Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
I have good news and bad news. In most cases, that is not a wash. The bad usually outweighs the good. Here, the Apostle Peter, no stranger to bad news in the form of persecution, is telling the people to remain faithful to the good news. Here he does it in subtle form. He reminded them that people are watching so they should represent Jesus well, as the early church did in Jerusalem. There they were held in high esteem. Those would be the good old days. Here, 30 years later, they are called to conduct themselves with honor…and be hated anyway.
Come to Cape Community Church tomorrow as we learn more about the turbulent times that really had not begun yet but they would. It will serve to prepare us for a turbulent time in the 21st century that has not yet begun but will. We will learn what our response should be when people revile us and persecute us and speak all kinds of evil against us. In other words, we will learn from Christ and from Peter to be more Christlike. Let’s learn to represent Jesus well as he represented us on the cross. May we then on that day glorify him…
As he glorifies us.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church