Peter
the apostle told the “scattered”
Christians they should be “happy”
when they are “reproached”
for their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. In chapter four and verse
fifteen of his letter, Peter shared how Christians are not to
“suffer as a murderer, thief, evildoer or busybody”
where we read:
or as a busybody in
other men's matters.
The
verse begins, “But
let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as
a thief,...” Peter
began with the word, “But”
which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated, “moreover,
nevertheless and nonetheless” “let
none”
or “no not one and God forbid” “of
you”
which refers to the “scattered” Christians “suffer”
or “be affected or have been affected, feel, have a sensible
experience or undergo a painful sensation or impression”
“as a murderer”
which means “one who commits intentional homicide”, “or
as a thief” which
is “an embezzler, pilferer and ones who abuse their confidence for
their own gain”. Christians were not to “take
the lives”
of others nor were they to “steal”
from them.
The
verse goes on to say, “...or
as
an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.” Peter
continued, “or
as an evildoer”
which refers to “a malefactor, bad-doer or criminal”, “or
as a busybody in other men's matters”
which means “one who takes the supervision of affairs pertaining to
others and in no wise to himself who is a meddler in other men's
affairs”. Never should it be that the Christians act as “criminals”
or “meddlers” in other people's affairs.
When we meditate upon Peter's words, we should understand that
Christians should never be known to “endure suffering”
because they have fallen into sins such as “murder, theft,
evildoing or busybodies”. If we “suffer” because we
have involved ourselves in these activities, we should not be
surprised. It may astonish some that “busybodies” are
aligned equally with “murderers”, however, sin, in whatever
fashion, should not be entertained by Christians. Christians are to
align themselves with ways of God, and through Jesus Christ and the
help of the Holy Spirit, these sins should not be named among us. May
the Lord Jesus help us to know what it means to “suffer”
for “evil ways” and keep us from the vicious “suffering”
effects of sin.
Next
time Peter tells the Christians they should not be “ashamed”
if they “suffer as a Christian”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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