November 6, 2023

           One of Peter’s real strengths as a Bible-writer and encourager of believers today is his practical nature.  Both of his letters have tremendous practical application to the way we live today.  His words are as relevant on Monday as they are on Sunday.  He takes God’s truth and relates it to the situations and roles that we face as believers today.  He provides wonderful words that we can live by.  His message is not always easy to apply but we can certainly understand what he is saying and why he says it.  One excellent example of his practical writings is I Peter 2:16-18.  In his own words, he wrote, “Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.  Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.” He painted a good pathway for us to consider in these three verses.  Five truths stand out for us to see.
            First, Peter wrote that we are to live as free people.  Followers of Christ are free.  We have been made free or set free by what Christ accomplished for us in His death and resurrection.  The Lord broke the chains of slavery that bound us to sin.  He shattered the shackles that held us captive to the enemy.  He tore down the locks and bolts that kept us imprisoned to sin and sorrow.  We are free—finally, forever and faithfully free.  Do not let anyone convince you that you are still a slave to shame, sin or guilt.  The enemy would love to persuade you that freedom Christ offers is elusive and slippery at best—nothing that we can seize and possess for eternity.  Satan often whispers lies to us to convince us that we still belong to him or that we would be happier in slavery to him than living in the freedom that Christ won for us.
            Second, Peter wrote that we are to use our freedom in a worthy way.  We are not to live recklessly.  Just because we can do something is not always a reason for doing it.  Christ has set us free to serve Him.  Christ has freed us from sin so we can live worthy and good lives.  We are free to speak for Him and to live for Him.  We are free to serve Him and worship Him.  Freedom is never to be a guise or “cover-up” for evil behavior.  We can choose to be slaves to Christ because, as Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). 
            Third, Peter wrote to be respectful, gracious and kind to all.  Put others first and before yourself.  We are told to love the family of God—our fellow believers.  Jesus instructed us to treat others as we would want to be treated (Matthew 6:31 and Luke 7:12).  We are to interact with others as we would expect them to treat us.  But we are not to be doormats and allow people to trample us.  There is the importance of account-ability.  John said that loving others is one indication that we have passed from spiritual death to new life in Christ (see I John 3:14).  As followers of Christ, we are His repre-sentatives or ambassadors wherever we may go.  We are to make Him known by our words and lives.  We are to be light that leads others to know and walk with Him.  The way we love and respect others will often win us the right to speak about Jesus and the gospel to them.
            Fourth, Peter says that we are to work with honor and humility.  He wrote originally about the matter of slavery in the Roman Empire.  Slaves were to honor their masters.  While we are not slaves today, we do have jobs, duties and responsibilities for which we are accountable.  The standard is to work for others as if we were working for Christ.  We can bring glory to God by how we do our job or handle things that have been given or entrusted to us.  We are to maintain a level of trust in all things—not just the things we might like or enjoy but everything.  A real test of faith might be how we handle the difficult things or demanding challenges that we find looming before us.  God often places us in situations where we can grow personally and spiritually by how we serve Him. 
            Fifth, Peter really instructs us to think about how we live.  We are to be intentional in our service to Christ—not incidental or indifferent.  We can wake up each day and consider what God has for us to do and how we can best serve Him with the situations that we may encounter.  Jesus said the way we handle small things often sets us up for greater roles.  Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” (Luke 16:10).  Small things matter.  Big things matter.  In every situation, we have moments where we can be God’s hands, feet, voice or compassion.  Peter helps us to develop a much broader outlook on life.
            Be grateful for these words of guidance that Peter offers us.  Grateful people tend to be healthier people in practically every area of life.  Gratitude means we will use the freedom that we have been given by Christ to serve Him and to live for Him.  As Proverbs says, “Whoever fears the LORD walks uprightly” (Proverbs 14:2a).  Peter gives us a roadmap for walking uprightly in both of his letters.  May God inspire and enlighten us as we seek to follow this map for living.  Have a great Monday!  Remember you can worship any time at YouTube.com/FirstBaptistKannapolis.