EPISODE TEN: FREEDOM HAS ITS LIMITATIONS

…you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

We know that the original manuscripts of the Scriptures did not have chapters and verses, as our more modern versions do. So, in a sense, I should not have separated 1 Peter 2 from 1 Peter 3 as I did in my last episode of Set Free. So let’s go back a little. In that last episode, we briefly looked at submission as important to the early believers, so they would demonstrate the virtues of Jesus to a pagan world.

They were to conduct themselves with respect for others, honour those in authority and their employers, treat everyone well, and endure difficulty and persecution as Jesus did. Their deeds were to be such that others would give glory to their God, and perhaps even choose to follow Him because of what they observed in His followers. In 1 Peter 2, submission was used in the context of how authorities, employers and/or masters were to be treated. In the middle of those two examples was this phrase: “Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.” (2:16, 17)

In 1 Peter 3, the apostle adds two more examples of submission. Here, Peter distinguishes between men and women to make some important points. It is also here, in these verses, that some have ripped Peter’s instructions out of context in an attempt to prove something the original author never meant to say.

Context is important when reading any passage of Scripture. 1 Peter 3:1-7 is part of the argument Peter has just made to believers in general about how they are to live out their faith before their unbelieving world. That’s the context in which we need to read 1 Peter 3.

The coming of the Messiah announced the beginning of the redemption and restoration of what was lost in Eden when Adam and Eve sinned. Just as the Hebrews returned to the Promised Land after years of slavery in Egypt, so believers in the early church—Jews and Gentiles—have now begun a journey to return from the slavery of a fallen world, a journey that will end in restored Eden, finally completed when Jesus returns again. It is a journey to freedom under God's rule.

We have been declared righteous, but actually being righteous in practice is a process. We are declared free, yet the practical reality of that freedom is also a process. Peter did not want his audience to abuse this freedom during that process.

Let’s see if I can give you an example of what I mean by the abuse of freedom—poor and extreme, as it might be! Some groups in our Western society live in total disregard for the laws of the land. They consider themselves and their groups sovereign states. They believe government laws, taxes, and court decisions do not apply to them. They often live on compounds or apart from the rest of society. “I don’t recognize your authority…” is a favourite line of theirs. They believe they are free to do whatever they want, whenever they want, however they want. That might work if they lived on a deserted island or on another planet—but they don’t!

This kind of unrealistic concept of “freedom” was what Peter (and others, such as Paul) sought to address within the Christian communities. In a perfect world (or on a desert island or planet), believers could fully embrace their freedoms in Christ. But they were not yet living in that perfect world. They were living in an imperfect one. As Christ-followers, as “salt and light,” they were not called to ignore the world they lived in but to demonstrate a countercultural lifestyle in contrast to it. Yes, they were to change that world, where they could, so that it conformed a little more to what it was meant to be. But they were to live IN their world, not apart from it, and to act in that world in such a way as to emulate Jesus.

Jesus lived respectfully in the world into which He was born, while remaining fully obedient to His Father. He changed many things, but slowly. For example, His attention to women was countercultural. By speaking and ministering to them (including theological discussions with the Samaritan woman; Mary’s inclusion in the disciples’ band; His conversation with Martha about the resurrection; sending Mary Magdalene to be an apostle to His apostles, announcing His resurrection; and leaving minstry to men behind to minister to a dying girl, etc.), He did what few in that era would ever have done—elevated women to a place of value and visibility.

Peter and Paul addressed this issue. Yes, you are free, but don’t use your freedom to do things badly or wrongly so as to bring dishonour on the One you profess to follow. So obey the authorities, respect them, and do what your masters tell you to do, whether they are good or bad.

So we come to the issue of men and women. With the newly discovered understanding of this restoration of “Eden” that Jesus initiated at the cross, women tested their newfound freedoms. Remember that the community of believers now included Jewish, Roman, and Greek converts. Putting these diverse groups together was a challenge. For example, Roman women had greater freedoms than Greek women. Greek women were expected to stay at home. A male relative (or husband) represented them in legal and financial matters. They did not hold public office or attend public gatherings with men. Roman women generally went where they wanted and did what they wanted. They could manage their own money and property without interference from husbands or fathers. Jewish women fell somewhere in the middle, their lives regulated and protected by Jewish law.

Here’s what Peter writes:

“Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives when they see your pure and reverent demeanour. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. For this is how the holy women of the past adorned themselves. They put their hope in God and were submissive to their husbands, just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to give way to fear.”

You are free! Roman women would not have had to adjust to this understanding quite as much. But can you imagine the chaos in Greek and Jewish households, especially if the wife was a believer and the husband was not? Peter’s word here (and Paul’s) is “Hold on, ladies. Remember that the world is watching, change takes time, and the bottom line is not to dishonour the name of the Lord by turning your freedoms into something that could easily be misunderstood and misrepresented.” The new Eden is not restored in one day, or even one millennium! The text suggests Peter is speaking directly to Greek and Jewish female converts. In their society, for these women to suddenly break with every tradition of their society just because they were followers of Jesus would have given that society every reason to mock, distrust, and reject them and their Jesus. So Peter suggests that they limit their freedoms to preserve their witness.

This is Paul’s argument in places like Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8, where he says that if eating meat offered to idols offends a weaker brother, don’t do it. Nothing wrong with the meat—lots wrong with causing another brother to sin against his conscience. It’s what my companion and I did when we visited rural Pakistan, and both wore the traditional Shalwar Kameez out of respect for local custom.

There is so much to analyze here, but I hope my point is clear. There is nothing wrong with getting out and about in the marketplace a little more, braiding your hair, wearing your pearls, or wearing a hot-pink cloak, ladies of the first-century church. You’re free. But think about the consequences of exercising those freedoms within your society, and how those consequences might affect the mission and the Lord you represent.   

These passages address a particular cultural and contextual situation, but the take-away is the same for us: the principles of living in a God-honouring way always apply in any context or culture.

And the men don’t get off lightly here either. In the society of the day, men had the freedom to treat their wives “like dirt,” as the saying goes, and were relatively free to cheat on them and abuse them. Cultural norms can be wrong, as this one was. So Peter speaks to them as well.

“Husbands, in the same way treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”

This was a “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21) moment. How a husband treated his wife would gradually affect the culture in which he lived. Similarly, how a woman carefully and thoughtfully responded to her freedom in Christ would also have a positive impact.