Introduction

Freedom is one of the most important values in our culture. Back in 1775, Patrick Henry famously said, “Give me liberty, or give me death.” His words still resonate today because we all want to be free.

As much as we cherish our freedom, we don’t always agree about what it is. Political debates between conservatives and liberals show this struggle. Are we free when the government lets us do whatever we want? Or are we free when we have the support we need to reach our potential, especially if others have more power? Both sides think they support freedom, but one side sees it in less government, while the other sees it in government making things fair. I’m not picking a side in these debates. I just want to show how complicated a simple idea like freedom really is.

Many people think freedom means doing whatever we want, whenever we want. That they can be a law unto themselves. We often assume this leads to the best life. But does it? Someone with a gambling problem, following their desires, might spend themselves into ruin. Is that their best life? A greedy person can keep all their money, but end up lonely. Is that their best life?

This puzzle has made Christian thinkers ask questions about what freedom really means and to offer an alternative definition. Before his conversion to Christianity, St. Augustine struggled with wanting things he knew were wrong. He was raised by a Christian mother and saw the beauty of faith, but he delayed coming to faith because he wasn’t ready to follow the church’s teachings on sexual purity. Later, he realized his desire for good often clashed with his desire for what was bad. You could summarize his struggle with the tongue-in-cheek prayer, “Lord, give me chastity, but not yet.” Augustine saw that our sinful nature can twist our will, making us want things that aren’t good. He believed real freedom comes from learning to want what is right and good. In other words, we need to follow God’s will to find true freedom.

In the next part of 1 Peter, Peter says we need to submit to God to find real freedom. First, he tells us to choose holiness instead of habits that hurt us. Then, he talks about loving our enemies, even in politics when leaders fail. He also explains how loving enemies affects how slaves respond to their masters. Peter’s main point is that real freedom isn’t about always getting what we want, but about following Jesus’ example and learning what it means to be truly human.

I. Don’t Submit to Worldly Desires

All of us have probably felt a conflict between the life we want and the habits we fall into. Maybe I want to be healthy, but I can’t stop eating junk food. Maybe I want closer relationships with my family, but when I’m around them, I’m glued to my phone. Or maybe I want to deal better with stress, but I fall into old addictions when I’m stressed. When we just follow our desires, we often don’t get the life we truly want.

There’s also a gap between the way we want others to see us and the things we’re tempted to do. We all want to be seen as kind and honourable, but our desires can pull us toward actions that bring shame to us and our faith.

Peter understands this struggle. He knows that following worldly desires doesn’t lead to the life God wants for us, and that this gap can trap us. So he says,

Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world (1 Peter 2:11–12, NLT).

Our own desires fight against us and can ruin our lives. These desires don’t just bring trouble and frustration—they can also hurt our witness, making it easier for others to ignore us, speak badly about us, or, in the case of his original audience, to denounce us.

The alternative is to act like strangers in this world. Being a foreigner means you don’t quite fit in. I’ve lived as a foreigner in different countries—as a missionary in Hungary, a student in Germany and Costa Rica, and an English teacher in Korea. During that time, I never forgot that I didn’t belong.

Because foreigners’ values differ, they always feel out of step. For example, I knew that as a Canadian, I approached work differently than my Korean coworkers. When I lived in South Korea, I met someone from Russia whose experience illustrates this cultural disconnect well. She worked for a Korean tech company. On paper, she was required to work 8 hours a day. But Koreans often put in long hours at work to show their dedication to the company. She expressed frustration because she came to work, worked her best for 8 hours and wanted to go home. She explained how her coworkers would come in and stay for 12 or 14 hours, but they were sleeping at their desks. They were there longer hours, but she was getting more done. But her employers pressured her to be more like her Korean co-workers, even though she felt like she was more valuable to the company doing things the way she was doing them. She just didn’t fit in with their way of doing and seeing things.

As believers, we’re in a similar spot, but with a key difference. We were born as citizens of this world, but we’ve chosen to belong to a new kingdom while still living here. The people around us have different values, but we’re called to live as if we’re foreigners. It’s like a Philippino returning home but insisting on eating poutine and drinking Tim Hortons coffee—they might seem out of place.

But this difference matters. We’re supposed to stand out—not just to be different for its own sake, but to show our new identity. So ask yourself: Are you saying no to the desires that can ruin your life, even if everyone else accepts them? Our society is often quite tolerant of greed, pride, lust, anger, and cynicism? We can look at our neighbours and feel pretty good because we indulge in fewer of these things.

But are foreigners, we should avoid them completely. In South Korea, Bosintang—dog soup—was a traditional Korean dish. My sensibilities were just too Canadian to find that appealing. Because I was a Canadian, I wasn’t tempted to eat it. The values that wage war with our souls should seem as appealing to Christians as Bosintang does to most Canadians.

II. Submitting to the Government

Next, Peter gives two practical examples of living by the values of God’s kingdom. The first is about how we relate to government leaders, even when they don’t always live up to God’s purposes.

For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. 

It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king (1 Peter 2:13–17, NLT).

Peter tells us to submit to the authorities, but this is more nuanced than it might at first appear. God set up authorities, and they have an important role. So submitting to them is good. But if you have read the Bible (as I’m sure Peter had read the OT a lot) you can see that authorities often—usually—fall short of God’s standards. Saul killed the priests who aided David. Jeroboam led the people into idolatry. Ahab permitted his wife to arrange someone’s murder so he could take the land, and these were the rulers among God’s people. The pagans were often worse, Like Antiochus IV, who tried to force Jews to give up worshiping God. When Peter wrote his letter, his audience all lived under the authority of the brutal and oppressive Romans.

Is Peter saying rulers could do evil things with impunity? Not at all. The authority God gives to rulers is like the free will He gives each of us. God lets us choose whether to follow Him or not, and He doesn’t take away that choice if we go the wrong way. In the same way, God gives leaders the power to rule fairly or unfairly. If they choose badly, we can’t just get rid of them—if everyone overthrew leaders they felt didn’t do it right, no government would last.

Peter says we should submit to these leaders because their authority comes from the Lord, who ultimately holds all authority. When rulers misuse their power, they must answer to God for it. It’s not our job to hold them accountable. There was a Christian bookstore near where I grew up. The owner lost his business and ended up in jail because he refused to pay income tax. He reasoned that since the government supported hospitals and clinics where abortions were performed, he was justified in refusing to pay. He thought he was doing the right thing, but based on what Peter says, I don’t think he was.

The government demands taxes, and whether we like it or not, we need to pay them. The government must answer to God for its spending priorities. It’s not our job to try to enforce what we think is best by disobeying the law.

At the same time, there are times when civil disobedience is necessary. Peter himself did this when he was commanded to stop speaking in the name of Jesus. In Acts 3-4, Peter and John healed a crippled man, telling the crowd it was done with Jesus’ authority. They were arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin, where they were commanded to stop preaching in Jesus’ name. Peter replies, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). The Sanhedrin threatened, but Peter defied them.

So Peter thinks our submission has limits. But where do we draw the line? When the government does wrong, we can’t just defy them. But if the government demands that we do something wrong, that’s when civil disobedience is needed. For example, if the government pursues a racist policy, we can protest, but we can’t employ illegal means to overthrow the government because it is doing wrong. But if the government’s racist policy demands we participate (eg, handing over people for mistreatment), we must disobey and willingly accept the consequences.

Governments have authority because they are under Jesus’ authority. That’s why Peter says, “Fear God, and respect the king.” Our fear of God means we have a higher responsibility when the king demands we disobey God.

So how do we put this into practice? Submitting to authority doesn’t mean we can’t protest or vote for change. because these are legitimate self-correction mechanisms built into the system itself. But rioting, violence, or trying to overthrow the government are not. In 2021, many people who called themselves Christians rioted in Washington, D.C., because they thought the presidential election was stolen. The evidence that shows it wasn’t is overwhelming, but even if it wasn’t, that response doesn’t fit with how Peter tells us to act, even when our leaders fail us.

Jesus tells us to love our enemies. We do this not just in our personal lives, but also in politics—not because of who our enemies are, but because of who our Lord is.

III. Submitting to Our Masters

A. The Reality of Slavery

Jesus’ teaching to love our enemies should shape both our personal relationships and our political lives. In the next section, Peter shows how people lived this out even in the face of an unjust system like slavery.

Slavery has existed for most of human history. It was still legal in some countries not long ago—Saudi Arabia ended it in 1962, Oman in 1970, and Mauritania in 1981. In the Roman Empire, slavery was common, especially in big cities. Since the early church often attracted people from the lowest social classes, many of the people Peter wrote to were undoubtedly slaves.

To the slaves in the church, Peter’s advice is much like what he told those under harsh rulers: Submit for the Lord’s sake.

You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. 

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. 

He never sinned,
nor ever deceived anyone.
He did not retaliate when he was insulted,
nor threaten revenge when he suffered.
He left his case in the hands of God,
who always judges fairly.
He personally carried our sins
in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
and live for what is right.
By his wounds
you are healed.
Once you were like sheep
who wandered away.
But now you have turned to your Shepherd,
the Guardian of your souls (1 Peter 2:18–25, NLT).

Before we go further, it’s important to say that Peter isn’t supporting slavery. He’s just recognizing that it was the reality for many people he wrote to. Just as he told people to submit to government leaders, whether or not they deserved it, here he tells slaves to submit to their masters, even if they don’t deserve it.

Peter isn’t making excuses for slavery or any other kind of abuse. He’s writing to people under harsh authority and telling them to submit, but he’s not telling those in power have God’s permission to mistreat them. Everyone will answer to God for how they use their authority. We are called to submit to those over us, but they are also called to submit to Christ. They will be held accountable if they misuse their power.

B. Application: Laying down Our Rights

Since none of us is a slave, how do we apply this passage? If we look at what Peter said both about submitting to leaders and to masters, we see that Peter is calling Christians to give up their ‘rights’ for the sake of others.

We value our rights. People have died, killed, started revolutions and filed innumerable lawsuits over them. Rights help us balance competing interests in society. They are what we can demand, but they are also something we can give up for the sake of others. For example, Jesus is equal to God and has the right to be worshiped and respected, but He gave up those rights to show His love for us. In Philippians, it says he emptied himself (Phil. 2:7). In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul explains that while he has a right to ask the Corinthians for financial support, he chose not to, to show his love for God and for them. When we choose to give up our rights for others, we show God’s love and grace.

I once had a professor who lived this out. Her sister was having a routine surgery under general anesthesia. During the operation, the anesthesiologist left the room (a breach of professional conduct). While he was gone, her sister had a reaction to the anesthetic and died on the table. The doctor was devastated by his mistake, so there was no danger he’d ever do it again. The family could have sued and would have won, but they chose not to. They showed mercy, even though they had the right to seek justice.

I hope none of us face a situation like that, but even when what’s at stake is far less, not insisting on what we’re owed gives us an opportunity to show God’s love. Maybe it’s taking the Christmas shift so a coworker with young kids can have the day off, even though they have less seniority. Maybe it’s letting someone win an argument to keep the peace. Or maybe it’s being patient with an employee who made a costly mistake.

When we put others’ needs before our own, when we could demand our rights but don’t, we show what God is like. Slaves could resist their masters because they are made in God’s image and shouldn’t be owned by anyone. People can reject a government that fails to serve the public good because it has failed to honour the social contract. Insisting on our own way is one kind of freedom. But leaving judgment to God and choosing love over demanding our rights is a different kind of freedom, a better freedom

Conclusion

We started by looking at how our culture defines freedom—doing whatever we want, demanding what we’re owed, and defending our rights. But Peter shows us an alternative. True freedom isn’t just having no limits; it’s having the right Master.

Peter helps us understand: We find freedom from ourselves when we refuse to submit to the destructive desires of the flesh. We find freedom in politics when we submit to civil authorities—not because they are perfect, but because our trust is anchored in God’s ultimate Authority. We find freedom in daily struggles and relationships when, like the slaves in Peter’s time, we choose to endure unfairness instead of lashing out in anger. 

This isn’t weakness; it is the ultimate display of spiritual self-discipline. To demand your rights, to return insult for insult, to give in to every whim—that is the easiest thing in the world to do. The world calls it “liberty,” but Peter calls it slavery. The only truly free person is the one who has the power to lay their rights down for the sake of love.

If you want to know what this looks like in flesh and blood, look no further than Jesus of Nazareth. He was the only person in human history who possessed absolute, uncompromised rights. He had the right to be worshiped, the right to be defended, and the right to call down legions of angels to strike down the corrupt politicians and cruel abusers who nailed Him to a cross. But verse 23 tells us His response, “He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.” Jesus used His ultimate freedom to become a servant. He laid down His rights so that He could bear our sins.

We must remember that we are temporary residents here. We are citizens of a different country, ambassadors of a different King. And the people around us—our neighbours, our coworkers, our cynical world—are watching to see if our lives look any different from theirs. They won’t be convinced by us fighting for our slice of the pie; They may be convinced when they see us willingly give our piece away.

So this week, I challenge you to ask yourself: Where is God calling you to live out this radical, upside-down vision of freedom? Is it by saying “no” to a secret, worldly desire that is waging war against your soul? Is it by choosing respect and prayer over political rage and cynicism? Or is it in a relationship where you are completely right, but you choose to lay down your right to win the argument in order to save the relationship?

Let’s stop trying to be free on the world’s terms. Let us surrender our wills, lay down our rights, and follow in the footsteps of the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls.