Christianity has always been counter-cultural. But in current usage, the term counter-cultural more often than not, describes something the individual chooses to do for their benefit or cause by fighting the cultural norms, sometimes violently. The cross was and is extremely counter-cultural but in a very different way. Today’s passage shockingly describes what it looks like to be counter-cultural for the sake of God and others. This is a difficult subject and a difficult passage, but let’s see what we can make of this as we try to bring this truth forward into today’s world.

For this is the will of God,

Vengeance vs Justice

The desire for revenge runs deep in the human heart often using the notion of justice as a cover for it’s rage. But true justice is in the hands of God alone according to this passage. Even Jesus who suffered the greatest injustice in history did not condemn his abusers, but rather prayed that God would forgive them. Our job is not to bring down the so called “wrath of God” on people that offend us or treat us badly. The actual wrath of God is a fearful thing and it is a real thing - it is not however an immediate thing.

As Christians we should understand the fear of the Lord. And we should understand what the wrath of God would mean to a rebellious and sinful world. Our job is to demonstrate the grace of God not his wrath, in the hope this kindness will lead them to repentance. Like Jesus we are looking to bring forgiveness no matter the personal cost. And as hard as it is to hear, this may well mean suffering injustice without immediate retribution, revenge or justice. We are to follow in the example of Jesus, not the example of this fallen world and our self-serving lower nature.

This can’t be right…

To modern ears this passage seems to get everything wrong, to the point of being totally irrelevant in today’s world. It assumes slavery for one thing and then seems to give abusive slave owners a free pass on their outrageous behavior. And then to top it off asks those being abused to accept this abuse like Jesus accepted the abuse he suffered on the cross. Why would God ask such a thing???

This takes us back to the counter-cultural nature of Christianity. We are to be light in a dark world, we do not repay violence with violence or hate with hate, which can only add dark to the darkness. We are to be salt to this world, something different that improves the world, not something that follows the world in a never ending tit for tat exchange of violence and hate.

But to allow injustice is to empower it, right?

The assumption in this statement is that personally striking back for personal injury is just. Last week we looked at the preceding verses in this passage and saw that God established human government to reward good and punish evil. This passage is talking about taking matters into our own hands and striking out against personal abuse for our own satisfaction. This is not what Jesus did, everything Jesus did was in obedience to God and for the good of others. Therefore he willingly endured evil against his person for the greater good. We need to be willing to pay that same price if we are to truly follow Jesus. This is very, very counter-cultural and grinds against our most basic instincts.

But that makes no sense in a democracy!

This is an interesting thought for those that live under representative governments of one kind or another. (Which by the way is not as common as you might think in this world.) The original readers of this letter had no voice and were truly powerless except to possibly make things worse for themselves and others. For the majority of people in the world today this is still true, so they would more easily understand this passage than those who live in “free” societies where individuals have a voice(however limited) in their own governance.

I think doing good in a state where leaders are democratically selected does mean participation in the process, but we must never participate in the evil that often goes along with the political process. We must demonstrate what good looks like in a world that demonizes everyone but those that look and think and talk like us. This will mean being slandered and misunderstood at times, after all - Jesus was.

But as this passage and others affirm, the best argument against evil is doing good to others. Grouping people up into “us and them” and blaming “them” for all evil is not doing good - it is the prelude to war and one of the main sources of the very injustice we all want to see abolished. Demonizing the “others” is how atrocities of all sorts have been justified throughout history.

So we’re all doormats then…

Here’s where it gets real. We are all free in Christ, so free in fact that temporal pain and suffering are trivial compared to the privileges we have as citizens of God’s eternal kingdom. Would you describe Jesus as a doormat? I guess you might, if you think the cross was a defeat. But the bible tells us, and history has shown us, that it was in fact the greatest victory against evil of all time. So the question becomes, do we believe we are free citizens of God’s eternal kingdom, or do we believe that this present world is all there is and all that will ever be?

To endure temporary hardship for eternal gain is not easy or fun but it is logical and rational and most importantly it is simply the right thing to do. I am not saying we go out looking for trouble but if it finds us, as it often does, we must not simply react, our first reaction is rarely the right one. Indignation and a self-righteous lust for revenge feels justified in the moment, but justice is no friend to the guilty, and we are all guilty before God, none of us can ever stand as righteous before God - on our own.

To stand righteous before God means to stand in faith that the suffering of Jesus fully paid the terrible price that justice demands of us. We were made righteous in Christ by his suffering. We did not earn this grace it was a gift from God. And now, it is a gift we must pay forward to the other thoroughly undeserving people on this earth, so they too may have the chance to respond to this completely outrageous and unwarranted grace of God. And should they respond to this grace positively and repent - true eternal good will come of our suffering, both for us and for them.

What does this look like on a Tuesday?

So what do we do when we are faced with injustice and injury? Do we fight to defend our “rights”? Is there even such a thing as a “right” to not be offended or wronged in this present age? The life of Jesus argues against the idea. Can we really expect to live in a world governed by fallen humans guided by selfish desires without being offended or injured or mistreated? The short answer is - of course not, but responding to this reality is not always straightforward.

Peter tells us plainly in this passage that we are called to suffer at the hands of sinners, because Jesus did. This is true but for me, that “brute fact” needs a bit of explanation if I am to successfully endure injustice. As I think about all of this and the various experiences with injustice and abuse I have seen and had, there are a few things about this aspect of our calling that I find helpful.

The first thing, and the thing that helps me the most is recognizing that the evil in my abusers and persecutors is the same evil that is in me. If you are like me your knee jerk reaction to this statement is something like, “well, not exactly…” but yes, we all wish it wasn’t, but it is. That is the bad news, the good news is that if we can embrace this truth it helps us show grace to others, because we are doing nothing more than reflecting the grace that God has shown to us - toward them. Now think about how great Jesus is, he was not reflecting the grace he was shown for his sin since he had none, through his suffering he became the original source of grace for all sinners everywhere - including us.

Next we need to recognize that it was the kindness of God that drew us to repentance. If all we knew was his justice and wrath we would most likely run away from him in fear and shame. But by showing God’s grace and kindness to others, especially those that don’t deserve it, we clear a path for them back to God, we offer a path of grace for them rather than a threat of judgment. Our response of grace and kindness could help them to take that all important first step on the path to eternal life.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, the suffering in the passage is suffering for doing good. We should all expect to suffer for doing evil. It is not wrong for the police and the justice system to punish wrongdoers. Jesus did good and was treated terribly in return. We also need to consider that doing the right thing will not always be rewarded or celebrated in this fallen world. But we must never respond to this kind of injustice by returning violence for violence or hate for hate. We must follow the example of Jesus.

There is a lot to think about here, so I am not going to try to sum it all up into some cute slogan about how to deal with something as difficult and painful as injustice and abuse. But we have an example in Jesus to follow, we have his Spirit in us, we have his word, and we have the gift of his grace. So we are rich enough to give this grace to others this week. This week take some time to pray through this passage and the ones I have included below. And let’s stop focusing on the way we feel and our need for vindication, and recognize there are eternal destiny’s hanging in the balance for everyone, everyday. Let’s make it easier for those that have yet to see God’s grace find it this week by reflecting that unspeakable and unearned grace that we have received to others.

Have a great week!