Food for Christians

2 Put out of your life hate and lying. Do not pretend to be someone you are not. Do not always want something someone else has. Do not say bad things about other people. ² As new babies want milk, you should want to drink the pure milk which is God’s Word so you will grow up and be saved from the punishment of sin. ³ If you have tasted of the Lord, you know how good He is.

The Living Stone

⁴ Come to Christ as to a living stone. Men have put Him aside, but He was chosen by God and is of great worth in the sight of God. ⁵ You are to be as living stones in the building God is making also. You are His religious leaders giving yourselves to God through Jesus Christ. This kind of gift pleases God. ⁶ The Holy Writings say, “See, I lay down in Jerusalem a Stone of great worth, worth far more than any amount of money. Anyone who puts his trust in Him will not be ashamed.” ^{(A) 7} This Stone is of great worth to you who have your trust in Him. But to those who have not put their trust in Him, the Holy Writings say, “The Stone which the workmen put aside has become the most important part of the building.” ^{(B) 8} The Holy Writings say, also, “Christ is the Stone that some men will trip over and the Rock over which they will fall.” When they do not obey the Word of God, they trip over it. This is what happens to such men. ⁹ But you are a chosen group of people. You are the King’s religious leaders. You are a holy nation. You belong to God. He has done this for you so you can tell others how God has called you out of darkness into His great light. ¹⁰ At one time you were a people of no use. Now you are the people of God. At one time you did not have loving-kindness. Now you have God’s loving-kindness.

¹¹ Dear friends, your real home is not here on earth. You are strangers here. I ask you to keep away from all the sinful desires of the flesh. These things fight to get hold of your soul. ¹² When you are around people who do not know God, be careful how you act. Even if they talk against you as wrong-doers, in the end they will give thanks to God for your good works when Christ comes again.

Obey the Leaders

¹³ Obey the head leader of the country and all other leaders over you. This pleases the Lord. ¹⁴ Obey the men who work for them. God sends them to punish those who do wrong and to show respect to those who do right. ¹⁵ This is what God wants. When you do right, you stop foolish men from saying bad things. ¹⁶ Obey as men who are free but do not use this to cover up sin. Live as servants owned by God at all times. ¹⁷ Show respect to all men. Love the Christians. Honor God with love and fear. Respect the head leader of the country.

Servants

¹⁸ Servants, you are to respect your owners and do what they say. Do this if you have a good and kind owner. You must do it even if your owner is hard to work for. ¹⁹ This shows you have received loving-favor when you are even punished for doing what is right because of your trust in God. ²⁰ What good is it if, when you are beaten for doing something wrong, you do not try to get out of it? But if you are beaten when you have done what is right, and do not try to get out of it, God is pleased. ²¹ These things are all a part of the Christian life to which you have been called. Christ suffered for us. This shows us we are to follow in His steps. ²² He never sinned. No lie or bad talk ever came from His lips. ²³ When people spoke against Him, He never spoke back. When He suffered from what people did to Him, He did not try to pay them back. He left it in the hands of the One Who is always right in judging. ²⁴ He carried our sins in His own body when He died on a cross. In doing this, we may be dead to sin and alive to all that is right and good. His wounds have healed you! ²⁵ You were like lost sheep. But now you have come back to Him Who is your Shepherd and the One Who cares for your soul.