Let me just point out to you a little bit later in the chapter about the Lord Jesus
Christ in verse 14, the Bible reads, "who gave himself for us that he might redeem us
from all iniquity and," so he didn't just come just to save us from our sins and to
redeem us from all iniquity, but he said "and to purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous
of good works."
Now, what does it mean to be a peculiar people?
Well, if you go back to the Old Testament, we don't have to turn there for sake of time,
but when God first said this in the Old Testament, he said it about the nation of Israel, and
he said "if you follow my word, if you keep my statutes," he said "then you will be a
holy nation, you will be a chosen people," and he said "you will be a peculiar treasure
unto me."
You will be different, is what that means.
When he says you're a peculiar people, he's saying you're going to be different from all
the other nations around you.
That's what he said to them in the Old Testament.
And in the New Testament, we as Christians are called out to be a peculiar people unto
the Lord.
My question today is, what is the difference today between the way a lot of Christians
live their lives and the philosophies that they hold and the way that the world lives
and the way that the world teaches?
The difference ought to be an adherence to God's Word amongst His people.
That's what makes us peculiar.
And by the way, being pure is what makes us peculiar.
He's here to purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.