EverGrace Church

Dennis White: Today we will have softball after church from 6:00 to 8:00ish. We'll see how that goes. The weather is better.

Guest (Male): We're doing it again.

Dennis White: We're doing it again.

Guest (Male): Got to get a home run today.

Dennis White: We've got gloves, bats, and waters. We are all set, so we're going to have fun. Listen carefully, we're just going to repeat these over and over again, but Backpack Sunday is coming soon. I see people starting to bring in some backpack goods, so keep bringing those in. August 2nd is the deadline because we need to fill the bags. 72 bags are getting filled, so let's fill those bags so we can reach our community. That's why we are here, not to have a cool little powwow here in the morning and talk about the Bible. We're here to reach our community.

Faith Night at the Frederick Keys Stadium is August 15th. I will be texting you a link for you to sign up and get tickets. It'll be a great time. The Silver Spring church will be there, so we'll do it again like we did last year. Also, August 16th is our last service here where we will be having Backpack Sunday outside in front of the church, and we'll also be having pizza for that service.

A lot is going on, and we're really excited. Yesterday, we were at Asbury United Methodist Church block party on All Saints Street. They cut off the entire 100 block of the street, and there were probably 100 vendors out there. James, about 100 vendors?

James: Yeah, probably something like that.

Dennis White: They had gospel music playing. They were handing out free food and free groceries. There was all kinds of stuff there, and we had the opportunity to have a booth and were sharing the gospel. I would say we handed out probably 100 bracelets and told about 100 kids about the gospel. It was a sweet time. We're excited to do it again but bigger on Frederick in the Streets, which is September 12th. We're staying busy, but this is why we're here.

Let's open our Bibles to 1 Peter chapter two. We're reading a big chunk of verses today, and we're going to see what God has to say to us. Let's bow our heads before we start. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for the Word of God. We ask that your Word will ring true in our hearts. We thank you and we praise you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

1 Peter chapter two, starting in verse 13. We're going to read the rest of the chapter all the way to 25. I want to keep reminding us that Peter here is starting to talk about some things that are a little bit hard for us to hear. He's beginning to talk about how we function as followers of Christ, how we treat others, and how we treat ourselves. Chapter three is going to talk about how husbands treat their wives and how wives treat their husbands. We're getting into some hard things, but this passage here is really interesting. It speaks to some things that are very culturally relevant to us today.

Scripture says: Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued to entrust himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

It is an interesting passage. Again, we see how very cultural it is and how important it is for us to hear this because there are two major things that Peter is dealing with. The first thing is obeying governments. What is our relationship as a church with the government? The second one is what is my relationship as a human being to my employer? These two things are huge because we spend many hours with our employers, usually more than with our families. If you take away sleeping hours and work hours, how many hours are left for you and your family? Not so many. It is very important how we relate to our employers, and it's also very important for us how we relate to our government.

When we think of something that is evil, we often think of something that is dark, recognizable, and universally wrong. When we think of evil, we can say that murder is evil. That is not a hard say for us. We would say that burning down someone's house is evil. We hear stories and look at people's lives, and our hearts are often broken because their lives are broken and also because they have suffered some great evil. It is easy for us to say, "Look at that thing there; that thing is evil." Often, what happens is that evil is not so obvious, but evil is veiled in light. We see that here in verse 16, where Peter tells the church, "Do not use your freedom as a veil to do evil."

Is it not true that often things that are done that are evil are often done in the name of freedom? I want to read this story for you. At the height of the Atlantic slave trade, which was from 1526 to 1866, there were about 12.5 million slaves that were taken from Africa. This is about the same time that John Newton, who wrote *Amazing Grace*, was a slave trader. He was busy doing this kind of thing, and it was for the Atlantic slave trade that he was doing that. 12.5 million people were taken out of Africa and put into slavery. At the height of this, the pro-slavery advocates stood up to defend the horrific torture and buying of human beings. They did not call it evil, but they actually called it liberty.

They said, "It is our right to do this because they are our property." They argued with the government, saying, "You government are interfering with my property. You are infringing on my personal rights. I can do what I want to do with what is rightfully mine." Does that sound very similar today in a different context? Maybe not buying a slave or beating a slave, but have those words not even come out of our own mouths? They used a sacred, God-given concept of human liberty as a legal and moral shield to protect the industry of human suffering and human slavery. In short, these men and these countries used freedom as a veil for evil.

Here we are 2,000 years later. Is this topic relevant to us today? I would say yes because we see these questions being answered. How do I relate to the government that I live in? How do I as a Christian relate to my employer? It goes even further down into the next section. Three major sections of our everyday life. How do I as a Christian relate to my husband or my wife? Before he talks specifically about each one, Peter answers all these questions in verses 15 through 17.

The first thing that Peter says is very simple: do good. This idea of good is interesting. The English word "good" actually comes from this idea of being like God. Obviously, we can't always use that context because I will say that pizza was good, or that movie was good. We're not saying that it is like God, but in the aspect of our actions, our speech, and our faith, when you say they did a good thing, does that not also represent the heart of God? When we say they said something to me very encouraging and it was good, are we not saying that the thing they said we could imagine it coming from the mouth of God?

As Christians, that's how we could think of it. Often, it is the case we cannot apply the word "good" to be like God to every single thing in our life. But when it comes to morality, spirituality, and our actions, we can actually say that 100% is true. But when the line becomes gray in our life between what is good and evil, we don't usually call it evil, and we also do not call it good. What do we say? We say it is our right.

Several years ago, when smoking marijuana and dispensaries were becoming more popular, everyone was arguing. At the point it wasn't legal yet, you could argue from one end and the other end, and you're both making your arguments. A Christian could say because of certain things, this is not good. This is not the heart of God. This is not God-like. On the other side, well, there are some good things about it. We're not here to argue that specifically, but what happened is now people don't argue if it's good or not good. They say it's legal and it's my right.

This is the thing that Peter is dealing with. He's not asking if everything in your life is right. Peter is asking if everything in your life is good. Is it like God? That is very different. When we start asking that question, that gray line all of a sudden disappears. There have been some things in my life recently where there is an extreme tendency for me to look at that line and have it be fuzzy, to have it be gray. Not any specific sin, but just in general, I can look at it and say it could be this or it could be that, depending on the argument. But we boil it down to one simple thing, and I ask the question: is this like God? With a resounding answer, I can say either yes or no. In my case, I said, "No, that is not God. That is not God."

Those are the kind of questions that we need to ask in our life. The deeper question here that we need to ask is if it is like God, where does God-likeness come from? If I look at someone's life and I say they are doing something good, and I mean that in the way they have done something that is God-like, like worship today. That was good, wasn't it? We don't mean that in a small way, but we mean it in a big way because that worship today was God's likeness. It's like that every week. Where does God's likeness come from? In my life, what Peter is telling me is how do I relate to my government, in my relationships, and how do I relate to my employer? You should be relating to them in such a way where we can say that it is God-like.

How is that possible? Yesterday, as we're doing the beads and we're asking people what keeps you out of heaven, and they say sin, then I ask the question: what saves us from our sin, or what can we do about our sin? More often than not, the kids and the parents would say, "Well, we got to do good." How much good can I do to wipe out all of my sin? How much good can I do to relate to my government the correct way? Is that good enough to represent the character of God? The answer is an astounding and loud "Absolutely not."

I have seen this many, many times. I have seen people do good, and that goodness was a veil over their evil hearts. I'm sure you guys could remember someone or a story about someone who has done good with the intention of counterbalancing their evil hearts. You can see right through it. You can see that their heart was wicked, and they tried to atone for their wickedness by doing something good in the church. It doesn't work that way. There's only one thing that atones, and that is the blood of Jesus.

That is why the end of chapter two is all about Jesus on the cross. It is all about him sacrificing himself for you because that is the answer. What makes us God-like? I was thinking of three different things. These are in order intentionally, and they are very important for us to remember because if we're being asked to produce the action of doing something good for our government, for our employer, for our marriage or our family, how in God's name can I do that? Because it says there that my employer is unjust. It says in chapter three that husbands are unjust. How do I do that?

Here is the secret. Genesis chapter one, verse 27. Very simple words, but it comes out of the mouth of God, and he says that man was created in the image of God. God-likeness starts with us being created in God's image. Is that not amazing? Somewhere inside of us, despite all of our sin, despite our life, despite our ignoring God, there resides this little seed that Peter mentioned earlier that is eternal, that is incorruptible. As soon as we receive Christ, that seed comes alive, and we find ourselves once again living in Christ's likeness. It's amazing. I was flipping through the Bible and trying to figure out where else it says we were created in the image of God. My favorite one was James chapter three, verse nine. It said the same thing, that you are the image of God. I just want to look at each one of you right now and to say that you are in the image of God. You are God-likeness.

I look in the mirror this morning and say there's no way. Then, driving down the road and getting a little angry, there's no way I'm in the image of God. We are in God's goodness, not in intentions but in commitment. We can't do good, but because of our position in God, we are. The second thing that is important for us to know is that we are sealed with His person. Ephesians chapter one, verse 13 tells us that we have the goodness of God sealed inside of us. This is the launching pad for which we start our Christian walk. We start from the place that we are created in His image and we are actually sealed with the Holy Spirit, with His person.

Matthew chapter seven, verse 17 says a good tree bears good fruit, and an evil tree bears evil fruit. What does that mean for my life? We often go to Matthew chapter seven and say, "I have to be good." If I'm good, that is evidence that I am a good tree. But actually, if we follow this list the whole way, if I am a human being, there is a measure of God's goodness in my life. If I am saved, I am sealed with God's goodness in my heart. Therefore, I am standing in the position where I am being satisfied by the goodness of God. Therefore, because I'm standing there, I will produce good fruits.

Good fruits come from good roots. Where are your roots? Are you rooted in your relationship with God? If you're not, your relationship with the government is going to be so obscure. Your relationship with your employer is going to be obscure. Your relationship with your wife or your husband or your kids is going to be obscure because you're not rooted in your relationship with God. Therefore, you cannot bear good fruit. You can only bear what is natural. Often, that is the constant circle that we continue to live in, trying to do good, but we do it out of our own abilities. When we're unable and we're frustrated with people and life, we say it is them; they are wrong.

Sometimes justice needs to be served. I understand that. Sometimes there are rights that are horrific and we wish that they were never there. Those are true facts. But today, Peter is not talking about that. He's not talking about you being justified here on earth, you being right, you doing what you think is best. Where does that thought come from? Judges chapter 17, verse six says that everyone did what was right in their own eyes. You could change that word "right" and say that everyone did what was good in their own eyes. When the Bible says to do good, it is not for us to decide what is good. It is for God to decide what is good.

I will never do what is good if I am rooted in my old sin nature, if I am rooted in ambitions, if I am rooted in self-justification, if I am rooted in envy or lust. These kind of things will never produce the goodness of God. That's exactly where I am if I am not rooted in one place, and that is Christ.

The next thing in verse 16 is that we do good. First, we look to Jesus. Chapter two, verse 21 says that we have been left with the example of Jesus. This word "example" is like a series of lines that are designed to teach children how to write. Jesus is like a series of lines, and it is designed in this story to show where the boundaries of our life should be. There is a right and a wrong way, and Jesus lived a life to show us, not only to save us but also to exemplify the way we are to live.

Number two, we are to follow Jesus. Deuteronomy chapter four, verse three says that you should have no other gods before you. If you have something before you, the idea is that you're going to follow it. That word "follow" means that we take the same road. If I want to be like God, I have to be on the path that He has taken. That means in verses 22 through 23, our actions change, our speech changes, and our judgment changes because this is what changed in Jesus. When someone spoke against him, he didn't return the evil for the evil. He didn't judge and give evil for evil, but the exact opposite. Jesus over and over again would look and heal and then would say, "Go and sin no more." Go and be Christ-like. Walk with me, follow me.

The last one is in verse 24 and 25: we have to trust Jesus. Jesus himself entrusted himself to someone who is just. Here's Jesus. He is God and He's sitting on a cross being mocked and being told to do something that he could have done: "If you were the Son of God, why don't you call down some angels to take you off that cross? You saved others, but you cannot save yourself." He could have. But he did not put himself into his own hands. He did not put himself into the hands of men, but he put himself into the hands of a good God.

In our life, we need to take our hands off the wheel. Give our lives and surrender our life once and wholly and completely to God because he is the one that can be entrusted. He is the good God. He is the one who will never let us down. Humanity will let us down over and over again, so if we commit ourselves to them, we will be hurt, and then we'll be forced to say and to act as the world acts. But when we're in the hands of God, he will take care of us.

That word "to entrust," *paradidōmi*, actually means to give a good gift. When we lived in China, when you go to someone's house, you always come with a gift. You never show up empty-handed. Usually, it's a bag of fruit. It's the same thing with God. When we come to God, we give him a good gift. What is a good gift? Your good works? Is a good gift your commitment to Jesus? No. Is a good gift you saying, "I'm going to come to church in 2026 every Sunday"? No. Is your good gift to go on evangelism? No. Your good gift is your broken soul. It's not actually the goodness that you have that you give God; it's your brokenness that you give to God. That's a good gift.

Will you hand over your life to Christ? We're all saved here, believers in God, yet still there are areas in our lives that we are holding on to, that we have decided that I am not going to look at Jesus in this, I am not going to follow Jesus in this, and I'm not going to trust Jesus in this. I'm going to hold on to it and I'm going to entrust myself. But will you not hand over your entire life to Christ? He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, we have been healed. For you were straying like sheep. I think that right there alone is a good enough reason to entrust Jesus today. If we can entrust him with our soul for eternity, I think I can entrust him for today's problems, this past week's problems, and the troubles that are coming next week.

Let's close with a prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for today. We ask that you'll teach us as followers of Christ. This is a hard passage to listen to because it tells us to do things that we don't want to do. We don't want to pay our taxes correctly. Every time the vote goes the way we don't think it should go, we say there was highway robbery, it was planned. Every time our employer docks our check for something that we feel that we didn't do wrong, we want to fight and argue with our employer. When our wife or our husband speaks something evil, we get angry. Lord, there are so many things that are wrong in our life, but today, we don't want to look at all those wrong things. We want to look at the simplicity of what we're being asked to do today. And it's not to be a better employee, it's not to be a better husband or wife, it's not to be a better American, but it's very simply those last three things: that we look to Jesus often, we follow Jesus completely, and we trust Jesus wholeheartedly. If we do those three things today, we will find that our life has much joy even though there can be many injustices. Lord, we thank you for today. We thank you and we praise you. In Jesus' name, Amen.