1 Peter 2:18-25, Graciously Following in the Footsteps of Jesus

Introduction

Good morning, beloved! Please open your Bible to 1 Peter 2. We’re getting back to our verse by verse study of this wonderful letter written by the apostle Peter. This morning, we will begin looking at 1 Peter 2:18-25. So, with your Bible open there, please follow along as I read 1 Peter 2:18-25 for us. Then we will pray and ask the LORD to bless our time in His Word this morning.

READ 1 Peter 2:18-25

[Matthew 4:4 Responsive Reading - “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”]

PRAY

How do you respond to others when you are wronged and treated poorly, or even harshly? We have all lived long enough to have experienced mistreatment at the hands of others in a variety of ways and circumstances. Honestly, we’ve all been the one treating others harshly in some way, which itself should lead us to humility when we are mistreated. But back to the question at hand, how do you respond when mistreated by others, particularly within the various authority structures in which we all find ourselves.

When you are mistreated by local government officials who are not administering the laws in a fair way. When you are mistreated by those in authority over you in the workplace. When you are mistreated at home. How do you respond in those moments and circumstances of unjust treatment? Does our reaction in those situations line up with our calling as Christians laid out for us in the Scriptures? Or does it reflect more of the self-righteous, me-centered cultural air we breathe that is more indicative of our sinful flesh rather than the gospel of grace?

Does the gospel have anything to say or do with how we respond and live as salt and light in the variety of circumstances we might find ourselves in this side of eternity? Does it have practical implications for how we seek to live now, by God’s grace, as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven under the dominion and reign of King Jesus? The clear answer given according to the Scriptures is emphatically “yes!”

The gospel works in your life in every area and circumstance. Not just good and comfortable situations and contexts. But also in the midst of situations and contexts where those around us might be antagonistic or hostile to the gospel that we love, believe, and proclaim. It affects how we live as salt and light in the midst of a world that is still living in rebellion against God. The gospel trains us how to be citizens of another kingdom––the Kingdom of Jesus Christ––even as we live out our earthly citizenship this side of eternity.

This passage has been both convicting and comforting for me as I consider my own life and even my own tendencies even today when unjustly mistreated by others. We are naturally self-defensive when wronged or challenged in some way. Life often puts us in circumstances where gospel living is very challenging. But we need to be reminded regularly, as Sinclair Ferguson put it, that “The gospel does not depend upon your personal circumstances in order to have power in your personal life.”

Several weeks ago we were reminded that the gospel produces a way of gospel living in us that calls us to wage war against our sinful flesh and to live winsomely in the world for the glory of Christ. Then, a couple of weeks ago we saw that one of those areas of life that we live winsomely for the sake of the gospel is living under the authority of the state––those governing authorities whom God has placed over us in the world. Then, beginning with Chapter 3, we’ll see that it affects the way we live within the authority structures of the home.

This morning, we see that the gospel shapes broadly the way we live under the authority of others. Peter addresses a specific situation and relationship––that of believing slaves and servants living under the authority of unbelieving masters. But he then applies that specific command with a more general principle that affects us all in every station of life and circumstance. The gospel produces a certain demeanor in the lives of God’s people that has wide reaching application to much of our life circumstances.

MAIN POINT––Submit to those in authority over you, following the example of Jesus who suffered unjustly for you.

We’ll move through this together with three points. We see:

The Precept for Submission

The Principle of Submission

The Pattern for Submission

The Precept for Submission

First we must note the precept for submission. With regard to our particular text this morning we see that right away here in verse 18. Peter says, “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect.” Now, we must see that this precept is not just given to servants only. We saw it a couple of weeks ago back in verse 13 where we are all commanded to “be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution.” We’ll see it again in 1 Peter 3:1 where wives are instructed to “be subject to your own husbands.”

The point I want us to see is that this precept––or command––of submission applies to all of us as Christians in a variety of situations and contexts. We must understand that there is a kind of submissiveness that is always the fruit of God’s grace at work in us. We’ll see this all the more explicitly a little later on within our passage this morning. But I want to spend a little time unpacking this particular situation of servants in submission to their masters and how that might apply even to us today.

In the original cultural context that Peter was living and writing there were many slaves living throughout the Roman Empire for a number of reasons. Some had been captured in wars, or kidnapped, or they were born into a slave household. Others were people facing economic difficulty and chose to sell themselves into slavery as a means of survival. Unlike the slavery that existed in the history of our own country, slavery at that time was not based on race. Nor were slaves universally discouraged from education or advancement.

While many of these slaves did not experience the best of treatment. The general slave population of ancient Rome would have included well educated people who served as doctors, teachers, managers, musicians, or craftsmen––some of whom might even own their own slaves themselves. Nevertheless, even such educated slaves of that day, they were all under the charge of their respective masters and had no independent existence apart from their master’s absolute authority over them.

Given that reality, many slaves suffered brutal mistreatment at the hand of their masters. They had no legal rights. Even their own children belonged to their masters. They could be beaten, branded, abused in all kinds of ways. No laws protected them from such treatment. Suffice it to say they did not experience the most humane treatment, particularly at the hand of unbelieving and wicked masters. While some might be able to purchase their freedom, most would have had no path to freedom. It would be their station for the rest of their life.

In spite of that reality, Peter’s words are striking here. Like Paul, he instructs the slaves of his particular audience to submit to their masters in authority over them. Lest we be tempted to think that there might be some loophole based on the particular master’s demeanor, Peter clarifies that the kind of master they had did not matter. He says, “not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust (or harsh).”

Because of this, many have sought to discredit the Bible. They wrongly suggest that the Bible condones slavery. But the Biblical authors addressing the people of God in a particular life circumstance does not mean they were providing blanket approval to that particular practice. The practice of slavery in biblical times was so universal and widely held by human institutions of that day that it was futile for the apostles, or the church, to lobby for the end of such practices.

Instead, they aimed for instruction that accorded with living out the gospel as salt and light that would have a leavening effect on the culture over time. Thus, as the gospel advanced and more and more Christians filled and influenced society, slavery would ultimately come to an end. Rather than exhortation to cultural revolution through activism as primary means, the people of God were exhorted to cultural transformation primarily through preaching the gospel and winsome living that commended the gospel to their neighbors and those in authority over them.

Now, what does this have to do with us today in our current context? We must apply this to ourselves. While slavery does exist in parts of the world, such is not the case here in our particular part of the world. The closest situation we can apply this precept to is how we relate to those in authority over us in the workplace. Whether you have a good boss or one who is not good, perhaps even unkind, you are still to submit to them in so far as it does not violate your God-given conscience in accordance with God’s revealed will in His Word.

Peter then goes on to give the reason for our submission to earthly masters (or bosses in our case)––even those who may be harsh. Look at verse 19––“For this is a gracious thing, when mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.” He’ll go even further to explain what he means by all of this. Real quickly, what does he mean by that phrase, “when mindful of God”? Another way to word it would be “when conscious of God”.

If you are a Christian, you must see that all of your life is lived out in the sight and presence of God for His glory and good pleasure. That’s what it is to be “mindful of God.” You see, the gospel saves us not only from the penalty of sin, but also the power of sin. Thus, the gospel enables us to live God’s way in God’s world. The call to submit to even unjust authority over us is not a vain and meaningless command to submit for submission’s sake.

We submit to authorities over us knowing that to do so is in glad submission to God––our ultimate authority. Being mindful of God, that is to say, living in the sight and presence of God for His glory, is what enables us to then look beyond the circumstances of our lives––including unjust authority––and endure such unjust suffering at the hands of those over us. With that awareness, we go on to do good work as one who is working unto the LORD.

Maybe you have been given or will be given a tedious and unhelpful assignment by your boss. You know it to be demeaning and a waste of time. Everyone else knows it to be demeaning and a waste of time. Where many of us might be tempted to say our piece or speak our mind and tell “boss man” what’s what, Peter tells us we are to submit. We are to do what they are telling us as long as it is not in clear violation of God’s Word.

You may certainly look for employment elsewhere to better your work situation. Remember, though rare, there were means for slaves in ancient Rome to free themselves. Paul even encourages slaves, while submitting to their masters, to seek their freedom if it is possible and available to them (1 Cor. 7:21). More so today, as employees, we can certainly freely seek other employment. But even as we might pursue such an option, we do so in a way that is honorable and submissive to those who are in authority over us until God makes such a provision.

The Principle of Submission

Second, we see the principle of submission. What I mean is, though Peter begins this passage by specifically addressing slaves and their submission to their masters, he ends up applying it as a general principle for all of us as followers of the LORD Jesus Christ. This principle goes beyond the workplace. It applies in all the circumstances Peter provides in which we find ourselves under the authority of another person. It’s a subtle shift he makes and we can miss it if we’re not reading carefully.

Peter makes that subtle shift from specific precept to general principle beginning with verse 19. He says, “For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrow while suffering unjustly.” The subtle shift comes with his use of the word “one.” He begins to speak not just of slaves specifically, but any person more generally. And he maintains that perspective throughout the rest of our passage we’re looking at this morning.

Perhaps you read these words and cringe a little. We don’t like the idea of submission, generally. More than submission, we tend to value individual autonomy and personal rights; independence and freedom. The idea of “sticking it to the man” is far more agreeable to our natural desires than showing honor and deference to those over us. We are, generally speaking, people who do not like to be told what to do.

It gets even harder when we consider having to submit to those we deem incompetent, or disagreeable, and especially those who treat us unjustly. But if you consider the original context and audience in which Peter is writing we can hardly squirm away from this. If this precept and principle of submission sounds strange, or hard, or difficult to our modern ears living in the west, imagine what it must have been like to hear these words in the first century under Roman rule.

I believe Tyler mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but the Roman emperors of this day were not all that friendly to Christians. Specifically, one that most of us are aware of was the emperor Nero, who was known to be one of the harshest persecutors of the church. Any trouble that Rome experienced, he blamed the Christians. They were regularly beaten, imprisoned, and even executed in the cruelest of ways. Fed to wild beasts. Burned alive to light the palace under the night sky.

Then, regarding slaves under masters, they had no rights or protection against unjust treatment. They could be beaten and abused as I said earlier. This was standard practice and custom of the day. No unions or laws to protect against maltreatment or abuse. No rights or judicial proceedings for appeal. The same went for wives under the authority of their husbands in those days. And yet, given all of that, Peter tells these Christians they are to submit to those in authority over them.

Beloved, as those who live in a comparatively much better condition, this call to submission under authority strikes all the more deeply. We cannot be legally beaten or abused and should seek justice in such situations because the law today demands such justice and provides such protection. But I’m referring to situations that do not put us in danger or harm. Situations that do not violate God’s Word.

It doesn’t matter if you believe that the authority over you is incompetent. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like them. It doesn’t matter if they treat you unfairly in relation to others. The call to submission stands. Our demeanor of life and speech toward those who are in authority over us is to be one of honor and dignity; respect and submission. This is hard! This is not natural. It is supernatural. But it is possible by God’s grace. Where God gives a command He also gives His people the grace to obey such commands. The gospel of grace frees us to live this way.

This is a gracious thing, Peter says. He says it twice actually. Once in verse 19. He continues to explain this further in verse 20––“For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.” If you disobey those in authority over you––whether it be the state or your boss at work––you deserve any discipline that comes your way. Refuse to do the work assigned to you? You deserve to be fired. Break the law? You deserve the fine or punishment that’s coming.

But, if you suffer for doing good, that is a gracious thing in God’s eyes. Suffer for sharing the gospel with others? A gracious thing in the sight of God. Suffer for refusing to do something that would compromise your integrity in accordance with God’s Word? A gracious thing in the sight of God. When we endure this kind of suffering that is a result of doing good, it is evidence of God’s grace at work in us and it is a sign that we will one day experience the reward of our eternal inheritance with all the saints, by God’s grace.

The Pattern for Submission

Lastly, we see the pattern for submission. We can never read this and say, “Peter you just don’t understand.” Even more significant, we cannot read this and say, “Lord Jesus, you don’t understand!” Beloved, He is acquainted with all our griefs. He is first and foremost our substitute and Savior. But He is also our example. He is the pattern we are to follow after. That’s where Peter goes next beginning with verse 21. I plan for us to take the deep dive on these remaining verses next week. For now, we’ll just focus on the overall point Peter is making, then be done.

He says, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps.” A couple of things to note here. Once again we are confronted with the reality that this is a general application for all Christians in any situation where we find ourselves under the authority of another. It is not just slaves or servants who were called to a life of suffering for Christ. It is every believer who is called to this. If you are a Christian, you will experience suffering for Christ in some way this side of heaven.

Second, and the primary focus of these remaining verses, is the reality that we are called to this kind of suffering because Christ suffered for us. While His suffering had the primary aim of reconciling us to God through His substitutionary death on the cross, it also provided the example or pattern for which we are to follow and live our lives. To be clear, Christ’s sufferings were unique. Only His suffering can atone for our sins. Nevertheless, when we endure suffering the way that He did, it ultimately points to Him.

The point is this, loved ones––if Jesus, the sinless Savior, the eternal Son of God, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, suffered at the hands of unjust and sinful men, how much more should we expect such suffering? If Jesus, the only truly innocent one in all the universe, endured suffering and never once reviled or threatened in return, then we have no excuse to not also live this way in the face of unjust suffering.

As the crowds mocked Him. As the centurions beat Him and cast lots for His clothing. As Pilate played politics instead of seeing to true justice. As His disciples abandoned Him. Jesus, who deserved absolutely none of that unjust treatment, endured it for our sake. He bore our sins. He had no sins of His own. He bore our sins. He suffered for us in our place. That we might die to sin and live to righteousness. That we might be reconciled to God through faith in Him. Freed to live in glad submission to Him for His glory and our joy in Him.

Conclusion

We’ll take a deeper look at those glorious truths in the person and work of Christ next week. For now, I’d just ask us all to examine our own lives and see where there might be any ways in which we are not living up to what God has called us to here. Does your demeanor and conduct toward those in authority over you, wherever that may be, reflect the example that has been set for us in Christ? Are we putting on display the grace and power of the gospel in all that we do and say? For the glory of Christ and the sake of the gospel, I pray we grow into this all the more.

Submit to those in authority over you, following the example of Jesus who suffered unjustly for you.