P e t e r  and  Paul

 

This coming Sunday, is when the Church remembers these two great Apostles, whose writings filled fifteen books of the New Testament. There are two Epistles, one for each Apostle.

THE EPISTLE FOR PETER  1 Peter 2 v15-19

The Letter that Peter wrote, was intended for circulation over a great part of the Church. To understand what he had in mind, there were sixty million slaves in the Roman Empire, consisting not only one class of society, but even professional people such as doctors and teachers.

Peter was saying there should be a relationship between man and man, and the Christian must be better than any other man.

 

There was always the danger that the dignity which Christianity created, would make a slave rebel and seek to abolish slavery, for it had been noticed that no Christian writer had called for the abolition.  The reason was, if anyone encouraged the slaves to rise,  it would be a disaster with severe punishment.

 The Christian clearly sees and remember, that it is the teaching of the New Testament that he must fulfil his obligation as a citizen of his country; and must also see, whereas the conditions of the state, he could fulfil that obligation by submission and obedience to the state.  The Christian had a higher obligation than anyone else. Peter stated you must live as freemen, not using your freedom as a cloak for evil, but as a slave of God.

The great truth is Christianity is community, and a Christian is not a isolated unit. Only in Christ is a man freed from self and sin, and freedom comes when a man receives Christ as Lord of his life.

Peter wanted all men to have honor; to love the brotherhood; fear God; honor the king (Jesus) When Peter wrote this Letter, this was something new.  There was the great number of slaves who were counted as things. Peter was pointing out that there was still room for people to be treated properly.

The message was that every man is precious to God,  with the good news that God loves all people. Problems arose, when both master and man were Christians; there were fears the slave might try to take advantage of that.  There are still people who  trade on the goodwill and sympathy of the master,  But Peter makes it clear, the relationship between Christian and Christian, does not abolish the relationship between man and a man.

Peter turned to the domestic and family problems, which Christianity introduced. It happened that a member of a family might become a Christian, but be the only one. This is still the situation, as parents often disapprove their child should be interested in becoming a Christian.

Peter gave advice in greater length regarding husband and wife.

If a husband became a Christian and his wife was not a believer, he could keep his wife. But, if a wife became a Christian and the husband was not, as is the case in many homes yet,  he could if he so wished leave her. I have seen several very sad cases when a man finds his wife wants to just go to Church, or is a committed believer, gives an ultimatum to stop doing so, or there will be a divorce with the husband taking custody of the children.

Peter took the same decision as Paul.

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THE EPISTLE FOR PAUL  2 TIMOTHY 4

Paul is imprisoned in Rome on false charges, levelled against him by the Jewish Church leaders, and he knows his death is imminent. He is at the end of his life and he wants his devoted service to be continued, and he has chosen Timothy as the one to carry on, so he writes offering guidance and words of encouragement.

He wanted stability, and such can only happen when the Ministry of the Church is faithfully committed to following the Holy commands of Jesus.  Paul was committed to preaching the Word of God as it was given to the men God chose to write.

In this passage Paul begins by warning Timothy that there will be those who will not accept the true teaching, but will be driven by their desire to go their own way and make their own choices.

He calls on Timothy to be an evangelist, that is to proclaim the gospel especially to those who do not know it’s message.  He wants Timothy to keep a clear mind, and never be afraid of suffering, as it will inevitably come to all who are preaching the good news of the Lord.

He calls on Timothy to remain calm and steady, not to fall for anything sensational, and to keep to the truth and not engage in myths.

Paul the turns to his own condition, seeing his life has been like a sacrificial drink offering. In other words, he is forecasting the end of his life which he laid down for the good of the gospel, and is now bound for execution and entry to eternal salvation. God is calling him home, which makes it so important to guide and advise Timothy.

He has fought a good fight against evil, false teaching, and served Jesus devotedly planting numerous Churches in different lands over which he cared and nurtured. He uses the image of an athlete who has successfully run a race and has reached the finishing line, he having completed  all that God sent him to do. He now he claims the prize promised to him by God, through earning by the price paid by Jesus. and which is also for all who remain faithful and set their hearts on the return of Jesus.

Luke meticulously recorded the events and travels, which we find listed in Acts of the Apostles.

The above is the explanation of the passage, we now have to consider what we can learn from it.

There is a call to all Christians, lay or ordained, to make the true gospel known to those who do not know. There is no need for theological training, a simple few words, or even just telling of your Church attendance.

There is a very great need for stability in the Church, for all to speak with one voice.

. We should never betray our faith by denying the teaching of our Holy Bible, as too many in high Office delight in doing. It is a sad fact that the Western Church has in many places become decadent.

Every new fashion and whim of society is adopted, rather than following Paul who called for protection of the gospel without timidity, proclaiming as God directed.  Paul was a great man of God, Who when speaking, was the voice of God.

Paul sets a wonderful example for all. Faithful, reliable, dependable, true to the end.

 

We praise God for His Holy Gospel and Glorify His Holy Name