"The Kingdom Rolls On" (1 Peter 2:18-25)

Introduction

As we move into another year, the work of the Kingdom of God rolls on! As God’s church here in this locality, with our unique mission, we are called to participate in what God wants to bring about. We will be listening to God’s Holy Spirit for guidance and the best use of our resources. This will need to be a team effort, where everyone’s role is important. If you are visiting from another church, this surely would be true for your situation and context as well.

The Kingdom of God is NOT under threat – quite the opposite. Brady Boyd writes, “Each generation has moments when it seems the world is about to suffocate the teachings of Jesus, but the light of truth always overcomes darkness”. We read that the message of the Kingdom is so strong, prevalent and impacting, that even if everyone was quiet, the “stones” would shout out about Jesus (Luke 19:40).

Yet God chooses to call us to partner with Jesus in his mission – this is all part of embracing a growing relationship with God. [I added here the slightly cynical comment … at the very least, we shouldn’t get in God’s way!] We are to engage with people in our neighbourhood with love and grace. R C Sproul wrote, “Everything that the church does today and tomorrow matters and counts forever”.

We need to ‘honour’ the ‘public space’ that we occupy – openly and honestly bearing true witness to Jesus the Christ. We can be quite intentional in our ‘presence’: as we ourselves embrace God, grow in faith, and are sensitive to the Holy Spirit in our daily journey – a redemptive witness will start to overflow into all our various conversations with others.

Saying No to Defensiveness

So, this is NOT the time to be defensive or negative. We can so easily react unhelpfully, when events are seemingly against us. We can say the wrong things … that turn people away … words we just can’t take back; and we can judge in a way people will no longer be interested in anything we have to say. It’s simply NOT the time to be defensive. Jesus does NOT say, ‘Come follow me and we’ll barricade ourselves away in safety from the world’. If this is ever said, taught, modelled or done – this is a divergence from the Gospel – Jesus’ Gospel of incarnation and engagement!

There is NEVER a time to be defensive or negative. This will get us nowhere, be completely counter-productive, and defeat us. And, to be worrying unduly about religious rights and freedoms can become a total distraction, and we know where distractions like this come from. Anything to divert us from the mission of God, which has such great potential for seeing people come to know Jesus.

To be defensive or negative destroys the gracious work of God in the world. This is especially so when it leads us into fear about people. Yes, there are certain people who will want to hurt us, but when we then label whole groups of people because of the evil of certain ones, we have been led down an ungodly track, that then in turn disrupts God’s deep desires to reconcile with people of all nations, and bring them into his beautifully diverse Kingdom.

And, in the end, God can look after Himself. There are many debates we can and should enter, but we need to do so in the right spirit, with an understanding about where other people are coming from, and with good clear positive contributions to make. We should never discount or deny the church’s failings, particularly when people’s trust has been abused and destroyed. At the same time, there has been many good stories and achievements in God’s church, in terms of the provision of support for those otherwise neglected by society.

Persecution as the Norm

Actually, the Bible knows nothing about religious freedoms (as we might define them), it is a book entirely about SPIRITUAL freedom – knowing God in grace. This is largely in the context of difficult times and challenging circumstances. What will lead us through and take us forward? Simply, the quality and integrity of our relationship with God!

When the people of Israel lost their way with God, they often finished in exile. The way back from exile was never through political or military means, but always through a heart and mind returned to a focus wholly on Yahweh … their loving Creator. And God was always, through His prophets offering the ‘olive-branch’ of restoration; and always at the right time, after a lesson or two had been learnt, God fulfilled His promises.

And then, Jesus never asked to be defended, or to be rescued from the cross – quite the opposite. In one account, Jesus ministered to one of the soldiers arresting him, by healing his ear injured at the time. Jesus forgave those crucifying him, because they didn’t know what they were doing. This all had a major impact on one particular Roman soldier, who declared Jesus to be surely God’s Son. Sacrificial service was what Jesus was all about – born in modest circumstances; and thirty-three years later, riding in to Jerusalem for the last time, not on a mighty horse, but rather a humble donkey.

What the Bible does know about … is persecution. Persecution comes to those who seek to live out truth (and good values) against cultural resistance. In following Jesus, the norm will be opposition, and in the worst of circumstances … persecution. The classic text on this is Matthew 5:10-12 …

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

And it’s interesting that the famous sayings of Jesus regarding being the “salt of the earth” and “light of the world” directly follow this! It will be as we faithfully work through such opposition and persecution in creative ways, that we will grow in our trust-relationship with God, and also see growth in the church. It is NOT through preferential treatment that we will grow, but through integrity under threat.

Students of history will know that the church easily lost its way back in the fourth century when Christianity became the state religion of the Roman empire. The church became entangled in the state, and thus lost its cutting edge redemptive influence. Truth becomes compromised, when it gets entangled with national political agendas. As Martin Luther King Jnr stated, the church CANNOT be either the master or the servant of the state, only its conscience.

We do need to recapture the essence of the church expressed in the early chapter of Acts. The early church knew nothing of the advantages of Christendom, which is, of course, instructive to us … as old ‘entitlements’ are now swept away. This actually brings great opportunities! Under misunderstanding and persecution, the early church were focussed and faithful, and grew strongly and quickly.

“Historically, Christians have most influenced society, not as some sort of ‘moral majority’, but [rather] as a life-giving love-driven minority” (author Scott Sauls quoted by Paul Cameron). “The Christian life is NOT about safety and comfort, but rather about finding yourself in a dangerous place of vulnerable compassion” (Ed Stetzer – as quoted last Sunday).

The Example of Slavery

And we do need to listen to first century New Testament writing like in the letters of Peter, to understand the context in which the church lived out its faith and witness. It will then be, as we sense the leading of the Holy Spirit in the cut and thrust of 21^st century life, that we will be able to graciously, patiently and effectively tackle the evils and injustices that appear … and dominate around us. Our call is to love our neighbour … pure and simple! If we want to defend God, or our view of God, or our view of God’s ways, there is only one true way of doing so – loving our neighbour!!

Slavery was a cultural norm in the first century Roman world, just as it was accepted or tolerated across the centuries and across the world. This rightly offends us today here in Australia. The evil practices within slavery actually got worse, before in some countries it was legislated against. Commentators consider the slavery of 19^th century America far worse that what we had in 1^st century Palestine (where often “slaves” were treated quite reasonably).

To be a “slave” generally means that you have no rights, you are entirely subservient to another seen as your better, with the impact of being treated as sub-human (which often meant unspeakable torture). And of course modern forms of slavery are still rife in the world. Peter here uses slavery as a backdrop for his teaching on discipleship – how to live out faith in general society.

The New Testament doesn’t critique slavery directly – some commentators explaining this by suggesting that any mass slave-rebellion would have brought a severe response. However, we know that Paul taught that all those that came within the church were equal whether “slave or free” (Gal 3:28), which should have been enough for a much earlier end to institutionalised slavery, especially in enlightened nations.

We CANNOT defend slavery as in any way good, but we can learn what the New Testament, in its time, is trying to say to those who were the victims of this practice … in terms of their Christianity (referring particularly to 1 Peter 2:18-25):

1. Those who were “slaves” were to remember their SPIRITUAL freedom. They had an experience of Jesus in their lives, and no matter their life situation, in their spirit they were free. This makes all the difference about how they view themselves, and also their role in life. Also, the notion of being accepted by God through forgiveness of their sin, would at least lift some of the humiliation that they lived under.

They might be in quite abusive and unjust situations, but what Jesus has done for each of them, has meant … that whilst they may be in chains physically, they are FREE internally in their SPIRIT. In fact, they could reflect on Jesus himself, who voluntarily became enslaved to the will of humanity … to the point of execution on a cross – which, significantly, was also the fate of disobedient slaves!

Because it was God performing this, meant that those who accepted this gift of grace became free … where it counts the most. There is a great release here – liberation – simply trusting ourselves to God! Trusting God can go against our human inclination toward independence and self-protection, but it remains the way to real freedom.

Whilst we would never regard ourselves as “slaves”, we can all empathise with living in a world that is far from the way God intended it to be. There is violence, greed and hate around us, which upsets us, and sometimes will even touch us. We remember, though, that as we are first and foremost a citizen of God’s heavenly Kingdom, above any nationalistic identity, we are recipients of a spiritual freedom which means we are never enslaved to anyone or anything, apart from service to others in God’s name. So for all these reasons … we endure, and keep on doing what is good and right.

2. Those who were “slaves” were also to live in a particularly notable way. And that ‘particularly notable way’ … involved following the example of Jesus – who did NOT strike out at his opponents who mocked him, nor retaliate in any way to those who scourged him, but rather loved and forgave them. In this, I find verse 23 quite stunning. This is the pattern, this will always be the biblical Jesus-like approach – to entrust ourselves to God … who understands everything. God knows us, and has our back, and will ultimately vindicate us … if not in this life, then for sure through eternity! Thus, it is much better to find purpose in suffering, even unjust suffering, than to fall into despair and resentment.

It could be that Peter refers to “slaves” particularly, because it could be their example, under immense pressure, that provides sufficient motivation for Jesus-followers … who were free citizens … to live worthy lives. Earlier in this chapter (v 12), Peter wrote about us living such good lives in our community, that, though some may accuse us of wrong doing, they will ultimately see our undoubted good deeds, and come to eventually glorify God. Now that is a word for today!

So, we are to accept every and all opportunity for ministry to others, reassured, that in those situations that are far from ideal or seemingly against us, Jesus has gone there before us. We live in “righteousness” (or ‘live rightly’), with nothing to seek revenge for, because we have been accepted, forgiven and healed by God through Jesus. We are in the company of the “shepherd and guardian of our souls” (v.25).

Sometimes, perhaps most times, we will need to remove ourselves from situations and places of abuse, but we should know that the terrible things that have happened to us … do NOT define us, for we have a spiritual freedom that no one can take away; and if we feel in anyway depleted by such experiences, we can be restored and re-created in the loving arms of Jesus – who knew suffering and death, but then experienced a resurrection – a resurrection that is shared with us!

Conclusion

We are on the victory side! It could be that in 2018, we live like we’re on the victory side. Not in any form of triumphalism, nor superiority, for there is too much brokenness in the world that needs addressing … there are so many people who are struggling or lost, who need to know Jesus in their lives. This means we will be humble and gentle travellers on the journey of life, connecting, as we have opportunity, with those souls needing a shepherd and guardian.

We’ll live like we’re on the victory side, because we’ll notice how God is working in our lives, through our struggles, to make us more like Jesus. As we follow Jesus in everyday life, grow in our mission, thrive in our faith-relationship with God, we will also come to triumph over any less than ideal circumstances. We will express our spiritual freedom in more and more ways.

Our giftings from the Holy Spirit will start to shine out; and our role within the Body of Christ will become more clear. We are then well-placed to tackle the defeat of any evil and injustice that crosses our path. The Kingdom of God rolls on, begging us to get involved. We prayerfully look forward into God’s future, and faithfully seek His guidance into our part of that … all the way with a positive mindset! Amen!