New Thoughts: (11/29/13-12/03/13)
In preparing for this study, one of the words I decided to consider was that verb, to urge, with which Peter begins these verses. “I urge you.” To be honest, I did not do so because I felt that the verb was central to Peter’s point, or because I wasn’t certain of its meaning or translation. I looked at it simply because, arriving at the Interlinear, I noticed the term being translated was parakaloo, which has a clear affinity with Paraklete, that term by which both Christ and the Holy Spirit are described to us.
Is it central to Peter’s point? Not at all! At the same time, briefly considering the verb may help us to better grasp the mission of our Paraklete, and how we might expect Him to pursue that mission in us. So ,then: parakaloo: The para part is pretty familiar. It is near, beside. We know about paranormal phenomena, for example, things that are observed that are ‘beside the normal’, out of the ordinary. We have paralegals; not lawyers exactly, but similar. Then, we have the verb, kaleo, which at its most basic means to call aloud, to page, if you will. Of course, the purpose of such calling is not simply to bellow or make noise. It is call out so as to produce a result in the one called.
So, then, as we look at parakaloo, this urging Peter is doing, it is a calling alongside for particular effect. That effect might be a number of things. It might be in order to comfort. It might be an exhortation to action. It might be beseeching a favor. Or, it might simply be beckoning one to join you.
Transferring this to the person of the Paraklete, we are inclined to accept that His role is to serve as our Comforter. If we are troubled, He will come minister to us. If we are sick, He will come nurse us back to health. However, when we speak of the Spirit as our Comforter we indicate but a portion of His oversight. Paraklete is more properly Counselor, and we may well view that as Counselor at Law. He is our legal counsel, our Attorney. But, He does not merely represent us at court, should we find ourselves dragged before the bench. No! He advises in advance, giving us such counsel as serves well to keep us out of the courts. As such, He not only comforts us by His competent representation when we are facing trials; He also exhorts us, urges us, strongly beseeches us to take such actions and establish such behaviors in ourselves as will aid us in avoiding trial.
Think of the things Jesus said of this other Paraklete He was going to have sent our way. He will bring to mind all that Jesus taught us. He will teach us (Jn 14:26). He will bear witness of Christ, testify of Him to us, that we might in turn testify of Him to others (Jn 15:26-27). He will equip us to so testify as to win the case. That testimony will not be a matter of words alone, but words accompanied by action, by works that give evidence to the validity of our words. Do you see, then, how the person of the Holy Spirit, our Paraklete, is here in Peter’s writing, urging us as Peter urges us, informing Peter’s thoughts as he writes? Peter, the apostle, the messenger of God serving as ambassador in strange lands, counsels as he himself is counselled. He does not make things up, any more than Paul or John made things up. Indeed, the clear parallels in Peter’s writing to what Paul and John taught ought to reinforce for us the reality that there is one Gospel, as there is one Spirit, one Christ, one God.
Before I end for today, I would take a moment to build on this point. We accept, to be sure, that the apostles, particularly in those written records we have, wrote under the full authority of God, being fully inspired by the Holy Spirit. Continuing along those lines, we are rightly cautious of those who lay claim to new revelations coming from this same direct and full inspiration of the Holy Spirit, particularly where such new revelations may have theological or doctrinal bearing. However, in our defense of orthodoxy, I think we have lost sight of something very important to us. The one who ministers the Gospel to us today continues to serve under the urging of the Holy Spirit, continues to speak as He counsels, continues to teach as He teaches. To do otherwise would be to fail utterly.
We cannot, fallen creatures that we are, teach God’s Word truly except it be that the Spirit Himself gives us words to speak. This is not to say that we all go about teaching new revelations. Far be it from me! Yet, to teach apart from the Holy Spirit is to teach vain imaginations. To preach apart from the Holy Spirit, the One Christ Himself sent to our aid, for our benefit and our betterment, is to expend useless energy battling the wind. That preaching which is devoid of the Spirit is devoid of the Gospel, devoid of power, devoid of any capacity whatsoever to bring men to Christ, or to promote the proper growth of those who belong to Him.
Now, I must consider that point from the opposite side, from that of the hearer of God’s Word rightly preached and taught. We have this idea in our minds of that it’s like when the Holy Spirit is moving. Perhaps it is a thing peculiar to those of us who sat for a season under charismatic teaching. We have seen these things we were told were moves of the Spirit, and some of them may well have been. In other cases, it was more likely mere excitements, emotionalism hyped up and played like a harp. But, now, we have this idea that if the Spirit is moving, there must be spectacle. Why? Where is it said that the Spirit always shows off? Where is it indicated that if He is preaching through the preacher, there will be these flashes of lighting and tingles in the spine to so indicate His presence?
Such paranormal phenomena are not ruled out, to be sure. But, neither are the indicated as the rule. The reality is that wherever there is a preacher preaching truly, wherever the Gospel is being taught and applied with accuracy, there the Spirit is speaking. There is the prophetic voice we have made so much of. It does not require fancy incantations or gestures. It does not require manifestations of some sort to confirm. It is God’s own statement that His preachers preach by His Spirit, else they are not His. We would do well to vest those whom God has set over us with the same respect, the same urgency of heeding, the same intent to obey, as we would the Apostolic writings.
I do not counsel an unmeasured obedience, an uncritical obedience. And, let me say that by ‘uncritical’, I am not thinking about the sorts of slanders we often utter in criticizing another. I am merely saying we don’t accept everything (or anything) as true simply on the say-so of another person who claims to be representing God. No. We test against that very Word they claim to be presenting. We act the Berean, and check it out, see if it’s true. We do not do so as skeptics seeking to prove the fellow a fool and a charlatan. We do so as the Bereans did, in hopes that the message will indeed prove true, for the message – if it is true – is Good News indeed!
Having tested the Word preached, having thereby given ourselves sufficient cause to accept the preacher as God’s true representative, how great ought be our desire to not only give our assent to that preaching, and not only to take it to heart, but to put it into practice. Every sermon, beloved, is the voice of God urging us to a particular course of action. Every sermon is the Paraklete speaking His counsel, shepherding us according to His own commission, that we might avoid the pits and perils our own sinful natures strew in our paths. We need not seek out some higher enemy on which to blame our woes, though he surely prowls about as God Himself says. No, we are quite adept at spreading woes enough and more, setting our own traps for ourselves, that we may step into them. And, our greatest danger is ignoring the Word of God rightly spoken and rightly understood. Whether it be through a preacher, a teacher, or even a spouse, parent, child or friend. If God is speaking, we do well to listen. We do well to not just listen, but act.
[11/30/13] The more I consider these two verses, the less my thoughts go in the direction I would have thought. As can be seen from the heading for this study, I was expecting a focus on abstinence. But, there is another aspect to this: The purpose of good works or, if you prefer, the motivation for good works. However, if we are to arrive at this purpose, we shall first have to consider what Peter is driving at here. Is he holding forth our example as potentially leading to the conversion of those unbelievers around us? Is he simply offering the encouragement that the wrongs suffered today will be righted in the end? Is he, perhaps, addressing both fronts simultaneously?
Let me start by setting out the line of thought that led me in the direction of jurisprudence here. In John’s gospel we come across the events surrounding the man born blind whom Jesus had healed. This event gives us a clear counter against the thought that all sickness and disease must necessarily result from personal or inherited sin. But, in the context of what Peter is writing, what comes to mind is how the Jewish leaders began their interrogation of the blind man’s parents. “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner” (Jn 9:24). Clearly they are not requesting the couple to begin jumping up and down, or to sing a psalm or two. No. It serves a purpose rather like the way we swear in witnesses on the Bible. In other words, give glory to God (Who Is Truth) by telling the truth.
Carry that thought over to Peter’s letter. Those who slander you in the present, having been witness to your consistent good deeds, will give glory to God in the day He visits to assess the situation of every man. How? By speaking the truth about you. By their testimony which, in His presence, shall have no alternative but to be true.
Seen in that light, the direction Peter is traveling with these two verses is to comfort. Yes, you are being slandered. Yes, that’s a trial, a pain to have to live with. But, here is your hope, your confidence: God will not leave the record thus tainted. The very ones who put forward all these lies about you now will have to testify in your defense when He comes. But, there is a conditional on this: Sanctification. If you are consistent in doing right by others, if you are living in accord with the doctrines of the faith, whether at home, at church, or in the marketplace; what other testimony can they possibly offer to the God Who knows the hearts of men? Justice will be done by you. Slander will not stand in the court of eternity. Be at peace, then, and persevere in doing good.
Now: As much as this line of thought seems in keeping with the general thrust of the letter, the overall terminology does not really seem to support it. The thought of these folks testifying on your behalf before God is not clearly stated beyond the idea of them glorifying God. And here, we must admit of another potential interpretation to the matter. What, after all, does it mean to glorify God? Or, what does it mean to glorify anything? To glorify, most basically, means to form an opinion about that thing which deems said thing to be praiseworthy, laudable, excellent.
If I read verse 12 with this sense of glorifying God, I see a clear cause and effect relationship being declared. You constantly do good deeds. They are constantly watching you. These are not casual observations, glimpses of you caught in passing while they were about their business. No. This is staring wide-eyed, close attention paid, observation. Consider: Their slanders aren’t merely the known lies spoken by a liar intent on bringing you down. They are actually speaking what they suppose is true. They think you are an evildoer, and are but speaking their mind. Their observations, my friend, are going to include your reaction to these charges. If you get defensive, this will be seen as an admission of guilt. If you get angry and abusive, it will rather prove their point. But, if you simply go on doing good deeds? If you turn your cheek to these insults? If, in spite of their ill-treatment of you, you turn around and aid them in their own time of need? What will they make of this? What will they make of it when the evidence is so overwhelmingly clear?
Perhaps they knew the kind of person you were before, and assumed that any religion that would accept your ilk must be evil as you were evil. Again, when they see the unquestionable change in you, how then must they assess the faith, the God who has wrought such change? If, indeed, their slanders are not from a malicious root, but only from a darkened understanding, the result of enlightenment must surely be a change of mind, and one hopes, a change of heart. They will glorify God, and why? Because they have seen what He could do with the likes of you. They have seen how He changed you, the good He has achieved with such a poor selection of materials to work with. They have seen hope is what they have seen. If He can do this with Jeff, perhaps He can do equally well with me. This God is amazing! I remember him when… and now, look at him! Who would have ever thought this guy would become a pillar of society? He was voted the person least likely to back in his school days. But, God!
Oh, those two most marvelous of words: But, God! Indeed, we ourselves ought to find endless cause for singing out the praises of God when we consider who we were and who we are now. The past gives us cause to praise Him for the present, and the present gives us great confidence as to the future. God has been able to do this? What can He not do! God has saved me? How likely, then, that He should have some fickle change of heart and destroy me after all? No! He has said He shall do it. He has shown He can do it. He will do it.
Which of these intentions did Peter have in mind as he wrote? I cannot really claim to arrive at an answer. It may be that he was thinking of the judicial aspect even as the Holy Spirit was prompting his words with more of an eye to evangelism. It may be the reverse. I would admit to finding comfort in the idea that those who speak evil of Christianity today will in the end have to speak the truth, that God is indeed good, and His children are indeed His children. Of course, given the witness of the church in this present day, one might find cause to wonder what about us would ever change their minds. The answer, though, is the same: “But, God!” The church blows it left and right, but God does not. We sully our witness every day, but God is able to bring forth the gem He needs regardless. We sin, but God forgives. That in itself is a testimony that changes the world.
On the other hand, where the straightening of the record in our favor brings comfort, the idea of the lost being saved through our simple pursuit of doing what is good and right brings purpose. It is a beautiful counter to our propensity for trying to earn God’s favor. We have no need to do so, and yet we feel the need. We see our failures and, in spite of knowing better, become convinced we have to do something to show God we’re at least trying, getting better. But, that’s not the point. We can’t possibly impress God by our efforts, nor is He seeking to be impressed. He’s seeking to show Himself through us. Doing good is not about earning our way into heaven. There’s no karma involved. Doing good is not, in the end, even about gratitude for what God has done, although our gratitude serves as a beautiful motivator for doing good. No.
Looking at Peter’s words here, doing good is a matter of evangelism. It is entirely outward-focused. It is loving others as I love myself. And, it is not merely loving that one who may directly benefit from my deeds, the orphans and widows, if you will. No, it is something far grander than having met somebody’s physical needs. It can alter the course of eternity! These scoffers, these reprobates we used to consider our friends; they will see this constant drumbeat of what is good and lovely and true, and they will come to the conclusion that this God we serve really is Good. They, too, may be called out of darkness and into His marvelous light, and why? Because we have done as God directs us to do. Is that not a marvelous thing? And, it is the Lord’s doing, every bit of it!
[12/01/13] We may wish to consider the matter of abstinence in light of this call to good deeds, as one of those good deeds to which we are called. In that sense, we can consider abstinence to be one of the fruits of sanctification, an outworking of holiness. This is certainly the case, is it not? I don’t know that I would go so far as to call abstinence an outward proof of inward holiness, but where there is inward holiness, there ought to be those fruits of the Spirit which mark His presence in us. Amongst those fruits there is prominent mention of self-control, and that, in the end, is really what abstinence is about.
We are inclined to think of abstinence as being a matter of sexual conduct only, but it is not restricted to that application. The term we have translated as lusts, here, concerns all those sorts of actions that flow out of inflamed passions. Now, I cannot but notice that all the terms that come to me as I explore this point bear sexual connotations. Passions, lusts, and abstinence all naturally associate themselves with the topic in our minds. But, sex is not the only expression of passion. Violence is an expression of passion inflamed. I think we might count prideful boasting as another expression of passion inflamed. Competitiveness, profit-seeking, buying sprees; all of these might well be viewed in this same light. All of these are lusts, ‘cravings of your lower natures’, as Weymouth translates the term. Old enticements, old habits: Why did they become habits in the first place? How do they entice? They entice because they appeal to our passions, our lower natures. They become habits because our passions, having latched on, refuse to let go.
Here, there’s a nice tie-in with the Judges study I will be teaching later today. Preparing for that, one of the commentaries I was reading through pointed to this progression of sin from enticement, to controlling ensnarement, to betrayal and destruction. This is certainly right in line with Peter’s thinking as he expresses it here. We must resist these expressions of our passion, these lusts, these urgings and cravings of our lower natures for a very simple reason: They are at war with our soul! God’s Word paraphrases the point like this. “These desires constantly attack you.” They are not the expression of your interests. They are not the seeking for things that are acceptable, possibly even good for you. It is your body at war with yourself!
Never mind constantly attacking! We get that easily enough. We know the constant tug of sin, the betrayal of our flesh. Underlying that comment of Peter’s lies a Greek word with recognizable connection to our own strategy. They strategize against you! Your flesh, your old habits, your clinging passions for a life left behind, are conniving against you, planning grand strategies by which they can overwhelm this new life within you and drag you back to the old life. The old life still wants its way, or shall I say the old death.
Looking at this through the eyes of those to whom Peter is writing, I am not particularly convinced that sexual immorality was chief amongst their concerns. The undercurrent of Peter’s post here is that they are facing trials. They are being ridiculed and rejected by old acquaintances. They are, even from these few verses, being lied about, slandered, declaimed as evildoers in the public square. There’s no sexual enticement there. What is there is an enticement for vengeance. If one contemplates the generally hot-blooded reputation of the local cultures, that enticement is likely very strong. Personal honor, after all, ranks high with these peoples, higher than almost any other thing. You can take my money, but don’t touch my honor! How the flesh must be rising up, then, in the face of such slanderous accusations! Never mind wishing to correct the record. The greater urge will be to extract one’s lost honor in blood.
And into this culture, one he readily recognizes as his own, Peter injects this point: Your flesh, these urges to avenge yourself, are at war with your very soul! “Vengeance is Mine,” says the Lord, “I will repay” (Ro 12:19, quoting Dt 32:35). Don’t you see? This is why we move so swiftly from matters of abstinence to matters of justice. They slander you now? Yes, but don’t repay evil with evil! Overcome evil with good. How? By your consistent good deeds, by being better than that. Then, at the very least, when all testimony shall per force be true and accurate, their evidence shall be to your acquittal on all charges. Then, on an even grander note, you may well find that your consistent example has given them sufficient proof to trust in the same God you serve for their own part! Those who slander you today may very well turn out to be your dear brothers tomorrow. And, is that not an outcome greatly to be desired?
So, then, Peter gives us a two-fold exhortation to abstinence, to keep oneself from allowing these inward passions their outward expression. First, those very passions are seeking our own downfall and must be resisted as an occupying force. Second, if we fail in this effort at self-control, it is not just our own lives on the line, but those of the watching world around us! Our defensive efforts in this matter of abstinence have bearing on the expansion of the kingdom of God. Yes, God’s will shall be done in fullness for no greater reason than that it is His will, but His will is to work through your example. Would you so willingly counter the will of the very One you call Lord? Your flesh would. Have no misconceptions in that regard! But, what of your soul, your spirit? Who’s in charge?
You know the fruit which demonstrates the Spirit within you (He whose temple you are, who serves as your Counselor): Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5:22). I know you know, for you are taught of Paul, and he’s big on this point. I have is letter to you right here, even as I compose my own! Notice this about those evidences of the Spirit: They all demonstrate self-control. They all demonstrate passions subjugated to spirit. This is all that abstinence really means. Strictly translated, it comes across as “Keep oneself from”. This is personal effort. You cannot abstain passively, neither can you actively abstain for another. You must keep yourself from this activity.
You must subject the invading forces of passion in yourself. Yes, the spirit is willing. Yes, the flesh is weak. But, in your pursuit of spiritual maturity, it is necessary, imperative, that you rise up in the strength of the Spirit, that you refuse to lay down arms and surrender. Fight those urges. It will be a constant, running battle, and the passions of the flesh don’t play fair. Indeed, as you well know, the spirit of the prince who presently rules this earth stirs up every manner of enticement against you. In his machinations, he devises all manner of temptation, sends out all sorts of images, sounds, smells, pheromones, you name it, by which to stir up your lower nature, seeking to send reinforcements to the army of your own flesh. But, you must be mindful of the Truth: Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1Jn 4:4). “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage! I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). Shall we then give into the world and make out our own Lord and Savior to be a liar? I think not!
It’s time we wake up each day realizing we are at war. We are not so much at war with the world, although we do well to count ourselves at war with the world system. We are at war with our old selves. The old enticements, the things from which Jesus redeemed us, they haven’t gone away. If anything, they seem stronger to us. It’s as though they are strengthened by resentment for having been cast aside. The truth is that we are merely more aware of the pull. Those urges never even gained a notice from us before. We just considered it part of the natural order and went along for the ride. But the Law, through God’s mercy, has made us aware of our sins, has made us aware just how much our sins still cling to us, and how easily we could slip right back into them, still thinking ourselves saved as we go. No! The enticements remain and they remain strong, and as much as we desire to do good, to please God, to show our stuff, that’s never going to be enough. Mere desire will not produce the desired result.
I desire to master my instrument, to play the saxophone with a skill equal to Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, or any number of others. But, desire will not produce the desired result. If I would truly seek to be in their class, I must apply their level of commitment to practice, to learning, to exercising the requisite skills. If I desire to master my sinful proclivities, I must likewise dedicate myself to practicing righteousness, learning resistance, training up my spiritual muscles and reflexes so as to have in me the requisite skills for the fight. Why else do we suppose God leaves us here in the world like this? Yes, it’s to call others, but we can hardly call others if we are too weak to keep ourselves. We can hardly advertise the strength of God by our capitulation to the slightest temptation. And therein lies a return to the point I made nearer there start.
This whole matter of sanctification is not really about self-improvement. We are not truly capable of self-improvement. If we improve it is by God’s working in us. If our spiritual muscle is growing, it is because God has insisted on our gym time. But, it’s not about us. It’s about Him. It’s not about us proving we’re saved. He already knows! If anybody needs convincing, it’s probably us, but that’s not the point, either. The point is outward focused, as we ought to expect it to be. The point is to counter that very culture which seeks to send reinforcements to our flesh. We are the reinforcements of the opposition!
All of this business of sanctification is a battle, a series of skirmishes in the war for eternity. We know Who is going to win. That’s not in question. We know, because He is our strong Tower, that we are therefore on the winning team. Our future is assured. But, what of those around us? They are not the enemy, though they fight in the enemy’s army at present. They are slaves in bondage just as we were. They are as benighted and befuddled as we were ourselves before the Spirit of the Living God got hold of us. Our good deeds, as they observe them, may just be the thing to rip the blinders from their eyes. Our good deeds, our consistency in pursuing righteousness even as they sling their mud at us, may just be the proof of God’s goodness and power that will cause them to throw off their chains.
Oh, yes! They slander you now, but it is in ignorance. You, too, if you will but remember, were just as slanderous of others before you were brought to realization of the Truth. And, think back: How is it you came to the God Who Is Truth? Was it by quantities of speechifying? Was it through education, through exposition of philosophical theories about Truth? Or was it because you saw what He was doing in those He loved? OK. I know that at deepest level, it was quite simply because He called you. Yes. I get that. I experienced that in no uncertain terms. Yet, there was a lead-up. There were examples set before you. You probably didn’t even realize what was being shown you at the time. You knew these folks were Christians, yes, but you didn’t really account that anything special. They were just good people. You knew other good people, and they weren’t calling themselves Christians. You quite probably knew some rather bad people who were. But, here was something that had to be counted as evidence. Your eyes took it in. Your mind did not process it in full at the time, but when the moment came, when that call was made, there was the evidence, tucked away and awaiting your consideration. Faith is acceding to the proof, not insisting on believing that for which there is no evidence.
Now here you are, a man of faith. You know from your history that there are those who profess a faith they do not show, and those who show a faith they may not otherwise profess. It’s not that they’re ashamed of the Gospel, it’s quite simply that actions speak louder than words. Show me your faith by your works! It’s not an unreasonable demand. If it were, I rather doubt the Spirit of the Holy and Perfect God would have caused it to be included in His lesson plan. You were shown God’s goodness in the good works of others. Now, to borrow from the vernacular of the times, pay it forward.
This harks back to what Peter had said in the last chapter. “If you address the impartial Judge of all men’s work as your Father then act like He is your Father. Show your reverence in your conduct so long as you live” (1Pe 1:17). If He’s your Daddy, give evidence of being His son! But, now, Peter has layered on this added motivation. Not only do you demonstrate that your claims of being a child of God are well-founded, but you also, through your dedication to doing good, to doing what is right, make His goodness known to others, giving them opportunity to be children of God themselves. No, you have no power to proclaim them such. That’s not the point. But, you do serve as His advertising agency, if you will. That is, after all, a part of what the ambassador’s role is. Demonstrate the value of the homeland. Show the good side of your nation; make it desirable to be a friend of the nation. Make it desirable for those who would step out from under the tyranny of their own nation to come to your embassy, to seek asylum from your King, seek the protection of your Lord and Savior; that He might be their Lord and Savior as well!
This is not some new sentiment on Peter’s part. Go back to the teaching of Jesus Himself. “Let your light shine before men such that they may see your good works, and therefore glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:16). It’s the same incentive. Do good, so that they will see God’s goodness in you. It’s not so you can get a pat on the back and be told what a good person you are. No! It’s so that God will be evident in the shocking surprise of your goodness – particularly to those who have known you longest. You? You’re acting this way? You, who had such a short fuse, are now so swift to forgive? You, who never had a thought for anything but your own comfort, are now out there serving the homeless? Who could imagine! If God could bring about such a change in the likes of you, He must be great indeed! That’s the whole thing: Do good not to be seen doing good, but to make God’s glory evident.
This is not to say that the only benefit that accrues from good character is that God is glorified. But, what if it were? Ought that not really be reason enough and more? Yet, God does not stop there. Yes, He will be glorified through your obedience, through your maturing into the full image of Christ. He will also be glorified through the just punishment of the reprobate. His preference, He has made clear, is to be glorified through obedience, but He will be glorified either way. His glory is not in question, not in doubt.
I loop back to the first of these two verses. Why do good? Because the passions, the lusts, that so drive us are in reality seeking to kill us. How much of the Apostolic writing is aimed at exactly this issue? Why? Because it is so needful for our spiritual health. Why? Because we are slow to hear, resistant to a message that must cause us to change our ways. Why? Because we are in the midst of that very battle, and the uproar of our fleshly urges will tend to obscure our capacity for hearing the quiet voice of Logos.
Paul is insistent on the matter. “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the lusts of the flesh” (Ro 13:14). This, of course, echoes his description of the full armor of God in writing to the Ephesians. Except, here we have in Christ Jesus the full armor. Here is your bulwark against the enemy of your own passions. Put on Christ! There is no better defense, and no better weapon. How, though, are we to put on Christ? Well, we could try to do so by reminding ourselves of His sacrifice on our behalf. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with all its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24). The problem is, though we know this, and count it dear, yet it rapidly becomes old news, if we are not careful. Yes, He did that. But, it’s done. He died for all my sins, and don’t you know, the first response of sin is to convince us that it therefore must not matter so much if we continue to sin. Yes, yes. We died to that. But, Paul: You have said it yourself, how the flesh just keeps on doing what it wants even though I no longer want it. If it is no longer I that liveth, then why do I need care what this body of mine decides to do? Oh, yes. Peter is telling us here: Because your body is busily trying to kill your soul. So, Paul instructs us to turn to the third party, the third Person of this Triune God who saves. “Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16).
Here is a great corrective for those who would parade their spiritual gifts, who suppose those gifts a badge of their own righteousness somehow. Honestly, if Paul had been writing those words to the Corinthians, how would we then hear them? If you are truly walking by the Spirit, you will not pursue the desires of the flesh. If you are truly walking by the Spirit, you will not be prideful. You will not have a thought for self. You will not deal with gluttony or avarice or lasciviousness. Temptation will not have the first, most tenuous of toeholds in your life because as you walk by the Spirit, you bear your cross, you crucify the flesh, kill it outright! It can bother you no more, for dead men are incapable of rising to temptation! If you have reduced the gifts of the Spirit, given you to serve the body, given to you to accomplish the purpose of God: if you have made of this some badge of honor, some merit badge you can show to one and all so as to boast of your own status: Well! God have mercy on you. May He be pleased to so inform you by His Spirit that you will indeed walk by the Spirit, and not this fleshly pride. I admit that I must be concerned for my own spiritual condition in addressing this. Is it my pride that leads me to write as I do? Is it nothing but pride that leads me to assess things as I do? Pride has ever been an issue with me, as it is with most, if not all, who would follow after Christ. If the love of money lies at the root of many evils, pride lies at the root of all!
We have, therefore, this drumbeat of admonition. “Prove yourselves to be blameless, innocent children of God” (Php 2:15). Why? Because thus you stand as lights in the world, beacons in the midst of a perverse generation. You man of God! “Be of sound speech.” More critically yet, “be above reproach!” Act such that those who oppose you? No! Those who oppose us will be put to shame, incapable of finding any bad thing to say (Ti 2:8). If they must declaim our evil, let it only be through libelous slanders! Do not provide them any evidence that would back their assessment. Peter will also return to this theme shortly. “Keep a good conscience. That way, your good behavior in Christ will put to shame those who revile you with their slanders” (1Pe 3:16). If our present passage doesn’t point to the judicial aspect of the matter, than this later verse would seem to do so.
We will also see very shortly Peter’s explanation as to what is happening here. “It is God’s will that you may silence the ignorance of foolish men by doing what is right” (1Pe 2:15). That passage is dead ahead in these studies, so I’ll not dwell on it long at present. But, notice! It is not God’s will that you argue them into submission. It is not God’s will that you shout them down, overpower them with their own tactics. No. They will be silenced by the evidence of godly men doing what is right.
Then, turn back to Paul and hear the results of a life lived in this fashion. “They were glorifying God because of me” (Gal 1:24). Taken with no reference to context, that could come across as horrifyingly boastful. Look! I made them glorify God. I saved them. They are my children. But, Paul would be horrified to hear any such claim said to represent his views. Jump back to the context. He is back in his earliest days as a Christian, and describing his reception. Here was Paul, the avenging angel of the Pharisees, come into Damascus to root out and destroy this upstart sect of the Christ-followers, and what has happened? Back in Judea, where his terrors had been known for awhile, they were hearing an unbelievable report! This one “who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy” (Gal 1:21-23). That’s the background Paul recites. That is why they were glorifying God because of him. It wasn’t that his message was so powerful. It wasn’t that he was performing all sorts of miracles. It was that God had done something so utterly miraculous in him! They were glorifying God because of me, because seeing me, hearing what had become of me, they could only say, “Look what the Lord has done!”
Looking at the notes remaining, I think I have said what I wish to say on this topic. To sum up: Good works aren’t about impressing God. Good works aren’t, in the end, about making one’s self holy. Their primary purpose is evangelism, causing those who witness our consistent practice of such things to form an honorable opinion not of us, but of God, and therefore be led to praise not us, but God. Their slanders may sting us today, but let it not lead us into retaliation. Just keep doing the good you know to do, even and perhaps especially towards them. This is the strength of the call to be good and consistent witnesses for Christ. Do unto others as you would have them do to you, not as they have done to you. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good. Why? To show off? No! To rescue. To make God’s glory that much more evident in the darkness of this life.
Lord, if this has not been my greatest concern as it should be, would you work with me, that I might see it as I ought, that I might pursue this lifestyle You desire? Oh, Jesus! How I would love to see many having come to the knowledge of You through Your work in me. I look at my paltry efforts and find no cause to suppose it would be so. But, then, it’s not about my efforts. It’s about You working in and through me. Holy Father, may it never be that You find it necessary to work in spite of me. May I be willing clay in Your hands, and well-suited to Your glorious and perfect purposes.
