Those who knew me then can tell you that I was very vocal about my faith in High School. Out of all that came from being so up front there is one occasion that still stands out in my mind as terribly important. After school I was talking to my chemistry teacher. On this occasion he said to me that he was a Christian but that he believed God used evolution to create the variety of life we observe on our planet.
As promised previously, this week begins a new study and a new commitment. Our new study will be of Islam and will be a multi-part investigation providing a broad overview of the history of Islam and a detailed study of it’s primary components and how they compare to Christianity. The new commitment is one of a personal nature, for today I take the Nazarite Vow which will last 30 days.
Though the believer will point to God when speaking the Word and serving others, unbelievers will prefer to be distracted by the human vessel of God’s grace. For this reason, believers who love and serve as they should will undergo persecution. A literal translation of verses 12 through 19 follows.
So far Peter has defined Holiness, showed us what it looks like, explained how it relates to God’s character, and commands us to make it a part of our lives. Now he tells us the purpose.
Any study of a religion properly begins with its holy writings. The Christian Bible has come under repeated investigation throughout history and has valiantly stood each assault. The best one can argue against the accuracy of the Bible is not having found mention of certain people, places or wars in extra-Biblical literature, which when it comes down to it is really a fallacy of logic called “arguing from silence.”
To close this study on 1 Peter I thought it appropriate to pull together all the materials created in the writing of this series and to offer it up as a free e-book. Download, print and enjoy!
Continuing with the theme of judgment, verse seven warns that the end of all things is near. His warning rings even more loudly today than then. Peter lists for us examples of how we are to live, but none of these examples are new as he has raised them elsewhere within the same letter. In other words, these examples are so important he mentions them twice.
Peter doesn’t stop here. His final urge to the scattered Christians is that they “live in harmony” with each other, that they “love each other deeply” (reference 1.22), to be “compassionate” and “humble.” Peter implores us to shrug off the opposite of these virtues: revenge. Rather than revenge, our every intention must be to bless everyone we meet. This requires honesty (“…must keep his tongue from evil, his lips from deceitful speech…”); being a do-gooder; one who seeks – even pursues – peace. Does this description yet sound familiar? Read on, true to form Peter will provide us with the Excellent Example!
There are two approaches necessary for fully understanding Islam. One is to take a 30,000 foot view of it historically and the other is to look at principles and holy writings. We’ll begin this series with the broad overview and narrow our study to specifics and end on notes that may be used when attempting to convert a Muslim to faith in Jesus Christ.
Peter’s final words appear in a series of instructions and greetings, beginning with those with responsibilities and ending with the common believers. As such, Peter begins with an exhortation to the elders. Peter does so with the appropriate credentials (He is a fellow elder, an apostle of Christ, and one who will share in the glory of Christ at His return). Had the elders been instructed by a younger Christian they would have been dishonored.
There are some passages of the Bible that are difficult to understand or explain. Verse six raises one such mystery. What does it mean that the “gospel was preached even to those who are now dead?”
Men and women, though created equal, were also created different and contrary to popular belief women do not receive the short end of the stick in the Bible. There are some who believe that chauvinism was championed on one end of Christian history by the apostle Paul, and on the other by Bill Gothard. In all truth, however, the Bible doesn’t demonstrate such thinking.