“The Just Shall Live By Faith”
New King James Version Written by: David Hicks
Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."
Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."
“Articles of Faith”
(A Study in I Peter)
Lesson 6- Living Before The World:
The letter of first Peter is a lesson in duality. It is written to those who have been displaced from their original homes (Jews dispersed to Northern Asia Minor ), yet, it has application to all Christians as temporary residents in this physical life.
Hebrews 11:13 “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
The Hebrew writer is speaking of those who have died in faith, trusting in God, that the things which they were promised were as trustworthy as the things they felt and touched each day. They lived to trust God knowing that they were only temporary residents on earth. This same message is true to the Christians of Peter's letter, and you and me today. However, even though we are citizens of heaven attempting to navigate this life to our goal; God has certain expectations of how we are to represent ourselves as His children. This message of how we are to live before the world will be the subject of the remainder of the chapter, as well as into the next chapter.
Text #1:
1 Peter 2:11-12 “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Abstain from fleshly lusts: As we have already covered sojourners and pilgrims, lets move on to the heart of the admonitions. The fleshly lusts spoken of here by Peter are the base human or animal appetites that tend to govern men apart from Spirit of God. They war against the soul of a Christian, as they are contrary to the concept of living above our base or sinful instincts. A good commentary on this war exists in Romans 8:1-8 . It is summarized by Paul this way, note:
Romans 8:8 “So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Honorable conduct: “Preach a sermon everyday and sometimes use words”, is a saying that comes to mind at this point. The power of our conduct has as much influence on the unbelieving as the most powerful Gospel sermon. This was the thought of the Apostle Paul who said:
1 Corinthians 9:27 “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
The heathen people of these lands were in the habit of speaking evil of these Christians because they would not mix with them in their sinful practices.
1 Peter 4:4 “In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.”
Peter would go on to say that they would be judged for their choice to ignore the Gospel's message and morality. However, these Christians were to never falter concerning the good works that they have been taught to walk in. When the test comes upon these Christians in the form of persecutions and these heathens see how they are patient and law abiding, it will disprove the false charges they have been making. It will then be evident that such a conduct is caused by their faith in God and as a result these heathen accusers will give God the credit and glory.
Text #2:
1 Peter 2:13-17 “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men-- 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”
Submit: When at an intersection, preparing to turn left, one must yield to oncoming traffic before making the turn. The concept of submission is very similar. It is simply yielding to other influences before your own. This yielding takes place without compromise towards the ultimate goal or destination desired, and if looked upon properly, helps one arrive at their destination safely.
The idea of submission is going to permeate within the remainder of this chapter and the chapter to come with an illustration of the Christ given in the middle. This concept of submission helps the Christian understand God's order to things and helps them know their place in all things.
In this portion of text, the Lord expects his people to be law abiding citizens of the nations in which they live. Paul also teaches this obligation in Romans 13:1-7 . This is done within the framework of doing good or good works, as governments are not a threat to good works ( Romans 13:3 ). That is to say; the ordinances of God in the life of a Christian must be obeyed when in conflict with civil ordinances (see: Acts 5:29 ).
Keep in mind that the Lord died as if guilty of civil disobedience and although they gladly accepted their punishments, the Apostles of Jesus were also guilty of civil disobedience when they told the court that they must obey God rather than men. However, a citizenship comprised of law abiding Christians (hard working and honest people), are beneficial to social co-existence.
So much more can be said at this junction of the lesson that we may not move any further. So, for brevities sake, let's summarize things this way; God first in all things that pertain to our lives. If this rule exists we will be submissive and law abiding, yet never compromise our performance of good works. In addition, in all areas of freedom that exist to promote the salvation of God in Christ and the morality it teaches; we will generate as much influence as possible for the glory of God.
Text #3:
1 Peter 2:18-20 “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.”
Servants and Masters: As we have discussed in other lesson series; slavery in the known world at this time was prevalent. It has been estimated that vast amount of the known world's population existed as either slave or servant in one variation or another at this time.
We must remember that the Gospel came to the world to promote liberty from sin, not as a guarantee of improved physical conditions as we serve God. Our liberty in Christ is not a cloak to disobey or to be insubordinate in this life ( Vs. 16 ), but in every aspect we are to be bondservants of God first, then submissive to all who rule over us (including masters, good or bad ).
See: Ephesians 6:5-9 ; Colossians 3:22-25 ; Philemon ; as additional commentary on this subject. Here in our text Peter is only going to deal with the obligations of servants (Paul would deal with both, as both servant and master often obeyed the Gospel), as though they were using the measure of their master's justice as an excuse not to submit.
If a man is buffeted (treated roughly for wrong doing), and is guilty of wrong, he has no room to complain concerning his master's treatment. He should take it patiently on the grounds that he has it coming. On the other hand, if a man is mistreated for doing what is right it should be regarded as a persecution. Christians are taught to endure persecutions, thus if a person is patient under this mistreatment it is to be considered commendable.
There is every indication that Christians are to rise above the considerations of what men perceive as right and wrong. God is the God of order and has always established systems of authority (physical and spiritual), for the good of His creation (see: I Corinthians 11:3 ; Ephesians 1:22 ; 4:15 ; 5:23 -24 ). If we can't learn submission in the trivial short term things of this life, how will we ever learn the submission necessary to complete our service of God in Christ and garner citizenship in the eternal kingdom of heaven?
Since this is often a difficult lesson for a Christian to visualize (especially since so many of us are born in free nations and apart from this kind of slavery), we will explore in our next lesson, a pattern that has been given to learn from.
Next: “ To This You Were Called ”