A LETTER FROM PETER

Chapter 2 – Part 2

9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

10 “Once you had no identity as a people;
    now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
    now you have received God’s mercy.”

Bearing mind the previous verses about Christ as the cornerstone, we now begin to build a picture of what this new Christian community will not only look like, but also how it will function, both within itself and more widely in the world in which it exists. It commences with a strong sense of community. Individual Christians are building blocks but not of a great deal of use until they are blended together into a workable structure. The Bible knows nothing of individualistic Christians.

Wherever God’s people are they are in community with each other; Worshiping, building, supporting, comforting and reaching out to the lost sheep. All aspects of this new Christian community need to be balanced and present. We only find our authentic place in ministry for God when we find it in community with fellow Christians.

Because we have been chosen, called and accepted this new role in this Christian community, the church, we have a distinct identity and purpose, Perhaps there is nothing more crucial in life that these two characteristics,

Ø  to know who you are

Ø  to know what you are here for.

From our lives of darkness and insignificance, the call of the chosen is a call into light and significance.  These chosen people are chosen because of their willing obedience, their willingness to serve others and chosen for the privilege of an intimate, family relationship with God.

It may well be that on first appearance and face value, the Christian may appear as a very ordinary person, but the moment they accept Jesus and embrace the kingdom lifestyle, they acquire a new worth because they are a person of great value to God with priestly tasks and membership in a regal family. All this is possible because we chose to be obedient to the call and as a consequence, received God’s mercy.

11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

Peter wants us to keep in mind where our citizenship lies; not in this world but in the kingdom of God, and as such we need to monitor carefully our own lifestyle choices and behaviour. Jesus gave the following advice: A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. (Luke 6:45 - NLT) The pressures of today’s commercial world with all electronic media and social network sites place enormous pressure on the best of Christian to allow the thin end of the wedge to be driven, almost subliminally, into our kingdom lifestyle. Careful evaluation of biblical standards and submission to the guidance from the Holy Spirit will help us not to fall into worldly desires that wage war against [our] very souls. 

He now turns his attention to a significant challenge that Christians face even today. How to live authentically as a Christian in an unchristian world? The great temptation is to project a polished image of what we think a Christian should look like, and behave. The only problem with that is that is the general populace is neither that naive nor undiscerning. They will call it for what it is, hypocrisy, and the witness of the believer and the Christian community to which they belong will be negatively impacted and degraded.

It may well be that the projection of a polished image is done with the best of intentions, but the reality is, that it is not honest, and we are not transparent as real people. Regardless of where they are and their own lifestyles, most people are looking for those who are genuine, transparent and honest. Peter will go on later in this chapter to list the virtues of Jesus and among them is the statement that He never deceived anyone, (v22) and those who follow his kingdom lifestyle should do likewise.

There is a likelihood is that our honesty and transparency at times may be misunderstood, and even used unjustly against us, and Peter will go on to deal with this. However, it is better to be misunderstood and judged unfairly than to project a hypocritical image.