“Act as free men, and do not use your freedom 
as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.
Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king”
 ~~1 PETER 2:16-17~~

This is a shorter passage, but it is certainly not lacking in practical spiritual truth.  In order to understand and apply this verse correctly, we need to understand that the believers Peter was writing to in this Epistle were predominantly converted Gentiles.  There was a decided divide between Christianity and Judaism at that time, so these new believers would have been experiencing pressure to observe the letter of the Law and persecution if they chose not to.  

Now understand, I’m not saying that the Law is no longer of value, but what I am saying is that Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).  Jesus summed up the Law and the prophets with two commands – Love God~ Love people,  (Matthew 22:37-40).  

So understanding all that, Peter is writing this verse to tell these new converts to “act as free men” – free from the yoke of the Mosaic Law.  Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take MY yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For MY yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

The next phrase – “do not use your freedom as a covering for evil” – is what creates a holy balance.  Just because Christ has set us free doesn’t mean we can now do whatever we please; that would be an abuse of God’s grace.  Paul explained this well in Romans 6:15-18 when he said, “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under the Law but under grace? Far from it!  Do you not know that the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness.  But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and after being freed from sin, you became slaves to righteousness.”  

Peter said don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do whatever floats your boat, but rather “use it as bondslaves of God”.  If you are a follower of Jesus, you have been set free.  You don’t “have to” sin; you have the power to say no to sin and say yes to God because of the power of the Spirit of God inside you.  While you are free to make the choice as to what you say “yes” or “no” to, understand that “You are slaves of that same one whom you obey” (Romans 6:16).

So as if this whole concept wasn’t clear enough, Peter gave four directives: “Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”  Before we unpack them, it’s important to note that each verb – honor, love, fear – are all in the imperative mood, meaning it is a command, not a suggestion.  

HONOR ALL PEOPLE.  The word here used for honor is <timaō>.  To honor someone means to regard or treat someone with respect; to show differential regard to them.  To show respect for someone because they have been created in God’s image just like you have.  We are to honor all people, whether we think they deserve it or not.  

LOVE THE BROTHERHOOD.  <Agapaō> is the word used here for love and it means to love in a social or moral sense; to welcome and entertain; to be fond of; to love dearly.  

PAUSE TO PONDER.  What does it mean to love someone in a social sense versus a moral sense?  To love someone in a social sense can mean cooperating with them and living interdependently in community with them.  To love someone in a moral sense can mean encouraging someone to make right choices, as well as modeling that for them.   This is how we are to relate and interact with fellow believers.  

FEAR GOD.  The word for fear here <phobeō> means to reverence and to treat with deference and reverential obedience.  When I fear God, I choose to live His way and not my own.  I defer to God because “He is God and I am not”.  

HONOR THE KING.  We discussed what honor was above.  But I think we need to discuss the “king” part.  What does it mean to “honor the king”?  It means to show respect to the office of the one in charge.  There are two things that come to mind as I consider this.  

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1)

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)

I don’t know where you stand in the political arena, but regardless of what side you lean toward, the truth remains the same – the person in authority is there because God allowed him to be there.  That’s a hard pill to swallow sometimes, isn’t it?  

Peter has set the relational standard.  Vertical relationship – obey God first and foremost Horizontal relationships – honor all people, love the brotherhood and honor the king.  I don’t know about you, but I have some work to do to align my heart and mind with those standards.  Yep, more growing pains happening here.