Monday, November 13, 2017, 6:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Oh, To Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer.”
Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 1 Peter 2:13-25 (NASB).
Our Freedom
(vv. 13-17)
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human
institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent
by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.
For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance
of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for
evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood,
fear God, honor the king.
We, as followers of Jesus
Christ, are to submit to the authorities God places over us, unless the
authorities require us to deny Christ and to do something which is contrary to
God’s Word, and then we must obey God, rather than men. We may, as well, challenge
the authorities if we think they are being unjust, and we may even appeal to
higher authorities if we believe we are being treated unfairly or abusively,
but we should do so respectfully.
These biblical exceptions to
absolute blind obedience to authority are modeled for us in the Old and New
Testaments by Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Daniel, Jesus, the apostles, and
particularly, Paul. As well, we read in Revelation 13 that we are not to bow to
“the beast” or to take its mark upon our lives, so submission to authority must
be coupled with divine discernment so that we don’t end up denying our Lord and
his Word.
God has called us to freedom
in Christ Jesus, but our freedom is NOT freedom from submission or obedience,
either to God or to those he places in authority over us. It is NOT freedom to
do whatever we want now that Christ has set us free, for he set us free FROM
the control of sin over our lives, not so that we can sin all we want now that
we are under grace. So, truly our FREEDOM is to obey God and to submit to his
authority over our lives, and it is freedom to walk in his righteousness and
holiness, and it is freedom from addiction to sinful practices. So, instead of
living as though we have no restraints on our lives, we should live as
bondservants of Christ.
We should not only honor those
in authority over us, but we should honor all people, i.e. we should treat all people
with respect, regarding them equally as God’s creation, as we are, showing
consideration for their needs and concern for their welfare, as Jesus modeled
to us.
But, he didn’t bow to what
was contrary to God ever! Nor did he ever compromise the Word of God or his
faith in order to appease anyone in their sin or in order to submit to
authorities. When he was on this earth, he modeled love to us for all people,
but it was agape love, which prefers what God prefers, such as what is pure, moral,
just, honorable, honest and decent. And, because of this, this necessitated, at
times, that he should also demonstrate tough love to some people, such as he
did to the Pharisees.
In all that we do, we should
walk, in lifestyle, in the fear (reverence, respect, and love) of God, submitting
to his will and obeying whatever he teaches us.
Favor with God
(vv. 18-20)
Servants, be submissive to your masters with all
respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are
unreasonable. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a
person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there
if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if
when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds
favor with God.
Although slavery in the USA
was very big in times past, it is not what is considered the norm in our nation
today. Yet, I know that much human slavery and trafficking still goes on in our
world today. And, that is, indeed, a very sad reality. So, if this is where you
are, then apply these words spoken in these verses to your situation, only
include biblical exceptions.
But, for the sake of applying
these words to the lives of the rest of the people who would be reading this
today, I would like to look at these truths from the perspective of employers
and employees. If we are in the service of another, it is our responsibility to
do the best work we know how to do, to be diligent in fulfilling our duties, to
be faithful, and to show integrity in all that we do. There should not be a
slothful one among us. And, we should be submissive to those in authority over
us, but again, with biblical exceptions.
Follow in His Steps (vv. 21-25)
For you have been called for this purpose, since
Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His
steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while
being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no
threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He
Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were
continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and
Guardian of your souls.
The purpose to which we have
been called is to suffer injustice for the sake of Christ and his gospel, and
to do so willingly, humbly, and patiently, in order to demonstrate to others
the love of Christ. Again, this is not to say that we can’t respectfully question
(challenge) abusive treatment or even make an appeal for justice to be served, but
it is to say that we should entrust our lives into God’s capable hands and be
willing to accept the outcome of what is decided, again, unless it requires
that we disobey God and his Word. For, God’s Word always trumps that of man.
This means that we don’t
trade “tit for tat,” i.e. we don’t get even; we don’t retaliate in like manner.
We don’t take jabs at people, intended to cut them to the heart, just because
they hurt us, in other words. If we must suffer injustice for Jesus’ name and
for his gospel, then so be it. What other people say about us, or do to us, is
mostly out of our realm of control and influence anyway. If people choose to
think badly about us, based upon what someone else says, without even inquiring
as to whether or not it is truth, what can we do about it? Yes, to a point, we
can defend ourselves. Jesus did. The apostles did. I know Paul did. But,
ultimately we must let go and let God have the final say in it all, and trust
him with our reputations.
As followers of Christ, we
are to follow in his steps. We are to follow his example to us in how to
respond to unjust treatment. Sometimes he spoke the truth in love to others,
and at times he remained silent, or he just walked away from it all. But,
bottom line was that he willingly gave up his life for us on a cross, even
though he did no wrong. He chose to suffer the pain of unjust treatment,
mocking, spitting, beatings, false accusations and physical death for you and
for me. Why did he do this? It was so that we could die to our sins, and so we
could live to righteousness. And, that is the true bottom line.
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Thomas O. Chisholm / W. J. Kirkpatrick
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of
compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the
fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy
love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like
Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy
fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
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