The Bible is full of remarkable statements. One of the most remarkable is 1 Peter 1v17. Peter is instructing Christians how to live in an essentially Godless, anti-Christian society. He writes: “Honour everyone. Love the brothers. Fear God. Honour the emperor”.
This is surely remarkable. Love the brothers and fear God we can readily understand; but honour “everyone” and especially “the emperor”? The emperor in question was probably Nero, the fanatically anti-Christian megalomaniac. Honour him? God’s Word can be deeply unsettling.
You do not need much imagination to see how relevant Peter’s words are to Christians in the UK today. We live in an increasingly hostile, anti-Christian, really anti-Christ, nation. Christian values are trampled on and Christian beliefs mocked and penalised. It is not fanciful that in the near future, preachers will be arrested for proclaiming the absolute uniqueness of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and for teaching the moral ethics of God’s Word. Thus it was, and worse, in the days when Peter wrote “Honour everyone. Honour the emperor”.
Why I believe God does give us more than we can handle
John the Baptist was dead. Beheaded. It was unjust, brutal, and senseless.On hearing the news, Jesus left what He …