Seeds for 05/07/2024 - 1 Peter 2:16-17
Scripture:
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, 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. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
Observation:
Freedom is the great gift of Christian faith. Freedom from sin comes to mind immediately through forgiveness and the atonement of Christ on the cross and victory over sin and death in His resurrection. Freedom from negative habits, destructive choices, toxic relationship patterns, even addictions, have been found through Christ too. Transformation is the goal of the Christian life.
To what end?
Certainly our own wholeness, healing, and joy. But more than just that. The reason we are set free from sin and all the stuff above is so that we can live for God and to benefit and bless others. Peter’s sentence in verse 17 is a nice way to express how we should put our Christian freedom to work: “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emporer.”
There’s a concise and memorable way to remember this: “Freedom from and freedom for.” Freedom from sin, shame, guilt, condemnation, and all the rest. Freedom for gifting people with respect, honor, and love. Freedom for wholeness, character, integrity, fruit of the Spirit, and participation in mission and ministry for the Lord.
Peter is saying that forgiveness and freedom from our past is not a license to live without any constraints going forward. We have freedom from some things in order to have freedom for others. What holds it all together is understanding that we will serve someone or something. It’s not about having no master, but having the right one.
Freedom from sin releases us from serving the wrong person/s, substances, causes, priorities, and all the rest. Especially from serving the person we see in the mirror. That release gives us freedom for serving the Lord. Amazingly, when we put Him first and use the freedom He provides to live for Him as our king and sovereign, we get a better deal for ourselves than we ever did putting ourselves first.
Application:
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, work your freedom deep into my soul, that I may not only experience freedom from, but also freedom for loving, serving, and honoring you and others in your name. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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