In the book of 1 Peter, Peter the Apostle is writing to the “elect exiles of the dispersion” according to
verse 1. This means that Peter is writing to Jewish believers who
had been driven out of Jerusalem by the religious system. Living in
Jerusalem as a first century believer was very difficult and often
led to loss of friends, and livelihood. Greek culture was much more
open and most Greek cities had established synagogues.
As the Jewish believers moved into foreign Greek lands, they were seen as
outsiders and brought natural suspicions as any ethnic group might
coming in large numbers to a new land.
Peter
is writing to these Jewish believers because of they have become
strangers in a strange land. Peter does not want them to lose heart
and assimilate into the culture, but to remember who they are in
Christ and to be proud of their Jewish heritage.
For
us, I believe we can find much similarity with these Jewish converts
as we are living in a culture that is largely in outright rebellion
against God
In chapter 2:9 - But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Peter
is reminding them that they are a chosen race – descendants of
Abraham. A royal priesthood, and most importantly a people for His
own possession. The question we have to ask is how
do we, as Gentile believers, relate to this pep talk Peter is giving
to these Jewish believers? The
Apostle Paul answers this question for us in Romans 11 when he tells us that we are grafted into the
vine of Israel.
Romans 11:13-20 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.
For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.
Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."
That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.
By
the virtue of the fact that we are spiritually counted as believing
Israel, we can claim these titles as well.
Looking back at 1 Peter 2:9, notice
our purpose – to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out
of darkness.
I
feel that the church has lost it's holiness in it's quest to
assimilate and seem “relevant” to society at large. Instead of
being encouraged with words such as these spoken by Peter, it seems
we are either terribly uptight and come off prudish, or at the other
extreme, tolerant of sin to the point of losing our ability to affect
change. Peter wants these believers to be excited about their
heritage and their purpose and to live in such a way as to draw
positive attention to the Gospel.
In verse 10 of 1 Peter 2, we see Peter expound on the idea that Israel is exclusively God's. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Historically,
the nation of Israel did not exist until God created it through the
calling of Abraham. Israel received mercy from God. Israel did not
seek out God, or just one day decide to follow; God created them as a nation and
then provided them with a system of worship that allowed them to be
in fellowship with Him.
As
we are born into Adam, we are without mercy, until we respond to the
Gospel and receive God's mercy.
In verse 11, Peter,
again, reminds the exiles that they are not citizens of the culture
of which they live. 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
They lived in a very indulgent society that was filled with sexual perversion and promiscuity, and pagan
revelry. It was very tempting for them to indulge in sin as it was
so acceptable in their new culture. Also, wanting to fit in, I am sure there was
incredible peer pressure to participate in cultural practices that
would displease God. Peter
does not say this flippantly – notice how he not only calls them
to holiness, he also acknowledges how difficult it is to live in
holiness in such an environment – passions of the flesh war
against the soul.
Theses
believers left a society that encouraged holy living and punished
indulgence, now they are in a seemingly bizarro world where denying
the passions of the flesh is considered odd.
We, as modern day believers, also live in a society that shows little restraint in the area of
pleasure. We are considered odd and backward by not participating in
the sinful behavior or enjoying entertainment that dishonors God.
Yes, our desire to indulge can often war against our very soul.
This
is why it is so important that we remember the exhortations of vv 9
and 10. We are special, we are different, we are called, we are
holy, we are God's possession, set apart to glorify Him.
Sometimes
we forget why we are to battle our flesh and once we forget who we
are, it is very easy to begin to assimilate into our sinful
surroundings.
1 Peter 2:12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
It would appear that Peter is expecting some of his audience to see the return of
Christ. He wants them to behave in such a way that the people around
them will understand when Christ returns, why they did what they did.
Peter calls us to behave in front of unbelievers so that if Christ
returned right now, they would realize what our lives were all about
and acknowledge His Lordship.
Also,
Peter is not calling us to holiness for the sake of holiness, he is
calling us to fill our time and expend our energies on doing good. The danger we often face in the pursuit of holiness is walling ourselves off from the world and in so doing, make it impossible to minister to those in need outside the church. I perceive that we have two major camps in American Christendom, one is
very busy with social issues but not overly concerned with orthodoxy
or holiness, while the other camp is busy trying to legislate
morality and attack sin outside the church but not real proactive in
showing love or actually serving others.
If
we can find the place where we recognize who we are in Christ, have
concern for the needs of those around us and strive toward personal
holiness and proper behavior, I believe that would be a combination
that would create that saltiness that Jesus told us to have.
Peter gives us a good deal to think about. How do we balance our abstinence from sinful indulgences and still serve those around us in an effectual manner? By remembering that we are called to be a holy, royal nation of priests, set apart by God to bring glory to His name. The key is knowing who we are in Christ and remembering that our citizenship is not of this earth, but of a heavenly city in the presence of God.
Thank you for this thoughtful post. Thank you for the reminder that we are made holy but are also called to be holy.
ReplyDeleteAdron
http://godlovesyou-adron.blogspot.com/
Thanks for your encouraging word. I am actually teaching this passage tonight at church and when I was done preparing my notes, decided to blogize (is that a word) the message.
DeleteBlessings!
Paul