In the opening of his first letter, the Apostle Peter has reminded the followers of Jesus Christ of the great blessings they have received because of their faith. These blessings are so great that a Christian can rejoice even though he is suffering as a result of his faith. But while the blessings result from the follower of Jesus’ relationship to Christ, they also place an obligation upon the Christian – that is to be holy. Some people have the idea that because they wear the name of Christ, they are free to do anything they please since God, because of His grace, will overlook it. This is not so. It is not the label that we apply to ourselves that will make us acceptable to God, but rather our relationship to Christ. If, by our actions, we damage that relationship then we will no longer be acceptable. In 1:17 Peter writes: “If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear:” God is impartial, if we practice evil, God will judge us for it regardless of the name we wear.
The Apostle Paul explains it this way in Romans 2:6-11: God “…“will pay back to everyone according to their works:” to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory, honor, and incorruptibility, eternal life; but to those who are self-seeking, and don’t obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, will be wrath and indignation, oppression and anguish, on every soul of man who works evil, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. But glory, honor, and peace go to every man who works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”
From these passages it is clear that we cannot use our claim of being a follower of Christ as an excuse for doing evil things. But what does Peter mean when he says that we should live our lives in fear? Some people have the concept that God is an angry tyrant lying in wait to catch us doing something wrong so that He can punish us. In contrast Peter has already emphasized that God is a loving Father and that the followers of Christ are His children. Children who seek to please a loving father have no need to be afraid of him. The Apostle John writes, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who…” (1 John 4:18) What then should we fear? We should fear anything that would hurt or destroy the relationship we have with our loving Father. Proverbs 8:13 says, “To fear the LORD is to hate evil…” (NIV)
Peter reminds us that the relationship we enjoy with God as his children was purchased at a tremendous cost. In 1:18-19 he writes: “knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a faultless and pure lamb, the blood of Christ,”
Notice that Peter says that the way of life that was handed down to us from our forefathers was useless. Many people are very proud of their ancestry. But no matter who our ancestors were, what they achieved or how successful they were, our heritage is meaningless without Christ. Jesus asked this very pertinent question: “For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? For what will a man give in exchange for his life?” (Mark 8:36-37) Some people boast about how much they have given up to follow Jesus. They say, “If I weren’t a Christian I would be this, or I would be that.” But this kind of talk is meaningless. What good will wealth or position do us if we are not pleasing to God? No matter how ancient and noble our ancestry and traditions may be, they cannot save us. It is only Jesus Christ who can restore our relationship to God.
When Peter calls Christ “a faultless and pure lamb” he is referring to the sacrifices that were required under the Mosaic Law. In chapter 1, verse 2 Peter reminded his readers that Jesus is the sacrifice for sin. But here Peter makes reference to the sacrifice that was made when the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. In Exodus 12, verses 21 through 24 it says, “Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said to them, “Draw out, and take lambs according to your families, and kill the Passover. You shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For Yahweh will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two doorposts, Yahweh will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you. You shall observe this thing for an ordinance to you and to your sons forever.” From this incident came the God-given custom of redeeming the first born. In Exodus 13, verses 13 through 15 it says, “…you shall redeem all the firstborn of man among your sons. It shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall tell him, ‘By strength of hand Yahweh brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage; and it happened, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that Yahweh killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of animal. Therefore I sacrifice to Yahweh all that opens the womb, being males; but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’” In the same way Jesus is the lamb that was sacrificed to redeem us. In 1 Corinthians 5, verse 7 it says, “…For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place.”
The Greek word that is translated ‘redeem’ actually means “to release by paying a ransom.” Through our actions we sold ourselves into the slavery of sin. But Jesus has purchased us back from Satan with His own blood. How much is our salvation worth? Peter reminds us that it is precious, far beyond the worth of silver or gold. Silver and gold will perish for they are part of this creation. But the sacrifice of Jesus will remain effective for all of eternity. The costly salvation that God has provided through Jesus should cause each one of us to love God so much that we will do our best to please Him and avoid anything that will harm our relationship with Him.