Thursday, August 11, 2016

We saw in our last visit that Peter declared, when we trust in Jesus Christ He becomes to us the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls (1st Peter 2:25). As believers we are secure for time and eternity. But that is not what we were before we trusted in Jesus Christ. We were not a people, we had not received mercy. We were in bondage to sinful desires which war against our soul. We were like sheep which were going aimlessly astray. We felt very much at home in the cultural norms of the world. The things Peter tells us as believers not to do in 1st Peter 2:1 are commonly seen in the behavior of unbelievers: “Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” Before becoming Christians we were guilty of such behavior. Unbelievers who hear the gospel message about who Jesus is and reject it, discover that Jesus, the living stone, becomes to them “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for” (verse 8). Peter knew what Psalm 51:5 says, “Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” That’s why Paul declared in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” As sinners we were destined for destruction, hopelessly lost, separated from God. But for the grace of God, that is what we were. But praise God – that is not what we are, once we receive the gift of new life through faith in Jesus Christ.