📖Scripture:
“Servants, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but even to those who are crooked.” - 1 Peter 2:18
🔎Examination:
Peter is not endorsing abusive systems or blindly baptizing every human authority as righteous. He is addressing “household servants” who were considered part of the family structure — and, by extension, saints who now belong to God’s household. The instruction is not blind passivity, but God-focused submission (Pr 3:5-6) in a world twisted by sin. The prerequisite of being a “household servant” is to belong to the family of God. The expectation for every human authority to be spotless and perfect as a prerequisite for submission is tangible evidence of ongoing rebellion. If unwilling to submit to the honorable, good, gentle, and even sometimes “crooked” authorities above us, not in compromising our faith or testimony but living as Daniel lived, then it exposes that we are not truly submitted to Christ as LORD and KING.
The sermon made this clear: to be a servant in God’s house is not to be an entitled consumer but a devoted slave of Christ. The regenerate Church does not gather to negotiate with God about how much obedience is “reasonable.” Our baptism is identification: buried with Christ, raised with Christ, no longer our own. To call Jesus “Lord” while demanding ideal conditions before we submit is to contradict the very word “Lord.”
“All respect” (literally, all fear) is not terror of earthly masters; it is fear of the LORD that shapes how we respond to earthly authority. Like Daniel in Babylon, saints do not base our obedience on whether masters are “good and gentle” or “crooked and unreasonable.” Circumstances may differ, but the call remains: live such objectively good and honorable lives that God is glorified on the day He visits.
This confronts our modern allergy to submission. We express it in our disdain for bosses, contempt for leaders, mockery of authorities, and casual abandonment of local churches when unbiblical and unrealistic expectations are not met in the worship of self. It is sinners who think freedom means, “No one tells me what to do.” Scripture defines freedom as being liberated from slavery to sin in order to gladly serve Christ as a member of His Body & Bride in righteousness. The question is never, “Am I a slave?” The question is, “Who am I a slave to?”
For those in Christ, submission is not shameful humiliation; it is imitation. The eternal Son took the form of a servant (Phil 2:3-11), humbling Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. The One who has every right to demand service girded Himself with a towel and washed dirty feet. When we submit in unjust or imperfect situations out of obedience to the LORD, we are not endorsing wickedness; we are displaying the reality of our citizenship in Christ's eternal kingdom.
At the same time, this does not call us to endorse, condone, or participate in sin, by obeying commands that contradict God’s Word. The Apostles themselves said, “We must obey God rather than men.” But far too often, we play that card not out of fear of God, but out of hatred of any authority outside ourselves. Peter’s command exposes whether our resistance is truly for Christ’s sake or merely our own.
Resurrection union is the power source here. Fleshly submission either grows into resentment or collapses into despair. But when we see ourselves as household servants of the King — ransomed, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and promised eternal glory — even unreasonable masters become platforms for displaying the worth of Christ. We endure, not because people deserve it, but because our Lord is worthy of it.
🤺Action:
Examine your heart toward authority (Ps 26:2): Do you instinctively resist, grumble, and mock, or do you submit out of fear of the LORD unless commanded to sin?
Test your servanthood (1 Cor 11:28): In your local church, are you functioning as a devoted servant in the household or as a customer, i.e., royalty expecting to be catered to?
Consider your workplace (1 Thess 5:21): Are you working “as unto the Lord,” even under crooked and unreasonable leadership, or only when you feel fairly treated?
Weigh your “holy resistance” (Jas 1:22–25): Are you disobeying for Christ’s sake or for self-sovereignty cloaked in religious language?
🧠Reflection:
Submission is not natural to the flesh, but it is native to those who are united to the crucified and risen Servant-King. When we bow our will before imperfect authorities out of fear of God, we are not shrinking; we are shining the light of Christ. We are saying with our lives, “King Jesus’ WORD matters more than my comfort. His glory matters more than my vindication.”
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where you have baptized rebellion as “discernment” and where you have used the failures of others to justify your own disobedience. Then remember: you are not called to white-knuckle compliance. You are called to walk in the footsteps of the One who submitted perfectly and now lives in you. Let today be an act of worship in the way you work, obey, and endure — as a household servant in the King of kings’ house.
Blessings & love,
Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor
Click the following link for a short video version of today’s blog article:
Click the following link for a link to Sunday’s sermon:
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