Texts in Conversation
1 Peter 2 urges believers to live so that their good deeds are visible and lead others to glorify God, echoing the Testament of Naphtali where righteous conduct brings honor among the nations, but sin brings dishonor.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Testament of Naphtali 8:4
Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
Pseudepigrapha
1 My children, I have shown you the last times, how everything will come to pass in Israel. 2 So you also must charge your children to stay united with Levi and Judah, for through them salvation will arise for Israel, and in them Jacob will be blessed. 3 For through their tribes God will appear on earth, dwelling among people, to save the race of Israel and to gather the righteous from among the Gentiles. 4 If you do what is good, my children, both people and angels will bless you; God will be glorified among the Gentiles through you, the devil will flee from you, the wild beasts will fear you, the Lord will love you, and the angels will hold fast to you. 5 Just as a man who has trained a child well is remembered with kindness, so a good deed is remembered well before God. 6 But whoever does not do what is good, both angels and people will curse; God will be dishonored among the Gentiles through him, the devil will make him his own special instrument, every wild beast will dominate him, and the Lord will hate him.
1 Peter 2:12
New Testament
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 You once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul, 12 and maintain good conduct among the non-Christians, so that though they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears.
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Notes and References
"... 'That they may see your good works (Matthew 7:16-20, 21-23) and glorify your Father in heaven' is a concern echoed in Testament of Naphtali 8:4 ('God shall be glorified among the Gentiles through you, but through him that does not that which is good, God shall be dishonored'), 1 Peter 2:12 ('may see your good deeds and glorify God'), and Pirkei Avot 1:11; 2:2, 12 (good works honor God's name). The role of disciples in verses 13-16 is seen in terms of mission: both of being (you are salt, light) and of doing (good works). Disciples are to act in line with their nature. Jesus is saying, 'I have made you into something, now be it.' The scope of their mission is universal (of the earth or world). Its goal is to glorify God ..."
Talbert, Charles H.
Reading the Sermon on the Mount: Character Formation and Decision Making in Matthew 5-7
(p. 56) University of South Carolina Press, 2004
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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