WEBVTT 00:00:00.900 --> 00:00:12.120 Father, we come before you as your children by grace, as resident aliens in Ottawa in 2024. 00:00:13.660 --> 00:00:20.699 And yet, at the same time, Lord, we struggle to live lives worthy of our calling. 00:00:20.699 --> 00:00:30.839 We find, at times, that it is much more appealing to be citizens, true citizens of Ottawa than true citizens of heaven. 00:00:31.979 --> 00:00:37.280 And Lord, we need your help. We need your help to live the way that you have called us to live. 00:00:38.019 --> 00:00:40.500 And Lord, thanks be to you that you know us. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:47.039 You know how we are made up, and therefore you give us your Holy Spirit, and you give us direction in your word, 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:50.379 and you trust, so that we can trust you. 00:00:51.420 --> 00:00:53.679 So Lord, help us to be people of faith this morning. 00:00:54.780 --> 00:01:01.700 And even if that faith is just a mustard seed, Lord, we are reminded that that is still faith in you. 00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:07.799 And not in our own ability, but in your ability, and what you have done, and in your character. 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:12.439 So Lord, we ask your blessing as we come under your word this morning. 00:01:13.099 --> 00:01:16.620 We pray this as Christ's people. Amen. 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:17.540 Amen. 00:01:19.660 --> 00:01:22.320 Freedom is an interesting concept. 00:01:22.580 --> 00:01:25.980 It's something that we value here in the West, and rightfully so. 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.400 It's a bedrock of our society. 00:01:30.440 --> 00:01:33.719 The very concept is seen universally as good. 00:01:35.660 --> 00:01:38.340 But freedom is a bit difficult to define. 00:01:38.900 --> 00:01:41.760 I mean, we can all affirm what freedom is not. 00:01:43.180 --> 00:01:46.580 I mean, in general, I think it's easier to define things by what they're not than what they are. 00:01:46.579 --> 00:01:53.400 But for freedom itself, freedom certainly means not being enslaved. 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:59.539 People ought to be free, not owned by another human. 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:04.719 But surely there's more to freedom than just not being owned by another individual. 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:11.840 In the 1980s, the slogan, Freedom 55 became a thing in Canada. 00:02:11.939 --> 00:02:14.479 I don't know if it was in the States, but in Canada it was a big thing. 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:17.340 It was the retirement buzzword. 00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:23.520 Freedom from work, as if a society was full of indentured slaves. 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:28.240 Work, evil, freedom, good. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:29.860 But then what? 00:02:31.980 --> 00:02:32.860 Freedom 55. 00:02:33.100 --> 00:02:34.780 But what is freedom at 55? 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:42.680 Interesting, a lot of literature, and even today, there's a lot of depression that happens 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:45.200 once people hit the retirement age. 00:02:45.300 --> 00:02:46.640 They're not sure what to do with themselves. 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:47.980 They have all this freedom. 00:02:49.060 --> 00:02:49.820 But what's freedom? 00:02:49.819 --> 00:02:57.019 Interestingly, there's a whole growing industry, maybe I shouldn't call it an industry, cottage 00:02:57.019 --> 00:02:59.659 industry, of retirement coaches. 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:02.819 How do we retire? 00:03:02.959 --> 00:03:04.419 How do we enjoy our freedom? 00:03:05.699 --> 00:03:12.599 We have an idea of what freedom should be from, but not what freedom should be for. 00:03:13.259 --> 00:03:15.659 And that difference is monumental. 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:16.560 It's huge. 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:25.060 In 1 Peter, in the previous section, Peter beautifully articulates to the Church the realities 00:03:25.060 --> 00:03:26.740 of our salvation in Christ. 00:03:26.860 --> 00:03:30.060 We are a chosen race, a holy priesthood. 00:03:30.699 --> 00:03:33.500 We are a blessed people, recipients of God's mercy. 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:41.300 Whatever lineage we had before we were saved, whether it was great in the world's eyes or 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:45.659 not great, we now had a new lineage in Christ. 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:52.099 We are inheritors of all the promises and privileges that belong to the people of God. 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:54.199 We are united to Christ. 00:03:54.699 --> 00:03:55.900 We looked at that last week. 00:03:56.819 --> 00:04:05.199 We are truly free from the previous life of slavery to sin, slavery to shame, slavery to 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:05.920 futility. 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:11.679 But now Peter turns to what we are freed for. 00:04:12.679 --> 00:04:14.839 What is our freedom for in Christ? 00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:23.600 In short, we don't have a ton of time to define holiness, so I'll try to put just a couple sentences 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:25.840 together just to give us some grounding in it. 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:27.459 But we are freed for holiness. 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:39.439 And when I say holiness, I don't mean perfect, instantaneously glorified people, but people 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:43.860 that are set apart by God for God, growing to be like God. 00:04:45.860 --> 00:04:53.199 When we come to freedom in Christ, we are bound to our calling in Christ. 00:04:53.980 --> 00:04:57.180 And this is what holiness looks like, and this is what holiness is. 00:04:57.180 --> 00:05:02.819 So when we are freed, we are not entitled to live any way that we please. 00:05:04.060 --> 00:05:08.340 But Peter tells us we are to conduct our lives that are worthy of our call. 00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:11.000 We are called to proclaim the gospel. 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:16.699 So we are freed only to become slaves, interestingly. 00:05:17.379 --> 00:05:20.980 The Bible makes all sorts of, it seems like contradictions. 00:05:20.980 --> 00:05:29.340 The call it for peace at the end of morning prayer, I think, summarizes this beautifully. 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:32.400 It says, service to you is perfect freedom. 00:05:32.580 --> 00:05:34.280 Slavery to God is perfect freedom. 00:05:34.660 --> 00:05:37.259 So we are freed only to become slaves. 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:41.840 But in our slavery to God and our call to holiness, we are free people. 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:48.500 And this is what Peter will explain to us from scripture this morning. 00:05:48.500 --> 00:05:54.139 So our text is going to help us to understand that the only true freedom we have is found in Christ. 00:05:54.819 --> 00:05:57.040 And it's always for Christ. 00:05:58.100 --> 00:06:05.100 So we understand this teaching of Christian freedom as living honorably. 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:07.360 So I've broken this text up into four parts. 00:06:07.620 --> 00:06:09.100 First part, living honorably. 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:11.819 The second is submitting willingly. 00:06:13.379 --> 00:06:15.060 Suffering faithfully is the third. 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:19.040 And finally, following the example of the good shepherd, Christ himself. 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:22.780 So if you have a Bible, turn with me to verses 11 and 12. 00:06:22.939 --> 00:06:25.399 I think we don't have any Bibles left, which is great. 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:27.220 In the back, maybe we should pick up a few more. 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:28.899 But follow along if you can. 00:06:29.780 --> 00:06:32.500 And we're going to just jump right into it. 00:06:32.540 --> 00:06:33.600 So let's look at verse 11. 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:39.300 Second, 1 Peter 2, starting in verse 11. 00:06:39.300 --> 00:07:06.199 Peter is constantly reminding us in his letter that we are resident aliens. 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:07.460 You are sojourners. 00:07:07.459 --> 00:07:12.639 You are citizens of heaven, even though you are citizens here on earth. 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:20.479 Our status is something like a permanent residence here, as we'd understand it in Canada. 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:27.959 I mean, not quite, but if that helps us understand that we're here in the land, but we're not really of the land. 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:37.599 The reminder of our status in the preceding section is critical as we enter into this section. 00:07:38.139 --> 00:07:49.740 As Peter reminds us again in verse 11, because truly it's very difficult to swim against the flow of water, against the current. 00:07:49.740 --> 00:07:57.819 It is very difficult to breathe in Roman air in the first century and not become Roman. 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:07.980 To breathe in Ottawa air in 2024 and not think and act as people from Ottawa. 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:10.560 And the reason is this. 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:16.200 Sin and evil have tarnished and made bent what God created and declared to be good. 00:08:16.819 --> 00:08:19.900 This is what we understand as the fall or original sin. 00:08:20.400 --> 00:08:28.540 And the pervasiveness of this sin, it has so permeated our human existence and all of the created order 00:08:28.540 --> 00:08:34.320 that the interior of our human lives are bent and tarnished as well. 00:08:34.539 --> 00:08:38.500 So our desires, our thoughts, our wills, they become corrupted. 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:47.000 But when Christ saved us, forgiving our sins, giving us the Holy Spirit, the power of sin's corruption was broken. 00:08:47.340 --> 00:08:49.820 No longer are we now slaves to sin. 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:53.220 But do we transform overnight? 00:08:53.220 --> 00:09:00.200 Tonight, I mean, some of us have come to faith as adults, others maybe as children. 00:09:00.660 --> 00:09:02.820 Some, you don't really know when you've come to faith. 00:09:02.940 --> 00:09:08.100 But for those of us that can remember like a day that you came to faith, 00:09:08.660 --> 00:09:14.680 the next day you still drove the same car, you still ate the same food, you lived in the same house, 00:09:14.759 --> 00:09:19.779 you had the same friends, you had the same hang-ups, the same quirks. 00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:24.220 Everything about you was, in a sense, the same. 00:09:25.579 --> 00:09:28.699 There was no instantaneous transformation. 00:09:30.059 --> 00:09:30.799 You were the same. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.579 Except you weren't, because your status has changed forever. 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.500 Your citizenship transferred to heaven, no longer as slaves. 00:09:40.539 --> 00:09:41.899 And yet, you were free people. 00:09:42.039 --> 00:09:46.480 And yet, all so easily we fall, you can remember this, 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:50.460 you know, you maybe have two, three weeks after you come to faith, 00:09:50.539 --> 00:09:54.080 you are zealous, you are jacked up, my life is fantastic. 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:57.860 And then you find yourself going back into your previous life. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:00.539 Or you've been a Christian for decades, 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:05.899 and you go back to habitual sin, 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:08.899 sin that you just can't shake time and again, 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:12.300 as if it was the slave owner. 00:10:12.299 --> 00:10:15.139 And you can't, even though you're free, 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:19.039 and the cell door is open, 00:10:19.659 --> 00:10:21.459 you find yourself in the cell. 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:30.479 That's why Peter is very honest and real with the church in Asia Minor that he's writing to. 00:10:30.859 --> 00:10:33.039 He says you have to wage war against the flesh. 00:10:33.479 --> 00:10:34.000 You have to. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:41.240 This isn't like a situation where you get your citizenship transferred, 00:10:41.659 --> 00:10:42.919 and things are hunky-dory. 00:10:43.100 --> 00:10:44.419 It is a grind. 00:10:44.679 --> 00:10:45.340 It is tough. 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:46.179 It is a battle. 00:10:46.860 --> 00:10:50.379 It is a war that you have to wage against your passions, 00:10:51.100 --> 00:10:53.500 because your passions are still bent. 00:10:53.860 --> 00:10:54.799 They're still corrupted. 00:10:55.220 --> 00:10:56.299 They're still tarnished. 00:10:57.080 --> 00:10:59.220 Your propensity to sin is still there. 00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:03.399 The difference is you have the Holy Spirit that helps you to say no. 00:11:06.300 --> 00:11:13.620 So what Peter isn't saying here is that the Christian life is a life of pure austerity and deprivation 00:11:13.620 --> 00:11:17.080 every minute of your life. 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:19.860 Food and drink are gifts from God. 00:11:21.220 --> 00:11:22.420 Sorry, back up a bit. 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:24.320 He's not saying it's austerity and deprivation. 00:11:24.620 --> 00:11:27.500 He's saying the abuse of good things, 00:11:27.740 --> 00:11:28.600 that's the problem. 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:30.680 So food and drink, gifts from God. 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:34.620 When you abuse food and drink, it is called gluttony. 00:11:35.800 --> 00:11:43.540 Sex within a monogamous, heterosexual, covenantal marriage is a beautiful gift from God. 00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:52.180 When it's abused, when it's engaged in outside of that covenant marriage, 00:11:52.560 --> 00:11:54.740 it ceases to be a beautiful thing. 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:56.240 It becomes tarnished. 00:11:56.240 --> 00:12:02.840 When we have these God-given emotions that are wonderful, 00:12:02.980 --> 00:12:05.460 but we are not in control of them anymore, 00:12:05.820 --> 00:12:07.639 and we lash out, we're angry, 00:12:07.820 --> 00:12:13.019 or we can give ourselves over to bouts of self-pity. 00:12:13.139 --> 00:12:16.580 And I'm not talking about legitimate depression, 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:18.500 but self-pity. 00:12:19.700 --> 00:12:24.900 Whatever it may be, emotions, if they are not controlled with self-control, 00:12:25.320 --> 00:12:26.820 they become a problem. 00:12:28.259 --> 00:12:33.560 You see, when Peter here is saying in verse 11 and 12, 00:12:34.220 --> 00:12:36.400 to abstain from the passions of the flesh, 00:12:36.920 --> 00:12:39.200 he is recognizing that when we come to faith, 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:44.120 it's not an instantaneous transition. 00:12:44.340 --> 00:12:46.060 We don't transform into perfect people. 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:51.720 We need to, by God's help, wage war against our flesh. 00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:55.640 St. Augustine will talk about this as disordered desires. 00:12:56.580 --> 00:12:57.879 I think that's very helpful because 00:12:57.879 --> 00:13:02.580 God has created everything good and everything perfect, 00:13:03.100 --> 00:13:04.519 and because he is perfect, 00:13:04.700 --> 00:13:07.000 God cannot create evil. 00:13:07.700 --> 00:13:10.059 It's, say, nothing's impossible for God. 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:12.740 It's true, except evil. 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:15.759 God can't do evil. 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:19.379 There's, God has an inability to do evil. 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:21.980 So whenever we see evil in the world, 00:13:22.100 --> 00:13:24.899 it is not God who has orchestrated it and created it 00:13:24.899 --> 00:13:26.299 and let it loose on society. 00:13:26.919 --> 00:13:29.240 We, through our own sinful nature, 00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:32.080 through a real enemy in the devil 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:33.779 and in the spirit of the age, 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:36.059 it takes what is good and demends it 00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:38.679 and bends it and tarnishes it. 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:42.360 And that includes our desires. 00:13:45.940 --> 00:13:49.120 Peter is calling us to self-controlled and honorable living. 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:52.840 And to recognize that our desires are disordered. 00:13:53.340 --> 00:13:55.799 But thanks be to God, by his spirit, 00:13:56.179 --> 00:13:59.159 we do not have to be slaves to our disordered desires. 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:02.019 But it's not just for ourselves 00:14:02.019 --> 00:14:05.240 that this call of living honorably is for. 00:14:05.559 --> 00:14:07.519 If you look with me again at verse 12, 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:08.139 what does it say? 00:14:08.139 --> 00:14:13.519 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:17.279 so that when they speak against you as evildoers, 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:19.320 they may see your good deeds and glorify God 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:21.420 on the day of visitation. 00:14:23.180 --> 00:14:28.620 Growing up, I was told like multiple times a week, 00:14:28.700 --> 00:14:29.340 maybe a day, 00:14:29.740 --> 00:14:32.060 that every decision has a consequence. 00:14:33.180 --> 00:14:34.980 Consequence, in my mind, was a bad word 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:36.960 because a lot of my decisions weren't great, 00:14:37.040 --> 00:14:38.200 so they had bad consequences. 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:43.060 But it was hammered into my young life. 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:47.840 How much it sunk into 12-year-old Daniel is debatable. 00:14:48.300 --> 00:14:48.840 But it's true. 00:14:49.920 --> 00:14:51.460 Every decision has a consequence. 00:14:51.460 --> 00:14:54.879 What we do has ramifications. 00:14:55.220 --> 00:14:57.800 And what we do also is observed by others, 00:14:58.800 --> 00:15:00.879 especially non-Christians, 00:15:00.980 --> 00:15:01.920 for good or for ill. 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:05.600 Peter here is saying, 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:08.360 listen, your conduct needs to be honorable 00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:10.220 because other people are watching you. 00:15:10.220 --> 00:15:12.500 And you represent Christ. 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:17.600 So honor Christ in your lives for the sake of others. 00:15:20.019 --> 00:15:22.019 Claiming Christ and living selfishly 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:23.560 and enslaved to our passions, 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:25.139 it's hypocrisy. 00:15:25.820 --> 00:15:27.700 And we fall into it all the time. 00:15:27.899 --> 00:15:30.820 So again, it might feel like this is heavy, 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:32.639 but this is beautiful truth 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:34.300 that helps us to live as free people. 00:15:34.299 --> 00:15:37.439 But if we live hypocritical lives, 00:15:37.539 --> 00:15:39.379 the people around us notice this. 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:42.319 The Christian ethic we are to live out 00:15:42.319 --> 00:15:43.299 must be done authentically. 00:15:44.219 --> 00:15:46.199 And it's wonderful that the scriptures 00:15:46.199 --> 00:15:49.539 put such a high value on authentic living. 00:15:50.079 --> 00:15:52.799 It matters what you do when nobody sees you do it. 00:15:53.500 --> 00:15:53.899 Why? 00:15:54.439 --> 00:15:56.319 I mean, because that's integral, 00:15:56.459 --> 00:15:58.299 but also because what you do in secret 00:15:58.299 --> 00:16:00.120 can't be contained in secret. 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:02.679 You can't put a mask on for very long. 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:05.659 What happens on the inside 00:16:05.659 --> 00:16:09.879 will undoubtedly come to bear on the outside. 00:16:11.079 --> 00:16:13.839 So the call is to live honorably. 00:16:15.139 --> 00:16:16.159 For non-believers, 00:16:16.659 --> 00:16:18.939 the Christian life can either seem 00:16:18.939 --> 00:16:21.500 like the most beautiful way of life 00:16:21.500 --> 00:16:24.719 or it looks hideous and self-righteous 00:16:24.719 --> 00:16:27.259 and purely hypocritical. 00:16:29.379 --> 00:16:31.279 I'm not saying that people 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:32.579 will either come to faith 00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:33.680 or not come to faith 00:16:33.680 --> 00:16:35.600 solely based on what we do. 00:16:35.660 --> 00:16:37.720 But God draws people 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:38.960 through his church, 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:39.960 by his spirit. 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:41.520 So what we do matters. 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:44.340 Last year, 00:16:44.700 --> 00:16:46.480 when I was overseas 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:47.940 for my father's memorial, 00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:48.879 I was bombing around 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:50.320 the day before I left 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:51.580 with my cousin and her husband. 00:16:52.060 --> 00:16:53.540 I have a man crush 00:16:53.540 --> 00:16:54.460 on my cousin's husband. 00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:56.220 He's, I don't know, 00:16:56.220 --> 00:16:57.160 he's just a great guy. 00:16:57.360 --> 00:16:58.640 He's huge, 00:16:58.639 --> 00:16:59.779 like he is a brick house 00:16:59.779 --> 00:17:02.319 and he's just a cool guy. 00:17:02.379 --> 00:17:03.639 Anyways, we're driving around 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:05.740 and we're talking about faith 00:17:05.740 --> 00:17:07.119 and a bit of a shock 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:07.740 that I'm a Christian, 00:17:07.940 --> 00:17:09.160 but that's kind of worn off now. 00:17:09.220 --> 00:17:10.420 So they asked me a lot of questions 00:17:10.420 --> 00:17:11.539 when we talk. 00:17:12.579 --> 00:17:13.359 And interestingly, 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:17.759 when we were driving around, 00:17:17.859 --> 00:17:18.339 he said, 00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:20.259 I like the Christian faith. 00:17:21.579 --> 00:17:22.959 And then he went on 00:17:22.959 --> 00:17:24.019 to talk about how 00:17:24.019 --> 00:17:26.339 he loves home and garden shows 00:17:26.339 --> 00:17:28.879 and how he loves 00:17:28.879 --> 00:17:29.919 those home and garden shows 00:17:29.919 --> 00:17:31.459 where the family is moved out 00:17:31.459 --> 00:17:33.139 and a whole crew comes 00:17:33.139 --> 00:17:35.339 and completely renovates their home, 00:17:35.539 --> 00:17:36.039 paints it, 00:17:36.099 --> 00:17:36.759 makes it beautiful. 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:37.980 Then they have that big wall 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:39.000 and they wheel it out 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:40.079 and the people are crying 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:41.099 and it's a giant gift. 00:17:41.740 --> 00:17:42.139 And he, 00:17:42.379 --> 00:17:42.959 in his mind, 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:43.919 that is Christianity. 00:17:45.639 --> 00:17:47.559 That is a beautiful picture. 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:49.220 I was taken back 00:17:49.220 --> 00:17:50.000 and I thought about it after. 00:17:50.099 --> 00:17:50.399 I was like, 00:17:50.859 --> 00:17:52.159 man, that is like 00:17:52.159 --> 00:17:53.759 a wonderful picture 00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:54.899 and it gets me a bit emotional 00:17:54.899 --> 00:17:56.220 because I think my family 00:17:56.220 --> 00:17:57.220 in some respects, 00:17:58.159 --> 00:17:58.960 my faith is like, 00:17:59.139 --> 00:18:01.099 maybe like that 00:18:01.099 --> 00:18:01.799 when it comes to them 00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:02.440 coming to faith. 00:18:03.059 --> 00:18:04.460 But how wonderful it is 00:18:04.460 --> 00:18:05.980 that good deeds, 00:18:06.179 --> 00:18:07.079 honorable living, 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:09.079 testify to unbelievers 00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:11.000 of what the grace of God looks like. 00:18:13.220 --> 00:18:14.359 What we do matters. 00:18:15.159 --> 00:18:16.519 Our behavior is being watched. 00:18:16.519 --> 00:18:18.539 Much more than we know. 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:21.279 So the call is to live honorably 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:22.940 so that God is glorified 00:18:22.940 --> 00:18:25.420 and that people come to faith. 00:18:25.500 --> 00:18:25.960 And by the way, 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:27.279 if they don't come to faith, 00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:28.220 interesting, 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:29.079 verse 12 here 00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:29.879 has this little bit. 00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:33.700 So that when they speak against you 00:18:33.700 --> 00:18:34.759 as evildoers, 00:18:35.539 --> 00:18:36.559 it's this slander, 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:37.220 false witness, 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:38.519 they may see your good deeds 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:39.299 and glorify God 00:18:39.299 --> 00:18:41.039 on the day of visitation. 00:18:41.099 --> 00:18:41.960 Our hope is that people 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:43.539 come to faith in this life. 00:18:43.539 --> 00:18:45.759 But the day of visitation 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:46.480 in the Bible 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:47.879 is a picture of judgment. 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:49.399 And for those that are 00:18:49.399 --> 00:18:51.099 God's children, 00:18:51.859 --> 00:18:54.200 it is a glorious day 00:18:54.200 --> 00:18:55.799 where Christ will return 00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:57.440 and he will take 00:18:57.440 --> 00:18:58.539 his bride with him. 00:18:59.740 --> 00:19:01.799 But for those that don't know Christ, 00:19:01.879 --> 00:19:04.440 it is a day of scary judgment. 00:19:04.440 --> 00:19:08.640 No matter what side 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:10.120 in this life 00:19:10.120 --> 00:19:11.600 unbelievers fall on, 00:19:11.940 --> 00:19:12.799 either when they die 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:13.759 or when the Lord returns, 00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:15.259 the scriptures say 00:19:15.259 --> 00:19:16.519 that every knee will bow. 00:19:17.620 --> 00:19:19.940 Everybody will take a knee to Christ, 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:21.500 whether it's in this life 00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:23.019 or the next. 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:26.400 So God's judgment is real, 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:28.600 but our good behavior 00:19:28.600 --> 00:19:30.320 may help people 00:19:30.320 --> 00:19:31.860 to avoid God's judgment now 00:19:31.860 --> 00:19:33.500 in this life. 00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:35.619 So Peter continues 00:19:35.619 --> 00:19:37.079 to expand on 00:19:37.079 --> 00:19:39.180 our call 00:19:39.180 --> 00:19:40.259 to live honorably 00:19:40.259 --> 00:19:42.200 by calling the church 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:42.779 to submit 00:19:42.779 --> 00:19:44.099 to the authority structures 00:19:44.099 --> 00:19:46.920 and be law-abiding citizens 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:47.619 willingly. 00:19:47.819 --> 00:19:49.619 So if you can turn with me, 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:50.779 starting in verse 13, 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:51.599 we're going to read 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:52.680 13 to 17. 00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:54.099 Be subject, 00:19:54.660 --> 00:19:55.359 for the Lord's sake, 00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:57.400 to every human institution, 00:19:58.400 --> 00:19:59.099 whether it be 00:19:59.099 --> 00:19:59.680 to the emperor 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:00.319 as supreme 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:01.740 or to governors 00:20:01.740 --> 00:20:03.059 as sent by him 00:20:03.059 --> 00:20:03.859 to punish those 00:20:03.859 --> 00:20:04.480 who do evil 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:05.259 and to praise those 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:05.740 who do good. 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:07.460 For this is the will of God, 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:08.400 that by doing good 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:09.839 you should put to silence 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:10.799 the ignorance 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:11.660 of foolish people. 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:13.799 Live as people 00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:14.420 who are free, 00:20:15.259 --> 00:20:16.200 not using your freedom 00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:16.920 as a cover-up 00:20:16.920 --> 00:20:17.440 for evil, 00:20:17.980 --> 00:20:19.359 but living as servants 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:19.779 of God. 00:20:19.940 --> 00:20:20.500 Honor everyone, 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:21.460 love the brotherhood, 00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:22.559 fear God, 00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:23.460 honor the emperor. 00:20:24.740 --> 00:20:25.220 God, 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:26.120 in his kindness 00:20:26.120 --> 00:20:26.740 and grace, 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:27.599 has instituted 00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:28.219 authorities 00:20:28.219 --> 00:20:29.839 to curb evil 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:31.240 and reward goodness. 00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:33.139 This is a, 00:20:33.139 --> 00:20:34.319 this verse, 00:20:34.679 --> 00:20:35.399 these verses, 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:36.139 these five verses, 00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:36.799 they're key 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:37.980 in political theology. 00:20:40.179 --> 00:20:41.000 We're not going to get 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:41.959 into political theology 00:20:41.959 --> 00:20:43.099 this morning, 00:20:43.419 --> 00:20:45.859 but an ongoing question 00:20:45.859 --> 00:20:47.059 that is asked 00:20:47.059 --> 00:20:47.819 throughout the ages, 00:20:49.219 --> 00:20:50.099 especially when there 00:20:50.099 --> 00:20:52.159 is ungodly authority 00:20:52.159 --> 00:20:53.519 and ungodly magistrate, 00:20:53.939 --> 00:20:54.759 is how are we 00:20:54.759 --> 00:20:55.279 to respond 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:55.939 as God's people? 00:20:55.940 --> 00:20:58.580 Are we to resist 00:20:58.580 --> 00:20:59.140 and fight 00:20:59.140 --> 00:21:01.420 or tolerate 00:21:01.420 --> 00:21:02.279 and live within? 00:21:03.140 --> 00:21:04.240 I'm not going 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:05.100 to relitigate 00:21:05.100 --> 00:21:07.779 government lockdowns 00:21:07.779 --> 00:21:08.320 that we had, 00:21:08.420 --> 00:21:09.320 not a chance. 00:21:10.840 --> 00:21:11.400 However, 00:21:11.539 --> 00:21:12.180 we need to consider 00:21:12.180 --> 00:21:13.120 that Peter is telling 00:21:13.120 --> 00:21:13.920 the early church 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:15.200 in Asia Minor 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:16.860 to use their 00:21:16.860 --> 00:21:17.840 eternal freedom 00:21:17.840 --> 00:21:18.460 that they have 00:21:18.460 --> 00:21:19.120 in Christ, 00:21:19.720 --> 00:21:20.600 which was bought 00:21:20.600 --> 00:21:21.500 by the precious 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:22.519 blood of Christ, 00:21:23.420 --> 00:21:24.120 to submit 00:21:24.120 --> 00:21:25.519 to the Roman Empire. 00:21:25.940 --> 00:21:28.820 in the first century, 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:29.620 Rome was no 00:21:29.620 --> 00:21:30.640 right-winger's paradise 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:31.420 like Texas. 00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:33.759 It wasn't 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:35.000 a left-winger's 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:35.600 dream state 00:21:35.600 --> 00:21:36.700 like a Scandinavian 00:21:36.700 --> 00:21:37.680 country. 00:21:38.340 --> 00:21:39.559 It was the Roman Empire 00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:40.160 under Nero, 00:21:40.580 --> 00:21:43.279 where dissent was crushed, 00:21:43.900 --> 00:21:44.539 where slavery 00:21:44.539 --> 00:21:45.500 was the norm. 00:21:45.500 --> 00:21:46.579 And if you were 00:21:46.579 --> 00:21:47.200 a Christian, 00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:49.259 waves of persecution 00:21:49.259 --> 00:21:50.720 were state-sponsored. 00:21:53.480 --> 00:21:54.039 Submit 00:21:54.039 --> 00:21:54.819 to 00:21:54.819 --> 00:21:56.859 temporal 00:21:56.859 --> 00:21:58.559 or earthly authorities. 00:21:59.900 --> 00:22:00.299 Indeed, 00:22:00.420 --> 00:22:01.420 Peter does not 00:22:01.420 --> 00:22:02.279 imply that Christians 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:03.859 must submit 00:22:03.859 --> 00:22:07.799 to that authority 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:09.220 as above all. 00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:10.720 Peter says, 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:12.880 but Peter says 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:13.740 that it is God's will 00:22:13.740 --> 00:22:14.539 that they do submit 00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:15.299 to such authority. 00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:17.120 And we must be careful 00:22:17.120 --> 00:22:17.900 here not to see 00:22:17.900 --> 00:22:18.660 this passage 00:22:18.660 --> 00:22:19.700 as some kind of 00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:20.660 exhaustive commentary 00:22:20.660 --> 00:22:21.599 on how to 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:22.819 interact with the state. 00:22:22.900 --> 00:22:23.759 That's not the case 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:23.960 at all. 00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:24.839 I think there is 00:22:24.839 --> 00:22:26.059 a fine case to be made 00:22:26.059 --> 00:22:27.019 in other parts of Scripture 00:22:27.019 --> 00:22:28.980 that talk about 00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:30.160 resistance to tyranny. 00:22:31.059 --> 00:22:32.079 We are not 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:34.299 Anabaptists here. 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:36.779 We are not 00:22:36.779 --> 00:22:37.660 pacifists here. 00:22:38.059 --> 00:22:39.359 But in this text today, 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:40.279 it's remarkable. 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:41.920 It's remarkable 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:42.920 that Peter 00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:43.839 is saying 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:44.460 to submit 00:22:44.460 --> 00:22:46.720 to the authorities 00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:47.500 of the land 00:22:47.500 --> 00:22:48.639 when Nero 00:22:48.639 --> 00:22:49.660 is that authority. 00:22:54.660 --> 00:22:55.720 He continues 00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:56.379 to instruct 00:22:56.379 --> 00:22:56.799 the church 00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:58.039 to use 00:22:58.039 --> 00:22:58.579 their freedom 00:22:58.579 --> 00:22:59.500 to serve 00:22:59.500 --> 00:23:00.339 and to do good, 00:23:00.980 --> 00:23:02.099 to evangelize 00:23:02.099 --> 00:23:03.359 and bring glory 00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:04.519 to God, 00:23:05.019 --> 00:23:05.299 Father, 00:23:05.460 --> 00:23:05.599 Son, 00:23:05.660 --> 00:23:06.319 and Holy Spirit. 00:23:06.539 --> 00:23:06.980 He says, 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:07.379 again, 00:23:07.380 --> 00:23:08.380 this is God's will 00:23:08.380 --> 00:23:08.780 for us 00:23:08.780 --> 00:23:09.500 to seek the good 00:23:09.500 --> 00:23:10.020 of the cities 00:23:10.020 --> 00:23:10.520 we live in. 00:23:11.300 --> 00:23:12.180 And it's important 00:23:12.180 --> 00:23:13.600 that we remember 00:23:13.600 --> 00:23:14.000 that, 00:23:14.360 --> 00:23:15.280 that our call 00:23:15.280 --> 00:23:16.400 isn't just to live here 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:17.020 and gripe 00:23:17.020 --> 00:23:18.700 if we don't like something. 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:19.520 But I'm submitting, 00:23:19.800 --> 00:23:21.260 I'm not pushing back, 00:23:21.360 --> 00:23:22.420 but I don't like it, 00:23:22.540 --> 00:23:24.380 but I'm griping a whole lot. 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:25.900 The call is to work 00:23:25.900 --> 00:23:26.400 for the good 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:27.000 of the city, 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:29.040 the good of the country, 00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:30.280 the good of the empire, 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:31.200 the good of wherever 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:32.380 you find yourself in. 00:23:32.380 --> 00:23:36.540 It's very important 00:23:36.540 --> 00:23:37.420 also to remember 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:38.060 that that good 00:23:38.060 --> 00:23:38.600 is defined 00:23:38.600 --> 00:23:39.540 by God himself 00:23:39.540 --> 00:23:40.420 and not by us. 00:23:42.120 --> 00:23:42.900 The good 00:23:42.900 --> 00:23:43.740 that is defined 00:23:43.740 --> 00:23:44.660 by scripture 00:23:44.660 --> 00:23:45.900 oftentimes 00:23:45.900 --> 00:23:46.840 can be counter 00:23:46.840 --> 00:23:48.180 to the good 00:23:48.180 --> 00:23:49.060 defined by 00:23:49.060 --> 00:23:50.960 the cultural 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:53.060 ideas of good, 00:23:53.820 --> 00:23:54.300 defined 00:23:54.300 --> 00:23:55.380 by 00:23:55.380 --> 00:23:57.020 different generations 00:23:57.020 --> 00:23:57.900 that change, 00:23:58.620 --> 00:23:59.260 that are fleeting. 00:24:00.040 --> 00:24:00.500 The good 00:24:00.500 --> 00:24:01.080 that God 00:24:01.080 --> 00:24:01.900 commands us 00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:03.200 to do 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:04.080 is eternal. 00:24:05.800 --> 00:24:06.300 So, 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:06.840 this text 00:24:06.840 --> 00:24:07.340 does not call 00:24:07.340 --> 00:24:08.019 for the overthrow 00:24:08.019 --> 00:24:11.500 of the government, 00:24:12.360 --> 00:24:13.540 the empire, 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:15.360 but the submission 00:24:15.360 --> 00:24:16.980 to its 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:20.019 heavy-handedness. 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:21.460 But it's important 00:24:21.460 --> 00:24:22.420 here that we recognize 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:23.300 that it's no less 00:24:23.300 --> 00:24:23.980 subversive. 00:24:26.120 --> 00:24:26.940 For one, 00:24:27.060 --> 00:24:27.660 it recognizes 00:24:27.660 --> 00:24:28.280 that the ultimate 00:24:28.280 --> 00:24:29.560 authority is not Nero, 00:24:30.360 --> 00:24:31.620 that it is God. 00:24:31.619 --> 00:24:32.899 It is his will 00:24:32.899 --> 00:24:33.819 that we submit. 00:24:34.419 --> 00:24:35.159 It does not say 00:24:35.159 --> 00:24:35.939 that we submit 00:24:35.939 --> 00:24:37.299 to the emperor 00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:38.299 who is the ultimate 00:24:38.299 --> 00:24:38.759 authority. 00:24:38.839 --> 00:24:39.679 It says as supreme, 00:24:39.799 --> 00:24:40.619 but that's just to say 00:24:40.619 --> 00:24:42.179 that he is the head 00:24:42.179 --> 00:24:43.500 over the empire. 00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:44.919 God is supreme. 00:24:45.639 --> 00:24:48.459 God is the commander 00:24:48.459 --> 00:24:49.399 in chief 00:24:49.399 --> 00:24:50.079 of everything. 00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:52.599 So, 00:24:52.799 --> 00:24:53.639 we recognize 00:24:53.639 --> 00:24:54.259 that God 00:24:54.259 --> 00:24:55.219 is the supreme leader 00:24:55.219 --> 00:24:56.179 and not Nero. 00:24:57.039 --> 00:24:57.739 It means also 00:24:57.739 --> 00:24:58.519 not engaging 00:24:58.519 --> 00:24:59.099 in, 00:24:59.379 --> 00:25:00.019 like I mentioned, 00:25:00.019 --> 00:25:00.759 what society 00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:01.359 calls good. 00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:03.139 In the first century, 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:04.639 pederasty was good. 00:25:06.819 --> 00:25:07.599 The church is called 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:08.359 not to engage 00:25:08.359 --> 00:25:08.819 in that. 00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:11.420 It meant 00:25:11.420 --> 00:25:13.139 to fight 00:25:13.139 --> 00:25:14.319 against the practice 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:15.259 of child killing 00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:16.119 by exposure. 00:25:17.339 --> 00:25:17.700 The church 00:25:17.700 --> 00:25:18.519 is not called 00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:20.059 to submit 00:25:20.059 --> 00:25:20.559 to that. 00:25:22.019 --> 00:25:22.779 It meant 00:25:22.779 --> 00:25:23.279 writing 00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:24.400 against barbaric 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:25.680 gladiatorial events 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:26.920 while at the same 00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:27.799 time being sent 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:28.140 to them. 00:25:29.940 --> 00:25:30.240 It meant 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:30.740 considering 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:31.440 as equal 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:32.700 brothers and sisters 00:25:32.700 --> 00:25:34.240 who are slaves 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:35.200 and have no standing 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:35.940 when they stand 00:25:35.940 --> 00:25:36.539 beside you 00:25:36.539 --> 00:25:37.779 singing God's praises 00:25:37.779 --> 00:25:38.920 on the Lord's day. 00:25:40.860 --> 00:25:41.220 We're called 00:25:41.220 --> 00:25:41.920 to work 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:42.539 for the good 00:25:42.539 --> 00:25:43.240 of the city 00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:44.440 and to submit 00:25:44.440 --> 00:25:46.779 to the authorities, 00:25:46.920 --> 00:25:47.740 but that does not 00:25:47.740 --> 00:25:48.820 mean a blind 00:25:48.820 --> 00:25:49.500 submission. 00:25:50.500 --> 00:25:51.160 It meant 00:25:51.160 --> 00:25:52.400 living external lives 00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:52.900 consistent 00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:54.019 with our internal 00:25:54.019 --> 00:25:54.519 lives. 00:25:55.400 --> 00:25:56.000 In short, 00:25:56.259 --> 00:25:57.160 these five verses 00:25:57.160 --> 00:25:57.839 would eventually 00:25:57.839 --> 00:25:58.639 transform 00:25:58.639 --> 00:26:00.480 the Roman Empire 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:01.119 from pagan 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:01.759 to Christian. 00:26:02.259 --> 00:26:02.799 I know 00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:03.420 that there is 00:26:03.420 --> 00:26:04.119 a lot of 00:26:04.119 --> 00:26:05.400 controversy, 00:26:05.960 --> 00:26:07.079 at least in the 00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:07.940 evangelical world, 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:08.799 if that was a good thing, 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:09.920 but let me ask you 00:26:09.920 --> 00:26:10.259 a question. 00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:11.139 Is it better 00:26:11.139 --> 00:26:11.839 that Rome 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:13.119 continue on 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:13.799 in pagan 00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:14.700 idolatry 00:26:14.700 --> 00:26:16.539 or embrace 00:26:16.539 --> 00:26:17.319 Christianity? 00:26:18.759 --> 00:26:19.519 I would say 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:20.059 it's the latter. 00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:20.740 Friends, 00:26:20.819 --> 00:26:21.299 it took less 00:26:21.299 --> 00:26:22.420 than 300 years 00:26:22.420 --> 00:26:25.000 for the church 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:26.840 to so influence 00:26:26.840 --> 00:26:28.080 the entirety 00:26:28.080 --> 00:26:29.300 of the Roman Empire 00:26:29.300 --> 00:26:30.560 that it was 00:26:30.560 --> 00:26:31.039 adopted 00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:31.700 as its 00:26:31.700 --> 00:26:32.480 state religion. 00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:33.779 Once again, 00:26:33.860 --> 00:26:34.160 we are 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:35.039 freed 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:36.160 not 00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:37.060 from 00:26:37.060 --> 00:26:37.779 service, 00:26:37.900 --> 00:26:38.539 but for 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:39.140 service. 00:26:41.019 --> 00:26:41.980 And this is not 00:26:41.980 --> 00:26:42.660 incoherent, 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:43.380 but it's deeply 00:26:43.380 --> 00:26:44.360 coherent because 00:26:44.360 --> 00:26:45.539 Jesus himself 00:26:45.539 --> 00:26:46.519 will see later on 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:47.060 in the text 00:26:47.060 --> 00:26:48.000 that this is what 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:48.539 he did. 00:26:49.080 --> 00:26:49.940 Completely free. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:50.620 And what does he do? 00:26:50.840 --> 00:26:51.480 He lays down 00:26:51.480 --> 00:26:51.900 his life. 00:26:51.980 --> 00:26:52.579 He serves. 00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:53.440 He seeks 00:26:53.440 --> 00:26:54.079 the good, 00:26:54.160 --> 00:26:54.819 the true good. 00:26:55.140 --> 00:26:55.860 He seeks to 00:26:55.860 --> 00:26:57.360 lead people 00:26:57.360 --> 00:26:58.200 to the light. 00:27:00.620 --> 00:27:01.099 So although 00:27:01.099 --> 00:27:01.860 the Roman Empire 00:27:01.860 --> 00:27:02.460 eventually would 00:27:02.460 --> 00:27:03.039 become Christian, 00:27:03.140 --> 00:27:03.960 it wasn't without 00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:04.920 persecution and 00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:05.319 martyrdom. 00:27:05.940 --> 00:27:06.400 And Peter 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:07.360 continues to help 00:27:07.360 --> 00:27:08.019 us live as 00:27:08.019 --> 00:27:08.779 holy servants 00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:09.880 of Christ 00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:10.720 by instructing 00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:11.779 us how to 00:27:11.779 --> 00:27:12.720 suffer well 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:14.519 and faithfully. 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:16.160 So if you look 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:16.420 with me, 00:27:16.460 --> 00:27:17.579 verses 18 to 20. 00:27:17.579 --> 00:27:20.639 Servants, 00:27:20.980 --> 00:27:21.480 and really 00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:22.339 this is slaves, 00:27:22.460 --> 00:27:22.839 but it's not 00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:23.519 the same as 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:25.919 the generic 00:27:25.919 --> 00:27:26.339 term for 00:27:26.339 --> 00:27:26.720 slave. 00:27:26.839 --> 00:27:27.179 This is more 00:27:27.179 --> 00:27:27.460 like a 00:27:27.460 --> 00:27:28.379 household slave. 00:27:29.139 --> 00:27:29.919 I think that 00:27:29.919 --> 00:27:30.220 matters, 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:30.639 but I actually 00:27:30.639 --> 00:27:31.079 don't think it 00:27:31.079 --> 00:27:31.379 matters. 00:27:31.639 --> 00:27:32.299 I'll just 00:27:32.299 --> 00:27:32.839 continue on. 00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:33.599 Servants, 00:27:33.720 --> 00:27:34.539 be subject 00:27:34.539 --> 00:27:34.980 to your 00:27:34.980 --> 00:27:35.659 masters with 00:27:35.659 --> 00:27:36.279 all respect, 00:27:36.919 --> 00:27:37.599 not only to 00:27:37.599 --> 00:27:38.179 the good and 00:27:38.179 --> 00:27:38.419 gentle, 00:27:38.519 --> 00:27:39.019 but also to 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:39.500 the unjust. 00:27:40.099 --> 00:27:40.659 For this is 00:27:40.659 --> 00:27:41.460 a gracious 00:27:41.460 --> 00:27:41.899 thing. 00:27:42.019 --> 00:27:42.559 When mindful 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:43.019 of God, 00:27:43.099 --> 00:27:43.639 one endures 00:27:43.639 --> 00:27:44.899 sorrows while 00:27:44.899 --> 00:27:46.559 suffering unjustly. 00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:47.659 For what 00:27:47.659 --> 00:27:48.480 credit is it 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:49.919 if when you 00:27:49.919 --> 00:27:50.740 sin you are 00:27:50.740 --> 00:27:51.619 beaten for it 00:27:51.619 --> 00:27:52.619 and you 00:27:52.619 --> 00:27:52.960 endure? 00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:54.940 What if when 00:27:54.940 --> 00:27:55.480 you do good 00:27:55.480 --> 00:27:56.119 and suffer for 00:27:56.119 --> 00:27:56.379 it you 00:27:56.379 --> 00:27:56.779 endure? 00:27:58.179 --> 00:27:58.500 Sorry, 00:27:58.599 --> 00:27:59.179 but if when 00:27:59.179 --> 00:27:59.799 you do good 00:27:59.799 --> 00:28:00.539 and suffer for 00:28:00.539 --> 00:28:00.759 it you 00:28:00.759 --> 00:28:01.059 endure? 00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:02.279 This is a 00:28:02.279 --> 00:28:03.019 gracious thing 00:28:03.019 --> 00:28:03.960 in the sight 00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:04.539 of God. 00:28:06.099 --> 00:28:07.159 The slave 00:28:07.159 --> 00:28:08.919 was the most 00:28:08.919 --> 00:28:09.339 vulnerable 00:28:09.339 --> 00:28:10.179 individual in 00:28:10.179 --> 00:28:10.480 the Roman 00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:10.839 world. 00:28:11.179 --> 00:28:11.799 They were 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:12.559 not citizens, 00:28:12.839 --> 00:28:13.319 they could 00:28:13.319 --> 00:28:14.740 be used in 00:28:14.740 --> 00:28:15.619 any which 00:28:15.619 --> 00:28:16.039 way that 00:28:16.039 --> 00:28:16.460 their master 00:28:16.460 --> 00:28:17.100 saw fit, 00:28:17.799 --> 00:28:18.259 they did 00:28:18.259 --> 00:28:18.779 not stand 00:28:18.779 --> 00:28:19.600 trial for 00:28:19.600 --> 00:28:20.259 crimes, 00:28:20.920 --> 00:28:21.340 they could 00:28:21.340 --> 00:28:21.900 be killed, 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:25.360 they did 00:28:25.360 --> 00:28:25.840 not enjoy 00:28:25.840 --> 00:28:26.160 the same 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:26.920 dignity as 00:28:26.920 --> 00:28:27.539 free people. 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:29.259 And in 00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:30.120 the ancient 00:28:30.120 --> 00:28:30.380 world, 00:28:30.500 --> 00:28:31.440 slavery wasn't 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:32.079 a small 00:28:32.079 --> 00:28:32.420 matter. 00:28:33.019 --> 00:28:33.680 In fact, 00:28:33.720 --> 00:28:33.980 it would be 00:28:33.980 --> 00:28:34.660 unthinkable not 00:28:34.660 --> 00:28:34.960 to have 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:35.360 slaves. 00:28:35.880 --> 00:28:36.259 Some 00:28:36.259 --> 00:28:37.299 estimates in 00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:37.819 the Roman 00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:39.200 world had 00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:40.120 15 to 20 00:28:40.120 --> 00:28:41.079 percent of 00:28:41.079 --> 00:28:42.180 the population 00:28:42.180 --> 00:28:43.019 as slaves. 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:44.059 It's a huge 00:28:44.059 --> 00:28:44.420 amount. 00:28:44.420 --> 00:28:44.460 different. 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:46.539 But this 00:28:46.539 --> 00:28:47.100 is not, 00:28:47.140 --> 00:28:47.340 and this 00:28:47.340 --> 00:28:47.680 is why it 00:28:47.680 --> 00:28:47.860 matters, 00:28:47.960 --> 00:28:48.460 this is not 00:28:48.460 --> 00:28:49.019 chattel, 00:28:49.820 --> 00:28:51.240 man-stealing 00:28:51.240 --> 00:28:52.160 slavery that 00:28:52.160 --> 00:28:52.700 we see, 00:28:53.080 --> 00:28:53.680 that we saw 00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:54.340 rather in the 00:28:54.340 --> 00:28:54.940 transatlantic 00:28:54.940 --> 00:28:55.580 slave trade. 00:28:56.580 --> 00:28:56.980 Slaves could 00:28:56.980 --> 00:28:58.460 be doctors and 00:28:58.460 --> 00:28:59.340 managers and 00:28:59.340 --> 00:28:59.779 tutors. 00:29:00.300 --> 00:29:00.940 They could own 00:29:00.940 --> 00:29:02.000 slaves themselves 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:02.840 and purchase 00:29:02.840 --> 00:29:03.380 their freedom. 00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:04.660 The slavery of 00:29:04.660 --> 00:29:04.940 the Roman 00:29:04.940 --> 00:29:06.000 Empire was not 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:06.500 based on 00:29:06.500 --> 00:29:07.259 ethnicity, 00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:08.940 complexion, 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:10.180 regional 00:29:10.180 --> 00:29:11.019 background. 00:29:11.019 --> 00:29:12.519 So it 00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:12.960 does matter 00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:13.319 that it's 00:29:13.319 --> 00:29:14.319 different than 00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:14.940 the transatlantic 00:29:14.940 --> 00:29:15.400 slave trade. 00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:16.379 But why it 00:29:16.379 --> 00:29:17.139 actually doesn't 00:29:17.139 --> 00:29:17.579 matter in some 00:29:17.579 --> 00:29:17.879 ways, because 00:29:17.879 --> 00:29:18.119 you're not 00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:18.519 your own, 00:29:18.779 --> 00:29:19.420 you're still 00:29:19.420 --> 00:29:20.299 owned by 00:29:20.299 --> 00:29:20.779 somebody. 00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:22.279 Having a 00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:22.759 good as a 00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:23.319 slave is 00:29:23.319 --> 00:29:23.720 still, 00:29:24.819 --> 00:29:25.779 it's not as 00:29:25.779 --> 00:29:27.119 good as being 00:29:27.119 --> 00:29:27.440 free. 00:29:30.039 --> 00:29:30.900 Slavery still 00:29:30.900 --> 00:29:31.460 meant being 00:29:31.460 --> 00:29:31.980 owned by 00:29:31.980 --> 00:29:32.579 another human. 00:29:33.639 --> 00:29:34.420 It meant 00:29:34.420 --> 00:29:34.940 that you were 00:29:34.940 --> 00:29:35.420 property. 00:29:36.500 --> 00:29:37.240 So why doesn't 00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:38.000 Peter call for 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:38.700 the abolition of 00:29:38.700 --> 00:29:40.000 slavery altogether? 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:41.319 Is Peter missing 00:29:41.319 --> 00:29:42.799 a huge opportunity? 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:44.859 I'll briefly 00:29:44.859 --> 00:29:45.779 touch on this. 00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:47.920 The New Testament 00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:48.640 actually never 00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:49.220 calls for the 00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:50.259 outright ban of 00:29:50.259 --> 00:29:50.660 slavery. 00:29:51.539 --> 00:29:52.559 It's there in 00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:52.839 Scripture. 00:29:53.539 --> 00:29:54.200 But what it does 00:29:54.200 --> 00:29:54.960 do is it tills 00:29:54.960 --> 00:29:56.420 the soil to 00:29:56.420 --> 00:29:57.140 allow for the 00:29:57.140 --> 00:29:57.740 planting of the 00:29:57.740 --> 00:29:58.500 seeds that would 00:29:58.500 --> 00:29:59.200 flourish, that 00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:00.480 would grow, that 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:01.799 would be the 00:30:01.799 --> 00:30:02.720 abolition of 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:03.359 slavery. 00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:04.960 And slavery 00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:06.559 that was 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:08.960 abolished was 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:10.400 influenced 00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:11.180 completely by 00:30:11.180 --> 00:30:11.840 the gospel of 00:30:11.840 --> 00:30:12.380 Christ in the 00:30:12.380 --> 00:30:13.120 1800s. 00:30:13.880 --> 00:30:14.400 No other 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:14.840 faith or 00:30:14.840 --> 00:30:15.519 ideology has 00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:16.059 done that in 00:30:16.059 --> 00:30:16.799 human history. 00:30:17.720 --> 00:30:18.759 Slavery is 00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:19.559 ubiquitous in 00:30:19.559 --> 00:30:20.059 the human 00:30:20.059 --> 00:30:21.400 experience. 00:30:23.620 --> 00:30:24.799 It is a 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:25.279 thing across 00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:26.079 different faiths 00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:26.700 and ideologies. 00:30:26.940 --> 00:30:27.240 So in 00:30:27.240 --> 00:30:28.120 Islam, for 00:30:28.120 --> 00:30:28.460 instance, 00:30:28.900 --> 00:30:29.500 slavery is 00:30:29.500 --> 00:30:29.920 commended. 00:30:30.600 --> 00:30:31.600 Hinduism, the 00:30:31.600 --> 00:30:32.299 caste system, 00:30:32.740 --> 00:30:33.600 is enshrined. 00:30:33.740 --> 00:30:35.059 It is almost a 00:30:35.059 --> 00:30:35.579 type of 00:30:35.579 --> 00:30:35.980 slavery. 00:30:35.980 --> 00:30:36.599 It is at 00:30:36.599 --> 00:30:36.900 the very 00:30:36.900 --> 00:30:37.279 least a 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:38.240 dehumanizing 00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:40.120 of human 00:30:40.120 --> 00:30:41.299 beings to 00:30:41.299 --> 00:30:42.039 something other 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:43.079 than image 00:30:43.079 --> 00:30:43.539 bearers. 00:30:44.420 --> 00:30:45.339 In communism, 00:30:45.720 --> 00:30:46.500 we see in the 00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:47.120 Soviet Union 00:30:47.120 --> 00:30:47.740 tens of 00:30:47.740 --> 00:30:49.220 millions sent 00:30:49.220 --> 00:30:49.779 to forced 00:30:49.779 --> 00:30:50.559 labor camps. 00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:52.519 And here in 00:30:52.519 --> 00:30:54.079 the West, we 00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:54.700 have this 00:30:54.700 --> 00:30:55.920 ability to 00:30:55.920 --> 00:30:56.539 turn a blind 00:30:56.539 --> 00:30:57.319 eye to 00:30:57.319 --> 00:30:58.640 labor shops 00:30:58.640 --> 00:30:59.019 in the 00:30:59.019 --> 00:30:59.380 developing 00:30:59.380 --> 00:30:59.839 world. 00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:01.860 Slavery was 00:31:01.860 --> 00:31:02.819 and still is 00:31:02.819 --> 00:31:03.500 a universal 00:31:03.500 --> 00:31:04.400 human problem. 00:31:06.359 --> 00:31:06.920 So what 00:31:06.920 --> 00:31:07.339 Peter is 00:31:07.339 --> 00:31:07.900 doing here, 00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:10.480 number one, 00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:10.759 I think it 00:31:10.759 --> 00:31:10.859 would be 00:31:10.859 --> 00:31:11.460 unfair then 00:31:11.460 --> 00:31:12.339 to say the 00:31:12.339 --> 00:31:13.000 Bible condones 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:13.400 slavery. 00:31:13.819 --> 00:31:14.099 I don't 00:31:14.099 --> 00:31:14.519 think so. 00:31:15.480 --> 00:31:15.880 It certainly 00:31:15.880 --> 00:31:16.339 doesn't. 00:31:16.700 --> 00:31:17.059 But what 00:31:17.059 --> 00:31:17.720 Peter here is 00:31:17.720 --> 00:31:18.180 doing is 00:31:18.180 --> 00:31:18.859 applying the 00:31:18.859 --> 00:31:19.519 gospel within 00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:20.220 the existing 00:31:20.220 --> 00:31:21.720 framework of 00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:22.619 society, of 00:31:22.619 --> 00:31:23.180 Greco-Roman 00:31:23.180 --> 00:31:23.700 society. 00:31:24.539 --> 00:31:25.259 He understands 00:31:25.259 --> 00:31:25.680 that it's 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:26.319 slaves that are 00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:26.680 coming to 00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:27.160 faith and he 00:31:27.160 --> 00:31:27.720 is working 00:31:27.720 --> 00:31:29.119 and teaching 00:31:29.119 --> 00:31:30.299 and instructing 00:31:30.299 --> 00:31:30.900 and exhorting 00:31:30.900 --> 00:31:31.759 those people 00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:32.859 to live as 00:31:32.859 --> 00:31:33.539 free people 00:31:33.539 --> 00:31:35.240 within the 00:31:35.240 --> 00:31:36.160 existing norms. 00:31:37.400 --> 00:31:37.799 He is 00:31:37.799 --> 00:31:38.339 claiming that 00:31:38.339 --> 00:31:39.079 even Christian 00:31:39.079 --> 00:31:39.720 slaves, the 00:31:39.720 --> 00:31:40.599 very lowest of 00:31:40.599 --> 00:31:41.420 low in Roman 00:31:41.420 --> 00:31:42.500 society, are 00:31:42.500 --> 00:31:43.059 actually the 00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:43.920 truly free. 00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:46.180 In fact, the 00:31:46.180 --> 00:31:46.879 most free, for 00:31:46.879 --> 00:31:47.339 they are in 00:31:47.339 --> 00:31:47.740 Christ. 00:31:47.859 --> 00:31:49.240 And Christ is 00:31:49.240 --> 00:31:50.119 subject neither to 00:31:50.119 --> 00:31:50.819 sin nor to 00:31:50.819 --> 00:31:51.119 death. 00:31:51.200 --> 00:31:51.920 He is sitting at 00:31:51.920 --> 00:31:52.640 the right hand of 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:53.259 God the Father. 00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:54.579 And if he is 00:31:54.579 --> 00:31:56.759 there, slave, you 00:31:56.759 --> 00:31:57.359 are there with 00:31:57.359 --> 00:31:57.519 him. 00:31:57.619 --> 00:31:58.180 You are free. 00:31:58.180 --> 00:32:02.180 Peter is using 00:32:02.180 --> 00:32:03.360 slavery here as a 00:32:03.360 --> 00:32:04.060 paradigm to 00:32:04.060 --> 00:32:05.500 proclaim the 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:07.160 incredible, deep 00:32:07.160 --> 00:32:08.440 working power of 00:32:08.440 --> 00:32:09.759 the cross that 00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:10.740 provides true, 00:32:11.620 --> 00:32:12.320 eternal, and 00:32:12.320 --> 00:32:14.220 forever deep 00:32:14.220 --> 00:32:15.799 freedom, even to 00:32:15.799 --> 00:32:16.560 the Roman slave. 00:32:18.279 --> 00:32:19.460 But this freedom 00:32:19.460 --> 00:32:20.180 was not to be 00:32:20.180 --> 00:32:21.060 used to throw 00:32:21.060 --> 00:32:21.640 off their 00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:22.279 shackles. 00:32:22.940 --> 00:32:23.500 Instead, they 00:32:23.500 --> 00:32:24.460 are to now be 00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:25.080 like Christ. 00:32:25.220 --> 00:32:26.019 Again, freedom 00:32:26.019 --> 00:32:27.680 not from, but 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:28.579 freedom for. 00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:30.859 In this case, 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:31.599 holy living. 00:32:32.779 --> 00:32:33.259 And it was 00:32:33.259 --> 00:32:34.240 inevitable as 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:35.700 slaves to 00:32:35.700 --> 00:32:36.799 suffer unjust 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:37.519 suffering. 00:32:38.299 --> 00:32:39.119 This bit about 00:32:39.119 --> 00:32:40.000 being beaten, 00:32:40.200 --> 00:32:40.599 this isn't, 00:32:40.740 --> 00:32:41.259 again, I don't 00:32:41.259 --> 00:32:42.559 think Peter 00:32:42.559 --> 00:32:46.559 giving approval 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:47.799 to masters 00:32:47.799 --> 00:32:48.680 beating their 00:32:48.680 --> 00:32:49.460 slaves, but 00:32:49.460 --> 00:32:50.279 just to describe 00:32:50.279 --> 00:32:50.879 what happens. 00:32:51.680 --> 00:32:52.960 Listen, if you 00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:53.779 do bad, if your 00:32:53.779 --> 00:32:54.559 conduct is bad, 00:32:54.619 --> 00:32:55.180 and you suffer 00:32:55.180 --> 00:32:55.799 the consequences 00:32:55.799 --> 00:32:56.640 for that, that 00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:57.360 is not suffering 00:32:57.360 --> 00:32:57.940 unjustly. 00:32:58.660 --> 00:32:59.320 When you do 00:32:59.320 --> 00:33:00.240 good and suffer, 00:33:00.380 --> 00:33:01.259 that is unjust 00:33:01.259 --> 00:33:01.860 suffering, and 00:33:01.860 --> 00:33:02.620 he's making this 00:33:02.620 --> 00:33:03.360 distinction here. 00:33:08.480 --> 00:33:09.420 So the freedom 00:33:09.420 --> 00:33:11.019 is a freedom 00:33:11.019 --> 00:33:11.920 not from, but 00:33:11.920 --> 00:33:12.279 for. 00:33:12.940 --> 00:33:13.480 They are to be 00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:14.420 like Christ in 00:33:14.420 --> 00:33:15.160 their holy living. 00:33:15.740 --> 00:33:16.279 They are not to 00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:16.940 give in to the 00:33:16.940 --> 00:33:17.880 humiliation, but 00:33:17.880 --> 00:33:18.660 rather proclaim 00:33:18.660 --> 00:33:19.920 the goodness and 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:21.400 grace of 00:33:21.400 --> 00:33:23.019 Christian service 00:33:23.019 --> 00:33:24.440 to the undeserving. 00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:25.059 is that not 00:33:25.059 --> 00:33:25.680 what Christ has 00:33:25.680 --> 00:33:25.900 done? 00:33:27.059 --> 00:33:27.960 He has laid 00:33:27.960 --> 00:33:28.759 his life down 00:33:28.759 --> 00:33:29.140 for the 00:33:29.140 --> 00:33:29.740 undeserving. 00:33:30.980 --> 00:33:32.220 He has taken 00:33:32.220 --> 00:33:32.940 upon him the 00:33:32.940 --> 00:33:33.900 very life of a 00:33:33.900 --> 00:33:35.660 slave, dying a 00:33:35.660 --> 00:33:37.200 slave's death, and 00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:37.840 extending his 00:33:37.840 --> 00:33:38.620 grace and 00:33:38.620 --> 00:33:39.720 kindness as a 00:33:39.720 --> 00:33:40.080 result. 00:33:41.840 --> 00:33:42.720 By bearing 00:33:42.720 --> 00:33:44.019 under unjust 00:33:44.019 --> 00:33:45.140 evil patiently, 00:33:45.640 --> 00:33:46.140 with this 00:33:46.140 --> 00:33:47.480 eternal celestial 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:48.660 dignity that is 00:33:48.660 --> 00:33:49.620 ours in Christ, 00:33:49.980 --> 00:33:50.660 the Spirit of 00:33:50.660 --> 00:33:51.220 God, what does 00:33:51.220 --> 00:33:51.480 he do? 00:33:51.480 --> 00:33:52.539 He bears witness 00:33:52.539 --> 00:33:53.660 to Christ in 00:33:53.660 --> 00:33:54.559 our lives. 00:33:55.880 --> 00:33:56.579 And that 00:33:56.579 --> 00:33:57.299 breaks the 00:33:57.299 --> 00:33:58.400 bonds of 00:33:58.400 --> 00:33:58.799 slavery. 00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:00.519 It is not 00:34:00.519 --> 00:34:01.099 enough to just 00:34:01.099 --> 00:34:01.980 buy your 00:34:01.980 --> 00:34:02.400 freedom, but 00:34:02.400 --> 00:34:03.160 what happens if 00:34:03.160 --> 00:34:04.620 slavery itself is 00:34:04.620 --> 00:34:06.599 seen as so 00:34:06.599 --> 00:34:07.940 ugly and 00:34:07.940 --> 00:34:09.039 wrong because 00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:10.039 the gospel of 00:34:10.039 --> 00:34:10.800 grace has 00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:12.079 transformed not 00:34:12.079 --> 00:34:12.480 just an 00:34:12.480 --> 00:34:13.400 individual or a 00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:14.679 family or a 00:34:14.679 --> 00:34:15.340 region, but an 00:34:15.340 --> 00:34:16.159 entire empire? 00:34:17.099 --> 00:34:18.000 That's how you 00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:18.679 break the bonds 00:34:18.679 --> 00:34:19.240 of slavery. 00:34:19.239 --> 00:34:20.599 And this is 00:34:20.599 --> 00:34:21.139 what Peter is 00:34:21.139 --> 00:34:21.679 commending the 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:22.339 slaves to do. 00:34:23.899 --> 00:34:24.839 It proclaims 00:34:24.839 --> 00:34:25.699 also that the 00:34:25.699 --> 00:34:26.500 earthly authority 00:34:26.500 --> 00:34:27.819 that claims 00:34:27.819 --> 00:34:28.799 them as 00:34:28.799 --> 00:34:31.099 slaves can 00:34:31.099 --> 00:34:31.939 only claim 00:34:31.939 --> 00:34:32.819 their flesh and 00:34:32.819 --> 00:34:33.579 not their soul. 00:34:36.279 --> 00:34:37.279 God and God 00:34:37.279 --> 00:34:38.259 alone owns our 00:34:38.259 --> 00:34:38.619 souls. 00:34:39.699 --> 00:34:40.359 So the person 00:34:40.359 --> 00:34:41.079 whose soul is 00:34:41.079 --> 00:34:42.000 free in Christ 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:44.379 can never be 00:34:44.379 --> 00:34:45.279 humiliated and 00:34:45.279 --> 00:34:46.099 truly enslaved. 00:34:47.279 --> 00:34:48.059 It is the 00:34:48.059 --> 00:34:49.079 application of 00:34:49.079 --> 00:34:50.119 Jesus' words in 00:34:50.119 --> 00:34:50.559 John 8. 00:34:50.659 --> 00:34:50.980 What does he 00:34:50.980 --> 00:34:51.259 say? 00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:52.239 So if the 00:34:52.239 --> 00:34:53.000 Son sets you 00:34:53.000 --> 00:34:53.619 free, you are 00:34:53.619 --> 00:34:54.239 free indeed. 00:34:57.619 --> 00:34:58.380 Many of these 00:34:58.380 --> 00:34:59.039 spiritually free 00:34:59.039 --> 00:34:59.980 slaves would be 00:34:59.980 --> 00:35:00.880 martyrs. 00:35:02.739 --> 00:35:03.840 In fact, many 00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:04.739 Christians, slave 00:35:04.739 --> 00:35:05.319 or not, would be 00:35:05.319 --> 00:35:05.779 martyrs. 00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:06.860 Their freedom 00:35:06.860 --> 00:35:08.039 would be used in 00:35:08.039 --> 00:35:08.920 service of Christ 00:35:08.920 --> 00:35:09.980 even in their 00:35:09.980 --> 00:35:10.860 death, suffering 00:35:10.860 --> 00:35:11.699 unjustly. 00:35:12.699 --> 00:35:13.519 The sufferings and 00:35:13.519 --> 00:35:14.199 death would not 00:35:14.199 --> 00:35:15.219 be to their shame 00:35:15.219 --> 00:35:16.259 but would be to 00:35:16.259 --> 00:35:17.400 the glory of God 00:35:17.400 --> 00:35:18.059 and the growth of 00:35:18.059 --> 00:35:18.440 his church. 00:35:18.599 --> 00:35:19.940 So Tertullian 00:35:19.940 --> 00:35:21.299 penned the famous 00:35:21.299 --> 00:35:21.980 words regarding 00:35:21.980 --> 00:35:22.699 martyrdom and this 00:35:22.699 --> 00:35:23.219 is what he said. 00:35:23.820 --> 00:35:24.779 We are not a new 00:35:24.779 --> 00:35:25.299 philosophy. 00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:25.759 He's talking about 00:35:25.759 --> 00:35:26.900 Christianity in the 00:35:26.900 --> 00:35:27.299 church. 00:35:27.380 --> 00:35:28.159 We are not a new 00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:29.039 philosophy but a 00:35:29.039 --> 00:35:29.980 divine revelation. 00:35:31.079 --> 00:35:31.559 That's why you 00:35:31.559 --> 00:35:32.920 can't just exterminate 00:35:32.920 --> 00:35:33.279 us. 00:35:34.199 --> 00:35:34.940 The more you kill, 00:35:35.019 --> 00:35:35.719 the more we are. 00:35:36.519 --> 00:35:37.199 The blood of the 00:35:37.199 --> 00:35:38.320 martyrs is the seed 00:35:38.320 --> 00:35:39.039 of the church. 00:35:39.259 --> 00:35:40.400 And so it was. 00:35:40.400 --> 00:35:44.220 We are not slaves 00:35:44.220 --> 00:35:44.900 here in Ottawa 00:35:44.900 --> 00:35:47.119 but we live, 00:35:47.519 --> 00:35:48.519 but if we live 00:35:48.519 --> 00:35:49.680 faithful lives 00:35:49.680 --> 00:35:50.320 under Christ 00:35:50.320 --> 00:35:51.539 we will indeed 00:35:51.539 --> 00:35:52.720 suffer unjustly. 00:35:54.019 --> 00:35:55.320 Will you endure it? 00:35:56.820 --> 00:35:57.400 Will you try to 00:35:57.400 --> 00:35:58.340 vindicate yourselves? 00:35:58.480 --> 00:35:58.900 Will you try to 00:35:58.900 --> 00:35:59.820 maintain your own 00:35:59.820 --> 00:36:01.579 dignity even though 00:36:01.579 --> 00:36:03.740 the dignity of 00:36:03.740 --> 00:36:04.780 Christ himself 00:36:04.780 --> 00:36:06.639 rests upon you? 00:36:06.639 --> 00:36:08.980 that you are in 00:36:08.980 --> 00:36:09.539 Jesus? 00:36:11.339 --> 00:36:12.440 Will you rely on 00:36:12.440 --> 00:36:13.639 his strength to 00:36:13.639 --> 00:36:14.400 endure or your 00:36:14.400 --> 00:36:14.699 own? 00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:16.059 Will you seek 00:36:16.059 --> 00:36:16.960 vengeance and 00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:17.500 revenge? 00:36:18.379 --> 00:36:19.000 Or will you 00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:20.559 entrust that to 00:36:20.559 --> 00:36:21.179 the Lord who 00:36:21.179 --> 00:36:22.480 sees and is 00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:22.920 just? 00:36:24.859 --> 00:36:26.039 Will you suffer 00:36:26.039 --> 00:36:28.339 unjustly so that 00:36:28.339 --> 00:36:28.879 God will be 00:36:28.879 --> 00:36:29.500 glorified and 00:36:29.500 --> 00:36:30.059 maybe, just 00:36:30.059 --> 00:36:31.879 maybe, your 00:36:31.879 --> 00:36:32.739 workplaces and 00:36:32.739 --> 00:36:33.519 your homes and 00:36:33.519 --> 00:36:34.759 your families and 00:36:34.759 --> 00:36:35.379 your children 00:36:35.380 --> 00:36:37.559 your friends. 00:36:38.079 --> 00:36:38.760 They might see 00:36:38.760 --> 00:36:39.599 your good works 00:36:39.599 --> 00:36:41.920 and praise your 00:36:41.920 --> 00:36:42.539 heavenly Father. 00:36:42.660 --> 00:36:43.460 Maybe even come 00:36:43.460 --> 00:36:44.320 to faith. 00:36:47.460 --> 00:36:48.320 But this is an 00:36:48.320 --> 00:36:49.200 impossible task 00:36:49.200 --> 00:36:49.760 without the 00:36:49.760 --> 00:36:50.579 empowerment and 00:36:50.579 --> 00:36:51.460 example of Christ. 00:36:51.920 --> 00:36:52.539 So it's very 00:36:52.539 --> 00:36:53.240 important that we 00:36:53.240 --> 00:36:54.079 don't end at 00:36:54.079 --> 00:36:54.680 verse 20 but 00:36:54.680 --> 00:36:55.420 continue on in 00:36:55.420 --> 00:36:55.960 verse 21. 00:36:56.079 --> 00:36:56.460 Look at verse 00:36:56.460 --> 00:36:58.220 21 to 25. 00:36:59.019 --> 00:36:59.680 For to this you 00:36:59.680 --> 00:37:00.300 have been called 00:37:00.300 --> 00:37:02.019 because Christ 00:37:02.019 --> 00:37:03.380 also suffered for 00:37:03.380 --> 00:37:04.579 you, leaving you 00:37:04.579 --> 00:37:05.320 an example so 00:37:05.320 --> 00:37:05.760 that you might 00:37:05.760 --> 00:37:06.980 follow in his 00:37:06.980 --> 00:37:07.380 steps. 00:37:08.240 --> 00:37:09.039 He committed no 00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:09.760 sin, neither was 00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:10.500 deceit found in 00:37:10.500 --> 00:37:10.920 his mouth. 00:37:11.519 --> 00:37:12.019 When he was 00:37:12.019 --> 00:37:12.880 reviled, he did 00:37:12.880 --> 00:37:13.600 not revile in 00:37:13.600 --> 00:37:13.940 return. 00:37:14.039 --> 00:37:14.640 When he suffered, 00:37:15.200 --> 00:37:15.820 he did not 00:37:15.820 --> 00:37:16.780 threaten, but 00:37:16.780 --> 00:37:17.820 continued entrusting 00:37:17.820 --> 00:37:18.800 himself to him 00:37:18.800 --> 00:37:19.360 who judges 00:37:19.360 --> 00:37:19.880 justly. 00:37:20.460 --> 00:37:21.400 He himself bore 00:37:21.400 --> 00:37:22.580 our sins in his 00:37:22.580 --> 00:37:23.620 body on the tree 00:37:23.620 --> 00:37:25.539 that we might die 00:37:25.539 --> 00:37:26.539 to sin and live 00:37:26.539 --> 00:37:27.160 to righteousness. 00:37:27.700 --> 00:37:28.600 By his wounds you 00:37:28.600 --> 00:37:29.220 have been healed 00:37:29.220 --> 00:37:29.720 for you were 00:37:29.720 --> 00:37:30.500 straying like 00:37:30.500 --> 00:37:32.660 sheep, but have 00:37:32.660 --> 00:37:33.440 now returned to 00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:34.160 the shepherd and 00:37:34.159 --> 00:37:35.559 overseer of your 00:37:35.559 --> 00:37:36.059 soul. 00:37:37.399 --> 00:37:40.139 We can't, I 00:37:40.139 --> 00:37:40.420 guess here's a 00:37:40.420 --> 00:37:41.059 question, why do 00:37:41.059 --> 00:37:41.379 we have to 00:37:41.379 --> 00:37:41.619 suffer? 00:37:42.339 --> 00:37:42.859 Why can't we 00:37:42.859 --> 00:37:43.739 just enjoy the 00:37:43.739 --> 00:37:45.279 glories of 00:37:45.279 --> 00:37:45.819 Christ? 00:37:46.039 --> 00:37:46.659 I mean he's 00:37:46.659 --> 00:37:47.239 suffered, why do 00:37:47.239 --> 00:37:47.719 we have to 00:37:47.719 --> 00:37:47.960 suffer? 00:37:48.039 --> 00:37:48.619 He's suffered on 00:37:48.619 --> 00:37:50.199 our behalf, so 00:37:50.199 --> 00:37:50.879 we should enjoy 00:37:50.879 --> 00:37:52.480 the fruits of 00:37:52.480 --> 00:37:53.319 Christ's suffering. 00:37:53.320 --> 00:37:53.380 suffering. 00:37:55.380 --> 00:37:57.559 But to desire only 00:37:57.559 --> 00:37:58.340 to share in the 00:37:58.340 --> 00:37:59.019 glory of Christ 00:37:59.019 --> 00:37:59.860 and not identify 00:37:59.860 --> 00:38:01.500 with him in his 00:38:01.500 --> 00:38:02.660 death, in his 00:38:02.660 --> 00:38:04.260 suffering, is to 00:38:04.260 --> 00:38:05.360 not be authentic 00:38:05.360 --> 00:38:06.120 to our faith. 00:38:07.920 --> 00:38:09.039 For we grip our 00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:10.080 lives too tightly. 00:38:10.780 --> 00:38:11.660 We forget that our 00:38:11.660 --> 00:38:13.160 freedom means slavery 00:38:13.160 --> 00:38:13.840 to Christ. 00:38:14.500 --> 00:38:15.420 So the Apostle Paul, 00:38:15.519 --> 00:38:16.880 he's speaking to the 00:38:16.880 --> 00:38:18.700 Corinthian church on 00:38:18.700 --> 00:38:19.320 the importance of 00:38:19.320 --> 00:38:23.960 walking as Christ's 00:38:23.960 --> 00:38:26.039 servants in purity 00:38:26.039 --> 00:38:26.720 of heart and he 00:38:26.720 --> 00:38:27.880 says this, this is 00:38:27.880 --> 00:38:28.680 1 Corinthians 6 00:38:28.680 --> 00:38:29.080 19. 00:38:29.880 --> 00:38:30.500 Or do you not 00:38:30.500 --> 00:38:31.059 know that your 00:38:31.059 --> 00:38:31.920 body is a temple 00:38:31.920 --> 00:38:32.720 of the Holy Spirit 00:38:32.720 --> 00:38:34.160 within you, whom 00:38:34.160 --> 00:38:35.039 you have from God? 00:38:35.559 --> 00:38:35.920 Here it is. 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:36.780 You are not your 00:38:36.780 --> 00:38:38.039 own, you were 00:38:38.039 --> 00:38:38.920 bought with a 00:38:38.920 --> 00:38:39.260 price. 00:38:39.740 --> 00:38:41.200 So glorify God in 00:38:41.200 --> 00:38:41.700 your body. 00:38:43.320 --> 00:38:44.640 The call to 00:38:44.640 --> 00:38:46.019 genuine, authentic 00:38:46.019 --> 00:38:47.460 Christianity is to 00:38:47.460 --> 00:38:48.440 suffer for Jesus. 00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:50.960 It's to lay down 00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:51.840 our lives, our own 00:38:51.840 --> 00:38:53.759 prerogatives for his 00:38:53.759 --> 00:38:54.599 glory, for his 00:38:54.599 --> 00:38:55.019 renown. 00:38:56.780 --> 00:38:57.639 And that's something 00:38:57.639 --> 00:38:58.559 we need help with. 00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:00.880 We need his spirit 00:39:00.880 --> 00:39:02.159 empowering us to 00:39:02.159 --> 00:39:03.679 live this way, but 00:39:03.679 --> 00:39:04.980 also the example of 00:39:04.980 --> 00:39:05.519 his life. 00:39:06.019 --> 00:39:07.360 Here it talks about 00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:08.400 he is our example 00:39:08.400 --> 00:39:10.360 that the, it's a 00:39:10.360 --> 00:39:11.420 picture of, it's 00:39:11.420 --> 00:39:12.699 like there's Christ's 00:39:12.699 --> 00:39:13.420 life and then there's 00:39:13.420 --> 00:39:14.380 our life on top of 00:39:14.380 --> 00:39:15.360 it and we stencil 00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:18.760 our lives based on 00:39:18.760 --> 00:39:21.340 Christ's example, on 00:39:21.340 --> 00:39:22.360 what Christ's life 00:39:22.360 --> 00:39:23.099 looks like. 00:39:25.380 --> 00:39:26.579 It is a hard call, 00:39:26.680 --> 00:39:27.420 but friends, it is 00:39:27.420 --> 00:39:28.140 the only call. 00:39:29.539 --> 00:39:30.200 We are called to 00:39:30.200 --> 00:39:31.160 follow Christ, the 00:39:31.160 --> 00:39:32.120 suffering servant who 00:39:32.120 --> 00:39:32.980 gave his life as a 00:39:32.980 --> 00:39:33.680 ransom for many. 00:39:34.059 --> 00:39:34.780 So it's interesting 00:39:34.780 --> 00:39:36.500 here that out of all 00:39:36.500 --> 00:39:37.260 of the New Testament, 00:39:37.880 --> 00:39:40.720 Peter is looking at 00:39:40.720 --> 00:39:42.160 the suffering servant 00:39:42.160 --> 00:39:44.019 of Isaiah 53 and 00:39:44.019 --> 00:39:45.920 applying it to our 00:39:45.920 --> 00:39:48.119 lives and explaining 00:39:48.119 --> 00:39:49.880 it to us so that we 00:39:49.880 --> 00:39:51.179 can mimic Christ more 00:39:51.179 --> 00:39:52.079 than any other place 00:39:52.079 --> 00:39:52.719 in the New Testament. 00:39:53.420 --> 00:39:55.840 And Isaiah 53 is a 00:39:55.840 --> 00:39:58.699 huge, huge theme 00:39:58.699 --> 00:40:00.539 throughout the New 00:40:00.539 --> 00:40:00.840 Testament. 00:40:00.960 --> 00:40:01.900 It's a fulfillment of 00:40:01.900 --> 00:40:02.380 prophecy. 00:40:03.420 --> 00:40:04.400 It speaks to who 00:40:04.400 --> 00:40:05.139 Christ is. 00:40:05.139 --> 00:40:07.299 Jesus, and here Peter 00:40:07.299 --> 00:40:10.219 is using it to help 00:40:10.219 --> 00:40:11.259 us understand how 00:40:11.259 --> 00:40:12.219 Christ suffered so 00:40:12.219 --> 00:40:12.960 that we can then 00:40:12.960 --> 00:40:13.619 imitate him. 00:40:16.619 --> 00:40:19.319 You see, Peter, he 00:40:19.319 --> 00:40:21.019 tried one time to 00:40:21.019 --> 00:40:22.319 enjoy the glories of 00:40:22.319 --> 00:40:23.119 Christ without the 00:40:23.119 --> 00:40:23.879 suffering of Christ. 00:40:24.139 --> 00:40:24.779 If you remember at 00:40:24.779 --> 00:40:27.000 Caesarea Philippi, he 00:40:27.000 --> 00:40:27.960 says, you are the 00:40:27.960 --> 00:40:28.819 Christ, the son of the 00:40:28.819 --> 00:40:29.279 living God. 00:40:29.339 --> 00:40:30.119 He affirms who Jesus 00:40:30.119 --> 00:40:31.119 is and then Jesus says, 00:40:31.199 --> 00:40:33.440 I'm going to die for the 00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:34.720 sins of the world. 00:40:34.980 --> 00:40:36.880 And Peter says, no, 00:40:36.960 --> 00:40:37.460 you're not. 00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:38.340 He rebukes him. 00:40:39.579 --> 00:40:40.840 He wanted the glory, but 00:40:40.840 --> 00:40:41.360 he didn't want the 00:40:41.360 --> 00:40:41.659 suffering. 00:40:41.740 --> 00:40:42.539 And now we see a 00:40:42.539 --> 00:40:43.700 different Peter, do we 00:40:43.700 --> 00:40:43.920 not? 00:40:44.500 --> 00:40:45.740 A Peter that is 00:40:45.740 --> 00:40:47.400 embracing the true, 00:40:47.900 --> 00:40:49.079 whole fulfillment of 00:40:49.079 --> 00:40:50.360 what it means to live 00:40:50.360 --> 00:40:51.260 as Christ's children. 00:40:53.380 --> 00:40:54.420 He is saying that this 00:40:54.420 --> 00:40:54.880 is freedom. 00:40:56.780 --> 00:40:57.720 Friends, this is our 00:40:57.720 --> 00:40:58.260 good shepherd. 00:40:58.900 --> 00:40:59.740 This is the one who 00:40:59.740 --> 00:41:01.059 gathers the wayward and 00:41:01.059 --> 00:41:01.619 the lost. 00:41:01.619 --> 00:41:02.900 It's the one who 00:41:02.900 --> 00:41:04.440 left his glories and 00:41:04.440 --> 00:41:05.539 majesties and divine 00:41:05.539 --> 00:41:06.420 prerogatives to take 00:41:06.420 --> 00:41:08.359 upon human flesh so 00:41:08.359 --> 00:41:09.719 that we could, or so 00:41:09.719 --> 00:41:10.559 that he could be beaten, 00:41:10.779 --> 00:41:11.739 die and rise again. 00:41:12.219 --> 00:41:13.619 Not so that we can live, 00:41:13.699 --> 00:41:14.639 but first so that we can 00:41:14.639 --> 00:41:17.559 die and then live unto 00:41:17.559 --> 00:41:18.539 righteousness for him. 00:41:20.420 --> 00:41:21.699 Friends, he did not seek 00:41:21.699 --> 00:41:22.799 his own dignity. 00:41:23.519 --> 00:41:25.119 He suffered humiliation, 00:41:25.759 --> 00:41:28.119 but he was dignified above 00:41:28.119 --> 00:41:30.400 all, rising from the grave, 00:41:30.400 --> 00:41:31.840 defeating sin and death. 00:41:31.960 --> 00:41:33.119 This is Christ Jesus, 00:41:33.220 --> 00:41:34.780 our Lord, the good shepherd. 00:41:35.160 --> 00:41:36.139 And when it says he is the 00:41:36.139 --> 00:41:37.460 overseer of our souls, 00:41:37.539 --> 00:41:38.220 that means he's going to 00:41:38.220 --> 00:41:40.280 protect us and provide for 00:41:40.280 --> 00:41:41.260 us and preserve us. 00:41:43.840 --> 00:41:45.539 In light of what he has 00:41:45.539 --> 00:41:47.960 done, who he is, and how 00:41:47.960 --> 00:41:49.200 he continues to bless and 00:41:49.200 --> 00:41:50.400 pour out his grace upon 00:41:50.400 --> 00:41:52.360 his church, friends, let us 00:41:52.360 --> 00:41:54.440 lean into our calling as 00:41:54.440 --> 00:41:57.160 free people to be slaves to 00:41:57.159 --> 00:41:57.519 Christ. 00:41:58.159 --> 00:41:58.719 Let's pray. 00:42:00.199 --> 00:42:01.460 Father in heaven, we thank 00:42:01.460 --> 00:42:03.199 you for the beautiful example 00:42:03.199 --> 00:42:04.359 of your blessed son who, 00:42:05.599 --> 00:42:06.519 even though he was 00:42:06.519 --> 00:42:09.099 completely free, took upon 00:42:09.099 --> 00:42:11.359 himself the life of a slave 00:42:11.359 --> 00:42:14.179 so that by dying the life of a 00:42:14.179 --> 00:42:15.739 slave and rising again to new 00:42:15.739 --> 00:42:19.759 life, us slaves to sin could 00:42:19.759 --> 00:42:22.480 enjoy freedom in Christ. 00:42:22.480 --> 00:42:25.320 Lord, help us to live lives 00:42:25.320 --> 00:42:28.360 honorably in light of that. 00:42:29.099 --> 00:42:31.179 We thank you so much that you 00:42:31.179 --> 00:42:32.840 are always working and 00:42:32.840 --> 00:42:35.219 growing and providing for your 00:42:35.219 --> 00:42:35.559 church. 00:42:36.260 --> 00:42:37.780 And Lord, we look to you afresh 00:42:37.780 --> 00:42:38.940 this morning for that help, 00:42:39.260 --> 00:42:40.679 because we need it to live the 00:42:40.679 --> 00:42:41.719 lives that you've called us to 00:42:41.719 --> 00:42:41.900 live. 00:42:42.740 --> 00:42:44.019 We pray this in Christ's name. 00:42:44.519 --> 00:42:44.780 Amen.