1 Peter 3:1-2

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1 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. ~ 1 Peter 3:1-2

Today, we transition into 1 Peter 3 where the Apostle Peter wrote this letter to persecuted Christians in order to encourage them on how to live in the midst of persecution. Peter encouraged them to elevate themselves and to live out of being defined by Christ alone. Peter continued to address every element of society in order to show us how the culture of God works and benefits all that are involved. Today, he encourages wives to be defined by the culture of God and to invest in the eternal.

 
The Apostle Peter wrote these words in 64 A.D., at a time when the Roman culture treated women as if they were less than human. This, of course, resulted in the crumbling of the Roman society. The Roman culture gave women virtually no rights at all. And, we know that a healthy society is based upon healthy families wherein everyone fulfills the roles that God has defined in His word.

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives."

The Apostle Peter wrote these words to the wives who were married to unbelieving husbands. He counseled the wives with the hope that they would be poised to introduce their husband's to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. These women believed in the teachings of the God of the Bible, and as a result, they knew that incompatibility with a spouse did not justify divorce. These women needed wisdom to most effectively witness to their husbands.

The best way for the believing wife to win the unbelieving husband to faith in the Lord is the topic here. Therefore, Peter highlights a life of purity and reverence expressed in a submissive attitude that honors their husbands who had the role as the head of the family. Submission is the wife's response to her husband's role to love his wife and to provide leadership for his family. The real submission that is taking place here is submission to God which is revealed in the wife's submission to her husband.

We access God's wisdom as we submit to Him. Submission does not infer some kind of moral inferiority or intellectual inferiority or spiritual inferiority. Just like the previous examples, if we have a government leader and we have a citizen, and the citizen submits to the government leader, that doesn't make the government leader superior or a better person than the citizen. In fact, in many cases the citizen is far superior to the government leader. But we need to submit to keep order in that society or in the workplace. 

The phrase, “they may be won over without words” is key to understanding what God is telling us here. The apostle is warning wives of unsaved husbands to not preach at their husbands, but to live lives that are defined by God. This statement underscores the idea that we speak the loudest messages through our lives rather than through our lips.

At the core of all godly women, cemented in their souls, is an enduring and faithful hope in God. It is from the security of this hope that wives fear nothing that is frightening, even submission to husbands who do not follow the Lord. These godly women adorn their souls with a combination of humility and courage that even believers cannot explain.

In v.2 of today's passage we read, "when they see the purity and reverence of your lives."

Notice the word "see" is used here. This is of great importance because we communicate best through how we live our lives rather than what we say with our lips. They say that more is caught than taught. This makes sense in light of the fact that 55% of what we communicate comes through the non-verbal while 37% comes through the tone with which we speak. That leaves 8% which is the amount we communicate through our words.

 

The word "purity" describes an inner beauty and the fact that she does not flirt with other men. The wife with this "purity" is faithful to her husband in body and in heart because her heart was first won by the Lord. As a result, the wife who loves the Lord keeps herself pure; she is a one man woman who understands the utter importance of submitting to the Lord first which enables her to submit to her husband. 

The word "reverence" spring boards out of the believing wife's awe of and submission to God. It describes a respect toward her husband, respect that is humble, not arrogant and hard. She will be able to do this because she is careful to be defined by God. Wives are to show their husband, not by preaching at them or guilt-tripping them, but to show them that Christ is the most important person in their lives. 

There is a principle here that is not only applicable to wives, it is applicable to us all. In order to best impact another to become a believer in Christ, we must let our faith in the Lord so permeate our being that they would be positioned to be won by Him. This passage is calling for radical and uncompromising discipleship that shows a husband the true importance of the Lord Jesus Christ in the life of the believing wife.

1 Peter 2:21-25

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21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. ~ 1 Peter 2:21-25

Today, we conclude our study of 1 Peter 2 where we have been reminded of the many blessings that God had granted the believer who encounters severe trials in this sin-sick world. The purpose of our pain and suffering is to first of all know the Lord in an increasingly intimate way. When we find ourselves on that road, it is then that we become more effective road signs in the lives of those who know not our God. The purpose of a road sign is to communicate, and our purpose is to tell others about how good the Lord is and how He is delivering our lives from the power of sin.

In v.21 of today's passage we read, "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."

Suffering is beneficial to our spiritual growth. In fact, nothing purifies us like suffering, like a goldsmith who heats up the gold and pours the hot golden metal from vessel to vessel and the impurities rise to the top. Suffering keeps us focused upon that which is substantive and eternal. This is why Peter directs his hearers attention back to the One who chose the role of the servant. 

Like the Lord Jesus, we all experience various forms of suffering because we live in a fallen world. Christ's suffering was different than ours, but His suffering informs ours because He has, through His death and resurrection, overcome sin and death. Entering into a personal relationship with Him, interacting with Him every day through His word in every day occurrences, we discover His definition of all things. And He shares the answers with us because He is the answer.

In v.22-23 of today's passage we read, "'22 He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly."

Our suffering even fits in with God's plan of redemption because He uses it to call us back to Himself from the clutches of sin and death. Through even our suffering, God wants to use us to call out others from all nations a people called out for His namesake. He wants us to do this as willing servants, understanding that we may suffer unjustly in the process.

The emphasis, in this passage,is not on our suffering. No, the emphasis here is on His suffering, which is the message of the cross. Through the cross God reminds us that His Son took on flesh and blood so that He could go to the cross once and for all in order to deal a final death blow to sin and death. What He did while hanging on the cross provides those willing enough to believe in Him to be able to resist being defined by the fallen things and beliefs of this world. 

In v.24-25 of today's passage we read, "24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

The Lord Jesus Christ, who is God, descended to this lost and damned world in order to defang sin and its impact upon us. Sin is departing from any definition that God has given us upon any subject in existence. When we are defined by anything other than God's definitions, we will find ourselves departing from His definition of it. Of course, as believers in Christ who have received His free gift of forgiveness through His work on the cross, we do not fear not being forgiven of our sin, past, present or future. We are forgiven in Christ. Period. However, we will want to walk in the truth and to be defined by the truth. When we walk in the truth we are being sanctified or delivered from the power of sin. You see, this truth alters everything, it allows us to transcend, even above our pain and suffering.

Submitting to those in authority over us is a reflection of the fact that we have a Savior whom we are following because we have entered into a personal relationship with Him. He never sinned with His words or His actions. Not that we could ever save ourselves, but we're brought back once again to looking to Him as our example and following His example. This means that we do not allow sin to define us. This means we let go of vengeance and we submit to being defined by the Lord. We will know that we are being defined by Him when we are walking in His truth. 

Philip Yancey once said it best when he wrote, "To some, the image of a pale body glimmering on a dark night whispers of defeat. What good is a God who does not control his Son's suffering? But another sound can be heard: the shout of a God crying out to human beings, 'I LOVE YOU.' Love was compressed for all history in that lonely figure on the cross, who said that he could call down angels at any moment on a rescue mission, but chose not to - because of us. At Calvary, God accepted his own unbreakable terms of justice. Any discussion of how pain and suffering fit into God's scheme ultimately leads back to the cross."

1 Peter 2:18-20

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18 Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ~ 1 Peter 2:18-20

Today, we continue our study of 1 Peter 2 where the Apostle has been helping us to deal with the pressures of living in a fallen world by directing our attention to our sovereign God and His culture. The thrust of today's passage is living life in such a way that others take note of our allegiance to the truth of God and to the God of the truth.

In v.18 of today's passage we read, "Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh."

There are two types of fear found in the scriptures. The first is the type of fear which causes us to run and hide from God. This type of fear was demonstrated by Adam and Eve just after they refused to obey the command of God not to take of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. This type of fear is most often a product of our poor choices with reference to God's definition of things.

In this passage, we discover the second type of fear. It is an respectful awe of God which produces in us a trust in His sovereign control in this world. This fear is most often a product of being reminded that we desperately need God. It is this respectful awe that causes us to be defined by His thoughts, His ways, and, His culture.

The word the Apostle uses in v.18 for "slaves" renders a meaning that is not consistent with what we normally think of when we think of slaves. The word "servants" here, oiketeia in the Greek, is the word for household slaves. In the first century culture in that part of the world most of the slaves served some home owner in some way. And these first-century slaves were generally well-treated. Today's equivalent is more like an employee who applied for a job and got it.

Trusting the Lord produces in us a confidence in Him
that He will bring lasting good out of the temporary discomfort that a boss can bring into our lives. Growth often includes pain. It is often through our pain and suffering that God reveals Himself to us most. Pain has a way of opening up our hearts to a deeper relationship with whomever, especially with God.

In Matthew 16:24, the Lord Jesus said, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." This teaching is not about us getting into heaven, it is about heaven getting into us now. This is not justification teaching, it is sanctification teaching. This teaching is what sets the believer in Christ apart in this dark and fallen world. This teaching is all about the wisdom of God which the fear of the Lord is its ignition. 

In v.19-20 of today's passage we read, "19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God."

The recipients of this letter were servants who had been beaten by their masters. They were those who were given unreasonable tasks. And, they did not have union representatives. They did not have human resource departments. They did not have government agencies to appeal their case. They could not bring a civil lawsuit against an employer. They were slaves to a master and life was harsh, but Peter reminded them of the truth to be careful to be defined by the truth. 

The truthful reminder here is: If we take it patiently for the conscience sake before the Lord, God loves that. Like Daniel of old, the believer in Christ, when accused wrongfully by others, we are to continue to be defined by the truth. We are to be like Joseph who was accused of doing things wrong. He was put in prison on a couple different occasions by the lies of other people. He did nothing wrong. In fact, at the end of all that Joseph said, "You meant it for evil, God meant it for good." This is the angle for the one being defined by the truth.

In James 1:2-4 we read, "Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

According to Nehemiah 8:10, God's joy is our strength. And, most often, we only realize His joy when life is at its worse and we are forced to look to Him for help. We can not manufacture this fruit of God's presence in our lives, it comes as a gift as we venture into life choosing to be defined by Him. When we choose to rejoice in God rather than in our circumstances, we are positioned to experience His joy. And with His joy comes strength to face life's challenges. His joy grants us strength to serve God and others, and strength to obey His Word. It's not easy to trust God during difficult times, but choosing to rejoice in His involvement in our lives gives us the strength we need to get through the trials with joy.

Christianity does not abolish the social differences that are evident among us, but it introduces a new way of dealing with those differences. God's solution to mankind's differences comes out of our new relationship with Him. In turn, we are given a new way to navigate our fallenness wherein trust in God  is inculcated and the end result is the introduction of God's culture into our very lives.

1 Peter 2:16-17

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16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. ~ 1 Peter 2:16-17

Today, we continue our study of 1 Peter 2 where Peter has been instructing us on God's culture regarding how we should respond to human authority. We are what defines us. When God defines us, we will treat others, no matter who they are or what they do, with the greatest of respect. This does not mean that we are to mindlessly tolerate any behavior that is sinful. But every single person deserves to be honored because everyone has been made by God in His image.

Having believed that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, Christians have decided to be defined by God. So, when He tells us to submit to the authority structure in our lives, we follow suit. And, the result is freedom, real freedom. This freedom is the ability to live in concert to what God created us to do, to live according to His specifications regarding life.

In v.16 of today's passage we read, "Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves."

These words do not jive with the previous words of Peter admonishing us to submit to human authority. That is until we are being defined by God. While most people think of freedom and submission as opposites, biblically speaking, if we submit to God, we will give up our freedoms. And, as a result, we will gain a greater freedom of being defined more and more to God, to the One who designed us. True living is living according to our Maker's design of us.

In the movie Braveheart, the most free man in the movie was William Wallace, even though he was apprehended, imprisoned and exterminated by the King of England. He was most free because he was not in bondage to the things of this world like the "noblemen" in that movie. And, as a result these "noblemen" were culpable of the crime of rape and thievery that was being exacted upon Scotland and her women by the English and King Longshanks. The "noblemen" were defined by the wealth, status and land of this world, whereas Wallace was content whatever his circumstances.

The most free people in the world are those who have learned to be defined by God and are therefore the most content. This is what the Apostle meant here when we wrote, "live as God’s slaves." This makes all of the sense in this world since God has the blueprint to our souls. God has seen fit for us to see our way out of darkness into His liberating light. We have passed from death to light but we still find ourselves at times being defined by the darkness. Even that serves us because it is His light that continues to liberate us into the life the Lord Jesus died to give us.

In addition, there are times when we must go back into the darkness, not that we are defined by the darkness, but for the sake of others because there are people trapped in there. And, as free people who live by God's values, we submit freely, not cowering before human authorities, but gladly obeying our one true King, the God of the Bible. This is true living, true freedom because it is being lived with eternities values in view.

Our whole disposition of freedom and joy and fearlessness and radical otherness is rooted in our belonging to God and being defined by Him. The key to this paradox is God. As a result of entering into a personal relationship with Him, we are learning to be more and more defined by Him and when this happens, we will experience more and more of His freedom. Out of His leading, we fear no man and we live for the truth.

In v.17 of today's passage we read, "Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor."

There is a progression in these verses. First, give to all humans respect and honor. Then, there is a brotherly love that is to be given all other believers in Christ. Then, there is a special respect appropriate only for God. We are not slaves of men, and so we do not fear men. We give them honor. And we love other believers in Christ, but we ultimately bow to God's absolute authority. In so doing we honor others, even the emperor. This honor is the proper respect that everyone deserves because we all bare the image of God in our souls.

When we get to this place, this place which is counter-cultural to this world, we will be able to authoritatively say with the late Mike Yaconelli, "Freedom in Christ means I am free from everyone else’s definition of freedom for me. Because I am free in Christ, when it comes to my relationship with Him, He is the only one I answer to. Because I am free in Christ, I am free from other people’s concern that I might not use my freedom well."

1 Peter 2:13-15

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13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. ~ 1 Peter 2:13-15

Today, we return to our study of 1 Peter where the Apostle is providing for us many basic principles that invite the culture of God into our everyday existence. Today's emphasis is that we submit to the governing authorities whom God has placed over us. From the very beginning these principles have been given to us by God, and, He gave these principles with the ultimate motivation that man would be in submission to His authority.

In v.13-14 of today's passage we read, "13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right."

At issue here is how Christians should relate to the human authority that are over us who have derived their authority from God. At the time of the writing of this epistle, the King over the world was Nero who came to power when he was 16 years old. When he was 17, he poisoned a friend. At age 18, he plotted to kill his mother. Three times he failed at this; then he had his mother assassinated. Following the fire that destroyed a great part of the city of Rome, he persecuted the Christians unmercifully. Then his own Senate rebelled against him, but he forced many of them to kill themselves. His own armies turned against him and he subsequently fled for his life because the Senate of the Roman Empire condemned him to death. Following 14 years as Emperor, Nero took his own life at the young age of 31 years.

But, Peter says, we are to "submit to the Emperor!" God places men and women in power frequently for reasons we cannot understand, but we have to trust Him with His overall plan. The word "submit" means to arrange in orderly fashion a group of soldiers under the ranking of their commanding officers. This is a military term with a military use; however, it is used here and elsewhere in a nonmilitary sense. It speaks of voluntarily cooperating or even helping somebody carry a load. In other words, we, as believers in Christ are never to be known to be subversive troublemakers, but as model citizens.

When the Lord Jesus came to this earth and when the New Testament was written, the culture was politically corrupt. The world was filled with tyrants. When Peter wrote these words, there was not a democracy in Rome. People were not free; they didn't get to vote. There was no free speech. It was an autocracy. The king made the rules and everybody had to abide by them. This is the context into which Peter wrote these words. And, even if the government is evil, we are to do the right thing and silence the ignorance of foolish people. We must do what God has defined to be the right thing, even if we do not like who is ruling over us.

The governors are sent by God to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. And, when we submit to those in authority over us, we do so for the Lord's sake. We do this in order to honor God. He is honored when we obey Him or live according to His culture and in so doing we are found to be the stabilizers in our society. 

The Apostle Peter also wrote "governors, who are sent by him." God appointed the king, and the king appointed the governors. They had two functions: "to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right." Rulers are chosen by God to punish wrong-doers, to provide order to society, and to reward those who do good. And yes, there are many illustrations of civil disobedience in the Bible. The Bible records times when civil disobedience was deemed necessary. But, civil obedience should be the default position of Christian citizens.

In Exodus 1:17, the Jewish midwives refused to abort the male children as Pharoah commanded. In Daniel 3:16-18, the three Hebrew boys refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image. In Daniel 6:10, Daniel openly prayed to God in violation of Darius’ edict. The authorities commanded the Apostles to stop preaching the gospel. In Acts 4:20 we read, "We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." Also, in Acts 5:29 we read, "We must obey God rather than men."  

In v.15 of today's passage we read, "For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people."

It is the will of God that we honor the human authority He has placed over us. One of the best witnesses to this lost world is to be a good citizen, because the way people often view God is by looking at Him through His people. One of the greatest apologetic for the gospel of Jesus Christ is the way we live our lives. The central message of the gospel is redemption. And, the purpose of our submission is to honor God through our righteous treatment of others, even those who treat us badly. 

We do well to do the will of God in order to "silence the ignorant talk of foolish people." The word "silence" is to gag, to muzzle. This word literally means "to stop their mouths so they can say nothing." So, it is the will of God that we honor the human authority over us, and, when we do so, we gag the critics of God's culture. 

The word "ignorance" means the willful, hostile rejection of the truth. Those who criticize Christianity, they do it out of willful hostility. They do this because they do not want God to rule over them. The word "foolish" means senseless or lacking reason. This word describes someone who lacks mental sanity. The "ignorant" are those who are reckless in their thinking because they are willful rejecters of the truth. These are those who will hopefully be reached to believe in the God of the Bible in a rather different way. And, this is where we are best used by God as road signs in their lives pointing them to Him through our civil obedience.

1 Peter 2:11-12

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11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. ~ 1 Peter 2:11-12

Today, we continue our study of 1 Peter 2 where the Apostle Peter is giving us a reminder that our success as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ is anchored in the sovereignty and the immutability of God Himself. It is in this context that Peter now challenges our faith in the all-sufficiency of our God. He does this by addressing of daily choices and whether we are being defined by God.

We are trichotomous beings, which means we have three parts: body, soul, and spirit. Our souls are also made of three parts: our mind, our will, and our emotions. There is a big difference between our justification and our sanctification. It is only on the basis of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and that He paid the penalty for our sin, that we are justified. This is what made us right before God whereas before our sin was atoned for we were the enemies of God.

Our sanctification, on the other hand, is different. Whereas our justification gets us into heaven, it is our sanctification that gets heaven into us now. Sanctification is the acquisition of God's wisdom which is what enables us to live the lives the Lord Jesus died to give us now.

In today’s passage, the Apostle Peter reminds us that we have two options to choose from to invest our souls on any given day: the way of the Lord or the way of this world. And, choosing the Lord's way of thinking will determine if we are wise or not.

In v.11 of today’s passage we read, "Dear friends, I warn you as 'temporary residents and foreigners' to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls."

Here, Peter reminds of who we are and what we are up against before he issues us a command. Peter addresses with us three designations that must inform the way we look at God, ourselves, and this world if we are to experience the life the Lord Jesus died to give us. The first is “Dear friends” which is a word Peter loved. He used it eight times in his two letters. Eight times he used it to remind us that "God loves us." Someone once said, "The shape of true love isn't a diamond. It's a cross." This quote echoes the words of the Lord Jesus when He said, "Greater love has no man than to lay down His life for His friends." It is this kind of love that we can truly invest our beings in.

The second designation Peter used to describe us is "temporary residents" which literally means "alongside the house." The reason Peter uses this designation is because you and I live alongside a people who make this world their home. This world is not our home, it's their home. We are just passing through this world for the time being. We must see ourselves as having been placed alongside unbelievers who make this world their home.

The third designation Peter uses of those who have entered into a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ is "foreigners." This word describes someone who is a traveler, a visitor, somebody who stops by temporarily but is on the move. We are loved by God and we are foreigners passing through this foreign land. Peter is merely reminding us that we don't belong here. "We are in this world but not of this world." 

In addition to reminding us of our identity, Peter reminds us of the worldly desires or lusts that wage war against our souls. And, the lure of those worldly desires is always short lived, due to the fact that they are of this world and not of God’s eternal kingdom. These lusts survive only in the context of the decaying.

Our biggest struggles are most often discovered inside of us. The Apostle Peter reminds us to "keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls." The word "war" describes not a single battle or a skirmish here or there, but a long-term military campaign being executed against us on a daily basis. This word "war" described how the Romans fought and conquered their foes. They would set up a village, a town, a city, around another city they wished to conquer for weeks, months, and even years. It was a long-term military campaign. All of the allurements afforded to us by this fallen world that produce desires within us, they are like an army of terrorists that want to subdue and enslave us. Therefore, we must be vigilant to not allow these to define us. This is why we must be reminded often that we are "loved of God, temporary residents and foreigners" in this fallen world.

But Peter’s greater concern in our text for today is what happens to our unbelieving neighbors who are watching how we live out our lives. How we live before our unbelieving neighbors makes a world of a difference with regard to whether they believe in the Lord Jesus or not. Of course, at the end of the day, they decide whether to trust in the Lord or not, but we have an influence on that decision.

In v.12 of today’s passage we read, "Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world."

Peter renders our witness to unbelievers as far more powerful than their ill-treatment of us. The example of the Lord Jesus is quite helpful here. When we render blessing to those who intentionally harm us, a power is unleashed in and through us that changes the world. It is a reverberating power that begins within us and it organically sends seismic messages that our neighbors can not ignore. This is the same power that raised the Lord Jesus from the dead, and it is also the same power that changed our unbelieving hearts.

Peter writes, "...they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world."

Our wise choices that are in concert with God's definitions of things will always have an influence on our unbelieving neighbors. When we determine to be authentic before the lost who are watching us live out our lives, they will be the more likely to ask us about the hope that lives in us. Then, we will find that it is more likely that the very ones who accused us wrongly will see that in reality we were not in error, and they will more likely trust in the Lord and will glorify Him "when He judges the world."

Daily, the sovereign God is giving us a story with Himself, including the good and the bad moments of life. It is so important for us to trust the Lord in the midst of even the most unwanted and most the difficult moments of our lives. We must not run from the deepening that God desires to impart to us through those most unwanted of moments. It is through these most unwanted of moments that we get to know Him best. It is also through these most unwanted of moments that we learn the most authentically and they always give us the most authentic context to deliver the gospel to a lost and dying world. It is these stories that resound the best with those who know not our Lord and are perhaps looking for that which is most substantive. When we share the gospel couched in these stories with our unsaved neighbors, it makes it more likely that they would believe and subsequently honor God when He judges this world in the end. 

1 Peter 2:10

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Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  ~ 1 Peter 2:10

Today, we return to our study of 1 Peter 2 where the Apostle Peter is doing for us what the Lord Jesus did for him on the shores of the Sea of Galilee after Peter had denied knowing the Lord Jesus on the morning of His crucifixion. He is showing to us the compassion and mercy of God.

In the first part of today's verse we read, "Once you were not a people."

After the Fall of man, mankind had no identity as a people or we had no identity as the people of God. Before we came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we were under the domain of Satan himself. We had been hijacked out of the family of our Creator. In fact, we never had a chance to be defined by none other than the evil one. That is until the Lord Jesus came to earth to be our Savior. But, while we were under the authority of the devil, we were complete nobodies, we were the slaves of the enemy.

In the second part of today's verse we read, "... but now you are the people of God."

The Apostle Peter reached way back into the Old Testament to the book of the prophet Hosea to provide an apt description of the lost condition of all who have not a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. In doing so He alluded to Hosea 1 where God said, "I will call those who were not My people My people and she who was not My beloved, beloved." 

God has always been available to those humble and honest enough to recognize their utter need of Him. God had always reached out to wayward man beginning in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve rebelled against Him. And, God has made it possible for anyone to enter into a permanent and secure relationship with Him through His Son's satisfying sacrifice on the cross. Having believed in the Lord Jesus we now have been given meaning and purpose through and by the One who suffered separation from God, so that we could be included in God's family. 

The word Peter uses for "people" is used 142 times in the New Testament. By using this word, Peter is helping us to see the contrast between our aimless lives previously and our purpose filled lives at the present. As the people of God now, we have been blessed with a new desire that the Apostle Paul describes in Philippians 3:8 which reads, "Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ."

In the third part of today's verse we read, "... once you had not received mercy."

At the center of this contrast is the mercy of God. This word communicates that we were down and out, finished, with nothing of value left to offer. We were at best hopeless with an awful future in hell awaiting us. Then the mercy of God entered the ring through the Lord Jesus Christ. This character quality of God enabled Him to give to His Son what we deserved. Of course, God did that when the Lord Jesus hung on the cross so many years ago. When hanging on the cross, the Lord Jesus purchased the mercy of God on the behalf of all who would believe on Him as our Savior.

In the last part of today's verse we read, "... but now you have received mercy."

Having trusted in the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, we all share this story with God. The word translated "mercy" in this verse means "to have pity for" or "to show compassion towards." Mercy is God making the choice to withhold from guilty and vile sinners the just punishment of our sin. But, through believing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have accessed God's mercy. It is God's mercy that makes it a possibility for us to be included by Him into His family. And, we will spent our eternities understanding His great mercy for us.

There is an Old Testament story which illustrates God's mercy well. Hosea was a prophet. One day, God told Hosea his bachelor days were up. The problem with the wedding announcement was it came with a dreadful prophecy.
Hosea's wife would break his heart. Aware of Gomer's promiscuous reputation, Hosea humbled himself in obedience to the Lord. As a godly man, he surely had different hopes for marriage, hopes of pursuing a lover who would share not only his heart but also his faith and convictions.

After they were wed and they had a few children, Hosea began to hear awful rumors. And his heart began to break. His wife, Gomer, was prostituting herself to the men of the city. Hosea couldn't even be sure the children she bore were his. And, then came the final blow. Gomer's wanderings had drawn her into the most embarrassing arena of prostitution. Then, God told Hosea to do the unthinkable, to go redeem his wife. 

What is of great note in this story is when Hosea finally gave into the idea of going through the humiliation to buy his wife out of prostitution, he didn't have enough money. He needed 30 pieces of silver and he only had 15. Out of desperation, Hosea emptied his cupboards of all of his barley flour and purchased his wife. Hosea's frustrating lack was strategic because when Gomer saw the great lengths that her husband went to to buy her back, her heart was won over. In fact, after she was purchased by her husband, Gomer never ran around on Hosea again.

Hosea and Gomer's story is also our story. When we, like Gomer, were enslaved, God sent His Son to this earth in order to buy us back. God gave His most precious Son to redeem us out of our prostitution. He freed us out of our chains of ignorance, discontent, selfishness and fear. Even after we, by our very nature, had thrown God's love away, the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed us. And, the more we learn of His great love for us, the more our hearts will be won to Him.

1 Peter 2:9

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But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ~ 1 Peter 2:9

Today, we continue our study of 1 Peter 2 where we are learning of many of the blessings God has given us to maintain a consistent walk with Him. In today's verse the Apostle Peter dips back into the Old Testament, as is his habit, and brings out a number of references to the nation of Israel. These are all blessings which God gave to His people, the Jews. Peter applied these blessings to all believers in the Lord Jesus in order to encourage us especially when we are encountering intense persecution. These blessings are partly designed to get us to forsake the self life which at every turn tries to destroy us.

Today's verse begins with a "but," the strongest adversative known to any language. In the previous verses the Apostle Peter shined his spotlight upon the doom of those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah. The contrast here could not be more obvious. Unlike those who are destined for destruction because of their rejection of Christ, those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus as such are a chosen people. In Ephesians 1:4 we read, "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love."

The most adjusted people on the planet are those who are valued not on the basis of anything temporal like looks or performance or status or economic status. And, those who are defined by the flimsy stuff of this world are the most unadjusted people in this world. Since God has deemed to include us in on His Son's performance and perfection, we should be the most secure people in the world, only if we are choosing to be defined by Him. And, of course, when we are being defined by Him, we will be obedient to Him.

In addition to being a chosen people, believers in Christ are "a royal priesthood." The work of a priest is to tell the truth about human brokenness for the purpose of forgiveness and reconciliation. And, our priesthood is royal meaning our position in Christ has granted us VIP status with God. This is due to the fact that our forever High Priest is God Himself and He has procured this position for us in His life, death, and resurrection. 

Then, according to this verse, the people of God are "a holy nation" which is a different designation from the royal priesthood. "A holy nation" exists to apply justice for the common good, especially to establish righteousness in the nation. All around this world a nation is judged according to whether its laws apply equally to all of its citizens. In addition, each nation is judged on the basis of whether its laws are fair and whether or not the weak are cared for and protected.

In addition, according to today's verse, believers in Christ are God's special possession. The better translation of this concept is "purchased possession" which would fast forward our attention to the cross where God shouted to the top of His lungs "I love you" too. 

The goal of all of these blessings in Christ is "that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 

Darkness is the absence of light. Spiritual darkness is the state of a person who is living apart from God. Sin darkened our understanding and destroyed our spiritual sight, cloaking us from a personal relationship with God. Spiritual darkness refers to all that is in opposition to the light of God’s love in Christ. All humans past the Fall of man began our lives in the darkness, in the grip and bondage of death and darkness. The Lord Jesus Christ is the personification of the light. He is the "true light" of this world, and He will be the true light of the world to come and forevermore. It was through the redemption of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ that we have passed into the light. 

The light is used here by Peter as a metaphor of God dwelling among His people. In the Old Testament God dwelt among His people. Now that Christ has remedied our sin, God now dwells in His people. And now, we are being given by God a story with Him, we are positioned to tell others of what it means to come out of the darkness into a personal relationship with God. Once we experienced the light, we gained God's heart for those who are yet in the darkness. 

1 Peter 2:7-8

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7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. ~ 1 Peter 2:7-8

Today, we return to our study of 1 Peter 2 where the Apostle Peter is presenting the Lord Jesus as precious to all willing to believe in Him as the Living Stone and as the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense to those who do not believe that He is the Messiah. When the Apostle Peter wrote these words, he, no doubt, had in mind those caretakers of the Jewish religious system who were the self-imposed builders of God's work on earth. They were those who took out their measuring instruments of their own religion, and they surveyed the Lord Jesus Christ and His claims as Messiah. Like many today, they concluded the Lord Jesus didn't fit their expectation of Him, so they rejected Him and the salvation He offers.

In v.7 of today's passage we read, "Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.'"

In this verse, the Apostle brings our attention to one of the most incredible contrasts in human history. Those who believe in the Lord Jesus as Messiah as contrasted by those who do not believe. For those who believe in God's definition of the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus is precious. These are recognized through the Scriptures as those who to some degree have become obedient. These are those who have responded to the truth that God has given them. And, with their obedience to some truth, God has chosen to give them even more truth. To these the Lord Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. For these, the Lord Jesus Christ is increasingly becoming the firm foundation upon which to build their lives. 

On the other hand, to those who reject Him, He is the stone whom they keep tripping over. The word "rejected" means disallowed after close examination. They examined the Lord Jesus with a myopic view of God and they chose wrongly. They took out the measuring tools of their own religion, and they assessed the Lord Jesus by the wrong standard. They concluded Him as not being the one upon whom they should build their lives. Their choice accentuates that most reject Him because they already have a god. And, their god is themselves.

In contrast, God also has a measuring line. In concert with His measurements, God also examined the Lord Jesus and He concluded, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." In his book ''Mere Christianity" C.S. Lewis wrote, "Jesus, is the Sovereign Lord of the Universe. We either believe Him and make Him the foundation of our lives, or we reject Him and spend the rest of our lives falling over Him. There is no other alternative."

Many believe the answer is to try harder to be good enough before a holy God through their morality. Their problem is they do not understand the holiness of God nor do they understand their own wickedness. Those who believe that God will accept them into His heaven based upon their good behavior have an awfully small view of God. They do not understand that they can not measure up before this prefect God. His standard is perfection is well far beyond where man can jump. Whereas the Lord Jesus Christ measured up perfectly, and, His performance bridged the huge gap that was created between God and man by man's rebellion. 

In v.8 of today's passage we read, "And, 'A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.' They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed."

Many have trouble with this verse because it seems to mean that unbelievers earn their favor before God. This is impossible but if we believe we will obey. Many believe that unbelievers were appointed to disbelief. This is not the case. God has never been known to damn any human to hell. In fact, as this verse underscores, those who reject the free gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus were appointed to the penalty of not believing. 

Peter refers here to "a stone of stumbling" or a loose rock on the path that the unbeliever trips over. Then, he refers to "a rock of offense" or an obstacle one cannot get through or around. The Lord Jesus Christ is unavoidable. We will come to Him as our Rock of provision and protection or we will come to Him as the Rock of offense who will crush all who will not believe on Him. The Lord Jesus Christ is elect of God, precious to God, approved by God, and precious to all who choose to believe upon Him. 

1 Peter 2:6

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"Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.'” ~ 1 Peter 2:6

Today, we return to our study of 1 Peter 2 where the Apostle Peter is training us on how to maintain a consistent walk with the Lord in the context of intense persecution. 

Today's verse is a quotation from Isaiah 28:16 and it begins with the word "therefore." We know that proper interpretation is to figure out why there is a therefore at this point in the passage. In our last study you will remember that Peter likened believers in the Lord Jesus to "living stones" who have the ability to yield the characteristics of the "living stone" who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. By virtue of the fact that believers in Christ are each a "living stone," we now have the where with all to yield the characteristics of God through our yielded lives. The key to it all is discovered in the words of the Lord Jesus, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

The Greek word translated "behold" in today's verse suggests that if we do not clearly see Him, we will miss the real purpose of our everyday lives amidst our many trials and sufferings. The first century believers to whom Peter wrote this letter were going through intense pressure and persecution from those who knew not God. In reality, through the pressure Peter's audience was being granted the ability to see and know more vividly through the trials. Accentuated in this verse is the very true idea of the fact that it is through our pain that we are enabled to really see what is really real.

But, the precedent to "beholding" is not pain, it is the brokenness that our pain grants us only if we embrace God through the pain. It is our brokenness that ushers us to the monumental decision to give up on the self life and to choose to be defined by God as we obey His word. For some, brokenness is a reminder of their imperfection while to others it is a heartbreak. It is always some form of weakness which prompts the response that leads us to repentance and to say "yes" to God.

The chief cornerstone is the stone on which the corner of the building rests. This stone is always is a large and solid stone. This cornerstone, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ who is central to all reality. And, He was positioned by God with the greatest of skill. He is the life we referenced in our last study. He is the strength of our lives only when we allow Him to be such.

"Beholding" the Lord Jesus is more than recognizing that He is alive. In fact, it is more than taking note that He is involved in our daily lives. This word "behold" is employed some 1298 times throughout the Bible. To "behold" means to see, to view, to face, to observe fully, to gaze upon with attention and earnestness, to survey with accuracy, to understand earnest spiritual contemplation, to look at purposely.

This admonition "to behold" Him is the primary means by which God enables us to rid ourselves of the self life. In 2 Corinthians 3:18 we read, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 

When Moses met with the Lord face-to-face and he emerged with his face glowing which frighten the Israelites. Therefore, after meeting with the Lord, Moses would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not see the glory of the Lord in the glow of his face. Until we get to the place of beholding the Lord for ourselves, we all live behind a veil of unbelief. Apart from the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit in our souls, we cannot behold the glory of the Lord Jesus. But when the veil of unbelief was removed by the Spirit, we were enabled to gaze upon and behold the glory of the Lord.

The result of beholding the glory of the Lord is that we become progressively more and more like Him. We become what we behold. When we behold ourselves, we find ourselves miserable. When we recognize our deep need to behold Him, we will embrace the renewal of our minds that the Apostle Paul speaks of in Romans. In fact, in Romans 12:2 we read, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." As we renew our minds by learning to behold the Lord of love, kindness, endurance, patience, and grace, we will know the joy of forgetting ourselves and we will find ourselves becoming more like the One who truly loves us. We become what we behold. And, when we behold Him for who He is, we "will by no means be put to shame." 

The key to all of this is that we are beholding and believing. Our problem is there are many things in a given day to cause us not to behold and believe. From God's slowness to deliver us  out of our trials, to our struggle of understanding what the Lord is trying to accomplish in our lives through our trials, we struggle with beholding and believing.

The Greek word that Peter used here in today's verse for believes means to think He is true, to be persuaded of, to give credit to, to place confidence in. This type of belief is a moment by moment proposition; it is an experiential type of a word. In order to get to this place, we must be willing to embrace the means by which He grants us this experience with Him. The inevitable trials of life potentially give the deepest part of our beings eyes to behold Him as He is. Most are not that willing for it is dis-easing. This is why many have no idea what is really means to believe.

The phrase "and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame" is better translated, "and he who believes on Him, he shall be satisfied." To "be satisfied" is a state of being, not a result of getting what we want. The key idea is discovering the One who is true to His promises. The Lord Jesus Christ is this steady and dependable stone of Zion. Figuratively, Zion represents the New Covenant of grace. The Apostle Peter chose the word "Zion" because in so doing, he emphases the New Covenant.

This Cornerstone, the Lord Jesus Christ is perfect in every way.  He is becoming progressively our confidence because as we behold Him and we are defined by Him, we discover that He will never forsake us and we will forever be satisfied and completed by Him. In everyday practical terms this means we will not be in a hurry to run away from Him out of fear because He is dependable, consistent and strong. 

1 Peter 2:5

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You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Peter 2:5

Today, we return to our study of 1 Peter 2 where the Apostle Peter is introducing us to eternal life which is the very life of the Lord Jesus Himself. In context, he has written of our living hope. He has also written of "having been born again" and he incorporated figurative language like "as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word." 

In the previous verse Peter had written, "Coming to Him as to a living stone." It is the cornerstone that maintains the symmetry for the building. If the angle of the cornerstone is the slightest off alignment, the building would be insubstantial. If the cornerstone is not cut just perfectly, the building would collapse. So, the cornerstone, as the reference point for the whole building, must be strong. This is why the Lord Jesus is not only precious to God, but as we will see in just a couple verses, He is precious to us because He is prefect and He is God.

Today's verse begins with: "You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house." This figure of speech underscores the fact that the Christian life is all about our relationship with the Lord Jesus Himself. And, the odd thing is we know Him best through our sufferings. This is the case because relationships were meant to be reciprocal, interactive and they bind us together through mutual experiences. And, the more arduous the experience, the deeper our relationships will be with those with whom we go through those hard moments. Real life, eternal life is experiencing Him who is life who died to give us life. And, the products of life are meaning and purpose and stability in the midst of all the storms of life. 

It was Viktor Frankl who once wrote, “If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering.” 

It is only when we are entertaining the deeper questions of life which come out of our deeper struggles that we discover what is really real. Due to the myopic nature that we inherited from Adam, we default so easily to the shallow unless something happens that shakes us out of our narrow-mindedness. When this happens, we are positioned to entertain eternity with the right questions.

Peter then confirms the fact that the role of the Living Stone is to build up the living stones. A huge principle is tucked away here which is: When we come to the Lord Jesus who is the Living Stone, we become living stones. When we come to Him, we get to know Him and we learn how to follow Him. And, over time, we become more and more like Him. He sets the angles. He gives the direction because He is all about building people up, and, He builds us up with the truth. 

The implications of all of this are incredible. The Lord Jesus Christ who is God, lives in and through all who have and will ever believe in Him as our Savior. As a result, He loves, He speaks, and He serves through us. He even worships God through us. His life in us is eternal and will never leave us. His life in us works all things together for our good. He also is the One who conforms us to Himself. He is in us, available for every need, every trial, every possible circumstance of life. The expression of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ both in and through our yielded lives is evidence that we have accessed His life and we have eternal life. 

In today's verse we learn that as a result of being born again we are a part of "a holy priesthood." This means that everyone who trusts in the finished work of the Lord Jesus is now a priest unto God. The Old Testament contains two passages that predicted a coming day when all of God’s people would be priests; those passages are Exodus 19:5-6 and Isaiah 61:5-6. Those prophecies were fulfilled in Christ as He removed that which prevented us from being the tabernacles of God's presence. Interestingly, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are called priests in five different passages in the Revelation.

As priests of God, we "offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God." The footprint of the life of the Lord Jesus in us shows up in our lives as a "spiritual sacrifice." In essence, the Lord Jesus Christ is the source of our sacrifices which include our lives, our praise, our prayers and our work unto the Lord. Our spiritual sacrifices are actions motivated by our desire to glorify God. This happens when we turn our backs on the self life and we choose to be defined by the Lord Jesus Himself.

1 Peter 2:4

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Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. ~ 1 Peter 2:4

Today, we continue our study of 1 Peter 2 where the Apostle Peter is highlighting the secret to a stable life despite the fact that we might be going through the most arduous moments of life. You see, the real purpose of studying the Bible is to know God in a personal way. This means when we read the Bible, we must read it as if we are having a conversation with the Lord Jesus Himself. Christianity is a relationship and if we approach the Lord any other way, it will not be life-giving. This section of 1 Peter is Peter’s own commentary on the meaning of the words of the Lord Jesus to him in Matthew 16, where the Lord Jesus changed his name to Peter which means rock.

In this verse, the Apostle Peter refers to the Lord Jesus as the "living stone" which is a reference to the promised Messiah.

The word Peter used translated "living" is zoe, the Greek word for eternal life. According to John 6:57, zoe is the very life that God has in Himself. According to John 5:26, the Father imparted His life to His Son: "For as the Father has life in himself; so has he given to the Son to have life in himself." In John 1:4-5 we read, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."

The Apostle employed a stone to describe the Lord Jesus because He is the only one who is stable, unmovable, and unshakable. He is the bedrock of all of reality, the firm foundation for a well-lived life. When we are defined by Him, we will be rendered secure and mature, having the ability to withstand the pressures of life. In my many years of ministry, I have discovered that if I can get a struggling married couple to pray regularly together, most of their marital problems go away. This is because they are seeking the Stable One together. And when He is stabilizing them, He will stabilize their lives together.

In addition, Peter points out that the Lord Jesus was rejected by men. This was predicted some 700 years before the Lord Jesus walked this earth by Isaiah. In Isaiah 53:3 we read, "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him."

Next, according to today's verse, the Apostle Peter refers to the Lord Jesus as "Chosen by God." This means that we must not depend upon fallen man's evaluation of the Lord Jesus since He was chosen of God to be mankind's Savior. It is truly only the definitions of God that truly amount to anything in this world. And, the Father has deemed the Lord Jesus to be the answer that our longing hearts yearn. It was Saint Augustine who once said it well when he said, "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee."

Finally, the Apostle Peter refers to the Lord Jesus as "precious" to God the Father. This word literally means "of greatest value." Christ could not be precious to us until He was first precious to the Father. The Lord Jesus said to the Father while on the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" That was the only time when the Lord Jesus addressed His Father as "My God" rather than "My Father." At the cross the Father forsook the Son as the full wrath for our sin was placed upon Him. God the Father treated the Lord Jesus as if He committed every single sin by every single person. God treated His Son as if He lived your life, so that He could treat you as though you had lived the perfect, righteous life of the Lord Jesus. I close with a quote from Arthur W. Pink who  once said, "Surely this is the cry that ought to melt even the hardest of hearts."