Revealed Will for Christian Servants #2

Review of Previous Sermon and Context

0:04 Now, as we did this morning, may I urge you to turn with me once more to 1 Peter, chapter 2. 1 Peter, chapter 2, and I shall read in your hearing verses 18 through 25.

0:22 1 Peter 2, at verse 18.

0:30 Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the crooked or the perverse. For this is acceptable if, for conscience towards God, a man endures griefs, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if, when you sin and are buffeted for it, you shall take it patiently? But if, when you do well and suffer for it, you shall take it patiently, this is acceptable.

1:06 This is acceptable with God. For hereunto were you called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again.

1:29 When he suffered, threatened not, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. Who, when he was reviled, threatened not, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. Who, his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls.

2:01 Now, those of you who were here this morning will know that we began our exposition of this new section, new for us, here in 1 Peter. However, due to the constraints of time, I was unable to finish, and several of you graciously, but very clearly, hinted that you wished I would continue tonight, and in the light of the fact that Pastor Steve Hoffmeyer will be preaching next Lord's Day morning, his last Lord's Day, before returning to the Philippines, and I will have the privilege of bringing a communion meditation, I did not believe that I wanted to let this thing percolate in my own soul for another two weeks. I don't know if I could have stood that, and with your gentle urgings, I felt it would be the part of wisdom to complete the exposition from this morning. So, in the light of the fact that most of you were here, I will not give any extensive review, but seek to squeeze in a few minutes. I want to squeeze into about five minutes what we considered in about 55 minutes this morning.

3:13 I simply remind you that in this particular section, Peter is now once more having laid out the privileges of the people of God, giving to them a string of exhortations with respect to their gospel duties. And this particular section begins in chapter 2 and verse 11 with this call, to abstain from fleshly lusts and to pursue a pattern of life that commends the gospel to the unconverted. And then, as he begins to deal with what that means in the concrete experience of the believer, living as real men and women in the real world before the face of real unconverted people, he identifies as the first area of concern, the issue, the issue of submission to authority. And he gives the general directive then in verse 13, be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. And then he follows that general directive with three specific areas. First of all, the citizen to the state.

4:29 He goes on to say, whether unto the king as supreme or the governors as censured. He goes on to say, whether unto the king as supreme or the governors as censured. He goes on to say, whether unto the king as supreme or the governors as censured. He takes up the matter of the servant and his submission to his master.

4:45 And in chapter 3 and verse 1, the subject of the wife and her submission to the husband. Having completed our study of verses 13b through verse 17, that first subcategory, we began this morning our consideration of the second category, namely, the submission of the servant to his master. And as I began the exposition, I tried to underscore a word about the obvious structure. And I hope you remember the imagery of the pyramid.

5:21 Verse 18, the directive to servants is like the apex of the pyramid. Everything else from verse 19 to 25 is like the base of the pyramid. The apex is the fundamental, fundamental directive given and verses 19 to 25 are the foundational incentives assisting the people of God to comply with that directive. And then I underscored the obvious dominant themes in this paragraph.

5:56 Once the apostle finishes delineating the duty of these servants, he then focuses by way of the incentive, he then focuses by way of the incentive, he then focuses by way of the incentive, he then focuses by way of the incentive, he then focuses by way of the incentive, he then focuses by way of the incentive, upon this God-centeredness of the Christian life and this Christ and gospel-centeredness of the Christian life. And then, by way of introduction, I made an earnest appeal to have a nice big box into which you stuff all of the questions that will arise about the issues of slavery until we have expounded the entire passage and have a biblical, biblical sphere of reference with which to interact with our specific questions. Then I suggested in seeking to open up verse 18 this fundamental directive given that we talk to the text and that we ask of our text four questions. This morning we had time to only ask and answer question number one. Precisely who in this passage. And verse 18 tells us it is servants. And by a rather extensive demonstration

7:14 from the Word of God, I trust I prove to your judgment that the word servant is not to be understood in terms of late 20th century American connotations of the word, but in the original setting, Peter was identifying servant slaves, house servants who were the property of their masters. And we asked the question, going out of that, why in the world would Peter have to have a whole section in his epistle to the churches in Asia Minor addressed to household slaves? And the answer was that slavery as a socioeconomic institution was extensive throughout the Roman Empire. It is estimated that there may have been as many as 60 million slaves at the time Peter wrote his epistle. And secondly, the gospel had made unusually powerful inroads within that segment of society. And recognizing

8:23 that there in those churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Bithynia, there would be many converted slaves, Peter desires to address to their consciences what their duty is before the face of God and in the light of the implications of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So then, these free men had to wrestle with this question, free in Christ, but still slaves. They had been addressed in verse 16. As free. He didn't put a parenthesis, say, as free except for you slaves. They were to understand that in Christ they were free men, but they were still slaves. They are addressed as household slaves. And as one commentator said, we can well imagine how these slaves would wrestle with this question as follows. How is this great change to affect my present temple relations? Must I, a child of God, a fellow citizen with the saints and of the

9:37 household of faith, born to glory and honor in immortality, remain still in bondage to this blind, brutal, heathen master, himself the slave of the devil? True, as yet I see no way of escape from my ignominious thralldom, but can my conscience any longer acknowledge the obligation of service to my despotace, my master? Certainly, were my master a Christian, I might then, with no less safety than propriety, assert in the family an equality that is on all hands conceded in the church where there is neither bond nor free. You see, this would be a question with which they wrestled. How do I integrate my true freedom in Christ with my socio-ethnicity? 1. Who is addressed? It is these Christians, wrestling with that issue, who are explicitly,

10:43 specifically addressed in this text. All right, that's a review of question one. Who precisely is addressed? Now we'll take up questions two, three and four.

The Command: Subjection to Masters

10:57 Question 2. Precisely what are they commanded to do?

11:03 Precisely what are they commanded to do? And when we ask our text the question, look at it and it will answer us. Servants, i.e., household slaves, be in subjection to your masters with all fear.

11:24 Precisely what are they commanded to do? They are commanded to be in subjection to their masters with all fear.

11:37 That's what the Word of God says. And remember, this has nothing to do with color. The majority of these slaves were white. The Roman Empire had only extended to a narrow band of North Africa and down into Egypt.

11:52 The majority of these slaves are from what we would now call European countries and some of my... My ancestors in the British Isles.

12:02 All right? So let no one have a knee-jerk reaction, white, black, and anything in between. We're dealing with the Word of God, not issues of pigment. That's the issue.

12:15 Peter's writing to household slaves, the majority of whom were white. It wouldn't matter if they were purple or green. It has to do with how does a Christian react to his new...

12:29 You found faith in Christ while finding himself in the providence of God, the property of another man. And here the direction of the apostle is clear. What are they commanded to do? Note with me two things from the text.

12:46 There is an action commanded, and there is an object of that action identified. What is the action commanded? The text says, servants, be in subjection. Subjection to your masters.

13:01 Now, this word, subjection, is exactly the same word that was used up in verse 13. Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king or supreme or governors sent by him for vengeance and for praise. And the verb means to subject oneself to an authority. That's what the verb means, hupotasso, in the Greek.

13:27 It means to raise yourself. To raise yourself under an existing authority. Voluntarily, consciously, from the heart, to embrace that authority. Now, in verse 13, it comes in the form of an imperative.

13:46 It's a command. Here in verse 18, and again in chapter 3 and verse 1, it doesn't come in the original, in the imperative mode. It comes as a participle. That's why...

14:00 A good translation reflecting that subtle nuance renders it, in verse 13, be subject. An imperative, verse 18, servants, puts the word be in italics, servants in subjection. Servants subjecting yourselves. And likewise in chapter 3 and verse 1.

14:21 Now, listen carefully. This is critical. It's a little bit technical, but it's critical. My task, again, is to explain the scriptures.

14:29 Not to write them. Nor to unwrite them or rewrite them. In this kind of construction, when you have a subject dealt with, and there is an imperative on the front end, participles can be used and draw the weight and the flavor of the imperative in good grief. The same way we can do it in English.

14:52 I want to illustrate it in English. I tried this illustration out on my wife, and she said, Honey, that helped me. So I hope your brain connects. It's the same way hers does, and it will help you.

15:03 An announcement goes out from the principal that on Friday, in the Trinity Christian School, there's going to be a gathering of all the students, K-10, and all the staff and all the faculty. And they're going to have a visit from the local fire marshal. So he's going to come in and talk about what happens in fires and all the rest. And then he says, now we're going to do a practice drill.

15:27 I want every faculty member, every staff member, every student to listen to me very carefully, because I'm going to give you directions as to what you are to do. So the first thing he does is he says, here is my general command. When the bell rings, all of you exit immediately. Now that's an imperative.

15:52 All of you exit immediately. But then he says this. All of you exit immediately. K-4, exiting out the lower level.

16:07 Grades 5-10, exiting out the upper level. Faculty and staff, exiting out the foyer level. Now you see what he's done? He's given a clear imperative.

16:21 All of you exit. And then he's used three participles.

16:26 K-4, exiting out lower level. 5-12, exiting out upper level. 5-12, exiting out upper level. 5-13, exiting out lower level.

16:34 Faculty and staff, exiting out foyer level. Now, suppose you were a K-4 and said, oh well, we can go out any level we want. You'd say, no, no, no, no, no. When he said, all of you exit, and then began to define the various groups, you would immediately know that that straightforward imperative lent its weight to the participles exiting out here, exiting out there.

17:00 Now that's exactly what Peter does. By the Spirit of God in this passage. Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. And with the force of that imperative, and its weight pressing down on these two participles, servants in subjection to your masters, wives in subjection to your husbands.

17:27 So that when we let our text answer the question, what specifically? What specifically is mandated of these servants, these household slaves? It is an imperative that they subject themselves. And now we come to the second half of our answer.

17:49 The objects of this action, the text says, to your masters. And as we saw this morning, the word for master means one who has absolute authority. It is used to guide. He is called the only despotace.

18:07 He is called the one who has purchased us in Jesus Christ with his own precious blood. He has bought his own, and he graciously owns them as their Lord and master. So when these household slaves would be sitting in church on a given Lord's day or whatever day, they may have first had the Lord's name, and the letter come from Peter. And the letter was read, you household slaves, and their ears perked up, in subjection to your masters, they would have known immediately to whom Peter was referring.

18:53 In subjection to those who in the providence of God occupy the actual position of owning you, and possessing by force, of Roman law, the right to tell you what to do without securing your consent or advice.

19:18 These masters were supposed to respect some of the laws passed by the Roman Senate to protect slaves, but according to this passage, it's obvious, and it's true whenever slavery exists, and it's true, where slavery does not exist, that human nature being what it is, human beings will take advantage of one another, and react to one another in ways that are wicked and sinful. But nonetheless, the word of God is clear. To whom are they to be subject to their masters? So in answer to question number two, what precisely are these servant slaves commanded to do? They are to embrace from the heart, the legal and economic authority over them, that is, their masters, and to render obedience to them in everything except disobeying God. Now remember, Peter is not writing as someone giving his own socio-economic political philosophy. He begins his letter by saying, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

20:35 And when apostles spoke in the name of Christ, wrote in the name of Christ, what they spoke and wrote was the word of Jesus Christ himself, so that every household slave in the churches of Asia Minor would know that the one who died for them and rose again, the one who had secured for them an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that prays not away, was revealing his will for them, in the concreteness of their condition of slavery. That's what my text says when I ask the question of it. Who is addressed? Household slaves. What is demanded of them? They are to be submissive to their masters. You see, the apostle's word that realistically envisions the condition of these slaves is not a word of social agitation.

21:41 It is an agitation to overthrow a system that was born of a sinful imperialistic Roman conquest. He doesn't tell them to become social agitators and overthrow the system. He does not say become anarchists and revolt against the system. He doesn't say that.

22:11 And he doesn't say start a union and start picketing to neutralize some of the wicked influence of the system. You will search the New Testament in vain for any such suggestion. And remember, some of my forefathers were slaves in that very system. Some of my dear black brethren have forefathers who were slaves in what in many ways was a wretched system of slavery here in our own country.

22:47 But you see, this is not a matter of who your forefathers were or mine, it's a matter of what does the Bible say. That's the issue.

22:59 And the issue in our text as we ask this question is very, very clear.

The Manner: With All Fear (of God)

23:08 All right. Question three. We've asked question number one, who is addressed? Household slaves.

23:14 We've asked question number two, what are they commanded to do? Now question three. Question three. Question three.

23:20 Question three. Question three. Question three. Question three.

23:20 Precisely how are they to do this?

23:25 How are they to do this? And look at our text. Let it speak to us. Servants, households, slaves, be in subjection to your masters.

23:34 Here's how you're to do it. With all teeth-thripping, bite-a-bullet reluctance. I mean, what it says. Look what it says.

23:44 It says, with all fear. That's how you're to do it. It says, with all fear. With all fear.

23:54 With all fear. Now, what does that mean? Well, it's not an easy thing to say with dogmatism. And some godly men who love their Bibles, know the original language, they have suggested that what Peter is saying is, that is, have both a respect of their authority, including their right to punish you if you step out of line, so obey them in all fear.

24:20 In other words, Peter is justifying, as legitimate, the fear of the consequences if you don't obey legitimate authority. And that is a biblical teaching. In Romans 13, for example, when Paul is teaching why we should be submissive to the civil authority, notice how he brings in the motive of fear. Verse 4 of Romans 13.

24:42 He, that is, the human government and its instruments, is a minister of God to you for good, but if you do that which is evil, be afraid. He's saying this to Christians. He's saying this to Christians. If you do something evil, you ought to be scared witless.

24:59 You see, the Roman government hadn't yet learned the notion that the civil government was in the business of re-educating criminality.

25:10 It goes on to say, he bears not the sword in vain. He's a minister of God, an avenger of wrath to him who does evil. God instituted human government to protect the innocent and to punish, not reform the guilty. That notion hurts.

25:28 There's no root in the Bible. Not in the Bible.

25:35 So Peter may be saying, you slaves, be in subjection to your masters with all fear. They have real authority. You defy it. They will bring down the rod of correction upon you, and you'll deserve it.

25:50 Let that fear keep you in line. And that would be a biblical motive.

25:56 Is it right for a child to be afraid of his parents' rod? You bet your boots. My dad never used a stick or a spoon, but he had a thick hand. And I loved that hand.

26:08 But there's one place I didn't love it, nor did I want it. And that's when he said, all right, Albert, or Sonny. I was Sonny until I was 21. Up in the bathroom, and we had to go through this indignity of pulling down the shade while he locked the door.

26:22 I never could figure that out. It's a question I never asked my dad until he went to heaven. I wish I had. Dad, what was behind that ritual, me pulling down the shade and you locking the door?

26:32 But I tell you, that hand was a thick hand. And I feared it being on my backside. It never cuffed me on the face, never struck me in uncontrolled anger. But there was principled application of those thick fingers to my gluteus maximus.

26:50 And it had a wholesome, beneficial effect. I feared it. Was anything wrong with that? No, that was a wholesome fear.

26:56 It may be that that was Peter's saying. And those who take that position bring these other passages. Some. Some say no.

27:04 What he's saying is, it's the kind of fear that you find in Ephesians 5.33. Let the wife see, same Greek word, that she feared her husband. The same connotation.

27:18 Some say, what does it mean a wife should fear her husband? Well, she shouldn't be afraid he's going to spank her if she disobeys. She doesn't please him. But let the wife see that she reverence and respect her husband.

27:30 He has legitimate authority. There should be a fear. There should be a fear that is softened by the nature of the relationship and its respect. And they would bring in Ephesians 5.33 to defend their understanding.

27:44 I personally share the view of many commentators that what Peter is referring to here is not the fear of the consequences if you don't obey, or general respect or reverence, but I believe he's picking up the thread that he's just laid out on the fear of God. Look at the passage. He just finished. He's saying, honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

28:11 Now he moves to a new category where you've got to relate to authority. And he says, house slaves, be in subjection to your masters with all fear. And that to me is the key. That little word pompeii in the original.

28:27 With all fear. All kinds of fear. Fear. Fear to its fullness.

28:35 Fear to its perfection. And in my judgment, that's only warranted in the presence of Almighty God. Not the slave master's rod. Not his position, which demands respect and reverence.

28:51 But it is the fear of God. That note that Peter sounds again and again in this epistle. You remember we first found it in chapter 1. And in verse 17.

29:03 If you call on him as father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man's work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear. It's not a cringing fear that the father's going to zap me. Because he says in the next verse, knowing that you were redeemed. Not with corruptible things, but precious blood.

29:26 It's that delightful awe of who God is. In the light of his own glorious character. And in the light of what he's done in Jesus Christ. That living before him and pleasing him is my greatest delight.

29:42 And the thought of displeasing him is my greatest dread. I'm convinced that's what Peter is emphasizing here. How slaves be in subjection to your masters with all fear. What fear?

29:56 The fear of God. Peter will go on to emphasize it when he comes to the women who have unconsciousness. Converted husbands. Chapter 3 and verse 2.

30:06 Beholding your chaste behavior coupled with fear. The fear of God. Again in chapter 3 and verse 15. Sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart.

30:17 Ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you. Yet with meekness and fear. This is a dominant note in this epistle. And I pity those whose view of the Christian life has no place for the fear of God.

30:32 We are to live our Christian life. They say with nothing but a concentration upon the softer beams of God's love and tenderness. Constantly bathing our souls. Well we better live with the soft rays of his love bathing our souls.

30:54 But that's not the whole of the teaching of the word of God. And he says to these household slaves. This is the way you are to carry out this subjection. You are to carry it out in the knowledge that you are now God's free man.

31:14 You are living before the face of God. See beyond your master. See beyond the reasonableness or unreasonableness of his directions. You are Christ's man.

31:26 You are God's man. You are God's servant.

31:31 You see this pervasive God-centeredness to the Christian life in the most mundane duties. Duties. Comes through again and again. Think with me for a minute.

31:41 Here this slave gets up on a Monday morning. And he drags himself over to the sink and splashes some water on his face and tries to get awake. And he looks in the mirror. And he says who are you?

31:54 And the mirror speaks back to him in his own mind. You are the property of your master. You are nobody. You have no citizenship.

32:05 You have no legal rights. You have no possibility. of having an inheritance for your children. You're a slave.

32:15 You're the property of your master. That's who you are. Now, if his mirror spoke back to him in his mind, would that be untrue? No, not at all.

32:25 That's reality. But if he's a Christian slave and his mirror is telling the truth, you know what else his mirror would say to him? He'd say, John, all that's true, but you know what else is true of you? Think of that letter that came from the Apostle Peter last week and that one of your elders read.

32:42 Remember what he said in the opening words? Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead unto an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that pays not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the pot. And he starts thinking about what the mirror is telling him. And he says, John, you're not only the property, you're not only a nobody with no rights, you are one upon whom God has set his everlasting love and in whom he has brought his saving power.

33:24 You've been raised in union with Christ. You've got an inheritance your master could never have. His can be stolen in a day, destroyed in famine. Yours is what?

33:39 Yours is imperishable. Yours is imperishable. Yours is undefiled. Yours is stored up and reserved in heaven.

33:48 And furthermore, you are being kept by the power of that God until you're brought to that inheritance. And he just thinks back through everything that was in the letter. Redeemed by precious blood, born again by the word of God. Folks, I get the goosebumps, put myself in John's place.

34:06 Mirror me on the wall now. You're everything God says you are. Not one bit less. Oh, and he believes that.

34:17 I tell you, by the time he's done shaving, he's got stanchion in his feet. And he comes out and presents himself for roll call in the morning and the master looks at him and says, John, did you go to bed at five o'clock last night? You look like you had 15 hours sleep. He said, no, master.

34:34 I've just been talking to the mirror.

34:37 And I let the mirror remind me of who I am. Am I making sense? That's what the Bible says. It's talking about servants in subjection to your masters with all fear that is in the fear of God, in the light of who God is in himself and what he is to you in Jesus Christ.

The Scope: To All Kinds of Masters

35:09 Then we've got to ask question number four. We've asked the question, who is addressed? Household slaves. What are they commanded to do?

35:18 Submit themselves to their masters. How are they to do? How are they to do it in all?

35:26 Now question number four. Precisely to what kind of masters is such submission to be rendered?

35:37 Precisely to what kind of masters? Let our text answer the question and it gives us two parts to the answer. Look at the text. Be in subjection to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the crooked or perverse.

36:00 Two kinds of masters to whom the house slave is to subject himself. I describe them this way. The kind that make it easy and the kind that make it hard.

36:13 I don't think that's complex, do you? The kind that make it easy. How are they described? Look at the text.

36:20 Not only he assumes that there are some masters who are good and gentle. Good and gentle. Good can either refer to what they demand and do as being morally upright and commendable or more likely refers to an inner disposition of goodness. And then he says gentle.

36:42 It's a precious word. Probably refers to the disposition of the master when the servant doesn't fully carry out his orders, when he makes mistakes and he is forbearing and he's patient with him. Now since there's no directive given to masters in 1st Peter as there is in Ephesians or as there are, directives are given in Ephesians and directives are given in 1st Timothy and Colossians I believe as well, Colossians 3, it is probably because Peter has not become aware that there are any converted masters in that church.

37:22 Or he would have given a directive to the masters as Paul does in his epistles. So that most likely what he is saying, is there are unconverted pagan masters who are both good and gentle. Why? Because the Bible teaches there's such a thing as common bliss.

37:41 God can take hearts that are natively full of anger and bitterness and unreasonableness and he can put in such hearts without changing them as he does in conversion, he can put genuine goodness and kindness. I've had occasion to tell many of you through this whole experience of the past months and being plunged up to our ears in the medical community, I've been amazed at the fresh appreciation I have come, or I have come to a new appreciation of the doctrine of common grace. Unconverted people as lost as the devil and yet who manifest genuine kindness and goodness to people in their physical needs. And I've had to say to myself again and again, where did that come from? That does not grow out of Adamic soil. Jesus said out of the heart of man come what?

38:39 Adultery, fornication, murder, blasphemies, evil thoughts, the works of the flesh, Paul says, or what? Fornication, wrath, anger, these are the things that natively grow in unblessed Adamic soil. But God can put in the midst of that soil some exotic plants in his common grace, some exotic plants in his common grace, some exotic plants in his common grace, and apparently that's the thing to which Peter is referring. And he says to these house slaves when they ask the question, but Peter, precisely to what kind of master should I render this subjection?

39:14 Peter says, not only to the good and to the gentle, the kind that make it easy, but he says, secondly, to the kind that make it hard. And notice how he describes them. Not only to the good and gentle, but also to the scolios. Some of you have heard of scoliosis.

39:40 We became introduced to it when our daughter Heidi was about 12 years old. A severe bending and crookedness in the spine. That's the word that's used here that literally means crooked or bent. But metaphorically, it means people who are morally crooked and bent.

40:01 It's the word used in the familiar words of Philippians 2.15 where Paul says that you are to shine as lights in the midst of a crooked, a scolios, a bent, a twisted, a morally twisted generation. When Peter's preaching on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2.40, it says, with many other words, he testified and exhorted, saying, save yourself from this scolios, this twisted, this perverse, this morally crooked generation.

40:33 Now, Peter acknowledges that they're going to be masters like that, who cause suffering wrongfully. This becomes like the door into the entire remaining part of the passage. Once he introduces the kind of master that makes it difficult, he then goes on to assume that many of these house servants are living in that situation. That's why he says, if a man endures grief, suffering wrongfully, who makes people suffer when they don't deserve it?

41:07 Crooked men and women. Then he goes on to say, if when you do well and are buffeted, you take it patiently. This is pleasing to God. Who buffets people when they do well?

41:21 Crooked and morally perverse people. Who reviles others? Who threatens others? Crooked, perverse, morally twisted people.

41:34 And when we read this, when we ask the text precisely to what kind of masters is such submission to be rendered, the answer's clear. Not only the kind that make it easy, but the kind that make it hard. One commentator writes, Peter knew that some masters were tois skolios, literally the crooked, bent, the opposite of straight. The figure aptly depicts their moral perversity in their treatment of their slaves.

42:03 They deviated from what was just and right, being cruel and unrighteous. They were unfair in their reactions. One man characterizes them, and I like this. He quotes.

42:13 He's got a commentator quoting another commentator. Unreasonably exacting, capricious, he couldn't predict what they're going to do, and cross-grained. Everything you did, it didn't go down smoothly with them. Another man suggests they were probably irritated by the transformation in the conduct of the Christian slaves.

The Gospel Witness in Suffering

42:36 He says, I'm not going to tell you that, because it was a powerful testimony to the transforming power of the gospel. Well, that's the kind of people they're to be submissive to. Now put yourself back in the first century. Here you're sitting, you come to church to get blessed.

42:53 And oh, are you blessed when whoever stands and reads the epistle reads the first part. Blessed be God! And you say, hallelujah, that's me, that's what I had in Christ. And then you come to chapter two, you're part of the living temple.

43:07 You're a spiritual person. You're a spiritual person. You're a priesthood. You're offering up spiritual sacrifices.

43:11 And you've got your dancing feet on there, or your dancing shoes are on your feet. And then you breathe, and the elder, or whoever's reading, pauses, and then he begins chapter two, verse eleven. What is that in our Bible? None of that was there.

43:29 It was just a running letter when Peter sent it out. Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners in pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts at war against the soul. I ask you to keep your conduct honorable among the heathen. And the man sits there and says, yeah, I'm for that.

43:42 Yeah, I think that's pretty good. I want to live a commendable life. And then a few breaths later, and a few words later, he hears these words, house slaves. And his ears perk up, as we said earlier.

43:46 And he's wondering what kind of word is going to come from Peter. You are free men in Christ. It's time to band together and become free men economically, socially, and spiritually. And he says, yes, I am.

43:50 And he says, yes, I am. And he says, yes, I am. And he says, yes, I am. And he says, yes, I am.

43:54 And he says, yes, I am. And he says, yes, I am. Can you imagine him sitting there, and hearing house slaves in submission to your masters with all their might. And he gets to the point where he's ready to be thrown away.

44:29 There you are. Where are you right now? All fear. And it's as though Peter anticipates the man saying, Yeah, Peter, I can see that.

44:38 To the ones who make it easy. And then they hear the words, Not only to the good and to the gentle, but also to the crooked.

44:51 And old John's heart sinks.

44:54 He says, That's my mistake. You never know what kind of face he's going to have. One morning he smiles. The next morning he frowns.

45:02 You do your best to please him, and he smiles. You try to do what he commands and do it cheerfully as unto the Lord. You can never please him. How in the world can you live the way Peter says under live?

45:17 Well, that's the next exposition, God knows. For, he says. And then he begins to give them the incentives to a child of God to live in such a way as to do what? We're back at verse 12.

45:32 That when people speak against these Christian slaves, they will see in their lifestyle that which they cannot deny is the almighty work of God and glorified God in the day of visitation. When this churlish, crooked master takes a group of his house slaves that had a joint project, he gave the directions, they followed through with him, and then he brings them all in, he doesn't commend them, he scolds them, he threatens them, and four out of the five, John being the first, John the fifth, and it's good, man, you can just almost see the steam coming out their ears, they know better than to speak back to this unruly master, but the fire is in their eyes, you know, if they had their way and they dared to, they'd pounce on them and beat the tar out of them. When he looks down at John, the fifth one, he sees the sweet glow upon his face.

46:31 He can't figure it out.

46:33 Why doesn't he have the glowering eyes that the other four have? Why isn't he breathing heavy and clenching his teeth? And this goes on day after day till one day the master can't stand it anymore. And he says, John, when the others go, come here, I've got to talk to you.

46:50 And he sits down and he says, look, I can't stand it anymore. Every time I get on the case of your particular group of slaves, I see in their faces the anger, the bitterness, and I know in my better moments they're right, but John, why in the world do you stand there with a glow upon your face?

47:09 He said, I'll tell you, master. A letter came from the apostle Peter a few months ago.

47:15 And that letter told me what I am in Christ and told me how I'm to live to validate what I am in Christ. And that letter told me that when I suffer in the way of righteousness and when I get knocked about for doing good and I take it patiently, I'm following in the steps of my master who when he was reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered, he threatened not, committed his cause to him who judged righteously, and when you're getting on our case and you know and I know I don't deserve it, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it.

47:45 I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I stand there thinking, Lord Jesus, I'm sharing in your sufferings and I'm going to share in your glory.

47:53 The sufferings of Christ, Peter said, and the glories to follow. And in the midst of abuse and unrighteous treatment, old John, he's having communion with Christ and his face is glowing.

48:07 And one day the master has a calamity come into his life and his back's against the wall and he wants to know, where can I go to find someone that knows God? He said, I know where I'm going. This is God's day of visitation to me. I'm going to find out old John and say, John, tell me, how can I know your God in your sake?

48:29 My friends, that's not a nice little bit of poetic imagery. That's just a little paraphrase in modern English of what Peter's talking about. That is Christianity! That is a sham!

Application to Modern Christian Living

48:44 It ain't real. It isn't worth talking about. This is vital, real, biblical Christianity. I ask you as you sit here tonight, is this what you have?

49:00 You say, well, I'm not a slave. No, you're not. But there are areas where you have relationships, where you are the one who's supposed to take the orders and somebody else legitimately gives them. It may be mom and dad to your kids.

49:19 And at times, the orders they give are not reasonable. That's right, they aren't. So what do you do? Shulk?

49:27 Pout? Bad mouth them under your breath? Not if you're a Christian you don't do that as a pattern. You get the principles of this passage.

49:36 You've got a supervisor there in the office, in the shop. You've got someone over you that you strive in God's name to serve Christ and to please those over you like you can never please them. They never commend, quit the scold. What do you do?

49:59 You come back to these passages. What glory is it when you've goofed up and you've messed up and you get lapped verbally for it? What glory is that? You've got to come in.

50:09 That's what Peter said. Modern parlance. When you goof up, take it on the chin. When you do well and you're verbally abused for it.

50:21 Sarcastic remarks, sting and woo. What do you do? Come to this passage. You say, by the grace of God in union with Christ with a soul suffused with gospel truths and gospel motives, I will be like my Savior in order to validate the power of the gospel that in the day of their visitation they will glorify God.

50:48 As he says in verse 15 if they start to bad mouth the gospel reflecting on how you respond in these things it may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Now, sitting here tonight I can't read your thoughts but God knows them. How do you respond to what you've heard? You say if that's what the Christian faith demanded of me and I were a slave I'd say goodbye Christianity.

51:17 Is that what you're thinking? If so, my friend, you'd better ask whether or not you've ever come to see Christ as the altogether lovely one who is worthy of your unquestioned allegiance. Ah, but what about...

51:39 No, no. This has nothing to do with all the questions about this or that institution of slavery and how it was conducted or should there have been a civil war and was the South wrong and was the... No, no.

51:51 Put all those questions aside, my friend and be honest with this Bible and what it says. The first century household flares and says it in the name and in the authority of the Lord Jesus. Some of you have had an awful lot of influence by humanistic sociological thought and you need to have a good mental purging. We live in a day where there is an obsessive preoccupation with so-called rights and the Bible is not so concerned about our rights as it is about our duties. And this passage is a patent proof of that reality. But not duties performed without motives that are ennobling and enriching and totally suited to our circumstances. That's the glory of the Christian faith where we looked at the apex of the triangle. The duty

Prayer and Exhortation

52:59 clearly defined. God willing in our next expositions we'll consider together the incentives to encourage us in that duty by the grace of God. Let's pray together. Our Father, we are indeed exceedingly thankful for your word that it is a lamp to our feet and a light to our pathway.

53:29 That it is the sufficient room for all of faith and all of practice. And we pray that this portion we've considered together would be written upon our hearts that you would break down every thought that exalts itself against your knowledge and bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We pray for those who know nothing of gospel motives, working in their hearts, who know nothing of living in your fear. Be gracious to them, Lord.

54:03 May what they have heard tonight cause them to see as they've never seen before what it is to be a Christian. And may you implant within them a yearning to be just such a person. Help your people. Lord, we acknowledge our minds are glutted with so much that is so contrary to your truth. Help us that the word itself will wash over our minds, carrying away all thought that is not conformed to your truth. Seal your word to our hearts. Be with us throughout the days of the coming week. Should you delay the coming of your Son, we do desire to abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul. We do

54:52 desire to live a lifestyle that is becoming to the gospel, that will by your grace fashion itself from the consciences of the unconverted all around us. Oh Lord, we do desire to shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and a perverse generation. Help us, oh God, we pray that our lives will whet the appetite of those who when they are pushed to the wall find that their things, their toys and their games and their money and their possessions can give them no true comfort. And may they turn to those of us who know you, asking a reason of the hope that is in us. May we be winsome and bold to speak of Christ and of his gracious saving mercy. Hear our prayers and dismiss us with your blessing. We ask in his worthy name.

55:50 Amen.