Jesus Christ is the corner-stone
1That is why you must stop doing things that are bad. Do not deceive people. Do not be hypocrites or be jealous, and don't say bad things about other people. 2Small babies are thirsty for milk. You must be thirsty for pure spiritual milk, things that will help you grow spiritually and will save you. 3You long for these things because you have already seen how good the Lord is.
4Come to Christ. He is like a living stone. The people did not want to build with this stone, but God has chosen this stone to be the most important stone in the building. 5You are also like living stones. You must pray that God will use his Spirit to build his house with you. Then you will be his holy priests who bring offerings to God. It is Jesus Christ who helps you to sacrifice like the Spirit of God wants, so that these offerings will please God. 6It is written in the Old_Testament:
‘Look, I put a stone in Zion.
It is a corner-stone that I have chosen
and this stone is precious to Me.
The people who believe in Him
will be safe.’
7That is why you, the people who believe in Jesus Christ, will also be precious to Him. But there are people who do not believe in Him. For them, it is true what is written in the Old_Testament:
‘The stone that the builders
did not want to use
has become the most important stone
in God's building.’
8It is also written:
‘He is a rock over which they will stumble,
a rock that will make them fall.’
They fall over this rock because they do not believe what God said. It was God's plan that this would happen to them.
9But you are God's people. God has chosen you, you are his priests and He rules over you. You are his holy people, his own people who must tell everyone about the great things that God has done. He called you to come out of the darkness, to come to Him who is in the wonderful light. The Old_Testament says:
10‘Long ago you were not a nation,
but now you are God's nation.
Then, no one was gracious to you,
but now God has been good to you.’
How God's people must live
11Dear friends, you are like people who are strangers in the land and who do not live in their own homes. So I beg you, don't do the bad things that sinful people always want to do, because those sins destroy people's lives. 12You must do good things while you live among Gentiles. If the Gentiles say bad things about you and they accuse you of doing wrong, they must be able to see the good things that you do and praise God on the day when He comes to save everyone who believes.
Listen to the people who rule over you
13The Lord wants you to obey all the people who rule over you. You must listen to Caesar who is the highest one who rules over you. 14Obey the governors because Caesar has sent them to punish people who do bad things and to praise people who do good things. 15You must listen to them, because God wants foolish people to keep quiet when they see the good things that you do. The foolish people do not know what God wants. 16Live like people who are free, but do not think that you may do bad things because you are free. No, you are free, but you are servants of God. 17You must respect all people, love all the believers, fear God and honour Caesar.
Slaves and owners
18You, who are slaves that work in homes, must listen to your owners and you must always respect them. Be obedient, but not only to the good and friendly owners. You must also obey the owners who are bad and not fair to you. 19God will be very good to you if you suffer but have not done anything wrong. Why will God be good to you? Because you care about what He wants you to do. 20Because if you do not get angry or argue when people beat you because you have done wrong or sinned, then they will not praise you. This is sure. But if you do not get angry when you suffer because you have done something good, then God will be good to you. 21God has chosen you to do good things and to suffer, because Christ also suffered for you. He gave you an example so that you can follow Him.
22‘He did not sin.
He did not deceive anyone.’
23‘When people cursed Christ,
He did not curse them back.
When they made Him suffer,
He did not say that He would also make them suffer.
He said God, the Righteous Judge,
would judge them.’
24‘When He was hanging on the cross,
He was paying the penalty for our sins
so that we would stop sinning
and could live and do what God wants.
He was wounded so that you could be healed.
25Because you were like sheep,
each one of you went where you wanted to go,
but now you have come back to Christ.
He is the Shepherd, the One who cares for you.’
