SHARE YOUR FAITH
1 PETER 3: 14 - 17
14) But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
15) But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
16) Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
17) For it is better,if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
COMMENTARY
In the society in which we live today, man has beat to death the values and statutes God has given us. With the values dead and buried, so goes knowledge. With God's standards and wisdom gone, we are being thrown into utter chaos. But take heart! Something or someone will step in to fill that void. I can hear the crowd chanting, "Give us Barabbas!"
14) Having a passion for doing good does not guarantee that we will not suffer. In fact, look at the florist (Arlene's Flowers of Richland, Washington) and baker ( Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cake, Denver, Colorado) who stood for Christ and had their businesses and lives destroyed by Satan! Their suffering, like ours, becomes the means for God to bless us. God actually shows us favor or privilege when He chooses us to suffer. Suffering brings endurance, strength, confirmation, and wisdom. It brings us closer to our God. Nobody suffers for doing good unless God chooses him! Consider Job! Imagine that God is that close to you that He chooses you! Wow!
In the Beatitudes of Matthew 5, we read:
10) Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11) Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you FALSELY, for my sake.
12) Rejoice, and be EXCEEDINGLY glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
We are not to "fear what we fear or to be in dread of it" We are to recognize evil and stand against it in the way we live our lives and our conviction not to compromise. We are to lean on God and to see the spiritual battle rather than the physical intimidation.
15) As we know, to sanctify is to set apart, but in this setting, it also means that for us, Christ is the only One we worship, adore, and exalt. We have no other God. There is no one else worthy of our love, our reverence, loyalty, and our obedience.
We know that our obedience to Him may bring suffering, but we welcome the suffering because we know that He is in complete control so He alone chose us to suffer. However, our submission to Him results in courage, boldness, and fortitude to triumph through anything He sends us through.
Our suffering many times, will give us a platform to share our hope in Jesus with others. We are to always be ready to affirm our faith and hope in Him with reverence with all who ask, and in a manner that is gentle. My sons seem to think I beat people over the head with my faith, so I have really been trying to tone it down a bit. But I just get so excited!
16) Let me be clear here: our conscience is not God whispering to us. It is an intrinsic characteristic of mankind, placed by God. It may guide us regarding whether something is right or wrong, but it may also be faulty, as it is based on the highest standard of our perception. Our perception is not always true.
Now, follow me on this: When we are saved, God cleanses our conscience from our accumulation of guilt, shame, and self-contempt. It is our duty, therefore, to maintain it's purity. We are also called to modify our "highest standard" for our conscience by gaining for ourselves a greater understanding of the Truth. As we continually read and study Scripture, we clarify God's perfect law, which modifies our conscience.
When we have a clear conscience, we can stand tall and confess that we are not prejudiced when we refuse to service an event that is against God's law. We love people but will not condone sin. Simple, see? We can illuminate sin while at the same time, not hating a group of people who participate in that sin.
What about you? Do you know Jesus of Nazareth? Do you know the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob? He is not a dead God; He lives. For more information on how you can have a relationship with Him, please click here: https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.
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