A Life of Submission (1 Peter 2:13-3:12)
Big Idea: Live holy, selfless lives of service, submission, and integrity to positively impact others, trusting God with the results.
I once asked a man to speak on the subject of how to have an impact on other people. When I asked him, he said, "That's going to be a short talk." I was surprised, but he continued: "We all have an impact on other people. The question is how to have a good impact on other people." It's humbling to realize that you have an impact on other people. The question we need to ask is, how can you have a positive impact on other people?
Enter the Apostle Peter. Peter was raised in the aggressiveness school of impact. By all accounts, he was a bit of a bully. By the force of his personality and his natural temperament, he was a natural leader. But don't get in his way, or Peter is likely to impact you with his fist or sword.
Peter writes to a group he refers to as "aliens and strangers," discussing how to positively influence others. An important question, especially for those who lack power. Aliens and exiles held the low status of people without rights and without permanent residence in the Roman Empire. They needed to know how to make an impact, as their limited power left them vulnerable to injustice without any means of seeking justice. They lived in a pagan world, where following a murdered rabbi named Jesus Christ seemed like an odd way to better their lives. If anything, it made life more difficult for them.
Two Principles
Amidst chaos, Peter shares unexpected ways to positively influence others.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:11-12)
How do you have a positive impact on others around you? Two points, Peter says – the first one in verse 11.
Abstain from sinful desires.
Peter doesn't specify the sinful desires, but he emphasizes that they conflict with the soul. Peter advises that, to positively impact others, they must resist temporary pleasures from sinful desires, as these hinder a spiritual life. You can see Peter's point. People are always watching us. If we constantly indulge in sinful behaviors, our influence will be negative.
Peter continues in verse 12, which in the original is the same sentence. Point two of how to have a positive impact:
Live such holy lives that unbelievers have nothing to pin on you.
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:12)
Being a Christ-follower back then was suspect. I think you could argue the same for today. Peter advises social outcasts to have a positive impact by leading a blameless life. If they do this, even when accused of wrongdoing, their good behavior will shine through. And just maybe their example will be so strong that others, too, will be saved, and God glorified.
Let me tell you, there's no reason to doubt that such a strategy for evangelism would still work today. If your actions are above reproach, even hostile people will end up praising God. Even in Peter's time, when false accusations were aimed at Christians, good behavior could disprove these rumors and attract skeptics to faith.
Peter could say, don't worry about the opposition. Live holy lives in the midst of secular chaos, and let God take care of the final results. That's how to have a positive impact on those around you.
Two Principles Applied
Peter develops this theme by addressing these two principles to everyday life. Surely, the trick is in applying these lofty principles to everyday life. On Tuesday morning at coffee break, how are you going to have a positive impact on your coworkers? Peter applies two principles to four real-life situations. We'll examine each one, as despite the changes, there are also many similarities in our worlds. One word consistently arises in each of these scenarios—a term that isn't very popular: submit.
Citizens
Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. (1 Peter 2:13-14)
Peter advised believers to submit to the current governmental authorities to have an impact in a hostile world. You might say, "That's easy in Peter's day – they didn't have the politicians we have today." At the time Peter wrote, the emperor was Nero, a ruler infamous for his brutal tyranny. A man who would go on to murder his mother and wife, infamous for his brutality and scandals far worse than today's political controversies. A man who would later arrest and kill Christians for "hatred of the human race," and who ultimately killed Peter, is referenced here.
Peter says, "Submit to the government." The reason? In verse 15, "...so that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men." Submit to God, but as far as obedience to God will allow, live according to the law of the land. Peter also advises us how to have an impact.
Employees
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. (1 Peter 2:18-19)
When we read the word "slaves," we unfortunately think of the reprehensible slavery of modern times. But slavery back then, while not desirable, was much better than we think. Many people chose slavery back then because the alternative was finding odd jobs. The entire Roman economy was based on the system of slavery. Doctors, teachers, writers, accountants, agents, bailiffs, overseers, secretaries, and sea captains all comprised the slave population. Most slaves were freed by the age of thirty, and many became full-fledged Roman citizens by that time.
Peter offers guidance on making a positive impact at work as believers. Believers today, like in the past, often work for non-Christian bosses who may treat them unfairly. It was easy, back then as now, to work for bosses who are gentle and kind, but how do you work for somebody who treats you unjustly? Living a holy life is easier when you're respected, but how do you maintain it when overlooked for a promotion or a pay raise?
Peter says, "Submit to your employer, whether they're considerate or harsh. Be a good employee anyway. It might be better to endure shame and injustice than to assert your rights in times of injustice." Let's be crystal clear here, because this goes clear-cut against how we'd choose to operate. Back then a slave could say, "Get real, Peter. You don't know my master. He sold my children. He raped my wife. If I don't perform to his satisfaction, he whips me. He doesn't deserve Christian respect!" or, today we could say, "You don't know my employer. You don't know his habits, his moral life, his moods. It's easy for you to talk about submission, and working diligently, and respecting authority. You've never had a boss like mine!" It's much easier to quit, or to sue, or to give your boss a piece of your mind.
But Peter's point is excellent. How would your boss react if, instead of joining negative conversations about him in the office coffee room, you defended his reputation? It doesn't mean you have to like him, or carry his picture in your wallet. What if you show cooperation, respect, and honor, following Jesus' example as Peter indicates in verses 19 to 25? What if you focused on living a holy life in the middle of secular chaos, and let God take care of the final results?
The submissive life, in the face of injustice, is behavior rooted in the cross of Christ. It's not just pragmatic advice; it's not a piece of power; it's a piece of Christian theology. Live this way because that's the way Jesus lived, and this is the kind of behavior God wills. Submission to injustice requires strength and commitment; it is for those ready to take up their cross daily and follow Jesus.
Two more scenarios. Peter tells us how to have an impact.
Spouses
When a man converted to Christianity, he typically brought his entire family to church, while a woman usually came alone. Under Roman law, husbands and fathers held complete authority over their households. This raised the question: what should a Christian woman do if her husband does not share her faith? Preach to her husband? Challenge his authority?
Peter recommends another approach: show your husbands the same sort of self-giving love that Christ has showed to you.
Wives, in the same way, be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. (1 Peter 3:1-2)
Peter believes that wives should submit to their husbands, not because they are inferior, but due to the positive influence they can have on them. How can they have a positive impact in their marriage? Through the "eloquent silence of Christian deportment."
Similarly, in verse 7, how can husbands have the greatest impact on their wives? Peter suggests that husbands should also be submissive to their wives, despite having legal advantages under Roman law. He says they are weaker, I believe, in the sense that women are vulnerable to attack and abuse. Are women to submit to their husbands? Yes. Are husbands to submit to their wives? Absolutely! They should be attentive to their wives' needs and interact with them with courtesy, respect, and understanding.
Do you see what Peter is saying? He says, "You might have good government, you might have bad government. You might have a good boss, or you might have a good boss. You might have a wonderful spouse, or you might have a spouse you would never marry again. Regardless of what they're like, here's some advice. Watch your life! Submit to them! Live in such a way that they'll have nothing bad to say, and maybe, just maybe, you'll win them to Christ." Imagine if spouses prioritized each other's happiness and willingly surrendered their own desires for the other's well-being. This isn't some utopian ideal. A spouse who prioritizes their partner's happiness over their own desires can positively influence their relationship, embodying the selfless love that Jesus Christ showed us.
No wonder some of us aren't having a positive impact on others! Remember Peter's advice in the first place? Abstain from sinful desires and live such holy lives that others can't pin anything on you. Live holy lives in the midst of secular chaos, and let God take care of the results. Submit, and maybe, just maybe, you'll win them to Christ.
This is tough medicine, but it's the route to impact as citizens, employees, spouses, and lastly:
Church
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. (1 Peter 3:8)
A local church ought to be a model of what it means to live harmoniously, lovingly, righteously, and peacefully. The church ought to be a living embodiment of what God wants for people in social relationships. It's the living incarnation of the love of Christ expressed for one another and for the world. Churches then provided strength during persecution, and today they should serve as support against attacks on personal morals and identity.
You might have learned, as I have, that following Peter's command involves submission. One man writes:
When the vote does not go according to the pastor's plans, when the choir does not get behind a certain special service, when the pastor speaks on topics that you or I would not choose, or when others are elevated to positions of leadership we might want – in all of these, individual Christians are confronted with the option of cruciform living. Either we choose selfishness, and grumble or divide, or we choose cruciform living by conceding God's will to other people and plans.
In essence, Peter's advice to us is simple. Live holy, selfless lives of service, submission, and integrity to positively impact others, trusting God with the results. Live such holy lives that even hostile pagans will give glory to God.
We live in a hostile world. You're not going to win too many points in this world for being a Christian. Even in a difficult situation with a bad boss or a troubled marriage, you can make a difference by living a holy life, being submissive, and trusting God with the results.
Martin Luther King Jr. said:
You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You don't have to know Plato and Aristotle. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics. All you need is a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.
Gracious Father: thank you for your Word that we've studied this morning. I would like to pray specifically in two areas this morning: work and marriage.
There might be some here who are in an impossible work situation. Perhaps they haven't been consistent in living an exemplary life. The challenging work situation may have made them more focused on their personal rights instead of making an impact for Jesus Christ. I pray, Lord, that these people focus not on seeking their deserved raise, but on earning your praise. May they seek to give you glory rather than seeking it for themselves. I pray they recognize their potential for spiritual impact, living holy lives amid chaos, and leave results to you.
Father, there aren't many married people here who couldn't learn a thing or two about becoming a servant spouse. What would happen, O Lord, if regardless of how our spouses acted, we chose to serve them? What impact would it have on our spouses if we prioritized their happiness over our own desires and became more like their servants? What kind of impact would we have, O Lord, if we chose to live like Jesus did?
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:43-45)
As we come to the communion table, Lord, help us to become servants to each other, and to lead lives of submission, we pray. Amen.
