Note To Reader: This is the first sermon on the subject of submission. A companion sermon is found under the name - Submission: The Power of a Tender Heart
Submission – its not a popular subject here in America. Can you think of a popular song or a movie or even a recent best selling book on the subject of submission?
Defiance – the opposite of submission. We love that here in America.
Now there’s an easy list of movies, songs and best selling books.
Submission is something we shy away from, in fact, it can be seen as a weakness, something that will not only hold you back from advancement, but also as something that can utterly destroy your life as well.
But like it or not, whether American society sees submission as curse or not, submission is a biblical concept and as Christians we are called to submission…perhaps we misunderstand the biblical concept of submission.
Let me start off with an example which I think sets the stage for what Peter is speaking about in our passage this morning.
James S. Hewett tells a this story of a tyrannical husband that demanded his wife conform to rigid household standards of his choosing. She was to do certain things for him as a wife, mother, and homemaker.
In time she came to hate her husband as much as she hated his list of rules and regulations. Then, one day he died—mercifully as far as she was concerned.
Some time later, she fell in love with another man and married him.
She and her new husband lived on a perpetual honeymoon. Joyfully, she devoted herself to his happiness and welfare.
One day she ran across one of the sheets of dos and don’ts her first husband had written for her.
To her amazement she found that she was doing for her second husband all the things her first husband had demanded of her, even though her new husband had never once suggested them. She did them as an expression of her love for him and her desire to please him.”
Submission.
Notice in our passage, Peter does not give advice on how to reduce stress, or make your problems go away, or give a five point plan on managing your life. No he tells us to be submissive.
I having great difficulties, things are bad, they look like they are going to get worse and Peter’s advice is…submission?
The word used in our passage is a compound word meaning "to arrange under." It is generally used as a military term, we see the concept in Matthew 8:8-9. Matt. 8:7 "Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith."
There the centurion is talking about – submission. In the Roman military the emperor had full authority. But he delegated his authority to others – so when the centurion spoke an order, he spoke an order with the emperor’s authority and to disobey, would be to disobey the emperor – an act of treason. An act of defiance.
In verse 13-14
Peter is not concerned with the king, specifically the Roman emperor and in our day, the president or our new Governor, Sarah Palin here in Alaska. Peter is concerned with proper behavior toward a supreme government authority.
See, submission is a general characteristic of public morality. He wants us to move beyond our own personal convictions, beyond our personal thoughts; He wants us to go right to behavior of how we act toward others. Christians are called to give up striving for power and authority over human beings and instead pursue the good of others –"17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king."
Notice he doesn’t say, blindly do whatever they say. He is not saying do whatever you are told to. No, we are still accountable for what we do
In verse 16 he says: "do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil
You are accountable and God will not turn a blind eye."
Years ago my wife Katie worked in an upscale kitchen store. They sold the usual kitchen stuff and also fresh coffee beans. One of those serve yourself set ups.
The store manager told the employees that one of the closing procedures was sweeping up the spilled coffee beans from the floor……and pour the sweepings back into the coffee bins. Katie didn’t agree with that…and she faced repercussions for her stand.
Submission has it limits – and this should be fairly obvious to us: It cannot be against the will of God. More specifically, it cannot be against what the Bible teaches. All authorities remain ultimately submissive to God. Whoever they are, whether they are believers or not, ultimately – God will allow them to go only so far. Also notice the methods of the rulers are not approved, nor are Christians called on to participate in their activities.
The overriding concept for this section of Scripture and especially for the first five verses is found in verse 15. "15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men." The good is going over an beyond duty so that one is noticed and admired, so that even if they don’t like what you stand for – they have to admire you. This ties back to the last verse of our scripture from last week:
1Pet. 2:12 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.
Someone who comes to mind in our day is the Rev. Billy Graham. He has been around a long, long time - in the public eye. The press and critics have had every opportunity to find fault in Billy Graham. I haven’t heard Billy Graham criticized - have you? No. People who don’t like a thing about Christianity, people who don’t believe anything that Billy Graham stands for…Admire him. It is pretty hard to think of someone else like that, isn’t it?
Let’s jump back to verse 16. "Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God." Here in this text: Christians are called to freedom, but it is not political freedom, it is freedom from sin. Rules are to be honored, but notice how Peter nuances this (in verse 16): Honor everyone; love fellow Christians, not just the king is due honor – everyone is due. That – is revolutionary!
This is very, very difficult for us to understand. In America, we believe all people are created equal. Whether we live that out, is something else altogether. Nevertheless, verse 16 would have blown away the Roman mindset. This is an unheard of concept. It was an accepted fact that all people were not equal. And this leads us to the next section of our Scripture, which, I think shows us the heart of the concept of submission.
We see in verse 18, Peter addressing slaves. Usually, we as Americans read this, and are appalled. What is Peter thinking – slavery is wrong. He should tell the slaves to break free. But we missed what Peter is getting at because we are so unable to see beyond our own time and place.
Peter is not condoning or condemning slavery here. He is telling us how to live our Christian life, in a Godly manner; in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, especially when we are in difficult circumstance.
We also need to know that this passage does not only apply to “them”
Those who are enslaved – but that it applies to us as well.
The word Peter uses here for slaves in verse 18, is not the usual word for slaves. It has a broader meaning – so both slaves and servants are addressed. Really this is addressing anyone who is not – the boss,
AND in verse 19 he lays down a more general principle, which applies to all believers.Plus the Lord Jesus himself taught that every Christian is a slave/servant. Peter is addressing a general concept of servitude – rather than the institution of slavery.
Slavery in Roman times was much different than slavery in America. It certainly wasn’t built upon race. Though a majority of slaves came from conquered nations, and children of slaves….many people sold themselves into slavery, it might actually be considered a step up for them. They might be able to live in a household with better accommodations. Meaning they would have a place to sleep inside. They would be fed, and they would be given clothing. Many people lived, in very primitive situations. It didn’t take much to make life better for some people.
Not only menial tasks were preformed by slaves, but doctors, teachers, musicians, secretaries were slaves. In fact pretty much all the work in Rome was done by slaves. Not every slave had a miserable life, many slaves were loved and trusted and were thought of as part of the family
Even so, there was one inescapable fact: in Roman Law a slave was not a person, but a thing and had no legal rights.
Aristotle typifies the attitude of the day: "There can be no friendship nor justice toward an inanimate object; indeed not even toward a horse or an ox, nor yet towards a slave as a slave. For master and slave have nothing in common; a slave is a living tool just as a tool is an inanimate slave."
For society at large, slaves were not full persons, but in the church the slaves were full persons. They were not only equal with everyone, they could have authority over others, even free people, even Roman citizens.
Understand what is happening here to these people Peter is writing to.
As a result of giving his life over to Jesus Christ, the slave is a new person, with a new identity, he is now a Christian first, putting Jesus Christ first. His master is no longer in first place. The master no longer has power to threaten and intimidate, for the slave knows that his hope is in Jesus – not the master. So a slave may suffer – but he suffers for the Lord. A slave may even die – but he goes to be in the presence of the Lord. You can imagine how infuriated a master might be when one of his slaves converts to Christianity.
Peter is giving us: the worst case scenario: Ok here is the worst possible position in life you could be in - slavery. Then how do you live a Godly life – in that worst case scenario. If it can be done in the worst case – Then it can be done in your situation, now today.
This is about righteous conduct in an unrighteous society – like America. Doing the right thing- when people are not doing the right thing by you. Treating others well – even when they don’t treat you well. Now let me be clear; Peter doesn’t say don’t get out of a bad situation. I think he would agree, if you’re in a bad situation, work on getting out of it. But while you are in that situation – live in a Godly manner. Being in a bad situation in life is not an excuse for bad conduct.
Remember the story at the beginning of this message? How the woman lived with, really, a jerk of a husband, and how when she did those same things for the one she truly loved, it was a delight, and not a burden?
Peter is speaking to us on the same vain. We are here to serve Jesus Christ our Lord is all we do. Whether our life circumstances right now are great, or our life circumstances are bad and getting worse. Whether people are treating us right, or they are completely unfair, we still are to act as righteous people.
The last few verses of chapter 2 are given to describe how Jesus endured suffering, 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.
This is not teaching us pacifism. Jesus certainly held his own during his earthly ministry and didn’t let people walk all over him. But he still treated people well – he did not sin, even in the worst of circumstances, and more than that, instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
If we take this whole passage and bring it down to one application, I think we have this: Whatever is happening in our lives, we should again entrust our lives to the Lord, for even if it is the ultimate worst case scenario – slavery, we can still act in a way that treats others well.
God has given us so much. In fact he has even given us the power to overcome the worst that can ever be thrown at us- through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
