Being Submissive in Days of Rebellion
1 Peter 2:13-3:12
Introduction
The word “submit” is the key to this section. This word is very closely related to the word “humility.” To submit requires humility. Today we are living in days of pride and rebellion.
In his book “Strong willed Child” Dr. James Dobson, and states that there are twice as many strong-willed children as there are compliant children. And he also says that this rebellion against parents’ rules often starts very early in life.
Rebellion, though, is not only a characteristic of the child and the teen-ager. Most people, regardless of age, find it hard to submit to others.
Who do unsubmissive people despise the most? Government officials, employers, teachers, police officers. What is the one thing that all of these people have in common?
They all have a position of authority. These people are often not liked because people naturally don’t want to submit to their authority. In the passage we will be covering this morning, Peter talks about submission to government, submission to employers, submission in marriage, and submission to other Christians.
The thing that we must remember as Peter writes this passage, he is writing it to a people who are being severely persecuted for their faith, by the Government. We will learn this morning why we should be submissive people.
Read Scriptures: 1 Peter 2:13-3:12
I. A citizen should submit to his government.
1 Peter 2:13-17 “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. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.”
Even though a Christian’s citizenship is in heaven, we are to still accept the authority of our government. Jesus said “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” in Matthew 22:21.
Peter probably wrote this epistle during the time of the great persecution under Roman Emperor Nero in 64 A.D. Nero was one of the most notorious rulers of all time. During his reign there was a fire that destroyed part of the city of Rome. There was a rumor that Nero had started the fire, and this rumor was so widely accepted by the people that Nero had to find a scapegoat. He diverted feeling against himself to the Christians by accusing them of arson and by persecuting them. Peter and Paul both died in this period.
There is one story of Nero which shows how evil he was. Halfway through his reign, Nero got the idea that he was a great chariot racer. So he built a track and raced all day. Soon he decided that he should race at night too, but electricity had not been invented yet. So Nero came up with a very sick plan. During the day he would get his soldiers to go into the city and find Christians. They would cover these Christians in pitch and tie them to poles around Nero’s track. As the sun set, these Christians were set on fire and became human torches.
Peter says that governments are to punish those who do evil and reward those who do good. Generally, this is true; however there are always exceptions.
Obviously, Peter was not saying that we should compromise our beliefs in our submission to government. In Acts 5:29, when Peter and the other apostles were told by the Jewish leaders to stop preaching the gospel, they said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
Why should we submit to the authority of government?
A. God has appointed them—Vs. 14 “sent by him”
In Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”
There is no governmental authority except that which is ordained of God. This truth was strikingly illustrated by the Lord Jesus when He was sentenced to stand before Pilate In his anger Pilate said, “Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?”
Jesus put Pilate in his place when He answered, “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above” (John 19:10-11). Since all power comes from God, the believer is to be subject to that power.
B. It is the will of God
Why does God want us to submit to government? Because it is a good testimony to the unsaved. On the t.v. show “America’s Most Wanted” there was a case involving a shooting of a doctor who performed abortions. While I believe that abortion is wrong, it does not do any good to shoot someone for it.
C. We are God’s slaves
As Christians, we are free from the law. We no longer live in fear trying to obey it perfectly. However, this is not an excuse to do evil. We are free to live as God’s slaves. That may seem like a contradiction, but it isn’t. We are God’s slaves not because we have to be, but because we want to be.
II. An employee should submit to his employer.
1 Peter 2:18-20 “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. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.”
Peter is talking to household servants who received wages for what they did in the household. It would be easy for them to submit to masters who were gentle and kind, but Peter encouraged loyalty and persistence even in the face of unjust treatment.
Why should we endure unjust suffering? If we take our eyes off our own circumstance and look at the big picture, we may see some profit to our suffering. What better way to exemplify Christ to our fellow employees and even our boss than by submitting to the authority of our bosses even when he may be wrong?.
We have the example of Christ’s submission to help us. Whose authority did Jesus submit to? The authority of the Father. It was the Father’s will that Christ die for the sins of the world.
1 Peter 2:21-25 “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
• Jesus suffered unnecessarily Christ suffered instead of us, and none of us could ever suffer as He suffered.
• Jesus suffered wrongly He did not suffer for anything He had done. He was falsely accused.
• Christ suffered silently despite being falsely accused and insulted, He did not try to get back at His enemies with His words. He could have, but He chose not to.
• Christ suffered purposefully He suffered not for His own gain, but for ours. He suffered so that you and I might have eternal life.
If others see you endure unjust suffering you will be witnessing for Christ in a way that speaks much louder than words.
III. Wives are to be submissive to their husbands.
1 Peter 3:1-6 “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. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.”
Many feminists today say that the Bible degrades women, but nothing could be further from truth. Nothing has done so much to raise the status of womanhood and motherhood than the teachings of Jesus Christ. He came into a world where women were considered only one step above animals. Many were traded for cattle and few enjoyed personal rights before the law or the marriage altar. Where the message of Christ has permeated, women have been respected as human beings made in the image of God.
Today it is not politically correct to say that a wife should be submissive to her husband.
Let me say this men, if our wives see us as the head of our homes submitting our lives to Jesus who the head of the church, then there is not a woman in here who would have a problem with submitting to your authority in the home.
This is God’s plan, and God’s plan is always best. For the sake of order in any situation, there must be headship. This does not mean that the husband is superior to the wife because he is the head of the home. There is equality between the husband and wife despite a difference in rank. Two things wives need to understand about submission.
A. It is voluntary.
It is not the husband’s job to make his wife submit. This submission is to be voluntary on the part of the wife. In Ephesians 5:22 “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.”
B. It is a good testimony to an unsaved husband.
It seems as though Peter is talking to a woman who has an unsaved husband or a husband who is saved but not living for the Lord. Having an unsaved husband does not excuse a woman from submitting.
Some women may think that they can win an unsaved husband with sex appeal. But Peter says that’s not the way to do it (vv. 3-4). Some people try to twist these verses to condemn the use of cosmetics or jewelry. But if this verse is saying that a woman should not use cosmetics or wear jewelry, then it is also saying that a woman should not adorn herself with clothes.
Theses verses are not dictating how a woman should look, but rather they emphasize that, as far as God is concerned, it is more important to have a meek and quiet spirit. God is not very concerned with physical beauty. He is looking for spiritual beauty.
IV. Husbands are to be submissive for the good of the marriage.
1 Peter 3:7 “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”
“Giving honour to the wife” may imply a great deal of humility and self-sacrifice in order to show this honor. In this way the husband can submit without neglecting leadership.
The husband should honor his wife because . . .
A. Husbands and wives are different.
The woman is referred to as “the weaker vessel.” This probably refers to physical strength.
Illustration: a box marked “fragile” is given more honor.
B. Husbands and wives are equal.
A husband and a wife are “heirs together of the grace of life.” They are equal partners in receiving God’s blessings.
C. His prayers depend on it.
This is the husband’s responsibility. If he is not honoring his wife, God will not hear his prayers. All of the responsibility in this verse is with the husband; all the blessing and honor belongs to the wife.
When God made Eve for Adam he made Adam a companion and also a help mate. With that in mind, you can see that the marriage relationship is not to be one of a man insisting on treating his wife like a little child who has to jump every time he says so. She is there to help him. She is there to be part of him. She is there to love him. And he is there to love and protect her. That is the ideal relationship in marriage.
V. Every Christian should be submissive to other Christians.
1 Peter 3:8-12 “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
There are six key statements I want to pull from these verses dealing with the church and as believers relate to one another.
A. Strive for unity—“be ye all of one mind” If we are going to reach this community and the world, we have to be together.
B. Sympathize with one another—“having compassion one of another” (3:8).
C. Love one another—“love as brethren” (3:8).
D. Watch your reactions—“Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing” (3:9).
E. Be careful with your words—“let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile” (3:10).
F. Seek peace “seek peace and persue it” (3:11).
Our relationships with other Christians affects our prayers (3:12).
Conclusion
Why should we be submissive Christians?
1. It is a good testimony to the unsaved (other citizens, employers, husbands).
2. It pleases God.
3. It makes our relationships better.
4. It affects our prayers.
Our submission actually shows our submission to God.
(Thanks sermoncentral contributors, preachers sermon and outline bible)
