Proclamation:
"Show proper respect to everyone; Love the
brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king." 1 Peter
2:17 (NIV)
Explanation:
Explanation:
These words
were written by the Apostle Peter under the influence of The Holy Spirit of
God. Peter told the believers that they
were the chosen people of God, (1 Peter 2:10) and their behavior should reflect
that. They were to live in a Christ-like manner, even though they lived
among the pagans. (1 Peter 2:12 and 2:15) They were to submit to the
proper authorities and obey the laws of the land. (1 Peter 2:13-14) He
also told them to show the proper respect to everyone, to love their fellow
man, and to obey God.
Application:
Jesus, The Christ, taught us that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, and Luke 10:27) Jesus also taught us that we should love our enemies. (Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27, and Luke 6:35) Under the divine inspiration of The Holy Spirit of God, Peter said that we should love and respect everyone. We are to respect them but not imitate them. We are to do our best to imitate Christ. This is only possible because as believers we have The Holy Spirit of God within us and we exhibit the fruit of The Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) Unfortunately, most people do not behave like this, so we are to be living examples of Christ-like behavior to a non-believing world for them to see Christ in us. (Matthew 5:16) We are the only "Bible" that some people will ever "read", and our actions will speak louder than our words, especially if the two of them are not consistent and in agreement. We are to obey the laws of man, except when the conflict with The Word of God, then we are to obey God. (Acts 5:28-29)
Jesus, The Christ, taught us that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, and Luke 10:27) Jesus also taught us that we should love our enemies. (Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27, and Luke 6:35) Under the divine inspiration of The Holy Spirit of God, Peter said that we should love and respect everyone. We are to respect them but not imitate them. We are to do our best to imitate Christ. This is only possible because as believers we have The Holy Spirit of God within us and we exhibit the fruit of The Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) Unfortunately, most people do not behave like this, so we are to be living examples of Christ-like behavior to a non-believing world for them to see Christ in us. (Matthew 5:16) We are the only "Bible" that some people will ever "read", and our actions will speak louder than our words, especially if the two of them are not consistent and in agreement. We are to obey the laws of man, except when the conflict with The Word of God, then we are to obey God. (Acts 5:28-29)
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