Compiled By: Lisa K Gonzales
Source: The Life Application Study Bible
17 “And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when HE judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of HIM during your time as foreigners here on earth. 18 For you know that GOD paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom HE paid was not mere gold or silver. 19 HE paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of GOD. 20 GOD chose HIM for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, HE was sent to the earth for all to see. And HE did this for you.” ~ 1 Peter 1:17-20
“Reverent fear” is not the fear of a slave for a ruthless master but the healthy respect of a believer for the all-powerful GOD. Because GOD is the Judge of all the earth, we dare not ignore HIM or treat HIM casually. We should not assume that our privileged status as GOD’s children gives us freedom to do whatever we want. We should not be spoiled children but grateful children who love to show respect for our heavenly Father.
A slave was “ransomed” when someone paid money to buy his or her freedom. GOD ransomed us from the tyranny of sin, not with money, but with the precious blood of HIS own Son. – 6 “Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.” – Romans 6:6-7 – The power of sin over us died with Christ on the cross. Our “old sinful selves,” our sinful nature, died once and for all, so we are freed from its power. The “power of sin” refers to our rebellious sin-loving nature inherited from Adam. Though we often willingly cooperate with our sinful nature, it is not us but the sin in us that is evil. And it is this power of sin at work in our life that is defeated. Paul has already stated that through faith in Christ we stand acquitted, “not guilty” before GOD. Here Paul emphasizes that we need no longer live under sin’s power. GOD does not take us out of the world or make us robots – we will still feel like sinning, and sometimes we will sin. The difference is that before we were saved we were slaves to our sinful nature, but now we can choose to live for Christ. We cannot escape from sin on our own; only the life of GOD’s Son can free us.
Christ’s sacrifice for our sins was not an afterthought, not something GOD decided to do when the world spun out of control. This plan was set in motion by the all-knowing, eternal GOD long before the world was created. What a comfort it must have been to Jewish believers to know that Christ’s coming and His work of salvation were planned by GOD long before the world began. This assured them that the law was not being discarded because it did not work but that both the law and the coming of Christ were part of GOD’s eternal plan.
Father GOD, YOU have paid a tremendous price for each one of us to enable us to be YOUR children and live with YOU in YOUR Kingdom for all eternity. We are grateful! We do not and will not assume that our status as YOUR children gives us freedom to do whatever we want with no regard for who we are. We will not be as spoiled children – we are grateful children who love to show respect for our heavenly Father.
Photo: Las Vegas (Nevada)
Photographer: Lisa K Gonzales
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