A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD AND A HOLY NATION

Passage: 1 Peter 2:9-12

Key verse: 9

NIV

9 But you are a chosen people,(A) a royal priesthood,(B) a holy nation,(C) God’s special possession,(D) that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.(E) 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;(F) once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society

11 Dear friends,(G) I urge you, as foreigners and exiles,(H) to abstain from sinful desires,(I) which wage war against your soul.(J) 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds(K) and glorify God(L) on the day he visits us.

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

9 But you are (A)a chosen race, (B)a royal (C)priesthood, (D)a holy nation, (E)a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you (F)out of darkness into (G)his marvelous light. 10 (H)Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11 Beloved, I urge you (I)as sojourners and exiles (J)to abstain from the passions of the flesh, (K)which wage war against your soul. 12 (L)Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, (M)they may see your good deeds and glorify God on (N)the day of visitation.

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. A royal priesthood (9-1

)

In Exodus 19:4-6 God taught Moses his purpose in redeeming Israel from slavery in Egypt. He wanted to make the Israelites into a holy nation and a kingdom of priests. A priest stands between God and men. He brings men to God and God to men. God wanted to use his people to bring his lost creation back to himself. As a nation, Israel failed--but God did not fail. He sent Jesus, and he raised up a new people of God, a people belonging to Jesus. We who belong to Jesus have inherited all the promises God made to the former Israel--and their mission as well.

2. A holy nation (11-12)

God's people must be holy. We live in the world, but our citizenship is in heaven, so we are aliens and strangers in the world. We do not need to yield to the pressures of our own sinful desires nor to the worldliness around us.

Prayer: Lord, help me live as a royal priest and a holy nation and proclaim your wonderful works.

One Word: A royal priesthood