1 Peter 2:16-20

Silencing the Critics Through Christ-Centered Living

Christians are people who have been set free by Christ through His redeeming blood, the blood he shed on the cross.

This freedom means that Christians are no longer under the condemnation and the wrath of God.

This freedom allows Christians to live holy lives (obey God, say no to sin, love God and His word) 2 Peter 1:2-4

This freedom allows Christians to live a sanctified life empowered and enabled by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 6:22)

However, it is also the reality that as long as we are still in the flesh, we still sin because we still have the sinful nature in our flesh.

In other words, Christians are both justified and sinners.

1 Peter 2:16 NASB95

16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.

Peter is saying to the believers, you were once slaves to the world but now you are freed by Christ and you are not under condemnation anymore.

Do not use your freedom to indulge in sinful living and thus giving the critics something to throw at Christ.

Covering / Pretext = hypocrisy, abuse of freedom, hearers but not doers of the word.

Christian freedom is always conditioned by Christian responsibility (cf. Gal. 5:13) and must never be used as a cover-up (epikalymma, lit., “veil”) for evil. You do not have freedom to do wrong!

Though you are free to do anything you want, but you are not free from consequences. Remember that you are still in another sense servants of God or ‘slaves of God’, for you owe God your whole life and whole being! He rescued you, he saved you, he clothe you, he gave you a new identity, He is your master, but a good, merciful, and gracious master.

“Freedom in Christ must result in the great joy of doing right and pleasing to God”

This section concludes with a 5 -point summary of Christian citizenship in order to silence the critics - Christ Centered Living

1 Peter 2:17–18 NASB95

17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. 18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.

I. Christian are to respect everyone.

Honor = “honor, value, esteem, weight”

Romans 12:10 - Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Romans 12:11 - Live in harmony with one another.

All People / Everyone - this tells us that we should not chose or discriminate who we are going to respect and who’s not. It say’s all people!

Believers should be conscious of the fact that each human has been uniquely created in God’s image.

To honor means recognizing those with specific status or needs 1 Tim. 5:3

1 Timothy 5:3 NASB95

3 Honor widows who are widows indeed;

In application, Paul is telling Timothy to honor the widows by providing for them because they can’t provide for themselves.

Example of giving honor - When the people of Malta provide for Paul and his shipmates in response to Paul’s healing them (Acts 28:10)

Acts 28:10 NASB95

10 They also honored us with many marks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all we needed.

These people in Malta were unbelievers and yet they were able to give honor to Paul and his shipmates.

It would be a tragedy and an insult to the name of Christ if unbelievers were more Christ-like in giving honor or respect than Christians.

The most common example of giving honor is the honor that one should pay to one’s parents (i.e., the fifth commandment;

Ephesians 6:2 NASB95

2 Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise),

Honoring the parents includes listening and obeying in the Lord…and this is with a promise of blessing.

A reminder to the parents - This command is given to the children because you are expected to display the character of God, to model to the children how it is to honor God.

We can’t really expect our to children to honor us parents if they can’t see in us that we honor God and other people.

II. Christians are to love the family of believers

Peter is referring here to the church, the household of faith - all who profess to be believers of Christ belongs to the family of God and as God’s family, members of this spiritual family should love each other.

Peter used the greek word for love “agapao = agape” , not eros (sexual love), not phileo (brotherly love or the general term of love).

The word Agapao in the Biblical sense means “to be willing to sacrifice for the welfare of others”

This agape love is displayed in God’s undeserved love for the unlovely.

1 John 4:7–11 NASB95

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

A biblical definition of love starts with God, never with us.

God is love itself; it is his character that defines love. Because he is love, he acts with love toward an undeserving world to save sinners from their sins and reconcile them to himself (Rom. 5:8).

The love of God in every believer’s heart is expected to manifest and overflow in words and in deeds.

You see, the Love of God cannot be separated with the Love of Other people. They cannot be divorced.

1 John 4:20 NASB95

20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

say = Confession ; hates = Action . This is a false claim! You are a liar and a hypocrite....thus you need to repent....

hate = to regard with less affection, esteem less

dili lang nasuko, apil na ana ang pag disrespect ug pag dishonor sa imong isig-katao.

Galatians 5:22 NASB95

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Paul tells us, “The fruit of the Spirit is love” (Gal 5:22); it is only by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God that we can internalize and realize the love that God has for us. This type of godly love compels us to look for unmet needs among our fellow human beings.

John 13:35 NASB95

35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Our love for other believers displays the reality that we are disciples of Jesus.

Our love for one another displays the reality that God is present in the church.

and that It is His Church, not a made up church.

Practical means to show love for one another in the church and in the family:

Intercede in prayer for others (ask others their prayer request)

Testify about the goodness of God (to encourage others)

Share your God-given resources as a faithful steward (time, skills, talents, money)

Be understanding of each other’s faults (we are sinners in need of grace, we are all works in progress)

Be present and be involved (you cannot really do anything if you are always not here)

III. Christians are to fear God.

The verb “fear” (phobeisthe) here does not mean to be in terror, but awe and reverence that leads to obedience (cf. phobō in 1 Peter 1:17, phobou in 3:16, and phobon in 2 Cor. 7:11). One will never truly respect people until he reverences God.

IV. Christians are to honor the king.

“Honor” is from timaō, the verb used at the beginning of this verse. The respect or “honor” due to all is especially to be given to those God has placed in authority (cf. “the king” in 1 Peter 2:13 and “governors” in v. 14; cf. Rom. 13:1).

V. Christians who are servants are to respect their masters.