Thursday, August 31
Obedience and grace
Scripture: 1 Peter 1
1 Peter 1:2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Observation
Notice the work of the Trinity: chosen by God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus and sprinkled with His blood. Father, Spirit, Son—one God in three persons.
Notice the purpose of God’s choice and the Spirit’s work: that we would be obedient to Jesus and sprinkled with His blood. Obedience and grace are coupled. We are to obey Jesus—a disciple is one who listens to Jesus and does what He says. And we are sprinkled with His blood—a reference to being cleansed and forgiven by the sacrifice of Jesus.
It’s not either/or, but both/and. It’s both obedience and grace. We’re called to obey, and we live in grace that covers our failures. If it were either/or, we would live in either shame-based legalism or grace-based license. Instead, we live with both obedience and grace.
Application
As always, I want to listen to Jesus and do what He says today. I want to obey the Lord. I want to obey the written word of the Lord in the gospels, and I want to obey the spoken word of the Lord by His Spirit to me. And when in doubt, I want to obey by following the example of Jesus.
And as always, I want to live in the grace of Jesus that offers cleansing and forgiveness for my failures and shortcomings.
Prayer: Lord, I love You. I’m so grateful for Your grace and for Your good words and example. I know that Your commands are for my good, so obedience is not a burden but a blessing. Help me today to listen and obey.
More: Jonah 3-4, Jude