Before he met Jesus, Paul spent all of his time seeking to earn God’s favour (see Galatians 1:14, Philippians 3:6). Yet when he encountered the risen Christ on the Damascus road (Acts 9), he came to see that the Law could never make a person right with God (Rom 3:23).
Read More transformation, the Law, desires, turmoil
A sense of estrangement permeates the book of 1 Peter. It addresses its readers as exiles and aliens, people who don’t fully belong in the place where they live. Ethnicity and geography were factors, no doubt. Even more significant is how communities centred on gospel grace are at odds with the culture in which they live.
Read More goodness, exile, desires, suffering servant