The Example of Sanctification, 1 Peter 2:21-25

We are continuing today in our study of 1 Peter.  And as I have stated previously, I believe that the theme of 1st Peter is our sanctification.  Sanctification means set apart for holiness.  The same word in the Greek, hagiasmós, hag-ee-as-mos’, is translated equally as both holiness and sanctification.  Peter states in the opening verses of this letter that we are chosen of God by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to obey Christ and be sprinkled with His blood. In effect, he’s saying that we are chosen by God for sanctification.  The Spirit working in us produces obedience to Christ which is sanctification.

He then goes on to quote the Lord in chapter 1 vs 16 saying, it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”  If we are the Father’s children, then we should model the character of the Father, which is holiness. Sanctification is holiness.  Peter adds to that in vs 22, “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.” There we see that sanctification is the purification of the soul.

In chapter 2 vs 5 he says we are to be a holy priesthood, offering up spiritual sacrifices unto God.  To be sanctified then means we are a holy priesthood offering up righteous lives to God. In vs 9 he adds to that we are a holy nation. To be sanctified means we are a chosen, set apart, righteous people.  And as such we are to abstain from the lusts of the world.  We are to set aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.  And we can do this by the sanctifying work of the Spirit in us as we obey the word and grow or mature in our salvation. 

But make sure you understand that you are not justified by obedience.  We are born again by faith in what Christ did on the cross.  We are credited with Christ’s righteousness or holiness at the moment of our justification, and then with the empowerment and leading of the Holy Spirit in us we work out our salvation, or live out our salvation in holy living.  So sanctification is both imputed and practiced.  It is a process in which we live in obedience to Christ, even as Christ Himself is said in Hebrews 5:8 that He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.

Now last week we looked at the steps to sanctification as we walk after the Spirit in the light of God’s word.  And to follow up on that today we are looking at an illustration of the path of sanctification in the person of Jesus Christ.  Peter gives us the best illustration possible in the person of Jesus Christ.

And let me just add that I believe sermon illustrations are best when they are taken from the word of God. I I’m very aware that there are many resources available online or in print with suitable illustrations for sermons.  They are arranged by topic and are very easy to copy and paste into your message.  But in my experience of listening to what must be thousands of messages in my lifetime, I have noticed that often people remember the stories but not the message. So over the years I have depended less and less upon sentimental stories, and instead have looked in the Bible itself for illustrations.  The Bible is full of great illustrations.  The Old Testament in particular is a great source of illustrations for New Testament doctrines. And so I find that there is very little need to go to outside sources, in hopes of providing a suitable sentimental story that will hopefully capture people’s attention.  So  a lack of stories or jokes or poems in my sermons is hopefully not an indication of my lack of preparation, but a desire to preach the truth of God’s word and very little else.

So Peter has been laying out the doctrines of sanctification, of holiness, and now in vs 21 he says we have been called for this purpose.  The question is, what purpose?  At first glance it would seem he is saying that we are called for the purpose of suffering, because he immediately begins talking about Christ has suffered for us.  Or is it that we have been called for the purpose of following in HIs steps?  I believe that is a better interpretation.

Let’s read the verse again, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.”  Suffering is a necessary part of sanctification, but suffering is not in and of itself the purpose of sanctification, nor of our salvation.  There was a time, particularly in the Middle Ages, when the Roman Catholic church practiced asceticism or monasticism.  And perhaps they still do to some extent.  Their view was that by deliberately making themselves suffer they could achieve some degree of righteousness or holiness.  Martin Luther, who was a Roman Catholic priest who became the great Reformer, suffered all kinds of things in hopes of finding justification with God and it was in his failure to find true satisfaction, that he finally discovered the scriptures which helped him to understand that justification is by grace through faith.  We are not called to suffering, but to sanctification.  Suffering may be necessary, but the purpose is our sanctification.

So I believe the correct interpretation of vs 21 is that we are called for the purpose of following Christ. Jesus said to the disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” If you are going to be a disciple, a Christ follower, then you must do as Jesus did.  That is the essence of what it means to be a Christian.

Paul said in 1Cor. 11:1 “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” Eph 5:2 says, “walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”  He says in Phil. 2:5 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”  And the apostle John says in 1John 2:6  “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

So the gospel teaches us that we are to follow in the footsteps of Christ.  And I believe that Peter is saying  here that the purpose of our salvation is our sanctification,  which is accomplished by walking as Jesus walked, in His footsteps.

What Peter is saying is that since Christ suffered for you, that is since Christ accomplished your redemption through the cross, you are to follow in His footsteps.  So you see that Peter is not saying that holy living is the means by which we are saved.  That was accomplished by Christ’s suffering on the cross.  But he’s saying that since our salvation has been accomplished by Christ’s suffering, let us now walk as He walked, act as He acted, and have the same attitude which He had.

And to emphasize  that point, Peter uses a specific word which is only used here in the entire New Testament.  It’s the word translated “example.”  It comes from the Greek word “hypogrammos” which means a writing copy of all the letters of the alphabet, given to children as an aid in learning to draw them.  It’s a wonderful word picture of how we are to walk as Jesus walked.  We follow His example, by tracing our lives in the pattern which He gave for us by His life here on earth.

Peter than gives us five specific examples of how Jesus acted while He was on this earth. And these are obviously examples  which we are to imitate when faced with similar circumstances.  The first he says is that Jesus  committed no sin. Jesus was holy, righteous, spotless.  Now that may seem like an impossibly high standard.  We might say it’s impossible and just give up before we even start.  But God said you shall be holy even as I am holy.  So with the Spirit of Christ indwelling us and leading us to lead us it’s possible to live righteously.  I will say that no one who is still in the flesh will be able to live without sin all the time, but I will also say that as sanctified people of God who are the temple of the Holy Spirit, sin is something we should be committing less and less.  Sin is no longer our practice, and we are no longer held captive by sin,  thus it should become more and more of an anomaly as we progress in sanctification.  As Paul said in Rom. 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?  May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”  So when we follow after Jesus, and become His disciple, we deny our sinful nature, die to sin, and live for Christ.

Secondly, Peter says nor was any deceit found in His mouth. Jesus didn’t lie, He didn’t deceive. He spoke the truth.  Even His enemies said about Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth.”  It’s important that we are people who speak the truth. Be careful not to exaggerate or leave certain things out in order to deceive. Don’t have an ulterior motive.  Jesus said let your yes be yes and your no be no.  Don’t make deceitful deals in the workplace.  Don’t try to sell something that isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.  

I remember years ago, when I made a living as an antique dealer, this was constantly something that was a temptation to me.  And when I didn’t represent something exactly as I should have, it seemed that the Lord always made it come back to haunt me.  But especially as a pastor, I need to preach the truth, the complete truth of the gospel.  There are some parts of the gospel that may seem offensive to contemporary audiences today.  But I must be zealous to speak the whole truth of God’s word. Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life.  So if we are to follow Jesus’s example, then we must speak the truth.

Thirdly, Peter says about Christ is that while being reviled, He did not revile in return. To revile means to criticize, to insult, to retaliate.  I’ve often said that the fault of us Harrell’s is that we don’t have a normal sense of humor.  We think it’s funny to insult someone.  We tend to make fun of people and think that’s hilarious. Well, it may be funny to us, but it often isn’t to others. Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.”  So Jesus did not retaliate when He was attacked and scorned and insulted, and that should be our attitude as well.

Jesus said in Matt. 7:3-5  "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”  So don’t criticize others, but perhaps even more to the point, don’t give a tit for tat.  Don’t retaliate when others criticize you by doing the same to them.

Fourthly, Peter says that when Christ suffered, He uttered no threats.  Paul says in Ephesians 6 in addressing masters, to give up threatening.  That means when you have a position of authority, don’t use that authority to threaten others.  But as in the case of Christ, He was suffering unjustly, and yet He still  did not threaten those who were mistreating Him.  For instance, He didn’t respond to the Roman soldiers who were nailing Him to the cross, “Just you wait.  I’m going to cast you into the deepest dungeon of hell for what you are doing to me today.”  No, in fact, Jesus prayed for them, saying “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

The fifth example of Christ Peter says we are to emulate is that He kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.  Peter will go on to say in chapter 4:19 “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.”  God will one day judge all men according to what they do and say on this earth.  If our accusers or persecutors are doing wrong towards us, then God will judge them and we should trust God to take care of them.  “Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord.”  

But in like manner, if we are righteous, then let us act righteously in all circumstances, knowing that God will bring all into account, whether good or bad.  2Cor. 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”  The example of Christ is that because He was righteous and did the works of righteousness, He could trust God to judge Him favorably.  And so we who also suffer in doing right can trust the righteous Judge to judge us favorably as well.

But don’t miss the main point there.  Do right.  In all circumstances.  Whether it is appreciated or not.  Whether you get criticized for it or praised.  Do righteousness. To do righteousness is simply to do right.  Do right until the stars fall. Do right when everyone around you is doing wrong. Do right when it makes more sense to do something else.  Trust God and do right.

In vs 24 then Peter recapitulates what he has previously stated in vs 21, by expanding upon it.  He said in vs 21 that since Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example to follow in His steps, and remember we said that suffering referred to Christ’s dying on the cross for your salvation, that you might receive His righteousness.  Now in vs24, Peter restates and expands on that idea, saying “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.”  

This is our salvation and sanctification in a nutshell.  If there is any doubt that we are to live holy lives, this verse puts an end to that.  Since our sins were born away by Christ, we are no longer to live in them.  We die to sin.  We crucify the flesh and it’s sinful desires.  That’s what Jesus meant when He said to “take up your cross and follow Me.” Deny yourselves. Die to sin.  Consider those things as dead.  

Listen, sin and salvation are incompatible. Repentance is turning away from your sin and hungering and thirsting for righteousness.  If you have been saved, then you should abhor your sin and put to death your sin, that you may live to righteousness.

Paul speaks of dying to sin in Rom. 6: 11 “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus”. …then in vs 16 “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone [as] slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”  and then in vs 22 “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”

So sanctification is not just dying to sin, but living righteously.  Consider how John speaks of it, in 1John 3:7 “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.”

Back to our text, I especially want you to notice the last phrase of vs24: “for by His wounds you were healed.” This is a verse that has been taken out of context by many contemporary teachers today.  But it’s important that we truly understand what is being said here.  First look at the context of how Peter uses it. “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

Is not the context of this verse our salvation and sanctification?  Does it not mean that since Christ was wounded for our sins, we are saved to live in righteousness?  Thayer’s Greek Lexicon says of the word which is translated as healed in the Greek is “iaomai” (e ah my) as meaning to cure, heal, to make whole, to free from errors and sins, to bring about one's salvation.  So contrary to the faith healer’s  interpretation that Christ suffered on the cross to bring about our good health, I think the clear meaning in context is that of salvation.  Metaphorically, it’s speaking of spiritual healing.

Furthermore, I would have you refer to the Old Testament passage which Peter is quoting from in Isaiah 53, vs 5, “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being [fell] upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.”  Notice He suffered for our sins, our transgressions, our iniquities, and by His scourging we are healed.  It does not say He was pierced through for our illness, He was crushed for our diseases, but rather that He suffered for our sins, that we might be saved.  He was our substitute, who died in our place on the cross, so that we might live in Him.

Notice also the next verse of Isaiah 53, vs 6, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.” Isaiah is still talking about our sins being put upon Christ, so that we are not punished but Christ was punished in our place, and by His suffering we are made right before God.  And Peter takes the thought of this passage, and adds to it saying in vs 25,  “For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”  

This is the purpose of our salvation, even our sanctification.  That we die to sin, since Christ died for our sins, and that we live for righteousness, even as He is righteous. What do sheep do in relation to their shepherd?  They follow Him. He leads and they follow.  He speaks and they obey.  And it is good to obey the Shepherd, because He knows the best way.  He knows the way of life.  He is the Guardian of our souls, even as the Shepherd is the Guardian of the sheep from marauders, from robbers, from wolves and lions who go about seeking someone to devour. 

Sanctification is simply walking where Jesus leads.  Walking where He walked.  Acting like He acted.  Having the attitude that He had.  Treating others as He treated others, even to the point of not only forgiving His enemies, but dying for His enemies. What an example.  What a Savior. The secret of holiness is to stay close to Christ.  To walk with Him day by day, moment by moment.  And when we walk in His footsteps, following in His example, we become like Him, conformed to His image, and we shall have life more abundantly, a life pleasing to God, a life which will be considered an acceptable sacrifice.  

Rom. 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Walk in the Spirit, so that you may not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. 

Sanctification by submission, 1 Peter 2:11-20

The last few weeks we have been talking about sanctification as described in Peter’s first epistle. Though Peter doesn’t refer to it as sanctification per se, he does state his thesis as “Be holy, even as I am holy.”  Holiness is sanctification.  Sanctification means to be set apart for a sacred purpose.  The Apostle Paul said in 1Thess. 4:3 “For this is God's will, your sanctification.”  Hebrews says as well in chapter 12:14, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

So sanctification is the purpose for which we live now that we are saved.  However, just to be clear, it’s not a means of justification.  In other words, it’s not a bunch of things we do in order to be justified before God.  We are justified by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  But sanctification is the response of one who has been saved, who has been given new life, transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God.   We are to be holy, even as He is holy.  And as holy  people, we serve God as priests to God in His temple, offering our lives as a holy sacrifice unto Him.

Holiness then is the way we are to live.  We live by faith. And holy living requires faith.  Holy living is the works of faith. As James says, you show your faith by your works.  It take a lot of faith to live holy, because it goes against our nature.  It often goes against human reason.   It takes faith, for instance, to do right when the world says it makes more sense to do wrong. It takes faith to let the Lord be the judge and your defense when being ridiculed for your faith.  And so a lot of things that we see in this section are counter intuitive to human reason.  But it’s why we walk by the Spirit and not in the flesh.  It’s walking by faith and not by sight.  It’s acting like God wants us to act, instead of how we are naturally inclined to act.

So the title of my message then is Sanctification through Submission.  Submission is not a very popular concept today in our culture.  Our culture believes in standing up for your rights.  Our culture admires independence.  It’s popular today to be an activist, to rebel, to resist. To claim what you think you deserve.  But as we will see today, sanctification comes by way of submission to Christ as Lord.

I want us to look today at six steps to submission, on the path to sanctification. Sanctification is the process between justification and glorification. In between is the process of becoming holy as God is holy.  And the first step Peter gives us can be categorized by the word  separate.  As I said a minute ago, sanctification means set apart.  Peter said in verse 9 that we are a chosen race, a royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, called out of darkness into His light. 

So in light of our calling, though we are in the world, we are not to be of the world.  Much in the way a ship may be in the water, but it’s not of the water.  The ship may be in the water, but the water is not in the ship.  

Peter likens this separation to us being aliens and strangers in the world.  Vs.11, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.” Abstain, or separate yourselves from the lusts, or love of the world.  We shouldn’t love the things the world loves.  Consider your calling, as strangers and aliens in the world, and don’t participate in the lusts of it.

John said in 1John 2:15 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  As citizens of another kingdom we don’t participate in the works of darkness as the world does.  Peter says the lusts of this world wage war against the soul. War is destructive.  And the lusts of this world are destructive.  They promise to satisfy, to make you happy, but instead they destroy and deceive and make you enslaved all over again.  

The lusts of the world attack your mind and bring it back under enslavement to sin, and sin destroys.  I’ve said it before, the spiritual battleground is in your mind. The soul; that is the mind, the heart, the seat of our emotions and will is the battleground between the Spirit and the flesh.  We are to walk in the Spirit, and not in the flesh.  So control of the soul is the source of addiction, captivity.  And all sin is addictive.  And all sin destroys.  So the first step is to separate yourself from the world. You’ve been set free from sin by Christ’s death on the cross, so continue in that holiness by abstaining, fleeing, separating from those sins which would seek to enslave you again.

Secondly, the next step Peter says, we are to be superior. That doesn’t mean to be snobby or conceited.  It means our behavior is held to a higher standard than that of the world. Peter says in vs12 “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

What Peter is getting at here is don’t respond to slander, to accusations, to insults, or to injury from the world with a tit for tat. Don’t stoop to their level.  Don’t answer insult with insult.  But here is the counter intuitive will of God - do good to those who mistreat you. Jesus said in Luke 6:27-30  "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.  Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.”

Now that really goes against our nature, doesn’t it?  Somebody steps on our toes, somebody treats us unfairly, what do we do? Our nature tells us to let them have a piece of our mind, doesn’t it?  We aren’t going to let someone get away with treating us like that.  So we take our own revenge.  But Romans says, “‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

Peter says rather than retaliate, our goal should be that by seeing our good works they might turn to the Lord and be saved.  Overcome slander by superior behavior and deeds, so that they might give glory to God when Jesus comes back for His saints.  That means that they will be converted as a result of our actions when they mistreat us.   You know, according to Fox’s Book of Martyrs, one of the amazing things about the martyrdom of early Christians was that many times the people witnessing the way the martyrs went to their death immediately responded by committing their lives to Christ as well, even though they knew that by doing so it ensured their own death.  And they did so because of the incredible testimony of those saints while being persecuted. Our greatest testimony is often how we act, our behavior.  It’s not necessarily because we witnessed verbally to someone at some point, but through the testimony of our behavior and our good deeds, in spite of the attacks from the world.

The third step to submission is simply to submit.  Submit is not something that comes naturally, as I said earlier. In fact, the whole principle of submission is looked upon even by many in the church as something patriarchal, or legalistic, or even masochistic.  But in fact, submission is a key doctrine that the Bible teaches is essential to God’s will. 

Peter says starting in vs13, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”

First of all, notice that he says submit for the Lord’s sake.  That’s the key.  Submit as unto the Lord. Our rationalization of whether or not we have to submit is that we compare people to our own personal standards and then if they don’t match up, if we deem they are not worthy, then we believe we are justified in opting out of submission to them.  

But God says submit to them as unto Him.  And first on the list is to submit to the government. When Peter wrote this, Nero was Emperor in Rome.  Nero is one of the most evil dictators the world has ever seen.  He married a castrated teenage boy in a public wedding ceremony.  He burned Jerusalem and blamed it on the Christians.  He tied Christians to poles and lit them on fire in order to light up his garden parties.  He was ultimately responsible for beheading both Peter and Paul.  And yet Peter says under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, submit to the king and to the governor.  

Peter’s going to say in the next chapter “In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.” That kind of knocks a lot of the objections of women to staying with their husbands right out the window, doesn’t it?  Try comparing your husband to Nero.  

So we submit to the government, we don’t resist.  We submit, we don’t rebel.  We don’t stage a revolution.  My apologies to the founding fathers.  We submit.  God has not given us license to rebel unless to obey means disobedience to God. We submit for the Lord’s sake.  Submit as unto the Lord.  The ruler may be a crack pot.  He may be a jerk. He may even be an atheist.  But we submit to them not because of their merits, but because their authority comes from the Lord.

Notice that we have a Lord that we obey, and He has told us to submit.  Lord in this verse is kyrious in the Greek, which means, he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord; the possessor and disposer of a thing, the owner; one who has control of the person, the master.  That doesn’t leave a lot of room for argument, does it? A lot of Christians have the attitude that the Lord has to obey them, has to give them their desires, the Lord has to serve them. But if Jesus is actually your Lord and Savior, not just your puppet, then you will obey Him because you belong to Him.  Your will is not your own.  Ultimately, we are to submit to the Lord.

The fourth step of submission is silence.  We silence the objections or criticisms of the world by doing right.  Peter says that when we submit, even to foolish men, we silence them by doing what is right.  Vs.15, “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”  Notice most importantly that Peter says this is the will of God.  Submission is not negotiable.  The opposite of submission is rebellion, and if you are to submit as unto the Lord, then when you rebel you are rebelling against the Lord.  You’re not rebelling agains the human authority, you’re rebelling against the Lord.

“For such is the will of God that by doing right…” Doing right.  I hope that needs little clarification.  Peter’s whole epistle here is really about how to live right.  How to live holy lives.  How to act like Christ.  I went to a Bible college once that had pithy sayings by the founder of the school on the wall in every classroom.  One of the sayings I remember was “do right until the stars fall.”  Just that simple.  Do right. No matter what the world is doing,  what everyone else does, Do Right.  Another saying they had written on the walls related to that was, “it’s never right to do wrong in order to get a chance to do right.”  

Well, when we submit, when we do right, we silence the critics of the gospel.  We silence the critics of the church.  The biggest complaint of every generation is that the church is full of hypocrites. We say one thing in church and do another outside of church.  Peter says, do right outside of church.  Do right in the world.  Do right when everyone around you is doing wrong.  Your right actions will silence the critics, and convict the world of their sin.  That’s God’s will.

The next step to submission is to be a servant.  A servant, or a slave, is the key word.  Wow, this submission thing is just going from bad to worse, isn’t it?  Well, let’s try to understand God’s perspective on being a servant.  Sanctification is becoming like Jesus, isn’t it?  What did Jesus do?  Paul tells us in Phil. 2:5-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,  who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant,  being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” 

Jesus was equal with God but submitted to the Father.  Then He took the form of a bond servant and became a man like us.  And after that He even humbled himself to submit to death on a cross. And yet we resist the idea of being a servant?  Is a servant greater than His master? Is it ok for Jesus to be a servant, but we are not?

Peter says you are free, you’ve been set free from the captivity of sin and the devil.  He says in verse 16 “As free men,  do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.”  A bond slave  is one who was set free by their master, and yet who choses to stay in that servant relationship because he loved his master.  That’s what Peter is saying we are to be like.  Like freed slaves who willingly choose to serve their master for the rest of their life, because of their love for the Lord.

We love the Lord more than our freedom.  So we choose to serve the Lord.  And Peter gives the negative here; which is don’t use your “freedom” that you received by grace as a covering for continuing in sin.  Jude speaks of such people in the church in vs  4 saying,  “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”  He doesn’t mean that they deny that Jesus is the Christ, but they deny Him Lordship over their lives.  They have never truly renounced their sin and made Jesus Lord of their lives, to live for Him, to serve Him, and as such they are still in captivity to sin.

Peter recaps, if you will, who we are to submit to with a servant’s heart; “Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”  To honor is to give preference to. To put them first.  That  is the attitude of servanthood. Honor, love, and fear or reverence are all the attitude of a bondslave of the Lord.

That attitude we are to have then is respect to those in authority over us.  Notice vs 18, “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.” Now he might be speaking specifically about our attitude towards our employer here.  But it is the same principle that Peter has been indicating all along.  It’s not a reciprocal relationship that he’s talking about. It’s not when they are deserving of your respect.  It’s irregardless of whether or not they are good, or honorable, or deserve anything.  Notice the word translated unreasonable literally means perverse.  Peter isn’t giving us a way out, is he?  Give honor even to perverse people.  Actually, the original says give fear to perverse people.  Give reverential fear, that’s what honor means there.  A holy fear as unto the Lord.

By definition, grace came to you when you didn’t deserve anything.  And we are to be gracious even as God is gracious. Look at the next verse and I want you to notice the word grace in that verse.  19, “For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.”  The word favor there is charis, which means grace.  Notice also the word “finds” is in italics, which means it’s inferred, its not in the original language.  So if we read it again we might read; For this is grace, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.” 

I find hope in that rendering that God is going to be gracious to those who suffer unjustly in this life.  God sees, and God will reward each man according to his deeds, whether good or bad.  So trust your soul to a faithful, gracious Master who will render justice on that day.

And in that context, Peter gives us the last step to submission, which is suffer.  Suffering is the refining fire which produces holiness.  Suffering is a necessary part of sanctification. Peter says suffering finds favor with God.  Again the word means literally grace.  Suffering finds grace with God. What may have been intended to you for evil, what may have caused you to suffer, God will use for good.  Rom. 8:28 says “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose.”

Jospeh when he was unjustly mistreated by his brothers and sold into captivity, later found himself in a position as the second in command of the Egyptian empire.  And one day his brothers came to beg for bread during a famine, bowing to this foreign dignitary but not recognizing him.  When Joseph finally revealed himself to them, they expected him to take revenge upon them.  But what did Joseph say?  “You meant it for evil, but God used it for good.”  And Joseph’s response was to do good for his brothers, and feed them and exalt them to a status of favor in the kingdom. 

Peter says, vs.20 “For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer [for it] you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.”

There it is again, when you do what is right.  Do what is right.  This is God’s will.  This kind of behavior finds grace with God. Suffer in submission, as unto the Lord.  The Lord sees.  The Lord will take vengeance.  The Lord will one day judge justly.  In the meantime, let us be gracious to others, even as God was gracious to us even when we were in rebellion against Him,  in hope that by seeing our good works, they will be converted and bring glory to God in the day of His visitation.