Monday, August 01, 2016

In our last visit we began considering what Peter had in mind when he said, “prepare your minds for action (1 Peter 1:13). We live in a hostile environment and are called to represent our God who is holy. This will require being self-controlled. To help us stay focused we need to set our hope fully on the grace to be given us when Jesus Christ is revealed. We must always keep the goal of our faith before us. This means we need to be obedient children, remembering, “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” (verse 15-16). Peter points out that God the Father “judges each man’s work impartially” (verse 17). We are accountable to Him to live responsibly. All men must answer to Him, so we are expected to share the good news with those among whom we live. We do this by the way we act as well as by explaining what we believe, as we’ll see in 1st Peter 3:15-16. Another motivator for living as we ought is to remember the price paid for our salvation. Peter writes, “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 forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect, He was chosen (for this) before the creation of the world” (verses 18-20). No matter how diligent we are to help others do well in life, ultimately what counts in life and eternity is for them to be redeemed by trusting in Christ’s sacrifice.