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1 Peter 1:6-7

Posted on by chgruver

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1 Peter 1:6-7
“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

One of the biggest misconceptions we face as Christians is that once we come to Christ life will be easy. That if we just have enough faith we will never have any problems. The issue is when we look at Scripture we are never told this, in fact we are told quite the opposite many times. Jesus himself told us many times to expect persecution for being a Christian and here in James, and the sentiments are mirrored in 1 Peter, that we are to not just expect problems, trials, tribulation, or persecution but we are to take joy in it. We see it in James 1:2, “Count it all joy,” and Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:6, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,”

You see there is a reason for trials, in that much like physical growth we have to encounter some pain. Peter tells us it tests the genuineness of our faith. Peter uses the imagery of  refining gold, this is a process where the gold ore is melted down, or in Peter’s time a combination of acidic substances and heat were used to melt away the impurities from the gold. No matter which era you were refining gold in it is a process that put the ore through some harsh treatment in order to get as much of the impurities out of the gold as possible.

The problem is that no one likes to go through trials, I know some of the classes in college I hated the most were the ones that challenged me the most. It was because they were not easy, but it was also in those classes that I probably learned the most. Much like in our Christian lives we all want that mountain top experience, and we never want it to end. We enjoy that feeling when we are close to God, and everything seems to be going right. The problem is with our spiritual life in that state, much like on the top of a mountain, nothing grows. It is in the valleys where the growth happens. So when you go through the valleys take joy and remember that God is still working on you to help you grow and purify your faith.

1 Peter 3:15

Posted on by chgruver

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“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”
1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)

This verse is one that is so theologically rich that I am not sure how to properly approach it and do it justice for a short devotional. This is a verse that is used often as the basis for a study known as Apologetics where one defends their faith, thus it also has implications for evangelism as you are sharing your faith with unbelievers. If you ask me however, I feel that while those are important aspects of the verse when it is put into the context of its section in 1 Peter 3 and even in the context of 1 Peter as a whole this verse seems to be getting at more than defending our faith or even evangelism. This verse is talking about our actions as Christians, it is talking about our holiness.

Let’s look at 1 Peter 3:13-17 together:

“Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

You see when you read 1 Peter you notice Peter charging Christians to live holy lives and this verse comes right smack in the middle of 1 Peter, where he states that they are being questioned about their hope. Holiness is the outward expression of our inward hope. It is this holiness this expression of our hope that causes people to take a look at us and notice we are different from the world. It is this outward expression of our hope that should be causing unbelievers to question us about the reasons for why we act the way we do. It is this outward expression of our hope that requires us to share and explain the Gospel to any we encounter.

Yes evangelism and apologetics are an important part of this verse. The thing is however, they are meaningless if our lives aren’t displaying the hope we have. Though just like it is stated in an often overused and misused phrase, “Preach the Gospel at all times; and if necessary use words,”  Remember people won’t listen to your words, if your actions don’t match.

John 1:5

Posted on by chgruver

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The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5 ESV

What is the definition of darkness? It is basically the absence of light, in physics there is no term that dictates a measurement of darkness. The term pitch black is just stating that there is absolutely zero amount of light. If you have ever been to one of those tourist attractions where you go into the caverns they usually take you to one section where they will turn out all the lights to show you what pitch black is; it is so dark that no matter how close you hold your hand to your face you are unable to see it. This is an environment that anything living in it is usually blind due to the lack of light. Now when John talks about Jesus entering into the world, he uses the imagery of light shining in the darkness. How many times have you been in a dark room and suddenly been blinded when someone turned on the lights, this was essentially what Jesus stepping into the world was like, a flare going off in a dark room. Look at it this way a child that is scared of the dark is often put at ease by a tiny night light. You see darkness cannot survive where there is even the smallest speck of light.

 

Now the darkness Christ stepped into was not a physical darkness but rather a spiritual darkness. Hearts were far from God, most people if they exhibited any form of righteousness it was self righteousness. Their motivations were to make themselves look good rather than to glorify God, and this is the natural state of man. Without Christ we are at enmity with God, our hearts are living in darkness and like the animals living in the pitch black environment we are spiritually blind; but when Christ enters our lives that darkness is dispelled and our relationship with God is restored.

 

As Christians we are called to be representatives of Christ. This means we are to ourselves become little lights shining in the darkness. We are to spread the Gospel to expose others to the light of Christ which in turn they will go and spread the light. Remember you don’t turn on a light and then stick it in the closet and close the door; you use the light for illumination in order to see where you are going or what you are doing, in much the same way our sharing the Gospel, our being lights reflecting Christ  is much the same it is to show others the way to God and the need for a Savior. So let me end with this how are you letting your light shine for others to see?