MPC 1st August 2004.I Peter 2:11-3:12 "Just Passing Through"
Dan Bigg MPC 1st August 2004.
Have you ever noticed how tourists stand out? You can pick them a mile away, can't you? They really stand out because they're so different. They look different… like the tourists from Europe when they just arrive, they're, so white you almost need sunnies on to stop the glare. It's obvious isn't if people from other cultures dress differently to… like those guys in tartan skirts with bagpipes. I've been told the only people who wear kilts are Scots abroad or Americans in Scotland. Tourists speak differently, and they act differently… At the coast a while back we saw Japanese tourists… taking photos of everything that moved. Tourists… foreigners… people from other countries… they're easy to pick. Different looks, different language, different customs; they stand out.
Well, as Christians we're to be the tourists. Peter wants us to be the foreigners in this world. He wants us to stand out as strangers. He wants us to live as people who are obviously not really citizens here. This isn't our real home. We're to be people who stand out from the crowd. Markedly different. We pick up the story in ch2, v11. Peter says,
Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
As foreigners in temporary dwellings… As people who are just passing through… Peter says, steer clear of the desires of this world. Your real country is with God in heaven. Don't get caught up in this world. Keep your identity… the customs, the habits and the lifestyle of your real country.
And for the rest of this talk we're going to look at five areas where Christians should stand out as different. Five areas where we should be obvious strangers in this world. They're on your handout so you can follow along as we go.
The first area Peter deals with is Government. Christians should stand out in the way they view those who rule over them. They should be different in how they respond to the government. In v13 Peter says,
Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every Authority instituted among men… whether to the king as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
At first sight there's no real difference, is there? We submit to authority. Big deal, so do lots of people. No doubt most of your neighbours are law abiding citizens. You see it's not the fact we submit that's odd… it's why we submit… Most people hate submitting to the law. You know the feeling you get when you pass one of those speed camera police vans and you haven't been watching your speed. How many people complain about paying tax?
But Peter says as Christians we should be different. "Don't just submit out of fear…", he says, "Don't just submit because you think it's good for you". Submit for the Lord's sake. Submit because you want to honour God. Now that's out of the ordinary… that's why we'll stand out… Because we obey our governments to please God, not them.
Next time you're driving along and the mobile rings, pull over. Not because it's a safe and responsible thing to do, though it is… not because you dread the flashing blue lights… though you probably would. Pull over… for the Lord's sake.
I've been caught out. The phone started ringing, and I just answered it in the car as I was driving along. The problem was there were three others in the car. They pulled me up. I blurred my foreign identity…I didn't stand out…
And what about all the other traffic laws? Is your attitude, everything's legal till you're caught? Do you do U-turns where it's not allowed…? because it's perfectly safe and you know better than the law. What about tax? Are you willingly making the effort not to cheat the system? And how about local government regulations? Do you get council approval for the extensions you're planning? Or do you try and avoid the hassle and do it on the quiet? You see, it's willing submission in all these areas that sets us apart. Being obedient to our governors for God's sake. That's what makes us stand out.
Well, Peter moves on. He now zeros in on a specific situation and shows how Christians stand out as radically different. It's the master/slave situation in v18. The closest parallel we have today of the master/slave system, is the employer/employee relationship. And some bosses really feel like slave drivers, don't they? So the basic principles still apply, and our attitude to our bosses ought to make us stand out. V18 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.
As a butcher I worked for a manager once. Everyone said he was a real mongrel. He wasn't really, just a bit of a control freak. Over time he came to trust me. But the other butchers gave me heaps. I was the golden haired boy… the crawler. It didn't stick though, because I told them if they were the boss I'd work just as well for them. But my submissive attitude made me stand out. I was different … odd. What I did, didn't fit with the norm. But submitting can be a lot more difficult than that.
I heard a story of a Christian missionary in a Moslem country who taught Christian kids their different trades. He said the kids never had problems getting work. Moslem employers hated their Christian faith, and mistreated them, but loved their work ethic. The kids respected and obeyed their bosses for the Lord's sake. It made them stand out as different, as strangers in their own community.
Peter urges us to be different in our attitude to our bosses. To stand out from the crowd because you're not part of it. Cut out the whinging and whining and backstabbing at work… even if you think it is justified… As citizens of heaven don't do it. Submit to your boss for the Lord's sake. It's tough to do… it's not easy… but it's what will set you apart. It's the way to make clear your Christian identity.
Peter now moves on to describe a third way that we Christian foreigners stand out… Our attitude to injustice. How we're meant to react when we're treated badly, because we're doing what God wants us to. We're at v19.
For it is commendable, if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if, you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
See how v19 starts? For this is commendable, and see how v20 ends… Same words,… this is commendable before God. Peter brackets this difficult teaching with these words to help us to carry it out. He urges us to hold off sinful desires. Retaliation for injustice has got to be the most spontaneous sinful desire there is. When someone makes a snide remark about your faith. When you get looked over for a promotion because you wouldn't bend the rules like everyone else… it's not fair… You want to hit back… Come up with the smart alec reply... sue the company... do something. But Peter says… take it on the chin. When you go with your conscience and suffer for it. Be patient. That's what's commendable to God. And won't that make you stand out as different.
Jesus is the prime example of this patient attitude. He is the best example of someone who stood out as totally different. Jesus suffered the most extreme injustice. The sinless, Son of God suffered inhumane treatment silently… patiently… without retaliation. Verse v22,
Jesus committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, He made no threats. Instead he entrusted himself to Him who judges justly.
Jesus stood out. He was different. Noticeably different. He had no sin, and by his life, death and resurrection he has dealt with our sin. Now we stand out as people dead to sin. We stand out as people who live for righteousness. God commends us when we suffer injustice as Jesus did.
OK. I'm up to the bit you've all been waiting for. What's he going to say about marriage? Well, to tell you the truth I'd like to skip this bit and leave it to someone else to deal with. But I'll give it a shot. I think today… in the area of marriage we've got the best opportunity of showing how different Christianity is. It's the area where we really should stand out. But sadly this so often just isn't the case. You know there's two main errors that our society makes when discussing men and women. One is to say that there's no difference. Men and women are the same. The other error is to say women are inferior… Peter corrects both errors in one verse, v7of ch3. Have a look at it,
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Good verse, isn't it? No, men are not superior. But yes, there is a physical difference. Normally men are stronger. But Christian husbands, that's the reason to honour your wife not suppress her. Strength isn't superiority. Don't abuse your position. Your wife isn't some kind of slave. Someone whose only role in life is to cook your meals and do your washing, just the way you like it. Peter says, Christian husbands honour your wives. Guys, our wives are heirs together of God's grace… worthy of particular care and honour. Does that come through in the way you treat your wife? Is she an equal and honoured partner in your marriage? That's what God wants her to be. And that's what will stand out as totally foreign in our society.
Now what's Peter's message to wives? He says wives submit to your husbands. What a foreign idea that is today! Look at 3:1,
Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands, so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without talk by the behaviour of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
The words 'in the same way' give us a clue to understanding what's being said here. Why are Christian wives to submit to theirs husbands? It's for the same reason that as citizens we submit to our rulers. It's for the Lord's sake. Christian wives submit even to unbelieving husbands not out of fear… not because they're weaker… not because their husbands are smarter. But for God's sake. Now I have to say if your husband demands things God wouldn't want… obey God. But in most cases Peter's saying submit.
That doesn't mean be a doormat. He's not saying never have any input into any decisions in your marriage. It's Christine who runs the finances in our house. She loves bookwork and she does a much better job than I could ever do. Every cent is accounted for. I just give her the dockets and she does the rest. When I want to buy something I ask her. She says no and everyone's happy…! Not really, but we have talked through together how we're going to spend our money. And what our priorities are with our finances.
You know, Christian women who submit to Christ really do stand out. Our society just doesn't act like that. Submission is a foreign concept full stop. People confuse submission with suppression. But ladies you are not to submit out of fear or in the hopes of pleasing your husbands.
You ought to stand out because you submit to please God. You submit even to undeserving husbands for God's sake. You live to win God's approval not men's. Verse 3 says,
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewellery and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.
Here's some lasting beauty tips that will knock the seven signs of ageing sideways. They'll beat the Oil of Ulan hands down. The way the media presents women you'd think outward appearance is all there is to women. Peter says there's something much more important. Even super models grow old. The inner person doesn't. Focus on that. Live to win God's approval. Spend time making yourself beautiful forever… by working on a gentle and quiet spirit.
Peter uses Abraham as an example of a husband who didn't deserve the honour of his wife's submission. Sarah submitted to him calling him her Lord even though he was such a coward. He used her to save his own skin. If God hadn't helped her she would have ended up in a foreign king's harem. It happened to her twice because Abraham failed her. But she submitted to him not out of fear, not because he earned it, but for God's sake.
Maybe you feel you've got an Abraham… a husband who doesn't deserve respect. Remember it's for God's sake that you respect your husband and submit to him. It's for God's sake you watch what you say about him in public. That you don't bag him out in front of others. As godly wives do that foreign submission thing. And submit to your husbands even if they don't deserve it. Submit for God's sake.
Are you starting to see why Christians ought to be easy to pick out from the crowd? We're meant to be just so different. As citizens, as workers and in marriage we ought to stand out as very unusual. Because we are God's citizens we're going to stand out as different in any other group. Peter sums up this whole section by showing how Christian communities stand out as so obviously foreign. And the reason we should stand out is our genuine love for each other. Verse 8:
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
Does that describe us here as God's people in this area? I think it does. All things considered I think we are working hard at being a friendly bunch. There is unity in our desire to please God. There is love and compassion. Keep up the good work. Live such good lives among your fellow Aussies that they may see your good works and glorify God in the day He visits us. As Christians we stand out. We shine like headlights in the dark. Our community is watching us. God by his grace gives them the opportunity to join us and become citizens of heaven. Let's be proud to stand out and live as citizens of our real homeland. Lets live the life of strangers here because we know we're just passing through. Our homeland is in heaven.