Because the early Christians were accused falsely of all sorts of outrageous behavior, Peter urged his readers in I Peter 2:11-25 to be especially careful to live such honorable lives that even their enemies would end up glorifying God. This calling was especially difficult, because they often found themselves in unfair situations that they were powerless to change, in which they suffered unjustly. Amazingly, God called them and calls us to endure unjust suffering and gave us the highest motivation for doing so: Christ already endured unjust suffering for us.
When were the glory days of the church: perhaps when it was being persecuted, or maybe when it held sway over the culture? In...
In his familiar opening greeting, Paul covered essential truths of the Bible in just a few words.
Although the church in Smyrna may not have looked like much on the surface, Jesus’ evaluation of it was wholly positive. He did not...