Sunday, January 20, 2008

Submit ... What?
1 Peter 5:5b-7

Last week, Pastor Kelly asked us to say our favorite book in the Bible. He guessed – correctly – that no one would
say 1 Peter. Galatians is still my favorite book, but as I’ve spent the last week reading and listening to 1 Peter over and over, it’s come closer to the top of my list. Why? Because 1 Peter is all about real life. It’s about, “How do we live godly lives in the midst of our families and churches and workplaces?” “What does it mean to be a Christian who lives under
our United States government?”

If those are questions that you would like some answers to, read 1 Peter! It’ll take some interpretation (like Pastor Kelly said last week), but there are life-transforming principles in there.

But why does it take interpretation? Can’t we just read what was written by this fisherman to some churches in Asia
2000 years ago and apply his advice to our situations in St. Johns in 2008? Can’t we just apply his advice about submission at face value?

When we read one of these books of the Bible that is a letter like this, we’ll almost always come across something that makes us draw back. Something in the text makes us hesitate. We don’t like it, or it doesn’t make sense. Or it simply seems wrong. . . . But it’s right there in the Bible.

Right there, it says, “Slaves . . . submit yourselves to your masters” even if they are harsh. It says that wives should
submit to their husbands. It evens says women are weaker.

Now I don’t know if men have a visceral response when they read those things. I know that I have a visceral response when I hear those. I step back. Those words, “submit” and “weaker” jump off the page at me. They overshadow the
other words. It’s hard for me to see what’s around those words.

There are two temptations at this point. One is to say, “This is a bunch of garbage, and I’m going to throw it out.
I’m not going to live my life according to that.” And then we ignore parts of the Bible. Or maybe even all of it. Oh no,
we wouldn’t ignore the Bible! Really? How many of our Bibles are gathering dust?

(By the way, please bring your Bibles to church. Often, it is very helpful. If you have your Bible today, look at 1 Peter
as we look through it to see what it says about submission. If not, please look at it when you go home. 1 Peter is close
to the back.)

The second temptation is to say, “The Bible says it. I believe it. I must do exactly what it says right there in print.”
There’s a feeling that “If I’m a good Christian, I can’t question the Bible. I have to do exactly what it says.”

The problem comes when too many people have interpreted Scripture incorrectly because they’re not looking at
theoverall themes in a certain letter or book. Or they don’t know what the culture was like. Or they decide that a
word – like “submit” – means a certain thing and everyone eventually believes it without looking more closely at the
texts for themselves.

I would urge us all to look deeper than the superficial appearances of what Peter advises. When the superficial circumstances don’t match, find the deeper truths.

I would urge us all to look at the attitudes that Peter encourages the early Christians to have. I would urge us all to look
at what he writes about God. And what does he say about our relationship with God? And what should our attitudes
be toward other people?

When we ask those deeper questions, then we’ll be closer to seeing how his letter applies to our lives in St. Johns in
2008. When the superficial circumstances don’t match, find the deeper truths.

Their circumstances

I can guarantee that the superficial circumstances that the people Peter was writing to don’t match our
superficial circumstances.

Does the culture in the modern-day country of Turkey match our culture here in the US? Now picture the culture of
that area 2000 years ago when it was Asia Minor. It was a very different society.

Do you think they had a president? No, they were ruled by emperors – some of whom expected the people to worship them as gods. Roman emperors did pretty much whatever they wanted, including ordering people’s deaths.

Do you think most of the people were free to quit a job if they didn’t like the boss? No, many of them were slaves who served the few wealthy people. Remember that 4/5 of the people were slaves.

Do you think most of their women were given equal opportunity to learn or make decisions about their lives or protect themselves? No, their father or their husband had control over their lives, even choosing which god they worshipped.

Ancient societies often had “household codes” that explained how people were to behave. The “household codes” in the Roman Empire basically said, “worship the emperor, servant/slaves are property, wives are supposed to fear their husbands, and fathers can beat their children.” As we look at Peter’s letter to the believers in Asia Minor, we’ll see that he writes a “household code” for them to follow, but that there are some incredibly significant differences.

(See Colossians 3:5 – 4:1 and Ephesians 5:21 – 6:9 to see how the apostle Paul rewrites the ancient household codes
for groups of believers in other parts of the Roman Empire.)

Before we look at how Peter’s “household code” is different than others from the Roman Empire, let’s look at the
biggest difference between (on the one hand) the main culture of ancient Rome and (on the other hand) the lives of people who follow Jesus Christ. Most people in the Roman Empire worshipped Greek and Roman gods (and emperors who claimed to be gods). These gods were like Zeus – mighty gods who ruled with an iron fist. But the god that Christians follow did not come to rule and control. Jesus is a God who comes to serve and to love.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we follow Christ as our example, and submit ourselves first to God.

Submit yourself to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

1 Peter 2:2-25

Let’s look at the end of the second chapter of 1 Peter. Here, Peter says that Jesus Christ is our example: “Christ
suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

Peter says that Jesus didn’t sin at all; that he wasn’t deceitful, that he didn’t get back at people when they insulted him,
he didn’t threaten anyone.

Now if I were the Lord of the whole universe and somebody looked at me funny, I’d be tempted to so something to
them . make all their hair fall out or something. But Jesus did not retaliate when they mocked him, whipped him, and then nailed his limbs to pieces of wood to kill him.

Jesus entrusted himself to God – who judges with justice. He submitted himself to all that suffering so that we could
return to God and live whole and godly lives.

What does it mean to submit ourselves?

Let’s look at what it means to submit ourselves. To do that, look beyond just the verses that have the
word “submit” in them.

Submission is a major theme of Peter’s letter to these people. It’s interwoven with the ideas of humility, living godly
lives and loving one another.

Submitting ourselves is NOT:
    -It’s not malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander. (2:1)
    -It’s not repaying evil with evil. (3:9)

    -It’s the opposite of antagonism.
    -It’s the opposite of withholding yourself.

Submitting ourselves IS:
    -It’s part of our new birth as children of Christ. (1:14, 1:23, 2:2)
    -It’s connected to being whole and holy. (1:15)
    -It’s loving one another deeply. (1:22)
    -It’s part of growing up in your salvation. (2:2)
    -It’s repaying evil with blessing. (3:9)

It’s living “such good lives . . . that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds
and glorify God . . .” (2:12) and “doing good” (2:15).

It’s to “live as free people” and at the same time to “live as God’s slaves” (2:16).

It’s to “show proper respect to everyone, love your fellow believers, fear God…” (2:17).

It’s to give yourself.
It’s giving your all.

When we submit ourselves to one another, it is beautiful, wonderful, transformative, powerful, and revolutionary.

Specifics

When Peter gets more specific, that’s when we have to look deeper for how it applies to us. Remember, when the superficial circumstances don’t match, find the deeper truths.

Remember that Peter was writing to believers scattered in a society where Christians were persecuted and killed. Peter was asking them to submit themselves to at least some of the societal norms. If they didn’t, not only would their witness be hindered, their lives might be endangered.

They were in the midst of horrible times. Martin Luther King, Jr. said:

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he
stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Strength to Love (1963)

When I read that quote, I want to learn what it means to submit in everyday life. Because when trials come, it’s going to be even harder. While I don’t always know how to submit in particular situations, but I know that submitting myself – giving myself – is God’s best for me.

(One clarification. There are some relationships that you can leave and should leave. If you are in an unhealthy relationship, God wants you to bless that person, and try to improve the relationship. Often, God wants you to
end that relationship. If you are in an unhealthy dating relationship, do not continue toward marriage. What happens during dating only gets worse during marriage. God desires healthy marriages. If you are in an abusive marriage, seek help to either bring health to the marriage or to leave.)

Submit yourself to the government

Roman emperors imitated their gods – and ruled with iron fists. They demanded obedience and killed anyone they
wanted. In fact, the killed thousands of Christians who lived in Rome. Now say Rome at that time was about the size
of Portland. If George Bush killed thousands of Christians in Portland, most of us would still be left. However, we would
at the very least be a little concerned that we might be next. We’d especially be concerned if he were tying us up on
poles in the rose garden of the White House and lighting us on fire so other people could enjoy a nice lighted stroll
through the gardens.

Peter submitted to his government. He was imprisoned at least twice and eventually crucified upside down. He could
have fled. But he endured the punishment – even death – following in Christ’s footsteps. He – and the apostle Paul – took every opportunity to tell government officials the good news about Jesus Christ.

Submitting to the government doesn’t mean doing everything they tell you. Peter could have stopped preaching that Jesus was Lord. He could have said, “Okay, I was wrong. The emperor is lord.”

Peter “non-violently protested.” We can follow in his footsteps – and the footsteps of Martin Luther King, Jr. – and peacefully speak truth when our government is not doing right.

I highly encourage you to email and write letters to our representatives in Congress and the Senate, and to our president.

For more about submitting to government, see:
    -Romans 13:1-7
    -Hebrews 12:4-11
    -James 4:7-10

Submit yourself on the job

In this “household code”, Peter is talking to household slaves. They had more financial freedom and social opportunities than free people who were poor, and could possibly eventually buy their freedom. However, for the time being, they
were still stuck in their situations.

Peter was a fisherman who was a leader of the Jews who followed Jesus Christ. Those Jews lived in the Roman Empire where up to 80% of the people were slaves to the relatively few rich people. Life was what it was. No slave revolt had ever been successful. Peter knew that he wasn’t going to lead a successful slave revolt – but he could point them to the example of Christ in the midst of suffering.

Eventually, the teachings of Jesus Christ undermined slavery.

“The church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.”

Letter from Birmingham Jail
April 16, 1963
Martin Luther King, Jr.

When we have jobs where we feel like slaves (certainly, to a much lesser degree), we have a choice. We can be antagonistic, or we can submit ourselves to our bosses, give it our all, and do good in the midst of it.

Submit yourself to your spouse

Husbands decided which god the family worshipped. Peter called the wives to live beautiful godly lives. Our actions
are much louder than words. Submitting to our spouse does not mean just doing what they want you to do, but to give yourself (thoughts, heart, etc.) to them. Notice, this says women should submit themselves to their husbands, not to all
men. It also says that husbands “in the same way” should be considerate of their wives, respecting them as partners
and co-heirs of God’s life.

Also see Ephesians 5:21-33.

Submit ourselves to each other

1 Peter 5:1-5

Peter exhorts the elders (leaders) to really love and serve people, to be examples. He exhorts younger people to
submit to their elders.

He exhorts everyone to be humble in their relationships with each other and with God.

See also:
    -1 Peter 5:5b-7
    -1 Corinthians 16:15-16
    - Hebrews 13:17

Also look up Scriptures about humbling yourself, humility, bearing with one another, loving one another, etc.

Conclusion

Submit yourself to God, to the government, to your boss, to your spouse, and to other believers.

Won’t that be a wonderful transformation, as we learn more and more to submit ourselves to God and others?

To learn more about submission, read:

In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by Henri Nouwen (Crossroad Publishing Company)

Love is a Choice: The Definitive Book on Letting Go of Unhealthy Relationships by Robert Hernfelt, Frank Minirth, Paul Meier (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003)

(You can find these at www.christianbook.com and elsewhere.)