Friday, July 29, 2016

The Apostle Peter began his first epistle by giving a two verse capsule of the focus of chapter 1: Salvation – past and present. Then in the next ten verses he amplified the focus by expanding what was involved in the past and present regarding our salvation and added a third point, the future. It’s as though he described the tip of a pyramid first, then amplified it by fleshing out the details in the middle section of the triangle. Then he adds the base in the final thirteen verses. In the top two sections he amplified primarily what God did and how these Christians to whom he was writing responded up to this point. He begins this third section with the word “therefore.” In other words, he is now pointing out, in the light of what God has done and these Christians have experienced, they were to “prepare (their) minds for action.” He already had said they were strangers in the world, now he encourages them to live their lives “as strangers here with reverent fear” (verse 17). This is a two-fold fear. First, it is not a fear of God, as one shrinking before Him, but a fear of not honoring Him. Second, it is a fear of not representing God and all He has done for us, while living alongside of unbelievers in the world. The danger always is compromise, to “conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance” as unbelievers (verse 14). Therefore, we must prepare our minds for action, reminding ourselves of our origins, God’s promises and provisions, and our destiny. What a challenging journey it is.