1 Peter 1: 16 - 17, He himself has said, "You must be holy, for I am holy." And remember that your heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge you with perfect justice for everything you do; so act in reverent fear of him from now on until you get to heaven. TLB
If you're a Child of God, then you're enjoying the goodness of the fruit of God's labor and the blessings of Christ's sufferings. We can enjoy the good things of God, because we have been born again and have been made a new creature in Christ; sometimes, though, we need to be reminded that we used to be sinners and in need of God's grace. Like me, you've probably heard the statement that says, "But for the grace of God." Therefore, we must remember to extend the same grace to others that we were given... like God, we must become impartial to the unjust. Peter reminds us of a very important principle that needs to find its way back into the modern church: when each one of us stands before the Lord on the Day of Judgment, we won't be given special privileges just because we accepted God's grace.
A Christian doesn't have to stand before the Great White Throne judgment; only those who rejected Jesus must face that kind of judgment. But, as Christians, we will be made to stand and give an account for what we did in this life before the judgment seat of Christ. Peter tells us that God requires His children to be holy, just as He is holy, and we are to obey the Word of God while we live in this present world.
Peter also teaches us that God, who is our righteous Judge, is without partiality. He wants us to know that about Him so that, as His children, we will remain impartial toward sinners in the way we approach them. This attribute is one of humility, because God is humble. Jesus tells us in the gospels that He didn't come to be served, but to serve. He didn't hang out with only the "religious" crowd; He mostly hung out with the sinners (though He never excused sin). He did this, because He was sent to call the sick to repentance... not the well. The point He wants me to make is that He didn't shun the sinners and treat them as a lower class of humans as did the religious leaders of His day.
Matthew 5: 43 - 48, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. NIV
Just think about this for a moment. If God had been not been impartial toward sinners, then none of them would have been saved. When I read these verses that Matthew quoted in his gospel, it sounds much like the verses in Peter's epistle that was used as our text today. God is good to the just and to the unjust, and He requires us to act in the same manner of humility. God has proven that He is indeed impartial by allowing His Sun to shine on the righteous and the unrighteous. He allows the rain to fall in its season upon those who love Him and upon those who despise Him. Now that we are children of God, He wants us to truly represent Him by showing love toward the lost in the same way that we show love toward our friends. If this sounds hard for you to accomplish, it is. This is why the Father gave us His Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that the love of God is spread abroad. Human love can't love its enemies, but God's love has the capacity to love His enemies without limits.
He gives Grace to the Humble,
Pastor Asa
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