13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Well, one thing that I picked up on is somewhat in verse 22. Peter has just written that we should be holy, and here he tells us how to be holy: by obeying the truth and loving God and our brothers. If we obey the Father and do everything out of true, sincere love for Him and all people, then we will be righteous because we cannot sin if we are being wholly obedient and loving. So there is a way to be holy, it just takes a whole lot of work and even more of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing I really love about this part is verses two and three. When we are just beginning Christians, we taste that the Lord is good. Our tasting of His goodness doesn't stop there, but we do need to grow up in our salvation. We can't just taste of His goodness, we must be consumed by it. We must be united with Him in His goodness and love, but also the suffering and pain. Part of growing up in our salvation is realizing that being a Christian doesn't always mean happiness and goodness- there is messiness, but through it all, the Lord is still good and always good.
Yes! It reminded me of the song Jamie sings in Audience of One, "What Does It Mean To Be Holy?"
DeleteYes! Me too!
DeleteVerses 13 and 14 stuck out to me. They point out there there should be a big difference between our old selves, and our new selves now that we are saved. This means that we cannot passively slip into our old worldly and sinful habits, but must actively seek to be obedient to God and HIS will for our lives. We must actively seek to be self-controlled, and center our lives on the redeeming grace of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ!
ReplyDelete