Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

““Whoever has sex with an animal shall surely be put to death.
“He who sacrifices to any god, except to Yahweh only, shall be utterly destroyed.
“You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt
“You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child. If you take advantage of them at all, and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath will grow hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor. You shall not charge him interest. If you take your neighbor’s garment as collateral, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down, for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What would he sleep in? It will happen, when he cries to me, that I will hear, for I am gracious.
“You shall not blaspheme God, nor curse a ruler of your people.“
(Exodus 19:3-6)

“Finally, all of you be like-minded, compassionate, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, courteous, not rendering evil for evil or insult for insult; but instead blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For,
“He who would love life
    and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
    and his lips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil and do good.
    Let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears open to their prayer;
    but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Now who will harm you if you become imitators of that which is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “Don’t fear what they fear, neither be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear, having a good conscience. Thus, while you are spoken against as evildoers, they may be disappointed who curse your good way of life in Christ. For it is better, if it is God’s will, that you suffer for doing what is right than for doing evil.“
(1 Peter 3:8-17)

The Israelites were charged with behaving differently than the nations around them. The things those peoples did was not what the Israelites were to do. They were to be DIFFERENT. Different in what they said, different in what they did, different in how they treated each other (and foreigners), and VERY different in how they worshipped. They would be visibly different. Everyone would know who they were and who they served. They would not be hidden.

Peter points out that in the New Covenant, nothing has changed. Our behaviour is to be different. The way we speak is to be different. The way we treat each other and those around us is to be different. We are to be dedicated to God and to treat each other in love – whether we are married, single, or strangers. Our true value isn’t to be obtained by the clothes we wear, the trappings we have, or the possessions we own. Our true worth comes from the attitude in our hearts and the trust we have in Jesus. That trust should inform ALL our actions and words. AND it should NOT be hidden.

Summary

We must display good behaviour and have clear consciences if we are going to make disciples in this world. Our behaviour will attract their attention because acting in the love of Jesus in all things will set us apart from everyone else. They’ll ask questions, which we will be able to answer because our words are also to be informed by the love of Jesus. Words without actions are empty. But actions unexplained doesn’t help anyone to understand HOW we can be so different. It won’t say WHY a relationship with God matters. We are to be LIGHT attracting those in the darkness, not hidden under a bed biding our time.