|
THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 5, NUMBER 25, JUNE 26, 2005 “KEEP YOUR BEHAVIOR EXCELLENT” The title for this article is taken from the book of 1 Peter, specifically chapter 2:12. It is a chapter that contains various admonitions to proper conduct since they had been born anew and in anticipation of eternal life. For the purpose of this article, I want to examine verses 11-12. “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” I like the term “beloved.” I believe that it would go a long way toward making our time on earth in the church a little more like heaven if we all understood its meaning and embraced its practice. It is used approximately 63 times in the New Testament, most frequently of brethren in the Lord. It is the same term God used in reference to Jesus when He called Him, “My beloved Son”. It is easy to see its connection to “agapao” - to love. It is a term of endearment, but endearment strong enough and pervasive enough to mean that we are always disposed to do what is in the best interest and for the welfare of those to whom it is applied. Just imagine if everything we said and everything we did as far as our brothers and sisters in Christ are concerned was only out of concern for their welfare and in their best interest! “Aliens and strangers” refers to the relationship of a faithful child of God to the world. In other words, once we become a Christian, our citizenship changes. Oh yes, we are still living here and working here – but now as strangers and pilgrims, foreigners among people whose citizenship is of the world. As a consequence of the new citizenship, conduct must change. The exhortation to “abstain from fleshly lusts” is entirely appropriate and vitally important. We may no longer be citizens of the world in the spiritual sense, but we still live here. It is very easy to revert to old practices that we put off when we became citizens of the Lord’s kingdom if we are not careful. “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles.” Living as we do among people who are spiritually citizens of the world, we absolutely must live in such a way that is consistent with what we claim to be. It reminds me of Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 4:1, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” We have a responsibility. As believers, our conduct is being observed by those who are not. Our behavior must manifest NONE of the worldly excesses that characterize those we live and work among. The word translated as “excellent” in verse 12, means “beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life, and hence praiseworthy; morally good, noble.” When a person becomes a Christian, and I mean really and truly becomes a Christian, his or her conduct is going to change. It will be different. I can attest to the fact that former friends and associates of the world may very well begin to “slander you as an evildoer” because we no longer engage in the same activities with them as we did in the past. Over in 1 Peter 3:3-4, Peter wrote, “For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you.” Can you think of any other group of people more maligned in our country today than Christians? When we stand up for what God’s word says about moral issues, such as homosexuality, abortion, pre and extra-marital sex, and so on, we are labeled as the evildoers. But that is okay. Our job is to keep on following the will of God in the choices we make concerning what we do and what we say. Why? Because as we go about “doing”, they will be “watching.” Hopefully, their observations will be of a reflection nature and will ultimately have an impact upon those who are doing the watching. Remember the Lord’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Matt. 5:13-16? Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Who knows, it could be that by the observation of our lives and activities, those who “thought us strange” may just be moved to want what we have. There is some disagreement as to what “the day of visitation” in verse 12 means. Some believe it refers to the day of judgment, others that it refers to the day that these unbelievers come to Christ. I’d like to think that the second view is the best. I would like to think that because of the way that we live, others will be moved to abandon the world and become citizens of the kingdom of God.
Greg Litmer
|