Your Behaviour Towards Others is a Sign of Redemption

Introduction: Illustration of a pivot point, a critical juncture in a journey.

We are familiar with the idea of a see saw.

A simple plank of wood with a pivot point in the middle.

You can’t find a traditional one in a park anymore.

They were considered too dangerous, so other things have been substituted instead.

But the principle remains; there is a tipping point where you move from going up to going down.

And if the person on the other end jumps off when you are up, then you go down, very fast!

Which is where the problem of broken legs, back injuries and abrasions came into the picture, which is why they can’t be found in parks anymore?

Or perhaps if you haven’t had the privilege of experiencing a traditional see saw, then you may be familiar with the idea of a critical point in a journey.

A juncture where everything seems to change.

It might be the peak of a long climb up a hill.

A journey where you change flights part way through.

It may be a journey where you have to change the mode of transport from a plane to a train.

There is this almost magical point where everything seems to change.

Maybe where the journey home seems to go faster than the journey to get there.

You move off the country roads onto the freeway.

Whatever it is there is this critical juncture in your journey.

The tipping point on the see saw.

Or the change of tone in a letter where general thoughts become specific instructions.

Which is what we find in 1 Peter 2:11.

Here Peter begins what is structurally the second half of the letter.

In the first part of the letter Peter focuses on the theological aspects and occasionally applies these to life.

From this point forward Peter focuses on the practical with shorter theological statements included. [1]

The first half contains general exhortations to holiness (1:15), love (1:22), and trust in God this half gives very specific instructions showing how believers are to practice holiness and trust in God in actual life situations. (related to hope in 1:13, and implied in 1:5, 7–9, 21; 2:7), [2]

Though it is an oversimplification, it may be said that 2:11–5:11 gives specific application to the general teaching of 1:1–2:10. [3]

Peter begins this practical application with a reminder to his readers of their relationship and standing. - 1 Peter 2:11

Most new translations use the term “Dear Friends” at the beginning of verse 11.

But this isn’t a strong enough term.

Peter isn’t just writing to his friends.

These are friends whom he loves, friends who may have to die with him for their faith.

This is an intense affection shared by people who have and will go through a lot together.

Peter is calling to them as an Apostle, a man speaking with the authority of God and also a man who cares about them as a brother.

He is warning them, strongly urging them.

Be careful, don’t get trapped.

But what is there that they need to be careful off?

What is there that could trap them?

Peter identifies the danger as worldly desires, sinful desires or worldly lusts, things that wage war against your very souls.

Which sounds a bit alarmist and over the top.

Like those who continually cry out the end is near, the sky is falling and you will all be doomed!

But this is actually what will happen if Christians loose sight of what really counts.

PAUSE

The war that Peter identifies is actually very real.

It is a war that comes because of our status as “aliens and strangers”

We need to be reminded of our position as aliens & strangers in this world because of Christ.

Peter has addressed his readers as

1 Peter 2:11 (NLT)

11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.

Peter speaks to them as aliens and exiles, using two words which are found together in both Gen. 23:4 and Ps. 39:12.

These words emphasize the Christian’s status as a temporary resident in a world that is not his home, for his true homeland is in heaven. [4]

And this is why there is a war, an internal conflict.

The desires of a heavenly home against the desires of a fallen earthly home.

Peter calls his readers to keep away, or to abstain from these worldly desires.

Now Christians will often come up with a list.

Usually taken directly from a scripture passage such as Galatians 6:19 which lists; sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, murder4drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.[5]

The reason Christians will often come up with a list like this is so they can go through and tick of each one they are not guilty of and therefore they can declare themselves to be right before God.

Which totally misses the point!

No list can be complete.

No attempt to declare yourself righteous is realistic.

As citizens of heaven, as aliens and strangers in this world the attitude which is required is totally different.

1 John 2:16 sums up the situation very well when it says; “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” (1 John 2:16, NLT)

Physical pleasure, possessions and pride.

A desire for anything that is against God’s will is what Peter has in mind.

A desire for anything other than relationship with God is a danger.

Here is the key, the pivot point on the see saw.

When our focus is on heaven, our relationship with Christ then everything else takes on a correct perspective.

Peter’s warning is not in the past it is a continuous action, a present tense1 and gives the sense of ‘continually keep away from sinful desires, do not let yourself indulge in them at any time’. [6]

These desires are not uncontrollable as our modern society would have us believe.

We are not to let every feeling and desire wash over us as something which we cannot control.

A life focussed on Christ will drive away many feelings and desires because they are not welcome or compatible with a life focussed on heaven.

Instead our desires are brought under the control of Christ.

Bit by bit, moment by moment, thought by thought our focus becomes Christ.

So that by continually focussing on Christ our sexual desires find appropriate expression and enjoyment in our spouse or if we are single our invovlement in genuine community and service helps us to tame these desires until such time as they can find appropriate expression in marriage.

Our physical desires for food, comfort and excitement find appropriate expression and enjoyment in healthy physical sustainment and the joy of shared community.

Our desires for possessions and wealth are transformed from an idol which gives us a sense of security and achievement into wisdom and stewardship which builds resources.

Resources which enable us to bless others.

When our focus is on heaven and our relationship with Christ, pride falls away and is replaces with love.

When this is our reality then something truly amazing happens.

When this is our reality a transformation takes place.

A transformation which is physically evident to those around us.

We will actually live as an example to Christ for those who do not know him.

Living as aliens and strangers amongst unbelieving neighbours v 12a

When Peter wrote “

1 Peter 2:12 NLT

12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

The world was a very different place.

The lifestyle of Christians and also Jews was a confronting testimony that these people were different.

Their moral purity stood out as they did not use prostitutes, they avoided affairs, they had only one spouse for life and they remained faithful.

Their love, care and concern for others stood out.

Their avoidance of idol worship stood out.

Their sense of community stood out.

Now that isn’t to say that there weren’t elements of these positive things in other members of society.

There was, but the Christians especially were different.

When we read 1 Peter 2:12 we have a significant problem.

Until recently the world around us upheld these same values as the ideal to be aimed for.

And while most people, most of the time would say that this way of behaving was good and right.

The reality was that Christians were about as good and right as most of the people, most of the time.

In reality we really didn’t have a testimony to give because the church looked no different from the world around us.

Except that we pretended to be holy, when everyone else could see that we were at best no better than them and often were simply hypocrites.

But things are rapidly changing.

Moral purity is no longer always seen as a good thing.

Sexual licence is actually encouraged, faithfulness is optional.

Physical pleasure of any form is worshipped.

Possessions have become the measure of morality.

The gods of consumerism and pleasure rule supreme.

As society changes around us we can mourn and retreat into our own ghetto or we can see an opportunity to “live properly among our unbelieving neighbours”(2:12)

Verse 12 in the Greek text isn’t a new sentence it is a continuation of verse 11.

It is a counterpart, a balance to verse 11.

Here is the pivot point on the see saw.

Christians are to keep away from worldly pleasures and also to continue to live properly among their unbelieving neighbours.

When we live this way, the dangers of the see saw disappear.

We don’t end up with the broken leg or the back injury.

Our balance is evidence of a life focussed on heaven; a life lived in relationship with Christ.

We become that testimony which the world around us is looking for.

As verse 12 concludes with “Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.” (1 Peter 2:12, NLT)

We are the testimony that may lead to salvation; we can be the path which leads our neighbour to come before God.

And while the end of verse 12 reads as if it is referring to the judgement day it can also be taken to refer to a day of visitation.

The day when an unbeliever becomes a believer in Christ as Lord and saviour because they have seen the testimony of a life focussed on heaven, a life lived through Christ.

So how do we live out this redemption in practice?

Well if we lived 2000 years ago in the Roman provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia[5]

1 Peter 2:13 to 3:12 would be easy to understand, but our social situation has changed.

So we need to take the principles and apply them to our current situation.

The sign of our redemption towards government and rulers is found in 1 Peter 2:13-16

1 Peter 2:13–16 NLT

13 For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, 14 or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. 15 It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. 16 For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.

There are three main principles in these verses.

Firstly we are to be submissive to the authorities.

By definition when we are dealing with a recognised institution in a country with a democratically elected government, a monarchy or a socialist bureaucracy?

We are dealing with a legitimate authority and wether we agree with its policies or not we are to recognise its authority.

Now this doesn’t mean blind obedience.

There are many examples throughout Scripture when believers have not obeyed and have received God’s approval. (Exod. 1:17; Dan. 3:13–18; 6:10–24; Acts 4:18–20; 5:27–29; Heb. 11:23).

The principle is ‘obey except when commanded to sin’.

The second principle is that we are to not only obey the law but also to accept the just punishment which an authority may apply to an individual who has done wrong.

When Peter used the word punish at the end of verse 14 it means exactly that.

This is not only reforming an individual or protecting society.

There is also a strong element of retribution.

Fines and imprisonment have an element of legitimate punishment for a wrong committed.

This is a legitimate function of civil authority as attested in Romans 13:4.

However it is not a role for the individual, only for the authority of state and its representatives.

Verses 19 to 23 go on to teach that individuals must not inflict retribution for wrong done to them.

The third principle is that of witness.

Christians will be accused of all sorts of things, as we are seeing at the moment with the constant and unfair use of the word bigot against all who believe in the Biblical expression of marriage.

But these are the words of ignorant people who think themselves wise but who are actually fools.

God’s way of stopping them is our honourable behaviour.

Our refusing to sin by repaying like with like.

When we refuse to slander those who slander us then God has opportunity to work.

And God has this opportunity because we refuse to do evil as we are in his service alone.

The great example of this is the non-violent protest movement of people such as Rev Dr Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement.

The legitimacy of government was recognized; its right application of authority was challenged by civil disobedience.

The sign of our redemption towards employers and society is found in 1 Peter 2:18-25

While we could spend enormous amounts of time on this subject we simply don’t have time so I would encourage you to read through verses 21 to 25 of chapter 2 and consider what this means in your context.

What it doesn’t mean is accepting or allowing bullying, fraud, theft and unsafe practices in our contemporary situation.

While a Christian slave centuries ago may have suffered such behaviours.

The work of Christian reformers over centuries has highlighted the immorality of such actions and as a result the authorities in the exercise of their legitimate power have outlawed such behaviours.

The sign of our redemption for wives & husbands is found in 1 Peter 3:1-7

While these few verses give many positive expressions of what submission means I want to focus on the abuse that this topic suffers.

Have a look at verse 6.

What did calling Abraham her master mean to Sarah nearly 2000 years before Christ?

It was a title of respect.

Such as addressing a person by their title.

Doctor, professor or their surname, Mr Smith.

Yes a patriarch was the absolute ruler of their household.

But they weren’t to be a tyrant.

They were to be leaders for the benefit of their household.

In balance husbands are called in verse 7 to honour their wife.

To understand her needs, desires, strengths and weaknesses and the understanding of anything that is helpful to the relationship.

This implies a correct understanding of God’s word, the intimacy of a positive relationship and the same concern for her physically weaker situation that God shows throughout Scripture for the weak and vulnerable.

In essence it means look after her well and treat her as of equal worth to yourself.

While the Old Testament reflects the reality for women at that time and the New Testament is mainly concerned with changing attitudes rather than directly confronting inequality it reaffirms the intent of creation.

Equal partners before God and in Christ equal participants in all aspects of the Kingdom.

So any claim that submission means the wife is a doormat, servant or simply to provide for the man’s pleasure whenever he wants is sheer arrogance, which God will judge and I will confront.

Peter goes on to deal with respect as a witness to our redemption in chapter 3:8 to 12.

But the central point in all of this is simply that how we live, how we treat people is a sign of the work of God in our lives.

Or the lack of it.

So the question to ask ourselves each and every day is this.

Is my behaviour a demonstration that I am beiung sanctified, transformed to be more like Christ or is there more work to do?

The answer will always be there is more work to do but it is my prayer that you will also say, I am making progress as I draw closer to Christ because I can see that I am being more loving towards others.

Amen

[1] Grudem, W. A. (1988). 1 Peter: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 17, pp. 121–125). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [2] Grudem, W. A. (1988). 1 Peter: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 17, pp. 121–125). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [3] Grudem, W. A. (1988). 1 Peter: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 17, pp. 121–125). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [4] Grudem, W. A. (1988). 1 Peter: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 17, pp. 121–125). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 4 Some manuscripts add murder [5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Ga 5:19–21). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. 1 The UBS Greek text (31975) has a present infinitive but the present imperative apechesthe has several excellent mss supporting it (p72 A C L P 33 81 Cyprian) and may be the better reading. Both readings would carry continuing imperatival force. [6] Grudem, W. A. (1988). 1 Peter: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 17, pp. 121–125). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

[4] Grudem, W. A. (1988). 1 Peter: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 17, pp. 125–131). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [5] Grudem, W. A. (1988). 1 Peter: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 17, p. 38). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.