Grace Baptist Church - Truth with Grace Unknown

'd be surprised if anyone listening to this program is confused about the evils of slavery. The fact that slavery still exists in parts of the world, though, is a testament to the true sinfulness of man and the enduring nature of certain power dynamics.--However, there are some people, that still want to claim the Bible supports the institute of slavery. They argue the passage we'll be studying today is proof that rather than condemn slaveholding, the Bible legitimizes it.--That is far from the truth - as we will see. And proving the eternal relevance of the Bible, through Peter's discussion of the slave-master relationship, we'll learn a lot about how God prioritizes things and how we are to behave towards authority -- as we'll listen to the first part of today's message

As Christians, our relationship to government can be tricky - even confusing at times. Depending on where you live, government can be a benign force for good or an oppressive, even deadly force for evil.--In the United States, we have the somewhat unique opportunity to influence our government, to speak freely, and to criticize our leaders, but there are limits and boundaries that we must observe.--How do we find these boundaries-- Well, God makes spells them out in Scripture. And though not always easy to apply, these boundaries are clear - if we pay attention - as we'll learn in the second part of today's message

Politics have almost always been a part of the human story. Authorities have risen and fallen, governments have been formed and replaced, for millennia. It should not surprise us then that God has something to do with this.--But when we try to put God in the picture, we often get it wrong. We can't imagine how He could be associated with some of the awful, evil, or even just inept governments in history.--Today we'll learn more about our relationship with authority and what God expects of His people stationed here as sojourners on the earth - as we'll listen to the first part of today's message

Peter reminds us that our testimony is an essential part of our sharing the Gospel and bringing glory to God - which is our primary reason for remaining here on the earth. But what does that mean----As we learned last week, our testimony confirms our Gospel presentation. And we learned that we fight the battle for personal righteousness on two fronts- internal and external. On the internal front, we have our own sin nature to defeat. It requires God's help to do so.--Today, after wrapping up that part, we'll learn about the external battle we face and why it matters - as we'll listen to the second part of today's message

Most of us know of someone who has either walked away from the faith or refused to accept the Gospel because of the bad behavior of Christians. That's not a valid excuse for unbelief, but it is interesting that even the harshest critics of Christianity expect high moral standards from Believers.--Peter reminds us that our testimony is an essential part of our sharing the Gospel and bringing glory to God - which is our primary reason for remaining here on the earth. We fight the battle for personal righteousness on two fronts- internal and external. It's the internal front we'll learn about today, as we'll listen to the first part of today's message

Peter's been telling first century believers about the spiritual life they've gained through their salvation. This life isn't something they've earned or created on their own- it's a work of God. In this portion of his letter, we discover our new ministry as Christians. We have things to do, we're not just left to enjoy the blessings of salvation.--We started with our four-fold status. Brothers and sisters in Christ share many things, both rights and responsibilities. But we also share a primary purpose - a reason for our existence. So if you've ever found yourself asking -why--- Peter explains that in his letter, as we'll hear in the second part of today's message