First Epistle of Peter
AS FREE YET SLAVES
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:16 (KJV)
"As free"
How men love freedom. They chafe under any restraint. We sing in our national anthem, "The land of the free, and the home of the brave." Yet in our land there is no absolute liberty. We are restrained by the laws of the land. We cannot do anything we please.
We have great liberty in Christ. "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). In Christ we are free from sin (Rom. 6:22). Free from its penalty, and, in a great measure, from its power too. We are also free from the law (Rom. 8:2). It will no more condemn us. We are free from the fear of hell, and truly we have nothing to fear in life or death. We need have no fear of want; the Lord has promised to supply all our needs. We are also freed from the clutches of Satan. While he may tempt us and even trouble us in many ways, we definitely are out of his hands and in the hands of the Lord Jesus (John 10:28). No wonder Paul could speak of "the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21).
"and not using your liberty as a cloke of maliciousness"
"Maliciousness" could be translated "wickedness" or "badness." Sorry to say, some Christians do make their liberty an excuse for badness. One young man who used unclean language, and in other ways was not so pure, excused it by saying, "Oh, what's the difference, we are not under law but under grace." He needed to understand that liberty does not mean license to do just anything.
Americans live in the land of the free, but if we abuse our liberty and start doing wickedly, we will soon find ourselves confined behind bars with no liberty. Let's remember that self-indulgence soon becomes slavery. The Lord Jesus says in John 8:34, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant (slave) of sin."
The story is told of a servant of the Lord who illustrated liberty and indulgence by three types of dogs. Dog number one is well behaved, but he can do nothing else because he is chained. Dog number two has his liberty, but does not behave. Dog number three has his liberty and yet behaves. He likened dog number one to one who is a Christian but under bondage to the law and because of this chain he behaves. The second he likened to a Christian who realizes he is free from the law and saved by grace but does not behave very well. The third he likened to a Christian who knows he is free and yet behaves very well. We all want to be like this latter one – free but yet well behaved.
"but as the servants of God"
The word "servant" here is a strong one, literally meaning "slave". How strange; first we are free then we are slaves. Free as far as the world is concerned, but slaves as far as God is concerned. We noted in verse 9; we are a people for His possession. Here we are His slaves. First, He made us and then He bought us. As slaves, we cannot do our own will; we must do His. If we constantly sought to do that which pleases Him, we would not need the exhortation, "not using our liberty as a cloke of badness." He would lead us into "the paths of righteousness" (Ps. 23:3).
It is not hard to be a servant when one has a good master. He pays differently than an earthly employer. When our needs are light, He pays us less, when our needs are great, He pays us more, but always supplies our needs.
However, our real reward for serving Him will not come until we stand before the judgment seat of Christ. He says in Mark 9:41, "For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ; verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward". What we receive for serving Him here is wonderful; what we will receive in eternity will be even more wonderful.
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:17 (KJV)
In this verse, Peter gives a very brief summary of the practical exhortations already given. In verse 18, he starts a series of exhortations for various classes of Christians and just desires to impress the truths already stated before starting a new line of thought.
"Honour all men"
This is what the apostle brought out in some measure, in verse 14, where we are exhorted to submit to governors. If any man deserves any honor at all, we should give it to him. Perhaps a man has great knowledge along certain lines, it is right to show him honor. Is he your employer, show him honor, or your superior at work, do the same. "Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour" (Rom. 13:7).
There are some things we owe to all men. We owe all courtesy, generosity, respect, justice. We owe all love. We read in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son". And even the vilest have been saved because of this love. We must have love for the souls of men if we are going to be used in the winning of them for Christ.
In 1 Timothy 5:17, we read, "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine". We read a very similar exhortation in 1 Thessalonians 5:12 and 13. Also Hebrews 13, verses 7 and 17. Some Christians are very careless in this respect, especially today. Some men of God have spent their lives for the good of the saints, and yet they have been shown little or no respect and honor. Such men – men whose lives can be counted worthy – should be honored highly. In other words, Paul is stating that for an elder to “rule well” he must be worthy. But if he is counted worthy among the brethren, then he should be given double honor – honored very highly for his works' sake. Of course, all elders are human and can certainly make mistakes, and therefore we should always seek a 'Thus sayeth the Lord' for everything we believe and do. Servants of the Lord should also be honored. Have they been used in the saving of souls? Have they been a help to the people of God? Let us show them honor and respect.
A man was bemoaning the fact that none of his children were saved. He was told: "It is not surprising that your children are not saved. Since coming here, you have berated many of the servants of the Lord, and you are teaching your children disrespect for the messengers of God. If they have no respect for the messenger, they will not accept the message."
"love the brotherhood"
This we have taught in chapter 1, verse 22. Notice the expression, "the brotherhood". Peter is the only one that uses it. The same Greed word is found in chapter 5 verse 9, where it is translated "brethren".
"Brotherhood" is an expression that really belongs to the Christians, but sad to say, certain labor unions and lodges have run off with our name. We are the true and original brotherhood, and a wonderful one to belong to.
There is nothing secret about our brotherhood; all is open and above board. You do not have to pay a fee to get into it, nor do you have to take a physical examination. You can get in whether young or old, male or female, rich or poor, good or bad, educated or uneducated, religious or sacrilegious, black or white, red or yellow. All that is necessary is to truly trust and obey Christ and be born again. Once you have accepted and obeyed Jesus Christ, you are saved and heaven is your future dwelling place, if you stay close to Jesus.
We are told to "love the brotherhood", not merely those in our own assembly or congregation. We are to love all in the family, the young as well as the old, the weak as well as the strong. Remember too, that love never does a mean thing toward it's object. It always seeks the welfare of the one loved. True love is self-sacrificing. A husband who loves his family does much for it, and a wife as well. If you truly "love the brotherhood" you will do things for the people of God.
"fear God"
This, the apostle speaks of in Chapter 1, verse 17. Does this mean that we should be afraid of God? Yes and we should hold Him in holy awe and reverence. Also, we should fear to displease Him, even as a child should fear to do anything that displeases his earthly father.
"honour the king"
This, we have in chapter 2 verse 13. If we truly fear God and love the brotherhood, we certainly too, will honor the supreme ruler of our land. I have sometimes been surprised at the disrespectful way some Christians dared to speak of our president. Of course I know, he too, is but a man like all of us, but because of his office and position, we should tender to him true honor.
