Sermon April 16, 2023 - Jim Passetti 1 Peter 2:18-25

S sojourners and Exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which war against your soul keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that here's the reason why we're supposed to be good sojourners so that when they speak against you as evildoers they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation so we're priests we're Exiles then the next picture that he uses to help us recognize our role is citizens in verses 13 through 15.

Where it's where Peter writes be subject for the Lord's sake to every Human Institution whether to the Emperor as supreme or to Governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and praise those who do good for this is the will of God that here's the reason that we're to be good citizens that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people you'd put to silence Ignorance by your word and by your work and that brings us up to today jumping back into first Peter where Peter calls us servants in this section in verses 18 through 25. So if you would please stand in honor of the reading of God's word let's go through this passage first Peter chapter 2 beginning in verse 18. Servants be subject to your masters with all respect not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust for this is a gracious thing when mindful of God one endures Sorrows while suffering unjustly for what credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it you endure but if when you do good and suffer for it you endure this is a gracious thing in the sight of God for to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps he committed no sin neither was deceit found in his mouth when he was reviled he did not revile in return when he suffered he did not threaten but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly he himself bore our sins and his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness by his wounds you have been healed for you were straying like sheep but now

Have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls so we're going to look today at the believer's job description and you say job description Jim why are you talking about job description and employees when it says servants here but the word in Greek refers to the domestic house help there was a much closer relationship to this type of servant than the other word used in Greek do loss which was the bond servant so there's a close relay in any position where someone has authority over another person the principles given here in First Peter chapter 2 will apply in that so it could be a teacher and a student an employer an employee but the point is that Peter is sharing this with us this another word picture so we can get the idea of how we are to behave and why we are to behave that way servants there we go Romans 14 4 says who are you to pass judgment on the Servants of another same word servants it is before his own master that he stands or Falls and he will be upheld for the Lord is able to make him stand so here the Lord is seeing us as his servants we are and as we go to work each week there is a choice that we have to make of what kind of servants are we going to be at work what kind of employees are we going to be and it tells us servants be subject to your master kupotasso is the word and that means below hupo is below and tasso means to arrange arrange ourselves as servants underneath our master or employer recognize the difference in power there that's kind of going against cultural stream today everyone wants to be on an equal plane or an equal par but servants are supposed to be subjected arranged under the master the same as an army as a range under a general

It's the same word there the same as creation is arranged under the Lord it's the same type of word so we're to be subject to our masters how with all respect if I can find where I am here I'm not using my notes at all here how are we to be arranged under our boss the answer is with respect were to be respect the master employer relationship just as we respect God we're told to respect God and to respect our employers so a Christian employee should be one who is a respectful employee respectful of their master that's the first qualification if you're taking notes that we should be respectful employees okay now who are we going to be respectful to that's a good question and Peter's answer is to the good into the gentle and the word gentle there means Fair we're to be respectful to the good and fair bosses that's kind of easy to do when they're when they're good and fair isn't it but that's not where he put the period he goes on to say also to the unjust and the word is interesting word is scoliosis it's where we get the word scoliosis the Twisted spine we're to be respectful to the good and fair boss but we're also to be respectful to the Crooked the bent or the perverse boss too to give you an idea what this word means in Acts chapter 2 the same word is used in verse 40 and there it says and with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them saying be saved from this perverse scoliosis generation this crooked so good and fair bosses we're supposed to be respectful also for the Crooked or bent bosses a Christian believer is supposed to be

Respectful why submit or arrange ourselves under a crooked boss what's the point in that what is God's Point why does he ask us to submit to a crooked boss four this indicates reason again here's the reason why we should submit it says for this is a gracious thing this is the reason why we need to submit to the unfair boss notice how Peter finds a gracious thing he does it in the words after here when mindful of God one endures Sorrows while suffering unjustly so here's a little of God's math enduring sorrow of unjust suffering added to being mindful of God equals a gracious thing okay well okay if we all agree that it is a gracious thing what's the purpose of that gracious thing why do we need to be or represent a gracious thing the second characteristic of the believer an employee ought to be respectful and gracious the second if you're filling in the notes this is the second one we as a Christian employee should be gracious that means giving your boss what he doesn't deserve we receive from the Lord what we didn't deserve and he calls on us to give our boss what he doesn't deserve graciousness and what's the point of this graciousness okay in Titus 2 9-10 it says this Bond servants are to be this is like a parallel passage to the passage we're studying today Bond servants are to be submissive to their own masters and everything they are to be well pleasing not argumentative not pilfering stealing but showing all good faith so that here's the purpose word this is why our behavior is so important so that in everything they may Adorn the doctrine of God our Savior that's the key word our behavior isn't

Adornment to the Gospel there's a very good reason why the Mona Lisa does not have a barn board frame around it right sorry ladies who like the country decor I know I have just offended about half of you but there's a good reason that the Mona Lisa doesn't have the barn wood frame a frame is supposed to Adorn the picture and make it complement the picture not contradict the picture it's to compliment in our Behavior as employees is to complement the Gospel not contradict the Gospel so this is the why that Peter is asking us to behave the way we're to behave before our employers is to Adorn the Gospel to make it look complemented and not contradict it ladies why do you Adorn yourselves why do you wear these jewelries well to complement your looks you have necklaces earrings bracelets to complement your looks it is a compliment and not a contradiction I have never seen Lisa taking my old dirty gym socks and hanging them from her ears or tying them around her neck or wrapping them around her wrists she doesn't do that it would not compliment her neither does poor Behavior of a Christian in his workplace it does not complement the Gospel continuing in verse 19 4 this is a gracious thing when mindful of God one endures Sorrows while suffering unjustly why graciously submit to a crooked boss this is why it's an adornment of the Gospel and that adornment attracts people to Christ they want to know why you're behaving that way after I just made you go out and clean them all the bathrooms and the whole building you came back with a smile on your face it's an adornment to the Gospel

So the next qualification qualification three is be patient Christian employees ought to be patient according to what he says here in verse 20 for what credit is it when you sin and are beaten for it you endure endure there is the word hupamoni and that means to stay under stay under the gun you endure what credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it you endure but if when you do good and suffer for it and you endure you stay under the gun this is a gracious thing in the sight of God and why does God want to show the world this gracious thing because it is an attractive Force towards the Gospel message that adorns the Gospel it makes it look better it complements the Gospel instead of contradicts it so another part of God's math is like so here's the equation if you sin and there's suffering that's what you call Justice right that's not a gracious thing if we get what's coming to us that's just called Justice when we are mistreated and we respond in a positive way that reflects a gracious response to our employer that is a gracious thing in the sight of God so doing good and suffering is a gracious thing in God's sight Grace is the magnetic draw that leads unbelievers to repentance Grace is also what leaves leads Believers to repenting when they sin they are won back by being shown Grace just as the Lost are won by being shown Grace they're not expecting it after they mess up to be shown Grace but that's what

Changes people's hearts the fourth qualification be submissive and Jesus showed this submissiveness in a couple different ways in verse 21 it says for to this and he's referring back now that this refers back to the unjust suffering two unjust suffering you have been called oh wow didn't know it was called to that we've been called to unjust suffering because here's why Christ also suffered for you leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps now what do I mean by example the word there is hypogromos and in the picture that this would bring to the Greek mind is one of learning in the Roman system the way they did that we had a wax tablet and a stylus and the teacher would take up at the top two lines and he would write the lesson up there what they were supposed to be learning the student would then pick up the stylist and Trace each of those letters getting the idea of the shapes and how they were made and then on the lower lines they had to write the entire thing out two times below below there as they practiced so this is what Jesus is saying he's an example he's given us an example to follow he's showed us what it should look like and expects us to make our depiction similar to his depiction that's the first definition of hypogrammils but there is another definition and that definition has to do with something we would think of nowadays is a paint by number where a master artist draws out the borders of a beautiful scene and then labels which color should go in each of those sections and then we the novice can come along later and fill in and add color to Adorn that image this is going back to the why do we behave the way we behave in front of our

Employers to Adorn the image of the Gospel and Jesus said I've given you that example to follow so Trace those letters so fill in the color that's what he's left us to do that's what how we can complement or Adorn the Gospel in front of our employers so what example did Jesus leave for us he left the example in two ways one he left it in the way well let's do first John first whoever says he abides in him ought to walk the same way in which he walked if we are abiding in Jesus we're Believers we ought to be walking according to the example that he set for us and it said he committed no sin he didn't he walked by not doing any sin but and that's hard enough right but then he went further to deal with what he didn't say in his speech and he said neither was deceit found in his mouth now deceit is a fishing hunting trapping term so Greg will like that one so it's the idea of baiting someone in and what Peter is saying here is Jesus did not bait or trick people with his words there was no tricking and we as employees with our employer shouldn't be tricking our employers with what we're saying oh yeah I put it all out back there or yeah the job's done we shouldn't be tricking them deceitful the second thing that Jesus didn't do is he didn't revile in return he had insults heaped upon Him insults after insults and he didn't revile in return there was no calling names no insults no quarrels no degradation there was no shaming that's not how we responded so there was no trickery and there was no taunting he didn't respond back to them in a negative way this is the example he's showing for us

Next he says he did not threaten and the word threatened was used in Acts chapter 4 verse 17 and there it was translated warm but in order that it might not spread that it may spread no further among the people let us warn them in the Sanhedrin is who they're talking about let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name Jesus's name so they're telling him don't you be speaking about Jesus out there the sanhedrins warning them or threatening and as Believers in the workplace we are not to be tricking taunting or threatening anyone in the workplace especially our boss so is God expecting that we as Believers always submit to this unjust suffering that's a fair question does he want every time we're going to be treated poorly does he want us to submit to that poor treating treatment well I looked through Scripture for some examples and I found in Acts chapter 16 if you remember the back story for this is the Macedonian call Paul goes to Macedonia the Lord said go over there there's people who need know about me over there so he heads over there and in the process in verse beginning at verse 16 it says and as we were going to the place of prayer we were met by a slave girl who'd had a spirit of divination and broader owners much gained by fortune telling she followed Paul and US crying out these men are Servants of the most high God who Proclaim to you the way of salvation and this she kept doing for many days Paul having become greatly annoyed that's encouraging to me that Paul got annoyed every once in a while too turned around and said to the spirit I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her and it came out that very hour but when her owner saw that the hope of gain was gone They seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the

Marketplace before the rulers and when they had brought them to the magistrates they said these men are Jews and they are disturbing our city they Advocate Customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice the crowd joined in attacking them and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods and when they had inflicted many blows upon them they threw them into the prison ordering the Jailer to keep them safely having received this order he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks okay up to this point there had not been a great response to the Gospel in Macedonia Paul gets to the point where he's going to be beaten and Paul's a Roman citizen he could have pulled the Roman citizen card out and say whoa no beatings for me I was born a Jew I can't be beaten without being convicted so in this case Paul submitted to the beating and what was the result he was thrown in prison who got saved while he was there in Macedonia the first person to get saved the Jailer and his family so that submission resulted in the Gospel being forwarded now well let's take the same person Paul and go over just a couple chapters to chapter 22. There we go up to this up to this word now this is Paul in Jerusalem and he's on the staircase and he's speaking out to the Jews and it's a similar situation the crowd's really riled up here and this is what it said in Acts chapter 22 starting in verse 22 and going through 29. Up to this word they listened to him then they raised their voices and said away with such a fellow from the earth for he should not be allowed to live and as they were shouting and throwing off

Their cloaks and flinging dust into the air the Tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks saying that he should be examined by flogging to find out why they were shouting against him like this but when they had stretched out stretched him out for the whips Paul said to the Centurion who was standing by is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned when the Centurion heard that he went heard that he went to the Tribune and said to him what are you about to do for this man is a Roman citizen so the tribute came to him and said tell me are you a Roman citizen and he said yes the Tribune answered I bought this citizenship for a large sum and Paul said but I am a citizen by birth so those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately and the Tribune also was afraid for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him okay it's a very similar situation to the situation in Mass Macedonia there Paul submitted to the beating the suffering they had he had in store for him but in this case he didn't and when I compared the two things what's the commonalities why did he choose to accept the beating in one and to refuse the beating in the other the only conclusion I can come to is that God Paul had to accept the beating to get the Gospel to the jailers and their family and that was part of God's plan but in this case it seemed like and it says in Acts 23 that God was praising Paul for sharing the Gospel in Jerusalem and he had more work for him to do in sharing the Gospel in Rome so in this case there was going to be no beating and Paul was walking with the Lord in both of those cases so what he and Peter is saying is not that we just

Need to submit to every form of suffering that we encounter ourselves but we should be looking at how does or does this suffering extend the reach of the Gospel will disadvance the Gospel and in cases where that's possible then it may turn out that we are headed for some suffering in other cases we may be able to avoid the suffering okay now for the last qualification righteousness the Christian employee should be righteous and what do I mean by righteousness because it says here in verse 24 he himself wore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die thin and live to righteousness by his wounds you have been healed he talked about righteousness back in Titus we went through this passage what does righteousness look like for an employee it looks like an employee who submits to their masters it looks like an employee who is well pleasing to their master or their their boss it looks like an employee who's not argumentative it looks like an employee who's not stealing pilfering it looks like an employee who's showing all good faith to the boss so that the Gospel can be adorned to complement the Gospel message for you were straying like sheep but have now returned to the Shepherd in overseer of our souls we were lost guys we were in that position and the response to being saved should be to Adorn the Gospel he's given us that role to add the color to the picture that he's drawn to Adorn it to complement it so if I am a an unbelieving boss and someone comes to work and they are respectful to me they are gracious to me they give me what I don't deserve they're patient with me they're submissive to what I ask them to do and they behave in a righteous way they're not stealing company property how is that going to make me as a boss

Feel if I'm an unsaved boss and I have an employee like that's going to have an impact on me whether I want it or not it's gonna it's gonna have an impact because I'm expecting in today's world you do me bad I do you bad that's the way the world works so let's go to head 's saying here what we need to know Peter says that enduring enduring unjust suffering for the Lord is sometimes required for a Christian employee we are called to do that sometimes in what we need to know in our heads for our hearts is enduring suffering for the Lord adorns the Gospel it complements the Gospel message so this week for hand I want you to try to tolerate something you don't deserve in order to Adorn the Gospel what that looks like will be different for every one of us but as we go into work this week some I'm sure something's going to happen we don't deserve right and we have the opportunity to put this passage of Scripture to practice and respond in a way that's going to Adorn the Gospel okay I'm going to turn this back over to Cody and I think he's gonna have a time of prayer for Hannah we're so thankful for the Lord and what he's doing and you know we've got for those of you who don't know we've got a lot of missionary students that they finish up they're at their classes he finished up last week right and so she's just wrapping things up and Hannah's been a part of our church family for two years about and then they just disappear and we don't oftentimes get to see them again and so if you care about Miss Hannah and you'd like to come up and pray with us for her as she goes and does MPD which I'll please come up here those in her community group folks in ethnos and just people that care

About her we're just going to take some time and pray for her and Spencer and this week as we get to apply what brother Jim was preaching today you know remember that passage about how we are called to live our lives in order to Adorn the Gospel that those who are lost might see and sense Christ in US Spencer if you would pray for us father God just what a privilege it is to be here in your house today and to hear the word proclaimed what challenges it brings to our life Lord that we need to live for you not just on Sunday but every day of the week we also bring before you hand it Lord and just the commitment that she has made to you the work that she has worked for you and now looks forward for your direction lead her in all things in her life and open up many opportunities to share the Gospel again we thank you for this church and as we go out our doors we are entering our mission field we must bring this word in Jesus name amen thank you're all dismissed [Music]