Women’s Faith Converters Brutes and Cowards

For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. 1 Peter 3: 5-6

If ever a scripture could be described as counter cultural this is it. The adornment verse five is speaking of is submission to husbands that is pure and reverent. The difficulty all women have faced in making application of this passage is found at the end of verse six. It is fear. It is very important to say that this is not irrational fear. It is not neurotic, histrionic, or hormonal. No quite the contrary it is completely rational and most often based on the failure of men.

Sarah is the cited example that Peter uses, let us consider her example. Genesis chapter 20 Abraham is travelling through a dangerous territory. Instead of protecting his wife he simply hands her over to a foreign king. Abraham has her lie about their marriage so that he is not killed because of her beauty. His intent is to abandon her to that situation. It is complete cowardice on his part and it was not the first time he did it but it was the second. If God had not intervened Sarah’s fate may have lead to innumerable abuses. However, God did intervene, and that is the point. The Lord is not telling women to trust their husbands he is telling them to trust God, “do not give way to fear”

The problem for women is that the evidence of their trust in God is their submission to their husbands, and husbands often prove to be untrustworthy. A dysfunctional man comes in two basic categories both of which are bad for women. The first is to be a brute and the second is to be a coward. The brute is routinely seen in domestic violence situations, and the cowardly often fear the realities of work. Some unfortunate women have been cursed with a man that is both a brute and a coward.

Brutes and cowards are not men of God. 1 Timothy 5:8 tells us “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” and 1 Corinthians 7:15 says “But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.” My advice to women who are caught in a cycle of domestic violence is to leave. No place has the Bible said that we have to be subject to abuse in your submission to our husbands. Now domestic violence is not a Biblical reason for divorce. Only adultery is! Please listen to my wisdom for just a few sentences. Men who are batterers are but nature selfish. Selfish men are not going to go without their sexual needs being met. If the woman of God separates the brute and the coward will ultimate provide grounds for a Biblical divorce, by getting another partner.

If the situation is not dangerous, not abusive but the man wants to stay with you 1 Corinthians 7:16 says, “How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? In other words stay, submit, be Godly and let God do his work.

Believing men are called to be servants, protectors, and shepherds.
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. 1 Peter 3:7
As God dealt with Abraham through the years he would become a servant a protector and a shepherd. He would build up armies for the protection of this family. Intercede on behalf of cities and walk a life a faith that was pleasing to God. He learned some of these skills by listening to God’s instruction to him about his wife. For example, in the midst of a difficult situation regarding the dissolving of a blended family the Lord says to Abraham, “Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Genesis 21:12.
Abraham did so and God blessed both Isaac and Ishmael. All men, like Abraham, have their prayers heard or hindered based on their treatment of their wives. Women can grow in faith as they witness God’s work of transforming their husbands from brutes and cowards to men of God. Women have two choices in regards to men, become daughters of Sarah, or give way to fear.

Christmas Submission

Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 1 Peter 3: 1-2

I am writing this Christmas week 2011 and we are considering the topic of submission. I thought about switching to the topic of Christmas and then realized that Christmas is all about submission. I have come to realize that they are complimentary and could not be suited better to each other. Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3 are parallel passages, part of verse 25 the Ephesians scriptures reads, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” Two principles should be considered out of his giving of himself. The first is Christ’s love and the second is Christ trust of the Father. The key to understanding submission is bound up in these two truths. They are birthed in the heart of the one who submits. We must first understand that both are voluntary, and volitional. Secondarily, we must understand that submission is the acknowledgement that we trust God.

Our Peter passage promotes a submission in wives that is dignified, strong, and beautiful, “pure and reverent” are Peter’s words. The outcome or fruit that is often born of this type of conduct is a man that comes to love God. Christ provides us his example. He comes into the world in submission yet in partnership with the Father. He “lays down” and ”picks up” his life. He does so under his own power and what he wins is a “radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish”

Submission that is forced is no submission at all. That would be oppression not submission. One definition of oppression is “the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety, etc.” This is how many feel about the topic of submission, especially in marriage and especially at Christmas. Yet Jesus did all things for the’ joy’ set before him.

It is with an attitude of joy that submission should be approached. It is servant leadership exemplified. Peter confronts the type of materialism that causes anxiety for many now as it did then.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 1 Peter 3: 3-4

Vanity is such a common practice that it is no longer considered a vice. It certainly has crossed the gender gap as well. Submission that is spirit driven creates inner beauty that is gentle and is of great value to God because it is so easy for him to use. A non submitted life is a life with the emergency brake on. It will move in the direction you want it to go but it will be forced and usually stinks. It creates great wear and tear and shortens the life as well.

A submitted life is one that is in the flow and rhythm of the spirit. It is not an easy life. Jesus’s submitted life lead him to the cross but it is a life that knows what is important, it prioritizes other’s needs before our own and it makes our lives a gift to others. If that is not the Spirit of Christmas nothing is.

Gandhi and Jesus Shepherds of Submission

Servants, respect and obey your masters in all things. Obey not only those who are good to you. But also obey those who are hard on you. 1 Peter 2:18 WE translation
For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,”[but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 1 Peter 2: 18-25

“Take this job and shove it” is a wonderful option for those who live in a free society. However disrespecting your boss is not a Biblical option. Verse 18 reads 'servants' in the translation I chose but in most translations the word used is slave and the command is for obedience to masters who are both kind and cruel. These scriptures plainly saying if you are in a bad situation ‘deal with it’ and to make matters worse it adds when you do so you are acting as Christ did. Why would it say that? Doesn’t God want us to be blessed? Well the answer to that question is yes, but there are times and circumstances in which our personal prosperity is a low priority within the Kingdom of God. Political, religious, racial and ethnic oppression are all common occurrences in human history. During such times men and women only have one possession. It is the one possession every human being carries with them throughout their life. It is the one commodity we each have a monopoly on. It is the soul. The Bible’s primary and exclusive concern in regards to our lives is the soul. The soul is never tested more than when it is treated unjustly. We are most Christ like when we suffer unjustly without complaint. The dignity of nonviolence often penetrates the heart of a wicked soul, but we are not promised this.

Two contrasting examples for us to consider are Gandhi’s non violence and India and the other is the atrocities suffered by the Jews of Europe in World War II. Both examples are from the same generation. There was even correspondence occurred between the two groups. Lena Mandel wrote a 1983 letter to the editor to Commentary Magazine. In it Mandel cites a Gandhi letter written to Martin Buber a Jewish philosopher living in Germany. Mandel reports that during World War II Gandhi said to Buber, “German Jews had the moral obligation to stay in Germany and, by willingly submitting to Nazi atrocities, teach mankind a moral lesson.”

In regards to his own struggle with the British Empire he stated "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." Many believe that Gandhi victory was not his but the British culture that allowed Godly shame to change their oppressive policies. Mandel adds “Gandhi’s record of passive resistance and civil disobedience should serve as a glorious monument to Western civilization at its best—because it worked. How can anyone ignore the fact that it could only have worked because Gandhi was dealing with a decent and moral society?”
What biblical examples can we look at to resolve our conflict between total submission and social and personal change? Let us consider the life of Jesus. An oppressive King issues a decree that all the children under two years of age should be killed in Bethlehem. Joseph was given instructions in a dream to escape with the Jesus to Egypt. There are times when some are called to endure and others are called to follow the spirits leading.

The instructions to Joseph allowed Jesus escaped but the mothers of Bethlehem did not receive any such instruction. The lament of the crime is such that it reaches back to the spirit of Jeremiah and cries, “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” Incomprehensible crimes stack up in human history as the bodies of Jewish souls did in Nazi concentration camps like Auschwitz, Dachau, and Belzec.

When we witness Jesus before Pilate the Bible describes him as silent in Matthew 27:12-14. His silence was total but was absent of threat, retaliation, or violence. These are the words he said to Pilate. “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” John 18. Peter words record the heart of his voice and the topic of submission, “he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

This is the bottom line of submission. Will we trust ourselves to the one who judges justly? Not because it is easy or even because we understand why atrocity and injustice occur. We do so because we know that Jesus is the shepherd of our soul, and if that were not true, most of us would be more like British or Nazi oppressors than we would be like Christ like or even Gandhian liberators.

The Wild River of Submission

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 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. 1 Peter 2 13-17

To speak of submission in Western Culture is to enter into the fast moving river of controversy. It is not a concept that westerns appreciate or endorse on a cultural scale. For the Christian this is a problem because submission is a concept that is central to the scriptures.

Other religions do not have this problem. Islam in particular, the word for submission in Arabic is Islam. Islam means submission. A website dedicated to Islamic evangelization says these words; “Islam and Submission are not names. They are descriptions reflecting the soul's absolute devotion and submission to God Alone. This is the First Commandment in all of God's scriptures, including the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Final Testament.” The final testament for a Moslem is the Quran.

The Islamic understanding of the Bible is that submission is the “first commandment of God’s scriptures” “If you love me you will follow my commandments” Westerns are enamored with the concept of love even though our language around love is limited. English has one word for love, Greek has three for example. However we are not as enamored with the idea of following commandments or submission.

Other cultures also find understanding and living in submission more natural than westerners. Confucius philosophy is built around appropriate codes of conduct forming social norms that are built around submission. It was believed that a just and proper society could only be maintained through submission. Stephen Prothero work Religions of the East, Paths to Enlightenment. (Recorded Books, 2005) describes the idea in Confucius thought that whatever you are called from Father to Emperor is sacred and granted by heaven and will be taken away if not stewarded properly. Romans 13:1 agrees with the basics of this concept when it says, “The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

Much of the resistance to authority comes from modern western cultures connection the Protestant reformation. This reformation exalted the role to the individual above that of King or Emperor. The Declaration of Independence is the authority we use to justify the importance of the individual above the King. Consider these words.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is not difficult to connect these words to the Genesis account of man that states we are all made in the image of God. It is what follows that has radically changed the world.

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.” Reconciling these words with the scriptures that the founding fathers honored is difficult. To say that the “authorities that exist have been established by God” and that “Governments are instituted among men” may not be mutually exclusive but they are close.

Peter tells us the “live as free people” so he is not against freedom. George Washington captures the tension that the founding father felt.
“The ways of Providence being inscrutable, and the justice of it not to be scanned by the shallow eye of humanity, nor to be counteracted by the utmost efforts of human power or wisdom, resignation, and as far as the strength of our reason and religion can carry us, a cheerful acquiescence to the Divine Will, is what we are to aim.”

George Washington believed that the revolutionary war was just based on exhaustion of efforts to reform the laws within the scope of the institutions that were established in his generation.
The early reformers felt this tension as well. John Huss before his martyrdom believed that the “Roman church was ... the spouse of Christ, and the pope the representative or vicar of God.” His conflict is captured in the quote from E.G. White, “If the authority is just and infallible as he believed it to be, how came it that he felt compelled to disobey it.”

The resolution for him, and for the founding fathers of the United States would come to be based on the authority of scriptures that’s first concept is that all men are created equal and in the image of God. Additionally that obedience to scripture is more important that obedience to authoritative institutions. In Acts 5:29 Peter when confronted with this dilemma said. “God must be obeyed rather than men.” That obedience will ultimately silence ignorant and foolish men because even in our disobedience to men and institutions we will be “doing good.”
Peter’s admonishment in the above passage is that we do not use the freedom we have as an excuse to sin. If we do so we show that we have not “devoted our soul” as the Islamic encourages us to do nor have we honored our sacred name as Confucius compelled us to do, but more importantly we have disobeyed the scripture.

I could not find the exact quote but it has been said that “if men will not be ruled by conscience they must be ruled by the sword.” I want to credit Washington but I could be wrong. This brings us full circle. Authorities are placed by God “to punish those who are doing wrong and commend those that do right. As long as the authorities are doing this in a manner that honors God the people have no right abolish it and institute another form of Government.

Citizens of the Light

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2: 9-10

I have often thought about the Church as a Kingdom rarely have I heard it described as a nation. A kingdom has been defined as a “state or people ruled over by a king or queen or …a realm or area of activity in which a particular thing is thought to dominate.” Jesus is called the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is indeed our monarch our sovereign and our ruler. That being true few modern citizens of the world are ruled by a king with a sovereign. It may be difficult for the modern man or women to relate to the concept. Peter’s term in this passage is nation. It may be easier for modern people to relate to.

A nation has been defined as a “people in a land under single government: a community of people or peoples living in a defined territory and organized under a single government or people of same ethnicity: a community of people who share a common ethnic origin, culture, historical tradition, and, frequently, language, whether or not they live together in one territory or have their own government.” The distinction between Kingdom and nation may just be the focus of attention, the Monarchy in one case the people in the other. Peter is talking to the people in this case.

Applying our definition to the passage; what is the single land that we belong to? Isn’t it “all the world” or is it heaven itself, might it be a place called light? Philippians 3:20 reads “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” 2 Corinthians 5:20a says that “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors” An ambassador is defined as “a diplomatic official of the highest rank sent by one country as its long-term representative to another.” In our case the long term representation means a life time.

When we are born again we are born again into a Kingdom and nation and therefore represent or are ambassadors of heaven until the time we are called to our homeland. Peter recognizes this truth and based on it says.
“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul” 1 Peter 2:11.

The sinful desire is foreign to the kingdom we represent. Participating in this foreign commodity separates our connection with the kingdom that sent us. It deludes the message that we were trusted to deliver which is written in 2 Corinthians 5:20b “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

Many believers are being taught that we cannot gain victory of the sinful desires and that is why we need the grace of God. That is not the teaching of the Bible. Peter words encourage just the opposite, He says,

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:12

‘The pagans’ are non believers, people from the Kingdom of sinful desires, the people we use to be. They are the people in verse ten who have not received mercy. It is mercy that determines our ‘chosen people’ status. It is light that allows us to see the ‘sinful desires’ as weapons fashioned against our very souls. As royal priest we are to intercede for those in the dark, that they two may become citizens of the light. Then the natural response is praise him who has called us out of darkness, Jesus the Righteous King.

Talkin' Bout My Generation

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”  and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 1 Peter 2:7-8

This passage of scripture from 1 Peter is better sweet for me. It reflects the glory of knowing Jesus Christ, of the special place the believer has in his kingdom but it is also inclusive of those who do not believe and a destined to be separated from God forever.
I was born on the tail end of the “baby boom” The “boomers” are a generation full of creativity and genius both socially and technologically. It is the generation that broke the bonds of racism off of the globe. It has advanced the role of women in the workplace and increased the access of education to every class of society. It is also a generation that has been consumed with materialism and promoted sexual fulfillment to the level of global addiction.

The prophets of the baby boomers are musicians and artist. Simon and Garfunkel wrote “the words of the prophets are written on the subway wall.” This thought captures the concept that truth in this generation is accessible to all and easily found, unfortunately it is also easily ignored. When I reflect on my generation I am saddened by the fact that so few of the voices being heard are the voices of righteousness. The desire for truth and the brevity of time are heard in the songs of the generation. I am reminded of the Steely Dan song Reelin' the Years. The song begins with the lines “your everlasting summer you can see it fading fast” This everlasting summer is life it self, it passes very fast. The song continues, “you grab a piece of something that you think is going to last, you wouldn't even know a diamond if you held it in your hand the things you think are precious I can't understand.” My point is that much of my generation has confused what is precious.

Fading summers are not just for the old Steven Tyler of Aerosmith wrote Dream On when he was 23 stating “Every time when I look in the mirror, All these lines on my face getting clearer, The past is gone.” The early 70's when these songs were written was a time Americans lives would change forever. In the midst of that time, the Jesus movement was birthed. Many who had embraced the message of “all you need is love” came to understand the glory of Jesus and his truth. They could connect with the fact that Jesus was “everyday people”. They came to understand that in Jesus the yellow one could accept the black one and the black one the red one and the red one the white one.” That different strokes for different folks was related to the expression of worship and not divisions based on ethnicity or race. It grew is such a way that the most diverse institution on the planet is now the body of Christ. But those who have disobeyed the message are a mixed multitude that are stumbling into hell. Hell can be imagined away but that does not change the reality of is existence.

If I did not trust in the goodness and justice of God this thought would consume me with hatred for God. When all truth is laid before us each of us will come to understand that God did not reject men in a arbitrary or inconsistent manner. He desires that none will perish but that all will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The rejection of the loving power of God is what I believe the unpardonable sin is and the ultimate blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. We will come to know that rejection for the evil that it is and understand the mercy of God when he delays his wrath. I was once you of the disobedient but now I am part of a chosen people. God's grace taught me the difference between what was precious and what was useless, He created a bridge for me over troubled waters so that one day I can be gratefully dead.

Building a Spiritual House

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2 4-5


The purposes of the Kingdome of God are not simply that we would be random individuals but that each life would be connected to another. Jesus in this passage is called a living stone. Luke the author of the book of Acts tells us that “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” A Wikipedia reference states a cornerstone “is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.” The work of Christ in Salvation stands alone, but his work in the Kingdom of God and the preaching of the Gospel sets the context for building his church. Jesus says to Peter, “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Many teach that it is the confession of Peter that is this rock. I believe this teaching is wrong based on the primacy given to Peter in the scriptures as an individual. Other create a perpetual line of Peter connected to the church of Rome that I also believe is in error. Peter is one of the most important stones in the church but he is just a stone. Jesus sets the reference point for the remaining stones that will be his church. That is you and eye. When the scriptures call Jesus the head of the church the metaphor is similar. Jesus is the head. He does not claim to be the feet. Romans 10:15 tells us blessed are the feet of those that bring the Gospel. Jesus can be all things to all men because he is God. His method is however is to co-labor with the people of God.

Jesus was also rejected. We who labor in the word and works of God should anticipate that we will be rejected as well. Mathew 10:25 reads, “It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household”! Matthew is telling us how the members of the house will be treated Peter is telling us how to build the house. This is not literal language use the is the house Joshua was building when he said “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

The Lord knows that rejection is difficult for us, so he incentivizes the process by letting us know that we are a “holy priest hood” To be a priest is to be in a privileged position. It is not an ordained office but is and office we enter into when we believe. It is an office we begin to operate in when we star to serve others. A spiritual house is a place of safety. There are many individuals who come to church not because they have believed and are part of the house but because they have found safety and comfort and love. This more than ok, it is the evidence that a church is healthy. It is drawing those who are seeking comfort to the only true source of comfort, Jesus the savior, the cornerstone of every life. Peter tells us that such a lifestyle is a sacrifice. But it is the type of sacrifice that allows us to know his good pleasing and perfect will as expressed in Romans 12.

Now Love

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” 1 Peter 1: 22-25

The outcome to obedience to the truth found in scriptures is Love. Peter describes this as a “now” moment. Have you had a now moment? Have you had a moment in which love for all men has consumed your heart? If you have to qualify this statement you do not have scriptural love. If your love is only directed toward those that love you, you have not had a ‘now’ moment. Luke 6:32 reads, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them”
The loss of the ability to love was not one of the consequences of the fall. It has been retained in the human family and is the greatest evidence that we are made in the image of God. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" Plato said, “At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.” Mohandas Gandhi, “Where there is love there is life. “ Confucius said, “To love a thing means wanting it to live.” Plato and Gandhi and Confucius were not Christians. However, they all knew something about the fallen nature of man, Confucius understanding is reflected in his proverb, “It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.”

Plato, Gandhi, and Confucius did a hard thing. They reflected and grew in ‘now’ love. Confucius also claimed that to truly understand anything you have to do it. These men were not “born again of imperishable seed through the enduring word of God” but came to their knowledge of Love through the examination of the conscience and their observance of the nature of life and men. How much more shall we who have the indwelling to the Holy Spirit in our live in ‘sincere’ and ‘now’.

Peter uses action verbs to describe the process of being able to ‘sincerely love’. He speaks of purifying and obeying the truth. The truth of love is not relativistic but it is universal. The scriptures tell us that observers of our conduct will know that we are Christians “by our love” Gandhi said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Gandhi saw a disconnection between the teaching of Christ and the lives of those who claimed his name. There was no ‘love connection’ in his observation.

GK Chesterton a Christian apologist, and author from the early 20th century said "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." Part of the reason for this is confronted by Peter quote on the brevity of life. “All people are like grass” That is why we need “now” love. We cannot put this issue aside for one more day. We must determine to follow the course of love immediately and without delay. We must throw off every hindrance to it. Many of us our living like we have an eternity of tomorrows. Mosses us admonishes us to number our days. They are short, but the “word of God endures forever” and so does our Love if it is lived out in a Christ like manner.

Chosen In Love and Made a Family

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:20-21

In the vastness of eternity God chose to create the world. Other things existed at that time. Angels have a point in history when they were created. Ezekiel 28 describes Lucifer in heaven and says of him “on the day you were created”. For a man to presume he knows all of God’s purposes in creation is foolishness. However we know some. We know that creation is an expression of his love. “God is Love” We know that creation is an expression of his character. Psalm 19:1 reads “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.” Meditating on and in creation is divine in its own right. It would have, should have, but never could have been sufficient for men to know God. But our love was not His love. Love can only be expressed freely and men freely chose not to love God. That is what sin is. It is a choice to not love God. Yet, while we were sinners Christ Jesus died for us.

Ephesians 1:4 read, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.” God did not just redeem us but he made us part of his family. This could only happen through Jesus Christ the creator who entered the world as a man. “All things were made by him and for him.” Yet it pleased him to make us part of his family. The creator became a child and the Emanuel, or God with us. It was not an afterthought for God. He knew we would fail in our love for Him. “When we are faithless, he is faithful” How the divine mind of the trinity conceived of man causes a psalm to ring through my spirit, “what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him.” The novel Shack, captures the nature of God’s relationship in the Godhead and with man very well. I would recommend it to my readers.

Jesus becoming a man was not sufficient to redeem us. Then we would have only had an example to follow. Jesus, being scourged with a whip was not sufficient to redeem us. It only provided healing for our infirmities. Jesus dying on the cross was sufficient to redeem us but it only granted us forgiveness of sins. The wage was paid, but the victory was not won until he rose again. When Jesus rose from the dead, we took on the form of a man for all of eternity. He was forever identified with his creation and we became his brothers or sisters.

The Father’s lost family was found. Adam is described as the son of God. “Seth (was) the son of Adam, the son of God.” Luke 3:37. John 1:10-13 says of Jesus, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Peter says it is through him that we believe. God does all the work, we simply have to believe. John 6:29. “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

The scripture that exalts the incarnation of Jesus and sings loudest for me is found in Philippians chapter 2. Verses 6-10

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

If you believe this then your faith and hope is in God your Father. If you don’t have faith in God, then talk to your brother Jesus. He will reveal the Father to you. He will do this for you with many undisputable proofs in a way that only you can appreciate. You will grow to Love him and carry his character within you. You will become part of my family too and then we can share the Love of the Father together.

Police Protection for The Soul

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But 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.” 1 Peter 1: 13-15

Peter is expressing a desire for us to be in a healthy state of hypervigilance. Unhealthy hypervigilance is defined as an “abnormally increased arousal, responsiveness to stimuli, and screening of the environment for threats; it is often associated with delusional or paranoid states.” However there are times and situations when it is approximate to be “alert and fully sober. Dr. Kevin M. Gilmartin, Ph.D. is a researcher for the FBI states that law enforcement officers have an “elevated attentiveness or hypervigilant perceptual style...merely by assuming his occupational role.” 1

As Christians we need to be in an alert attentive perceptual style because we have an enemy that desires to “kill, steal, and destroy” our lives. We are law enforcement officers who enforce the Kingdom of God's mandate. We are not always successful in doing this in the environments in which we live and work however we are commanded to do it in regards to our own souls.

As I was meditating on the above passage two other scriptures came to mind. The first is “forgetting what is behind I press forward to the high calling in Christ Jesus” the other is “be excellent at what is good and innocent of evil” Paul is the writer of both. If we occupy our minds with going forward with God we know longer live in the sins we lived in when we were ignorant.

“Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.”

The Lord knows the environments and generation in which he has set us, “live out your time” He says. He also assures us that we are judged as individuals and fairly. He encourages us to have an outsiders perspective, “as foreigners” Real foreigners stand out. Their wardrobe is distinctive, the scent of their food and perfumes is distinctive, sometimes even the way they walk, certainly the way they talk. Now Peter is not concerned here about clothes, food, or perfumes but the manner of our lives. “Be Holy as God is Holy” That means set apart, pure, sacred, perfect, among other things.

“For 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 ancestors,  but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” 1 Peter 1: 18-19

Peter contrast the blood of Jesus with the Judaic culture of the Old Testament. As beautiful and as holy as that way of life was, rich holidays that prophetically speak about the coming messiah, full of shadows of the truth to be revealed, yet Peter describes it as “empty”.

All things become empty when they are weighed against the Creator of all things coming into the world as a child and living as a servant to his creation. Especially when his expressed purpose was to endure the punishment set forth for those he created. How awesome is Our God!!!!

“He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” 1 Peter 1:20-21

http://emotionalsurvival.com/hypervigilance.htm

Heavenly Heart Burn

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1: 8-9

Here in lies our faith, the belief in the invisible God. I have written extensively on how we can know God through creation, and conscience. I have even extended that concept to include God being present in our cultural memory and in the codification of our legal systems, but in the end he is invisible. Before Jesus ascension into heaven he met with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, they were supernaturally kept from recognizing the Lord, but then he broke bread with them and suddenly disappeared. Their response was to say “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24.

In my mind I like to replace the word disappear with the idea that he became invisible. When something disappears the implication can be that it is no longer there. When a ship disappears from our sight it is because it is no longer in the range to be seen, but when Jesus disappeared we remained present. “Lo I am with you always” is his promise. It was true for the disciples then and it is true for us now.
For those who are devoted we can add “we love him” and “believe in him” and we are “filled with joy” that words cannot express. Living and walking if faith is a glorious experience. I lament that so few human being discover this kind of faith. It is completely subjective and personal. Peter will deal with the apologetic and objective arguments for the faith in the very next verse but in this verse he is just writing from the heart. He is remembering that road to Emmaus, he is remembering the angles that said to him and others “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

Peter knows that his soul is saved; he knows that the Jesus that is invisible to him is sitting at the right hand of the father and is also omnipresent in every way. He knows Jesus still speaks to him, still responds to his prayers, still delivers him from temptation, and would comfort him through his future martyrdom. He also knows that he was the promised messiah and in an effort to convince others to love God with their hearts he also appeals to their minds and rationality.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. 1 Peter 1” 10-12

Even angles long to study the time of his coming. The prophets wrote with us in mind. Jesus opened the scriptures on that road in order for their hearts to burn. The prophets and Jesus were considering future generations. Many today search with the greatest of care trying to identify the time of his coming. I pray that they do so with a heart that longs for his presence. 2 Timothy 4:8 tells us there is a special crown for simply “longing for his appearing.” However, you do not get this crown because your theology was right about the end times. No you get it because “your heart burns” as you wait to see him.

Genuine Faith

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,  who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: 1 Peter 1:1-2
   
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

The humility of the Apostles as compared to the magnification of our own offices always strikes me when I begin to read a new epistle. Peter was Peter, he was also an apostle of Jesus Christ. The office that matter to Peter was not Pope but Messiah and he never confused the two. He knew he was Peter and he knew Jesus was Messiah. He identifies his audience and then sets his eyes on the sovereignty of God and the obedience required of men. Peter viewed that obedience as applying from new birth to death. In regards to where sovereignty ends and free will begins this is a mystery that belongs to God. When preaching the scriptures magnify sovereignty when God does and do the same with free will and you will not injure the scriptures or your brother.
My concern in writing is the sanctification of the body of Christ that comes from obedience to the commands contained in his word. Grace and peace can not be found apart from obedience and you can not obey unless you are at peace and surrender to his grace. That surrender is like a marriage vow, it applies until death do you part. Many scriptures read and “he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,  1 Peter 1: 3-4

The modern church is very concerned about how to apply the scriptures to their lives and rightly so. One of the best study Bibles on the market is called the “Life Application Bible, but no saint of God will live life correctly in this life until he is overwhelmed by the thought of the next life. What we really need is a “Death Application Bible.” My parents would be married 69 years today. My mother is 90 in a few short weeks. They did not have a marriage made in heaven but they knew heaven would evaluate their marriage. Their answer to the question of divorce was simple. “We made a vow, until death do we part” Those words reflect and understanding that heaven records our words and our lives. It reflects and understanding that we are building treasure in heaven that “never perishes, spoils or fades”. It is built on the hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ that practically effects our live by demonstrating the temporary nature of death. If we know that death is temporary and life is eternal we will live in that truth. Knowing what is true and living like it is true is what sanctification is!

 “who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” 1 Peter 1: 5:6

The evangelical church spends a great deal of time and energy thinking and writing about the “last time” My theology around this issue as a child was simplified with the words. “Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.” Nobody knows the day of his coming. There are circumstances that we can observe and consider but we simply need to know he is coming. When I am confident of that truth it will carry me through many sufferings and trials. For my parents who lived out their adolescents in the depression, their twenties in the midst of war, their thirties in the recovery of the wounds from that war, trial was a constant.

The trials you experience may be very different from the ones that my parents experienced. Some of you are reading these messages in poor and isolated places. A real faith can carry you through anything. The scriptures answer our trial not in words but with a person. Jesus the Messiah , Peter's Jesus, Paul's Jesus and your Jesus too if you believe. Paul wrote in Romans 8: 34-36 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:   “For your sake we face death all day long;    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” The Apostles lived life with the reality of death on their minds. This is not morbid. It is the simple acknowledgment of what is true. We would be wise to follow their example.

The reasons we face trial is set out in the next verse. “These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  1 Peter 1:7

Whatever generation you study, whatever geography you may find yourself placed in remember that the Lord is refining you. His desire is that you will come to know that you have a purpose and he wants you to live out that purpose in faith. This is a reality we as believers need to understand. The Lord does not need to prove your faith to him, he knows the level of your faith. He is proven the genuineness of our faith to us. When we believe God through one trail the next becomes easier. We then are able to lead others through trails. 2 Corinthians 1: 2-4 contains this incredible words.  “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” If we experience the comfort of God in one trail it says that we can provide comfort to others in any trial.

“no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.' 1 Corinthians 10:13 For many the escape is martyrdom, but for most of us it will be living Godly in our closest relationships with our wife and our children. My parents did. We would be wise to consider the ancient path they followed and live life like we are dieing.