{"id":7100,"date":"2015-10-26T00:31:29","date_gmt":"2015-10-26T00:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=7100"},"modified":"2015-10-28T00:19:29","modified_gmt":"2015-10-28T00:19:29","slug":"1-peter-117-the-impartial-judge-your-father","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=7100","title":{"rendered":"1 Peter 1:17\u2014The impartial Judge, your Father"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one\u2019s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth\u2026 1 Peter 1:17<\/em><\/p>\n

If you address as Father<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Father.<\/em> What a glorious privilege to call God, the Creator of the universe, our Father! It was extremely rare prior to Jesus\u2019 life for anyone<\/em> to call God Father; in the Old Testament, only about a half dozen Scriptures refer to Him as Father. In these cases, the references spoke of His relationship to all <\/em>of Israel, not to individual people.<\/p>\n

But Jesus changed that paradigm. He came for this very purpose\u2014to forge the way for you and me to be sons and daughters of God. His selfless act of redemption on the cross resulted in this: You have the right to call God your Father through faith in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

I may be mistaken, but I\u2019ve never heard a Muslim call Allah Father. I\u2019ve never heard Buddhists or Hindus or other non-Christian faiths call their deities Father. But you and I? We are sons<\/em> and daughters<\/em> of the Most High God. He is our Father<\/em>.<\/p>\n

… the One who impartially judges according to each one\u2019s work<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

Remember, this impartial Judge is our Father<\/em>\u2026and He has our best interests at heart.<\/p>\n

And because you have trusted in His Son for salvation, as you stand before the impartial Judge, He will view you through the shed blood of Jesus\u2014cleansed, whole, and justified.<\/p>\n

But despite the wonderful, redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ, your Father and Judge will also <\/em>look at your work<\/em>\u2026all that you\u00a0have done\u00a0in your time on the earth. And according to Peter, that is what He will judge\u2014without partiality.<\/p>\n

What will He consider when He judges your work? The Greek word for \u201cwork\u201d is ergon<\/em>, and according to Strong\u2019s it means:<\/p>\n