The Architecture of Transformation, Sanctification, and Refinement

1 Peter 2:4-10. The key verse for this passage is verse 10: “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” When I was trying to think about what passage I would choose for the message today, I decided to look at what the four different lectionary passages would be for this week. I mistakenly looked at the week after’s lectionary passages, but upon seeing 1 Peter 2:4-10, I felt inspired with a 3-part metaphor to explain, relate, and preach on.

Some of you are aware that I was dead set on becoming an engineer right out of high school. My school had a 4-year pre-engineering program that really got me excited and committed to the engineering pathway. I have always had an interest in how this world operates, including how structures like bridges and skyscrapers are designed and built. God lead me down a different path from engineering after one year of study in college, so, with my very limited knowledge of engineering, architecture, and structural design, I will be walking through three main parts of what is needed to create a standing structure and the overwhelming beauty that can result. The title of the sermon is “The Architecture of Transformation, Sanctification, and Refinement.” Part I is Transformation- Breaking Ground, Part II is Sanctification- Firm Foundation, and Part III is Refinement- Chiseled by Christ.

Part I: Transformation- Breaking Ground

Let’s look at verses 4-5 again. Peter is addressing many believers scattered throughout Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey. Both Jew and Gentile believers in the region were facing persecution as they were what were called in Greek- parepidemois, which means resident aliens or temporary dwellers. To become Christian then and there meant forfeiting: their legal standings, staying with their communities, and even their own families.

Keep in-mind that this was also a time where Christianity is a brand-new idea and belief, with a limited number of witnesses and believers to find support and encouragement in. Today, Christianity covers about a third of the world, with an estimated 2.6 billion Christians. And not only are there about 7 billion copies of the Bible printed throughout time, but it is now easily accessible to anyone in the world with a simple internet connection- not even fiber optic cables are needed. For these early Christians to have such faith that what they have heard and witnessed on account of Peter at a time and place where such belief would instantaneously make you an outcast, is really something to reflect on as modern Americans.

It is enshrined in our Constitution that we have complete legal standing and can freely express our religion. What then is hindering us from expressing the great love God has shown through His son to others? Are you just as willing as these early Christians in 1 Peter to be rejected by friends, coworkers, and family for staying firm in your beliefs? Or are there times where you feel ashamed or try to hide from sharing the gospel or keeping biblical beliefs and laws? I ask this because this is something I struggle with frequently. I may find “appropriate” times to share my beliefs, like if I am aware that the other person is a believer too and I know I will probably not be shut down, but what about all other times? Why should my expression of the greatest news on Earth be so limited and controlled?

Matthew 28:19-20 shows Jesus giving a pretty clear command on what we must do. That last sentence, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age,” gives us one of the most encouraging promises from the Messiah: He is with us always, no matter what, where, who, or when, and we have nothing to fear! We have already won the great battle and race when we accept Jesus, so what left is there to fear when we have received such great news?

Considering this, let’s begin the analogy of building a structure. Can anyone guess what the very first step is when you want to build something? [Slide] Breaking ground is a critical step that requires enormous physical strength and endurance (without machines) to complete. Raise your hand if you have ever dug into hard ground with a shovel. It takes much more force and time to even dig a few cubic feet into the ground than you initially thought, right? You’ll encounter huge rocks, rigid roots, and sediment everywhere, and you realize that this will take serious effort to get through.

This is what it is like when we first encounter God and begin to devote our lives to Him. Our old and familiar selves are hardened and messy; when we let Christ in and begin the works of transformation, He must first dig through all the chaos, pain, and sin that has been rooted in us ever since we were conceived. This is a very painful process that still must occur no matter how long you have believed. The process of sanctification and transformation is ongoing- we will never reach a point where we no longer have to go through this while here on Earth. You can try and avoid or stall this process, but if the spiritual house Peter mentions, the living stones, are to be used and built into a holy priesthood, it will simply not happen.

So as “you come to Him, the living Stone, rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him,” let the Lord break your ground. All those big ugly rocks, decayed roots, and filthy sediment need to go. How is this done? How do we let God in to tear away our old selves and sin? [Slide] We must first be persistent and aware of our sins and wrong doings. Once acknowledging and facing these sins, we must bring them forward to God as our merciful savior and righteous judge. Read your Bible and pray- God is always there to help you acknowledge and deal with our sins accordingly. And remember the most important thing! Jesus has already paid the price for every single sin committed, and any sin afterward! We have no reason to hide our sins in shame, because Christ covered it all with His blood!

Part II: Sanctification- Firm Foundation

So, we have acknowledged our sins and mess, and we have let God in to break our ground and prepare us to be built into a spiritual house. What’s next? Let’s read verse 6. Peter is directly and beautifully weaving in scripture from Isaiah 28:16. A foundation must be laid, covering the ground that was just broken. And this foundation must be so firm that it can support every single thing built on top of it and where every inch of stress must be tolerated and accepted. Foundations are so critical that even the most carefully planned visions and designs can easily tumble and fall if they are not firm and deeply supported.

Psalm 11:3 reads- “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, stands at 2717ft, or about half a mile tall. Located in Dubai, UAE, the foundation of the structure contains concrete and steel buried 15 stories deep. To hold up such a massive structure, Chicago’s very-own architect group, Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, designed this foundation to be incredibly strong and deep. The same architects who built the Sears Tower and World Trade Center fully understood how much foundation is needed to support some of the world’s tallest buildings.

If we want to follow in the ways of Jesus and the immaculate beauty He brought to all humanity, we must have Him as our firm foundation. No amount of wind, storms, earthquakes, or any other disturbances will destroy our foundation if we have truly accepted Christ as savior. This does not mean that our trials are negligible or to be ignored. John 16:33 reads, “’I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’” Jesus knows that this world brings constant trouble, because He faced the constant trouble Himself and even died because of it! God counts and keeps all our tears, He mourns with us, and He yearns for us to be healed. So, when we let Christ in to lay a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and we place our trust and hopes with Him, we need not ever be ashamed or be writhed with panic!

Now, what happens if we do know about Jesus and falsely utilize or even weaponize our faith and beliefs onto others? Let’s read verses 7-8. Peter is quoting from two different Old Testament scriptures. The first, from verse 7, comes directly from Psalm 118:22. Jesus Himself actually uses this quote in Matthew 21:42-44. He says this right after telling the parable of how a landowner planted a vineyard, carefully built and protected, and rented it out to tenants. The landowner would send servants by harvest time to collect its fruit, yet each servant was tortured or even killed. The owner would then send even more servants, yet they were faced with the same fate. And finally, the owner sent his own son to collect the fruit, and the tenants chose to kill him to try and earn their inheritance.

Jesus is speaking directly about people who have witnessed God’s messages and mercy, through the accounts of the prophets, and finally Jesus, the Son of God, and reject His offering to be the foundation of their lives. At the time, this was directed toward the pharisees who had seemingly great knowledge of Scripture and of God but completely ignored the heart and essence of what God had been doing and establishing all this time. Christ has to be our firm foundation, else we “will be broken to pieces, anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” Jesus is the stone the builders rejected, and He has become the cornerstone- a marvel for our eyes to behold.

The second scripture Peter quotes in 1 Peter 2:8, comes from Isaiah 8:14. Isaiah had warned that God Himself would be a stumbling block to those in Israel who refused to trust Him. And Peter reiterates this: “they stumble because they disobey the message- which is also what they were destined for.” The Israelites were God’s own people, a nation that He remained with for thousands of years. Despite having so much knowledge of God and experiences with God, many of them had rejected Christ and chose to crucify Him. I want to return to what I mentioned earlier: the Word of God is the most accessible and widespread than it ever has been before- why then do we as Christians still stumble? We may have already accepted Him as savior, but if we are not rooted in the Word and the teachings of Christ, our stones will crack and fall.

The figurative idea of faith being built upon stones speaks to Peter as well because of what Jesus decided to call him in Matthew 16:16-18. Originally named Simon, upon affirming that Christ is the Son of Man and the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus gave him the Greek name Petros, which means rock. Was Jesus accurate in naming such a man who had doubted Him and betrayed and turned his back on Him three times, even after Jesus warned him this would happen? Being chosen by Jesus to join and be a part of His spiritual household does not mean we will stop sinning altogether- we will be freed from it, yes, but like I mentioned before, as long as we are on this Earth, we will face and fall into temptation and sin, until we reach His kingdom.

The key point, however, is our devout faith to come back to God when we do find ourselves in trouble. When the walls of our house begin to crack, do you start to panic, throw in the towel, and evacuate in fear of collapse? Or do you come back to God, ask for help from Him and from other believers, and reinforce the walls built on that firm foundation? The church, fellow believers, prayer, and scripture are what’s needed to build up and maintain the walls we have laying on top and around the cornerstone- Christ is always at the center, but we also need support and to built off of that stone to keep our house in-tact.

Part III: Refinement- Chiseled by Christ

Once God has broken our ground, once we have taken Christ to be our foundation and cornerstone, with the walls built up and around the cornerstone through healthy and strong support systems, the final stage of the building is ready to “complete.” Full completion of this building is not actually possible until we reach the gates of Heaven. We can think that we have a solid structure in place, but sanctification and refinement is a lifelong process. With the help of God, we must continuously work at, or be chiseled by God, to express the true beauty that is the Gospel message.

Let’s read verse 9. Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites were God’s chosen people. But now, with the mission of Jesus and His sacrifice, we have all been chosen by God to be a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God’s special possession. We are the chosen people with the new promised land being eternity in Heaven, where we will finally be free of all pain, guilt, and sorrow. We may be little mud-and-straw huts during our time on Earth, but in Heaven, when we become one with God, we are built and witness in others into our own Burj Khalifa! And even before then, with deep understanding and steadfast belief in Christ, we can still work on ourselves to build a massive structure, and it will be beautified through the power of Christ’s love.

Even with a firm foundation on a cleared ground, even with strong walls as support, we as believers still have much to do. There are still many rough spots around this structure that we must allow God to chisel at and break away. This process, like the first step, is still painful. We naturally want to cling onto our old selves and desires, and some ugliness will still remain. But God has called us “out of darkness into His wonderful light,” inviting us to be chiseled by Him and for great beauty to emerge as a result.

To add to this idea, a giant block of concrete with no windows or doorways cannot be called a house. It may be strong and firmly rooted in its beliefs, but having no windows to look out into the world to see what is happening and responding to it accordingly serves no use to being called a house. Yes, hold firm in your beliefs and don’t let Satan shake or crumble your foundation, but do not isolate and look away when others need help and support for their own homes. And having a doorway into our own home is also critical- we must not only be ready to open the door when Jesus knocks, but also when others come to us for help. We are called to declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness, and we thus must be willing to invite others inside.

Let’s read verse 10, the key verse of this message. Understanding where we started- a rough and ugly ground with not much going on- when we were not a people and had not received mercy, is so important to remember. We are all born with inherent sin that will remain with us until we die. We will continue to sin and make many mistakes to the end of our days. But the promise of Christ and all that He had done is our only shot at true beauty. Are you ready to let God in and be chiseled away at, no matter how far along you are in your journey with Christ? Are you willing to let go of those protrusions that hang off of your house?

God has chosen every one of us to be His people! When you accept Christ, you have now received the greatest mercy that God could provide. Instead of smiting and utterly destroying our ugly houses, God decided to send His Son instead to set the example and to cleanse and beautify us into magnificent mansions! Jesus came and wiped every single one of our sins away- it is up to us whether we want to receive that mercy and be a part of his spiritual neighborhood. And Jesus will always be waiting at the door- all we must do is answer it and listen. The hardest part’s been done: Jesus paid the price for our ugliness- are you ready to let Him chip away at what remains with us?

We are His people, and the Lord is always yearning for us to come to Him with love. We have received His mercy- look out the window and open the door once you do see the Lord coming! There will always be uncertainty about where God will lead us, but that is because we are purposefully not God and have an extremely limited perspective- a perspective too that usually strays towards our own selfishness. If we know that God has us all in His hands, that He will lead us into righteousness with His perfect timing, then what is hindering you from letting Him chisel you into what He wants you to become? Will you sit still and let your house fall apart? Or will you let your savior in and help create you into some of the most beautiful things in existence?

To close, let’s walk through the parts of creating a spiritual house once more: 1) Transformation begins with breaking ground from our innate sin. Our old selves are filled with all sorts of mess and obstacles, and we must be willing to let God dig through and clear away all that mess. 2) Sanctification begins when we establish Christ as our firm foundation and cornerstone. We need a very solid base in order to build or do anything effective in our life- and Christ must always be at the very center of it all. 3) Refinement of our naturally broken selves occurs when we let God through our door and allow Him to chisel away at us. Glory and great beauty await when we allow this chiseling to happen! So, no matter where you are on your journey with the Lord, are you ready to let these steps unfold? Again, each of these steps is a life-long process- once one feels “done,” it really never is and we must constantly work at ourselves to make this magnificent structure. God is the world’s finest architect, so let His Word be the blueprints, let the Father be the project manager, let the Son be the engineer and builder, and let the Holy Spirit be the artist who finishes every detail!