1 Peter

Session 5: 1 Peter 2:11-17

1 Peter 2:11-17

11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. 12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits. 13 Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority 14 or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. 15 For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. 16 Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

WHAT?

What three nouns does Peter use to describe his readers in 1 Peter 2:11?

Friends, strangers, exilesHow many commands does Peter make in this passage? Underline the command words in your Bible.What does Peter urge in verse 11?

Abstain from sinful desiresWhy does Peter want the readers to live good lives among non-believers, according to verse 12?

The purpose of this lifestyle is that the unbelievers around them might observe their good deeds.Peter’s hope was that unbelievers will be compelled to admit that the lifestyle of believers is morally beautiful, and this admission will bring them to saving faith so that God will be glorified on the day of judgment. In your experience, does this work?In verse 13, to whom are the readers supposed to submit, and for whose sake?

Submit to every authoritySubmit for the Lord

The Lord in the NT is normally Christ. It is because Christ, not Caesar, is Lord that one submits. It is not that people such as rulers or masters have authority in themselves. On the contrary, they are only creatures of God. But the Lord gave an example of submission and the Lord wishes his teaching to be spoken well of (both of these reasons will be expounded by Peter later), and therefore for his sake one submits.According to verse 15, why does God want the readers to submit to governing authorities?What does “proper respect” to other believers, to God, and to the king (or ruling authorities) consist of, according to verse 17?

SO WHAT?

Taking a look at all of the command words you underlined from question two in the “What” section, do you notice any trends or themes?Why do you think Peter calls his readers “strangers and exiles”? In what way does this knowledge empower the readers to abide by the dificult instructions he gives them next?Consider what you have learned about the Greco-Roman world in which the early Christians lived. Do you think respecting the authority of the government would have been easy or hard?Why might it be important for Christians to be respectful toward Gentiles, or non-believers? What benefit might that have served for these early Christians?Jesus Christ is our king. Why, then, should we submit to a human king, emperor, president, or other human authority?How does Peter define Christian freedom? How does this compare or contrast to common definitions of freedom?

NOW WHAT?

Has your faith, or the values that you hold because of your faith, ever made you feel like a stranger or exile in your culture? Has it caused others to slander you or to "call you an evildoer” (v. 12)? What hope and guidance does this passage give us for when we experience social rejection as a result of being the people of God?How does the instruction to submit to governing authorities strike you? What feelings does it evoke? What questions does it bring up? Can you imagine a situation in which God might lead you to engage in civil disobedience? Why or why not?Consider any non-believers who are in authority over you. It could be a boss, a teacher, a parent, or a president. How might your individual submission to this non-believer, or the collective submission of Christians to this non-believer, give a positive witness to God?

Closing

Have you ever felt like a stranger or exile because of your faith? If so, how has that made you feel? If not, why do you think you have not?Have you ever felt frustration or hostility toward someone in authority over you: a parent, a teacher, a school administrator, a police officer, or the people who govern your city, state, or nation? Why did you feel frustrated? In light of this passage, what could God be calling you to do in this situation?Consider a human authority who has been unjust or simply unpleasant (a teacher, for example) toward you. What struggles did you have in submitting to that authority? If you could go back, would you change your behavior toward them? Why or why not?

Notes

The knowledge that they do not belong does not lead to withdrawal, but to their taking their standards of behavior, not from the culture in which they live, but from their “home” culture of heaven, so that their life always fits the place they are headed to, rather than their temporary lodging in this world.freedom is not release from bondage to a state of autonomy, but release from bondage to become a slave of God. Only in God’s joyful slavery is there true freedom. So Paul writes, “Now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end eternal life” (Rom. 6:22 RSV). It was quite proper for Christians as God’s servants to do the good he commanded, including honoring rulersSo, what identifies do we see in this passage?

Friend, stranger, exile, slavejWhen should we disobey people in authority?

Peter gave a command that represents a general truth, that is, he specified what Christians should do in most situations when confronting governing authorities. Believers should be inclined to obey and submit to rulers. We will see, however, that the authority of rulers is not absolute. They do not infringe upon God’s lordship, and hence they should be disobeyed if they command Christians to contravene God’s will.ruling powers should be resisted if commands were issued that violated the Lord’s willif governments prescribe what is evil or demand that believers refuse to worship God, then believers as slaves of God must refuse to obey.