Tag: I Peter

I Peter 1:3 ” Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

What does it mean to you to be born again?  Maybe it’s been a long time since you even thought about it, especially if you’ve been a Believer for years.  When you said “Yes” to Jesus, you underwent spiritual rebirth.  What was once corruptible became incorruptible,  and passed from death unto life.  When we are born again, all is made new…for by God’s great mercy and the sacrificial blood of Christ, we are saved from our sins.  To be born again means we are truly a new  person standing before God…righteous and blameless in His sight.

I Peter 2:1 ” Therefore rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.”

Growing in our salvation is a process…a conscious, everyday struggle of putting off our old self to be made new in the attitude of our minds. (Ephesians 4:22)  This verse should convict and challenge us all to look at our conduct, actions, and manner…and free ourselves from the chains of all the negativity.  For it tells us later in this chapter,  “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” (Vs 16)  Letting loose of negative emotions will unchain you from the past while freeing you for the future.

Psalm 77:13 ” Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?”

I Peter 1:15-16 tells us, “But just as He Who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy , because I am holy.’ ”  In these Scriptures, Peter is quoting at least three different areas in Leviticus that all say the same thing…Be holy, because I am holy.  The Lord is commanding us to reflect His holiness in our own lives, and as far as it’s possible…to live then a life with a pure heart and moral uprightness.

I Corinthians 10:12 ” So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.”

Here Paul was warning about idolatry and falling into temptation.  Probably the most conceited thought a Christian can have is, “That couldn’t ever happen to me!”   It’s when you think your “beyond” being tempted…that it’ll sneak up behind and bite you.  I’m sorry, but no one is immune to temptation and smugly thinking you are above it is only setting yourself up to fail.  We all need to be on guard and wary…for our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (I Peter 5:8)

Matthew 5:44 ” But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”

Some later manuscripts show this verse as saying, “Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you.”  Either translation is a tall order to fill. For we are a people who retaliate at the slightest notion that we’ve been wronged.  Taking revenge and repaying evil with evil is touted and even celebrated in today’s social media.  But this verse tells us to do the very opposite.  And our example should be Jesus, who in I Peter 2:23 demonstrates, “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate, when He suffered, He made no threats.  Instead He entrusted Himself  to Him who judges justly.”  Taking the high road in the face of cruelty may be a clenched fist, gritted teeth type of  grace under pressure, but allowing God to fight your battle is worth it in the end.