LIVING STONES
Expository Sermons that lead your congregation through The First Letter of Peter
by Rev. Ken Behnken
4. A COMPELLING WITNESS. 1 Peter 2:11-25
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 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.
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.
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 endure it, this is commendable before God.
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 life 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.
Peter the preacher
A warning that bears repeating
The compelling witness of lifestyle
– "Let your light so shine among men"
– a submissive attitude toward governing authorities
- government by the consent of the governed
- a higher view of life
– silence foolish talk by doing good
Christian freedom – its use and its abuse
A word to Christian workers
– living as new men and women in the old situation
- a higher view of life
- a noble cause
The Most Compelling Witness
On the Day of Pentecost, when Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, he became a bold preacher. He was the chief spokesman for the apostles. On that occasion they all witnessed to the resurrection of Jesus – but Peter was the preacher, and it is Peter’s sermon that was recorded for us in Acts.
In this First Letter of Peter, which we’ve been studying together, Peter brought carefully thought out written encouragement to the Christians of Asia Minor. But sometimes the preacher in Peter came to the fore. Here, for example, he repeated himself. Preachers have been known to do that, you know.
If you have been here to participate in this study of First Peter so far, you will remember that first Peter told the Good News of God’s filling the empty spot in our lives with himself, through the forgiving love of Jesus. Then we heard Peter remind us that there is a "Therefore" attached to the Good News: we are to be holy as God is holy – different from the world around us because we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Then last Sunday we saw that Jesus, the Living Stone, becomes either the Cornerstone or the Stumblingstone in the lives of those who hear the Good News. He makes of us who believe living stones in his spiritual temple, lining us up with the truth so we will become his royal priests, bridge builders for him to those around us.
Then Peter repeated himself – at least to some extent. He wrote, "I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against the soul." He had said something very much like that already in the first chapter – but I guess it bears repeating. How easily the world’s sexual permissiveness, its love of money, its desire for power and pleasure, can infiltrate our hearts and stimulate our sinful desires and end up competing with Jesus for the priority spot in our lives. So Peter warns: "Abstain from sinful desires. They war against the soul."
Peter repeated himself as he encouraged his readers to be different – living as aliens and strangers in the world. But then he added some new thoughts: that it is how you live and not just what you say that becomes a compelling witness – and that how others see your lifestyle may have an effect on how they look at God. Peter wrote: "Live such good lives among the pagans that they may see your good deeds and glorify God." He was just echoing his Lord's "Let your light so shine before other people that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
As a key factor in this compelling witness of a different lifestyle Peter pointed to an attitude of willing submission toward those in authority. The Christians to whom Peter wrote were living in a completely totalitarian society. Imperial Rome imposed its will unilaterally, and often arbitrarily, as it desired. The people, especially the conquered people, had no say in the matter. The Christians to whom Peter wrote were already feeling the pressure of official persecution from a decaying empire that was trying to preserve some sense of unity by demanding worship of the emperor. So Peter’s words must have come across as very radical: "Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king as supreme authority, or to governors sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right."
People generally don’t like to hear this "submit yourselves to every authority instituted among men". In our sinful human society those who are under authority easily develop antagonism toward who are in authority over them. Even in our democratic society we can feel that, with its laws and regulations and taxes, our government is interfering with and restricting our personal lives – and then we tend to become resistant instead of submissive. In our day, when "government by the consent of the governed" is the principle under which we live, we can do something about it. We can "vote the rascals out" – though it appears that the "rascals" have arranged things so that it is almost impossible to unseat an incumbent. Under the principle of "government by the consent of the governed" we might even, in extreme circumstances, justify rejecting and overthrowing political leaders who have become oppressive and no longer seek the good of the people they are governing. (Our country came into existence in that way, you remember.)
Peter was not advocating a particular political action agenda. Whether his words are applied to those who were unwilling subjects of an emperor, or to us who are citizens of a democracy, they are: "Submit yourselves." He said, "Submit for the Lord’s sake." He was calling us to a higher view of life, in which we are to recognize that we are more than just citizens of the United States; we are citizens of God’s eternal kingdom.
In that frame of reference, then, we are able to see that, as St. Paul put it, "the powers that be are ordained of God." Governing officials may not always represent God as they should, but God’s intention is that a government be for society’s good. Peter stated this simply, yet powerfully: They are there "to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right." Luther called government "God’s left hand." He saw that governing authorities are God’s representatives to serve God's will and purpose, using power and force as needed to assure the peace and stability of society – so we Christians are to be quick to show respect to them and give obedience to them as God's representatives, and we are to be slow to resist and rebel.
Peter wrote, "It is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men." The society in which the early Christians lived sometimes accused them of being atheists because they no longer worshiped the old pagan gods. They accused them of being antisocial because their lifestyles changed, and they no longer participated in the partying and orgies that were part of pagan worship. They even accused them of cannibalism when they heard talk of eating the body and drinking the blood of the Lord. Such talk, Peter said, would be silenced not by more words, but only by the Christians doing good.
Also our world has some ignorant, foolish views of Christians – and sometimes, unfortunately, the behavior of Christians contributes to that foolish image. Well, we too can silence ignorant and foolish talk only by behavior, by doing good. It is said that if you go around with a smile on your face people will think you know something they don’t know. Similarly, if Christians go around being respectful of authority and willingly helping those in need, others might wonder just what it is that we know about life’s purpose that they are missing.
Peter wrote: "Live as free men and women, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God." God’s Son has set us free – free from sin and guilt – free to love God and to live as God’s children, serving him happily as we are led by his Spirit. With Jesus as Lord of our lives there really can be no other master. With Jesus as Lord of our lives we cannot against our will be enslaved by anyone or anything – except …. The exception is what Peter was warning against, the one thing that can assert a deadly influence to drag us down again into slavery – our own sinful natures. He wrote: "Do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil." Christ frees us to live new lives that please him, not to live our lives as we may please. So Peter tells us that, as servants of God we are to "show proper respect to everyone, love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king."
Then Peter addressed a word to slaves. The majority of the Gentiles who became Christians in the early centuries of the church were slaves. Think what the Good News of God’s valuing them and loving them in Jesus meant to them! Peter called for those who were slaves to give a compelling witness, too: "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."
Some criticize the New Testament writers because they did not address the problem of slavery and call for its overthrow. They feel that what they call "the revolutionary message of Jesus" should have been proclaimed in a more forceful, revolutionary way. The Bible surely does not favor or support social systems such as slavery – but really it has a more important concern. It reaches into every human situation, also into unfavorable and oppressive situations, and calls people to freedom from the most oppressive slavery, the slavery to sin. It calls to new life in Christ, to life as new men and new women in that old situation, whatever it may be, and it empowers them to rise above the old situation, even if they cannot change it. One man put it this way: The government's social engineers want to take people out of the slums by passing laws; God's spiritual engineers aim at taking the slums out of people by preaching the Gospel.
At the same time, we must recognize that, as new men and women in Christ, we do become God’s agents of reform in our society. In many ways we are to lend ourselves to the noble cause of changing the situations that oppress so many, or at least improving them – all the while inviting people around us to find for themselves new life as new men and new women in Christ.
We’re not slaves today – though some days we may feel like we are – but Peter’s words offer guiding principles also to us in the workplace. In America, if the boss is unfair and the work unpleasant we are free to leave and find work elsewhere – but Peter’s words tell us we are not free to use our unhappiness as an excuse just to slack off in our effort and on the contribution we are expected to make at work. Christians are not just serving a boss or a company or a business. Finally, in all we do, we are serving our Lord Christ! It surely would have helped our country if the CEO's and the accountants who used their positions to make themselves fabulously wealthy while cheating investors and employees would have lived by that principle.
Peter ended up his encouragement to be a compelling witness through a Christian lifestyle by pointing us again to the One who brought the Most Compelling Witness: Jesus himself. In him we find the divine rationale for it; in him we find motivation for it. Peter wrote: "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving an example that you should follow. ‘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. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." His words need no exposition. They speak right to your heart and mine. We happily say our "Amen" to them.
So . . . lest I fall into the trap of preachers and begin to repeat myself, let me just say it: "In Jesus' Name. Amen."
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