MPC
17th May 2020.May 17 - 1 Peter 2:9-25 - "Beautiful Lives"
MPC
17th May 2020.
Doug Wannenburgh
My abiding memory of Germany is fields of flowers. It was my first overseas trip. I was speaking at a youth conference. 1996. And apart from the beauty of Heidelberg, what I remember most are field after field after field of beautiful flowers. Perhaps it was the season. Perhaps it was that part of Germany. Yet those flowers turned heads. They were wow.
God wants our lives to be beautiful. Which is what the word 'good' in verse 12 means. Beautiful. God wants our lives to turn heads. To make others go, 'wow' and through our lives to be attracted to Jesus. And that's what Peter writes about here.
Now you get friends. And you get strangers. Christians are both friends and strangers. Verse 11. Peter calls Christians, "... Dear friends, [and on the other hand] ... foreigners and exiles..."
Brothers and sisters in the Lord. Yet strangers in the world. Being God's family makes us foreigners. 'cos we don't belong. This world isn't home. Heaven is.
Which means, living here and now, we're on mission.
... [we're] chosen people, [verse 9] a royal priesthood, holy nation, God's special possession, that [and here's our purpose, that] you may declare the praises of Him who called you...
Called out of darkness into light, so as to put God's name up in lights. Declaring God's praises is not private, it's public. And its for the benefit or good of others. We who are friends with God, who know Christ, are on mission to make Christ known.
And we declare Him, verse 12, so that others, "... glorify God on the day He visits."
Which isn't speaking of Jesus' return. The day God visits is the day of their salvation. On that day they glorify Him, recognising who He is and praising Him. As God's family and friends, living as foreigners in the world, we want to see others become friends with God. We want unbelievers to glorify God and be saved.
... Now, if we are to fulfil our mission, ... then our life and lifestyle matter. We've got to wow people. So Peter makes a two-sided appeal, a do and a don't.
First, 'the don't'. "... Dear friends, [verse 11] ... I urge you to abstain... "
Which isn't like 'lent' where some 'give up' chocolate, or go without coffee. "[It's] abstain from ... sinful desires... ".
Wars rage all over the world. South Sudan, Syria, Iraq. Well, followers of Jesus have gone to war. And the battle is fought. Not on land, or in the skies. But in the heart: "... abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul."
Now, here's a problem, many Christians think we live in peacetime. We're lulled into a sense of comfortable Christianity. Easy as, no worries. 'Cruizey' Christianity. Problem is we can easily let our guard down, we can slip into not taking sin seriously, we leave the door open for sin to slip in, and to quietly subtly cunningly rage against our souls.
There's a popular clothing company whose T-shirts have the slogan slapped on, 'Youth Against Establishment'. Perhaps we ought to have emblazoned across our hearts, 'Christian Against Sin.'
If we're going to win the war, we got to fight. But not in our own strength. We need God's mighty power. Which He promises us. He empowers us by His Spirit so we're able to... "... abstain from sinful desires... ".
Intentionally, prayerfully, actively saying 'no'. Friends, take sin seriously. It's war. You don't go into battle with a plastic toy gun. And so we shouldn't, in our war against sin, play games.
When you flee from sin, make sure you flee to Jesus. Be consumed, not by a sinful desire. Be consumed by a desire for God, who truly satisfies, in whom our souls rest, in whom we have victory.
So first, the don't. Now the flip-side, what's the 'do'. Verse 12: "... live such good lives... ".
Beautiful lives. Good lives that'll turn heads. And get an audience of unbelievers.
"Live good lives [verse 12] among the pagans... "
The unbelieving world. There's 3 possible approaches for how the church relates to the world.
First approach? conform and assimilate. Remove differences. Be inclusive. Blend in. Which effectively means, give in.
Second approach? attack and withdraw. Be exclusive. Put up high barriers. Vilify and attack society. Fear contamination. Retreat from society.
The third approach? The right approach. Be distinct and engaged. ... distinct in that we're not compromised in belief or behaviour. Engaged in that we live among, in relationship, in dialogue, alongside, among. We live out our faith before a watching world.
Now, don't expect the watching world to be welcoming. After all, we're in enemy territory. Though we don't go looking for fights, Christians will face false accusation. Verse 12. Be wrongly accused. And Christians could be abused, as chapter 4 verse 4 points out, abused simply because we live differently, distinctly, from the world around.
So don't expect the world to applaud your morals. Expect to be made fun of at school, to be ridiculed at work, to be put down among friends, to be ostracised and isolated.
And yet God uses two words to unpack what He specifically means here by good deeds. And it's a somewhat surprising.
First word. Can you see it? In verses 13, and 18, and verse 1 of chapter 3. Running through this whole section, the common thread in all these relationships, is the word submit.
Now, submission is often associated with inferiority, repression, bondage. Yet rightly understood, in God's mind, it's beautiful. And it's critical if we are to live differently, distinctly, such that others will be won for Christ.
The word submit simply means to order yourself under another. To let them lead.
Before we look at these verses, let me highlight what God's Word generally teaches on submission.
First, it's self applied. Its not something to be forced on someone. No, you do it yourself. You submit.
Second, God orders all institutions, whether in the spheres of governing, workplace or home.
Third, all Christians submit. And we submit all the time. We submit to traffic lights and speed limits, obeying the rules of the road. We submit to the shopkeeper - we pay for our groceries. We submit to lecture timetables, or work appointments. We submit to our government, and haven't gathered due the COVID-19 restrictions. Submission is how social groupings work. Submission ensures that society functions effectively.
Fourth, it's not easy. We're proud people. Ordering ourselves over others comes much more naturally. It's easier to shake the fist, than bow the knee.
That said, let's get back to the verses before us. Society. God says, verse 13, "... Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake... ". The humblest duty for the highest motive. To honour Christ.
"Submit to every human authority: whether ... emperor, ... or ... governors... "
Citizens of heaven are not free of earthly citizenship. In fact, precisely because we're heavenly citizens, we should be exemplary earthly citizens.
God wants our good living, verse 15, to silence the critics of Christianity: "... the ignorant talk of foolish people."
We're to live in such a way that critics have nothing to say. Or at least, that nothing they say holds up. When they throw mud, it doesn't stick.
Christians are free, verse 16. But not free to live as we please. We can't use our freedom to cover up evil. We're set free to be slaves of our Heavenly King.
We're set free from sin, set free from condemnation. Set free by Jesus to live for Jesus. That is, free to live as He pleases. And what pleases God is our obedience to human authority.
Though verse 17 sets limits of how far we go? We obey/submit right up to the point where it will mean disobedience to God. If the government commands what God forbids, or forbids what God commands, then fear God. Obey Him. Respectfully disobey the government.
Submit. Every human authority. Which includes the workplace. Verse 18.
Slaves, in reverent fear of God [for the Lord's sake] submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.
In modern Australia, if your boss is harsh or unjust you can quit. Or you can report them, and take appropriate recourse. Not so in the first century. A slave couldn't quit, and they didn't have any recourse. They had no real option.
And yet God calls them to submit. Which doesn't mean to excuse or condone their master's behaviour. It simply means to endure injustice and not to hit back, retaliate, overthrow. It would involve working hard, being honest, showing respect.
Which is not what our rights based western culture encourages. Not happy at work. You gossip. You protest. You go on strike. You make demands. You shout and carry on.
Christians are to seek justice in a just way. And also to endure in-justice in a godly way. And to do that is commendable to God.
Which leads me to the second word. First word, submit. Second word, suffer. If submit is a command, to suffer is a calling. Verse 21: "... To this you were called... ". The 'this' being, verse 20, "... [To] suffer for doing good and endure it... "
It's not the view of TBN or Joel Osteen or Bryan Houston. But suffering is what followers of Jesus sign up for. And it's not in the fine print. Jesus put it in big bold print. In Mark's gospel Jesus says,"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
And so, here in verse 21, "Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps."
Jesus suffering both saves us from sin, and sets an example. As He died, so we are to live. In three ways.
First, it was undeserved. "... He committed no sin, [verse 22] ... no deceit was found in his mouth."
Jesus suffered unjustly. And so shall His followers. Jesus said, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." (John 15:20) Second. Jesus didn't retaliate: "... they hurled ... insults at Him, [verse 23] ... [No retaliation]; ... He made no threats."
When Jesus was tried on trumped up charges, when Pilate washed his hands of Him, when they mocked Him, when they whipped Him, when they drove in the nails, Jesus didn't hit back. He didn't lose His temper. He didn't sue or go on strike or demand his rights. He didn't name call or whinge.
Jesus isn't saying we shouldn't peacefully protest. He isn't saying we shouldn't speak truth to power. Yet it's how we do this. We don't retaliate. We don't seek revenge. We respect authority, and submit.
Jesus was a model of submission. In the face of harsh injustice. Verse 23: "... Instead, [Jesus] entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly."
And remember, the emperor, governors and slave owners in the first century were antagonistic and violent towards Christians. We've got it very easy in comparison.
Justice isn't always done in this world. It's good when it is, but it's not always the case. Christians put their confidence in an incorruptible judge, and a future day of justice.
Some of us have endured great injustices. Some have suffered at the hands of others and justice has never been done. Will you do what the Lord Jesus Christ did? Will you not retaliate? Will you trust the just judge, and look to the day He returns?
Undeserved, didn't retaliate. Thirdly, He suffered for the good of others, for us. "'He bore our sins' [verse 24] in his body on the cross, ... that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; 'by His wounds you [we] have been healed.'"
Saved. Forgiven. And so, verse 25, "'[we] were like sheep going astray,' but now you have returned to [your] shepherd and overseer."
Jesus' suffered to save people from their sin. We endure suffering so that people may be saved from their sin through Christ's suffering.
Let's wrap up. Christians are not called to follow a celebrity, or a sportsman, or a politician, or a popular preacher. We're called to follow the crucified Christ. Our suffering saviour.
Jesus knew that by giving his life in this world for the good of others it would pay great dividends in the world to come.
And that's the model we follow. Will you and I live and suffer in this world for the sake of taking others to the next? Will you live such that others may be saved?
For a follower of Jesus, the defining moment of your life is Jesus' death. Jesus died that we might live. Live forever. And live for Him. Living good beautiful lives that others might go 'wow', and come to glorify God.