The Baptismal Flood (2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 3:19-21 NLT

From a cursory glance at 1 Peter 3:21, we might misconstrue what Peter meant when he wrote, “that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you”. Of course he did not mean that people must be baptised to be saved. That would contradict many other Scriptures, for example the salvation of Cornelius and his family. In Acts 10 we can read the story of their salvation, which came as Peter preached, followed by the baptism in the Holy Spirit, evidenced by the Gentile family speaking in tongues. Lastly they were baptised.

Peter wrote that the ritual of baptising someone in water will only wash away dirt. He was of course describing full immersion baptism – Scripture does not describe a process of sprinkling a few drops of water on a baby’s head and calling it “baptism”. Peter then went on to write that the act of baptism is “a response to God from a clean conscience”. So what he was saying was that after a person repents of his or her sins and is saved, the act of baptism is a response to God.

As far as Noah and his family were concerned, they escaped the flood through their faith in God. Peter painted a picture demonstrating their salvation from drowning, meaning they were effectively “baptised”. And he could see forward to the day when Jesus was resurrected following his death. 1 Peter 3:21 is one of those verses that require a bit of meditative thought to extract what the meaning really is.

We pilgrims, believing followers of Jesus, will most likely have been baptised in water. The word “baptise” in the Bible originally meant the full immersion of a person, and in the church today the symbolic act of baptism is a public declaration of the washing away of sins, and the alignment of the person with the death (going down into the water) and resurrection (the subsequent rising up out of the water) of Jesus. In Acts 2:38 we read, “Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. David Pawson calls these four events the normal Christian birth. He uses the acrostic RBBR – Repent, Believe, Be Baptised and Receive the Holy Spirit. After Peter’s Acts 2 sermon, we read, “Those who believed what Peter said were baptised and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all” (Acts 2:41). That must have been an amazing baptismal service!

God flooded the earth to a depth of 22 feet above the highest mountain peaks (Genesis 7:20) and all those who failed to believe in Him perished by drowning. But Noah and his family were saved through their faith in God, being baptised into a new life on a very different world. We pilgrims have experienced the symbolic repeat of this event, and through our faith in God we too have become citizens of a very different world, the Kingdom of God. Noah was joined by his family. We too need to ensure that our families join us in God’s wonderful Kingdom, which extends throughout our remaining lives on Planet Earth and onwards into an eternity with Him.

Dear God. Thank You for our salvation. Amen.

A Clear Conscience

Posted on by korgrocker

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.”
1 Peter 3:15-16 NLT

Our consciences are deeply embedded within our minds, and they are a very important driver of our thoughts and actions. A person without a conscience doesn’t exist, but a conscience can be trained to be more or less sensitive to certain behavioural patterns. Our thought processes can rationalise what we do and override our conscience-generated feelings and emotions. But, generally, our consciences make us feel bad when we do wrong and feel good when we do right. A big driver of how we feel and behave is related to our morality. The modern ideology of “if it feels right just do it” is a conscience-busting principle where our personal morals have failed in keeping us free of guilty thoughts.

So we must ask the question – what is our moral or values system? Where do we find the standard which we can use to programme our consciences? This is where the world view clashes with the God view. There is obviously some behaviours that are essential in society, driven by a pragmatic understanding of what Jesus said in Matthew 7:12, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets“. This, called the Golden Rule, cannot be disputed even by those who are not believers. Bluntly, we don’t abuse our neighbours because they would then feel entitled to do the same to us. 

We must operate a system of self-evaluation within us, but we know that we can’t depend on ourselves in this process. We read all about this in Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve“. We need that external guidance to eliminate any possibility of our consciences being tarnished by our own deceit. Paul, on more than one occasion, publicly declared that he had a clear conscience. Acts 23:1, “Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!”” 

So we pilgrims must work hard to maintain a clear conscience, and the only source of the data we need to ensure our consciences are in line with what God requires is through His Word, the Bible. We must constantly read the Scriptures, because we forget and are often in danger of being subtly lured away from the straight and narrow path by the whisper of the enemy bringing half-truths into our thoughts. Remember what the serpent said to Eve? “Surely God did not say …”. Thankfully God’s presence is always with us. By constantly flushing our thought processes with the water of His Word we will maintain a soft heart.

One final thought. There will be others around us in the family of God who will perhaps not be in the same place as us when it comes to matters of the conscience. We pilgrims treat them with love and compassion, as God does with us. 

Father God, we thank You for the way we are “wired”, with a conscience aligned to Your Spirit. Amen.

Maintaining Peace

Posted on by korgrocker

“For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.””
1 Peter 3:10-12 NLT

Peter didn’t just say be at peace or accept peace in a passive way. His advice was to “search for peace“, with the implication that it must be something we actively pursue. But in this world it seems peace is an elusive commodity. The war in Ukraine is still with us and the repercussions hurt everyone in Europe and beyond. The constant tension between different world ideologies occasionally bubbles up into a limited confrontation between nations. Even in our communities, a lack of peace is always with us – just read the local news. People yearn for peace but seem powerless to make it happen, because within us are desires and emotions that displace even the personal peace, an inner peace, that God has designed for us. Perhaps we can all echo Paul’s wail of frustration in Romans 7:24, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” A lack of peace is often the fruit of wickedness and a popular verse is found in Isaiah 48:22, ““But there is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.” But we know that of course – the world is under the jurisdiction of a person, the devil, intent in propagating wickedness and evil wherever he can.

There are many causes of a lack of peace in the lives of people. Even we pilgrims often find ourselves debilitated by internal strife. Thankfully, Jesus came to give us peace with God, and that is the most precious of all types of peace. In fact, in Isaiah 9:6 we read, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Jesus had the title “Prince of Peace” in Isaiah’s prophecy and He truly demonstrated that in His time here on earth. At the time of Jesus’ birth the angels announced, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased” (Luke 2:14).

We pilgrims discover peace with God through Jesus. Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us”. When we find peace through God we have a foundation on which we can build a peaceful society. We may feel our own contribution is too small to make much of a difference, but Jesus asked us to be salt and light in our communities, amongst our neighbours and friends. Peace can be infectious, and a Godly influence can make a difference in the lives of many people. And when we find peace with God we find peace indeed that ripples through every facet of our lives.

Dear Father. You wish the world to experience Your peace. We have our part to play – please help us. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Husbands

Posted on by korgrocker

“In the same way, you husbands must give honour to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.”
1 Peter 3:7 NLT

In this very important verse giving advice to Christian husbands, Peter starts with “In the same way”.The same way as what? To answer that we must read again the previous verses and review the intent behind Peter’s words. We read about “godly lives”, “a gentle and quiet spirit”, “trust in God”, and obedience. I’m not sure why Peter felt he had to write to wives over six verses but use just one for husbands. But the picture emerges of a relationship, seasoned by love, sacrifice and commitment. The message to the wives also has some important elements within it for the husbands.

A Christian husband, Peter wrote, must treat his wife with honour and understanding, the more so because Peter thinks she is the weaker member of the dual relationship. And he warns that if the husband doesn’t treat his wife properly, his prayer life will be hindered.

But the key message is around the word “equal”. So often in society, we hear about situations where the wife is very much the weaker, or less significant, or even mistreated member of the partnership, but Peter made clear that this should not be the case. In Galatians 3:28, Paul also made the case for equality. “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” We are indeed all equal in God’s sight. In this age of confusion over issues such as gender and feminism, Peter’s age-old advice paints a picture of marriage and life, built and implemented God’s way. 

Biblical marriage is between a man and a woman. There is no other option, in spite of the strident demands of the society in which we live, a stridency that has even persuaded many established churches to abandon what God has decreed and promote a different way. Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, populated the Garden of Eden. And following God’s way in marriage I’m sure brings a smile to His face, as He watches His dear children behave in accordance with His created model for mankind. As we read in Ecclesiastes 4:12, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

Dear Father God. A marriage rooted and founded in You can never fail. Thank You. Amen.

A Gentle Spirit

Posted on by korgrocker

“Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewellery, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”
1 Peter 3:3-4 NLT

These two verses today were written to wives, but they could equally apply to their husbands. They too can be caught up in the expensive dressing regime, following fashions and fads that are promoted by companies and conventions. Designers think about a new or revamped type or code of dressing and a new range of expensive products appear in the shops and on-line market places. But Peter points out the pointlessness of trying to enhance “outward beauty” with a new dress code or haircut. A bracelet or ring, no matter what it cost, has no value to God.

When Samuel was sent by God to a man with several sons, so that he could select the next Israelite king to replace Saul, his subjective analysis of the eldest son was overruled, “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”” (1 Samuel 16:7). We need to remember what Samuel said to Saul earlier. We read in 1 Samuel 13:14, “But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command” (emphasis mine). 

So is this reference to someone’s heart the same as the place where “a gentle and quiet spirit” can be found? Jesus said, as recorded in Luke 6:45, “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“. The heart in the Bible is where a person’s spiritual life can be found. It is a place synonymous with our spirits and is where the Holy Spirit resides after we have experienced our new birth into being children of God. So instead of pursuing the externals of our persons, we should be developing and adorning our hearts with things that develop into Godly beauty. The Bible is a treasure of beautiful things that will transform our hearts, our spirits, into a place of gentleness and quiet. A place where God takes pleasure. A place that is precious to Him.

Dear Father. Thank You that we can store Heavenly Treasure with You, confident that it is safe until we reach our Heavenly home. And if it is precious to You, it is precious to us. Amen.

Fancy Hairstyles

Posted on by korgrocker

“Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewellery, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”
1 Peter 3:3-4 NLT

Peter continued to write to the women in the congregation, who were presumably assembled to hear as his letter read out. He contrasted the outward paraphernalia of how people look that was demanded in that age, much as it has been ever since, with the beauty that God desires. The so called global beauty industry in the 21st Century is big business, and the cost of cosmetics alone is expected to reach $750 billion each year by 2025. But not one cent of that will get a person into Heaven. It should be added that this includes what men spend on cosmetics as well. Peter singled out “fancy hairstyles, expensive jewellery, or beautiful clothes” but these days we need to add cosmetics and the costs of surgery, that is increasingly becoming desirable. Perhaps a search for perpetual youth drives an industry that is doomed to fail in the end. The wonderful thing for us pilgrims is that when we reach Heaven we will receive a new body. In Philippians 3:21 we read, “He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control“.‭‭ There’s more to read about our new bodies in 2 Corinthians 5.

We all love beautiful things. I know a man who owns 2 Porsche cars and 2 Ducati motorbikes as well as a Land Rover for everyday use. He is what we call in the UK a “petrolhead” and he is besotted with his expensive possessions and hobby. But like everything else we own, he will be unable to take his belongings with him into Heaven, or wherever he will end up when he dies. No need for them in the afterlife! Our beautiful possessions, clothes and jewellery must be held in open hands, in the knowledge that one day they will pass on to someone else or, for most items, a rubbish heap. Jesus taught, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:19-21). 

What do we pilgrims value in life? Our possessions will remain on Planet Earth when we die, so a relatively short term enjoyment will suddenly stop at a time coincident with our last breaths. But we have the opportunity to acquire Heavenly treasure, and this will be stored for us for a time when we can be reconciled with it. What is this treasure? We find it by reading the Bible. This Book, written by God, contains many nuggets that we can extract and apply to our lives. Perhaps a good place to start is in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” These are all Heavenly-bankable assets that will please God and are things that He sees are precious. As we develop this fruit in our lives, God sees a burgeoning inner beauty that pleases Him.

A fancy hairstyle is of no benefit in Heaven. We will receive a new body, and, presumably, a new hairstyle when we get to Heaven. But what will shine forth to God and others there is the “beauty that comes from within”. Heaven is a place where a different value system prevails.

Dear God. Heaven will be an amazing place for Your people to live in. We only get a glimpse through Scripture not what it will be like, but in Your presence we will have no fears. Amen.

God Judges

Posted on by korgrocker

“He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.”
1 Peter 2:23 NLT

Our judicial systems in the West are very much based on the principle that if someone commits a crime then they will be punished. Of course, not everyone is found out by the authorities and many escape justice, but those who are caught will find out that there are consequences. The principle of justice in the here and now started in the Garden when Adam and Eve were found out because of their sin. In Genesis 3 we read about the consequences of sin, and God pronounced judgement, starting with the snake, then Eve and finishing with Adam. And there was that poignant moment when we read that Adam and Eve had to be clothed in skins probably from animals they knew and loved. Sin is followed by consequences and it impacts others than just the miscreant. We know the story of Cain and Abel, which we can read in Genesis 4, where Cain killed Abel because of jealousy and had to face into consequences for his sin. 

The essence of the Jewish Law, given by God through Moses, was, amongst other things, to provide forgiveness for sins committed. But as we now know, this was only until Jesus came to take on the punishment we deserve for our sin. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian” (Galatians 3:24-25). And as we know, there is no purpose in keeping the Mosaic Law to achieve righteousness, because there is a better way. Referring to the Law’s adherents, Paul wrote in Romans 10:3-4, “For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God“. I have marked in my Bible the verses highlighting the Good News about Jesus, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord“. There will come a day when sin will have to be accounted for. Jesus suffered greatly here on earth, but He knew He could leave “his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly“. But in this life, in the here and now, there are many who seem totally ignorant of the fact that sooner or later they will have to face into the consequences of all the bad things they have done here on Planet Earth. We live in a moral universe and the scales of justice will be balanced, either in this life or the next. All those people who abused Jesus will find out the consequences of their sin. And that is why He knew that He didn’t have to retaliate, even though He could. He had the power at His fingertips because He was and is God.

We have to turn to Revelation 20 to find out when justice will finally be administered. And the sad thing is that many people, facing justice and punishment for their crimes in this life, will face it again because God will have the final word. And all those who think they have got away with their wrongdoings, will have a nasty shock. We have an opportunity in this life, through Jesus, to put right all the bad things we have done. But when we leave this life, the opportunity will leave with us. A sobering thought, particularly when we don’t know when we will draw our last breath.

But note what Peter wrote. He said God “always judges fairly”. We will only be judged for what we know. So, for example, those people who have never heard the Gospel won’t be judged as though they had.

We pilgrims know all of this, of course. We have embraced the Son and His redemption. We keep short accounts with God. We love Him and walk each day in gratitude for all He has done for us. And we reach out to those around us with the same redemptive message.

Dear God. Thank You for all You have done for us through Jesus. Amen.

Unjust Treatment

Posted on by korgrocker

“For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.”
1 Peter 2:19-20 NLT

Have you ever noticed that people respond or react in a bad way when they are accused of something that is false, or when they experience an injustice? For example, if someone pushes in front of them at a supermarket checkout queue, or in roadworks on a motorway. A schoolchild accused of a misdemeanour that was not their fault, and so on. We could construct a list that is endless, because we have all experienced at one time or another an injustice at the hands of another person. So how do we respond in these circumstances? The natural reaction is to lash out, probably angrily. To push back against the accusing person, sometimes violently. This is how fights develop, especially when alcohol-fuelled. 

If the accusation is correct and we have been found out for a misdemeanour, then some form of punishment or correction might be justifiable. That is the basis of our justice system. So if we are caught speeding, then points on our licences and a fine are an apt punishment for the oversight, and will help us remember that there is such a thing as a speed limit. If a schoolchild is given a punishment exercise for not doing their homework then there can be no complaint. Peter wrote you “get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong”. In other words, God will just let things take their course. He will forgive a repentant sinner of course, but there may be consequences imposed by our earthly masters or authorities.

Peter wrote that “God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment”. Jesus, of course, taught exactly that. We read what He said in Matthew 5:39-42, “But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow”. And Jesus Himself exemplified His words, as we read in Matthew 26:67-68, “Then they began to spit in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. And some slapped him, jeering, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who hit you that time?”” Jesus never reacted. He stood submissively enduring terrible abuse. But He was of course conscious of His Father’s will and acted accordingly. In fact He went even further, when, in terrible pain, He prayed for His executioners, as we read in Luke 23:34a, “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing“.

We pilgrims will, I’m sure, never have to suffer as Jesus did. But we will be faced with many an injustice here on earth. Perhaps we need to remember those four letters WWJD – What Would Jesus Do. So before we let out a tirade of righteous anger, let’s pause a moment. Take a deep breath, and lift up our eyes to Heaven. And imagine how pleased God will be if we just turn away.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for such invaluable guidance. Please help us to live the way Your Son did. In His precious name. Amen.

Respect Everyone

Posted on by korgrocker

“Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.”
1 Peter 2:17 NLT

There are four instructions in this short verse. Two refer to being respectful and the others to love and fear. So a lot to consider.

Respect is in short supply in society today. It seems that everyone has their own ideology or set of views and they insist that whatever they think is supported and affirmed to the detriment of everyone else. As an example, strident calls are being made about gender issues, and woe betide anyone who disagrees with the multi-gender adherents. Those who disagree are branded with all sorts of unpleasant and totally unfounded names. They are pilloried on social media and no-platformed in public speaking engagements. There are many other issues in which debate and mutual respect are denied. Perhaps the root cause is society’s abandonment of Christian teaching and rejection of God, with a new morality, false in its content, emerging to replace it. An anything-goes morality that is based on a form of self identification and a declaration that the person concerned is his or her own god. Scotland, where I live, has the reputation of being the most secular country in Europe, and we are starting to see the down side of that in the legislation being produced by confused and godless politicians. But where at one time people were respected for their views – not necessarily agreed with, but respected at least – now there is little or no acceptance of another’s views. Respect is a commodity in very short supply. 

Back in Exodus 20:12 we read, “Honour your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you”. Respect starts in the home by being implanted in children through good parenting, but with so many broken families, basic teaching like this doesn’t seem to count for much these days. And the lack of respect spills over into the classrooms, with teachers being abused just for trying to do their jobs, educating the next generation of adults in our societies. In Matthew 7:12, Jesus taught about the “Golden Rule”, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets”. 

Respect is based on grace. Our Heavenly Father has graciously accepted us pilgrims, warts and all. With all our funny ideas and sin-ridden ways, we can, through Jesus, approach His throne with boldness. He sees our struggles to make sense of a complex and evil world. He sees us agonising over the abuse of a child, or the ill-treatment of another human being. And we know that He is also saddened by the behaviour of mankind. But God had a plan and Jesus came for damaged and confused people, who were, as He said, like sheep without a shepherd. But we have a Shepherd now, and God’s plan is being worked out through His children, fellow pilgrims such as us.

Dear Father God. We are Your children, saved by grace. Please help us reach out to others, extending Your grace to those without. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Honourable Lives

Posted on by korgrocker

“It is God’s will that your honourable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.”
1 Peter 2:15 NLT

Society is full of people who make accusations. It seems that the minute someone behaves in a way that doesn’t fit with someone else’s opinion, then an accusation follows, whether to the police, or the council or the tax authorities or whoever. The great majority of accusations and allegations are of course totally groundless, but they are made all the same. Neighbours fall out because one accuses the other of failing to remove their weeds, or playing their music too loud. Accusations and complaints, one against another abound.

We have in the current times another insidious source of accusations. Certain ideologies are supported by people who think that everyone else should agree and support the way they feel or think, and if they don’t, then accusations of bias, hate or causing offence are made to whoever will listen. We can see that with the current fixations around sexuality and gender. For example, if a woman dares to put her head above the parapet and claim that toilet spaces should only be designated and used in accordance with a person’s biological sex then a storm of abuse and accusations erupt through social media and beyond, driven by the “keyboard warriors” who blight our society today.

But none of this was the focus of this verse in Peter’s first letter. The first century believers were accused of all sorts of things because they followed a faith different to everyone else. For example, there were accusations of cannibalism made against Christians because they shared the body and blood of Jesus in their communion services. A lack of understanding became inflated to a terrible result. There were also accusations of gross immorality made against believers because they were instructed to love one another. Again, misunderstandings were blown up out of all proportion. And then we have accusations around issues such as poverty, self-righteousness and so on. The list was seemingly endless.

Jesus Himself had accusations levelled against Him. We read in Luke 6:7, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath”. To His listeners, Jesus said, “The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results” (Matthew 11:19). But the greatest miscarriage of justice ever was carried out on Jesus even though He was not guilty of any crime, let alone one that deserved a capital punishment. We read in John 18:29, 38, “So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?” …  “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime”. 

Accusations against the early Christians were commonplace. It was, and still is today, easy to make accusations based on half-truths and innuendo, assumptions and bigotry. Conspiracy theories were just as prevalent then as they are today. But Peter encouraged his readers with the truth that their “honourable lives” would silence the accusers. It would be difficult, he wrote, to make accusations against someone whose life was above reproach. We pilgrims today should also take heed and be careful that we live in a way that will silence any accusations by “ignorant people”. It’s a high bar to achieve, but one possible as we depend on the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and guidance.

Dear Lord Jesus. You know at first hand the pain of false accusations. Please help us to respond in a way that shows the complainants a better way. In Your precious name. Amen.