FIRST PETER 2:10

In this part of First Peter believers are being reminded of our unique position in Christ. Because we believe in Jesus, the Father loves us and has made us “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.” The Bible says in First Peter 2:10, “Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” The day may come when you might be tempted to think that God has not done much for you, especially during a time of great sorrow or suffering. But if you remember to look at things from the perspective of these verses in First Peter, you will remember that God has done something marvelous in your life.

There was a time when you were outside of the people of God. And then you were brought in. How much God blessed you to have brought you in. The reason that you were brought has nothing to do with you, in the sense that you did not earn it and could not deserve it. “Mercy” was given to you. That means that you were a sinner. God could have punished you. He would have been justified to punish you, but he did not. You did not receive punishment for you sins. You obtained mercy.

You also obtained love from God, and so the next verse starts with the phrase, “Dearly beloved.” First Peter 2:11 says, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” This verse gives two reasons to avoid the “fleshly lusts” that the rest of the world is given over to. The first reason is because we are “strangers and pilgrims”. We do not belong here. We are just passing through. “We look for a city whose builder and maker is God,” and that is where we will end up: in the city of God. Since we are strangers and foreigners here on this earth, we admit the fact that there is a difference between those who believe and those who do not believe, and we stay away from the activities that the unbelievers so readily give themselves to. Of course, we know that the strong human desires have negative consequences to them. The world is deceived, but we are not deceived. We know that there is a spiritual warfare taking place. This war involves the flesh against the spirit. In order for our spiritual nature to win the battle, our fleshly nature must lose. One or the other will be in charge of our heart and our actions. The selfish human desires “war against” the spirit because one of the most important principles needed to be a spiritual person is to be surrendered to the will of God. We must be able to pray, “Not my will, but thine be done.” Strong human desires will keep us from honestly having such a prayer in our heart.

The Bible says in First Peter 2:12, “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” In this verse the emphasis is on the good works that Christians will have done. That is what will make the ultimate effect on unbelievers: not what you say, but what you do. Jesus said the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount. He said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Do not forget the phrase, “they speak against you as evildoers.” If you are walking in fellowship with Christ, then one of the reasons for any problems that you may receive from unspiritual people is that they will be against you from a spiritual standpoint. It is not your fault. It is always what happens in this world when you have believers and unbelievers mixed together. That is what Jesus was talking about when He said, “I came not to bring peace, but a sword.”

Notice that First Peter 2:12 says that if we do the good works that God wants us to do, that the unbelievers will “glorify God in the day of visitation.” The word that is translated “visitation” is a very interesting word. It is only used a few other times in the New Testament, and in only one other verse is it also translated as “visitation.” Jesus spoke of the coming judgment of Jerusalem and said in Luke 19:43-44, “For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” The interesting thing about this word is that it comes from the word that is often translated as “bishop,” which means literally “overseer:” “the one who oversees others.” Of course, God is the greatest Overseer. Because he oversees the activities of all human beings, there will come a day when each person will be judged by God. That Day of Judgment is the day of visitation. If a person does not find the mercy of Christ, God will visit that person with judgment at the appointed place and time. He will judge righteous judgment, because He sees all things.

One of the important things that will be discussed at that judgment will be exactly how each person treated the people of God. Jesus referred to this fact on the positive side of things when He said in Matthew 10:42, “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” But on the negative side Jesus said in Mark 9:42, “And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.”

Remember that we are talking about the phrase from First Peter 2:12 that says; that the unbelievers will “glorify God in the day of visitation.” My personal opinion is that this verse refers to the fact that at the judgment every person, believer and unbeliever, that stands before God will glorify His name. The Bible says in Romans 14:11, “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” God will use everything to glorify His name: even the wicked. Evidently, First Peter 2:12 is saying that the more that believers do good works, the more that unbelievers will be compelled to glorify God’s name at the “day of visitation.” You may not see the results of your service to God now, but you will some day. God uses every good work that His children do, even when the children are spoken against by the unbelievers around them.

One of the good works that believers should be known for is given in the next two verses. First Peter 2:13-14 says, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme, Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.” Rebellion is a sin. God is the highest authority, and all of the creatures that He created are supposed to be under His authority. Lucifer was an angel of light, but because of rebellion Lucifer became Satan, the great adversary of God and of all that is good. The reason that authorities exist in the world is because God created the authorities. This verse in First Peter makes it clear that whoever rebels against the laws of their country is not serving God. For example, sometimes you might hear of individuals who refuse to pay their taxes, claiming that they are doing so as part of their religious beliefs. They could not be farther from the truth. Jesus Himself said, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”

The citizens of any country have responsibilities for which they will be held accountable to God, but so do those who are in power. This verse in First Peter says that the leaders of a community have been sent by God “for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.” I wonder how many of our leaders realize that they have been sent by God for the performance of their duties, and that they will give an answer to Him for how well they fulfilled those responsibilities? Those responsibilities include giving the proper punishment to criminals and the proper rewards to those who do the right thing.

First Peter 2:15 makes it clear that your attitude to established authorities has a lot to do with what your real testimony is before the sons of men. It says, “For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” What we are talking about here is the contention that exists between believers and unbelievers. The problem is that unbelievers have a way of thinking that is different from believers, in almost every aspect. This affects their attitudes and the way they interpret things. This Bible verse uses the word “foolish.” This word refers to the fact that there is something important that unbelievers do not know. They do not know the Lord Jesus Christ. This “un-knowledge” creates a great barrier between believer and unbeliever. Because of the difference in attitude and philosophy and knowledge, unbelievers often are in opposition to believers. This opposition begins by what they say: at a minimum they will express their opposition verbally.

What should believers do in regards to this opposition from unbelievers? First Peter 2:15 makes it clear that believers should not argue and they should not return tit-for-tat. Believers should do exactly as the Holy Spirit said through the Apostle Peter: “For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” Truth is a powerful force. No one can oppose the truth and win the contest of life. If the truth is that you are doing good, and you keep doing good, those who oppose you will not be able to stand against that truth.

It is very important that believers do not resort to the tactics and methods of the flesh when faced with opposition from the world. And so First Peter 2:16 says, “As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.” This verse mentions the freedom that believers have because of Christ. It certainly is a tremendous freedom. It is freedom from guilt, freedom from sin, freedom from the law, freedom from hell, freedom from the finality of the grave, freedom from darkness. But in spite of how great that freedom is; believers still have responsibilities “as servants of God.”

Look at the phrase “a cloak of maliciousness.” It means literally “a covering of evil.” In other words do not use your knowledge of the great liberty that Christ has given you as a means to cover over any evil that you may have been involved with or that you may plan to be involved with. In this context evil refers to using the same methods as the people of the world in regards to opposing goodness.

The way that believers must treat human beings, all other human beings, is given in the following verses. First Peter 2:17 says, “Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” This word that is translated “honor” means that you have evaluated someone and have come to the conclusion that they are a person to be honored and respected. God’s Word says that you should come to that conclusion for every human being. God created every individual in His likeness. God loves every soul. Jesus died on the cross for every single one. The danger of honoring someone for what they have seemingly accomplished is that the temptation will be to not honor someone who has not accomplished the same things. That will not happen if you honor others simply because they are a human being, created by God.

Always remember to “love the brotherhood.” These are the last days. There are many false believers and false prophets. There are many who hate the children of God, but if you are a true believer, you must love God’s children, all of them. Many, many places that call themselves churches no longer teach this important truth. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another.” You might need to fall on your knees and ask Christ to forgive you for your lack of love. It may be that you never became a true Christian, if you do not love the other believers. Today you can repent of your sins and come to know Christ as your Savior.

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