In Jason Dohm's sermon titled 'Who Believers Are and What We Must Not Do,' he explores the identity and responsibilities of believers through biblical texts from 1 Peter 2 and 2 Corinthians 6. Dohm emphasizes that believers are described as 'living stones,' part of a spiritual house and a royal priesthood, highlighting their divine adoption and sanctification. As chosen, holy, and special people, believers are called to proclaim God's praises. The sermon also warns against 'being unequally yoked' with unbelievers, extending the concept beyond marriage to include education, entertainment, and more. Dohm stresses the dangers of syncretism, the mixing of beliefs, which can desensitize believers to their spiritual identity and mission. The call to be a holy and distinct people is central, with a focus on resensitizing oneself to the pitfalls of integrating with worldly values.

The title of my remarks this morning is, Who Believers Are and What We Must Not Do. And I have a text for each, 1st Peter 2 tells believers who they are, And 2nd Corinthians 6 tells believers what they must not do and what we must not do is rooted in our identity. So there's a straight line between these two things. Really nothing new to say. I'm not going to say anything that you've never heard before today.

I'm going to be saying things that you've heard many times today. But they're things that we all need to hear again from time to time, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to say them. God, we see in your Word that you have set apart a people to yourself, and it cost you dearly to set apart a people to yourself. Thank you for sending your son who is able to save to the uttermost. Jesus we thank you for leaving the glory that was so richly yours from eternity past in order to come live among sinners, be mistreated and bleed and die, and to rise again.

Pray that you would cause this time to be profitable, the things that are said again to hit home. Ask it in Jesus' name, amen. Please turn to 1 Peter chapter 2. I'll be reading a couple of different sections in 1 Peter chapter 2. It tells the believer who he is, or the believer who she is, what God was doing.

Again in 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 4 and 5, Peter writes, Coming to Him, coming to Jesus, as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men but chosen by God and precious, You also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. So this is is what God was doing in saving you or what God is doing in the world today. He's taking the dead in sin and transgression, people who were dead in sin and transgressions, and he brings them to a living stone, his son, a life-giving person, Jesus Christ, and he makes them alive and they become stones and he's building up a temple. He has this structure that he's building so that he would be known and worshiped. The believer was dead but he's been brought to Jesus Christ, the living stone that is despised and rejected by men, but he's alive and he gives life and he imparts life and he makes the dead living stones and we're being built together into this spiritual temple to offer worship to God.

Now look at verses 9 and 10. I'm skipping ahead. Still in 1st Peter 2 verses 9 and 10, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, who once were not a people but now are the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. Peter says that when God has done this, when he's done verses four and five and brought the dead to the living stone, and the living stone imparts life to them, and he's building the structure of worship, then this accurately describes those people. Paul gives us four nouns, four things, and He gives us an adjective for each of those nouns, something that describes the thing.

One, a generation. That's the noun, a generation, not like gen X or Gen Z, but as in the offspring of, the generation of a common father. And the adjective that describes these offspring is are they are offspring by adoption. It's just not the normal happenings, but it is a father who says, I want you I choose you I adopt you To a priesthood That's the noun a Priesthood this special group that is set apart for worship. You've been doing all these common things, you're not doing those common things anymore.

You are set apart to know God and worship Him. And the adjective that describes this noun is royal. Royal blood in your vein. Part of the royal line, Hebrews 2, 11 says this, for both he who sanctifies, he who sets apart, this is Jesus, for both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified, believers, those who have been brought to the living stone, are all of one. Both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren." Not ashamed.

Jesus is not ashamed to have me as a brother. He's not ashamed to have you as a sister. We are royalty in Jesus Christ. A priesthood set apart to worship God, but a royal priesthood in Jesus Christ. Not just servants in the temple, but brethren to the king.

Three, a nation. When we see nation here, don't think geography, think government and laws. We have a common king. We don't share one geography. Now this nation is global, but we have a common king and we have his laws.

And the adjective that describes this nation is holy set apart to himself. Hebrews 11 16 says, but now they desire a better that is a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for He has prepared a city for them." The government, the laws, we come under His government and His laws. A holy nation set apart unto Himself for a people. People is the noun, A group of persons.

God's own special people. He has claimed a people for himself out of the world, and then the adjective that describes is special. A special people. Different people. Beloved people.

There are three places in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 32, Psalm 17, Zechariah 2, where we see this phrase, the apple of his eye. He loves to gaze upon this entity, this people. He loves to look on the people that he's called out to be his own. They are the apple of his eye. In the New Testament it's even better.

We are called the bride. The bride. The God of heaven and earth wants to be married to us. Now why according to 1st Peter 2 has God done this? Why has he taken a people who were not a people and made them his own special people.

Why has God taken the people who had not obtained mercy and lavished mercy on them? Verse 9b answers that question. That for the purpose of to this end that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light so that you could praise him for coming and getting you out of darkness so the praises of that would be on your lips. So if you are genuinely a believer in Jesus Christ this is what God has done. He's brought the dead to a living stone and made you part of this building for worship.

This is who you now are. Part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people. What God has done, who I am in Jesus Christ. Now turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter 6. We go from Peter to Paul in 2nd Corinthians chapter 6.

I'll be reading 2 Corinthians 6 verses 14 through 18. 18. 2nd Corinthians 6, 14 through 18. Paul writes this to the Corinthians, Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

And what accord has Christ with Belial? This is the devil. What communion does Christ have with the devil? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?

For you are the temple of the living God as God has said I will dwell in them and walk among them I will be their God and they shall be my people therefore come out from among them and be separate says the Lord do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters says the Lord Almighty Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Yoking is about co-laboring. It's about being harnessed together in life to work together, to labor together towards an end. Now, this text is most frequently applied to marriage. Believer don't marry an unbeliever.

That's fine, that's appropriate. That's certainly an application. But Paul never actually mentions marriage. We do that. It's a perfect application of that.

But just notice, we're naming marriage. Paul isn't naming marriage. Paul intends this much more broadly. Paul intends this across life. So yes, when a believer marries an unbeliever, he or she has sinfully yoked together with an unbeliever.

Yoked together with an unbeliever. But also when believers hand over their children to be educated by unbelievers or To be educated in an unbelieving system, well my child's teacher is a professing believer, even if that's so, they're not picking the things that are taught, and the companions. So the best case is you have a professing believer implementing an unbelieving system that is yoking. When parents do that, hand over their children to be educated by unbelievers or in an unbelieving system, they have sinfully yoked themselves together with unbelievers. So far everybody in the tent saying, amen, right, get them.

But also when believers entertain themselves with the entertainments of unbelievers, funded by unbelievers, written by unbelievers, produced by unbelievers, sung by unbelievers, acted by unbelievers. Evangelizing the worldview of unbelievers. We're not the only evangelists, you know. If only we had their zeal, if only we pushed the gospel as aggressively as they relentlessly push their God-hating agenda. Push their God-hating agenda, distributed by unbelievers, profiting unbelievers, and yet we line up and drink it down like water.

Friends, this is why resensitizing ourselves to syncretism matters. And you just have to do it, and then you have to do it again, and a year goes by and you have to do it again, because the natural path, the flow, is desensitized to syncretism. It's happening every day to every one of us. We're being desensitized a little. So we have to keep resensitizing ourselves.

Putting feeling back in the nerve endings when we've lost feeling in the nerve endings. Now a simple definition of syncretism is mixing things that should never be mixed, because it pollutes, it pollutes. God in Christ is saving a people out of the world that is in rebellion against Him. Obviously not for them to then reintegrate with that world. He has not saved me to reintegrate again into that world.

Jesus did not come to rescue us from darkness and certain destruction only to have us reintegrate ourselves into darkness and the broad road that leads to destruction. We become so desensitized to it that we don't even feel it when it happens anymore. Unfortunately I have people under the tent who live with me and they know he preaches better than he lives I want feeling back in the nerve endings But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, who once were not a people, but are now the people of God who had not obtained mercy but have now obtained mercy. God wants to put himself on display as a Savior who saves to the uttermost and when we mix it all up again become insensitive again we lose our voice. We lose our ability to put a God who saves to the uttermost on display to the world.

God I pray this that you would make us a holy people. You would put feeling back in the nerve endings. Oh forgive us God. We need to be pardoned We need to be pardoned from so much I do. I thank you that we are precious to you.

I pray that you would be most precious to us that you would become most precious to us. In Jesus' name, Amen.