Word@Work 1Pet16 - 1 Peter 1:25-2:1
Published: Mon, 05/18/09
Word@Work from BeaconLight
THE UNCHANGING WORD DEMANDS CHANGE
1 Peter 1:25-2:1 ... the word of the Lord stands for ever. And this is the word that was preached to you. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. (NIV)
Without standards to determine the weight of a gram, the length of a kilometre and the volume of a millilitre - we would all be in a mess. Without standards, fair trading would be impossible; medicines would be either dangerous or ineffective; and constructions would fail. Every profession needs standards which enable us to trust engineers, teachers, dentists and accountants. So it is a great blessing that we can know where we stand with the Lord. God's Word is His written standard against which we are all judged, and by which His kingdom operates in mutual trust.
In the same way that it is the responsibility of quality controllers to reject every substandard product; each Christian is responsible to remove evil and twisted thinking, false behaviour and speaking from their life. Although salvation is by God's grace alone, we still need to exercise faith if we are to receive it. Likewise, our sanctification is by God's power alone, but we need to cooperate actively. So Christians must learn to identify and reject all malice (wanting bad things to happen to others), deceit (planning how others will believe lies), hypocrisy (lying to others about yourself), envy (resenting others who have got what you want), and slander (spreading lies about others).
Where these bad qualities have made their homes in our character, it is because we gave them permission to stay. So we must also recognise that it is our fault they have stayed so long. We must repent of all such sins and decide that they must go. This process of demolishing the habits of a lifetime can only start when we agree that God's standards are right and ours are wrong. Rejecting sinful habits is impossible without repentance, but once we repent, we can identify and reject the temptation the next time it comes. Others may think you are strange not sinning with the crowd (cf 1 Peter 4:4), but remember you are not being measured by their values of the world, but by God's unchanging Word.
Prayer: Dear Lord God. Thank You for revealing the true standards of Your kingdom. Give me the courage to examine my life so that I can see where I do not meet Your standards. Then help me to repent and to reject sinful habits. May I know that I am accountable to Your Word and not to the shifting values of the world around me. For Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and many other languages
Without standards to determine the weight of a gram, the length of a kilometre and the volume of a millilitre - we would all be in a mess. Without standards, fair trading would be impossible; medicines would be either dangerous or ineffective; and constructions would fail. Every profession needs standards which enable us to trust engineers, teachers, dentists and accountants. So it is a great blessing that we can know where we stand with the Lord. God's Word is His written standard against which we are all judged, and by which His kingdom operates in mutual trust.
In the same way that it is the responsibility of quality controllers to reject every substandard product; each Christian is responsible to remove evil and twisted thinking, false behaviour and speaking from their life. Although salvation is by God's grace alone, we still need to exercise faith if we are to receive it. Likewise, our sanctification is by God's power alone, but we need to cooperate actively. So Christians must learn to identify and reject all malice (wanting bad things to happen to others), deceit (planning how others will believe lies), hypocrisy (lying to others about yourself), envy (resenting others who have got what you want), and slander (spreading lies about others).
Where these bad qualities have made their homes in our character, it is because we gave them permission to stay. So we must also recognise that it is our fault they have stayed so long. We must repent of all such sins and decide that they must go. This process of demolishing the habits of a lifetime can only start when we agree that God's standards are right and ours are wrong. Rejecting sinful habits is impossible without repentance, but once we repent, we can identify and reject the temptation the next time it comes. Others may think you are strange not sinning with the crowd (cf 1 Peter 4:4), but remember you are not being measured by their values of the world, but by God's unchanging Word.
Prayer: Dear Lord God. Thank You for revealing the true standards of Your kingdom. Give me the courage to examine my life so that I can see where I do not meet Your standards. Then help me to repent and to reject sinful habits. May I know that I am accountable to Your Word and not to the shifting values of the world around me. For Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
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