1 Peter 2:21 - Copy Cat

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

So sharing a verse every day hasn’t worked out so well…Mark and I spent all Friday afternoon trying to clear out a frozen sewer pipe. Mark definitely got the worse end of that deal. And by worse end – I mean really worse…imagine about 40 feet of backed up sewer line draining at your feet while in an enclosed area…oh dear.

Speaking of suffering, we continue with our discussion of Christian suffering.

The Greek word for “an example” literally means “a writing or drawing that a student reproduces”. Peter is saying that we are called to painstakingly copy the drawing of Christ’s life with our life. What does that mean? What do you think? Take a moment and consider the implications of the idea that we are to copy the life of Jesus.

So, what does it mean? I think it means that we are to live as Jesus lived. We are to consider others more important than ourselves, we are to humbly serve those around us, we are to teach the Word of God with the authority of the Holy Spirit, we are to give our lives up for others, we are to live only to please God, we are to do nothing except what God has told us to do, we are to love sinners and confront the self-righteous in love, and yes, we are to suffer for the sake of God’s Kingdom. We are to be little copies of Christ.

Jesus is always walking forward and further into the mess of this world so that the Glory of God will be known. Are you willing to walk in His footsteps? That is our call – He suffered for us, so we are to suffer for Him. That is your call as a Christian.

A little bonus for today. One of my commentaries says that the call to suffer is the final of God’s “Seven Sovereign Summonses”:

- The Call to Salvation (Romans 8:30)

- The Call to Sonship (1 John 3:1)

- The Call to Sanctification (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

- The Call to Service (Mark 10:43-44)

- The Call to Separation (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)

- The Call To Subjection

· Children to Parents (Ephesians 6:1)

· Wives to Husbands (Ephesians 5:22)…and I would add, husbands and wives should submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21)

· Employees to Employers (1 Peter 2:18)

· Citizens to Government (1 Peter 2:13-14)

· All Believers to God (Romans 12:1-2)

- The Call to Suffering (1 Peter 2:21; Philippians 1:29)

That is just a little bonus for you today. Those seven calls would be an interesting study all by itself…

“When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” – Dietrich Bonheoffer

1 Peter 2:20 - What if?

“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.”

A very similar verse to yesterdays; I probably should have included it in yesterday’s discussion. Instead of going over this same topic again, I want to mention a side topic instead; aren’t you glad we don’t live in a culture where people are beaten for doing good?

But there is a day coming when all Christians will face active persecution for the sake of Christ. Just as there are Christians hiding out in various parts of the world at this moment. I sometimes wonder if I would choose Christ if it cost me my job and my friends? How about you, would you choose Christ if your family would disown you or even kill you if they found out? It’s a tough question.

That is the reality for many believers today – I could tell you stories of daughters held captive in their homes, beaten by their father and brothers for accepting Christ; or sons who chose Christ and had to flee for their lives with nothing but the clothes on their back. But you know these stories as well as I do…

Please don’t forget about these precious saints who are persecuted for doing good. Please pray for them – pray that they will be bold in their faith and have the courage to endure this present suffering knowing that God will redeem them. It is their only hope…and ours too.

1 Peter 2:19 - Commendable

** Sorry about the lack of spaces between the paragraphs - I have no idea why it won't let me put them in...it drives me crazy!

“For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering, because he is conscious of God.”

The Greek word for “commendable” in verse 19 literally means, “grace”. In Luke 6:32-34 the same Greek word is used in the same way and can best be translated as “favor before God”. So those who are willing to suffer unjustly, or innocently, will find favor with God. That’s not all bad.

When I was typing out this passage, “because he is conscious of God” jumped off the page at me. Why would being conscious of God allow me to handle unjust suffering? We will delve into the answer to that question in a couple of days, but in short, those of us who are conscious of God – who know God and keep Him in mind daily – know that He is a God who judges justly. While we may be suffering unjustly at the moment, we know that God will make it right. Romans 12:19 sums it up:

“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

So…are you conscious of God? Do you take Him with you when you leave the house, or do you leave Him on the nightstand with your bible? Is He part of your daily decision making? Do you leave room for God to defend you or do you leap to your own defense at the first hint of a slight?

Peter calls us to accept unjust punishment because he knows that God will defend us. It is our job to deny our rights, handle the poor treatment, and wait for God’s deliverance. Not an easy task…but in the end, we will find favor with God!

1 Peter 2:18 - Live On

“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.”

** These next few verses really compile one general thought. So I’m going to talk about each verse in consecutive days (in theory). Hopefully that will help us keep the overall thought in our minds. We’ll see how it goes!

Peter, always the practical one, doesn’t discuss the evils of slavery or gather his constituency to storm city hall and demand the abolishment of slavery. Knowing he could do nothing to change it, Peter taught his people how to deal with slavery in a Christ-like manner. You know, sometimes in our world we have to accept that things aren’t right and that life isn’t fair, and then live our lives according to God’s principals anyway. (And sometimes we need to work to make things better, while responding to the injustice in a Christ-like manner.)

Peter’s teaching on slavery falls right in line with his instruction on living under any authority: submit, respect, and do your best. Whether the master is good or bad – the Christian should act the same way. One cannot control how a superior treats you, but you can always control how you respond to your superiors.

We struggle with that in today’s culture. Too often we feel that if someone treats us poorly, that gives us the right to act anyway we want to. Instead of following the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” we follow the American Rule, “Do unto others as they have done unto you.” Do you know Christians who act that way (perhaps yourself…)? If someone talks bad about them, they fire right back and trash the other person to anyone who will listen. Or if they are treated unfairly, they will treat others unfairly. While it is very human to act that way, it is not Christian.

As a Christ follower, we never have an excuse to disrespect an authority figure or treat anyone – and I mean anyone – poorly. If all the Christians lived as Peter instructs, do you think the unbelieving world would take note?

1 Peter 2:18 - Respect Everyone

“Show proper respect to everyone; love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.”

Peter was always a no-nonsense kind of guy. His writing is no different – there are no fewer than 825 commands in this little book. Okay, I made that number up – but the point is there are many pieces of practical instruction in 1 Peter, and this verse has four of them.

As one of my commentaries said, this verse can be seen as a four-point summary of Christian citizenship. I like that idea because it reminds us that, as Christians, we are responsible to God for the way we live.

- Show proper respect to everyone. Everyone you meet, good, bad, or indifferent, was created in the image of God. For that reason alone, we should respect everyone we meet – the humblest beggar on the street was created in the image of God, the person that annoys you to death was created in the image of God, and the worst criminal you can imagine was created in the image of God. EVERYONE you see today has eternal value and deserves to be treated with respect .

- Love the brotherhood of believers. While we are commanded to respect everyone, we are called to love our fellow believers. We are God’s family and we should love our brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s not always easy, but if we cannot love those who share the Spirit of God with us, how can we love the unbelievers around us?

- Fear God. This does not mean, “Here comes God – run for your lives!” The word for “fear” means, “awe or reverence that leads to obedience”. How is your attitude toward God? Do you fear Him? Or do you treat Him like a vending machine – drop in a few a prayers and expect Him to give you what you want? Is He the Mighty, Holy God who created the universe with a word? Or is he a benevolent old man handing out candy to anyone who asks? Our God is Magnificent, Glorious, and Almighty – we should treat him as such.

- Honor the king. While we are to fear God as our ultimate authority, we are also called to honor the king, or the other authority figures in our lives. We talked about this a couple of weeks ago so I won’t go into it again. But I find it interesting that he included “honor and respect” authority in this four-point summary of how Christians should live. Using my reasoning abilities, that tells me that how we treat our authority figures is very important to God. Perhaps because our attitude toward our earthly authority is indicative of our attitude toward our heavenly authority…just a thought.

1 Peter 2:16 - Freedom

1 Peter 2:16 - Freedom

“Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.”

Freedom is a theme that pops up in scripture like dandelions in a field. Here are some examples:

“In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free.” – Psalm 118:5

“I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought your precepts.” – Psalm 119:45

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” – Isaiah 61:1

“Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:32

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” – John 8:36

“Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” – Romans 8:2

“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” – 1 Corinthians 8:9

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” – 2 Corinthians 3:17

“It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” – Galatians 5:1

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” – Galatians 5:13

“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” – Colossians 1:22

It’s funny, in a sad sort of way. So many people deny Christ so they can live in freedom when actually; they are choosing to be prisoners of sin. There can be no freedom where sin reigns because by nature, sin enslaves. Christ destroys the power of sin in our lives and by obediently submitting to Him, we become free. Freedom resides in the lap of God, and nowhere else.

“No man is free who is a slave to the flesh”. – Seneca

1 Peter 2:13-15 - Authority

“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.”

Peter clearly defines the Christian’s relationship with earthly authority. The Christian is to honor every authority instituted among men: whether it is the king or governor – or in today’s life – the president or the police, all the way down to professors, bosses, and dare I say, parents. As you probably know, this is not always an easy teaching to follow.

Nowhere does Peter say we have to agree with, or even like those in authority – but we must obey and give them the respect they deserve. There is a saying in the military that speaks to this point, “Salute the rank, not the man.” If you dislike a superior, he or she is still your superior; so you salute their status as such, but that doesn’t mean you have to like them.

I love that. It takes our personal opinions out of the equation, because frankly, our opinions aren’t nearly as important as we think they are. So it doesn’t matter if you like President Obama, your economics professor, or your boss – they deserve your honor and respect because they are your president, your instructor, and your boss. When you act otherwise, you are acting against biblical instruction; and that is not good.

Why should we show respect and obedience to authority figures who we disagree with or misuse their authority? Peter says we obey for God’s sake. Why? By living properly and doing good we will be a good example, and therefore have a good reputation among those who live around us, which sheds a positive light on Christ. Isn’t it amazing the simple things that God can use for his glory?

So – what authority figure do you need to respect and obey? Again, no one says you have to like them or agree with them, but you are called to obey and honor the authority in your life. If you have been “anti” somebody in speech and action…perhaps it is time to rethink that position in light of this passage.