Peter Tells The Christians How They Are To Live

Brothers and sisters, Peter warns us as to how we should live. I have been talking to the Lord about how his children are to deal in this wicked nation which is getting more corrupt daily. I brought this up last Sunday in the home church group I am part of. Being in business, it is literally impossible for many businesses to obey all the laws and more laws seem to come daily.

When a new law is enacted, a new group of law breakers is formed. At the same time we have a government that is destroying the wealth of the people by printing money. This will likely end with the government owning every thing.

I believe this is of the wicked one, but how do we obey God? This is a subject I am seeking the Lord on as this problem will become more and more serious as time goes by. I have asked the Lord if the answer is in his command to "love thy neighbor as thyself". Jesus tells us:

• 37Jesusr told him, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’s 38This is the greatest and most importantt commandment. 39The second is exactly like it: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’u 40All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Is the litmus test simply "are we loving our neighbor as our self"? We would surely need a pure heart to discern what loving our neighbor is and is not!

1 Peter 2 ISV Continuing on from chapter 1, and looking at "loving each other", Peter tells us:

1Therefore, 

• rid yourselves of every kind of evil and deception, 
• hypocrisy, 
• jealousy, 
• and every kind of slander. 
• 2Like newborn babies, thirst for the pure milk of the word so that by it you may grow in your salvation. 
• 3Surely you have tasted that the Lord is good!

4As you come to him, the living stone who was rejected by people but was chosen and precious in God’s sight, 5you, too, as living stones, are building yourselves up into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, so that you may offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus, the Messiah.a 6This is why it says in Scripture:

“Look! I am laying a chosen, precious cornerstoneb in Zion.

The one who believes in him will never be ashamed.”c

7Therefore he is precious to you who believe, but to those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone,d

8a stone they stumble over

and a rock they trip on.”e

They keep on stumbling because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people to be his very own and to proclaim the wonderful deedsf of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

10Once you were not a people,

but now you are the people of God.

Once you had not received mercy,

but now you have received mercy.

11Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and exiles to keep on abstaining from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. 12Continue to live such upright lives among the gentiles that, when they slander you as practicers of evil, they may see your good actions and glorify God when he visits them.g

13For the Lord’s sake 

• submit yourselves to every human authority: whether to the king as supreme, 
• 14or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. 
• 15For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorant talkh of foolish people. 
• 16Live like free people, and do not use your freedom as an excuse for doing evil. 
• Instead, be God’s servants. 
• 17Honor everyone. 
• Keep on loving the community of believers,i 
• fearing God, and honoring the king.