The passage I read
was 1 Peter 2:9-16
You can find that passage here:
The verse that most
stood out to me:
15 For
it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of
foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not
use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.
As I reflect:
So on day one I
looked at relying on Christ as the first necessity of representing Christ. The next day I looked at how we are changed
by our reliance on Christ and we no longer value the things of the old mane but
consider them lost. Today I read about
being set apart as a result of the change.
Peter begins this
passage by defining his audience. He
defines them as God defines us. We are a
royal priesthood, chosen people, holy nation, and God’s special
possession. We are no longer of the
darkness of this world, for we are called into His wonderful light. We have received mercy. These are definitions that ought to be true
of every representative of Christ. If we
at any time find that we are acting as those in the darkness, then we have
deceived ourselves and His Spirit is not in us.
This is not to say that we are without sin. 1 John 1:8 says, “If we claim to be without
sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”. So Peter isn’t saying we are unsaved if we
sin. He is however saying that we must
walk in the light. This is a contrast of
those walking in the darkness. Though we
make mistakes, we are to be different and set apart by our beliefs, words, and
actions.
Peter continues to
define this separation of darkness and light by urging us to abstain from
sinful desires which wage war against our soul.
He isn’t in anyway condoning a person’s choice to stay in a sinful
lifestyle after receiving salvation from that same lifestyle. He is saying to abstain; to keep away
from. You see when we become born again,
we first repent before God. This means
not only a confession of sins, but an earnest desire to turn away from them and
never turn back. Peter is saying the
same thing when he says to abstain from sinful desires. Turn away from them and don’t look
back. He knows the importance of
abstaining from sin because he understands the spiritual warfare that
occurs. There is a constant battle for
your attention between good and evil.
This unseen fight is waged among fallen angels and the servants of God
who protect you day and night unseen.
Giving in to sin, is like walking across the enemy lines with your hands
behind your back and saying, “take me”, all the while God’s army fights for you
to stay in the light. In times when you
feel tempted beyond what you can bear, remember 1 Corinthians 10:13 and look
for the way out that God has provided. It is there, but you must seek it. This is part of representing and following
after Christ. Wage war on sin in your
life, because it has waged war on you.
We are then told in
similar fashion not only to abstain from sin but to do good. We are to live such good lives that it will
silence the ignorant talk of foolish and pagan people and many of them will be
freed unto salvation simply by seeing what salvation has done through you. We are told to do good deeds and I think far
too often Christians see this as only the major things, like feeding the poor
or donating time and energy to a ministry.
But Peter goes on to also define our representation of Christ as being a
people who obey the law of man. He says
we are to submit ourselves (for the Lord’s sake) to every human authority. This of course is referring to obedience to
the law and the government so long as that obedience doesn’t cause disobedience
to the Lord. This means that when you
are on your way to do that good deed at the soup kitchen, you shouldn’t be
speeding. It is against the law and it
shows your lack of self control to others as you wrongly represent Christ. It also means that when you are called to
jury duty and would rather be making more money at your own job, you don’t lie
or purposely attempt to get out of jury duty.
As a representative of Christ, you are to submit yourself also to jury
duty as the government calls you into this service. It
means that when you could loose your house if you are honest on a form, that
you are honest anyway. It means that if
you could gain more money or food stamps by lying on tax forms or assistance
applications, you are honest and trust the Lord instead. He is the one who told you to submit
yourselves to every human authority. It means
when you get pulled over and held accountable for being disobedient to the law,
you are respectful and apologetic for a wrong action and not in any way
disrespectful to the officer who pulls you over. I believe the overall point is that living
Godly lives in a pagan society doesn’t mean that we become liars, or
disrespectful or have any excuse to be lacking in self control, but rather that
we can represent Christ also in the way we vote, drive, fill out forms, do our
taxes, and respond to the many persons in authority over us.
Yes, I do serve a
Jewish Carpenter that is higher than any human authority here on earth. But my Boss has told me to be obedient to the
many bosses I have here on earth. My
obedience to them is thusly my obedience to Him.
Peter wraps up this
portion of the passage saying, “live as free people, but do not use your
freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.” This is as plain as plain can get. If you are in Christ, you do not continue in
sin and then justify it saying it’s ok because you are forgiven. We are changed and set apart. We are not of the darkness any longer. One can tell who your master is by the things
that you do. If you are constantly
breaking laws and living in such a way that you cannot be told apart from the
rest of the world, then odds are that your master is the same master that has
blinded the world to God. Instead, live
in such a way that people can tell that God is your master… Even when no one is
looking.
My response to the
Lord:
Lord, as I look over the reflection time I spent in your
word today, I am tempted to change many things written because I am also guilty
before you. There are moments when I too
feel that the law of this land is greatly unjust and I am disrespectful in
thought and in conversation with my wife about it. Forgive me Father. I know I am to submit to that authority and
trust in your sovereignty. I know that
you are their judge just as you are my judge and that they need grace just as I
need grace. I am no better of my own,
but because you have shown me grace I can see.
Forgive me for soo often forgetting.
Help me to love and have compassion for those I struggle against
judgment of. Lord thank you for always
providing a way out when times have been difficult in the past and we have been
told by others to just say this or that lie on a form to get more out of what
is already a generous offer undeserved.
You have always helped us to be integral in our representation of you in
this dark world. I pray you continue this work in us always that we not be
found doing wrong by our accusers. Lord
I give you our accusers and pray you show them our good deeds because of you in
our lives, and bring them unto repentance that they may glorify you. Thank you for your mercy Father. You be glorified by my response to this mercy
flowing in my life. Father you be
glorified. In the mighty name of
Jesus. Amen.
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