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Following in His Steps
Updated: 3 days ago
1 Peter 2:13–25 · Matt Miller · Balkan Baptist Church, Novi Sad
Blamed for something you didn’t do
You are blamed at work for a mistake you did not make, and the person who actually made it stands right there and says nothing. Or you wait an hour at a government office, finally reach the counter, and hear that you need one more document and must come back tomorrow. You try to explain. Nobody listens. Or your boss insists on a decision you warned him would fail, and when it fails, he blames you.
What happens inside you in that moment? Do you want to raise your voice? Embarrass them? Make sure they feel what you felt?
When someone treats us wrongly, we suddenly find a hundred reasons why we shouldn’t have to respond rightly.
Peter knew that moment well. He had watched Jesus stand before unjust judges. And he tells us what Jesus did.
“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.”
— 1 Peter 2:21
Where Peter has brought us
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:1–12.
Last week Peter took us to a building site. God is building His house, not with bricks and mortar but with people. Jesus Christ is the living Cornerstone, and those who come to Him become living stones. The stones must be living, they must be built upon Christ, and God’s house must display its Builder.
Then Peter called us to live honorably among unbelievers, so that they see our good works and glorify God. Now he shows what that looks like when someone else has authority, and when we do right but receive wrong.
Not the King they expected
Many people expected a King who would throw off Rome, defeat their enemies, and change their circumstances. Jesus’ path led through suffering and a cross, and many rejected Him because He was not the king they were looking for.
Our prayers can sound similar: “Lord, change the people in charge. Remove this difficult person. Make them treat me fairly.” But while we wait for circumstances to change, Jesus calls us to represent Him in them.
We do not have to control the world around us to display Christ to the world around us.
What submission means
A word runs through this passage: submission. It does not mean weakness or lack of worth. It means taking our proper place under God’s authority. We are free people who belong to God. Human authority is not absolute, and we must never obey people by disobeying God. Yet disagreement does not release us from showing respect and doing good.
1. We are God’s servants under human authority.
2. We may suffer unjustly while doing good.
3. We follow the Savior who has already walked this road.
1. God’s servants under human authority
For the Lord’s sake
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:13–15.
“Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors.” That phrase, “for the Lord’s sake,” is our starting point. We show respect because of whom we serve, even when we disagree with the person in charge.
Peter describes what government is for: “the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.” Authorities sometimes fail at that. But their failure does not cancel our responsibility to do right. “For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.”
Our obedience to God cannot depend on whether we like our leaders.
Free, and servants
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:16.
“As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.” Peter holds two truths together: we are free, and we are God’s servants. Christian freedom is never permission to act however we please. We represent Christ by our conduct, not merely by winning an argument.
Four commands
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:17; Acts 5:29.
“Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.” Notice the distinction: honor the king, but fear God. The king has authority, but he does not take God’s place. We must never obey a human command that requires disobedience to God. Yet we can disagree without contempt, appeal without dishonesty, and speak firmly without cruelty.
The way we respond to earthly authority should reveal our allegiance to heavenly authority.
PAUSE AND REFLECT Whose name comes to mind when you hear the word “authority,” and what happens in your heart when you hear it? |
2. Faithful while suffering unjustly
Even the harsh ones
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:18.
“Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.” Froward means harsh, crooked, hard to deal with. Peter is speaking to household servants, many of them slaves, with far less freedom than any employee today. He is addressing a painful reality. He is not declaring that oppression is good.
Doing right, and suffering anyway
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:19–20.
Peter distinguishes between two kinds of suffering. “For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently?” If we are dishonest or careless and face consequences, that is a call to repent. “But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.”
They endure “for conscience toward God.” They know He sees what their master ignores.
Unfair treatment does not make faithful obedience invisible to God.
Truth without revenge
Think back to being blamed for someone else’s mistake. You may need to explain the truth or appeal the decision. Seeking protection and reporting wrongdoing can be part of doing good; faithfulness never requires calling evil good. But you do not have to lie, threaten, or get even.
Someone else’s wrongdoing does not give us permission to do wrong.
PAUSE AND REFLECT What hurt are you still trying to repay? |
3. Following our suffering Savior
He left us an example
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:21–22; Isaiah 53:9.
Where do we find the strength for this? Peter points us to Jesus. “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.” The word example pictures a pattern traced for a child learning to write. We follow the lines He has drawn.
He committed Himself to the Father
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:23.
“Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.” When He was insulted, He did not insult back. When He suffered, He did not threaten revenge. He placed His case in His Father’s hands.
His submission was deliberate obedience, not approval of the injustice done to Him. He trusted His Father even when human authorities judged Him wrongly. The King of glory took the servant’s place. He endured injustice without becoming unjust.
Jesus placed His case in His Father’s hands. We can place ours there too.
More than an example
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:24–25; Isaiah 53:5–6.
If Jesus were only an example, we would be in trouble, because we have all failed to follow it. But Peter goes further: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
He did not merely show us how to endure wrong. He carried our wrongs to the cross. “For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” We follow Him because He has rescued us.
Before He called us to follow His steps, He walked them, all the way to the cross, for us.
PAUSE AND REFLECT Where is Christ calling you to honor authority, keep doing good, and leave the outcome with God? |
CONCLUSION AND APPLICATION
Back to the moment of blame
Return to where we began: the blame you did not deserve, the official who would not listen, the boss who treated you unfairly. In those moments, your response tells people something about the One you follow. Last week we learned that God’s house must display its Builder. Today Peter showed us what that looks like under pressure.
The character of our Builder should be visible in His house.
We cannot promise that obedience will make people treat us better right away. Peter’s readers had no such promise. Our calling is to be faithful, and we can trust God with the outcome. Entrusting yourself to God means revenge no longer has to direct your next step.
Key takeaways
We submit to human authority for the Lord’s sake, but we fear God above all.
Christian freedom is never a cover for doing wrong.
Suffering for doing good is seen and accepted by God.
We can seek truth and protection without lying, threatening, or revenge.
Jesus is our example, and more: He bore our sins on the tree.
This week: one obedient step
Identify one response that needs to change. Perhaps you need to apologize for the way you spoke, even though your concern was right. Perhaps you need to stop repeating an insulting story. Perhaps you need to tell the truth about mistreatment and seek help, without trying to destroy the person responsible.
Ask yourself, “What would doing good look like in this situation?” Then take that step because you belong to Christ.
If you have not trusted Christ
Maybe your greatest need today is not a change in how you respond. It is to come to the Savior Himself. Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the cross. He took the judgment our sins deserved so that we could be forgiven and live a new life. You cannot make yourself right with God by becoming more respectful, more patient, or more religious. You need the Savior who died for you and rose again.
Turn from your sin and put your faith in Jesus Christ. You do not need to be in a church building to do it. Tell Him right where you are that you know you have sinned, that you need His forgiveness, and that you are trusting Jesus, who died for your sins and rose again.
The Shepherd receives the sheep that come to Him.
If you belong to Christ
Is there an attitude you need to confess? A wrong response to put right? A painful situation to place in your Father’s hands? Bring it to Him today. And carry this question into your week: What would it look like to follow Jesus’ steps in the situation I am facing today?
Our prayer
Father, forgive us for the times we have answered wrong with wrong. Thank You that Jesus bore our sins and brought us back to You. Teach us to honor others, to keep doing good, and to trust Your judgment. Draw those who do not yet know Christ to the Savior. Help us display our Builder by following His steps. In Jesus’ name, amen.
QUESTIONS ABOUT FOLLOWING HIS STEPS
1. Does submitting to authority mean I must obey every command?
No. We honor authority for the Lord’s sake, but we fear God above all. When a human command requires disobedience to God, we obey God, respectfully.
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:13, 17; Acts 5:29
2. Is Peter approving of slavery or mistreatment?
No. Peter speaks to people in a painful reality and shows them how to live faithfully within it. He never calls oppression good, and seeking protection or reporting wrongdoing can be part of doing good.
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:18–20; 1 Corinthians 7:21
3. If I am treated unfairly, should I stay silent?
Not necessarily. You may explain the truth, appeal a decision, or seek help. What Peter forbids is answering wrong with wrong: lying, threatening, or revenge.
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:23; Romans 12:17–19
4. What does “by whose stripes ye were healed” mean here?
Peter quotes Isaiah 53 about Christ’s suffering for our sins. In context, the healing is from sin: Christ bore our sins so that we could be forgiven and live unto righteousness.
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:5
5. Who is “the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls”?
Jesus Christ, who seeks wandering sheep, brings them back, and watches over them. Bishop here means overseer or guardian.
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:25; John 10:11
ABOUT THIS STUDY This study is part of our Sunday morning series through 1 Peter at Balkan Baptist Church, Novi Sad. If it encouraged you, share it with someone who needs to hear about the hope we have in Christ. |
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