grace

Faithful brother

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In Peter’s closing remarks, he acknowledges the contribution of Silvanus in the writing of this letter. Peter regards him as a faithful brother. Do you have a faithful brother/sister? Does anyone regard you as such?

We don’t know exactly the extent of Silvanius’ help – some even surmise he actually wrote the letter using the themes of Peter’s preaching as his source. One thing is certain – no matter whose hand held the pen, the Holy Spirit is the ultimate author.

We also know him as Silas, the companion of Paul and Barnabas. He is a veteran of Christian service and suffering. Singing praises to God with Paul at midnight in a Philippian jail is typical of his response to suffering (see Acts 16). He also was part of the delegation sent from Jerusalem to welcome the new Gentile believers into the church (Acts 15).

Silvanus (Silas) is an example to us of what it is like to stand firm in the grace of God.

For more, see 1 Peter 5:12-14

Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley

Deal with… who?

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“If you call on the Father…” In other words, when you pray, you need to keep in mind who you are dealing with. We can easily slip into the trap of thinking that something about us, what we do or say or what we give, somehow gets us in good with God.

None of this commands God’s attention when it comes to redemption. God sees all things and judges each man’s work and motives fairly and indiscriminately. Do you really want to place your soul before God on the basis of such things?

Rather, the basis for our salvation is what God has done through the giving of his Son as a sacrificial Lamb to remove forever the stain of our sin. Whatever we do is in response to God’s grace, and in fact fulfills his desire for us, as Paul declares in his letter to the Ephesians:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:8-10 ESV)

1 Peter 1:17-21

(c)2018 David J. Cooley