WEDNESDAY
Our next imperative comes on the heels of our previous one to be holy as God is holy. Some commentators would place this one as subordinate to the call to holiness. They are certainly related, at the least. I’m taking them separately just to make our five daily topics a little cleaner. 😊
1 Peter 1:17-21 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
This section is quite dense, but the main idea is to conduct yourselves with fear through the time of your exile. The fear, here, is the fear of the Lord, which is a common refrain throughout Scripture, even in the New Testament (Php. 2:12; 2 Cor. 7:1; Act. 5:5, 11). Peter reminds us that we are God’s children, in that we call on him as Father, but he is also our judge who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds.
Talking about the fear of God always produces some conflicted thoughts and feelings in us. Certainly the predominant expression of our relationship to God in the New Testament is love. As John writes:
1 John 4:18 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
In that context, John is talking about love being perfected in us so we have no fear of judgment on the day of judgment. We, therefore, should not fear the judgment and punishment of God. God’s wrath against sin and evil has been poured out on the cross. Yet, there is a sense in which we should fear God, that he is the all-powerful judge of the universe, and that should spur us on towards holiness as well. Awe and reverence get at the idea here as well.
Believers are to conduct themselves with fear knowing that they have been ransomed from the futile ways inherited from their forefathers. Ransom and redemption were common practices in the ancient world. Even in pagan religions a slave could give a sum of money to the temple. Part would be distributed to the former owner and part would be kept in the temple. The former slave would then be thought of as belonging to the god to which he gave the redemption price to. This theme is found in the Old Testament as well (Ps. 34:22; Deut. 7:8; Isa. 52:3). Israel was redeemed from Egypt and from exile. They were not redeemed for unlimited freedom, however, they are brought into the family of God and they now belong to God. They were not redeemed with money, either. Instead they were redeemed with the blood of Christ. The word for precious sounds like the word for a ransom price. So, Peter is using this ancient practice of redemption to describe the new status of the people of God.
Similar to what we talked about yesterday, the Christians were redeemed from the “futile ways inherited from their forefathers.” The ways of the Gentiles can certainly be described like this, but the ways of the Jews can as well (see Paul’s description in Phil. 3:4-9).
Just as the believers he is writing to were chosen “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1:2), so Jesus was foreknown before the foundations of the world. God’s whole plan of redemption, then, was foreknown by God the Father. What the believers are experiencing in Christ now is all according to plan.
Additional Content
Hebrews 10:26-31 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Reflection
God is the all-powerful and awe-inspiring God who is the ultimate judge of creation. Knowing who God is should produce a fear, an awe, a holy reverence in us, that leads us to holiness. This fear doesn’t exist at the expense of love but along with it. We should be confident and assured of our salvation and our status as beloved children of God, not fearing judgment in the end. Yet, we need to obey God now in holy fear and reverence as he is the judge of all creation.
Reflect on your sense of awe, fear and reverence of God. I know this is a tough topic. Some of you have a submissive disposition and obedience to authority is not a problem for you. This comes naturally to you. Some of you have life experiences with abuse at the hands of authority figures that have wounded you and left you skeptical of any call to fear or revere any authority. To you I would say to remember that God is the impartial, good judge who judges according to the truth. He is the hope of your abuser receiving true justice.
Some of you, however, have a rebellious disposition and submission to authority is anathema to you. Some of you perhaps, are trying to take advantage of the gospel by claiming to believe in Jesus but also living however you want. Know that God will not be mocked and you need a holy fear and reverence of God as our judge.