1 Peter chapter number 2. I'll begin in verse number 17 and I will read through verse 20. 1 Peter 2 beginning in verse 17. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the King. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy. If a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if when you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently? But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. I want to do two things this morning. One is finish verse 17. We have worked through three of Peter's summary statements that he's giving us here in verse 17 from the instruction that we've received up to this point. And he gives us a review here in the form of four imperative statements that we have been working through. And this is how we are to respond to his instructions that he's given to us. We are to honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Those are the logical conclusions of all that he's been teaching us. We should know that, figure that out as we've gone through it. He categorizes his material here under four relationships that God's people, we, are connected to during the time of our pilgrimage on the earth. Much has been said about these four relationships. We are saved out of spiritual darkness and are made a part of God's redemptive plan. We are his witnesses now, and he reveals himself to the lost through us. And we must therefore live with our mission always in mind, and we must guard our life so that the light is not diminished due to our being unguarded or careless in our living. Our mission to the world where we live is enhanced as we honor, show respect and value human life. where God has placed us in the world. And the second imperative, which is again a summary of his instruction on our relationship with the pilgrims we journey with. We're on a journey and we journey together. And he tells us here that we must love those who are the members of our community. That ought to be the obvious conclusion worked out from what he has instructed us up to this point. We are a family. We are a brotherhood, and we are to give love to one another, to everyone, not exclude anyone, and always. This is not conditional. The third imperative he gave pertains to our relationship with God, that we are to give him our utmost reverence and highly regard his person and his work as he's revealed it to us in his word. Peter summarizes his instructions on God with this exhortation. This is where we ought to arrive with Peter. Fear God. Peter did not arrive here without sufficient instruction already given to us about the person and work of God. This is the accumulative effect of all that he has taught us. Remember the 12 statements about Theos, the God that he is referring to here. If we have listened to them and evaluated each of these statements, we cannot but help ourselves to feel what Peter is feeling here. Fear God. We ought to say we are in full agreement. And the fourth imperative this morning I want to finish. We haven't mentioned anything about the fourth one which is honor the king. Again this is a summary statement about what he has already taught us about the role of human government in our life. And he's had some very valuable things that he's told us already up to this point. Peter and Paul declare that human government exists as one of God's institutions. He established, ordained, government to help preserve human order. Neither Peter nor Paul wade into the weeds of the many complexities and problems that tend to contaminate government. But he does leave us with some guidelines for believers as we live under human government. And Peter has just given those to us in verses 13 through 15 of the second chapter. And as much as possible, we are to submit Right? Verse 13, Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme, or to governors as unto them that are sent by the king for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For this is the will of God, that with well-doing you may put to silence the critics of your Christian faith, of Christianity, that are given by Men who are ignorant, foolish men who criticize Christianity show them that Christians are not causing problems for government, but rather Christians are supporters of that institution that God has established. We know that our allegiance to God and his will is above any earthly leader." That's not the question here. But we must be guarded against resisting when we ought to be yielding. That's what the idea is here. Jesus said when questioned about paying taxes to Rome, he was very clear in Matthew 22. He says, whose image on the coin? Well, it's Caesar's. Well, then give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. Jews? We are to pay taxes to a Gentile emperor whose image is on it? Well, Caesar, then give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. But by implication, he then says, who are you in the image of? Give to God the things that belong to God. And so they were dumbfounded, of course, and baffled as to how to respond to his comment. But Jesus is not saying anything different than Peter and Paul about human government. We are to show our respect. God's people, we are pilgrims and strangers in this world, but we're also members of an earthly kingdom. We are citizens of this nation. and we are obligated to follow the laws. We are to avoid conflict whenever possible and we are to live peacefully and be peacemakers with all those around us. As much as the ability is in us, Paul said, live peacefully with all men. I mean, that's the kind of people we are to be in the world. And why is this? So that our mission is not hindered. We just never know whom God is going to designate, has determined to be appointed for salvation. His election has played itself out through history. We don't know who they are, but we know that He will use our life to influence them and call them to himself. Even when Paul went into the kind of the courts of the Roman Empire, there were people there that when Paul was taken to that place, they heard Paul's witness and they were converted to Christ. We just don't know when and where, so we are always guarded, is the point that is being made. by the Apostles concerning our duty to give honor to all men, to give honor unto our King, that individual who has been appointed to be the leader of our nation. We live in a culture, I mean, it's disgusting to me. My culture, our culture is disgusting to me. at this stage of where we're at, the disrespect, the violence, because they don't like a leader. That is ungodly. Christians don't do that. Many are violent and destructive, but those Behaviors are not consistent with anything we find what God has told us about our relationship to human government and those who are appointed to be our leaders. We are told to pray for our leaders. We are told by the apostles to conform our life to the laws. We are not to be lawbreakers. And so God's people honor and show respect and value their government and those who lead us. How careful we need to be. If someone hears us speak evil about a leader, they have every right to question our submission to the authority of God. We aren't given that allowance. That's not our right. We are to honor the king. Who was the king when this was written? Nero? Homosexual? A murderer of Christians by the thousands? And what is our duty to those who are in leadership? Peter and Paul both say the same thing. Honor them. Why? It's not them, it's the government, it's the institution of God that he has given to society for our well-being. They may pervert it, they may misuse it, but that doesn't change the reality. We have an obligation to respond biblically. Not politically. There is a difference. We are Christians and we behave differently than the rest of the world when it comes to political tension and behavior that we see today. Now, that's enough on Honor the King. I just wanted to finish verse 17. I want to look at verses 18, 19, and 20 this morning. We'll cover the ground. We may have to go back and pick up a few parts and pieces of it in the next sermon, but notice the way this section begins. It begins with, servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to those who are good and gentle, but to those who are froward. Why does he single out this particular class of people? When we think of servants, they would fall under the category of honor all men. The Christian who hears that exhortation to honor all men knows that that would include servants and slaves of the realm in the Roman culture. And we know that This particular group of people made up the largest portion or class of people in the Roman Empire. It is said as many as 60% of the people in Rome were either servants or slaves. So the fact that the Spirit of God is leading Peter to address this specifically makes sense. This is a large group of people. And many were hearing the gospel, had heard the gospel, many were hearing the gospel. 20 years since Pentecost, when Peter preached, he recognizes how many other people of the world, including the slaves and the servants in Rome, are coming to Christ. This is a very oppressed group of people in the Roman Empire, slaves and servants. But we know they're coming to Christ because Paul addresses them when he writes the churches. He speaks to the servants and slaves in the church, as well as those who might be masters in the church, how they ought to behave. Slaves and servants are being saved. Obviously, if you or I were living in that period of time and we were a master and we had slaves and servants who worked for us and we saw what the gospel, what Christianity did to make better people, harder workers, more faithful, more respectful, we would probably be glad to allow them a little time off on the Lord's Day to go to their worship gathering. Because when they came back they were better people. So this is going on at this particular time when Peter's writing and he's focusing in on this large class of people who are now entering into the life of the church through the gospel. Peter's letter, we know generally, Peter's letter is directed to all believers, wherever they are and whatever their conditions might be. When Peter writes to pilgrims and strangers, the elect of God, he's writing to servants and slaves just as much as he's writing to any other class of people. And so he is addressing them. specifically in his letter. All believers, including slaves and servants, no doubt have been reading, hearing Peter's letter being read in one of the gatherings somewhere across the vast empire of Rome, and they're listening to this. This is not just for the wealthy, this is not just for the educated. Peter's letter includes servants and slaves. that sit within that gathering that are listening to this letter being read. And they're hearing things and encouraged by the things they are hearing. But becoming a Christian didn't change their place in Roman culture. They were still servants and slaves. Peter calls them just a few verses earlier. You are God's free people You may be servants and slaves, but you are God's free people He has set you free from the things that matter most sin bondage judgment And you have an inheritance that belongs to you are God's free people even though you are servants and slaves in the Roman culture So the gospel didn't Set them free But it did make them God's free people. Paul and Peter do not condone slavery and being kind of enslaved to servanthood. They don't condone that. But as ministers of God's Word, they must help all people apply the truth to their station and condition they live in. They are not there to stir up a revolution. That's not their objective. It's to help God's people learn how to live under these conditions and to live well, to live righteously. And so servants, He addresses them specifically here because they make up such a large part of the empire. You know, if you have 60% of the empire being servants and slaves, when you look at the church, the church reflects the culture and the nation. I'm sure there were a lot of servants and slaves in the church that God had saved. And so what is his instruction to them? Be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh, forward, ill-tempered, abusive. Subject. Remember this word, we've been introduced to it several times through our studies in Ephesians and even Peter. This word has its primary idea attached to the military, the Roman military, that when new recruits were brought into the Roman legions to become a part of the Roman armies, they took an oath. They took an oath. They took an allegiance. They entered into a sacrament is what it was called, whereby they gave their life to a cause and they were willing to place themselves. They placed themselves. They would not be forced. They placed themselves under the authority structure that existed in that army. Wherever you were, whatever authority was over you, you willingly put yourself under that. No one made you do that. This is your choice. When you enter into the legions of Rome, you accepted the order, the structure. And this is the word that is used here. Servants, Put yourself under. Don't make masters force you to be in subjection. You do it. You be ready to place yourself willingly under the authority that is over you. It is your responsibility. Peter and Paul both use this word in also application to marriage. Peter will do it in chapter 3 here in just a little bit. Paul does it in Ephesians 5 where he talks about the role of the wife to the husband. Uses the same word. And husbands do not have the right to impose on the wife a submissive position. That's her choice. She must be willing to accept what God has ordained and structured and her submission, just like the Roman soldier was ultimately to Caesar. The wife we are told is ultimately to her Lord. She willingly takes on that position in her home. No one has to force her. She submits herself to God's order and to God's structure, and she does it as unto him, the Lord. And she respects and shows high regard for her husband's position, knowing the great requirements that are placed upon him. But it's a voluntary response. And so Peter is saying the same thing here, servants, Don't make your masters impose their will on you. You be ready and willing to place yourself under their authority and be ready and willing to carry out that which they need you and require you to do. Therein is the gospel glorified. The gospel isn't glorified when we have to be imposed on, forced to do what is right. Even if what is right is cultural and totally unacceptable to our culture, it doesn't matter. It's not about the culture. It's about how do we bring the greatest honor and glory to God where we are placed in this world and when we are placed in this world. And so servants and slaves are to willingly submit themselves, ready. Paul even says in chapter 6 of Ephesians, dealing with the same subject, that we are to do this with a spirit of joy. I mean, we're not to be resentful. To have those kinds of servants and slaves that work your fields and care for your herds and flocks and watch over your domestics within your home, to have those kinds of people functioning, a master takes note. others around them take note. And thereby the gospel continues to be spread. Because it's different. That's how we impact the world, that's how we change cultures, is by our life. Slaves and servants at this time in history were not allowed to opt out of their placement and pursue another career. That just wasn't the way it worked. They were owned. They had no freedom unless it was granted to them by their master. That was the culture. And so therefore, whatever our position, our rank or function is, we all have the same goal. We don't have to live then to make this text meaningful. We are called to be God's light bearers wherever we live on the earth and wherever, whatever our condition might be, we all have the same mission. Cultures change. Conditions in the world are always evolving and changing or declining. But one thing never changes. You can read this book. There are cultural things here described, right? Servants and slaves. One thing does not change is who we are and our mission. That never changes. No matter when we live, where we live, it's always the same. So even though we live in a very different culture today, the principles that are embedded in Peter's instructions haven't changed for us, who are the people of God. There's something far more important and significant this morning than your condition, than your job description. Something far more important. It's the glory of God. And we are instruments of showing that light where God has placed us providentially during this time of our life. And so for that reason, we must guard ourselves wherever and however we work and not contribute to any negative view of Christianity. to bring any shame or disregard upon the nature, the person and work of God. As God's people, we journey through life. We don't control what kind of culture we're born into or the conditions of that culture. These are variables and they always change. But our purpose, since when these truths were written, are we still pilgrims? Are we still strangers? Are we still the elect of God? I mean, think of all the adjectives he uses to describe us. Not one of them has changed. We are still those people. And we still have the same mission. In verse 19, we have some very important things here that are in front of us. It's a reason, Peter is giving us a reason for why we ought to behave in a certain way, why we ought to be subject to and why we ought to respond positively to our masters, regardless of their treatment of us. He says, in fact, that kind of suffering, if you're oppressed and you're going through these things and it's difficult, he is telling them, it is for this experience in your life, this is thankworthy. If a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully, this is thankworthy." So Peter's turning this thing from a difficulty to what he is portraying now as an opportunity. It's an opportunity to receive from God. to enjoy something personally in our own spirit. So it's not just a negative, there's a potential positive here as well. Being slaves and servants who read this, this was not an easy lifestyle for them. And they were required to endure that kind of grief. that that lifestyle imposed upon them. And so Peter is telling us that when we behave properly, here in verse 19, under duress and choose to do what's right because of our sensitivity to God's will, this is thankworthy. The idea in this word, thank-worthy, speaks about our actions which reveal the grace of God at work within us. And it's revealed, that grace is revealed in our actions in the face of our suffering. Thankworthy, as we have it here translated into the English, is the same word translated grace a hundred and thirty times in the New Testament. This action of responding properly to abuse is produced by grace working in us. And he will say at the end of verse 20, this is acceptable with God. The power and courage to suffer wrongfully with grace is a notable quality that is recognized by God. He is very attentive to this. This is thankworthy, this is acceptable. God. He takes note of this. This means that God weighs its worth and will reward this response by his oppressed people who do right when they've been wronged. That's thankworthy. It's acceptable. We have this phrase here for conscience toward God. In verse, they endure grief. They bear up under the sorrow. They bear up under the pain of where they are placed in a particular trial that has been chosen for them. For conscience toward God They endure grief. Why do God's people suffer well? How do they hold up? Peter is saying the reason is for conscience toward God. For conscience toward God. This is the reason. God's people are conscious of God. We are aware of Him and His will for us. It has been stamped on our mind, carved, as the prophet said, into the table of our own affections. We are born self-conscious by nature, aren't we? Self is at the center of our world. We interpret everything from our self-awareness, and we do everything for our self-advantage. But grace changes that. Salvation makes us aware of God, God-conscious, not just self-conscious. We are conscious of His person. We are conscious of who God is and His work that He has accomplished for us. And we are conscious of His will for us. We now face life and its many trials with a new focus. We have a new center. And it's God Himself. And so Peter says, for conscience toward God, we can endure grief, suffering wrongfully, because we know Him and we have learned to trust Him who is working all things out for His glory and for our good. The suffering, the suffering wrongfully, the suffering that Peter is primarily focused on are the trials and pain we experience from outside forces that have been sort of afflicting us because we choose to obey God. Living righteously will stir up the evil around us and we will experience criticism, rejection, even persecution when others speak evil of us and our good works and seek to destroy our image and its influence. Paul told Timothy in his last letter that he wrote, all that live godly in Christ will suffer persecution. At some point, In various ways, Paul is saying, all who live godly are going to suffer. So we may not be slaves and servants, but our mission is the same. We may be free to choose a career and work and decide we don't like this job, we're gonna go to another job. I mean, those are freedoms that we trust that we are attentive to the spiritual leading in our life and reasons why we may want to make a different decision, but we are at liberty to make those decisions. That's a part of our culture. But wherever we are, we are subjected to the same kinds of experiences that our brethren then were experiencing, that is suffering wrongfully. We are called to endure grief as we work our way through this life. And so we have the same connection with our brethren 2000 years ago. We are God's people, free people, living in this world, working out our salvation, protecting our mission as witnesses to the world, being careful we don't do anything that would bring shame upon God and the movement of Christ among us. We're very sensitive and conscious of that, and we live our life as people who are God conscious. We have a sensitive conscience that has been developed toward God and His will for us. And we do not desire to offend Him, to do things that are contrary to His will for us. We are God conscious, for conscience toward God, we do what we do. And we're willing to suffer the consequences. of the choices that we make because they're right choices. We're not afraid to make right choices because of our conscience toward God. As we think about this for us today and in our applications, we know societies change, but We don't look at this passage and say, oh, well, that's really not for us today because it's got different conditions, different kinds of issues here. To the contrary, the principles of truth that the servants and slaves were challenged to make at that time in history are the same things that we must do today. Our conditions may be different, but our mission is the same. Wherever God puts us and whenever he places us on this earth, our mission is the same. And we must live our life doing everything in our power to live in peace, to comply with laws of human government. And it's because the mission that we have been given. And so no matter what our position is in this world, the mission is always the most important thing. I know in military terms, if you, my sons who kind of shared some things about their own training and experiences, the mission is always first. The mission is the priority. Conditions can change, but the mission is the most important thing. And so for us, it's the same. The mission is the most important thing. Fully aware that living a life that is conscious of God will, and obeying no matter the cost that will, may cause us to experience some kind of suffering or degree of suffering in our life. We know that's possible. But the main purpose of Peter's letter is to stir up our courage in the face of suffering, because that's going to be the dominant thing as we move forward here. He's introduced it a little bit here and there, but it's going to become the prominent theme in his letter. Peter is painfully aware that we can cave and become cowards in the face of opposition. Peter knows that better than most. He was there. He went through it. We will be tested. We will suffer. And our strength comes from a well-developed God consciousness. This is much more than just an intellectual grasp of biblical knowledge. It's not less than that, but it's more than that. The knowledge of God's will For those of us who fear God and embrace Him and believe and submit and obey and give Him the utmost reverence for Him and His will is a byproduct of a strong God consciousness. You just don't get there. You don't wake up one morning and you're there. A God consciousness We live each day aware of God in our life, right? We live each day with the desire to do the right thing concerning his will for us. We live each day with a high regard for his purposes and mission in the world that we've been invited to be a part of. That's God consciousness. And when that is violated, when we fail, God consciousness is quick to turn to God, confess it and turn from that failure and strive to be more obedient. God consciousness. That's what made these slaves and servants so effective 2000 years ago. for conscience toward God. That was the appeal that Peter makes to them, to do the right thing. A strong God consciousness makes strong sense. We do right for conscience toward God, to be right with God. Walking with God, living in fellowship with God. We learned that a few months back when Steve was in chapter 1 of 1 John. I mean, that's a walking in fellowship with God. A God consciousness is we are conscious of His will, His ways. And we are sensitive to when we fail and falter to do the right things. And isn't it interesting that when God-consciousness dominates our mind and our affections, while it may be the most challenging thing for us, it brings the most joy and peace to us. There's no joy and peace in constantly making the wrong decisions and ignoring God in our life from hour to hour and day to day. There's no peace in that. But when we are God conscious, we are sensitive and aware to what that, what he desires of us in the conditions of life, where we are placed. This is our joy. This is our peace. This is our contentment that the world and all circumstances of life cannot take from us. And when we fail, and we will, our God consciousness creates this guilt, this awareness of our failure. Guilt is not a bad thing, it's a good thing. It alerts us, tells us something's off, we've done something wrong, and it brings us back to God to get things right again. That's how God-conscious people live. Because our walk with God is of greater value than any position or condition we are in in this world. We're not saying, oh, the slaves and the servants were saying, oh, I wish we were free from our slavery and our servitude. Then we could worship and serve God. No. Being conscious of God's will where we are under the conditions we are in is God's will. That's how we are to live in this world, this is people. And all we desire I love is verse 20 for what glory is it if when you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently. But if when you do well and you suffer, there's pain here in this word, there's pain and grief in this word suffering. If you do well and you suffer, and you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. So there is, there's this driving reason why, why we are willing to put ourself into situations and conditions And knowing that if we live righteously, it's going to create some problems for us, but we do it because of our conscience toward God. We want to please Him. We want to be acceptable with God. It doesn't matter if the world accepts you. That's of no real consequence or value. What we want, God-conscious people. want to be accepted with God. They want God to find their conduct and behavior and their dispositions acceptable to Him. And so, it doesn't matter when we live, where we live, what our conditions are, all of these things that Peter is giving us as directives They're all true for us this morning as it was for servants and slaves 2000 years ago. And I pray that God will use these things to challenge us in our life where he's placed you today. The greatest joy for your life is to be acceptable to him. to bring pleasure and joy to him. There is no greater joy that pleasure that you will find and know that there is no greater joy or pleasure that he will find. He will find you acceptable. So learning to live this way has never changed. May God challenge us today to be those kinds of people, God conscious people. Father, thank you for your word and for the things that we've heard and been able to experience with you and your people today. I pray that you will bless these things to the hearers and that you will bring forth the kind of grace in our life that is worthy of acceptance to you. I ask in Christ's name. Amen.