1 Peter Bible Study #7: Submitting While Suffering

Introduction

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Eddie Bauer, surgery this morning

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Last week was a little bit different as the MBC meeting had just wrapped up and our Bible study was disrupted a bit, but if you were here, we began part 1 of a 2 part series on submission found in 1 Peter chapter 2. Submitting isn’t an easy thing and it certainly isn’t a natural thing for us to do… but this is what Peter instructs followers of Jesus Christ to do starting in 1 Peter 2:13 as we submit to human authorities. The question that everyone wants answered is this: When do we stop submitting?! Isn’t it interesting that Peter doesn’t answer that question here in the text? In our world as soon as submission gets brought up, as soon as it is even mentioned, people want to know the extent of it and the opt out clause attached to it. The Bible certainly gives us helpful boundaries as we talked about in Daniel 3 and Acts 5, but we have to be careful here or else we’ll miss Peter’s overarching point. The Christian life is one marked by submission. Why is submitting in general hard for us to do?

We don’t submit firstly because it’s easy, but because this is what God’s Word tells us to do. That is our motivation! We serve a Savior who submitted to the Father’s plan and suffered. We are called to do the same - to trust in God’s plan, to submit to those that He puts in positions of authority in a way that honors our God, and to do what is right, even if it means that there will be a potential cost along the way. This isn’t easy, but it is a way that we glorify Jesus! Let’s dive into our passage tonight

1 Peter 2:18–25 CSB

18 Household slaves, submit to your masters with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel. 19 For it brings favor if, because of a consciousness of God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly. 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. 21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 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. 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.

Our context tonight is vitally important for us to understand as we’ll address some more heavy topics! In verse 18 we see the term “household slaves” some translations have the word servants, but the literal understanding here is that these people that are being addressed here are in fact slaves who serve their masters. This passage has been weaponized historically by people to try and justify evil practices towards other people, specifically slaves. This is hard for us to fully understand given the wickedness that transpired several centuries ago with the slave trade and slavery in our own country. We have to do some background here to understand how Peter can call on his audience of largely Gentile believers to submit to their masters as slaves.

As we think of slavery at least as it was 200 years ago in our country, we’re thinking largely of a system that was based on skin color as slaves were kidnapped, brought across the Atlantic Ocean, bought by the highest bidder, and sold as personal property. Many slaves were not only mistreated, but abused and some even killed. This is wrong - this is evil - this is sinful. I’ve encountered people who, wrongly, think that the Bible doesn’t address slavery or condemn it… Look with me to 1 Timothy 1:8-11

1 Timothy 1:8–11 CSB

8 But we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately. 9 We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral and males who have sex with males, for slave traders, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which was entrusted to me.

There are some things that are not correct, or contrary to sound teaching, and one of those things is being a “slave trader” or “enslaver.” One who is taking someone else captive and selling that person into slavery and often making a handsome profit off of that exchange, this practice is sinful and it is wrong and contrary to sound doctrine and doesn’t conform to the Gospel. We can say this: The New Testament adamantly rejects the type of slavery that was practiced and excused by many in our country and throughout the world in recent centuries. That was and is a sin. That was and is evil.

So, why does Peter call on these slaves to submit if being a slave trader is evil and wicked and sinful? The word for slave in this text is more along the lines of an indentured servant, not a person being sold into a lifelong bondage of belonging to another person as their personal property. This is a different term because it comes from a different era that practiced things much differently than our culture is used to. In the Roman world it is estimated that in the 1st century, between 20-40% of the empire were in fact slaves. In the Roman world you had the natural Roman citizen (Paul was one) who has great protection and freedom and status under the law, you had a free person who was in the empire but not a natural citizen, and you had the servant class. Many in this servant class worked in the homes of their masters - but many made a steady income doing this. Some slaves were educated and served as teachers or even doctors. They were, in some cases, able to purchase their freedom. One commentator put it like this, “A better parallel in our modern world would be a student who received a free college education in exchange for serving in the army for 5 years… Or a medical student in residency who receive a wage, but are contracted into a program for a period of time while they complete their training.” Do you see the difference here? In most cases, this was a temporary condition, not a permanent one, as people could eventually gain freedom through faithful work, or purchasing their freedom through money, and become citizens. That’s a lot of background, but it’s important for us to see the world in which Peter is living and the people that Peter is addressing.

Submission Honors God (18-20)

In the Roman world, there were household codes that the leader of the home (the father) had power over the rest of those within the home and family. The servant was at a disadvantage in this sense. Paul addresses Christian masters in Ephesians 6:1-8 and Colossians 4:1

Colossians 4:1 CSB

1 Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.

We see Paul address a Christian master named Philemon and there’s a whole book of the Bible that we’ve likely never heard preached about that very person and his slave, Onesimus. This is a strange instruction because in this world, the father and head of the house could have dealt with his slave however he felt and had full justification to do so in many instances. However, the Bible shares that masters should exercise justice knowing that they are too servants of a greater Master in heaven. Therefore, Paul shares that submission to our master is a way that we honor God. Peter says the same to these slaves in his audience. The purpose behind submission is not to be applauded by other people but instead to honor the Lord! The word reverence in verse 18 is the word “Phobos” in the Greek which is where we get the word fear from. Some believe that the reverence that these servants are to show to their masters is actually based out of a fear of the Lord first - this makes sense as we know that our motivation for what we do is not just to check earthly boxes but to genuinely serve and honor the Lord.

Colossians 3:23 CSB

23 Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people,

It might be easy to live this out and to submit and honor the Lord if the master is just and kind… but what about when the master is cruel? The instruction is the same. Why? Because the motivation is not based on the type of master the servant serves but the God who has saved the servant in the first place who does not change. Therefore, regardless of the master, the servant is to submit in a way that honors the Lord.

Some people take this same logic into the workplace.

Who here has ever worked for someone else?

Who here has ever worked for someone that was not a Christian?

Many of us have! It isn’t an even example, but as you consider yourself in that situation as you serve or work for a boss who might not always be justified in treating Christians a certain way compared to another demographic, you still can work well in a way that glorifies God as you endure grief for your faith. This isn’t saying that you’re a Christian but you don’t complete assignments on time and you slack off and you get called out for it - that is deserved… but if you get passed over for promotion just because you are a committed Christian who has faith in Jesus, that is unjust suffering. You might not get credit here in this life or in that position, but as you do what is good and suffer for doing what is good, you will receive that reward before your God one day. God rewards faithfulness as Hebrews 11:6 tells us

Hebrews 11:6 CSB

6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

The thing that all people, including those in positions of authority, need is the Gospel of Jesus Christ! They need to hear the Gospel message and they need to see the love of Jesus on full display. One of the ways that Christianity exploded in the Roman Empire was by Christians being faithful and submitting to those in positions of power while not obeying those in positions of power. How does that make sense? How can you submit and not obey?

Think of Acts 5 as the apostles were commanded to stop preaching the Gospel. They respected the leaders of the day - they didn’t break apart and threaten to start a new country or rebel against Rome. They submitted to the authorities and gave them the honor they deserved… but they could not obey because sometimes to obey man means to disobey God and that’s a negative every single time. Christians stood out in Rome by submitting to leaders and their authority, while not always obeying them because to obey meant to sin against God. This lead to consequences as many were killed, but they were executed often while singing songs of praise and calling on others to repent and trust in Jesus. If submitting to authorities means that we endure and we do what is right, and in doing so we honor God, then praise the Lord. That’s the instruction here - honor the Lord by submitting to those in authority.

We Submit to Imitate Jesus (21-25)

Here we find another reason why we submit, even if it means that we suffer in an unjust manner: This is what Jesus did long before us. He is our example that we are to follow after. We submit even if it means that we suffer and this really throws some people for a loop as suffering is something that many would rather abstractly talk about rather than experience in a real way.

Why do we naturally oppose suffering as humans?

It hurts

We don’t think that we deserve it

We think that it means that God hates us or has abandoned us

Unjust suffering is not a sign of God’s disappointment or that God has given up control of the situation and that chaos is winning the day. What we see throughout the New Testament is that suffering exists for a purpose and we can’t always see that purpose, but we can always trust in the person and plan of our God! Think of the cross of Jesus Christ. Did Jesus suffer on the cross? Yes! Did He deserve to suffer on that cross? No. Did the cross bring about something purposeful? Yes - our salvation! God uses suffering to bring about something purposeful. In our lives, as we suffer, our trust and dependency on God increases and we grow to become more and more like Jesus! These are good things, even though they might not feel good in the moment.

Think of Peter standing before Pilate - did He submit? Yes. Did He complain and voice His innocence? No. He, as verse 23 says, “entrusted Himself to the one who judges justly.” Peter is sharing that whenever we suffer, we have an example to imitate, an exile to follow, a suffering servant to shape future servants who will suffer.

What Old Testament passage continues to show up in this passage of Scripture?

Isaiah 52:13-53 - the Suffering Servant

Consider what Jesus did for us as Paul lays out in Philippians 2:5-11 in this wonderful text

Philippians 2:5–11 CSB

5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. 7 Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

He humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. He submitted to the Father’s plan and to the authorities in place and this meant that He would suffer. Those who say that Christians should never suffer or that it’s not God’s will for His people to suffer demonstrate a flawed view of the cross and the Christian life. Jesus Himself said that in this world we would have trouble and that in order to be His disciple we must pick up our cross daily and die to self as we follow Him. This is a call to suffer, but it’s also a call to experience life everlasting and walk in newness of life today. Jesus loves to make our choices clear and He loves black and white oftentimes. The choice before us today is this: Will I choose Christ or will I choose Comfort?

I can either honor God and submit to His plan and His Word, or I can choose worldly comforts that sound good and make me feel good. I can either trust in what I feel or I can look at God’s Word and trust in the facts of what Jesus has done for me! I can submit to self or I can submit to Him!

The reason we submit to authorities in this world is to please and honor Jesus, who submitted to authorities in His life. Why do Christians submit, even while suffering? Because this is what Jesus did and this is what followers of Jesus will do.

Think of an example of someone who suffered because they were fully submitted to Jesus

Adoniram Judson

William Carey

Paul

Whenever you are saved by grace through faith in Christ and are returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls, you have a mandate to follow Him and to do what He calls on you to do. Let us be a people known by our obedience to others out of our ultimate allegiance and submission to King Jesus and let our message be simply this: Taste and See that He is Good!