1 Peter 2:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

NIV: Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.

NASB: Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-servants of God.

CSB: Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves.

NLT: For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.

KJV: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

NKJV: as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.

In the previous verses, Peter has revealed that God's will for Christians is to submit to every human authority, from the emperor (in Peter's time) down to those who enforce the law. Peter delivered this command understanding that Christians would sometimes be falsely accused and treated unfairly by those in authority.

But don't Christians have a higher authority? Aren't we servants first and foremost to God and His will? Peter says yes. That's exactly the point he is making. Christians are free people in Christ. We are no longer subject to the Old Testament Law, and our true purpose and future are not determined by any human government.

Peter doesn't want his Christian readers to think of submission to human authorities as any kind of slavery. We should submit to human authority of our own free will. We should submit to human authority not out of loyalty to governments or men, but out of obedience and loyalty to God. As His "slaves," we follow His command to submit to human laws. God is the one we are serving in our submission to any other authority. That makes us truly free. Believers are not people who submit to governments out of cowering fear, or even earthly loyalty. We submit because our God tells us to, and we are His people set aside for His purposes.

We must never, Peter writes, claim our freedom as God's people as a way of justifying wrong or sinful (or "evil") choices. To do so shows that we deeply misunderstand what it means to be a free servant of God. Nor are we to use "submission" as an excuse to do something sinful, simply because the government has told us to do it (Acts 5:28–29).

1 Peter 2:13–25 reveals God’s will for those who are free in Christ: to willingly submit to every human authority for God’s sake. This includes emperors, governors, kings, and even slave masters. Peter does not endorse slavery, but he does instruct Christian slaves to endure unjust suffering, as Jesus did for our sake on the cross. He does not expect us to ''obey'' when the instructions are sinful. Rather, Christians are called to imitate Christ by suffering for doing good. Because Jesus was willing to do so, we lost sheep are now under the protection of our shepherd.

Peter gets specific about what it means to live as God’s set-apart people. Christ is the foundation stone of the spiritual house God is building. We must engage in battle with our selfishness and desire to sin. This includes submitting to human authorities, no matter how evil or harsh. It means enduring suffering, as Christ did for our sake when He died on the cross. Our role is not to fight a physical war for justice here; we will be going home soon.

First Peter 1 described the glorious reality of our present and future as God’s children, by His grace and through our faith in Jesus. He called us a holy people redeemed by God for new purposes. That means believers must live differently than those in the world around us. In this chapter, Peter narrows down exactly what it means to lead a holy life, including doing battle with our own desire to sin. This also means suffering under human authorities, even unjust ones.

Some 30 years after the resurrection of Jesus, Christians are facing greater persecution for their faith. How should they respond? How should we respond to suffering today? The apostle Peter writes this letter both to comfort believers and to encourage them to stay strong. He urges them to put all their hope in their perfect future with Christ, and to obey and trust Him in the present, even in their suffering. Christ suffered greatly; now the Christ-followers have the opportunity to follow Him even in this, showing His grace and power in their hopefulness, obedience, and faith.