The Summit Church Saline County

Jesus called us into a community of followers. We are not alone. Jesus modeled this by living in relationships represented in concentric circles (the inner 3, the 12, the 72, and the crowd).  

The call to be a disciple is the call to be with Jesus. He called us to follow Him. This has much deeper meaning than we typically realize. The term “disciple” is probably more akin to “apprentice” than we realize. The call to follow is not just a call to agree that Jesus is Lord, but to surrender our way to His way. Being a Christian is following the Jesus Way.

God has given us everything we need to thrive as exiles. The end of all things is near so we need to be self-controlled and sober-minded, for the sake of our prayers. Be reminded that God is sovereign over it all.

Following Jesus will result in hostility from outsiders. Peter starts this section with “Who would want to harm you for doing good?” The answer is, more and more people as the world grows darker. So he encourages us, when we suffer, we can remember that Christ also suffered. We must also remember that Christ is King and he has not lost control.

Following Christ impacts our relationships with others. Our marriages, our friendships, our parenting, should all look different from the world. If you are temporarily visiting a place, how you interact with others is obvious. Peter is telling us people should know we are temporary residents by how we treat others. Love is the central characteristic of all godly relationships. Kingdom relationships are identified by love, worldly relationships are identified by power. 

We are to submit to authority, and live humble lives, “for the Lord's sake.” This affects what we say about those in authority over us. It affects how we treat those in authority over us. In a politicized world, the only way we can do this is by looking to Christ, who humbled himself, and showed us what a life of submission looks like. What do we do when authority is bad? Jesus put his trust in the Father to judge justly.  

Peter takes the promise given to Abraham and makes it about the Kingdom. Boundary lines and blood lines now flow through Jesus. And for all who have been brought into the family through the blood of Jesus, they now have all the rights of the family of God. Now, because we have been brought into the house of God as figurative stones that make up a spiritual temple, it matters how we live among outsiders. When they look at us, they should see Christ. Not only are we stones that make up the temple, we are a “royal priesthood, a chosen nation, God's very own possession” all words that show our value to God, and the responsibility we now have to represent Christ to a lost world.