Live such good lives
The apostle Paul writes,
“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”Titus 3:1,2.
To the Romans Paul writes,
1/To be subject to the rulers and authorities.
2/To do whatever is good,
3/ To slander no one,
4/ To be peaceable and considerate,
5/ To show true humility toward all men.
The apostle Paul and indeed all of the apostles lived in one of the greatest empires the world has ever known. Not only that it was as multicultural if not more than any nation in the world today.
Additionally it had many, many customs and practices that the apostles and in particular Jewish believers would disagree with.
Paul would have encountered temples to hundreds of gods. He would have seen temple prostitutes in some cities. The Roman emperor was seen as a god to be worshipped. People died in the coliseums throughout the empire as a form of sport. The list goes on and on. Yet through all of this he said,
“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities...”
As Christians we are to do our best to be subject to rulers and authorities. The early believers did. We know this because Piliny the Younger Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia minor a non-Christian writing to Emperor Trajan wrote,
"They (Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food--but food of an ordinary and innocent kind...”Piliny the younger
The only time they didn’t was when asked not to worship Christ or to bow down to other gods. Actions which in some cases cost them their lives.
The apostle Peter writes,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once 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.
Dear friends,
I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
My question for you is, If you consider yourself a Christian are you doing this?
Please think about it.
The apostle Paul writes,
“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”Titus 3:1,2.
To the Romans Paul writes,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you,
live at peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:18.
We as Christians are called to live as good citizens.1/To be subject to the rulers and authorities.
2/To do whatever is good,
3/ To slander no one,
4/ To be peaceable and considerate,
5/ To show true humility toward all men.
The apostle Paul and indeed all of the apostles lived in one of the greatest empires the world has ever known. Not only that it was as multicultural if not more than any nation in the world today.
Additionally it had many, many customs and practices that the apostles and in particular Jewish believers would disagree with.
Paul would have encountered temples to hundreds of gods. He would have seen temple prostitutes in some cities. The Roman emperor was seen as a god to be worshipped. People died in the coliseums throughout the empire as a form of sport. The list goes on and on. Yet through all of this he said,
“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities...”
As Christians we are to do our best to be subject to rulers and authorities. The early believers did. We know this because Piliny the Younger Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia minor a non-Christian writing to Emperor Trajan wrote,
"They (Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food--but food of an ordinary and innocent kind...”Piliny the younger
The only time they didn’t was when asked not to worship Christ or to bow down to other gods. Actions which in some cases cost them their lives.
The apostle Peter writes,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once 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.
Dear friends,
I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
My question for you is, If you consider yourself a Christian are you doing this?
Please think about it.
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