Submission: Work Series

"Submission: Work"

1 Peter 2:18-25

Pastor John Bright

1 Peter 2 “18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 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. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

22 “Who committed no sin,

Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;

23 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; 24 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. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

Are you aware of slavery in our day? This is info from 2022: “Of the 27.6 million people trapped in forced labor, 17.3 million are exploited in the private economy, 6.3 million are in commercial sexual exploitation, and nearly 4 million are in forced labor imposed by state authorities” (Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage, Geneva, September 2022) Do you know the estimated population of Virginia? 8.6 million. That number of modern-day slaves in forced labor is over 3 times the population of Virginia. Do we even care?

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Last week I introduced the topic of SUBMISSION and gave everyone a worksheet to pray about rebellion in your life. I hope you are working on that. Today, you will find an article from gotquestions.org that goes into greater detail about the levels of submission for a Follower of Jesus. Before we get going on the application of these verses, I need to talk to you about slavery.

First, the way we hear a word and experience the ideas related to that word are based on where we come from and the experiences we have. For example, having grown up on a farm and having lots of experience with hunting, I might have a different view of deer hunting to harvest venison than someone who grew up in a big city. That’s just an example that might be true. Let me share this one with you that is ALWAYS TRUE – when a white person hears the word “slave” she/he has a different view than a black person hearing the same word. Everyone’s experience is equally valid so there is no right or wrong. Can we agree on that?

Second, as I share about slavery in the Ancient World, slavery in the New World, indentured servitude in the Middle Ages, and modern-day slavery – we cannot ignore the immorality of all types of abuse of those in forced labor. While there are differences in these types of slavery during different centuries, we should never use scripture as an excuse to ignore immorality. Let me say this as a word of repentance for those who came before us. Please pray with me – Lord, forgive us for the sins of our ancestors in the Methodist Episcopal South Church who used scriptures like this to claim that God approved of the enslavement of black men, women and children. May we never follow in their sin by making excuses for the injustice and immorality in our day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Third, while Paul gave instructions to masters about how to treat slaves in Ephesians 6:1 and Colossians 4:1, we can’t assume that because Peter only gives the exhortation to slaves, that there were no masters in the house churches of Asia Minor. That would be “an argument from silence” and those tend to be hard to defend. What do we know from this scripture? There were definitely a good number of slaves in the church and their behavior could be seen by others. (NIV Commentary, 1 Peter, McKnight, 1996)

Submission is not based on your circumstances, v. 18

“18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.”

As I mentioned last week, all of these verses on submission have to read in the context of 1 Peter 2:11-12 “11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.” Again – why is this important? THE WORLD IS WATCHING US!