1 Peter 2
(1) Don’t Be Corrupt; Be Rational
So stop being immoral tricksters who put on a face for others. Stop being jealous of other people and bad-mouthing them. Instead, be like newborn babies who crave the plain milk of rationality, because that can help you grow toward your rescue if you’ve tasted the Ruler’s kindness.
(4) Jesus is the Most Crucial Building-Block
Jesus is like a living building-block that has been rejected by human beings, but is actually treasured and chosen by God. And you guys are also like living building-blocks which are being stacked up to build a spiritual home for a sacred priest. You’ll offer spiritual sacrifices through Jesus, and God will accept them. The ancient writings talk about that when they say,
“I’ll lay a premium building-block that is both cherished and foundational. Whoever relies on Him won’t regret it.”
—Isaiah 28:16
There’s a valuable payoff for whoever relies on Him, but whoever doesn’t rely on Him should know,
“The building-block that the builders rejected became the most important cornerstone.”
—Psalm 118:22
And,
“There’s a certain building-block that people stumble over and get trapped by.”
—Isaiah 8:14
(9) We Are God’s Society
But you guys are a chosen society—a royal society of priests, a different tribe, and a group of people for God’s own possession. As God’s chosen society, you can tell everyone about how awesome He is for calling you out of the darkness and into the radiant light. You used to not even be a society at all—but now you’re the society of God who received new mercy that you’ve never even experienced before.
(11) Restrain Your Physical Desires
My friends, as foreigners, I urge you to hold yourself back from your physical desires which wage war against your soul. Maintain an honorable lifestyle among this world’s citizens. If they ever accuse you of anything bad, they’ll see all the good things you do and magnify God when He comes back to pay Earth a visit.
(13) Attract Outsiders to God with Your Life
You should submit to human establishments on behalf of our Ruler’s reputation. That means submitting to the president as well as his officials, since their job is to prosecute criminals and promote law-abiding citizens. God wants your good deeds to silence the ignorance of senseless people. Live like you’re free from slavery, but don’t use that freedom as an excuse for doing wrong—view your freedom as a type of slavery to God. Treat everyone with honor, love the Christian brotherhood, fear God, and respect the president.
(18) God Cares for Those who Endure Undeserved Punishment
Workers, submit yourselves to your superiors out of respect—not only if they’re good and fair, but even if they’re corrupt. When you endure undeserved mistreatment because you don’t want your reaction to grieve God, it inspires grace. If your superior gives you a beating because you did the wrong thing, then why should anyone commend you for enduring the beating? But if you patiently endure a beating for doing the right thing, then you’ll be in God’s good graces.
(21) Jesus’s Suffering Produced Good
The whole reason why you were called is because the Chosen One suffered for you and gave you His example to follow. He never did or said anything wrong, yet He was abused and didn’t retaliate. And He didn’t threaten anyone while he suffered—He just kept giving Himself to God who assesses everyone fairly. As Jesus hung on the cross, He carried the weight of our mistakes in His body so we could die to corruption and live in perfection. His injuries are what facilitated our healing. We were constantly wandering off like sheep, but now we’ve returned to the Shepherd who guards who protects our lives.
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