As They Were Destined to Do

“They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” (1 Peter 2:8)

The main interpretive difficulty of the phrase “as they were destined to do” in 1 Peter 2:8 is whether it most directly modifies “they disobey the word” or “they stumble”.  If it is the former, it means that their present disobedience was destined.  If it is the latter, it means that the present consequence of their disobedience was destined.

Although the passage is hard to understand, I said that the latter was most persuasive to me.  One of the main reasons I believe this is that it seems to fit best with the context. I mentioned this at the very end of our class and I wanted to reiterate here since it is so important and I only touched on it.

You can’t miss the connection between this verse and the immediate verses that preceded it.  Peter said that it is the word that brings new birth (”you have been born again. . .through the living and abiding word of God” 1:23). The word, specifically the Gospel (1:25b), has the effect of producing spiritual new birth.

In 2:8, Peter says that due to disobedience to the word, unbelievers stumble over Christ.

So the connection is that the word will either work to bring new birth or it will work to bring stumbling. That is, the word is either appointed (”destined”) to do one or the other.

Therefore, I conclude that when Peter says unbelievers “stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do”, he means that the destiny of anyone who disobeys the word is stumbling.

This next week I will likely begin our class by summarizing the strengths of both sides of the 1 Peter 2:8 debate (i.e. which phrase does it most nearly modify?) before beginning 1 Peter 2:9-10.

God Hardened Their Hearts

This is a follow-up to today’s class.

We tried to understand what Peter meant by the phrase “as they were destined to do” in 1 Peter 2:8.  We took a brief excursion to Romans 9:22 where there is a similar sounding passage.

I said that it was important to note that verse 22 is in the passive voice (compare that to verse 23 in the active voice) and that I didn’t find a convincing case for double predestination in this verse or in 1 Peter 2:8.

The question arose: how does that square with Romans 9:18, “He hardens whom He desires”.  I said that it would be good to think through whether God hardening a person’s heart is the same thing as being “prepared for destruction”.  I argued that they are not the same thing.

Perhaps another way to think through the challenges of Romans 9 is to ask: “What does it mean for God to harden a person’s heart?”  Does it mean that God actively creates unbelief or some other evil in a person’s heart?  Or, does it mean that God withdraws divine influences that restrain sin in a person’s heart so that sin runs its course?

February 29

The next SixSixteen Friday Night is February 29th at 6:30 p.m.

Come Expecting (6 Days of Prayer: Day 6)

I’m writing this post almost exactly 24 hours before, Lord willing, I will be teaching Friday night at the first SixSixteen Friday Night. If all goes as planned, we will have just finished singing our opening worship set which ends with “Holy, Holy, Holy” and I will be unpacking two shocking truths about the love of God as shown in John 3:16. After the teaching, Johnathon Bowers and the worship team will lead us in a longer worship set tied to the movements in John 3:16: songs about God, songs about the lost world, songs about God’s love and the giving of his Son, and finally songs about believing and eternal life.

God…World…Love…Believe.

From start to finish, the Gospel will be central.  We pray that it will be a cross-centered evening.

Come expecting to hear, to sing, and to proclaim corporately the Gospel. When the cross is central in a person’s life, it changes them.

What would it be like if singles came Friday night expecting that God would be there and that, through worship, they could be changed?

So, in the hours leading up to the gathering, pray for and come with an expecting heart and pray for all the workers who are laboring to make this gathering happen.  May the worth of Jesus be on full display in our worship.

6 Days of Prayer: Day 5

On the final day before our first Friday night gathering, we consider the link between verses 4 and 5 of 1 Peter 2:

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

The obvious link is that just as Jesus is the living stone, Christians too are living stones. One of the privileges we enjoy is union with Christ. When you come to the living stone, you become like the living stone.

Collectively, we living stones are being aligned to our Cornerstone and made into a spiritual house, the church.

For today, pray that our worship on Friday night would restore in us the joy of our union with Christ. May it be that our union with Christ would be more satisfying to us as a result of our time with God tomorrow evening.

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Overview of 6 Days of Prayer
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

6 Days of Prayer: Day 4

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house. . .” (1 Peter 2:4-5)

“A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” (1 Peter 2:8a)

Sadly, Jesus is not only the, living, chosen, and precious stone (see Day 2) and the cornerstone (see Day 3), he is also a stone of stumbling.

When Jesus was born, it was prophesied about Jesus: “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed. . . so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:34-35).

The most important question in a person’s life is, “What do you believe about Jesus Christ?”

We believe he is fully God and fully man, who died on a cross for the sins of all who would turn from their sin and trust him for the forgiveness of their sin. Jesus must be your Lord and Savior.

To those who do not bow the knee to King Jesus, he will be for them a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense.

Pray that this Friday night, the Gospel would be clear to all who attend the worship gathering.  Pray that new birth would happen to any person who attends and is not saved.

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Overview of 6 Days of Prayer
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

6 Days of Prayer: Day 3

1 Peter 2:7 says: “So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,’”

In Jesus’ day, the best buildings were made of stone. The stones would be chiseled and hammered so that would fit tight together without mortar. The most important stone was the cornerstone and it was laid first. The cornerstone would be set and all the other stones in the building would aligned to it vertically and horizontally. If the angles on the cornerstone were off, the rest of the stones would be off too and the building would be structurally deficient.

The cornerstone is to a building what Jesus is to the church. Jesus is the cornerstone of the church. All of the beauty and symmetry of the church is set by Jesus the cornerstone. To the degree the church aligns to Jesus, it will be a temple of beauty and truth. We look to Jesus as our plumb line, to set our lines of doctrinal purity and righteous living.

Pray that as we gather Friday night, our Cornerstone would be magnified and that the church would be built up as we seek to align ourselves with his will and grow more in Christ-likeness.

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Overview of 6 Days of Prayer
Day 1
Day 2

6 Days of Prayer: Day 2

We continue our 6 days of prayer leading up to this Friday night’s SixSixteen worship gathering for singles. The next phrase in our meditation passage (1 Peter 2:4-5) describes Jesus as “a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious. . .”

Today we want to focus our prayers on the beauty of Jesus’ character. Note four truths about Jesus’ character in this passage and focus your prayers on the adoration of God’s Son:

1. The Stone

Jesus is not just a stone among many, but the only stone that matters. Salvation is found in no one else but in him. (Acts 4:12)

2. Living Stone

The analogy of a living stone is an odd one. Yet Jesus is a living stone because he was raised from the dead. Death has no power over him. Romans 6:9 says, “Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over him.”

3. Chosen Stone

Literally, Jesus is the elect stone. Jesus was foreknown (1 Peter 1:20) by the Father. That is, he had a predetermined relationship with the Father before time. Before Genesis 3 (where sin enters the picture), Jesus existed and his relationship with the Father as Son, and with the world as Savior, was already determined. Genesis 3 was no Plan B. God himself rescued the ones he made. Jesus was chosen for this purpose– the chosen stone.

4. Precious Stone

Jesus is highly prized, rare, costly. There is no one like him, no one who compares. Colossians 1 says he is the image of God, the first in rank among creation. Everything was made by him, visible and invisible, in heaven and on earth. It was made by him and for him. He is holding everything together. He is the head of the church, the preeminent one in resurrection. All the fullness of God is in him.

Jesus is the…living…chosen…precious stone.

Pray that you would adore him more and that our eyes would be opened to more of the spiritual beauties of Jesus this Friday night.

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Overview of 6 Days of Prayer
Day 1

6 Days of Prayer: Day 1

On each of the six days leading up to SixSixteen Friday Night, we will be taking a word or phrase from 1 Peter 2:4-5 and using it as a guide to prepare our hearts through prayer for worship.

We begin with the phrase “As you come to him. . .” It is our coming to Jesus that initiates our relationship with him.  Jesus said,

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

and

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” (John 7:37)

The word “come”, as used here in 1 Peter, has the idea of coming and keeping on coming. It is a coming and remaining. It has the idea of drawing near to God for continuing worship, as in:

“Let us then with confidence draw near [same word translated "come" in 1 Peter) to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near [again, same word] to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

So today pray that this Friday night would be a time of drawing near to our God and that we would come trusting in the Overcomer and Rewarder of those who seek him.

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For background about the 6 Day of Prayer, see this post.

SixSixteen Friday Night Starts at 6:30 p.m.

There was an error in Bethlehem’s worship bulletin this week regarding the start time of SixSixteen Friday Night.  We start at 6:30 p.m. this Friday at the downtown campus in the youth basement.  The worship gathering will last about an hour and a half.

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