Through the Bible with Les Feldick
Newsletter

Jul - Aug - Sep 2024
Faith Plus Nothing

Practical Christian Living

"Our first responsibility is not to build the Church or even to get souls saved - it is to represent Christ and to bring His message to the world. As God beholds us in Christ, so the world must behold Christ in us. As Christ represents us before the Father, so we must represent Christ before the world." Cornelius Stam

There is nothing more practical for this day and age than just solid Biblical Christian living. Good solid Christian living gives you a happy relationship between a husband and wife. Christian living will give you good relationships between parents and children. A good Christian relationship will give you a good relationship between yourself and the community and with the nation. So Christian living is practical. The idea, even as Peter is going to lay out in these next few verses, is just Biblical goodness. It's being honest. It's living with integrity. It's living, yes, the Golden Rule - treat the next guy like you would like to be treated. And so, this is what Peter is bringing out now in these next verses. And again, I'd like to emphasize that these little Jewish epistles are written to believing Jews, as we've noted in our previous programs, when Peter writes "to the Twelve Tribes scattered." And his writings are on the same page, you might say, as Jesus in His earthly ministry. So much is comparable that - what Jesus taught, Peter is bringing out the same things to these Jewish believers.

Now remember, they're not believers of the Church Age yet. They are simply Jewish believers of that group that came out of Christ's earthly ministry, composed also of the Jewish Church in Jerusalem at Pentecost. And Peter has been ministering to those kinds of Jews, now, during these years between Pentecost and his martyrdom. He never addresses the Gentile Body of Christ. I want people to realize that. There is nothing of pure Church language in these Jewish epistles. With that in mind, let's get into the text. I Peter 2:15 "For so is the will of God, that with well doing (see? Doing good. Being good) ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:" Peter is telling these Jewish believers now that, despite all the pressure of persecution, they were to never get discouraged - realizing that within a few years, the King would be returning, and the 1,000-year Kingdom reign would come in as we've seen in the past few lessons.

Even as Peter is writing now (probably in the late 50's AD), The Kingdom prospect was still out in front. Nobody had any idea - not even the Apostle Paul - that this was going to continue for thousands of years. Everything he writes is to Jewish believers under persecution, but the worst is yet to come before the King and the Kingdom could come. All right, so he's telling them that if these pagan Romans and the unbelieving Jews should bring reproach upon them, don't let it bother you; but instead let your good lifestyle prove them wrong. And it's the same thing for us today. Yes, this is applicable even though it is not Church language, as I said before. I Peter 2:16-17a "As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. 17. Honour all men...." Even if they hate you. Now that's not easy is it? But we are to honor all men. I Peter 2:17b "... Love the brotherhood (that is the fellowship of believers.) Fear God. Honour the king." The Roman Emperors, see? And Paul tells us about the same thing in Romans 13 - that we are to have respect for our physical governments, because they're ordained of God: Romans 13:1 "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. (that is government) For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." And even though they're a lot less than what we would think they should be, we are still to respect it as government.

All right, now he comes down into the next category of authority and that is, today, what we would call the employer/employee relationship. I Peter 2:18 "Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; (in other words, respect) not only to the good and gentle, (that's not so hard) but also to the froward (or to the less loveable, see?)." And they were still to recognize the master's (or employer's) role. I Peter 2:19 "For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully." Now there again, that is not always easy, is it? And nevertheless, this is what God expects us to do as believers - to let Him take care of the vengeance part.

Let's go back and see how Paul treats that same thing in Romans chapter 12. Paul is now giving the instructions to us as Gentile believers on how we're to behave in an ungodly world, and you'll see how much of this is saying the same thing. Peter is saying it to the Jews who are still pretty much under control of Judaism. Paul is writing this to Gentiles who are under pure Grace. Romans 12:14a "Bless them which persecute you; ..." It's not easy is it? That's just contrary to human nature. But, nevertheless, with God's help, we're supposed to be able to do that. Romans 12:14b-16a "... bless, and curse not. (now the other one is a lot easier) 15. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, (in other words, you don't have to be at the top of the totem pole) but condescend to men of low estate, ..." Be able to converse and have relationships with the people on the low end of the economic scale just as well as the ones at the top. Romans 12:16b-17a "... Be not wise in your own conceits. (Now here it comes.) 17. Recompense to no man evil for evil ..." Now that's contrary to the human nature isn't it? Human nature says, if he hits me, I'm going to hit him back. But Scripture says just the opposite. Romans 12:17b "... Provide things honest in the sight of all men." What did I tell you at the beginning of the program? That's the Christian lifestyle - honesty, integrity. Romans 12:18-19 "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. (now here comes the verse I wanted to really focus on) 19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: (don't give in to your feelings, and here's the reason) for it is written, Vengeance is mine; (God will take care of them in His own time. God says,) I will repay, saith the Lord." We're supposed to leave the vengeance part up to God - in His own time. Remember, God's wheels grind slowly, but what? Surely! There's never anything going to escape Him. Now it may not be in our lifetime. It may be after we're gone. It may not be in their physical lifetime but sooner or later, they're going to come up against the Holy Righteous God. So, don't sweat it.

1 Peter 2:20. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, (you've done a good job, you've done everything right and they still jump all over you, then you permit it) and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God." That's contrary to our human nature. We can all readily take applause for something we've done well. We can also take faultfinding when we know we've goofed up. But, to have somebody jump on our case when we know we've done it right, we know we've done it good, that's hard to take - and yet I know a lot of people in the workplace have to come under that. But that's where God-given patience comes in. I Peter 2:21 "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:" Now somebody's going to jump up and say, "I told you, we weren't supposed to follow Paul, we're supposed to follow Jesus." Of course, Peter is going to emphasize following Christ because that's where he had been those three years. And that's all that Peter really understood was to follow the footsteps of Christ. Paul, now, on the other hand, with the indwelling Holy Spirit not only in himself but in all of us, could admonish us in several Scriptures to follow him as the Apostle of the Gentiles, as he followed Christ.

Now, that's not a lot of difference and yet it's some. But, here Peter just brings it right in that now, as these Jewish believers are still tied pretty much to legalism and the Temple worship and so forth, they're admonished to remember how much Christ suffered in order to pay their sin debt. Now I've got to qualify. If these Jews (whether it's in Christ's earthly ministry or it's on Pentecost, or these that Peter and James and John are writing, or if you want to go way back into the Old Testament) had no understanding that the work of the Cross was the basis of their salvation, then why do we have this reference to it in prophecy? Now we're going to be looking at that in a little later time, where Isaiah 53 is so definitely a prophetic statement concerning Christ's earthly suffering and so forth. And then, during Christ's earthly ministry, why did they even mention the fact that Christ died and rose from the dead. Well, you want to remember this. I'll go all the way back to Adam.

Adam never had a concept of a Roman cross. I have no compunction teaching that whatsoever. Adam had no idea that one day a Person of the Godhead would go to a Roman cross. All he believed was what God told him. And that's all God expected him to believe. And you can come all the way up through the Old Testament, one after the other of the Patriarchs - for example, Noah. Noah had no idea of the work of the cross. But he did know that God had told him to build the ark. And Hebrews 11 makes that so plain. What did Noah do? He built the ark. He was obedient! And God reckoned it as his saving faith.

All the way up through the Old Testament; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and then the prophets - they didn't have a clue about a Roman crucifixion. That was never invented until Rome came on the scene. So, they were saved by their faith in what God told them to believe, but God had to - how shall I put this - reckon with the sins of Adam on the merit of the cross. God reckoned with the sin of Abraham on the merits of the cross, even though he himself knew nothing of it. Now, you come on this side of the cross, it's the same way. Ever since the cross (for example, believers like Peter and the Eleven), all they had to believe for salvation is Who Jesus was, He was their Messiah, the Son of God, the Christ. And they had no idea that it was the crucifixion, and the death, burial and resurrection that was their salvation. They didn't know that. But, God, in His righteousness, imputed the merit of that death, burial and resurrection to these people who knew nothing of it. In this Age of Grace, we're in now, we must believe in our heart that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again for salvation as Paul points out so clearly.

Peter is going to refer to Christ's work of the cross, but not for salvation. And the reason is that these Jews can understand that, even though it wasn't a prerequisite in their faith, it was on the merit of that work of the cross that God could forgive the sins of everybody from Adam to the last one on the human scene. Everything is based on the work of the cross even though people did not, in themselves, know about it until Paul's ministry for us in this Church Age.

~ Excerpt summarized from book 54 - 3 - 1

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