The King’s Highway

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1 Peter 2:1-6 (KJV) Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, [2] As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: [3] If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. [4] To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, [5] Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. [6] Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

As we were driving to Valdosta Georgia to see our grandchildren (and they are the best) I began to think about “lines”.

Have you ever thought about “lines”?

Before you say no, think traffic jams. At one point in our travel to Valdosta the state of Georgia decided to turn the five lane highway just outside of Atlanta into a one lane nightmare. A highway “lane” is no more than a set of lines on the road to show people where to drive. Long before we got to the single lane there were signs, flashing lights, and even twinkling cop cars pointing traffic to merge left. Do you know what happened?

No one merged left.
Everyone stayed exactly where they were
and some even greedily merged right …

to try and get ahead of everyone else. The result? Traffic stopped. The greedy who would not merge left kept forcing their way forward. Had everyone done as they were directed then traffic would have slowed, but we would have all moved through the Georgia Nightmare at a decent pace. As it was we all took 45 minutes to travel about 5 miles. Thankfully I had plenty of gas, and time to think about “lines”.

As “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord” (Romans 8:28) I used this seemingly wasted time to think on and pray over this sermon.

When there are “lines” and “signs” on the highway we as people barely function then. But what if all “lines” were removed from the highway? What if there were no “turn lanes”, or signs or lights? What if there were no lines whatsoever on the highways to denote lanes? What if there were no solid white lines to show the shoulder of the road, no dashes to show center lane markers, no solid yellow lines to denote no passing? What if the highways were nothing but unmarked blacktop? What if parking lots had no lines to show where to park? Some of you can barely park now … what if there were no indicators. What if you could go where you want to go, do what you want to do, totally without restriction or expectation? The highways would be a worst mess than it is right now. People would be running into one another more frequently. Traffic would jam as some selfish people rode down the middle of the road, regardless as to what others thought or said. With no lines there would be no laws. With no laws our highways would be like Dodge City on Saturday night. Death would prevail.

Who put the lines on the roads that we travel? Those who built the highways. They put up the signs that caution and tell us to slow down on curves because of danger. Lines and dashes are at set measurements because those who designed the highways know what is safest for travel. Lines are placed according to Law, and Police – like it or not – enforce travel within the lines. When I was tired one time I was pulled over for running over the solid white line too many times. The policeman gave me no ticket, but suggested rather strongly that I pull over and get a cup of coffee somewhere to wake up. I appreciated that because it probably saved my life and the life life of someone else as well.

As there are “lines” on the asphalt there are “lines” in every aspect of our lives. Homes are not constructed by without architectural and engineering lines. You can’t just slap something together and call it a house. The lines that supply the power to our homes and this Church follow certain rules in size, order, and arrangement. There are lines that make your cars operate, lines that control your appliances, lines, lines, lines.

When we ignore the lines we open ourselves up to being stalled or destroyed. As an old commercial once mocking said, “The lines are our friends”.

As Peter addresses the Church he wants us all to understand that salvation is a gift from God, but that gift comes with “lines”. When you are saved you enter the King’s Highway, and are headed toward a glorious Heaven. Just as the creators of the highway draw lines that we are expected to stay within, the Creator of Salvation – our Triune God – draws lines within our faith that we are expected to stay within. Salvation is indeed …

1 Peter 1:4-5 (KJV)… an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, [5] Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

The day that you called upon Christ for salvation surrendering to His Lordship the Spirit of God caused you to be born again. You were …

1 Peter 1:23 (KJV) … born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Entering the King’s Highway you are set on a pathway to Heaven. Yet there are lines drawn on this wonderful Highway, and Christ commands that you stay within the lines.

WHEREFORE Lay Aside …

1 Peter 2:1 (KJV)WHEREFORE laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

The first word in our text for today is “Wherefore” or “Therefore”. You could even translate it “Because of this”. When you see this word you need to look BACK into the word. It always refers to what came before. Have you been REDEEMED by receiving that wondrous sacrifice of Christ? Are you redeemed by …

1 Peter 1:19 (KJV) …. the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Did Jesus Christ die for you on Calvary?

Is your sin debt is paid because of His Blood?
Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. (Hebrews 9:28)

Do you stand righteous before God because His blood covers you?
Justified by His blood & saved from wrath through Him (Romans 5:9)

Can you say that sin no longer is your ruler?
Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we being dead
to sin might live for righteousness (1 Peter 2:24)

Are you no longer cursed by the Law of God?
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law,
having become a curse for us (Galatians 3:13)

Are you a member of Christ’s Kingdom?
Who delivered us from the power of darkness,
and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son (Colossians 1:13)

Are you brought near to the Father by Christ’s Blood?
you who once were far off have been brought
near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13)

Are you no longer a dead thing, but alive unto God?
God has quickened us together with Christ,
(by grace ye are saved;) (Ephesians 2:5)

If you have been saved by faith in Christ’s finished work then these things and more belong to you. Yet the King’s Highway has lines drawn on it. His Kingdom is a Kingdom of Love – Love of God and Love of one another. What are the two greatest Commandments in this Kingdom? Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 when He declared:

Matthew 22:37-40 (KJV) … Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. [38] This is the first and great commandment. [39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Born of the Love of God, you are to love God, to be in a relationship of love with Him. Loving God, then you are to love your neighbor. The Bible says:

1 John 4:20-21 (KJV) If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? [21] And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

The two commands go together. Love God, love your neighbor as thyself. Love your neighbor the way you want to be loved. These are very essential lines in our faith. WHEREFORE – if you are indeed a Child of God by faith in Christ – you are to …

1 Peter 2:1 (KJV) Wherefore LAYING ASIDE …

If you love God with all your heart then the first command He gave you was to be baptized.

Jesus commanded baptism. HE said …

BAPTIZING them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19)

Dr. Charles Stanley wrote “Too many believers today procrastinate because they do not perceive baptism as a command or recognize delay as a rebellion. The ordinance is important because it is a public confession of faith: we claim God as our Father and Jesus Christ as Savior, and we acknowledge that the Holy Spirit lives in us. The willingness to humble ourselves in this way honors God as Lord of our life. Baptism by immersion also symbolizes the transforming power of salvation: we are “buried” to demonstrate we have died to old habits; we are raised to show we now walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).”

Believers are baptized. Their baptism is symbolic of dying with Christ and rising again. Think now … what was the FIRST thing you did after you were baptized (other than rejoicing in the Lord)? You took off those wet clothes, and put on another set of clothes. This is symbolic of the Christian way of life. Being saved by Christ and made children of God’s love we take off the OLD MAN or OLD CLOTHING and put on HIS CLOTHING. We fashion ourselves not according to this world but according to Christ.

1 Peter 1:14-16 (KJV) As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: [15] But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; [16] Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Romans 12:1-2 (KJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. [2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

God now draws the lines by which we live. We do not follow the lines this world draws but are on the King’s Highway. We take off the wet clothing from the Baptism and put on new clothing. That’s what we are to be laying aside.

1 Peter 2:1 (KJV) Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

We lay aside MALICE (κακία kakia) which means “a desire to injure others or to do evil toward them”. The clothing of malice is what the world wears. It is what we saw in the recent confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court – and there was evil on both sides of the aisle! That which was done was not a search for truth, but KAKIA, evil, terrible. The person sitting next to you is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Every person has value. We are to lay aside ALL MALICE!

We lay aside GUILE (δόλος dolos) which means “sneakiness, trickiness, whispered conspiracies”. The Child of God is to reflect the LIGHT of God. Light does not sneak up on you. I have known of Churches where deacons went from home to home to start an uprising against the pastor. This is conspiracy, evil, and does not show goodness but evil. Judas Iscariot snuck about until he sold Christ for 30 pieces of silver. This is evil, but true Light SHINES.

Matthew 5:14-16 (KJV) Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. [15] Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. [16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

We are the ONLY LIGHT of the world. If we go outside of the lines on the King’s Highway and become one with the darkness then how will anyone see? We are to be HIS light, to reflect His light just as the moon reflects the sun’s light. We do not sneak about and whisper, but (Ephesians 4:15) “speaking the truth in love, (we) may grow up into {Christ}”. We are to be like Jesus in our love.

We lay aside hypocrisies … we are not two faced. We are honest in our deportment. We lay aside envies (φθόνος phthonos) which is covetousness, a violation of the Tenth Commandment. I am not to envy what you have, but to be satisfied with what God has given me. The world is filled with …

Romans 1:29-31 (KJV) Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, [30] Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, [31] Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful..

that sort of thing. This is what the reprobate does. It is not for the one on the King’s Highway. It is envying that leads to evil speaking (which must also be laid side). That clothing is not befitting the dress of the Child of God.

WHEREFORE Put On …

We are told what to take off, but are also told what to put on. We read …

1 Peter 2:2-3 (KJV) As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: [3] If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Take off that old clothing, and begin to know where God has drawn the lines on the King’s Highway. How can I know where He has drawn the lines?

Desire The SINCERE MILK Of The Word!

As Children of God we are to CEASE wearing that old lost clothing and are to put on His clothing. Warren Wiersbe wrote:

“It is sad when Christians have no appetite for God’s Word, but must be ‘fed’ religious entertainment instead. As we grow, we discover that the Word is milk for babes, but also strong meat for the mature (1 Cor. 3:1-4; Heb. 5:11-14). It is also bread (Matt. 4:4) and honey (Ps. 119:103).”

The Bible says …

Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

How do we determine what is right and wrong? Is it based on our OPINION? No, we do not draw the lines on the highway, nor do we draw the lines on the King’s Highway. The Creator draws the lines. Before I could ever drive on the highways of our country I had to study the manual, to see what the rules were. The same is true for the King’s Highway. If you are born again, if you are a Child of God by faith in Christ, THEN

Desire the SINCERE MILK of the WORD of GOD!

What does the Bible about this or that? What lines has God drawn?

You say “I believe it’s ok to sleep with anyone if I love them”. So you believe this? Where do you find this endorsed in the Scripture?

You say “I believe marriage can be between two people of any sex”. Ok then. Where do you find this endorsed in the Word of God?

You say “I believe it’s all right to hate others, to hold grudges, to hurt my enemy”. All right then. Where do you find this in the Scripture?

The Apostle says to DESIRE … ἐπιποθέω epipotheō … to pursue with LOVE. To chase after, like you would chase after a desirable mate. To have a deep affection for. To have a mouth watering craving for. DESIRE. As a parent I often fed my babies late at night to give Sherry chance to sleep. When I pulled the bottle out my babies would reach for that bottle kicking their little feet. They wanted that sustenance. They didn’t really know why, but they reached for it. You should want the Word of God this badly if you are a Child of God.

A little boy was watching his daddy – a farmer – behead a chicken for that night’s meal. He said, “Look daddy, that chicken’s dead and he don’t know it”. There’s a lot of people who are dead and don’t know it. Our churches are filled with them! The sign or mark that you are alive in Christ is that you desire Christ’s Word.

The SINCERE MILK … ἄδολος adolos γάλα gala … unadulterated or unmixed with things milk. Some people take the Scripture and twist it to make it say what they want it to say. This is not what God wants us to do. We are to take His Word literally and without mixture. The devil came to Jesus and twisting the Word said:

Matthew 4:3 (KJV) … If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

Did Jesus say “Well, I FEEL that you’re right?” No. Jesus responded (Matthew 4:4) … It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

We must turn off the televisions and put down the telephones and open our Bibles, desiring His Word. You will only be as strong as the Word within. Turn to His Word. Listen to His Voice. Jesus said:

John 15:3-4 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

The Word of God died for you, and the Word of God was given to you. Take His Word upon you. Learn of Him. Feed on what He says, not on what the darkness says. I have people all the time tell me what they believe. Is it backed by the Word of God?

Ephesians 5:25-26 …. Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water BY THE WORD …

As you feed on His Word and grow by it you learn where the lines are drawn. You life becomes more ordered when you live it in Him.

Come To Christ – Be Like Christ

1 Peter 2:4-6 (KJV) To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, [5] Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

As we grow in His Word we become more like Him. God has a purpose for your life, dear believer. It is not to be like the world but to be like Christ.

As Christ is a LIVING Stone, we are to be LIVELY stones.
As Christ is our HIGH PRIEST, we are called to be priests.
As Christ was sacrificed for us, we are to sacrifice ourselves for Him.

A man put an advertisement in the lost and found section of his local newspaper. The ad read,

“Lost dog. Crippled in his right front paw, blind in his left eye. He has mange in his fur, and part of his tail is missing. Recently neutered, the dog answers to the name Lucky.”

Why in the world would anyone name a dog in such a condition “Lucky”? Because the dog is Lucky. He is Lucky – Blessed – because someone loves him. May I tell you this: God loves us. The Bible says:

1 John 4:19 We love him, because He first loved us.

This is what the Christian knows. We love Him, because He first loved us. There was nothing lovable in me that caused God to love me. There was nothing in us that warranted love from God. Yet God loved us anyway. And through Christ, calls us into His Kingdom to be like Jesus. We become more like Him when we hear His Word, and not only hear, but do His Word.

This is the King’s Highway. Will you walk with me on it?