Is ‘You need Jesus’ hate speech?

Beloved, I beseech you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul. Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing right you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Live as free men, yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor (1 Peter 2:11-17).

In 2017, the politically correct crowd has ONE TEST for “good conduct”, and that is whether you accept LGBTQ. If you don’t you are a bigot. If you don’t accept “white privilege” you are by definition racist. There is no discussion with them. If you do not accept global climate change, you are greedy and selfish.

Even among many millennial Christians, if you attend church and listen to a sermon, you are being selfish. You should be working at a soup kitchen.

Given that reality, what does “maintain good conduct among the Gentiles” mean?

Mark

I’ve been teaching through 1 Peter for the past six months. My answer to your question is in my Sunday School notes for 1 Peter 2:13-17, here. I also talk about the “good conduct” bit in my notes for 1 Peter 2:11-12, here.