Working for the Godless
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Good Morning, New Hope! I’m glad to be back with you here today. This morning, I wanted to continue to work through 1 Peter with you all. This letter was written to a group that Peter refers to as the “elect exiles.” These were Christians who had been scattered throughout the Roman Empire and were being persecuted for their faith in Christ. Peter is writing to them now, encouraging and instructing them to continue to do good, even in the face of suffering.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like suffering very much. Charles Spurgeon once said, “There is hardship in everything, except eating pancakes.” The obvious solution to avoiding suffering in this world, then, is to simply eat more pancakes.
No one looks for suffering, but it is an undeniable fact of this world. And yet, Peter here is addressing the kind of suffering that comes about by doing good. Notice that he doesn’t tell his readers to stop doing good. He doesn’t tell them to do good less often or to do good in private. Rather, throughout the book of 1 Peter, he encourages them to do good, even in the face of suffering.
This general theme of suffering for doing good permeates this letter. Peter looks for different ways to instruct and apply this one truth, that we are called to live in a way that glorifies God, not only through our actions, but through our witness. As we read through 1 Peter 2:18-25, notice that Peter not only encourages his readers to endure suffering for doing good, but also reveals two byproducts of their faithful obedience in the face of suffering.
Reading
Please join me in the reading of God’s Word:
Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 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. 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. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Prayer
Exposition
1 Peter 2:18-20
Our text this morning continues to unpack a theme that Peter reveals earlier in the chapter. In 1 Peter 2:13-17, the apostle encouraged his readers to be subject to governmental authorities, even though he knew that the government would not always be a proponent of justice. He encouraged his readers to do good, even though their good works might bring about unjust suffering. Now, Peter applies this same theme of suffering for doing good in verses 18-25.
In verses 18-20, the apostle addresses those who were living as slaves in the first century Roman Empire, encouraging them to persist in doing good, even in the face of suffering, because this pleases God. This is the “what” of this section - that is, this is what this section is all about. The remaining verses reveal the why. There, Peter tells his readers why they are to endure suffering for doing good, focusing intently on Christ, as the model of how to endure unjust suffering.
Peter begins in 1 Peter 2:18, instructing servants to be subject to (i.e. submit to) their masters.
Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.
Here, “servants” refers to household slaves, working within a family setting. Many of them were well-educated, serving as doctors, teachers, musicians, and secretaries. At that time, more than 50% of the population in major cities were enslaved and many became Christians.
Slavery within the 1st century Roman Empire looked substantially different than the kind of slavery that has stained American history. Many slaves throughout the 1st century Roman Empire were former prisoners of war, sold into slavery. Others had sold themselves into slavery to clear a debt or to serve as punishment for a crime. A number of Christians had voluntarily entered into slavery, some wanting to ransom others from slavery and others wanting to use the money they were bought with to feed others.
Still, slaves in the 1st century were regarded as the property of their masters. If they obeyed, they could gain the favor of their masters and possibly be rewarded. If they disobeyed, they would certainly have been punished. They had next to no rights in the eyes of the law and were held in low regard by the rest of society.
Knowing that the gospel was spreading throughout the empire and that many slaves were converting to Christianity, Peter wisely addresses slaves, who likely made up a significant percentage of his audience. His aim was to instruct them on how to keep their “conduct among the Gentiles honorable” (2:12).
Peter instructs servants to be subject to their masters, “with all respect.” The word for respect here is the same word that Peter uses in verse 17, when he tells his readers to “fear God.”
Although it seems like Peter is telling these slaves to submit to their masters and be reverent toward them, the context supports a different understanding. Here, Peter is telling these servants to submit to their masters out of their fear of the LORD.
Now, just imagine you were a household slave in the 1st century Roman Empire. Imagine you were hardworking and obedient toward your master. Imagine he told you to do something and you did it right away. And then imagine, after completing the assigned task, he beat you anyway. Not every master was just.
And Peter knows not every master was just. This is why he tells these servants to submit, “not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust.”
From this, we learn that our submission to the authorities in our lives ought not to be dependent on their character, but on their position over us. This conviction is born out of a greater trust in the sovereignty of God, in that if you find yourself working for a cruel person, it is not by chance, but by God’s will.
I think, sometimes, in the midst of our grumbling and complaining, we lose sight of the fact that God has given us a ministry of reconciliation. The more we bemoan the futility of our situation and the discomfort it causes us, the less likely we are to advance God’s redemptive purpose or to serve as a living apologetic.
In telling his readers to submit to their masters, Peter reasons,
For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.
Without a doubt, this statement would have caused some of his readers to pump the brakes. Suffering injustice is a gracious thing? Unwarranted slander directed toward you is a gracious thing? Someone trampling over your rights is a gracious thing? Surely, Peter couldn’t be serious. There’s got to be a typo in there somewhere. How in the world could he say that?
He continues in 1 Peter 2:20:
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.
Here, Peter explains that enduring punishment when you do wrong offers no benefit to you. To be punished for doing wrong is only to get what you deserve. But if you endure suffering for the good that you’ve done, this is a gracious thing in God’s sight.
What Peter means is that your persistence in doing good, your faithful obedience to God in the face of suffering is commendable in God’s sight.
So far, Peter has simply encouraged the household slaves among his readers to persist in doing good as they submit to their masters. If this has led to any undue punishment or suffering, Peter reminds them that, as they continue to endure suffering for doing good, they are at the same time pleasing God. Verses 18-20 reveal the what of this passage - our commitment to doing good, even the in face of suffering, is pleasing to God. In the next few verses, Peter reveals the why.
1 Peter 2:21-25
In 1 Peter 2:21-25, Peter tells reveals why our commitment to doing good, even in the face of suffering, is pleasing to God. In these verses, we learn that God has called us to suffer, just as Christ has suffered for us. The apostle reminds us that Christ serves as the archetype for our lives and shows how he responded to unjust suffering. Finally, he shows us that Christ’s suffering had a redemptive purpose, in that it has brought about our righteousness, healing, and reunion with God.
Peter continues, explaining why our commitment to doing good in the face of suffering is pleasing to God. In 1 Peter 2:21, he writes,
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.
Why is your faithful endurance pleasing to God? How is your commitment to doing good in the face of suffering considered a gracious thing in God’s sight? Because God has called you to suffer.
This is one of those uncomfortable truths, but it is true nonetheless. If you are in Christ, God has called you to suffer. Looking back to 1 Peter 1:6-9, we’re reminded that God is sovereign over our suffering. In this life, we will experience suffering. It is not without purpose, but instead falls within God’s sovereign plan. 1 Peter 1:6-7 tells us:
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
In telling them that they have been called to suffer, Peter redirects their attention to Christ, who had suffered for them and now serves as an example for them to follow.
According to our text, Christ is their example, but perhaps example is too weak of a word to convey what Peter actually means. The word translated example here is ὑπογραμμὸν, referring to”a pattern of letters of the alphabet over which children learning to write would trace. It suggests the closest of copies.”
As Peter continues, he shows us the kind of example Christ that left us to follow. It’s important to note that remaining verses within this passage are littered with allusions to Isaiah 53. For those unfamiliar with the reference, Isaiah 53 tells us of the Suffering Servant - that is, the true Servant of the LORD referenced throughout the latter parts of Isaiah, who would “make many to be accounted righteous” through his suffering.
When we compare these two texts, we find that the Isaiah 53 allusions that Peter attributes to Christ are out of order, in comparison to the original text. We read, as Peter jumps from 53:9 to 53:7 to 53:4 to 53:5 to 53:6. Most scholars note that Peter has reframed Isaiah 53 to fit the passion narrative - that his, he is using Isaiah’s words to retell the story of Christ’s death.
1 Peter 2:22-24
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Notice in verses 22-24 that Peter’s primary focus here is on how Christ responded to words spoken against him. We see that he intentionally selects these verses from Isaiah 53 to address the primary nature of the opposition his readers were facing. This is supported by 1 Peter 2:1 and 1 Peter 2:12. Nevertheless, we see how the opposition Christ had faced grew and, as it grew, the suffering transitioned from verbal to physical.
Peter points to Christ as our model, giving us an example of how to respond in the face of suffering. Jesus suffered insult and injustice. He was scorned by his family and rejected by his people. He shared his company with sinners and outcasts. He was despised by others. When he was wronged, he did not retaliate. Instead, he entrusted himself to God, “who judges justly.”
I think we need to take a moment and consider what Peter means when he says that Christ “continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” There may be the temptation here to read some type of divine retribution into the text, when it is far from what Peter intended. Is Peter really saying that Christ entrusted God to vindicate him? Is he really saying that his hope, as he endured suffering, was that God would ultimately take vengeance on his enemies?
We know that there will come a day when God brings justice. Those who do good will be rewarded, while those who do evil will be punished. We read this in 2 Corinthians 5:10, which reads:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
From this, we know that we can trust God to bring about justice for every sinful act committed on this earth. When it seems like justice is slow, surely, we can trust that the LORD will eventually hold the offender accountable for his misdeeds. We don’t have to seek vengeance for ourselves, because we know that the LORD will bring about justice in his timing. We see this very idea in Romans 12:19
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Yet, it is hard to imagine Christ, as he was being mocked or as he was being crucified, to have muttered to himself, “Oh, you’re gonna get yours!” As we read throughout the gospels, we know that this attitude would be inconsistent with the heart of Christ. Although it’s true that God will eventually seek vengeance and pour out his wrath, it’s hard to imaging Jesus saying, “Oh Father, don’t forget about that person over there.”
I don’t believe Peter here is saying that Jesus entrusted God to seek vengeance, even though it’s true that God will eventually seek vengeance. Instead, I think it’s more in line with both the heart of Christ and with the rest of 1 Peter that Christ had entrusted God the Father to judge him justly.
Christ was, in fact the “living stone, rejected by men, but in the sight of God chosen and precious” (1 Peter 2:4). Although he had suffered, he had done so faithfully and in accordance with God’s will. Christ’s suffering was not without purpose, but rather was intended to bring about God’s redemptive purpose. As Isaiah 53:10 reads,
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Christ suffered according to God’s sovereign plan. Similarly, our commitment to doing good, even in the face of suffering is commendable in God’s sight. Why? Because God has called us to do good, even if it means we suffer.
Rather than seeking retribution, it is more likely that Jesus entrusted God to accept him, in light of his faithful obedience.
In verse 24, we learn that Christ endured the cross with his heart aimed at reconciliation, rather than retribution. Peter tells us,
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
From this verse, we’ve been given the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement. This means that Jesus Christ, having no sin of his own, took on our sin and absorbed the wrath of God for sin, that we might be free from sin and be able to live the life that God desires.
Why did Christ endure the cross? Why did he suffer unjustly? So that “we might die to sin and live to righteousness.”
Christ entrusted himself to God the Father, knowing that he had faithfully carried out what God had sent him to do.
He had given up his life with the sole desire that we might die to sin. This is similar to what Paul writes in Romans 6:7-8,
For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
Christ’s suffering brought a measure of redemption. This is why Peter can say, “By his wounds you have been healed.”
In other words, Peter is saying that Christ in taking our sin upon himself has removed the curse of sin from us, so that we can enjoy right relationship with God. The punishment or the consequence of sin has been done away with in Christ’s death on the cross.
Peter concludes in 1 Peter 2:25,
For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
In this final verse, we read Peter’s last allusion, Isaiah 53:6, which reads,
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Here, Peter is affirming that before our relationship with God had been restored, we were all like wandering sheep. Yet through Christ’s suffering on the cross, we have been rescued and have now returned under the care of the Shepherd.
Application
We’re not looking for additional opportunities to suffer, but we are looking for additional opportunities to do good, to bring glory to God through our witness to others.
This text primarily informs us how to respond as we suffer for doing good. Peter encourages us to endure, knowing that our suffering for doing good is pleasing to God and serves a redemptive purpose. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Prayer