His Word Today

¹⁶ Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (I Peter 2:16).

The United States Declaration of Independence begins with these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Many American citizens, among them many Christians, believe that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness means doing whatever we want to do not matter the consequences. This is not what the Founding Fathers meant, nor is it what the Apostle Peter means in I Peter 2:16.

In living as people who are free, God calls us to live responsibly before Him and other people. This means doing what God says is right, even when it is inconvenient. This is true, biblical liberty!

Besides this, we should never allow our freedom in Christ to be a covering for evil. A cover-up means a pretext or a hiding of one’s true nature. In this case, an evil nature. Believers in Christ are to be sincere people of integrity and not pretenders.

Ultimately, our freedom in Christ is always under the authority of God our Master. This is what is meant by liberty; always doing what is right because it is the right thing to do.

I Corinthians 4:12-13 says, “and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.”

Living for Christ, as I have already stated numerous times, is never easy. Sometimes it’s downright difficult. However, it is always rewarding to sense God’s pleasure for doing what He says is the right thing to do. As God’s servants, may we make it our aim to please the Master. May we do so today.

Soli deo Gloria!

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people” (I Peter 2:13-15).

Aside from the truth that God’s commands are to be obeyed, why else are believers called to be submissive to every human institution God has created? These institutions include work, school, home and government.

The Apostle Peter gives us the answer in I Peter 2:15 when he writes, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.”

The phrase, ‘for this is the will of God” means that what Peter has said in I Peter 2:13-14 is what God wants, wishes and purposes His people to do. The reason for this command is also given. Now, God does not have to explain Himself when He gives us a command but in this instance He does.

The reason given for the previously mentioned command from God is that by believers doing good deeds we should silence foolish people who do not know God. To silence (φιμόω; phimoo) literally means to muzzle.

One biblical historian explains, “This section of Peter’s argument leads many to believe that the organized persecution through oppressive Roman laws either had not begun or had not yet reached the provinces of Asia Minor. Christians were then facing lies and verbal abuse, not torture and death. Christians were still enjoying the protection of a legal system which commended those who obeyed the law. So a believer’s best defense against slanderous criticism was good behavior.”

Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 5:14-16.  ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Shine brightly today, my friends. Shine brightly!

Soli deo Gloria!

^13 “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (I Peter 2:13-14).

As I write this article, there are a whole lot of protests going on in this country. People are protesting by sitting or kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem at sporting events, by demanding that offensive statues be removed from public places, by spray painting graffiti and offensive remarks on national monuments, or by just rioting and vandalizing. People are even protesting when an individual cannot get a job as a professional football player. Recently, a state representative from Missouri even called for the assassination of the president.

It seems that what is occurring at this time could best be summed up by a bit of dialogue from the Marlon Brando film The Wild One. Mildred: Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against? Johnny: Whadda you got? God calls Christians to a life of holiness. This means a life which is separate from sin. One way to demonstrate obedience to this call is by being a law abiding citizen.

God commands believers to be obedient. The word “be subject” (ὑποτάσσω; hypotasso) is a direct command from God to obey all human institutions God has created. These include one’s employer at work, one’s parent(s) at home, a teacher or administrator at school, church leaders and even leaders in government. Peter specifically refers to those who are leaders in government.

We may not always like those in authority over us, but God calls us to a holy calling. That holy calling requires obedience to the authorities God has created. The only exception to the rule is when to obey human institutions requires us to disobey God. Herein is where Christians must disobey (Acts 4:19) man rather than God.

God specifically established government to punish the evildoer and to praise the righteous (Romans 13:1-7). While admittedly no human government is perfect in this fallen world, God still calls believers to be an example of righteous obedience.

Pray for those leaders in your life today. This includes your boss, your parents, your teachers, and your representatives in government including the president. Strive to be obedient to every human institution God has created.

Soli deo Gloria!

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (I Peter 2:11-12).

Peter continues to urge his fellow believers, who are beloved in Christ, the consequences of what a life committed to holiness should look like. First, believers are to abstain from the passions of the flesh. This commandment reflects a daily battle in the Christian’s life which must be taken seriously.

Second, Peter also challenges his audience to keep their conduct honorable among those who do not know the Lord as their Savior. To keep (ἔχω; echo) is the daily discipline of possessing and holding on to something. In the immediate context, that which believers are to consistently hold on to is their honorable conduct.

The word honorable (καλός; kalos) means that which is good fine and praiseworthy. Conduct is a familiar word for Peter. It is the Greek word ἀναστροφή (anastrophe) meaning behavior or one’s conduct in life. It is a word Peter used in I Peter 1:15 and will use again in I Peter 3:1 and 2 Peter 3:11. The believer’s daily life and living is to be praiseworthy to God.

The purpose of this type of lifestyle is that when, not if, but when non-believers, or Gentiles, speak against us as evildoers they will ultimately see our good works and glorify God. To speak against (καταλαλέω; katalaleo) means to slander and to speak evil of someone. The grammar here refers to a continual slandering. The slanderous accusation is that the believer in question is an evildoer (κακοποιός; kakopoios) or a criminal.

The antidote to this situation Peter says is to have honorable conduct before your accusers. Why? The promise God gives is that when they continually observe (ἐποπτεύω; epopteuo) and watch your honorable conduct or good deeds (ἔργον; ergon) done for the Lord, even as they are accusing you of the opposite, they will eventually glorify God because of you.

When will they glorify and praise God with their entire being? When He visits them with salvation and converts their own souls. Think about it! Your honorable behavior before those who are currently slandering you could be the very testimony God uses to bring that individual to saving faith in Christ. How awesome is that.

There are times when behaving in an honorable way before God, and our accusers, is not easy. However, God gives us an exceedingly precious promise in I Peter 2:12. You may not be one who articulates the gospel message clearly in your speech, but you may speak volumes in the way you live for the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (I Peter 2:11-12).

Peter continues to urge his fellow believers, who are beloved in Christ, the consequences of what a life committed to holiness should look like. Harking back to I Peter 1:1, when he again refers to Christians as temporary residents of this world, what does a life of holiness involve?

First, it involves “abstaining from the passions of the flesh.” To abstain (ἀπέχω; anexo) means to keep yourself away from something. It means to personally and infinitely avoid something?  What is it that we are to avoid?

We are to avoid the passions (ἐπιθυμία; epithumia), lusts or cravings which are evil. The flesh (σαρκικός; sarkikos) means worldly, base and sinful. Bodily desires, such as sexual intimacy, are not wrong in themselves, but can become so when perverted by man’s sinful nature or flesh. These desires not only include sins committed by the body, but also attitudes of the mind and emotions.

These desires battle within us. The phrase “which war against your soul” refers to one of three areas of conflict believers in Christ battle: the soul. The other two are the fallen world and the devil.

The word war (στρατεύω; strateueo) means battle, warfare and the life of a soldier. Each believer is engaged in a war (Galatians 5:16-21). The Apostle Paul called it a good battle (I Timothy 1:18). He also said God has given us weapons to fight this battle (2 Corinthians 10:4). This battle is fought in our minds, emotions and will. It is a battle for our loyalty: either to God or Satan.

As we live in a sinful world which is not our home, let us daily resolve to no longer live as if this world, with its sinful desires, is our home. Let us be distinctively different from the world in what we consider as holy attitudes and behavior.

We may begin by evaluating what we read, what we watch on television, and what we search for on the Internet in comparison to Scripture. Do we find ourselves increasingly in agreement with what we expose our minds to? Everything we see, hear, and think about must be biblically evaluated.

It won’t be easy, but you know what, no battle ever fought and won was, or is, easy.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

 

 

“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” (I Peter 2:10).

It is always good to remember our responsibility to tell everyone what God has done for us in the person and work of Christ. It is also good to remember to live a holy life before God and others in light of all we are in Christ. This is what the Apostle Peter reminds us in 2:10. God once again tells us what believers were and what they are now.

Once we were not a people. What the apostle means is that at one time we were not God’s people. In our unconverted condition we did not belong to God, but rather were His enemies (Romans 5:10) and objects of His holy and righteous wrath (Romans 1:18; Ephesians 2:1-3; Acts 3:23).

Once, we had not received mercy. Mercy (ἐλεέω; eleeo) means to receive compassion, when you deserved judgment. Mercy is often defined as God not giving us what we as sinners deserved: damnation. It is often compared with God’s grace, which is God giving sinners what they do not deserve: salvation.

As one theologian explains, “The practice of holiness, in which God’s people serve as a holy and royal priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices and extolling His excellencies, is the proper response to the mercy (1 Peter 1:3) they have received.”

Musician Steven Curtis Chapman expresses the need to remember God’s mercy in his song Remember Your Chains.

Remember your chains,  

Remember the prison that once held you,

Before the love of God broke through.

Remember the place you were without grace,

When you see where you are now.

Remember your chains

And remember, your chains are gone.

 Remember!

 Soli deo Gloria!