Devotionary

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Ep 352 – 1 Peter 3:18-22 Dec 04, 2017

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Peter is calling his readers to live out their newfound life in Christ in tangible, practical ways. They are to live godly lives, not to earn salvation, but as a result of the salvation provided for them by Jesus Christ. They are to live in the power of the Spirit, given to them by God and intended to transform their lives in radical ways. But while living for Christ, we are also to follow His example, and be willing to die as He did. The fact that Jesus came to earth and took on human flesh is important, but it is incomplete if we leave out His death and resurrection. So, in 1 Peter 3:18-22, Peter is going to remind us that Jesus came to die. That was His mission. It was not a detour or an unexpected ending to His original plan. It was the plan all along. And it is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ that gives the gospel its significance. The resurrection is the key. Without it, we are without hope, as Paul says. Without it, Jesus died in vain. But the resurrection of Christ is a resounding message of victory over sin and death. It proves that Jesus was who He claimed to be: The Son of God and the Savior of the world. And His resurrection is the basis of the hope of our future glorification. Because He lives, so shall we.

Ep 351 – 1 Peter 3:13-17 Dec 03, 2017

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Hope. It seems to be in short supply these days. We live at a time when the darkness around us seems to be deepening and the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ appears to be diminishing in strength. But Peter would encourage us to have hope. In 1 Peter 3:13-17, he reminds us of the hope that we have within us as followers of Jesus Christ. We have been chosen by God and made members of His family. And that new relationship with Him comes with the guarantee of an eternity that has been secured for us in heaven. All because of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. We live in this world with hope, even in the midst of all the darkness. We live our lives in eager anticipation of Christ's eminent return. We count on it. And it is the promise of His return and the hope of our eternal destiny that allow us to endure all this world has to throw at us. But when we do good and find ourselves suffering because of it, Peter tells us we need to be ready to share with all those around us just why we are willing to put up with trials and troubles in this life. It's because we have hope of eternal life. Peter wants us to defend our actions; not with rhetoric, clever arguments, or well-reasoned polemics, but with an explanation of the hope of the gospel. Our willingness to suffer for doing good only makes sense when seen through the lens of the gospel.

Ep 350 – 1 Peter 3:8-12 Dec 02, 2017

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In 1 Peter 3:8-12, Peter begins to wrap up his thoughts regarding the believer's behavior toward the various relationships in their life. He has been specific, now he gets a bit more generic, calling all believers to bless one another. But what does that even mean? Is it as simple as saying, "Bless you" to someone else? Probably not. While there is certainly nothing wrong with those two words, Peter's point seems to be focused on the heart behind the words. While we can use our tongues to say good things to or about others, we can also use them to curse. But just because we choose NOT to curse doesn't make us godly. And neither does saying good things. The real issue Peter is dealing with is the condition of our heart. Do we really love others? When we express love for them, is it coming from within or are our words a sham, a righteous-sounding, reputation-building attempt to come across as Christ-like? If we have been chosen by God, adopted into His family, made heirs of His Kingdom, appointed as priests, and filled with His Spirit, do we live like it? If the answer is yes, then do we bless like it? Peter flatly states that we were called that we might bless and be a blessing. And one of the primary ways we do this is through the use of our words.

Ep 349 – 1 Peter 3:7 Dec 01, 2017

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So, what about husbands? Peter has had quite a bit to say to wives, and now he takes on the married men in his audience, but he packs it into one short paragraph, found in 1 Peter 3:7. And while he won't have anything to say about how husbands dress or what they do with their hair, he will demand that they treat their wives with honor. They are not to lord it over their wives, which was a common problem in that day and age. Women were not held in high esteem and, in most cases, a wife was expected to accept whatever religious faith her husband held. She didn't get a choice. And as with his input to wives, Peter is going to address the God-ordained treatment Christian men were to show to their wives, whether they were believers or not. Just like what he had to say to slaves and wives, Peter is most interested in godly behavior, that kind of conduct that reflects a right relationship with God, made possible through faith in Christ. A Christian husband was to honor his wife. He was to view her as a gift from God, a fellow heir of the grace of life. Unlike the pagans within the culture, Christian men were to treat their wives with dignity and to make them a high priority in their lives. They were not to be seen as property or second-class citizens. If a man truly had a new nature, by virtue of his faith in Christ, Peter expected to honor like it.

Ep 348 – 1 Peter 3:1-6 Nov 30, 2017

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There's not a pastor alive, who is in his right mind, who wants to take on the topic of women's clothing or how they dress. It is a mine field littered with devastatingly dangerous traps that could spell disaster for even the most well-meaning pastor. But in the opening verses of 1 Peter 3, Peter is going to voluntarily run right into mine-infested territory willingly giving advice on women's hair, clothing and jewelry. And, as if that wasn't enough, he's going to call them to submit to their husbands – even if their husband is an unbeliever. Is Peter nuts? Has he lost his mind? Or is he some kind of chauvinistic, gender-biased bigot who has it out for women? We have to keep in mind that Peter has just finished talking to believing slaves, those who had come to faith in Christ, but still found themselves living in the same miserable conditions they were in before salvation. And the women to whom Peter was writing we in a similar situation, many of them having come to faith in Christ, apart from their husbands. This was a cultural taboo in Peter's day. Women were expected to practice the faith of their husbands. They were not allowed to have their own opinion about religious matters. But Peter is calling these women, who had become believers, to live out their newfound faith in such a way that they would be visible, tangible witnesses to their unbelieving spouses. For Peter, it was about a change in behavior based on a change in their standing before God.

Ep 347 – 1 Peter 2:18-25 Nov 29, 2017

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Nobody in their right mind likes to suffer. Normal people don't wake up in the morning hoping that their day is full of pain, suffering and trials. But as Peter continues to elaborate on the Christian life, he is going to stress the undeniable and inescapable reality of suffering. In verses 18-25 of 1 Peter 2, he is going to drive home the point that all believers, no matter their station in life, can expect to suffer as Jesus did, because they have been made a part of His body, the church. And the church, then, as now, was made up of all kinds of people from all walks of life. And in these verses, Peter is going to address a particular group of individuals who knew first-hand what suffering was like because it was a regular part of their daily lives. Believe it or not, the early church had a good percentage of slaves or household servants who had come to faith. Some of them even attended the same churches as their masters. While these individuals had come to know freedom from sin because of their relationship with Christ, they still found themselves literal slaves to real masters, who still viewed them as little more than property. One of the things that will jump out at us as 21st-Century Christians living in the United States, is that Peter has no moral indictments to level against the institution of slavery. But he had much to say about slaves living out their newfound faith right where they were. He's going to remind them that they were sons and daughters of God and, as a result, they should be willing to suffer like it.

Ep 346 – 1 Peter 2:13-17 Nov 28, 2017

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What is the Christian's relationship to earthly governments to look like? That is what Peter brings up in verses 13-17 of 1 Peter 2. And what he has to say may be a bit surprising to some of us. I've entitled this episode, "Submit Like It" because Peter is going to continue his call for believers to live out their newfound status as sons and daughters of God by living lives that are set apart from the rest of the world. Our behavior is to reflect our identity as the chosen people of God, royal priests, and as members of a holy nation. We are exiles here, but we still have to get along with the rest of the world and live according to the rules and regulations established by earthly rulers and governments. Peter is going to make it perfectly clear that, as Christians, we are not free to live as we choose or to use our citizenship in heaven to declare our independence from any form of earthly rule. No, he tells us to submit to every human institution, for the Lord's sake. And it is important to note that the audience that received Peter's original letter would have been living under extreme conditions, submitting to the Roman Empire with all its oppressive taxes and harsh regulatory practices. Just because they were free in Christ did not mean they were free to reject the government God had placed in authority over them. Their actions and attitudes were to be Christ-like and honoring at all times.

Ep 345 – 1 Peter 2:9-12 Nov 27, 2017

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If we are children of God, shouldn't we behave like it? Peter seems to think so. In 1 Peter 2:9-12, we will hear Peter reminding his readers that they have a remarkable new identity in Christ Because of their faith in Christ, they have been changed and given new responsibilities within the Kingdom of God. They have been hand-picked by God, made His priests, set apart as His people and given the responsibility of proclaiming the greatness of the One who called them out of darkness into his marvelous light. What Peter has in mind here is a change in behavior. Their status before God has changed, because they have been declared righteous by Him because of the sacrificial death of His own Son. Now, they were to live like who there were. But the danger they faced was one that is common to all believers: To fail to recognize their new identity and to fall back into the the familiar patterns of their life before Christ. So, Peter is going to go out of his way to ensure that they understand exactly who they are and how that should impact their daily lives. Living like a Christian won't be easy. Not everyone will appreciate the change that has taken place in our lives. But when we live like who we are, the world can't ignore it. And some will be attracted to Christ because of it.

Ep 344 – 1 Peter 2:4-8 Nov 26, 2017

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In today's episode, entitled, "Build Like It", Peter is going to use a construction metaphor to get across his point that our lives are to exhibit a transformation. We are part of a master building plan designed by God Himself. We are not just individual works in process, we are parts of a greater whole, a spiritual house. And Jesus is to be the foundation upon which we rest and find our stability. As we dig into 1 Peter 2:4-8, we'll see that Peter has a community concept in mind. The Christian life is not to be a solo-sport or an individualized pursuit. We are in this together and are being built up in conjunction with every other believer. And our common ground is our faith in Jesus Christ. He is the cornerstone, as Peter puts it. But for many, this stone that was to bring stability and structure, ends up being a stone of stumbling. Rather than resting on Him, they trip over Him. Instead of seeing Him as Savior, they view Him as someone or something to be avoided at all costs. But we are not to live like that. We are to see Jesus as foundational to our lives and essential to the health of the church. He is what holds us together and gives our lives meaning. Without Christ, we have no solid ground. We become like a house built on sand.

Ep 343 – 1 Peter 2:1-3 Nov 25, 2017

Show notes

You're probably familiar with the phrase, "Dress for success." Well, in 1 Peter 2:1-3, we are going to learn Peter's definition of what the successful Christian wears. But first, he's going to tell us what is inappropriate attire for the believer. That's why I've entitled this episode, "Dress Like It." As children of God, we should appear as what we are. That means there are certain characteristics that are not acceptable and should be avoided at all costs. In essence, it's like saying, "I wouldn't get caught dead wearing something like that!" Just as there are certain kinds of clothing that are age-inappropriate or improper for certain situations, there are certain outward character qualities that are not faith-appropriate. They no longer go with who we are in Christ. You don't wear heavy sweaters or a wool coat in summer. You don't put on sandals to shovel snow in the middle of winter. And you don't put on things like malice, deceit, slander and envy if you call yourself a Christ-follower. It is one thing to call yourself a Christ. It is another to live like one. And as Peter will emphasize throughout this letter, our behavior should be a true reflection of our beliefs. What we say we believe should show up in the way we act, think, speak, and live out our faith in this world.

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