1 Peter 5:5-11 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen (NIV).
Why is it God only gives grace to the humble? Because grace is a gift, and there needs to be humility in accepting a gift. I will give an example. I drive a car that was a gift from my mom, which she had inherited. At one point after mom offered me the car, I said no. Yet then later I reconsidered and said yes. Why did I reject the car at first? There were a number of factors involved in my first decision, but two key points were that the car is old and it guzzles gas. An old car is more susceptible to breaking down, and using much gas is never a good thing. I miss my former car which got great gas mileage. However, I was not concerned that the car is out of style! Had I been arrogant, I may have rejected the gift for that reason. I could have said, I do not think the car is cool, thus I will not take it. Rather, I considered the car has low miles, and I accepted the gift later on. That car has served me for months at a rough time in my life when I have been unemployed.
The grace of God is a free gift offered to you. Dwight L. Moody made this clear in his book God’s Abundant Grace. He stated: “Paul calls it ‘the free gift of God’” (1). I add that Moody made the acute observation that Paul closed all of his epistles with a “prayer for grace.” I never noticed that and I wanted to see for myself if it was true, so I looked through all of Paul’s epistles. Sure enough, his expression for the grace of God is in the close of all of his epistles, though not always stated in the last sentence.
Scripture teaches God’s grace is what all people need for salvation. Pride will block the realization of such a need. Moody makes one statement that is humorous when discussing how works have no part in salvation. Moody states, “If ever a man did succeed in working his way into heaven we should never hear the last of it!” (2).
Moody also makes it clear that for the person who has received God’s grace, works will result. Yet it is still God’s grace which needs to be relied on in order to be a light for Christ in this dark world. If a Christian is humble in interacting with his or her fellow human beings, then those people are going to be more receptive to the grace being exhibited. Why? It goes back to the premise that Peter was an apostle, but at the start of chapter five he gives an appeal as a fellow elder. We followers of Jesus are going to have eternal glory in Christ, yet it is not because we were any more saintly before receiving God’s grace than the clerk at the grocery store who does not know Jesus. We are who we are because of the grace of God! We need to let that clerk at the grocery store see that we are human like she or he is, yet that we are humans who desired the gift of Christ. Then maybe she or he will be open to the love of Christ we exhibit.
In pondering this passage, I thought to myself, “Who do I know who is a humble Christian?” One person came immediately to mind: Phil Keaggy. Phil Keaggy is a musician who I have seen in concert seven times, and he is a phenomenal guitarist. For me, I am able to soak in his incredible guitar playing even more when I hear him live. It is a long story I will not get into, but if there is any Christian musician who has a reason to forego being humble, it is Phil Keaggy. Yet I had the opportunity to meet Phil once after a concert, and the main characteristic apparent to me was his humility.
Since our passage mentions the devil, and states to resist him, I will close on a story about Phil Keaggy. Once I saw him in concert at a church in Colorado. Something happened at the beginning of the concert, but I will not get into the details, because it was one of those things where you have to know some personal things about Phil Keaggy. But the bottom line is that I realized something took place that had the influence of the devil. I think Phil Keaggy noticed it also, because for the first two songs he performed, he was a little off in his playing, the only time I have seen that happen. But then he quickly got focused, and gave a great concert as always. Near the end of his concerts, he usually gives one short and clear message. That night, he simply gave a Bible verse, quoting Romans 12:21 - “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (NIV). He stated that Scripture with utter sincerity.
How do we humans overcome evil with good? By relying on Jesus! Daily go to Jesus in prayer. Daily recognize your need for his help. Jesus has overcome the devil, and in Jesus, there is goodness, and He is offering that goodness to anyone who will receive. The result of living in obedience to Jesus is that you are changed, developed into a disciple of Christ who is steadfast in the love of Jesus.
Hunter Irvine
(1) Dwight L. Moody, God’s Abundant Grace
(1891; repr., Chicago: Moody Press, 1998), 11.
(2) Dwight L. Moody, God’s Abundant Grace
(1891; repr., Chicago: Moody Press, 1998), 26.
