1 Peter - Following Jesus Sample

Becoming a Christian means changing. We stop living for ‘evil human desires’ (v. 2) and start living for God’s will.

In verse 3 Peter gives a shocking catalogue of sinful behaviour. This is how these believers used to behave. They had worshipped idols rather than God. But things are very different now.

• How do unbelievers respond to the way Christians live (v. 4)?

Unbelievers are not just surprised, they are also hostile. When people change, others can feel criticised. They may retaliate. Unbelievers are heaping abuse on Peter’s Christian readers. It can be very hard to be on the receiving end of all this.

But Peter wants his Christian friends to keep going at living for the will of God. He wants them to see what really matters. So he points them forward to what is coming.

• What will happen to those who ‘heap abuse’ on Christians (v. 4)?

Unbelievers may live recklessly now, but a day of reckoning is coming. Jesus the judge will hold them to account for their sin and their idolatry. No one will escape Jesus’ judgment. He will judge everyone. Jesus ‘is ready to judge the living and the dead’.

Judgment day is on its way. This day motivates us to keep preaching the gospel, even if it brings suffering to those who accept it. God’s final verdict on us is far more significant than what people make of us now.

This is what Peter seems to be reflecting on in verse 6. He appears to be thinking about Christians who have suffered for their faith and have now died. These believers have experienced two very different ‘judgments’.

One judgment does not ultimately matter. Unbelievers judge Christians according to sinful ‘human standards’ and may condemn them. But unbelievers can only hurt our physical bodies. The other judgment is the one that matters. The verdict on believers ‘according to God’ is very different. On the last day these dead Christians will, like Jesus, be made alive in the spirit. God will have the last word.

So keep going at living to please God, however costly it is. People may misunderstand you and heap abuse on you. You may even lose your life now. But you will not lose your life in eternity.

Pray

Pray you would remember that Jesus is coming to judge everyone and that his verdict on you is the only one that matters.