We will pray as we do so. Father, we bless you and we thank you for this day, the cooler weather, and Lord, we thank you for all those who both donated and worked, especially at the clothing giveaway over the last several weeks. We pray that you would bless their hands and their lives for their efforts on your behalf in blessing people. We pray that those who took clothing would consider The literatures that they were given consider why it is that anyone should do such a thing for them. And we pray, Lord, that you would use that clothing to help these families. Lord, thank you for the opportunity that we have to serve in this way. And we pray for your wisdom as we consider the future and things that we might do to continue to reach out into the community. Lord, we come to your word now and pray as we sang in the song that you would plant it deep in us, that we would trust you and what you have said because you are God and you have revealed what you want for us in your word. Help us to believe it, help us to act upon it. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen Well, we're continuing our study today through the section that we began last week in Peter's first epistle that deals with Christians Appropriate submission to the earthly authorities that God has ordained as part of his created order in the world so if you have your Bible with you turn to 1 Peter Chapter 2, while I remind you what we saw in that section related to submission to governmental authorities. We said there that Christians are to arrange themselves appropriately under the authorities that are ordained by God. In faith, we are to submit ourselves to human institutions as long as this does not cause us to disobey God. Verse 13. of 1 Peter chapter 2. Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority, And then he goes on, governments have been endowed by God the responsibility of enforcing justice and civil order. That is through the governors, those under the kings or the presidents or whatever your particular country might have, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to amend those who do right. God ordains then that our good behavior will muzzle the ignorant and the unbelieving. Verse 15, for it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. And so while there is freedom in Christ, we are to live as God's bondservants. Live as free people, he says in verse 16, but do not use your freedom as a coverup for evil. live as God's slaves. and we are to show then appropriate regard for everyone, honor everyone, love the brothers and sisters in Christ, have reverent awe for God, that is fear him and respect the rulers, he sums up this first section. Now in verses 18 to 20, Peter is inspired by God to move on to a second area where appropriate submission is to be shown and that is in the workplace. Our message title today is Submission to Employers. Let me read verses 18 to 20, and again we will dig in. Slaves, submit yourself to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. For it is commendable if someone bears up under this pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing what is wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. Now, before we dig into our text, we need to acknowledge the shocking word that begins this passage, and the fact that it is surprising to modern readers that the Holy Bible does not explicitly condemn slavery. Peter is only one of a number of biblical authors who address issues related to slaves and slavery And frankly, the modern reader recoils at this lack of biblical condemnation for such an institution as this, especially given our sensitivity about the subject because of the sad and sordid history of our own nation. We need to address this issue though from both a biblical and a historical perspective before we can rightly understand why it is that God deals with this subject in the way that he has in his word. And so I'll come back and I'll share our big idea, our opening thing in your little note taking sheet after we've taken this initial detour. So first we need to recognize that slavery has been practiced for virtually all of human history. It's just as simply a sad fact. Slavery has been practiced for virtually all of human history. Thomas Sowell is the Rosen Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institute. He is a brilliant African American scholar who writes on economics, history, social policy, ethnicity, and the history of ideas. And if you have not listened or read any of Thomas Sowell's works, I highly encourage you to do so. There are all kinds of videos featuring him available on YouTube. He is excellent, excellent on these sorts of issues. And he pens this, of all the tragic facts about the history of slavery, the most astonishing to an American today is that although slavery was a worldwide institution for thousands upon thousands of years, nowhere in the world was slavery a controversial issue prior to the 18th century. People of every race and color were enslaved and they enslaved others. White people were still being bought and sold as slaves in the Ottoman Empire decades after American blacks were freed. Other historians point out the fact that the people of the Balkans, the Slavs, were being enslaved by other Europeans and by Arabs for almost six centuries before the first Africans were ever brought to the Western Hemisphere. In fact, that is where we get our English word slave. It's from the Slavs. Asians have enslaved other Asians. and Africans routinely enslaved other African tribes as well. They sold them then across the ocean. Whites didn't need to enter continental Africa in order to capture slaves. Instead, they traded for them with the Africans who had conquered enslaved Africans. other tribes of their countrymen. Indigenous tribes in the Western Hemisphere also enslave people from other tribes. And all of this, my friends, falls out of the sinful human nature that permeates the heart of every single man and woman, and it has been widespread across history. Slavery was never confined exclusively to the American South as modern people who have come to be indoctrinated to believe. And I share this not to excuse the terrible stain of slavery on the history of our own American nation, but to explain why the Bible is not as anti-slavery as modern Americans might expect. In fact, there are many cases in the Bible where God gives instructions to manage sinful attitudes and behaviors that are against his will, rather than outright banning of such actions. And divorce is just one of those, as well as are these rules given regarding slavery. Well, Thomas Sowell continues in his article, everyone hated the idea of being a slave, but few had any qualms about enslaving others. Slavery was simply not an issue. Not even among intellectuals, much less among political leaders until the 18th century. And then it became an issue only in Western civilization. Among those who turned against slavery in the 18th century were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and other American leaders, although they did have slaves initially. And you can research, he writes, all of the 18th century in Africa or Asia or the Middle East without finding any comparable rejection of slavery there. Who's the ones? Singled out for scathing criticism today, he asks. Well, the American leaders of the 18th century. We need to also recognize that slavery in biblical times was not the evil, racist institution of the antebellum, the pre-war South. Why was slavery in America a particularly evil institution? Well, American slavery was based primarily on race. and there were claims of moral, intellectual, and constitutional superiority of one race over the other. Slaves in America were denied human rights, and they were denied basic dignities. There was little opportunity for them to receive education. There was often physical and sexual abuse. Slaves could not vote, nor could they own property. and they couldn't leave their owner's property without permission. There was severe punishment dished out for running away, and slaves were owned for life. Now, slavery in the first century was quite different. In fact, 25 to 40% of the Roman Empire were slaves, with as many as 50% having been former slaves. This was not based on any claims of racial superiority. There were doctors, teachers, writers, and accountants all living and serving as slaves in Roman society. Sometimes the slaves in that day were even better educated than their masters. They had the power and the status that was associated with their masters And although some of the masters were harsh, abuse was not the norm. Many were born into slavery, but others voluntarily sold themselves. It was a way to become a full Roman citizen, and slaves in that day could accumulate wealth, and in fact, selling yourself into slavery was a way to pay off large debts. Slaves could move about and congregate as they wished. They could own property, and many also even owned slaves themselves. Slavery in the ancient world was typically a stop on the path to freedom, and most slaves in the Roman world gained emancipation by the age of 30. But one of the things that especially disturbs modern readers is the fact that the Bible contains rules and speaks about physical punishments for slaves without actually condemning such behaviors in many cases. For instance, Exodus 21. 20 and 21 says, anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property. Now this freaks people out. But we need to realize that throughout human history, physical punishment to enforce compliance has been a part of slavery as long as slavery has existed. Corporal punishment has also been used in situations other than slavery. For example, physical punishments were commonly employed for crimes committed and for enforcing discipline in the military. And so we are not so far removed from the time when brutal physical punishments were administered and accepted by almost everyone everywhere as being legitimate. In the British Navy, for instance, flogging for disobedience or insubordination was common until the mid-19th century, and caning was used until the mid-20th. And in some places, such as Singapore, caning is still an official form of punishment for certain crimes. GotQuestions.org very wisely and correctly explains that Exodus 21, 20 to 21, is certainly troubling to people with modern sensitivities. Modern people in the free world have come to view autonomous personal freedom as the highest form of good, and anything that curtails personal freedom is the ultimate evil. People may be tempted to read a passage like this and charge God with moral evil. Such charges, though, have to be challenged. For slavery is not the only area where modern sensitivities and biblical guidelines clash. Abortion and homosexuality are just two others, current flashpoints. The danger on this issue, though, is that most Christians would agree that slavery is morally reprehensible. But there are two distinct approaches when we formulate an answer to why the Bible allows for slavery and physical punishment for rebellious behavior. The outcome will be determined by what a person accepts as their ultimate authority. Modern unbiblical thinking goes this way. Slavery is reprehensible in all situations. The Bible allows for slavery. Therefore, the Bible must be an unreliable moral guide. In this case, moral sensitivities of this day are the authority and the Bible is then measured against those sensibilities and is found to be wanting in the modern eye. But the second, the correct way of thinking goes something like this. The Bible is a reliable moral guide. Why? Because it is given by a God who is absolutely holy, just, righteous, and good. The Bible allows for slavery. Therefore, slavery cannot be morally reprehensible in all situations. And in all such cases, the Bible, my friends, has to be our final moral authority. Modern thinking about right and wrong here has to be adjusted to what we find in the scriptures. This is not to suggest that God necessarily approves of slavery, but he has allowed it. And he gives rules to manage humanity's sinful tendencies. And he also uses, by the way, slavery as an object lesson as to how we are to be fully committed to his cause and to his service. Throughout the scriptures, it says that we are enslaved to sin. We're not free from it until we come to faith in Jesus Christ. And when we do so, we are set free, but we become, because Jesus bought us out of that slavery to sin through his own blood, we become slaves to the Lord, bondservants to him. We become his obedient slaves. Those who, if you know your Old Testament, are taken to the doorpost and have their ear pierced because they love their master. Next, we further need to understand that rather than being merely accepting of physical punishment, the biblical regulations regarding the punishment of slaves was actually more humane than what was practiced in the surrounding nations. Biblical regulations about the punishment of slaves was more humane than what was practiced in other nations. God Questions Again states, though the Bible does not forbid slavery, nor does it demand that every slave owner who wants to please God must immediately emancipate his slaves, instead the Bible at every turn calls for a treatment of slaves that would have been more humane than found in the culture at large. The very idea that a master could be punished in any way for killing a slave, as recorded in Exodus 21 that we looked at a moment ago, would have been scandalous at the time that Moses gave the law. The culture at large made no attempt to grant slaves any rights. Slaves in Egypt or Moab, for example, were afforded no such protections. And earlier in the same chapter, the law given to Israel by God said that kidnapping for the purpose of slavery was condemned, and the death penalty was enjoined for those who did so. Exodus 21, 16, anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper's possession. And by the way, ironically, the death penalty is another such thing. area where modern people assume that their personal sensitivities are superior to God's. Well, we further need to understand that Christian principles were indeed a primary motivation for the abolition of slavery in the Western world. It was Christian principles that led to the abolition of slavery in the Western world. Christians who knew the Bible recognized that men were made in the image of God. All men were. And historians have the original working drafts of the American Declaration of Independence. The Library of Congress shows that initially the words were to be, we hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable. That was later changed, of course, to we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are sacred words. And over time, as the early American fathers worked on these national foundational documents, and as they considered the words that they were writing, they came to be convicted that slavery was inconsistent with the principles that they were laying out. And as Chuck Swindoll correctly notes, as individual hearts and lives are changed, society is often transformed as well. But we must not become confused. This is the result, not the goal of the gospel. Thomas Sowell points out in the article I quoted from earlier, deciding that slavery was wrong was much easier than deciding what to do with millions of people from another continent of another race and without historical preparation for living as free citizens in a society like that of the United States, where they were 20% of the population. He writes, it is clear from the private correspondence of Washington, Jefferson, and many others that their moral rejection of slavery was unambiguous, but the practical question of what to do next had them baffled, and it would remain so for more than half a century until the time of our Civil War. was finally answered in which one life was lost, 620,000 Civil War casualties for every six people that were freed. And he writes, maybe that was the only answer, but don't pretend today that it was an easy answer, that those who grappled with the dilemma in the 18th century were some special villains when most of the leaders and most people around the world saw absolutely nothing wrong with slavery. Many still don't. In fact, slavery is still practiced in many parts of the world today, an estimated 28 million people. are still in some form of slavery today. According to a September 2003 National Geographic article entitled 21st Century Slaves, they write, there are an estimated 27 million men and women and children in the world who are enslaved, physically confined or restrained and forced to work or controlled through violence or in some way treated as property. Therefore, there are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in the four centuries of the transatlantic slave trade. A 2022 UN report raised that number, estimated number up to 28 million and another 22 million involved in forced marriages involving usually underage girls. So the passage that we are looking at today actually still has great pertinence to any believers who find themselves living under such conditions today. The Believer's Bible Commentary correctly points out that we should remember that the Bible acknowledges the existence of institutions which it does not necessarily approve. For instance, the Old Testament records the polygamous lives of many of the patriarchs, yet polygamy was never God's will for his people. God has never approved of the injustices and the cruelties of slavery and he will hold the masters responsible for the evils that they have committed in a coming judgment day. Please hear that. God has never approved of these injustices and he will hold these masters accountable one day at the judgment day. But at the same time, the New Testament does not advocate the overthrow of slavery by forcible revolution. Rather, it condemns and removes the abuses of slavery by the power of the gospel. And history shows that the evils of slavery have disappeared wherever the word of God has been widely preached and taught. While slavery still exists, a slave is not excluded from being the very best witness to Christianity that they can be. And by their behavior, they can be an example of the transforming power of Christ, and thereby adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. In other words, Christianity has never been meant to transform societal conditions, but rather meant to transform individual hearts. Now, just because Peter here is addressing first century slaves in this letter, we shouldn't just automatically assume then that there's no contemporary relevance for us today. Indeed, if these are God's instructions for those who are held in a slave-master relationship, how much more do they have to be applied to those who have the freedom to change their employment situation? So our big idea is simply this today. Christians should be the most compliant employees in the workplace. Christians should be the most compliant employees in their workplace. Over the years, I've heard several preachers say that Christians should always be the best employees in their workplaces. I don't believe that that's a fair standard. I don't believe that's a decent goal. It's unreasonable to expect that every Christian is going to be the best employee there is, because every person has different aptitudes and different capabilities. And just because someone has come to faith in Christ, that doesn't mean that suddenly they'll become the fastest and most accurate typist in the steno pool, or the neatest painter, or the most smooth drywaller, or whatever. Other people may well be better than you at the same job, but as Christians we should be the most willing, we should be the least troublemaking, we should be the most honest, the most conscientious and compliant workers in our place of employment. And this is a key instruction in our passage today. In faith, we are to obey our employers, once again with the caveat, as long as they are not asking us to do something that is illegal or immoral. Christians are to, by faith, obey our employers as long as they are not asking us to do something illegal or immoral. Okay, we get finally to verse 18. Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect. Verse 18 says in the NIV that is directed to slaves. The original Greek word here actually for the workman in question is actually oiketes. It's a domestic house worker. Oikates is frequently translated into our modern English versions as servants, and as I said, in other Bible versions, as slaves. The terms oikates and doulos, that's typically translated as slave or bond servant, were used virtually interchangeably in that day. Domestic house servants in the Roman world were almost invariably slaves. Wayne Grudem explains, most slaves in the first century were no longer people captured through war or kidnapping. They'd either simply been born into slave households, or they were those who had voluntarily sold themselves into indentured servitude to pay off a debt. Their legal status and social standing were clearly lower than others in Roman society. So a word stronger than servant but weaker than slave is needed. Something meaning semi-permanent employee without legal or economic freedom. Though servant comes closest, no single English word is adequate, perhaps because no comparable institution exists in modern Western society. Therefore, even though there's no exact parallel to such servant status in modern society, the fact that this was by far the most common form of employee employer relationship in the ancient world, and that it encompassed a broad range of different kinds of workers, means that the application of Peter's directives to modern employees is in fact a very appropriate one. So the word that's translated as submit is the same one that we saw last week in the context of government. It's from the Greek hupotasso. means to be arranged correctly under the authority of another person. And remember we said that hupotasso was a Greek military term that spoke of arranging troop divisions in a military fashion under the command of a leader. Non-military use, it was a voluntary attitude of giving in, of cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden. So Christians are to submit ourselves to the authority of our employers. In the Greek, our despotes, our masters, our despots is where we get that word from. While Peter's inspired instruction is to those who may not freely leave their situation, the application for many of us who may is If we choose to remain in a workplace, we are to respect and obey the authorities that God has allowed to be there. The word translated here as respect is actually phobos or fear, the same word that's used in verse 17 in relationship to God, fear God. So while many interpreters see the meaning here that believers are to have a healthy fear of displeasing our employers, which is certainly true enough, others think though the word is too strong to be applied to other people. And as a result, they believe we submit and obey our employers out of fear and reverence for God. And that too is certainly true. It's why the most recent version of the NIV, the revision, renders the first half of that verse, slaves in reverent fear of God, submit yourselves to your masters. And these interpreters would likely point to Paul's similar inspired instructions to the Colossians. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, and do it not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and in reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as though you are working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ that you are serving. To the Ephesians, he writes similarly, slaves obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them, not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. The Believer's Bible Commentary wisely argues that it is for the servant's own good to submit to his master, otherwise he would not have employment, but it is much more important for a Christian to submit. more than his or her paycheck is involved. His testimony depends upon it. That's why Paul wrote to Timothy, all who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves. So we are to consider our master, our Ba'ath, worthy of full respect, even if they are not. But the caveat that applied, as we said, to our submission to government also applies in the workplace as well. We're to submit ourselves to the direction of our employers as long as those orders do not instruct us to disobey the word of God or the law of the land. As we said last time, if our bosses order us to do something that we know to be illegal or unethical, then we need to do what is right by obeying God rather than the man or woman in authority who wants us to do wrong. And then we accept the consequences of that disobedience. For instance, a Christian accountant might be asked by his boss to cook the books or to destroy evidence of some financial wrongdoing. A Christian simply cannot comply with such orders. Maybe a Christian nurse might find that the doctor that they work for has suddenly decided they want to begin to provide elective abortions. as a way to make more money. Well a Christian would have to find another place of employment because we know from the Bible that the taking of innocent human life is evil in God's eyes. Even though the laws of our land in many places say that it is legal to do so. One place where resistance though to employer's direction gets tricky is in the area of workplace evangelism. Because Christians do need to recognize that they are being paid to do a job. So to stop working while you're on the clock in order to share Christ is essentially stealing from your employer. Now perhaps you can share at lunchtime, or if your employer has rules against proselytizing on their property. then I believe that that is something you need to obey. They can't tell us to never share Christ with others, but they can tell us not to do so on their time or in their facilities. So in that case, you would try to develop good relationships with your coworkers. and perhaps invite them out to lunch, go to another property, go to breakfast beforehand, find some other activity that you enjoy doing in order that you might have the opportunity to share about Christ. But because your boss essentially owns you during that time, you gotta be careful because you bring disrepute if you disobey for this sake. because Peter is inspired to go on that our employer's demeanor should not impact our behavior. Our employer's demeanor should not impact our behavior. Look at the second half in the verse 18. We are to do this, we are to obey, respect, submit, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh, okay? It is fairly easy for anyone to work under a boss who is agathos in the Greek, one who is good, who is pleasant, agreeable, excellent, distinguished, upright, and honorable, that's the meaning of the word agathos, as well as those who are epikes. who are considerate, equitable, fair, mild, and gentle. Even non-Christians can find it easy to work for such a boss, although in fact they might well tend to take advantage of such a softy. Christians should respect such bosses and be grateful to God for such a good situation. But Peter goes on that we are to submit to the authority of even those who are harsh. or in some versions perverse or unreasonable. The Greek word is actually scolios. It means crooked or twisted. Doctors use this as a medical term from this word, scoliosis, meaning one with a curved or a crooked spine. In this context, then, we would be talking about a boss who has a demeanor that is rude or demanding, and we could very well also be talking about his or her moral character. A dishonest boss who might cheat the customer or even his employees. Now, in the Old Testament, Jacob, though initially no particular model of righteousness himself, found when dealing with his future father-in-law that the man had cheated him in a number of ways. First, by tricking him into marrying the older daughter, Leah, instead of the daughter whom Jacob loved, Rachel. He had worked for seven years to receive her, and on their wedding night, she was sent in with a veil by her father because she was the older and she had to be married off first. Well, and Jacob worked for Laban for an additional seven years in order to receive the hand of Rachel as well, but chapter 31 of Genesis, we learn that Laban continued to deal unfairly with Jacob. He said to her, you know I've worked for your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages 10 times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. If he said the speckled ones will be your wages, then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young. And if he said the streaked ones will be your wages, then all the flocks that bore streaked young. So God has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me. But in all this, Jacob trusted God. He worked with all his strength and he did not retaliate, he did not seek revenge, and God, as we see from Jacob's word, blessed him for his faith and trust. Paul writing to the Philippians argued that Christians in general should do everything without grumbling or complaining, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked, a scolios, and depraved generation, and then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. These sorts of situations give the Christian the opportunity to have a bright witness in a dark place. Peter continues telling us that God finds favor with those who endure unfair afflictions because they seek to obey Him. Look at verse 19. For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. The word translated here is commendable or in other versions as finds favor or thanks worthy. It's not just a general concept. It's actually a word form of the Greek charis. which means the blessing of God, grace. God is pleased and he blesses when someone continues to stand up under both the physical and especially the emotional pain and sorrow of unfair and undeserved treatment. And there's a final clause here, though, that explains why it is that God blesses. We don't just stand up stoically in our own strength, but rather the Lord blesses us when we bear the pain and sorrow of unfair treatment because we're aware and trusting him to be in charge. we trust because he for some good reason some good purpose has allowed this difficulty this sorrow this pain into our lives even though we might not understand the precise region for a good long time maybe not until even we get to heaven. God sheds his grace on those who trust his sovereignty in allowing pain and difficulties into our lives. And this is especially true for those who are unable to change their life situation. As the Believer's Bible commentary explains, when we meekly endure unjust treatment, we display Christ. And this supernatural life gains God's well done. He is our ultimate example in such situations. We'll see that next week. But he laid out a remarkably difficult standard for we who follow him in one of his discourses. He said, if you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? even sinners love those who love them and if you do good to those who are good to you what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. If you lend from those whom you expect repayment what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies. Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great. And you will be children of the Most High because he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful. That's a hard saying, Jesus. Many turned back when he said things like this. But if we want to receive the grace of God, we need to hear and obey. We are blessed with God's grace when we bear up under unjust suffering because we look to him who did the same thing for us. King David of Israel wrote this in Psalm 26. Test me, Lord, and try me. Examine my heart and my mind, for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness. Edmund Clowney writes, if Christians bear the evil done against them patiently because they are mindful of God, they've broken the chains of bondage in the power of the Lord. They show their confidence in God's justice. They need not avenge themselves for wrongs done to them. They also show that their service is not really forced, but voluntary. And they are willing to serve their master for the Lord's sake, even to honor him for the Lord's sake. Their master cannot truly enslave them, for they are Christ's slaves. He cannot humiliate them, for they have already humbled themselves in willing subjugation to the Lord. This is one reason why Jesus told his readers that God was using his grace, excuse me, why James told his readers that God was using his grace to allow suffering to produce good things in their lives. James 1, 2 to 4, consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. So let perseverance finish its work so that you may become mature and complete, not lacking anything. And Paul admonished the Romans, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. We should thank God that we are blessed as free men and free women that if our work situation is intolerable to us and we simply find that we cannot bear up under it, we have the liberty to look for another situation, a better situation. but we should very prayerfully consider if God is using us in that difficult situation or if God is using that painful situation to do a work in us before we rush to move on and out of that place. God uses these things like a refiner's fire to burn the dross out of our lives. Next we see that Christians should not deserve punishment for wrongdoing in the workplace. This is the first part of verse 20. How is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? Well, there's absolutely nothing praiseworthy. There's nothing honorable about you if you are being punished for missing or wandering from the path of uprightness and honor. That's the common Greek word hamartano. It means to do or to go wrong. Hamartano is translated often as sin or sinning. Even if you endure such punishment from your boss, you're only getting your just desserts. The second thief that was hanging out there on the cross with Jesus said to the first, don't you fear God since you are under the same sins? We are being punished justly for we are getting what our deeds deserve. This man, Jesus, has done nothing wrong and we are to be like him. Sin has consequences, friends. And God does not bless us when we sin. And he often uses the consequences as motivation for us to get our acts back together and get our lives back on track. But if you are mistreated because you have done good, you will find favor with God. If you're mistreated because you have done good, you will find favor with God. Last half of verse 20, if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. It's not certain here whether Peter means this doing good is just the general concept of any sort of good. or whether he's thinking about the consequences one might receive for refusing to do wrong because one wants to obey God rather than a crooked employer. Most commentators seem to think it's likely both of these. But the beginning phrase in verse 19 and the final in verse 20 form what is known as an inclusio. It's a literary framing device that repeats a key word, a phrase, or similar groups of words or themes at the beginning and the end of a section of text. The repeated language forms a bracket like bookends or a pocket of thought like an envelope. It is commendable, that is, it is a blessing or a grace from God if we should suffer as a result of doing good because we are devoted to and are trusting the Lord. And the author of Hebrews assures us that we should endure hardships as discipline. because God is treating us as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? And if we're not disciplined and everyone undergoes discipline, then you're not legitimate, you're illegitimate children, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we've had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. Well, how much more then should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a little while as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. The Believer's Bible Commentary suggests that suffering patiently for well-doing is so unnatural, it is so otherworldly that it may well shock people into the conviction of their own sins and hopefully into belief in salvation. John MacArthur summarized this section of scripture. It is more important to God that those who are citizens of heaven display a faithful testimony marked by spiritual integrity than that they strive to attain all their perceived rights in this world. It is more important to God for believers to uphold the credibility of the gospel power than it is to obtain a raise or a promotion in their vocation. It's ultimately far more important to God that believers demonstrate their submission to his sovereignty in every area of life than that they protest against problems in their workplace. And whenever believers encounter trials on the job, they ought to view them as opportunities for spiritual growth and evangelism. The chief reason that God allows believers to remain in this world is so that he might use us to win the lost and thereby bring glory to his name. Those who suffer with the right attitude will be blessed in this life and will be honored later when they finally stand in the Lord's presence. Amen? Let's pray. Lord, once again, your words are hard, difficult for us to understand and accept. And yet, we know that because you are a good God, a holy God, a righteous God, All these things are indeed true, for you have revealed them in your word. Help us to accept them and help us to live them, that we might glorify you in all that we do. For we pray this.