1 Peter 2:18-25 – Submission for the Lord’s Sake - Part 2: Masters

1 Peter 2:18-25 – Submission for the Lord’s Sake - Part 2: Masters
I. Review – Living to the Will of God – 1 Peter 4:1-2
II. WHAT? – Be Submissive! — 1 Peter 2:18
A. Application: Employees must serve their employers…BUT employers must serve everyone!!!
B. A Word Or Two From Our Strong’s Concordance
1. “Servants”
2. “Submissive” = To rank yourself in an orderly fashion under another
3. “Masters” = Despotai (despot) = Very strong word denoting ‘absolute ownership and uncontrolled
power
4. “Fear” = phobos = terror or respect…for their position as master, or out of reverence for God and His
Sovereign control, and providential ordering of the circumstances of men’s lives
5. “Good” = WHAT THEIR CHARACTER IS LIKE -of good constitution or nature, useful, salutary,
pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy, excellent, distinguished, upright, honorable
6. “Gentle” = WHAT THEIR ACTIONS ARE LIKE – equitable, fair, moderate, forbearing, “..that
considerateness that looks humanely and reasonably at the facts of a case”
7. “Harsh” = scolios = bent , curved, crooked (scoliosis = crookedness in the spine) – one who is perverse,
unfair, awkward to deal with
III. WHY? – Glory, Grace, and Gratuity — 1 Peter 2:19-20
A. Glory
1. Out of Fear of God, and Not Out of Fear of Man - Cor. 3:22, Eph. 6:5-7
2. Out of a Love For God and a Great Desire to See His Name Glorified and His Kingdom Made More
Manifest in the Earth – 1 Tim. 6:1-2
B. Grace and Gratuity – Phil. 2:5-11, 2 Cor. 5:20, Rom. 5:6-8, Ep 6:5-8, Col. 3:23-24
IV. HOW? Grateful Obedience, the Godly Appeal, and the Gracious Exit – 1 Peter 2:21-2
A. Grateful Obedience: Our example is Christ – 1 Peter 2:15, Rom. 13:5, Her. 13:17, Rom. 12:19-21, 1 Peter 4:19
B. The Godly Appeal - Is. 59:1-2, Deut. 9:26-28, 1 Sam. 17:45, Ex. 23:1, Prov. 22:11
1. We must be in “right standing” with those in authority over us – “Our Father, which art in heaven…”
2. We must have right motives – “…Hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done…”
3. We must appeal at the appropriate time “Give us this day our daily bread…”
4. We must give accurate information
5. We must have right attitudes – “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”
6. We must use appropriate words
7. We must display the right reaction to our employer’s response to our appeal – “For thine is the
Kingdom…”
C. The Gracious Exit – When might it be appropriate to leave an employer?
1. To pursue a better opportunity - Prov.22:29
2. When you cannot financially support those under your care at your present position - 1 Tim. 5:8
3. When you are asked to participate in business practices that violate the Word of God and your appeals
have gone unheard – Heb. 11:24-26, Acts 5:29
V. Conclusion… Jesus didn’t come to suffer and die primarily to give us an example of how to
suffer righteously —1 Peter 2:24-25, Tit. 2:9-14