Exultation in Christ's Ransom

After Peter establishes the sufferings of Christ for our salvation, and the joy of the saints in receiving so great a salvation, and so glorious an inheritance, Peter now makes an appeal for obedience and holiness in believers.

We are to be holy, obedient to Christ, and turn away from our former ignorance and sin. Peter says to gird up the loins of our minds, be sober, and be firm in our hope in the end.

We ought to follow along after the One Who died to saved us, the One Who loves us so, the One Who has adopted us and promised us such an inheritance!

So our obedience comes while we have in mind all those solemn and glorious truths.

But God is not only our Father, He is also judge of the world. He has delegated the authority to judge all things to His Dear Son, our Lord Jesus, because it is proper and fitting that the world ought to be judged by That Man of glory, incarnate in our humanity.

This puts us in a peculiar position: we are the sons of the Judge, and younger brethren of the Prince!

This places a solemn and fearful duty upon us. We dare not be flippant because we know the Judge!

We cannot live our lives without care to do well, just because we have already been acquitted and justified by the blood of Jesus.

No! Scripture does not approve of lawless living by believers.

We are to live as dead to sin, but alive in Christ.

We are to remember that the One we call Father also judges according to the works of every man. Peter says we therefore ought to live in fear.

Because we are clothed with the righteousness of the Redeemer, our judgment will be unto eternal life. Yet we dare not insult God our Father by habitual sinning.