1 Peter 1:6-9

Great joy marks the life of the believer. Peter underscores this joy and the eternal security that believers possess, as God protects and preserves them through trials and gives them great assurance of the salvation that awaits them in the future.

1 Peter 1:1-5

Peter reminds us our true identity in Christ as God’s chosen people who are pilgrims in this world, whose home is not here on earth but in heaven where we have an inheritance awaiting us that is far better than anything this world can give us.

Matthew 7:24-27

Jesus explains the difference between wise hearers of His words vs. foolish hearers of His words. The wise are those who act on His words, who, therefore, who the genuineness of their faith, who stand in the judgment. The foolish are those who are mere hearers, who, therefore, possess a disingenuous faith, who perish in the judgment.

Matthew 7:15-20

The Lord warns us regarding false prophets by pointing out that we can identify them by looking at their lifestyle. In the same way that a tree can be known by the fruits it bears, so can someone identify a false prophet by seeing whether they live by Christ’s standard of righteousness or not.

Matthew 5:38 - 6:4

In these passages, Jesus continues with the last two antitheses that point out the false righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees compared to his surpassing standard of righteousness. The topics in these antitheses are: (5) just revenge vs. non-revenge, and (6) loving your neighbor only vs. loving even your enemies. Then, Jesus explains the right motives for religious practices.