Motivated to Submission

HBI - Our submission to those around us comes from a holy life abstained from sin which is motivated by our obedience to God and His word and founded by the suffering of Jesus on the cross.

Intro

A Christians response to submission. I read story of a Christian who tried to apply these principles in his workplace and this is His story.

I was the assistant manager of a store, but the manager hired a friend of hers, and shortly afterwards demoted me and made him the asst manager. Then, they tried to force me to quit, but I would not. Soon after this, the manager decided to leave the company, which would make her friend the manager. He went on a vacation right before she was leaving, so he could get it in before becoming manager. I knew that when he got back, they had a plan to fire me. While he was on vacation, I had the duties of my old job. I had a choice to make. I could follow my natural (sinful) inclination and do the job poorly, take a lot of breaks, and maybe even make a few things worse,  or I could take God’s words that He told me to heart and do the opposite. I chose to obey God. I worked my tail off, straightening, organizing, cleaning, putting out tons of stock, and more. When he got back, everything looked great, and much better than before he had left. And, I got fired.

I can come up with many more stories like this, this story might make us mad thinking why did he not stand up for His rights. We are called to be servants for the sake of the gospel. Even under suffering we are told that we are to submit in all things and be servants. This guy could have gone to the boss and said that what he did was unfair to do and that would have been fine if done in love. But if the boss said I don't care and left things the same we are called to serve and to submit.

this may not seem fair but there is a reason behind why we are to do this. As we have faith in our living hope we trust that it will all work out in the end because in the end God wins. This is what we are learning. But in the meantime we need to live a Holy life, abstaining from sin to show that we have a living hope in God.

The next part of what this looks like as we live our lives in this living hope is we need to be servants and submit to those around us. What this is motivated by is our obedience to God and is founded on Our cornerstone which is Jesus who first suffered for us.

does it make you angry that you are to submit to others? What is your motivation for the way that you treat those around you? what do you do when you are mistreated by others? These are all aspects of submission that we are going to look at. It is a command from God, we are going to look at our motivation to do it and what the foundations of submission are. And then next week get into how this applies to the marriage relationship.

vs 18 - The Exhortation to Submit

First we start out with the exhortation to submit. We have seen so many churches go against this idea that this is important to understand. And when they do choose to disobey based on thinking that they are going to have to disobey God they do that the wrong way as well. You may not agree with me but as the old saying goes “where stands it written?”. What does the bible have to say on the matter.

1 Peter 2:18 (CSB) 18 Household slaves, submit to your masters with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel.

Now this is in direct reference to slaves and masters. This worked a little different at the time then it did in our own history as I mentioned last week. Though this is not something that goes on today anymore. I believe it is not to much of a stretch to extend this past the slave/master relationship to the boss/work relationship. But also the idea of submission to someone higher up then you applies to all areas of life. the principles are far reaching.

besides the slave part, the exhortation to submit is what we look at. an exhortation is just an address or communication emphatically urging someone to do something. What we are urged to do is submit and to serve. but a few things first to help ad to the meaning. This needs to be read in light of the fact that we need to be living a Holy life set apart from the world and abstaining from our old sin. Our living hope is lived out in this way. This all works together to form the same idea, as we live this way, we need to live lives of submission.

the second thing we need to see here is that we are to serve and submit not just when the going is good but also to people that are cruel to us. no matter how we are treated our submission is important and we our going to see why. Our goal is the sharing of the gospel in all that we do. We need to remember that.

vs 19-20 - The Motivation to Submit

next we move on to what needs to motivate us to live our lives like this. I remember when I was in High School we used to have pep rallies for the sports teams that made it to districts and provincials. It was a lot of fun to pep the up an give them some motivation to go do good. You are representing the school and we are behind you 100% motivation to win is what we are trying to give them. and what we have here is our motivation to submit, why we do what we do.

One thing I found quite interesting, though it doesn't change to much the meaning of the passage, is the original Greek order of vs 18

Household slaves, submit with all reverence (to God), to your masters not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel.

Why is this importance? it comes back to the motive behind our serving, our motive is seen in our fear and reverence of God. The passage could then add that we are to submit in all reverence (to God) to your masters. It is God who we refer and fear according to the rest of 1 Peter and throughout the Bible. and reading on in the passage He is the motive behind it. Our motive is not our masters but the God whom we worship. Our goal is the sharing of the gospel .

1 Peter 2:19 (CSB) 19 For it brings favor if, because of a consciousness of God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly.

This can be a little confusing. but our motive behind submission is God and His favor.

whether good or bad we are bear with the injustices we face because (NICNT) God is pleased with Christian servants who bear up under unjust suffering, not because there is no other option or out of stoic apathy. Red Green would then remind the members to bow their heads for the Man's Prayer: "I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess." .

or as some way to win God's favor as a reward for there only reason for submitting. But rather because they know that it will please God and conform to the teachings of Jesus.

Find your identity not in your sufferings or what you have gone through but in God's acceptance and final vindication. Our motivation behind submission even through the sufferings we may face is also due to the fact that vengeance belongs to God, He is the Just Judge not us. In the end He wins period.

But it is for doing good and living for God that brings the favor of God when we submit for the right reasons. Our motive behind it being to please God and conform to the word of God but because it please God (brings favor, Grace).

1 Peter 2:20 (CSB)20 For what credit is there if when you do wrong and are beaten, you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.

vs 21-25 - The foundation for Submission

And lastly we have the foundation of our submitting to the world around us. remember when we went through that Jesus is the cornerstone on which our lives are aligned? Well this carries with it the same idea. The foundation for why we do this

1 Peter 2:21 (CSB) 21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Since Jesus suffered for what He taught and the way He lived what makes you think that we will be any different then the son of God whom we worship? If they hated Him how much more will the world hate us who follow His teachings and strive to be like Him.

Our Foundation for submitting the way we do despite suffering we may face is because of Jesus and His sufferings. We submit in spite of the sufferings again because of the example of Jesus as well.

1 Peter 2:22–23 (CSB) 22 He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; 23 when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

taken from Isaiah 53 these verses show that in spite of the fact that Jesus was sinless yet in all the suffering that Jesus faced, he never responded in the same. He did not threaten or insult but trusted in god, who is the eternal Judge. We must be the same. It is not ours to inflict pain on those who wrong us but we must trust that God has it all under control.

Even when Jesus was being arrested Peter, the attention deficit disciple (acted first before he thought). The wonderful apostle of Jesus, wanting to protect the Messiah drew His sword and cut off a Guards ear in retaliation for them trying to arrest Him. But Jesus would have none of that.

we as well need to entrust ourselves to the one who judges justly. It is not ours to give vengeance but it is ours to share the message of the one who died for our sins

1 Peter 2:24–25 (CSB)24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

This is the foundation for why we do what we do and we should never forget it. We where going astray and Jesus gave us a way back. The one who Paul reminded us in His letter to Philippi that He was God yet did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage but gave Himself up so that we may have freedom. By His wounds and by His blood we have been given freedom. we where going astray and He gave us a way back. This is the foundation for why we live lives of submission. Our messiah, our example gave us a way out of sin and we need to share this with those around us the same way He did.

So What?

What Motivates you to follow the Lord God in submitting and serving? Better yet what is your attitude when you have an opportunity to do this? I remember when I was working right out of Bible College. My boss did not like me much for some reason. He hired someone after me who I found out, by Accident, that he was making more then me. Biblically I could have just left it alone and kept working. I did go to him and explain the situation and said it was not fair and asked for a raise. But if he would have said no It would have been my duty to keep working my hardest or quit. What about when we are starting to be persecuted for what we believe what do we do then? And it may not be what we think it should be.

We are to Submit

Based on living a Holy life abstaining from our past sin we are to serve and submit others. Because of our Reverence fo God and who God is we are called to live our lives as servants.

Our obedience to God is our motivation for Submission.

whether good or bad we are bear with the injustices we face because (NICNT) God is pleased with Christian servants who bear up under unjust suffering, not because there is no other option or out of stoic apathy. We do this under our living Hope, Knowing we are not the judge, but God will have vindication in the end. It is not ours

Our Saviour is the foundation for our submission.

The gospel is the goal. To grow the K of G. Based on the example we are given in the Gospels of how the apostles dealt with this, based on How Jesus lived and responded to persecution. We must live based on the example that was set out by Jesus. Not out to force ourselves on others but to grow the K of G by serving others in love.