1 Pet. 2:18-19 - Servants - obey your masters

18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.
19 For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.

These verses are not an endorsement of slavery. In the workplace environment, whether as boss or as employee, let your work habits reflect your faith. (Col. 3:23, 24)

vs. 18 - "Servants, be submissive" - Your witness by your obedience to those who have control over you will be made known. Your boss, your master (if you are a slave) will know if you are a good employee. See: 1 Cor. 7:20-24. Do nothing that would entice them to say, "Well, if that's the way a Christian acts..." We all have had discussions with people who know Christians who have behaved badly, who have done wrong. What can you say to them? Make no excuses.

vs. 19 - "for sake of conscience" - Obedience to your master finds favor with the Lord. If you/we suffer for our belief in God and Christ... In the U. S., Christians have not been subject to much persecution. We have been blessed to live in a country whose history is based on Judeo-Christian heritage and foundation. But many others are not so fortunate. Persecution or mockery directed at you because you are a believer in Jesus, and you do not respond in anger and malice is counted as credit.

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1 Pet. 2:13-17 - Obey civil authorities; do what is right

13 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority,
14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.
15 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.
16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.
17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

This is a continuation of the living above reproach theme considered in the previous verses.

vs. 13-14 - "Submit yourselves..." - Obey the rules and laws set down by those who govern, to glorify Jesus through your obedience. Do not let your actions, such as flaunting the law or willful disobedience to the laws, cause people to denigrate Jesus's church. How many times have we heard of someone say a negative comment about a 'Christian businessman'? That's a bad witness. If there is no difference in behavior, why would anyone want to be a Christian?
It is much easier to be a non-believer than a Christian because good behavior is not expected from someone who is not Christ's follower.

vs. 15 - "ignorance of foolish men" - Foolish people, before they know you, may bad-mouth you because of your faith. Give them no reason to do so. See: 1 Pet. 2:12, 3:17. In today's culture in the United States, the term 'conservative', or 'fundamentalist' is a pejorative. (Note: The Puritans who escaped England to come to North America were despised. To call someone a 'Puritan' was a slur. And this was simply because they wanted to 'purify' the Anglican church from its apostasy.)

vs. 16 - "Act as free men" - We now are free from the law of sin and death. We are free in Christ; yet we are voluntary slaves of Christ. He bought us, and paid a dear price. See: Gal. 5:1, 13; 1 Thess. 5:22; James 1:25; 1 Cor. 7:22; Rom. 6:22; Eph. 6:6; Col 3:24.
"do not use your freedom as a covering for evil" - What an odd turn of phrase. How does freedom cover up evil? It does not. I think this means 'do not use your freedom as an excuse to sin.' Believers are now free from the power of sin, the power of shame and guilt. Free to live as you wish. No more looking over your shoulder (metaphorically) to see if you are being caught doing wrong. In theory, once you have accepted Christ as Savior, there is no more penalty. You are saved, your life is hidden with Christ in God. Eternal life is yours. In theory, this means you may live any way you want. After all, there is no second death!
Wrong! Wrong way of thinking. Wrong motivation. A terrible price has been paid for you - individually. (If you were the only human on earth, Christ would had to be sacrificed for you!) You are no longer a slave to sin. Live like that! Remember when you buy a new car? Remember how careful you are with it - after all you've put out a lot of money for it. Treat your new life in Christ with the same type of care and reverence. Live your life worthy - see Col. 1:9-13, Rom. 6:6-15.

vs. 17 - "Honor... Love... Fear" - God first, Others second, Me third. Love your fellow believers, they are saved as your are by the mercy of God and Jesus's sacrifice. Be respectful (honor) all people - both the saved and unsaved are loved by God. Fear God - your life is in His hands. Your eternal life is in His hands. If you are Christ's - your eternal life is with Him. If not, the 'certificate of death' which is on all of us, will be executed (Col. 2:13-14.)
Give respect to the king (President, Prime Minister, whoever is leading your country) because your life here on earth is in their control.
This is a good lifestyle: Respect and love those you live with. Fear and respect those who are your masters.

1 Pet. 2:11-12 - We must be Above Reproach since We are His People

11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.
12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

vs. 11 - "beloved" - Peter is addressing fellow Christians. He talks to them as brothers and sisters - family, not just other people. .

"aliens and strangers" - Okay, aliens and strangers to what? If Peter was refering to Gentiles, they were 'aliens' from God's salvation message given to the Jews. They were 'strangers' from the whole history of God and His people. If Peter was refering to the Jews, they were called 'strangers in a strange land' while in captivity. I don't think either makes much sense.
Peter has just addressed them as 'beloved' - Peter loves them because they are part of the church family. (Rom. 12:5) Not that Peter loves non-believers less. Believers are children of God, and there is a 'family' relationship. For example, if you are a fan of the Oregon State Beavers and you meet another Beaver fan, there is an instant camaraderie based on that fandom. (It may not go deeper than that but it is a relationship you would not have with a fan of any other college team.) In the same way, Christians are not strangers to the love of God, being saved by His grace.

Peter wants you to realize you are no longer members of this world, but denizens of another more magnificent reality. This world is no longer your home. Your home is in heaven and you are a visitor here. You have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred tothe kingdom of His beloved Son. (Col. 1:13) How strange to think of the world into which you were born, the one in which you grew up, the one in which you sit now while reading is an alien land. This is not your home. You are a 'stranger' here. So, if this is not your home then you are not controlled any longer by the 'rules' of this space. Fleshly lusts are the norm here. You are no longer subject to the sin around you.

This may be one of the most difficult concepts to grasp. We are physically bound to this world. It is real - the pain, the suffering, the joy, and the common - eating, drinking, sleeping, work. The spiritual world is also real - our thoughts, our spirit, our faith. Our behavior is determined by our beliefs and our will to follow those beliefs. We are what we believe. (Prov. 23:7; Gen. 6:15; Job. 4:24; Psa. 37:31; Matt. 12:34, 15:18; Luk 6:45)
The book "Total Truth" (Nancy Pearcey) points out that both ancient and modern philosophies have tried to separate the spiritual and the physical. The physical is 'real' and 'true'. The spiritual is in your mind, is not 'real' and therefore does not have the same 'truth' as the physical. Her emphasis is both physical and spiritual form a total truth. They cannot be separated. This is the battle we face each day. Do we follow the old nature, which is bound by sin and defiles us? Do we turn to Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit and live life abundantly? It is our choice. It does not happen automatically. Turn from your old ways which are part of your ignorance of Christ, and choose the new. That is what makes you a 'stranger and an alien' in this world.

"fleshly lusts which war against the soul." - That which is of the flesh is against the spirit. See: Rom. 8:5-8, 13; James 1:21, 4:1-4; 1 John 2:15-16; Gal. 6:7,8.

vs. 12 - "Keep your behavior excellent" - Keep your actions so above reproach, that even non-believers will know you are Christ's own at His return. They will see your good deeds, how you live your life, how you respond in any and every circumstance, and will acknowledge that you were a Christian. See: Phil. 2:15; 2 Cor. 8:21; Rom. 12:17; 1 Thess. 5:22. But before that, during this life, they will see that you are not like others who do not believe.
This verse also helps us see that 'aliens and strangers' was not about Gentiles or Jews in the previous verse. We are to live amongst the Gentiles so that no bad thing can be said about us. I am not refering to persecution, but reputation. Your life must be authentically Christian. You must 'good to the bone' - all the way down to your inner most being. In this way, any slander will be recognized as untrue and evil. When someone slanders your good name ('Christian') you want others to shake their heads and say, "That doesn't sound like the person I know." Or someone will say, "That can't be. I know them. They are Christian!" God will be glorified by your life. This same message was delivered in Ezek. 36:21. The Jews disobedience and stubbornness had profaned the the name of God - it was no longer viewed as 'holy' by other nations. His reputation was besmirched.

"day of visitation" - This probably refers to Christ's return and not referring to rapture; it is at the return for judgement that all will acknowledge Jesus is Lord. See: Phil. 2:9-11.

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1 Pet. 2:9-10 - We are his people, by His mercy

9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

vs. 9 - "Chosen race" - These words described the Jewish nation. See Deut. 7:6, 10:15, 29:10-14; Isa. 42:6 The world was to know God through them. See: Isa. 43:20, 61:6; Exo. 19:6; . Now 'chosen race' applies to the church. Even more so, we know the grace and mercy of the Lord. We can proclaim this grace to the world.

"royal priesthood" - The Levites were priests, but never called 'royal'. They were chosen by God to serve Him, and to serve the people. They were to be the intermediaries between the people and God. They did not volunteer to be the priests, it was given to them by God, (Num. 18:7). It was for them to serve, to bear responsibility for their duties. The priesthood was a serious job. It was to be the Levites' job forever. Exo. 29:9 No one else among the Israelites could do it. To attempt to step in and take over meant death. Num. 3:10.

In the new covenant there are no priestly duties, ceremonial or otherwise.
What is our job, if we are royal priests?
We are to be God's 'speakers for the dead' (to paraphrase Orson Scott Card, though he was not referring to faith in Christ). By this I mean sharing the gospel to those who are dead in their sin. We do not advocate (as defense lawyers, so to speak) to God for those lost in their sins. There is only one who can do that. 1 John 2:1; Mic. 7:9. We have no power to save. Acts 4:12 God has given us the mission of sharing the good news. Matt. 28:19,20, Rom. 10:14. Campus Crusade for Christ had a 'mission statement'- "We are to share the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, and leave the results to God." It is God who saves. We are the designated messengers.

"holy nation" - This title had been reserved for the Israelites. Isa. 19:6, Israel, even to this day, has a special place in God's economy and kingdom. The believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, have NOT replaced the Jews. The covenant with Abraham is in perpetuity. God does not change His mind. He does not break His promises. The Jews are the Father's special nation. The church is Christ's special nation. The Jews are, or are to be the Father's bride. The church is, or is to be the bride of Christ.

"people... God's own possession" - See Exo. 3:7, Lev. 26:12. The descendants of Abraham are God's own. And now, because He has called us to Him, we are His also. Again, we are not displacing the Jews, they will always be precious to God. We also are His people, paid for by His blood, His sacrifice. For both Jew and the Gentile believers, we did nothing to earn that elevated position.

"so that..." - Being 'chosen', a 'priesthood', a 'nation', and His 'people' is not so we can just sit around and bask in His glory. This answers the question asked earlier about what are we priests to do: Share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God. What has He done for you? Saved you from the penalty due for your sins - which is death. I just read an article from a webpage, ThinkChristian which notes the enemy of Satan and death is the resurrection. "The resurrection is the fulcrum on which the whole Christian story turns. Because of the resurrection, terror, cancer, addiction, depression and death may have their say, but they don’t have the last word. Because of the resurrection there is no lost hope. Because of the resurrection there is a new reality in which life wins, love wins and the power of God wins." God wins! Satan has no answer, for he cannot create life, he cannot resurrect life. He only partakes in death. As a result, believers win! We are called out of darkness and into the kingdom of His glorious light. See Col. 1:13, James 1:17.

vs. 10 - "Not a people... Now you are the people of God" - This was prophesied in Hosea 1:10, 2:23. There were the Jews, chosen by God to be the conduit of salvation of the world. All the rest, Gentile nations, were not 'chosen'. This does not mean that God did not love the Gentiles. They were not the people God would use to display His grace. They may be recipients, but not called to be actively involved in showing His grace to the world. There would come a time when those on the 'outs' would no longer be so. Were there special blessings for the Jews because they were chosen? Yes. There were special requirements also. We Gentiles had no hope. We had no Law, either. We would be judged on what we understood from what we can sense around us. Now is the time, starting with the crucifixion, burial and resurrection, for us to become people of God's kingdom. We were estranged, with little hope. Now we are God's children - His people - when we accept Christ as Lord and Savior. This verse indicates that Peter is not writing to Jewish believers only, but to we Gentiles also. See: Rom. 10:19.

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