1 Peter 2:18-25 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the fraudulent.… As the sun extracts no sweeter odors than when its rays fall on the tiny lily of the valley or the modest violet, so the truth of Christ never fills the air with more fragrance than when, as here, it is addressed to men and women of lowly station and occupation - to "bondmen." I. THE DUTY OF THE CHRISTIAN AS A SERVANT. "Be in subjection." Obedience is the essential virtue of servitude. Fulfill commands. Discharge tasks. "With all fear." Not terror, but proper awe. The craven is not the product of Christianity, but the respectful man is. Widen the application to all employed. How this teaching oils the wheels of the social machine! II. THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN AS A SUFFERING SERVANT. There is no one-sided view of social duty here. It is implied: 1. Difficulties often arise from the character of employers. There is an exquisite ideal for masters here - "good and gentle. But many a servant "endureth griefs, suffering wrongfully." Some masters are "froward," i.e. like a crooked stick you do not know how to hold. Some are rough. Their servants are buffeted - tongue, fist, temper, strike. 2. Such difficulties, when rightly met, bring honor and Divine praise. This leads to - III. THE DIGNITY OF THE CHRISTIAN AS A SUFFERING SERVANT. 1. Dignity, inasmuch as a suffering servant may resemble the blessed Savior. Follow his steps who was (1) perfect, yet wronged; (2) reviled, yet unreviling; (3) suffering, yet not vindictive. 2. Dignity, because inasmuch as for our salvation our Lord became a suffering Servant. Burdened, we are relieved by him; dead, we are quickened by him; diseased, we are healed by him; wandering, we are restored by him; and that by his being burdened and dying. - U.R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. |
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