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Notes
Transcript
For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
I personally wish those who put together the lectionary would have included verse 18 with this text. Because it is a verse that needs to be discussed without fear and with compassion and strength. Verse 18 says,
Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh.
Verse 18 helps us to understand some things about verses 19-25. You may have asked as you heard and read verses 19-25, who is this for? Verse 18 tells us who this is for. Why did the lectionary creators leave this verse off. Could it be that they feared the verse and how it could be used? Part of me thinks that is the case but the other part makes think there is not enough time to really unpack just verse 18 in a proper way. So much attention would be needed for verse 18 that the hope and joy found in 19-25 would be miss.
Now, I need to say something. If you have ever heard someone say verse 18 is a sign that slavery and oppression are acceptable in the Bible, then you heard a lie. This verse and section is not in anyway, shape, or form promoting slavery. This section is not promoting any type of oppression. I would say if you heard this verse as promoting either and you did not speak out against it then you agreed with slavery and oppression. Those two things stand in opposition of Christianity and our call as a disciple.
In order to fully understand this section of Peter we must first realize that the letter was written to believers who were under Roman rule. These believers were be forced to be slaves in Roman society. Think about that. The slaves were the believers this letter was written to and the Romans were not believers. In fact, the Romans worshipped their own gods and sometimes forced believers to worship their gods. It had to be a hard and difficult time for these believers and they probably struggled with the thought that God was with them. These early believers were forced to participate in worship of the Roman gods and endure abuse.
It was a harsh time for believers. They were not part of the world but they were part of the world. Wait what? Well, we know that Christ calls us to be separate from the world so that we are not part of the world but in that call we become are called to be part of the world. Believers are called to be active in the world. Even these early believers were called to the same thing. They were not called to lock themselves into their rooms or houses and not participate in worldly things. No, in fact they were called to be part of the world so that others could hear about Christ and his suffering.
Now, a pause to talk about something serious here. If you are in an abusive relationship, this verse is not saying to continue to endure that abuse in order to be like Christ. That is not the point here and do not let anyone tell you that is the case. The fact is, these early believers were not allowed to leave their masters house to escape the abuse. They had no other options, you do! If you are in a abusive relationship get out of there. Do not worry about the pain that will be brought to your significant other, they are not worrying about the pain they cause you. Get out of the relationship and find help. If you need help please call me and I will find the help you need to keep you safe and get you out of the abuse.
So, we’ve learned two things this passage is not telling us. The first thing it is not saying is that slavery is part of Christianity. The second thing is that being abused in a relationship is not like Christ being abused. These are important because it is easy to misconstrue these verses and use them to say these things. If you read this text out of context it is easy to apply the verses to the wrong things. That is why it is difficult to preach from these verses.
But, what is missed in the scripture is the aspect of it saying that we need to be part of the world. We cannot completely separate ourselves from the world. We have heard it many times that we are not supposed to be part of the world but this text is saying we are. I believe we have to be part of the world in order to make disciples, especially new disciples. If we were not part of the world then it would be hard for us to find new believers. A couple years ago, I preached a sermon and talked about the importance of being part of the world. One of the gentleman in the audience came to me and said he disagreed because when he was part of the world he really wasn’t doing what he was supposed to do. In fact, it wasn’t until he removed the worldly things that his relationship with Christ changed.
I understand that sometimes we need to be removed from situations in order to grow closer to Christ but if we only associate with Christians then how can we reach out to non-Christians to help them to have a relationship with Christ? We are not called to just help Christians to grow as disciples. Christ does not say to us to work on only making disciples within the church but says to “Go”. To go means we have to get out and be part of the world. We have to be willing to go sit with non-believers and have a discussion about Christ. We must be willing to sit amongst sinners and say God forgives you!
I know it is not an easy task. I know that most of us are more comfortable talking about our relationship with Christ among believers but Christ is saying we have to be in the world telling others of his love for them. In order to make disciples we have to find new people who have not heard of Jesus Christ. Statistically, we all now at least 2 people that are not believers and at least 1 who is questioning what they believe in and the only way to find these people and to bring them to know Christ is through meeting with them outside of church. So, friends, I invite you to follow the example of this text and be part of the World as a believer and reach out to those who may struggle with their belief and understanding of Christ.