Dear church,

John uses that word again here – abide. “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.”

To “make a practice of sinning” means a person habitually sins without any hint of repentance or a desire to change one’s ways. Christians do sin. But John would say Christians are gradually moving away from sin – to the point it is unthinkable sin would continue unabated in a believer’s life.

A Christian can’t keep sinning because he or she is born of God. This fits well alongside the notion Jesus and Peter gave us of being “born again.” Something new happens in a person’s life at conversion. A whole new birth occurs.

And God’s “seed” abides in us.

In human terms, the idea of a person’s “seed” has biological connotations. That is, we have a biological connection to our children. They are our “seed.” Or our seed remains in them. There’s something very important of us that will always be in them.

You may have noticed how we can tend to look, or speak, or do things like our parents. Mary says I’m becoming more and more like my dad every day when it comes to some of my habits. His seed is in me, after all. I’m going to trend in a certain direction in my habits because of that. My dad and I are genetically connected.

The same is the case with God’s seed that abides in us. We will trend in a certain direction if God’s seed remains in us. We will trend away from habitual sin and toward habitual righteousness – toward love, joy, peace, and patience.

In some ways, this will be our natural “lean.” Without much effort, we will find ourselves with certain convictions. We will feel pangs in our consciences when we sin. We don’t have to dig around for those pangs. They will just happen naturally.

This is God’s seed in us. God’s seed relentlessly drives us away from sin. We cannot keep on sinning habitually, or make a lifestyle of sin, if God’s seed remains in us. It’s impossible.

Please on this today. When have you felt yourself pushing back from sin, or at least having some sort of reaction to sinful tendencies in your life? Willfully move in the direction God’s seed is pointing you.

Chris

Dear church,

The idea of “abiding” comes out clearly in this chapter.

“Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. … But the anointing that you received from him abides in you … just as it has taught you, abide in him.”

To let the Word of God and the Holy Spirit abide in us is to allow the Word and the Spirit to nurture us along. In our freedom, we seem to have the ability to push out the Word and the Spirit. We have freedom to reject their movement in our lives.

In a marriage, a husband and wife move in harmony. Both pour themselves into the relationship. They give freely – and they receive freely. If the husband or wife refuses to receive the love offered by the other, the marriage will break down over time. Plain and simple.

And in a marriage relationship, two become one flesh. This isn’t so far off from this idea of mutual “abiding” that we see in 1 John 2. God abides in us, and we abide in God. Husbands and wives do the same. They become one.

The idea for us today may be the idea of allowing God’s Word and the Holy Spirit fully to “abide” in us. John urges us to “let” that happen.

Is there any way we are pushing back against the work of God in our lives? Sometimes, I suppose, we do reject the call of God – the call to forgive, the call to open our hearts to other people, the call to be generous. You know what it may be for you.

Please think about this today.

Chris

Dear church,

Are you a sinner? This might be the question John would ask us today.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. … If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

John made the same point twice, which probably means it is important. A Christian knows he or she is a sinner. A Christian not only knows this, but he or she is willing to admit it.

I think a lot of people, when pressed, would admit the sin in their lives. Most people, I think, would confess to falling short of moral perfection.

That’s good – because the truly proud person who claims to be perfect is probably the furthest you can get from God. Salvation requires humility on our part.

We can’t be saved if we don’t admit our need for a Savior.

And in John’s circle of influence, some people clearly were claiming to have no sin in their lives. Perhaps they were claiming moral perfection now that they had come into contact with Christ.

We know our salvation doesn’t mean we no longer sin. We are “born again,” as Jesus and Peter said. That means we become babies in Christ. We still aren’t perfect, but we are growing up in him with the help of the Holy Spirit. As we grow, we become more and more Christlike, more and more perfect.

But none of us is perfect yet. We still sin – sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.

And John seems to be saying a person can’t be a Christian without a clear acknowledgment of his or her continued sinfulness.

We ought to pay attention to the sins in our lives, even if we are longtime Christians – perhaps especially as longtime Christians. Where am I still falling short? Where does my own selfish desire still have a foothold in my life? When do I fail to do the things I know God would want me to do? When do I wrongfully look out for myself first rather than for other people?

Sin is not something we like to talk about as a church. The world would never have us talk about sin at all. The world doesn’t believe in the concept of sin.

But a church is to be a place where sinners come. They know their sin. They can confess their sin. And they have found the remedy for their sin.

Maybe a good way to say it is this: What people do with their sins is a good indication of their eternal state.

A person who ignores his sins or claims he has no sins is in a perilous position. A person who admits his sin but then tries to outweigh those sins with good deeds is going to be sorely disappointed in the end. But a person who admits she’s got plenty of sin and who takes those sins to God in humble confession has all the hope in the world.

What are you doing with your sin today?

Chris

Dear church,

We ought not to overlook the fact that ungodly people will be judged and destroyed by God. This is part of God’s big plan for his creation, which he put in motion by speaking it all into existence.

“But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”

There is some comparison and contrast to pay attention to here. During the days of Noah, God swept the ungodly away with a flood. On the day of judgment, God also will sweep away the ungodly. But he will do it by fire.

I don’t know that any of this will make much difference to the ungodly. They still will perish.

Fortunately for every ungodly person on earth today, God is patient in bringing his judgment. He doesn’t want anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

A word of context is in order here. Everyone who ever has been born (except for One) fits into the category of “ungodly.” This includes me and you. We are ungodly because we sin and because the core of our being is sinful. We don’t have to try to sin. We do it naturally. Humans aren’t inherently good. They are inherently sinful.

A little boy was at our house this summer. He was being watched by my daughter, and the little boy threw a ball over the neighbor’s fence. Who threw the ball over the fence, my daughter asked. “You did! You threw it over the fence,” the little boy answered.

It was funny. But it also is a reminder of what is inside each of us. We are ungodly people, willfully looking out for our own best interests instead of the interest of others. Sinfulness runs in our veins.

But Jesus Christ took all of that away. He went to the cross on our behalf. All of the ungodliness of humanity was poured out onto him, and he died a sinner’s death for us. Anyone who believes in him won’t perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

And so somehow, ungodly people like us can live in godliness – by the grace of God and through faith in Jesus Christ.

Because of this, we know that we won’t perish on the last day of judgment and destruction. We have been promised eternal life with a new heaven and earth that God will usher into existence after the ungodliness of this world has been swept away by fire.

I’ve heard pastors call this “global warming.”

But I guess 2 Peter 3 is a stark reminder that ungodly people will perish. They are set for destruction. But God is patient. He wants them to be saved – to get in the ark (or the fireproof shelter) that is Jesus Christ. All they must do is put their faith in Jesus. He has taken care of the rest.

So what do we do as Christians? We live in holiness and godliness from here on out. Our lives must be set apart for God. Our actions must be aimed to please God rather than ourselves. We push sin out of our lives so that we are marked by no spots or blemishes. (Peter doesn’t tell us how to do that in this passage, but we know the Holy Spirit leads us in this area.)

And I suppose we thank God for his patience toward us. And I suppose we share the gospel with those who do not yet know Christ. We plead for them to repent – because the day of the Lord will come like a thief. It could be today, for all we know.

This passage seems to be speaking to me about the very stark nature of the final judgment. The people in our lives who do not know Jesus Christ will perish. They will face judgment and destruction.

It used to be that pastors would preach “fire and brimstone” sermons on Sunday morning. They would scare people into repentance. That’s gone by the wayside for the most part. Our culture has changed, I think. We now want to woo people into a relationship with a loving Father.

I think a pendulum exists here. We can swing too far in either direction. The loving Father is also the righteous Judge, and some people simply aren’t motivated by very much wooing. Some people need to see in very stark terms what the future is without Christ.

It’s very hot.

Chris

Dear church,

Peter was defending the concept of the return of Christ against false prophets and teachers. These were people who were making their own “return” – to their own vomit and to mud.

Vivid language.

In essence, Peter was condemning false church leaders who had gotten a taste of the glory of Jesus Christ and yet were returning to their old ways – to sensuality, greed, and other wrongdoing.

“The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

In ancient Israel, dogs and pigs were not animals of honor. They were despised and discarded. False teachers, Peter wrote, are like that.

This isn’t “nice.” Our culture prefers everything to be nice. It preaches tolerance. But some principles are at stake here that go beyond being “nice.” To reject Christ and to lead others to do the same brings destruction. We don’t have to go too far out on a limb after reading this chapter to understand God judges wrongdoers and hell is a real thing.

And so we ought to hold even more firmly to Christ, whose death on the cross covers over all of our sins. We believe and are saved.

And we ought not to return to the things of old that once held us captive – to those sinful habits that gripped our lives before we met Jesus.

What are those things for you, and in what sense might you be tempted to return to them? How can you help others in our church family to remain steadfast in their faith?

Chris

Dear church,

Peter’s second letter is about living in the light of the return of Christ. It’s also about the dangers of false teachers and false prophets.

Peter felt it was important to point out the fact he and the other apostles are eyewitnesses of the life of Christ. “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty,” Peter wrote.

We know eyewitness testimony is extremely valuable in making decisions about things. Often, we’ll put eyewitness accounts above other types of evidence. It is human nature to take seriously a person we know was there, on the scene, to tell us directly what happened.

In the dash to find evidence of voter fraud in the recent presidential election, witnesses are coming forward with stories. It is up to us to decide whether to believe them. Of course, we’re free to discard those stories as false if we so choose.

Peter appealed to the fact that he was an eyewitness. Some false teachers likely were saying something to the effect that Peter’s teachings amounted to “cleverly devised myths.” A myth is more or less a story – a fictional story.

All Peter could say was “no.” He saw it. He heard it.

And it is up to a person to believe – or not.

To some extent, we are living in a dark time. And we see forward without the clarity we might normally want. And yet, there’s a promise that the day will dawn and the morning star will rise in our hearts.

Until then, we pay attention to the words of Peter and the apostles and the prophets. We hang onto them like we would hang onto a lamp in a dark place, just before the dawn.

And this is why we read Scripture. We would do well to pay attention to Scripture, to internalize it, to puzzle over it, to put our hope in its words.

Thank you for reading it each day.

Chris

Dear church,

This letter from Peter is about the Christian life in exile. Peter addressed his letter to the “elect exiles of the Dispersion” (1:1). And Peter ended his letter with a note that “she who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings” (5:13).

From beginning to end, the idea of “exile” is in view. Such is the life of the church, from beginning to end – in exile. The concept of “exile” is always going to be at the heart of the Christian life, until the return of Jesus Christ.

Christians were exiled from Jerusalem very early in the life of the church. A believer named Stephen was stoned to death. And then, “There arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles” (Acts 8:1).

To be exiled means to be removed from one’s homeland. And God’s people always have been a people of exile. They have spent many of their days wandering, searching for their home. At one time, it was the Promised Land. We know now the “homeland” is more than that.

The writer of Hebrews said Abraham and Sarah and the others – the oldest forebears of our faith – were people who only greeted the things of the faith from afar. The writer of Hebrews said, “They were strangers and exiles on earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland” (Hebrews 11:13-14).

It is part of our lineage to continue to seek a homeland while living on this earth. This is not our home.

Peter was intent on keeping this idea in the minds of his readers – and in our minds. These “elect exiles” and this one at “Babylon” are stark reminders of who we are, and where we are.

Babylon, of course, is the famous city of exile for the nation of Israel and for the likes of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We remember the trials they endured – the fiery furnace and the den of lions. And we remember what put them there, the pride of Nebuchadnezzar and the selfish ambition of the high officials of the land.

Those high officials saw Daniel praying three times a day, his windows thrown open toward Jerusalem. Daniel was in exile, and all he could do was look in the direction of home. And the high officials told the king, who had forbidden such things: “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king” (Daniel 6:13).

In his letter, Peter likely used the name “Babylon” as a code word for Rome – the new Babylon, the capital city of the persecuting empire, and a picture of the world. It was the place where the great leaders of the faith in the first century would die, from Peter to Paul to the martyrs who would come after of them. There were lions, too, in Rome.

Did you know we still are in exile? We are not yet home. Some say America is a Christian nation, and perhaps at one time it was. But today, it is the postmodern, morally relativistic capital of the world.

America is not a lost cause. A great revival can come. But even so, we are not home. The devil still prowls here, too – like a lion.

And so what are we to do during our exile?

Certainly, we ought to pray – like Daniel – with our eyes on the return of Christ and the new heaven and earth and the eternal life without tears (Revelation 21:4).

We also ought to be alert to the realities of our exile. This is not our homeland. Here, the devil prowls.

And we ought to stick together.

Humble leaders shepherd a humble church. The leaders, as Peter wrote, look forward to the coming of the “chief Shepherd” and an “unfading crown of glory.” The church looks forward to the God of all grace who will come to “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish” it.

In either case, we’re looking forward.

And in either case, we’re humble. Leaders lead in all humility. And those who follow do the same. The danger in any flock, and in any family, is separation. On our own, we are vulnerable to predators.

And so, we ought to stick together. We suffer together, and we rejoice together.

One of the things that happened in the great exiles of the Israelites was separation. Those in power made a point to separate God’s people from each other. Those in power knew the best way to get people to abandon their old allegiance to God was to put people on their own islands.

Of course, it didn’t work.

But Peter knew: When we can, we stick together. And if you haven’t noticed, the world is hard at work trying to separate the church. Once the virus passes, it will be something else. In this exile, separation is the threat we face.

And so we clothe ourselves in humility – all of us – and we look for our Messiah.

Chris

Dear church,

The apostle Peter had a specific aim in mind as he was writing his letter. He wanted his first readers to be prepared to suffer for their faith. Christ suffered in his work for the kingdom of God. His followers ought to expect to suffer as well.

It is better to be prepared than to be surprised. I think we all would agree with that. Boy Scouts have a motto about that, I think.

The same forces are at work today as were at work in the life of Christ and as were at work at the time Peter wrote his letter. The world and Satan want to bring the work of the gospel to a close. Those who persist in living their lives for Christ ought not to be surprised, then, when the world brings pressure upon them to return to the ways of the world.

For Peter’s earliest readers, it was quite common for whole communities to engage in pagan festivals. Those celebrations often involved all of the sins mentioned in 1 Peter 4:3. New Christians in that era would have to cease from participating in those pagan festivals. They were called to holy living, lives set apart for God.

This is what Peter means, at least in part, when he says a person suffers as he has “ceased from sin” or is “done with sin.” If a person was done with those activities, he or she didn’t show up to the pagan festival. The neighbors might chatter about this. Family members might squawk about it. There could have been economic consequences, or worse.

Peter wanted his readers to be ready. “Arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.” They were to think like Christ and be done with sin – even if it meant suffering as a result.

It seems like we need to be prepared ahead of time for suffering. We need to have the mindset of a person who is willing to suffer. We decide today that when pressured by the world to engage in activities that are not Christlike, we will say “no” – come what may.

I’m not too sure many of us have made decisions like that. The idea of suffering for our faith remains theoretical, and we may not believe we truly will suffer – especially not like many Christians throughout history and in other parts of the world today. And we may not suffer like that.

But having the mindset of willing sufferers for Christ can have its own power in our lives. There are times, quite simply, when we need to speak the good news about Jesus Christ, when we need to give the reason for the hope that we have.

If we already have come to terms in our minds with the fact that some people will give us a negative and perhaps hateful reaction – and who might want us to suffer socially or emotionally for our beliefs – then we may be all the more bold.

Think on these things today. Do you have “the same way of thinking” as Christ?

Chris

P.S. Not long after I finished this blog post, I read this story. Try to read it all the way to the end. This is good food for thought as you consider the message of 1 Peter.

Dear church,

Being willing to suffer for righteousness’ sake is part of the Christian life. Every one of us is expected to be ready for those times when we may have to suffer for doing good – that is, for doing the things of God. We might, indeed, face suffering as a result of our obedience to Jesus Christ.

“But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.” Peter wrote that, perhaps remembering the words of Jesus. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10).

Some of us don’t like to suffer. We try to avoid it. We might be tempted to move away from obedience to Jesus in order to avoid suffering.

But what kind of suffering do Christians in America face? How is this even possible in the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The suffering we might face is mostly social in nature. The government is increasingly dismissive of religious rights in America, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it hasn’t yet resulted in widespread persecution. I still don’t know of very many Christians (or any?) who have been thrown in jail for following their faith. Some Christians are getting sued for following their consciences, but still is pretty rare.

And so our “suffering” is mostly a kind of social suffering.

A Christian might be ostracized for his or her faith. A Christian might be told he is being anti-science by believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A Christian might be told she’s unreasonable and even mean-spirited for not agreeing to some of our culture’s moral standards. This creates a kind of social suffering that some of us would rather avoid.

There can be a tremendous pressure to bend to the desires and the mindset of our co-workers and friends in the world. And many Christians do bend. In fact, some Christians bend away from Christ and begin to criticize his church for the sake of pleasing the world. This is an avoidance of social suffering.

Christians in other parts of the world probably would chuckle at this. They might even wonder about the commitment we actually have to Christ.

Think about these things today. You aren’t going to get thrown in jail for your faith. That’s good! But you may be made fun of or called bad names because of your faith – and maybe even by people who are close to you (like your neighbors and friends). Are you OK with that?

Chris

Dear church,

I read the English Standard Version of the Bible. Virtually every time I quote Scripture on this blog, it will be from the ESV. But sometimes as I read and study, I’m reminded of other Bible translations.

You might know how it is. You might come across a verse and remember how you first heard it in another translation, or how you memorized it in that translation as a child in Sunday School. Words have meaning, and some words capture our imaginations better than others. And it’s hard to shake words and sentences from God’s Word that have gripped our hearts.

The King James Version of 1 Peter 2:9 reads like this: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”

The first thing to say about this verse is how powerful it is. A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. We are a people who shout about the glory of God. He pulled us out of the darkness of our sins and certain death and ushered us into the light – a marvelous light.

Some of these ideas come from Exodus 19:3-6. We are part of the long lineage of God’s people that dates back to the Israelites, rescued from slavery in Egypt. Peter was very familiar with the Old Testament.

I guess the word here from the King James Version that captures me the most is the word “peculiar.” I’ve always thought that this was a very peculiar way to describe Christians and the church!

How peculiar do you feel? Like it or not, as a Christian, that’s what you are!

We’re peculiar because we belong to God. It makes us unique and special in the world. It makes us, in many ways, powerful. And I suppose to the world, it simply makes us a bit strange.

Everything here in Peter’s description of the church is about the distinctive quality of the church in the great sea of people on earth. We’re peculiar. We’re maybe a little bit eccentric – worshiping Jesus Christ, who died on a Roman cross. We gather every week and sing and bow our heads, and we eat bread and drink grape juice together!

Something about us, to the world, ought to seem just a little bit different.

The temptation, of course, is to blend in with the world – to look an awful lot like the world.

Maybe that’s the question for today: What peculiar things are you going to do today?

Chris