Monday, January 18, 2010

Living in Awe of the Redeemer God

And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:17-21)
Peter continues the exhortation he began in verse 13, addressing believers who are exiles, sojourners in foreign lands. But they are children of God, born anew, with the inheritance of the Father. God is a father who discerns and distinguishes between works but not between persons — Peter had long ago learned that there was no difference to God between Jewish and Gentile believers. His judgment is not that of an angry, distant deity, but that of a good father. This calls for living with a “deep consciousness of God” (The Message), or as it is called in the Old Testament, the “fear of the LORD.” It is not cringing in terror but living in respect and awe of God.

This was a new kind of living for them. Before, they had lived according to the traditions of men they inherited from their fathers. Now they had been redeemed from those old, futile ways. The Greek word for “redeemed” refers to a ransom or the purchase price for the freedom of a slave. Here it is used of those who have been ransomed or delivered from bondage, not by silver or gold, but by a much higher price — the blood of Messiah. God planned this from the beginning, even before the creation of the world, knowing that our redemption would be necessary. Now it has been revealed in “these last times,” a period that is signaled by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and will continue until He comes again.

The resurrection changes everything, giving us new expectation, new life and a glory in which all those who trust in Jesus will have a share. God has raised the Lord Jesus from the dead and through the Lord Jesus, we believe in God, from whom we now receive everything good.



Keeping the Faith When Things Get ToughKeeping the Faith When Things Get Tough
Peter’s Letter to Jesus Believers Scattered Everywhere
Bite-Sized Studies Through First Peter
by Jeff Doles

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