and dad gave my sister and I something to do as we prepared for dinner every night.
Ice the glasses
Pour the Water/Tea
Bring out the dishes
Set out the silverware
Put the napkins out
Wash the dishes
Pick up around the table
As long as we did our part, we knew it was going to be a good night. However, if I or my sister got a bad attitude and did not do our part things were not going to go well around the dinner table.
Mom or dad would do the hard work of paying for and baking that food. However, we still had to do our part to make sure the dining experience was successful for all.
It’s sad that God has paid such a high price through the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross and yet most of His children just want to partake of the blessings and not get involved in the ministry and mission of Jesus Christ.
It’s the will of God that all of His children begin to work and serve so that the body of Christ is built up and we start to become that church that is reaching out to touch lives with the Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
What’s keeping you from serving in the Lord’s ministry?
Sometimes people reject the good news of Jesus Christ. We cannot let their rejection of Christ or rejection of us keep us from fulfilling God’s will.
Jesus Christ was not accepted by everyone – still He did the Father’s will.
Jesus Christ was not precious to everyone – Yet He knew He was precious to God.
Jesus Christ was not believed on by all – Yet He continued to preach to the individuals to the multitudes.
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those of us being saved, it is the power of God. We are here to preach Christ…preach Christ…preach Christ.
Matthew 16:16-18 – “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
1 Corinthians 3:11 – “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
We can all get involved in sharing with others what the Lord has done for us.
We can all share what our lives were like before Christ. How we met Christ. How our lives have changed since coming to know Christ.
Key Doctrine: The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers. The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. (See also Acts 11:18; Eph. 2:17-22; Rev. 5:9-10). Lifeway, ETB, Living in a New Household, pg. 37
1 Peter 2:6-8 – “For this is contained in Scripture:“BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,”and,“A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.”
Everyone and everything can make you disappointed – except for Jesus.
Rod Mattoon states, “Christ knocks people off their spiritual feet, trips them up and makes them fall because they will not submit to His authority and truth. Men continue to spurn Him today, they scorn and mock His Word, yet, He is the only way to Heaven. Their unbelief is irrelevant as far as His identity and destiny. Jesus is still the cornerstone of the church. He is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind.
You can deny His deity, but He is still God. Unbelief is relevant to the lost sinner because it condemns him to an eternal Hell. Those folks who refuse to put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ have an appointment with Hell. The plan of God was to sentence unbelievers to this place. That is their destiny based on their choice to reject God’s Son.” - Mattoon’s Treasures - Treasures from First Peter.
God doesn’t send people to Hell, they send themselves for rejecting God’s One and Only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.
The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is precious. Jesus Christ is precious to us for who He is and all He’s done. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and make sure God’s church moves forward.
Some say, "How can I participate? I don’t know where to start?"
One way we can get involved in the ministry is by making a commitment to be involved in a Sunday school class or life group.
Hebrews 10:24-25 – “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
Another way we can get involved in the ministry is by making a commitment to praise God together each Sunday.
Hebrews 13:15 – “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”
Another way we can get involved in ministry is by making a commitment to meet others needs in practical ways.
Hebrews 13:16 – “And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
What does it take to build up a strong church family in Christ? First, we have to put off our sinful ways. Second, we need each member to participate in ministry.
Finally…
3 – Praise God continually
Psalm 150:1-6 - Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!
It’s not about us, but it’s about Him!
We are nothing on our own, but we are somebody in Christ!
1 Peter 2:9-10 – “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.
“Darkness implies spiritual ignorance, evil deeds, and the absence of spiritual light. To experience salvation is to come into the kingdom of His marvelous light. Light implies spiritual enlightenment, purity, and life. The believers’ present way of living in contrast to their past should be as different as day is to night. The church is called to proclaim praises of God through lives of grateful service and holiness. The term praises can refer to God’s excellent deeds or attributes. We proclaim the praises of God through both worship and witness.” Explore the Bible, Adult Commentary, Fall 2012
It’s not easy to build a strong family at home. It takes love, patience, time, forgiveness, care, mercy, and a plan for growth and development.
Our positive attitudes are essential in building up godly homes and Christ-centered churches.
Being a part of a strong church family is incredibly fulfilling and brings great glory to our Lord.
We can see people’s eternal destines changed as we share Christ.
We can see people who have no hope become people of hope.
We can see homes, marriages, families find life and love in Christ.
We can see people find peace, purpose, and power in Christ.
There is nothing greater than this!
What does it take to build that strong church in Christ?
1 – Put off sinful lifestyles
2 – Practice every member in ministry
3- Praise God continually
