Celtic Wanderer

Q2. (2:18) If we are to submit to our employers and respect them, what is that saying about God's expectation that we do a good job? In what sense do we dishonor God when we don't give our full effort to our jobs? Expectation of doing a good job. We do not work for ourselves but for our Heavenly Father. We want to please Him and to honour Him. We work willingly and respectfully for even the harsh employer. We will produce just as good a result for the harsh person as for the kind one! Jesus’ wisdom is not of this world and runs counter to it. If we do not give our best to our jobs it is a poor witness. That’s a key thought – we are evangelists taking the Good News to a needy world therefore our behaviour speaks as loud as our words.

Q5. (2:12) How can the good deeds we commit by living openly as Christians increase God's praise. How does our "blending in" detract from God's praise? "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." (2:12) Good lives and Good deeds speak loudly to our neighbours, workmates, and friends. These can enable us to be used by the Holy Spirit to lead people towards knowing God for themselves. As they see the life of the Spirit within us they may come to God. For this reason they will be prepared to “rejoice at His appearing” and to glorify God on that day when He appears.

"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." (2:11) Read 1 Peter 2:11 carefully. The world tells us (1) to conform and (2) that sin won't hurt us. What does Peter tell us to combat these lies? How can this reminder help us? Peter urges us to act as strangers in this world! We are not to embrace the ways of this world! The world , or cosmos, as it is called in Greek, is a beguiling system that is dominated by satanic ideas, the word “cosmetics” comes from the same root. We are witnessing some of these ideas being simultaneously spawned across the globe. I have been amazed how same sex marriage (and oxymoron) has been orchestrated a lightening speed internationally. I think this is not a humanly organised thing - it is a seed that has been sown by wicked entities at a time when human hearts are wide open to receive this lie of massive proportions! Peter urges is to avoid, and to not participate in activities that are not pleasing to God. We must take care not to feed the sinful desires that are embedded within our human nature. Peter reminds us to be on guard, on the alert. Don’t let the world sneak up on you. Be careful - there is a war against our souls. We are engaged in a war that that rages within our very own beings (or our flesh). As we hide this message from Peter within our hearts (i.e. meditate on it) this will help us not to sin against God. PS 119.11-12

Q3. (2:9) What actions and attitudes should this idea of being part of God's own people inspire in us? Actions: In obedience, by serving God and His people. Offering pleasing sacrifices. Attitude: By service in awe of our relationship with the Lord. What a privilege! Having a strong sense of calling and purpose.

Q2. (2:5) If your praise is primarily for God's benefit, not your own, how should you be offering praise? Offering praises in His Word and via His Word. Praises in honour of Him and His name, with thanksgiving, reverently recounting His goodness. Reflecting on His Word. I think that we should sing the actual words of scripture a lot more than we do; and not necessarily someone else’s “take” on things. Particularly if they are not qualified to do so.

Q1. (2.5) Christians often look at their relation to God as consumers, delighting in what God does for them. What is the mind-set of a priest towards God? What actions does this mind-set inspire in you? The mind-set of Consumers – This is a wrongheaded approach – it is both immature and self-centred. The mind-set of a priest – this approach leads to serving God and others. It involves: Doing the works of God and offering sacrifices to God. (Sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise.) Presenting our bodies as living sacrifices. (Rom 12.1) Doing good deeds – sharing with others, including sharing the Gospel. Offering the fruit (calves) of our lips. (Heb 13-15-16)

Q4 1 Peter 1.18-19 [18] For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. Have you ever felt you were of no worth or of no value? What does 1 Peter 1:18-19 say about your worth? What does it say about God's love for you? What does it indicate about the long-term value of your balance sheet and financial assets? What are your true long-term investments? Why? We were purchased by God using a currency of inestimable worth! The precious blood of Jesus! God loves us with an everlasting love! We are completely without debt of any kind except love.

Q3 1 Peter 1.17 3a. why are people in our culture so upset when they sense that they are being judged by someone else? They believe that they alone have the exclusive right to judge themselves using their own standards. They do not recognise God's supreme and exclusive right to judge. What's right/wrong for you may not be right/wrong for me. No absolute truth therefore they are free to set their own standards. 3b. how do you reconcile final judgement with God's love for the world? God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to pay the price for the sins of the whole world. Refusal to accept this leads to immediate judgement. Sin is a serious matter. God is Holy – He cannot overlook sin. God judged His own Son in our place so that He might avert judging those who come to Him for forgiveness. There was no other way! 3c. why must final judgement be at the core of the Good News of Jesus Christ? Without final judgement there would be no need for the cross. As outlined above God must judge sin and pronounce the verdict “guilty as charged” but His Son has offered us deliverance by taking our place. Joh 3:17-21 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (18) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (19) And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. (20) For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (21) But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." 3d. What happens to the Gospel when final judgement is left out? It becomes deception - an adulterated man-centred message. It becomes a message of cheap grace, robbed of its power and truth and it does not correctly represent the true and Holy God.

Q 2. (1:15-16) In your own words, how would you define "holiness"? In what sense are you (by definition) holy now? In what sense must you be obedient in order to become holy? What is your biggest struggle with holiness? In your own words how would you define holiness?: Being Christ like, living like Him. Kingdom Living versus worldly living. Separated, set apart for God, different from the world. In what sense are you (by definition) holy now?: I am justified by faith through in and by Christ. I belong to God, He is my Father and I am an adopted son of His, I am a saint or a called out one that belongs to Him. Jesus has already made us holy. Baptism speaks of us being separated completely unto him. (Heb 12:10,14) In what sense must you be obedient in order to become holy?: Like an obedient child as I hear the Father's words I must do them and become conformed to His Holy nature. Our focus shifts from guilt to our character; (we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus) What is your biggest struggle with holiness ?: Laziness, distractions from the world, flesh, and the devil. Relationships with people, business and pressures of life (These may in fact be taking the rough edges off my life and thereby teaching me holiness!)

Q1. (1:13-14) What about Christ's coming should get our undivided attention? Why should it inspire hope? Why should it inspire self-control and soberness? What happens in our lives when we don't really expect Christ to come soon? What about Christ's coming should get our undivided attention? Its imminence i.e. the fact that it could occur at any time. We should regularly spend time reflecting upon His return, and share this with one another as an encouragement. 1Th 4:16-18 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. Our behaviour and actions: We should seek to be Christ-like in our behaviour, speech, habits, and live disciplined lives. Our obedience: Hearing the voice of the Lord during our daily walk. Being guided by the Holy Spirit. Following the Lord's schedule = obedience. Looking forward to the Lord's return – the second coming and the rapture: Therefore I need to study this as outlined by 1 Peter. This involves considering the grace to be revealed at the consummation of our great salvation which will be unveiled/revealed at the second coming of the Lord. Living well ordered lives: Not leaving things to chance or haphazard events, deliberate planning our time and activities, well executed work/service for the Lord. Living purified lives, 1Jn 3:1-3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (2) Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (3) And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Making the most of the time allotted because the days are evil. Eph 5:15-17 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, (16) making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (17) Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Hi David - really great to share with you last night. Your testimony is so refreshing. Blessings Neil

1. Faith is the basis of our joy – through faith we love Jesus, we believe in Him and rejoice. It is not dependant upon circumstances. “We walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor 5.7) Faith means surrendering all to God and obeying His Word in spite of circumstances and consequences. Love and faith go together: when you love someone, you trust him. And faith and love together help to strengthen hope; for where you find faith and love, you will find confidence for the future. 2. Our Joy is not “essentially” emotional. Emotions are not the basis of our faith, but of course because we are human beings emotions influence us and affect us. 3. We do not pursue happiness as a goal – we pursue the face of God, to know Him, to be cleansed and forgiven, restored, saved. 4. The genuine article is evident through having peace with God, and it is also evident through having assurance of salvation which is defined as possessing and knowing the peace of God. Weirsbe – “We may not be able to rejoice over our circumstances, but we can rejoice in them by centring our heart and mind on Jesus Christ.” Php_4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Heb_8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Hi David - I am not sure how this quote thing works :-) Your answer is interesting. Perhaps we can discuss it tomorrow night. Neil

Q4. (1:6-7) Can you remember any instances in which God used difficult circumstances to refine and purify your faith? What did God accomplish in your life? How, exactly, does genuine, tested faith bring glory to Jesus? Yes God has used a number of difficult circumstances to refine and purify my faith. Work issues i.e., difficulties caused to some extent by my own stubbornness, lack of discipline, and lack of openness to others, have tripped me up. Blindness to our own faults and pride can get in the way. God knocks the rough edges off our lives via these tests and we become more refined. Relationship issues; our relationship with family members and spouses are affected by the same factors as those mentioned above. Difficulties with children as they reach teenage years can break and soften us and cause us to seek God. We begin to understand our own hearts and how desperately need God’s Word and power working in our lives. Difficulties with church life when things implode and leaders fail it is devastating, numbing, and can severely test us. Personally I have found that these situations have ultimately driven us to study the Word of God with greater intensity and to grow in faith. These situations also lead us to pray for one another and particularly for leaders. Trials – rejoice! God uses trials to demonstrate our tested faith, our purified lives, and our love for Him. Also the Holy Spirit comforts us. Temptation – Don’t be caught off guard by this - the Lord intercedes for us! Our faith grows when we encounter circumstances that push us out of our comfort zone and force us to rely on God. Trials or tests of our faith are God’s way of forming Christ in us. Without them we would remain spiritual babies; with them we grow into the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). So we can endure these trials and the grief that they bring, because we look beyond them and see God’s purpose for us.

1Pe 1:5 who by God's power are being guarded though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, Salvation has past, present, and future dimensions. Put simply: We have been (past ) saved in Christ. He died for me, and He died as me. It is finished. We are being saved (present).He is guarding me , He is leading me, moulding me, and He is refining me as gold until He sees his face in the purified metal. We face various test and trials. Sometimes being grieved by them! We will be saved (future) for all eternity God Guards us: God is guarding (keeping, shielding) us until our total salvation is revealed at the end this age, See v 7 the totality of our salvation and the genuineness of our faith will be made known at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Our inheritance is reserved – kept in heaven, (see 1 pet 1.4). We learn to trust Him: We grow in grace and demonstrate our faith in Him. We learn to trust God through various trials (tests?). Working out our faith in the real world (test track)

We can only serve the Lord in His power as sanctified Believers. We are made cleansed by the blood of the Lord Jesus and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Nothing that is unholy can be presented in service to Him. We absolutely must lean on Him for His cleansing and empowering. Sprinkling also relates to being included under the covenant made by Christ (see BNTC notes.) This is a really sobering thought– I think many times I take this far too lightly. How I need to wait on, and to walk with, the Lord!) Faith unto salvation is not a work. There is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation. We must simply trust in the Word of God that has called us unto salvation. This salvation does not derive from us - it’s a gift! We are God’s workmanship – He does the work!

Araham was looking for a city whose maker was God. This world was only his temporary dwelling place (Heb 11:10) (Heb 13:14) We are (and must strive to live as) strangers in a foreign place, sojourning, residing temporarily. We rent our tents and have no permanent dwelling place here! I like the following statement by Dr. Ralph. “We are to be engaged in this world – Jesus certainly was – but we must remember that our allegiance is elsewhere. We’re resident aliens for now.” There is a continual pressure (a vortex) dragging us towards becoming absorbed by this world with all of its beguiling attractions. We are tempted to make the world our centre of interest. In reality we are ambassadors who represent our king, and our home country, i.e. the place where we came from, and where we are going to, and where our King lives. Eph_6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. 2Co 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 1Jn 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. This creates a potential and persistent conflict. Providing for self, family, children, saving for retirement etc., are things that occupy our thoughts and actions. They can compete with our desire for an all-out dedication to our true calling. (Solution? Live for God and develop a daily walk with Him. Making use of our “diplomatic channels in order to keep in communication with our homeland.”)