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“Words To Work By” • 7.1.18 •
Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- The believers that gathered to
hear Peter's letter were just told that they were God's royal priesthood, His
representatives on Earth.
- As such, they were to conduct
themselves honorably, submitting to every ordinance of men, in order to void
any charges made against them. Peter proceeds to instruct them regarding their
work.
- How should God's people approach
their employment in an ever increasing, spiritually hostile environment? What
does God require of those that are employees?
- That is the heart of Peter's
words, beginning now in verse 18.
Text
• I Peter
2:18-20 : "Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only
to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because
of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you
are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and
suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God." : Generally, these "servants" would have been household
slaves in the Roman Empire. Today, without a true cultural equivalent, we apply
this counsel to "employees.
- Peter's word to them is that they submit
themselves to their Masters. We've noted before that this is a military term,
meaning to fall in line. Arrange yourself behind your Master's lead.
- Most in Peter's day did not have much of a
choice, either having been born in slavery or having become a slave by
financial ruin. If you couldn't pay your debts, you worked them off.
- Regardless of their circumstance, Christian
slaves still maintained a choice despite not having one regarding their
personal freedom.
- They could be slaves and maintain an
irritating, non-cooperative spirit, or they could simply fall into line with
all due respect to their position, as well as to their Master's position in
their life.
- You may not be able to choose your
circumstance, but as a Christian, you can choose your attitude in your
circumstance!
- If you have agreed to be someone's employee,
with all the rights and privleges thereof, fall in and respect your employer's
position regardless of their disposition.
- There will be good employers who are kind, thoughtful
and fair. Thank the Lord for them and bless them in your prayers. Pray for
their health, their contentment and their continued success!
- However, it's just as likely that you will be
under the hand of a crooked boss. Submit to them as well. Peter gives us no way
out! Only one response is fitting for a Christian employee.
- We are to offer the same respect to whatever
kind of boss we are given, with the sole exception of obedience to an
anti-Christian command. That is our only caveat.
- Please turn in your Bibles to Acts 4. Peter once found himself before the
ruling body of Israel, the Sanhedrin, who brought him in after the Lord healed
a paralyzed man through his action.
- The Sanhedrin brought Peter and John in, consulted
together and decided to command them not to speak in the Name of Jesus again.
Here's how that played out.
• Acts
4:18-20 : "So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor
teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, 'Whether it is
right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things
which we have seen and heard.'" : Peter is
modeling proper, Christian submission.
- Do anything and everything that you are asked
to do, unless it conflicts with a command given you by the Lord in His Word, in
this case, the carrying out of the great commission!
- We will return Acts momentarily. I always feel compelled to say this here: Yes, we
are to follow the Lord's commands over those of men.
- It's also vital to know that most of the
time, we can follow those commands within the structure of our employee's
handbook for conduct.
- Yes, preach the gospel, but if you do so
while you are supposed to be working on your employer's directives, you are out
of line!
- Yes, read your Bible, but if you are one that
is sneaking in a few pages here and there, when you are supposed to be doing
something else, you need to be corrected!
- Remember what the Apostle has just finished
saying in verse 16: "Don't use
your freedom as a cloak for vice." Don't use your Christianity as a cloak
for laziness!
- What might happen however, is what happened
to many of the slaves that lived in the Roman Empire. They were doing the right
things and they were being treated as if they were not.
- Recall that these Christians lived in Nero's
Rome. Christians during this time lived under the veil of great suspicion, Nero
having blamed them for the destructive fire that he set in Rome.
- Public sentiment was therefore, increasingly
hostile toward those that claimed to have faith in Christ. It's very likely
that many of the Masters took out Nero's rage upon them for their faith alone.
- In that instance, if you are treated poorly
by your employer because of your faith in the Lord alone, then that is worthy
of a commendation, literally a grace.
- Peter is telling them that this a sign of the
Lord's presence in your life! There is evidential grace when you work before
the Lord and endure a wrongful disciplinary action. Listen to the NLT.
• I Peter
2:19 (NLT) : "For God
is pleased with you when you do what you know is right and patiently endure
unfair treatment." : Are you showing up to work on
time, doing your work cheerfully, helping your fellow employees and being
treated unfairly?
- Your true Master, the One that you live
before is pleased! This brings us back to Acts
5. What happened to Peter and John after they informed the Sanhedrin of
their decision?
- They got off with a warning that time. In chapter
5, they did it again and were
summoned to appear a second time before the Sanhedrin.
•
Acts 5:27-32 : "And when they had brought them,
they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, 'Did we not strictly command
you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your
doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!' But Peter and the other apostles
answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up
Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right
hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of
sins. And we
are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has
given to those who obey Him.'" : They
answered respectfully, correctly and after a short conversation with a leading
Rabbi, the Sanhedrin responded.
•
Acts 5:40,41 : "And they agreed with him, and when
they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they
should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence
of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His
name." : Peter has to be thinking about
this story when he is writing them! He had been counted worthy to suffer shame
for His Name! There's a spiritual commendation to be had!
- On the other hand, you won't get any credit
before the Lord for taking a reprimand for what you have done wrong!
- The nature of servanthood in the Roman empire
was especially brutal. Masters could be extreme enough to literally murder
their servants! Some, as Peter notes here, could be beaten.
- If your behavior would warrant discipline
from your employer, you should endure it patiently and then work very hard
never to be in that position again!
- Let me also say this along these lines: If
you find that you cannot perform under the pressure of your current
arrangement, perform to best of your ability and ask the Lord to open a new
door!
- If you take a beating for doing what is right
before the Lord though, remember that while it is not ever pleasant or
desireable, the Lord remembers it and will reward you for it! Verse 21.
•
I Peter 2:21-24 : "For to this you were called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should
follow His steps: 'Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth'; who, when He was
reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but
committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that
we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were
healed." : What is it that we are called to?
To suffer indignity? Not for it's own sake. Peter is talking about his readers
doing good, conscious of serving God first.
-
That is what we are called to, regardless of what the outcome is in this world!
That's the example that Jesus set for His disciples. The language here is
wonderful.
-
From what I am able to gather, the Lord has left behind a written document, a
key by which the ancients were taught to draw!
-
According to Clement, this was a book of letters given to beginning students as
a guide for imitation! The gospels, the epistles, all contain that guide by
which all Christians are to live!
-
Literally, we are to walk where His feet have tread out the path for us! And
when we look closely, what is it that we learn? He committed no sin and deceit
was not found in His mouth.
-
The concept is that Jesus never contradicted Himself in workd of deed. Peter
quotes here from Isaiah 53:9, a
pivotal chapter in the Old Testament regarding the Messiah.
-
There is at least one group online which calls it "The Forbidden
Chapter," which they assert is not read in synogogues today because it portrays
Christ as the "Suffering Servant."
-
Because of it's importance, I'd ask you to turn to Isaiah 53, and at least scan the contents with me to verse 9. Isaiah cannot comprehend anyone
believing this about the Messiah.
-
Verse 2 and 3, tell us that He's not your typical leader. Physically, you
wouldn't be drawn to Him. While most leaders are charismatic and successful,
Messiah is acquainted with grief!
-
In fact, the grief and sorrow He carries belong to us! He carries them and is
in fact, punished on behalf of them. "He
was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities."
-
Imagine Isaiah writing this passage without the knowledge that Peter possessed
when he looked into the Messiah's eyes! To Isaiah, it was a mystery. To Peter,
it was Jesus!
-
Verse 9 in the NKJV reads,
"Because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth."
Peter was likely referencing the Greek New Testament, the Septuagint.
-
His point is that Jesus was not treated the way that He was treated because of
any sin that He had committed. He was completely innocent!
-
Furthermore, when He was insulted, He didn't return those insults nor did He
threaten.
-
When He suffered at the hands of his own creation, He didn't take the
opportunity to remind them that they would soon be sorry when He got back to
His Throne!
-
Instead, He committed Himself to Him who judges righteously! The language
indicates that He kept delivering Himself into the hands of the Just Judge! It
wasn't a single, one time commitment.
-
With every new insult, with every new indignity, the Lord kept making the
choice to trust His Father to deal with what He was experiencing! What an
example!
-
No matter what was being suffered by Peter's audience, nothing could match the
experience of God's full wrath carried out by the hostile hands of the Roman
government!
-
Unlike you and I, who are given the sure mercies of the Lord by the power of
the Holy Spirit when we suffer, the Lord Jesus suffered by Himself, alone!
-
Without any aid from God or man, the Messiah Himself bore the full weight of
His people's sins, from every time and from among every people group on the
Earth!
-
Think about that from the standpoint of knowing what it means to deserve to
suffer. All of us have suffered for sinful choices made either by us, or by
those around us.
-
To some extent, we know what it means to accept suffering even if we didn't
deserve it presently, because we know that we have deserved it and had
previously not been punished.
-
Imagine what it means to never do anything wrong, to never deserve to suffer
and not only to suffer, but to suffer to the degree that we deserve for every
sin we've ever committed!
-
That tree in between two thieves became the focal point of God's wrath against
all sin! You cannot imagine that Peter wasn't thinking about Deuteronomy 21:23, when referencing
"that tree."
•
Deuteronomy 21:22,23 (KJV) : "And
if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death,
and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but
thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of
God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance." : Paul quotes directly from this same passage in Galatians 3:3, where He tells us that
Christ redeems us from the curse of the law!
-
It is the law which condemns us and rightfully calls for our judgment! On that
tree, Jesus received our curse. When you believed upon Christ, it was as if you
were with Him on the cross!
-
Look again at Peter's verbiage in verse 24.
"who
Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we." Our
sinful flesh, was tied to His body in death.
- When He died, we mystically died
in Him. When He rose, we rose with Him as well! Our flesh life died in Him on
the cross. Our life began anew when He rose from the dead!
- Now, instead of living for the
dictates of our flesh, we exist for the cause of the righteousness that God
spells out in His Word! We are free to choose that as Christians!
- Why? Because we have been
healed! By His stripes. The word refers to a bruise or blow from which blood
flows. This is another direct reference to Isaiah
53:5.
- He was infected by our disease
and we were infused with His righteousness! He has healed us from the sin
disease that once ruled over us? Why? Verse 25.
•
I Peter 2:25 : "For you were like sheep going
astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." : The tense of the
verbs are repeated and present respectively. "You were always like sheep,
going astray even recently."
-
Peter is pondering Isaiah 53:6.
Israel's history had been exactly this from it's inception! Amos 5:25-27 mentions that the people
of Israel sacrificed to foreign gods in the wilderness!
-
Later in books of the Kings,
idolatry became an increasingly insidious threat among the men that were placed
on the throne to represent God's interests and to protect God's people.
-
You might think that idolatry was only in the palace, but it wasn't! It was on
the streets as well. Take a moment later today to read Jeremiah 44 and you'll discover the heart of the people.
-
Judah's women were practically scolding Jeremiah for unveiling the Lord's
counsel to them, noting that things had gone bad for them when they stopped
sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven!
-
Before you look down your nose at them for their idolatry, beware of missing
the point! You too were like sheep going astray!
-
Before you knew Christ, you followed the money trail, you jumped down the slide
of lustful desire, and you ran after anything that raised your profile.
-
You were like a lamb, always wandering about. To some degree, is that not an
issue for you today? If you don't think so, I'd have a look at your calendar.
-
"I know how important reading is, but I don't want to miss this television
show!" "I know how important fellowship is, but I don't want to be
uncomfortable."
-
Like sheep, we are notoriously attention deficit! We can be driven by our
latest instinct and spooked by just about any noise in our life! This is why
Jesus had to suffer.
-
He died to make you His sheep, so that He could Shepherd you. He could lead you
to pasture. He could make you to dwell in safety.
-
The Lord intends our blessing, works toward our benefit and fights our battles!
He is our true good Shepherd and the Bishop of our souls! Both roles speak of
protection and oversight.
-
But what does this have to do with Peter's earlier admonition to slaves?
Obviously, you must see the parallels between how Christ was treated and how
Christian slaves could be treated.
-
They were like their Lord if they were treated this way and were completely
innocent of what they were being charged with.
-
They were like their Lord if when their employer insulted them, they didn't
return an insult, but controlled their tongues and endured the insult quietly.
-
They were like their Lord, if when treated cruelly, they didn't respond with a threat
of any kind, but silently, repeatedly, committed their case to the Lord's
judgment.
-
In all of this, there is a matter of identification. You belong to your Master
Jesus. You are not greater than Your Master, so it isn't strange if you are
treated the way the world treated Him!
-
When you live in this God rejecting world for God, you will be maligned and
mistreated. The world hates Christ and especially what it sees of Christ in
you!
-
In that respect, your suffering for His sake should be expected and counted as
an honor.
-
Second, there is in this passage a matter of limitation. Jesus suffered to
bring you into His flock, where He leads and guides you, where He protects you
and provides for you.
-
The suffering that you might experience in this world is limited, not erased,
by Him. He knows how much you can take and when it seems to be too much, the
Shepherd releases more grace!
-
Our Overseer raises His unseen hand and says, "enough!" Let us work
for Him and let us trust that He will not lead where He does not also empower.
Conclusion
- Let's pray!
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