Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 24

 We Believers are to show Respect to all People for Christ Sake

1 Peter 2:17-20 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. KJV Note: ESV=English Standard Version

The idea of any person honoring or paying respect to men 🚹 or women 🚺 who desire to hurt or even kill them goes against the sinful nature that every one of us human beings are born with. However, the Kingdom of Christ and God is different, for God calls His adopted sons and daughters to respect all of humanity, even those who hate Him and His children 🧒. The Apostle Peter just finished telling those scattered Jewish converts to our Lord Jesus Christ and it is likewise written to we converts to Christ today and those of every era to submit to human rulers for the Lord's Sake alone, so now he continues on to declare to them and to us these words, "Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God." (1 Peter 2:17-20) (KJV). Some might ask, Why is this God's command to us? The answer is because God is the Creator of all human beings and He sees all human motives and actions down to every detail and He is the avenger of that which is done with evil motive and intent against we His children as He writes to us through Paul the Apostle with these words, "Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' To the contrary, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:17-21) (ESV). I must say that this is a hard teaching for me and it has been so ever since my Lord Jesus Christ saved me over 19 years ago, however, I have submitted myself to this truth and continue to do so by the grace that I pray for from my Father in Heaven that I may be enabled by Him and His grace to do His will.

It has been right at 2 weeks since I penned my last commentary/Bible Study and during that time period someone tried to assassinate the former President of the United States Donald Trump. What ever you think of the man 👨, whether he truly belongs to Jesus Christ or not, he has shown remarkable restraint in his verbal commentary since the event of July 13, 2024. I sight this because our Lord Jesus Christ is saying to us through Peter and through Paul above to give these people over to God that His wrath against such evil as this will be done against every human instrument responsible directly or indirectly with carrying out such a blatant act of violent evil against the former President. You can be sure and certain that God/Jesus knows all the details of the plot, purpose, and plan carried out on that day. So, when you see such an act of intentional violence carried out, you know that the person and other people responsible for this act of violence had and have no honor for all men and women, for two other people in that crowd that day were seriously injured by bullets and one man lost his life shielding and protecting his wife and daughter from bullets. The Apostle Peter tells us to honor all men and to even honor the king 👑 and in our case here in the United States that means the current President and even former Presidents. The English word 'honor' Peter uses here is translated by the Greek word timaō meaning to prize, that is, fix a valuation upon; by implication to revere: - honour, value. All men 🚹 and women 🚺 are made in the image of God. If all of humanity would look at one another in this very manner, then there would not be violent conflicts or wars or any such things as these, but we know that this is impossible with man being separated from God by sin. During the time in which the Apostle Peter lived human slavery was a common thing, that is, some human beings owning other human beings was prevalent throughout the land. The Apostle Peter (by inspiration of the Holy Spirit) commands born again slaves or domestic household servants to be subservient to their master's will and commands whether the master is kind or unkind. Why? For the Lord's sake fearing that He would be displeased by their/our conduct, remember what Paul wrote to brother Titus, "Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior." (Titus 2:9-10)(ESV). In so responding in this manner of having a complete desire of  pleasing our Father in Heaven when we suffer unjustly because we are simply obeying His Word which is His will, however, when we ourselves sin against our Father in Heaven, there is no honor for us in patiently persevering in our trials, trouble, and tribulation for our sin, but only a quick response of repentance and turning away from that which is evil and back to the truth of God found in the Word of God and being cleansed by the powerful grace of God, as it is written for us by the Apostle John with these words, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. Whoever says 'I know Him' but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in Him, but whoever keeps His Word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Him: whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked." (1 John 1:9 - 2:6) (ESV).

Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of 1 Peter 2:17-20, "The Apostle concludes his discourse concerning the duty of subjects with four admirable precepts: - (1.) Honour all men. A due respect is to be given to all men; the poor are not to be despised (Proverbs 17:5); the wicked must be honoured, not for their wickedness, but for any other qualities, such as wit, prudence, courage, eminency of employment, or the hoary head. Abraham, Jacob, Samuel, the prophets, and the apostles, never scrupled to give due honour to bad men. (2.) Love the brotherhood. All Christians are a fraternity, united to Christ the head, alike disposed and qualified, nearly related in the same interest, having communion one with another, and going to the same home; they should therefore love one another with an especial affection. (3.) Fear God with the highest reverence, duty, and submission; if this be wanting, none of the other three duties can be performed as they ought. (4.) Honour the king with that highest honour that is peculiarly due to him above other men. II. The case of servants wanted an apostolical determination as well as that of subjects, for they imagined that their Christian liberty set them free from their unbelieving and cruel masters; to this the apostle answers, Servants, be subject, 1 Peter 2:18. By servants he means those who were strictly such, whether hired, or bought with money, or taken in the wars, or born in the house, or those who served by contract for a limited time, as apprentices. Observe, 1. He orders them to be subject, to do their business faithfully and honestly, to conduct themselves, as inferiors ought, with reverence and affection, and to submit patiently to hardships and inconveniences. This subjection they owe to their masters, who have a right to their service; and that not only to the good and gentle, such as use them well and abate somewhat of their right, but even to the crooked and perverse, who are scarcely to be pleased at all. Learn, (1.) Servants ought to behave themselves to their masters with submission, and fear of displeasing them. (2.) The sinful misconduct of one relation does not justify the sinful behaviour of the other; the servant is bound to do his duty, though the master be sinfully froward and perverse. (3.) Good people are meek and gentle to their servants and inferiors. Our holy apostle shows his love and concern for the souls of poor servants, as well as for higher people. Herein he ought to be imitated by all inferior ministers, who should distinctly apply their counsels to the lower, the meaner, the younger, and the poorer sort of their hearers, as well as others. 2. Having charged them to be subject, he condescends to reason with them about it. (1.) If they were patient under their hardships, while they suffered unjustly, and continued doing their duty to their unbelieving and untoward masters, this would e acceptable to God, and he would reward all that they suffered for conscience towards him; but to be patient when they were justly chastised would deserve no commendation at all; it is only doing well, and suffering patiently for that, which is acceptable with God, 1 Peter 2:19-20. Learn, [1.] There is no condition so mean but a man may live conscientiously in it, and glorify God in it; the meanest servant may do so. [2.] The most conscientious persons are very often the greatest sufferers. For conscience towards God, they suffer wrongfully; they do well, and suffer for it; but sufferers of this sort are praiseworthy, they do honour to God and to religion, and they are accepted of him; and this is their highest support and satisfaction. [3.] Deserved sufferings must be endured with patience: If you are buffeted for your faults, you must take it patiently. Sufferings in this world are not always pledges of our future happiness; if children or servants be rude and undutiful, and suffer for it, this will neither be acceptable with God nor procure the praise of men."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…