The apostle Peter writes,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, 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.
Dear friends,
I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
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 2:9-12.
Dear Christian
Do you live up to the words of the apostle Peter quoted above?
Do you realize you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation belonging to God?
Do you realize that you are that you are aliens and strangers in this world?
Do you “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.”?
All to often Christians particularly in North America think they are living in a Christian nation. They forget the Bible tells us we are aliens and strangers in this world.
Our culture is much different from the world around us.
I was not born in Canada I emigrated to Canada when I was in my teens. My family had different ways than those around us. We as a family had to learn how to function in this new country we decided to live in.
Even though I spoke English my Canadian friends were not use to some of the slang I used when I spoke and my accent was funny to them. They were always correcting me.
I found such simple things as a mail box funny. It just didn’t look like what I was use to.
At times at school I would say something that where I came from was innocent however in Canada it had a different connotation.
I remember my father on several occasions had to come to school to quote, “straiten a teacher out”.
On one occasion I was punished for throwing a snow ball.
Where I came from when it snowed teachers would actually take us outside to have snowball fights. In Canada a the school I attended it was forbidden. But no one told me that.
The school at the time was not use to having a foreign student in their school.
It for me became a learning curve. I had to learn what I could say and how to say it without offending people.
Thus it is with Christians.
Many Christians think they are being persecuted for what they say here in North America when it is not what they say but how they say it.
We make the assumption that just because some statesmen voted to use the motto “one Nation under God” it means we are a Christian nation. There is no Christian nation on earth today.
However thus armed with this assumption there are those who go out with the idea they can stand up and preach hellfire and condemnation at the world around them. They feel they can call people who are really not Christians bad things. Pointing out as they do the wrongs and sins people have committed.
That’s not what God wants us to do. The apostle Paul said,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
The Apostle Peter said,
“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.
If we are obeying the scriptures we are not judging those outside the church. We are keeping our own house free from wrong teaching and the wicked, even if they sound good, and we are following the words of the Apostle Peter who said,
“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.”
The job of a Christian in this world is to do the work of the Lord. To point people to salvation in Christ. To show God’s love to every one. The apostle Paul defining love as,
“Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails....
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13.The writer of Ecclesiastes said,
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
Ecclesiastes12:13,14
When God Judges you what do you think He will say?
Please think about it.
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