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"Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear"

Text: 1 Peter 2:18

THE FIRST CENTURY WORLD

The world in which the Apostle lived was a very difficult and harsh one. The Roman Empire made slaves of the people that were conquered. Slavery was cruel, to say the least. The slave literally had no rights. He could be beaten, or he could be sold without any reason given. Peter had to address slaves who had become believers.

“Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear,
not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.”
1 Peter 2:18

1. “Servants”

a) These were not slaves put to hard labour by the Roman rulers.

i) Slaves were employed to build.

ii) They were employed to make the many highways Rome was famous for.

b) These were “household (domestic) servants”.

i) These were owned by private citizens.

ii) They worked in a home (as cleaners, cooks, attendants etc).

2. “Be submissive to your masters with all fear”

a) Peter called on all believers to obey kings and governors (1 Peter 2:13-14).

b) He now called on all slaves to practise the same principle.

c) Both calls were written in the imperative mode.

3. “To your masters with all fear”

a) The “masters” were the slave owners.

b) They were to regard their masters well. Masters had full authority over their slaves.

c) The phrase “all fear”:

i) Due respect.

ii) Appropriate regard.

iii) They are not to be despised.

iv) It was certainly not easy to obey this word.

4. Two different types of masters compared

a) “Good and gentle”

i) Some masters showed kindness.

ii) They were good to their slaves.

b) “Harsh”

i) This word also would be used to describe the unscrupulous.

ii) Another nuance is that of being crooked and dishonest.

iii) These masters treated their slaves harshly.

iv) Yet Peter called for “submission” or “obedience”.