Good day and happy Thursday. I had a series of meetings this morning so I had my study time, but I’m writing much later in the day. I’ve gotten into such a groove of studying and writing in the early mornings, that it’s very odd how different it can feel to write much later in the day. I find that I am much more productive and reactive to God’s Word in the mornings. The events of the day can have quite the effect on us. Dealing with other people, driving in traffic, talking on the phone and answering emails can all take a small toll on your thinking and your attitude, and mostly without you even knowing it. For me, the early mornings are a special time of quiet, solitude and peace where I can quietly meet with God. I’m thankful for the still of the morning.
Yesterday we started the book of 1 Peter, so today we’re in chapter 2. We’ll be specifically focusing on one passage, 1 Peter 2:15-17. Lets take a look:
“For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” 1 Peter 2:15-17
We have a great passage here on how we are to literally function on this Earth in a way that will please God. In fact it says, “This is the will of God.” In other words, these are specific instructions from God. What are the instructions? Lets break down the passage.
“that by doing good you will put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.” When you were growing up, how much trouble did you get into for doing good? Did your parents ever yell at you for being too good to your brothers or sisters? For keeping your room too clean? For making too many friends at school? For helping clean up around the house too much? I didn’t think so. Me neither. Doing good is, well, good. This is the gist of this verse. By doing good nobody will have much of a reason to point fingers at you and accuse you of just about anything. (besides maybe saying that you are a goody two shoes, but I’ve been called worse!) It’s God’s will for us to do good. All the time and to all people. By doing so you will silence the foolish, meaning they will literally have nothing bad to say about you. What a great command from God!
“Live as people that are free.” If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed! (John 8:36) There is a freedom in Christ like no other freedom on this planet. This freedom is a gift from God and He wants this level of freedom to be visible in our lives and therefore visible to others. Freedom is a topic that interests me greatly. We live in America. Land of the free. We have freedom of speech and we have freedom of religion. We have freedom of the press and we have freedom to live where we want, work where we want and pretty much spend our lives as we want. Many nations around the globe don’t enjoy these same freedoms. Many of the students I work with from China don’t have the freedom to plan their own careers. The way they test out for college determines their course of study. They have no choice. If they are good at science, the government makes them a science major and that’s all there is to it. I have one Chinese student that is a talented artist and loves to draw. He was crestfallen when he got his degree plan and was dictated a math major. More than likely he will end up spending his life teaching in a small town in China…for dollars a day. We have great freedom here in America…or do we? We live in a nation today that is enslaved. We are enslaved to debt, we are enslaved to our jobs, we are enslaved to our possessions, we are enslaved to sin. How ironic that in the course of finding absolute freedom, America has found a new level of bondage. There is only one true freedom on this planet. No matter where you live, free, communist, or socialist, there is but one true freedom. Freedom in the eternal salvation of Jesus Christ.
“not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” The freedom that we have is a gift from God. Once you are saved by the blood of Jesus you are saved forever. You cannot lose your salvation or have it taken away. The blood of Jesus has the power to cover your sins forever. So does that mean that you can live however you want? Party like there’s no tomorrow because your saved? Not so much. This verse says you should not live that way but think carefully about the damage your conduct could do to other believers as well as unbelievers. People are watching how you are using your freedom in Christ. In the polar opposite of living in wreckless freedom, we are to be servants of God. And how do you serve God? You serve others. True service to God is service to others. Try it, you’ll be hooked for life. There is very little on this planet that invigorates me more than truly serving others. Serving others with absolutely nothing to gain and nothing expected in return. It’s not your job, you’re not getting paid, it’s not to be personally recognized or rewarded, it’s just simply volunteering and serving others. By giving to others, you are giving to God and folks, He will bless your soul in ways you cannot imagine. I dare you to try it.
“Honor everyone." Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” The next 4 instructions God gives us for living in His will come fast and furious. They are simple to understand yet very difficult to execute. In fact, very, very difficult. Honor everyone. To honor is to “to regard someone with high respect or great esteem.” So, God’s will for us is that we should treat EVERYONE with high respect and great esteem. Folks, have you walked around in this world lately? This is not exactly what I see when I walk in this world. The other day I was getting gas and there was a young lady talking on her phone while getting gas at the pump next to me. She was having a major disagreement with someone on the other end and wow..the language and the conversation made me cringe. I hope she was in the Navy because I’ve heard sailors with cleaner language. She was by no means showing this person honor, esteem or respect. What would have happened if she did? What happens when you treat people with respect and honor? My experience has been that in most cases they reciprocate. It’s a beautiful thing to behold. When you treat others with honor most of the time they turn right back around and pay you back with respect. Doesn’t always work but it doesn’t matter, if you want to live in the will of God, you are called to honor everyone.
“love the brotherhood” The brotherhood is other believers. Our fellow believers are under the umbrella of the first command, honor everyone, but for believers we are to step it up. We are also to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. I heard a saying one time, “we are told to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, but it didn’t say it would be easy!” How true. Even if they have accepted Christ, some believers are just not that easy to love. Regardless, it doesn’t exempt you from this command, love the brotherhood.
“Fear God” Most people think this means to be afraid of God. That He is up in Heaven just waiting for us to mess up so He can send a lightning bolt down to fry us in our tracks. Not so much. In the scriptural context “to fear God” means to have a reverence for God. To be in awe of God. To have a level of respect for God that defies imagination. As you read God’s Word and He reveals His true nature, you cannot help but be in awe of a God that offers us such grace, mercy and love. Fear God, offer Him the respect and reverence that He is due. In doing so, you cannot help but be an example to the world of what God means to your life.
"Honor the Emperor." Rome had some pretty nasty emperors. Nero was the emperor when Peter wrote these letters between 64 and 67AD. Folks, Nero was a bad dude. In fact, he was just pure evil. He killed Christians by the millions for fun. He was a tyrannical dictator and even went as far to call himself god. He wanted a certain piece of prime real estate in downtown Rome to extend his palace, but the senate would not turn it over. He orchestrated a fire that burned this plot of land and most of that part of the city and then guess what? He took over the now desolate land and started one of the biggest building projects in history, all using the people’s money. The project? The Domus Aurea, “Golden House”, a personal palace and series of gardens that covered and estimated 300 acres. This was the emperor that Peter is telling Christians to love! The same emperor that was slaughtering their brothers and sisters in Christ in sick and twisted ways. And yet today we see it as sport to ridicule and lambast our politicians and leaders because we are not happy and they are not doing what we think is right. We are to honor and respect our leaders. It doesn’t matter if they make you happy or not, God commands us to honor our leaders.
What a great passage for us today. I love it when God commands us. It takes all the guesswork out. It takes out the personal interpretation and it just leaves God’s Word staring you in the face. It’s us and God. You have a choice when a command is dropped in your lap. Do it or don’t. Do good. Live free. Don’t abuse your freedom. Honor everyone. Love all Christians. Honor your leaders. Sweet and simple.
Dear Lord, thank you for the power of your Word and thank you for your will for our lives. Please give us the power and fortitude to adhere to your commands through the strength of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Comments