So, I don't know if you've understood the foundation of this second chapter of 1 Peter which we're going to complete. But Peter wants you to know if you're God's child, your life doesn't belong to you anymore.
There are two principles that shape everybody's living: a principle of ownership and a principle of servanthood. I either live like my life belongs to me to do with it what I want to do, or I understand that I now am God's possession; my life belongs to Him and needs to be shaped by His will for me. And to end the introduction to that conversation, because he's going to extend it in the next chapter, Peter takes us back to the person and work of Jesus.
Jesus is the foundation of this new way of living; it's the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; it's Jesus preeminent in all things.
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Jesus is our example. But praise God, praise God, praise God! He's not just an example. What's the example? Jesus is the ultimate example of never returning evil for evil. You know, sometimes I'm rejected because I do bad things; never the case with Jesus because it says that "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth." The sinless perfection of Jesus is taught here. The perfect, righteous Son of God, in the face of insult, He did not insult in return. In the face of abuse and anger, He wasn't abusive and angry.
And why was He not that? Because He really believed in the perfect justice of His Father! And we believe that, ultimately, justice will win. Ultimately, the meek will inherit the earth. When you choose not to take justice into your own hands, you are marching with the move of the kingdom of God where, ultimately, the One who is justice will win, and His justice and His righteousness will reign forever and ever and ever.
Jesus is a shining example of living that way. There was never a just accusation made against this One because He was perfect. But thankfully, Jesus is not just our example, because if He was just our example, we could never reach that example. The standard would be too high. He is our substitute.
First of all, He committed no sin; He lived the righteous life that you and I could never live. He bore our sins in His body; He paid our penalty as the ultimate sacrifice, the Lamb of God. Why did He do that? So we can live between the 'already of our conversion' and the 'not yet of our homegoing' righteous lives. His grace is not so we can just go on sinning, knowing that we're forgiven. But His substitution for us is so that we can live righteously and, ultimately, know that we will finally be healed from the ultimate disease of disease, the disease of sin. Your deliverance from the ultimate disease is guaranteed as a child of God. May you grab a hold of Jesus as your example; may you grab a hold of Jesus as your substitute, and may, because of that, you live a righteous life in His eyes!
