Servants, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but even to those who are unreasonable.Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the wicked.Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
6 sermons cite this verse
… certainly less than ideal. 1 Peter chapter 2 and in verse 18, he says, 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. Now, when you apply this to the contemporary environment, and you're going back to your work tomorrow, and your area manager is not exactly the most congenial individual, the person who runs your little department in the lab is just horrendous, the principle applies. Obviously, it had a striking impact to the people in the Greco-Roman world, but it is no less dramatic in being applied today. Consider your masters worthy of respect. Now, this is simply an outworking of the New Testament principle of servanthood. Servanthood. The call of Christ is a call to enslavement. Make me a captive, Lord, we say, and then I shall be free. Force me to render up my sword, and I shall conqueror be. Jesus says, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. …
… And then secondly, he goes from the general to the specific. And he urges slaves to, in verse 218, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. That's important. When we get to 315, that's going to be important. Okay? Be subject, not just to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust, okay? Your subjection is not contingent upon somebody being worthy of it, right? If that's the case, then it's really not your subjection. It's not your submission if it's contingent on somebody being worthy of it. The other problem is nobody will ever be worthy of it, amen? Nobody will ever be worthy of it. Peter goes on to encourage believers who find themselves in this situation to suffer for righteousness sake. Look at verse 19. For this is a gracious thing when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. how about that how about that two audiences remember there's two audiences number one there's the audience of God what are we saying to the audience of God when we suffer even unjustly I trust you I trust your sovereignty I trust your providence you are a good God regardless of what's happening right now. And then we're saying something as well to a world that's looking on, especially when that world is trying to make us respond a certain way. …
… In 1 Peter 2, you have an illustration of this same thing in a household slave. Verse 18, 1 Peter 2, servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect. And He's talking here, and the word is household slaves, oiketes, 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. Oh, that's too bad that's here. Why? For this finds grace, literally, this finds grace, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. Well, you're not treated fair at work. You're going to get grace. You're going to get sufficient grace. What credit, verse 20 says, 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 grace with God. Then he goes on to say, you've been called to this purpose. You've been called to suffer unjustly at work. …
… What does God have to say to all of us who work for someone else? Well, let's look, if you will, in 1 Peter 2, verse 18. He says, You say, well, I was afraid we were going to get to that verse. Because sometimes you may work for someone who is extremely unreasonable. I did not say that they commanded you to violate a spiritual principle. They're just unreasonable. Listen to what he says. With all respect we are to be submissive, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. How in the world could we ever justify God saying that we are to be submissive to those who require of us things that we consider very unreasonable and unfair? Well, there is a major verse in all of these passages that is the real key to what God's after in this whole matter of relationships between employees and employers. Listen to what he says now in verse 19. He says, What finds favor? …
And again, for example, he says in 1 Peter chapter 2, 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. So now he says that this submission should be in all things. So the question is, do you mean to tell me that I am to obey my employer in everything he tells me to do? Go back, if you will, to Acts chapter 5. There's a single verse that settles that issue. In verse 29 of chapter 5 of Acts, Peter, and the apostles answered and said, we must obey God rather than men. So that the limitation on submission to employers, the limitation of submission is whenever you're asked to do anything dishonest, violate a scriptural principle, violate the Word of God, then you have a right to refuse to obey those who are an authority over you. So the first admonition here is the admonition of submission. Now, he says, this is the spirit in which employees are to serve the employers. …
… And he urges slaves to, in verse 218, Be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. That's important. When we get to 315, that's going to be important. Be subject, not just to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. Your subjection is not contingent upon somebody being worthy of it. Right? If that's the case, then it's really not your subjection. It's not your submission if it's contingent on somebody being worthy of it. The other problem is nobody will ever be worthy of it. Amen? Nobody will ever be worthy of it. Peter goes on to encourage believers who find themselves in this situation to suffer for righteousness' sake. Look at verse 19. For this is a gracious thing when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. How about that? How about that? Two audiences, remember? There's two audiences. Number one, there's the audience of God. What are we saying to the audience of God when we suffer even unjustly? …