Last Sunday morning, I listened to a sermon on TV in which the preacher said, “You can tell Christians by the way we act.” How true that is! A true Christian lives a dedicated life in which he strives to “follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21) that is, in the steps of Christ, our Master. The earlier part of that same verse says that “He left us an example.” Christ was totally devoted in His service to God, and even though we are not able to give what Christ did as He gave His precious blood for the redemption of man’s sins, we must live in such a way as to reflect our love and devotion to God. What must we do to show our love for God? He said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). However, let’s look at just a few things in the book of 1 Peter alone to see what we must do so that our lives reflect that we are, in fact, living Christian lives.
Christians must study God’s Word and live by its instructions: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow by it” (1 Peter 2:1). If one truly loves God and wants to please Him, one must know what He wants of us and expects us to do. The only way we can do that is by reading and studying His Word and doing what it says. We have no other means of learning what God’s will is. We read in 1 Peter 1:25, “The word of God endures forever and this is the word of the gospel that is preached to you.” God gave men the “good news” of the Gospel and it guides us in all our religious endeavors. Christians must follow the direct commands that are given in God’s Word. Let’s itemize just a few of them from 1 Peter:
1. “Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17). A Christian will respect all men. He will love those who have a like passion for and devotion to God. He will honor the rulers just as he is to honor and respect all men.
2. “Refrain your tongue from evil and your lips that they speak no guile; turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it” (1 Peter 3:11). A Christian will control what comes out of his mouth by not saying evil things. We are not just speaking of cursing, but it is included. Evil speaking includes saying filthy things, gossiping, spreading rumors, etc. It seems that sometimes those who speak evil are in a contest to see who can outdo another. What a shame! Those same tongues could be used in serving God!
3. “All of you be subject to each other and be clothed with humility for God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). This is a hard one! We are commanded to be humble and show deference to each other! We are not to “lord it over” those around us. God will not honor mean pride!
4. “Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Carefully guard your behavior because the devil wants your soul, and he will be aggressive about claiming it for his own. Have you ever watched a lion eat its meal? Enough said!
5. “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). Here we are back to acting like God’s people because we are trying to live like we belong to Him. We are able to tell others why we are God’s children and encourage them to become His children.
6. “If any man speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:10). Teach by the Bible, not some man’s teachings or creeds.
7. Christians must “commit the keeping of your soul to Him” (1 Peter 4:19). One cannot be dedicated to the world and to God at the same time. Trust God and “Cast all your care on Him for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
These are a lot of instructions, but there is so much to be gained by keeping them. Peter names a couple of things that make us understand the importance of keeping them: “They will see your good works and glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12) and “Receive the end of your faith, the salvation of your soul” (1 Peter 1:9). A brother voiced a prayer recently in which he said, “May our lives be a reflection of Your will.” That’s exactly what our lives must be. The end result of “acting like Christians” is that others will see our good works and glorify God, and we will receive the salvation of our souls by being faithful to Him. May God bless all of us in doing that!
