A way to live in harmony - Submission (part two)

(continued from the last post)

I do want to focus this study on submission based on a few passages in 1 Peter. Peter was writing this book in a time of persecution, in fact it was probably written during the time of the emperor Nero, who persecuted the first century church and under who Peter and Paul were murdered. Nero put Rome to flame and then blamed it to the Christians and which resulted in the deaths of many christians. History tells us that the christians were covered in wax and then burned to stake to light Nero’s gardens, some of them were fed to wild animals other were crucified. So this is what was happening when Peter is writing his letter.

Three principles of submission

          1. Submit for the Lord’s sake

1 Peter 2:13 -14(ESV)

¹³ Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.

Peter is encouraging the believers to be in submission, to obey, to put themselves willingly under every human institution. This means also to the emperor Nero, one of the worse persecutor of the first century christians.

So the message that Peter is trying to get across is that even when we have leaders in society that do not do what is godly we still need to be subject to them, why? Because God wants us to and our submission will honor God who placed them there.

          2. Submit with all respect

1 Peter 2:18 -19 (ESV)

¹⁸ Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.

¹⁹ For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.

Here again Peter talks to servants encouraging them to be subject to their masters. Masters today could be employers, our bosses, Peter is saying that it doesn’t matter if they are good or bad, we are called to submit. And submit how? “With all respect.” Complaining about our boss, the way he runs the company, the way he runs people is not respectful.  And if we do suffer because of our unjustly master, i.e. boss, Peter reminds us that it is a gracious thing to suffer unjustly.

          3. Submit to win souls

1 Peter 3:1-2 (ESV)

"Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct."

Peter turns now to the wives to encourage them to be submitted to their own husbands. The principals are the same, we need to respect, we need to submit for the Lord’s sake. Remember that the Lord appointed their leadership and position in the house, but with one more addition, so that our lifestyle may win souls to Christ when they see our conduct pure and respectful.

So if our husband is a believer can we omit submission because we don’t have to win him to Christ? No, we still have to remember the he is the leader appointed by God for our household ad we should submit with all respect and no matter if we have a good or bad husband. 

So what we gather from those verses is that in whatever area of life we face submission, we are called to submit because the Lord commanded it to us, to submit with all respect because the Lord appointed certain leaders in our life and to submit to win souls, though our conduct people may see a different life changed by God.

Submission doesn't just effect marriages but many other areas of life, but submission is a way to live in harmony!

Submission is taught in the context of various relationships. In divinely ordained relationships, submission enables a unique Christian harmony, based on God’s good design.