In this week’s passage from 1 Peter 2, Peter continues his thoughts on how slaves are to act in relation to their masters, especially those masters who may treat them harshly.

You can see this passage for yourself in 1 Peter 2:19-20.

Peter has been addressing those who are in the unfortunate circumstances of slavery. He is specifically addressing those slaves who are believers, or have become believers, in slavery. His main thrust of this passage is for them to submit to their masters, because, in reality, they are serving Christ, and the outflow of that is how they serve their earthly masters.

But the question he knows that they will have is this: What if the master is a harsh man, and treats them severely?

Peter shows in this passage that the true mettle of the believing slave is tested in this situation. Peter knows that some slaves will experience harsh words, and others will experience beatings and other physical abuse. He connects this to persecution, the only connection to physical persecution in the entire letter.

We know from history that physical persecution was growing, especially as the Roman Empire grew more and more decadent. And even though Peter doesn’t directly mention it more than in just this one instance, it was commonplace, and spreading.

In the second half of chapter two, and in chapter three, Peter deals with the idea of submission, and in three areas, submission to government in verses 13-17, submission to masters in verses 18-20, and submission in our marriages, beginning in chapter 3. In today’s passage, Peter addresses the second area.

You can see this passage for yourself in 1 Peter 2:18.

This passage can lead to some confusion in our society, because Peter is talking about masters and slaves. Some of the modern translations attempt to resolve this by making it to be “servants” or “workers,” but this isn’t really the point of this passage. Such efforts weaken the meaning of the text, although the principle certainly applies. That said, the Greek word doulos can mean “servant,” but that is an infrequent use in the Bible. The meaning of the word the majority of the time is “slave.”

In the time of Peter and his initial readers, the circumstances of slavery varied enormously. While one slave may be treated with something like equality by his master, another may have much worse circumstances, and a much harder life. Many were in slavery because they were born that way, others were enslaved because of war, or because of debt. Some slaves were owned by individuals, working in a home or on a farm, others were public slaves, working in the civic arena, or even in temples to pagan gods.

The New Testament in general is focused on improving the life and circumstances of slaves, and in many cases encourages slaves to earn their freedom if possible (manumission). And if the master was a believer, such as in Paul’s letter to Philemon about the slave Onisimus, the slave faced the likelihood of a better life. But Peter is writing to people who are newly Christians, or who are living in very pagan areas influenced by Greek culture. Most of the slave owners here were probably not believers.

In the previous few verses, Peter expressed the command to be submissive to one another, and especially to the governing authorities. This is an instruction that is difficult to accept in today’s political climate, but we are called to obedience. In this week’s passage, we are given more details about what this looks like.

Read this passage on your own in 1 Peter 2:15-17.

The very first thing Peter does in this passage is explain why it is necessary. In verses 13 and 14, he gave the command to submit to the governing authorities. In verse 15, he tells us why. It is so that we can silence the talk of foolish men by our right and loving actions. In other words, our right living will prove our accusers wrong. But our own motivation in this should be proper. We do not want them to be put to shame because of a vindictive spirit, or out of revenge, bu because we want them to see God through our lives.

This is exactly what Peter wishes when he expresses that wives should be submissive to their husbands, especially if they are non-believers. It is so they “may be won over.” Our submission to the government should be for the same reasons. We want those around us to see how we live our lives for God’s sake, and we want them to respond to his will for their own lives as well.

Peter reiterates what is stated over and over throughout the New Testament. We have freedom in Christ. We can live free from the tyranny of sin in our lives. But Peter expresses a caution here: we are not to use this freedom as an excuse or a cover up for evil. We have been set free from the rule of sin, but we have accepted another Ruler. And that Ruler desires us to be submissive to human authority, unless such authority requires us to break God’s supreme law.

Peter finalizes this section with three brief commands, given under the umbrella of respect.

The next section of 1 Peter 2 begins a topic that is not at all popular in today’s political climate. Peter addresses the need to submit, and he begins with submitting to the government.

See it for yourself in 1 Peter 2:13-14.

In our own political climate, we have a hard time with this passage. Many, if not most conservatives in the church, viewed the current, and out-going, president with disdain and almost disgust. Those who are more politically liberal hold the same views and fears for the incoming president-elect. When we hear passages like this one, calling us to submit to the governing authorities, we squirm. Surely that can’t mean what it sounds like, right?

In this next section of Peter’s letter, he addresses what it looks like to live our lives as lights shining in a dark world. He writes of three different areas of our lives, the relationship we should have with the government, the relationship between slaves and masters, and the relationship between husbands and wives. He begins with the biggest institution, the government, and presents it in a very positive way.

Peter is not unaware of the persecutions his readers are facing, often with the intent of getting them to recant their faith in Christ. And he does not state here that we are to follow the evil nature of any human government, when it is contrary to the nature of God’s law. What Peter gives his readers, and us, is an overview perspective, a perspective that shows the whole idea of governing authorities is a good one, and that we should obey those authorities, and respect them.