1 Peter 3: 16-22

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Peter continues his message in verse 15 where he urges his brethren (and us) to always be ready to give an answer for the hope we possess in Christ Jesus. Can you in all confidence explain to someone who knows not Christ why you possess such a glorious hope? In verse 16 Peter writes, Being conscious that you have done no wrong; so that those who say evil things about your good way of life as Christians may be put to shame. 1 Peter 3:16(BBE) If we are obedient to God we have a clear conscience, we are above reproach regardless what the rest of society has to say about us. God know and we know we are in harmony with each other. So if we are ridiculed for our faith so was our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in fact He died for what He believed in. He believed in doing the will of God His Father. How far are we willing to go for our faith? Some years ago in a congregation I attended one of the brethren gave a “table talk�?prior to communion and he had each one of us come individually to partake of the bread/fruit of the vine and asked “Are you willing to die for  Christ?�?My response was “Yes!�?SPAN>  Sometime later I got to thinking the question should have been “Are you willing to live for Christ?�?Don’t get me wrong if I were to be called upon to sacrifice my life for Christ that would be the ultimate demonstration of my love for Him. Until that day I need to be living for Him, demonstrating Christ in and through my life that others may be encouraged to come to Him.  Just as we were encouraged through the prayers of others and the teaching of God’s Word to come to the Lord. When we made that decision to yield our lives to Christ we were baptized into Him, that is buried under water as Christ was buried and rising to a new life, spiritually clean , having a clear conscience before almighty God.  And baptism, of which this is an image, now gives you salvation, not by washing clean the flesh, but by making you free from the sense of sin before God, through the coming again of Jesus Christ from the dead; 1 Peter 3:21 (BBE). (see also Romans 6:1-11) In order to maintain our salvation we must 12 So then, my loved ones, as you have at all times done what I say, not only when I am present, but now much more when I am not with you, give yourselves to working out your salvation with fear in your hearts; 13 For it is God who is the cause of your desires and of your acts, for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without protests and arguments; 15 So that you may be holy and gentle, children of God without sin in a twisted and foolish generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world, Phil 2:11-15 (BBE).

I encourage you my beloved brethren to continue to spiritually grow, to mature in our faith and to help our maturity we need to study God’s Word, to absorb it into our very lives, always being in the attitude of prayer. All our actions, our very life must be in harmony with God, maintaining a clear conscience by living up to what we know based on God’s divinely inspired word

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