Remember Who You Work For!

Today’s Text: 1Peter 2:13-25

Introduction

In this section, Peter counsels Christians on how to behave.  This discourse is divided into three sections, the first being behavior relating to government authority (13-17), the second relating to slaves and masters (18-22) and ending with a summation that deals with the behavior of Jesus as our model.  Peter makes this case for good behavior because the Church was constantly under condemnation from its critics as a lawless bunch.  Peter’s case is that believers should conduct themselves in a way that would make such slander look ridiculous to the general public so that the Gospel of Christ should be held in high regard by everyone.  This is of interest to us today because once again, culture often seeks to make Christians out to be crazy, foolish, extreme, dangerous… or to simply marginalize the Gospel so as to encourage people not to listen.

Points of Interest

13-15:              Peter is teaching the believers to treat the governing authorities, whether national or local, with respect for the Lord’s sake.  Even though the believers may not approve of every decision, the Gospel will not gain ground by the church being rebellious against civil authority. By behaving in a manner that is respectable within society, the foolish insinuations of critics will fall on deaf ears.

16-17:              The text goes on to make an interesting point: Do not use your freedom in Christ to behave badly.  Some may think that since sins are forgiven and that since we do not live under the Law (per se) that we can do anything we want.  Peter’s point is that this is not a good idea (not even an accurate one). We should live as servants of God, and God’s servants do not behave badly.  We should also treat everyone with proper respect: How does it look when a Christian treats other people with less respect than the pagans do? This includes the brotherhood, and the civil authorities… and also the “man on the street”.

18-22:              This message also applies to slaves and masters (and we might say employees and employers).  Do you best work without complaining. If the master is harsh, do your best work and suffer in silence for God’s sake.  By doing this, you bring credit to God.  You do not bring credit to God if you get yourself into trouble, even if your master (or boss) is a jerk.  We are called to suffer for Christ’s sake if necessary because He suffered for ours; He is our example.

23-25:              This final section is one that sums up the previous two.  Jesus gave his life for our sins; He kept His mouth shut and trusted God for His fate, and so should we.  As a Christian, we have freedom, but this does not mean that we have the right to mouth off and be disrespectful to anyone, even if they deserve it in our eyes: We represent God.  Jesus bought us with a very steep price, and we are His servants, and are called to behave accordingly.