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Proverbs 5:1-12
1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your
ear to my understanding,
2 That you may preserve discretion, And your
lips may keep knowledge.
3 For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is smoother than
oil;
4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold
of hell.
6 Lest you ponder her path of life— Her ways are unstable; You do not know them.
7 Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from
the words of my mouth.
8 Remove your way far from her, And do not go
near the door of her house,
9 Lest you give your honor to others, And your
years to the cruel one;
10 Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And
your labors go to the house of
a foreigner;
11 And you mourn at last, When your flesh and
your body are consumed,
12 And say:
"How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction!
Father God, call our loved ones and
touch their hearts with the Gospel. Let their hearts be softened and open to
your Word, in Jesus name
we pray, Amen!
Book of I Peter 1:13-25
NKJV
This week’s lesson gives us insight of
holy living, redemption, and faith in Jesus death and resurrection. We need to
keep Jesus constantly in the forefront of our mind in order to model our life
after His. We need to always be vigilant of what our faith is in. We must
always awake each day with the mentality that God is in control of our life and
we must be ready to meet him if we don’t live to see another day here on earth.
We must believe and live according to God’s Word for eternal life. We must be willing
to reject our way and accept Jesus way like Paul. So let’s see what Peter has
to say.
13 Therefore
gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at
the revelation of Jesus Christ;
If
we reword this verse it would read like this; So think clearly and exercise
self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when
Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
Therefore gird up the loins of your
mind; The definition
of gird is to encircle the body with a belt or piece of material to confine a region
of a person’s body. Loin usually refers to the section of our body between the
last lower ribs and hips. Our loin holds our upper body to our lower body
(legs) and to gird up our loin is to give support to our loin.
What
Peter is referring to here is living a holy life. We are to encircle or bind
our minds with good and not evil; live to please God; live and think according
to the way Jesus lived and thought.
Be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that
is to be brought to you; By
girding up our minds we are to live a life of holiness. We are to abstain from
sinful thinking which can lead to sinful actions. In other words don’t become
intoxicated with thoughts of fleshly desires. If a person surrounds themselves with
people that drink, curse, swear, fornicate, use drugs, etc. it is only a matter
of time before they become one of them. This is living for worldly and fleshly
things, but Peter is telling us to fill our mind with Heavenly things like the
rewards of Heaven, grace of God, and the return of Jesus to take us from this
earth.
At the revelation of Jesus Christ; The revelation of Jesus Christ is in
reference to the Rapture of the Church.
14 as
obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
This
verse is a warning from Peter to his Born Again believer listeners. He is
telling them not to return to their old ways and customs of heritage; don’t go
back to the old laws and rituals of their former life. They aren’t to live
according to religious dogma, but to remain obedient to the teachings of the
New Way, the Gospel being taught.
Peter
refers to their past as a life of ignorance, meaning they didn’t know any
better at that time because the NT hadn’t started yet. The NT started with
Jesus death on the Cross and the temple veil was ripped from top to bottom
signifying priest were no longer need to intercede for us. We could go straight
to Jesus for all of our needs.
Paul is a prime example of
this ignorance Peter is speaking of. Paul was a Pharisee and believed he was
doing God’s will by seeking out Christian followers of Jesus and sending them to
prison and/or death. He was taught his beliefs through his heritage and
upbringing. He was practicing religion, in other words his faith was in
religion, the ways of his forefathers. He didn’t want anything to do with the
Gospel being taught because he thought it was a cult and offensive to God. He
was arrogant, self righteous, and zealous for the way he was raised and was
determined to rid the land of Christians, but when Jesus knocked him off his
horse on the road to Damascus (Acts Chapter 9), Paul was changed from the inside
out. He was wise enough to humble himself and repent of the lifestyle and
beliefs that he was living and started living for Jesus. Paul had a change in
his life and way of thinking, which is evidence that a person is Born Again. If
there is no change in a person’s life, then they aren’t Born Again and they are
living a life of enmity against God. Romans
8:6-7 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded
is life and peace. 7 Because the
carnal mind is enmity against
God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
15 but as He
who called you is holy, you
also be holy in all your
conduct,
16 because
it is written, "BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."
Here
again Peter is telling his listeners that are believers to live a life of
holiness, including us. God who is Holy called them and delivered them from the
sinfulness of their old lifestyle, so they are to live a holy lifestyle. Leviticus
19:2; 20:7 Leviticus
11:44-45 I am the
LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not
make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. 45 I am the
LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because
I am holy. The only
way we can achieve this holy lifestyle is by placing our faith in Jesus through
the acts of the Cross. We can’t do it by self-will, or by heritage of rules,
regulations, or rituals. Our heritage must be the Word of God and only the Word
of God!
17 And if
you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's
work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
And if you call on the Father; This should have been translated since
you call or pray to the Father, not “if”. A true believer will call or pray to
God through His Son Jesus, because it was out of love God sent His Son to die
for us and a believer fully understands the love that was displayed.
Who without partiality judges according
to each one's work; We
will be judged based on how we live here on earth. God is impartial and it
won’t matter how famous, rich, who we know, how beautiful we are, what color
our skin is, what religion we practice, etc. We can lie, cheat, bribe, flirt,
etc., with man to get our way, but God sees our heart and judges our heart. He
knows what our faith is in, His Son, or mans doctrine.
Conduct yourselves throughout the time
of your stay here in fear; Peter is telling his listeners and us
that we are to live a life here on earth in fear. This fear is a reverent fear
that is to help us to keep on that righteous path. It isn’t a fear that causes
us to cower in a corner, but a reverent fear of God’s judgment to keep us holy
and reject the temptations of our sin nature and of worldly things.
18 knowing
that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your
fathers,
Rephrasing
this verse it would read; For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from
the sinful life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom He paid was
not with gold or silver.
Knowing that you were not redeemed
with corruptible things, like
silver or gold; Meaning
Jesus shed His pure and spotless blood for us so that we can be saved. God gave
His only Son to purchase our freedom and free us from the bondage of sin. He
didn’t use gold, silver, or anything from this corruptible world to redeem us, only
His Son.
From your aimless conduct received by tradition from your
fathers; Here Peter
confirms the lifestyle people live unless they have been Born Again. Everyone
is born with the sin nature/original sin and that lifestyle is a fleshly
lifestyle. “Tradition from your fathers”, is referring to what we have been
taught by our human fathers (religious fathers) due to the sin nature. The
chains of tradition are hard to break because those traditions and habits are engrained
in our mind at an early age. We as human beings for the most part, resist
change. We don’t like to be told what to do or that what we have been taught is
wrong. It would be a great thing spiritually for people if they would take off
their blinders, be open minded, and humble themselves before the Lord when they
are wrong. It doesn’t matter how young or old a person is, they can be saved.
19 but with
the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
But with the precious blood of Christ; There is nothing more precious than
the blood of Jesus as payment for our sins. All the precious metals and gems on
earth don’t hold a candle to the purchasing power of the blood of Jesus our
Saviour.
As of a lamb without blemish and
without spot; Represents
the ultimate sacrifice; Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice in every
aspect; He was not executed or assassinated, but gave His life freely for us.
20 He indeed
was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these
last times for you
Rephrasing
this verse; Jesus was chosen before the creation of the universe, but hadn’t
been revealed until these last times (church age), for our salvation.
He indeed was foreordained before the
foundation of the world;
This refers to the fact that God, in His Omniscience, knew He would create man,
man would Fall, and man would be redeemed by His Son Jesus going to the Cross.
But was manifest in these last times
for you; Refers to
the invisible God who in the Person of the Son, was made visible to human
eyesight by assuming a human body and human limitations. Aren’t you glad God
had this plan?
21 who
through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so
that your faith and hope are in God.
Who through Him believe in God; “Who” is referring to believers of
Peter’s time and current times. We believe in God because of all that Jesus did
while here on earth with the main focus on His death and resurrection. Through Jesus
we believe in God.
Who raised Him from the dead and gave
Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God; The resurrection of Jesus is what a
heart faith and hope in God is based on in a believer. Without this glorious
resurrection we have no hope for eternal life.
22 Since you
have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere
love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
Since you have purified your souls in
obeying the truth through the Spirit; This
phrase is referring to the fact that some one’s eyes and heart are opened to
the truth of the Gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit, and as a result of
this truth the person has a Spiritual Birth and becomes one of God’s children.
Because of the love Jesus has for us, He gave His life freely so we can believe
and be saved, if we will come to the foot of the Cross and humble
ourselves and ask Him into our life.
In sincere love of the brethren, love
one another fervently with a pure heart; "Sincere love" involves selfless giving; a
self-centered person can't truly love. God's love and forgiveness free us to
take our eyes off ourselves and to meet others' needs. When Jesus sacrificed
his life, he showed that he truly loves you. We are to love others by following
his example. Without the love of Jesus inside us, sincere brotherly love is not
possible.
23 having
been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of
God which lives and abides forever,
Having been born again, not of
corruptible seed but incorruptible; That
Spiritual Birth (Born Again) comes from God when we repent and place our faith
in His Son Jesus for all things. The corruptible seed, and seed being the key
word here, is in reference to human birth and the sin nature. Incorruptible is
referring to what we can’t see or touch, a spiritual birth made possible by
faith in Jesus death and resurrection.
Through the word of God which lives
and abides forever; It
is through the Word of God a person has a Spiritual Birth and it is also living
by the Word of God afterwards that we have hope. God’s Word hasn’t changed it
is the same yesterday, it is the same today, and it will be the same for
eternity. Man changes God’s Word so they can live a life they desire; abortion,
homosexuality, polygamy, drug legalization, murder, stealing, lying,
covetousness, etc.
24 because
"ALL FLESH IS AS GRASS, AND ALL THE GLORY OF MAN AS THE FLOWER OF THE
GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND ITS FLOWER FALLS AWAY,
25 BUT THE
WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." Now this is the word which by the
gospel was preached to you.
The
quotation Peter uses here is taken from Isaiah 40:6-8. Peter is comparing human life to
spiritual life. Human flesh and all the glory a person has here on earth dies
and fades away into memories, but a Born Again individual will live forever in
the presence of our Glorious God, because they have placed their faith in the
Cross and not in earthly fleshly things.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All
things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners
Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a
sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am
sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.” (John 3:16,17;
Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1
John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom.
1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
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