Results 1 - 3 of 3
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | What's the proper response to injustice? | 1 Pet 2:19 | Aixen7z4 | 152998 | ||
The problem of injustice persists, and no doubt merits some attention. Many Christians experience injustice and have had difficulty in responding to it. Peter seems to be saying (1 Peter 2:19) that we should take it patiently. Moreover, it is not only deserved punishment that must be taken patiently but also suffering that has not been earned. (See v. 20). One may suffer patiently for having done good deeds. That may include situations where one is prosecuted, or otherwise persecuted, for preaching the Gospel. But what when one is innocent, having broken no laws? What when one is falsely accused or punished without due process of law? It is probably true that some people in every society experience injustice. For some, it is systematic and continual. For some, it is occasional, and they may seek clarification by consulting legal experts. Sometimes legal experts offer their assistance in an attempt to right the wrong. How are the children of God to respond when they think they are victims of injustice? There may well be different opinions, and this may depend in part on the extent to which one has suffered from injustice. Please share from the Scriptures rather than from personal experience. Is it always appropriate to identify with our Lord Jesus Christ in his trial and to suffer, simply committing ourselves (as in 1 Peter 2:23) to our God who judges righteously? Does scripture ever require or allow for any alternative or additional responses? |
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2 | What's the proper response to injustice? | 1 Pet 2:19 | Ray | 153011 | ||
Hi Aixen7z4, Thank you for your question because it led me to see some differences in our translations and the manuscripts used. I think that the bottom line for 1 Peter is that we suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. 1 Peter 3:17, 2:20. 1 Peter 4:19, "Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right." The NU text wants to emphasize "according to the will of God" for it includes those words in 1 Peter 5:2 as well as 4:19. That noted, I still go with the NKJ for 1 Peter 5:2, "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;" 1) 1 Peter 2:19, "For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you DO WHAT IS RIGHT and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God." 1 Peter 4:19, "Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in DOING WHAT IS RIGHT." ****** 2) Your question led me to the New Revised Standard Version's translation of 1 Peter 4:14, "If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you." Compare that with the NASB: 1 Peter 4:14, "If you are reviled for [Lit. in] the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you." Compare also with the NKJ which adds to the verse: 1 Peter 4:14, NKJ, "If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified." 3) I would appreciate your comments on these differences in manuscripts and how they relate to the possibility that we are partakers of the glory that is to be revealed. 1 Peter 5:1. From the heart, Ray |
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3 | What's the proper response to injustice? | 1 Pet 2:19 | Aixen7z4 | 153028 | ||
Brother Ray: May the Lord bless you. Please forgive me if I fail to comment on the differences among the translations. Since I am not an expert in the original languages or manuscripts, I tend to use all of the translations rather than to choose among them. I tend to see what they have in common rather than the ways in which they are different. I note, for example, the appearance of the little word “If” in so many of the verses. Thank God that our lives do not consist of continual suffering. But there are times when we suffer, and sometimes the suffering is an injustice, for no good reason, so to speak. Sometimes we suffer at the hands of professing brethren. At this point I am intensely interested in that topic, and would like to stick to it. The prevailing message that I get from Peter, and from the rest of Scripture, is that suffering is a natural part of life and we should bear it. The example that we have from Jesus is that he bore it. Like a sheep before her sharers, like a lamb brought to the slaughter, we should bear it. Some say we are fools to bear it. Some say our religion is foolish since it calls on us to bear it. There also seems to be a natural instinct to rebel against it. Add to that the fact that God is just and calls on us to be just. All of that may lead us to question why we should tolerate injustice, or how or when he wants us to. I agree that Peter says we (should) suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. I also see that we glorify God when we suffer for doing right, and that God gets no glory from our suffering when we suffer for having done wrong. But beyond that, there is justice that characterizes God (Psalm 89:14) that God commands (Isaiah 56:1; Micah 6:8) and commends (1 Chronicles 18:14) and there is injustice that God condemns (Isaiah 59:4). Something in us seems to crave justice. God seems to say it is commendable that we desire it (Matthew 5: 6) and we should be willing to wait for it (Isaiah 40:4). But the man of God asks, “How long?” (Habakkuk1). It does seem quite profound, and strange sometimes, that God allows injustice, that he suffered it himself in Jesus, and that he asks us to bear with it. He will get glory in the future when he rights the wrongs and compensates the victims, it seems, but it might help us now to understand all that. Please try to combine the verses and the translations and tell me what you find. |
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