Seeds for 05/03/2024 - 1 Peter 2:12
Scripture:
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage 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.
Observation:
I do enjoy how many places in Peter’s letter we find quotes, paraphrases, and reapplicaitons for the words of Jesus. Here is another.
Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount went like this:
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
Talk about a high bar. Yet this is the calling. While attending to the negative—abstaining from sinful desires, we also must to attend to the positive—living good lives in our community.
The audience is “the pagans” among whom we live. For us, that would be both straight-forwardly non-Christian people and also people who live within the residual framework of Christian faith but without an authentic relationship with or commitment to Jesus.
Peter acknowledges that the pagans among whom his readers live will believe they are in the wrong. They will come under accusation. Why? Because their values are distinct from those of the world around them. They define good differently in various ways. Still, Peter is convinced that the Lord has “not left Himself without testimony” in the world so that they can make a difference for Christ.
There’s a missiological principle based on the passage in Acts from which the line quoted above is drawn that our witness is cooperating with what the Lord is already doing among a people group. In other words, God has been at work such that every culture has some element or aspect present that the Gospel can speak to. There’s some overlap to be found in order to have a connection point for the Gospel.
Likewise, while a pagan culture will have such a differing vision of the good that authentic, faithful Christians can be accused of wrongdoing, there is still some kernel present that will be attracted to a Christlike life. As with words, so also with works. Good deeds, the fruit of the Spirit, and selflessness will still make an impact that can point people to Christ.
Application:
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, may your goodness so shape my soul that my actions would serve as signposts pointing to you. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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