1 Peter 2 Footnotes

2:13-17 Peter, like Paul in Rm 13:1-7, called believers to submit to the government. Do words like these support an evil structure such as the racist apartheid system formerly practiced in South Africa?

Peter did not address believers who ran the government but believers who lived under the governing authorities. The few short verses here do not constitute a full-scale treatise on the Christian and government. Surely Peter would have included other admonitions about the need for justice if he had directed his words to political leaders.

Neither should we conclude from these verses that governing authorities are to be obeyed without exception. Peter gave the general principle here, namely that believers should submit to the laws of the land and to the authorities enforcing those laws. But we know from the rest of Scripture that exceptions exist. Daniel refused to obey the law prohibiting prayer to Yahweh (Dn 6). The apostles rejected the words of those who tried to prevent them from preaching the gospel (Ac 5:29). Peter did not simplistically endorse whatever the government prescribes.

2:18-25 People today often ask why NT writers did not criticize the institution of slavery or advocate its overthrow. But we must recall the social situation of the young churches in the Roman Empire. They lacked political power and could do nothing to dismantle the institution. Further, NT writers were not social revolutionaries (see 1Co 7:17-24). They did not believe that overhauling social structures would transform culture. Rather, their primary concern was the relationship of individuals to God, and they focused on the sin and rebellion of individuals against their Creator. These writers, therefore, did not complain about the oppression imposed by others but concentrated instead on the godly response of believers to mistreatment.

If enough individuals are transformed, society as a whole benefits and the Christian faith begins to function as a leavening influence. We are keenly aware from history that Christians have too often failed to live righteously, yet we may also fail to see that the Christian faith has been a force for good in Western civilization. History demonstrates the impact of Christian faith on social structures. One of these consequences was the eradication of slavery. A realistic appraisal of history includes both the evil and the good professing Christians have accomplished.

It is crucial to note that the NT nowhere commends slavery as a social structure. It nowhere roots it in the created order, as if slavery were an institution ordained by God. The contrast with marriage is remarkable at this point. God ordained the institution of marriage, but slavery was invented by fallen humans. The NT regulated the institution of slavery as it existed in society, but it did not commend it per se. Hence, Peter’s words on slavery should not be interpreted as an endorsement for the system—even if he did not denounce the institution.