1 Peter 5:2-4 - Homilies By J.r. Thomson

The office of the Christian pastor—the bishop, the presbyter, the deacon—was something new in the history of mankind. The functions of the Christian pastor differ widely and radically from those of the heathen priest or philosopher; and they differ decidedly from those of the Jewish prophet or priest. The bonds uniting pastor and people together are more sacred, more tender, and more morally powerful than the official bonds which owe their efficacy merely to superior power or superior wisdom. It is only the religion of Christ which can furnish the basis for the pastoral relation, even among those who accept the great doctrines of man's spiritual nature and the Divine redemption.

I. THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL LIFE AND MINISTRY .

1. The personal spring of this ministry is the pure devotion of heart and energies to the welfare of those for whom Christ died.

2. The intellectual character of the pastorate is expressed in the vocation described by St. Peter as "feeding the flock." The reference in this language is evidently to teaching, to wise and constant instruction in Divine and spiritual truth.

3. The moral work to be fulfilled is ruling in righteousness. It is not enough for the Christian minister to teach; he is called to guide in the way of virtue and piety, to exercise supervision over the character and the conduct of the members of the flock.

II. THE TEMPTATIONS AND PERILS OF THE PASTORAL LIFE AND MINISTRY . St. Peter deals very faithfully with his fellow-laborers; he reminds them that they are but men, and are subject to human infirmities, which must be guarded against by watchfulness and prayer.

1. It is possible for one to assume or to retain the pastoral office without a cheerful and cordial delight in it; as e . g . is the case with those who engage in the service of the Church, not by Divine summons, but through the influence of friends or through the force of circumstances. Such ministers lose the greater part of their power for good, because their heart is not in their work.

2. Mercenary service cannot be profitable to men or acceptable to God. He who for the sake of gain insincerely professes to seek men's spiritual welfare is beneath human contempt.

3. A domineering spirit is contrary to the very nature and purpose of the pastoral relation. That proud and ambitious natures have made the Church the means of rising to high station and to vast power is plainly taught by the history of Christendom. But upon the work of such men the blessing of the chief Shepherd cannot rest; for he was "meek and lowly in heart."

III. THE RECOMPENSE OF THE PASTORAL LIFE AND MINISTRY .

1. It is not present, but future.

2. It is not from man, but from God.

3. It is not perishable, but immortal.

For the faithful and the lowly servant of Christ there is reserved the amaranthine crown - J.R.T.

1 Peter 5:5 - The rightful authority of experience.

Complaints are commonly made in our day that the authority of age, experience, and social and ecclesiastical position is little reverenced or even regarded. There have been times when such authority has been boldly asserted on the one hand, and readily acknowledged on the other. Owing to the growth of education and of democratic sentiment, a very different habit now prevails. There is no fear of harshness, of foul and arbitrary conduct, on the part of the older, or even on the part of the great, in human society. The danger is all in the other direction. Hence the urgent necessity, at the present time, of attention to the directions of St. Peter in this passage.

I. THE SCORE OF THE PRECEPT .

1. Children are required by Divine authority to be subject to parents.

2. The young and inexperienced in human society are enjoined to show respect and deference to those who have seen much of life, and who have acquired lessons of experience and wisdom.

3. In the Church of Christ, novices and recruits should place themselves under the guidance of veterans, and members of any congregation should submit to the judgment and authority of those who are placed in office. Probably this is the especial reference of the apostle in this passage, it would, indeed, be absurd to imagine that men can be trusted with absolute and arbitrary power, or that a blind, unreasoning obedience is required of intelligent beings. There are limits alike to authority and to submission. But the lessons of history teach us that, within such limits, deference, service, and submission may wisely and safely be rendered.

II. THE REASONABLENESS AND ADVANTAGES OF OBEDIENCE TO THIS PRECEPT .

1. Submission is for the good of those who are subject. A lawless spirit is a hopeless spirit. Where there is no modesty, no humility, there is little prospect of moral growth, of a mature, noble, and serviceable character.

2. Especially, obedience and subjection are the best preparation for the exercise of authority and command. As society is constituted, it is natural and necessary that, whilst generation succeeds generation, the younger should step into the places of those who have gone before them, and should wield the power which they formerly acknowledged and cheerfully obeyed.

3. Thus the order and happiness of society and of the Christian Church are secured and promoted. Insubordination is a curse alike to Church and state. True liberty and true order are not opposed, but harmonious. It is well with that community where the elder and the rulers exercise their power in the sight of God and for the public good; and where the younger and the subject submit themselves "to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake."—J.R.T.

1 Peter 5:5 , 1 Peter 5:6 - Christian humility.

It is natural for men to think highly of themselves and depreciatingly of others. Pride was always reckoned by the old Catholic moralists among the seven deadly sins. It is a sin into which too many habitually fall, however it may seem to them anything hut a sign of degradation. Christianity attacks this habit, and seeks to substitute for it in human character the fair but often despised grace of humility.

I. THE SPHERE OF HUMILITY .

1. The Christian is humble before God. A just and scriptural conception of the Divine attributes is necessary to true humility. A man must compare himself with infinite greatness and excellence, with infinite power and wisdom, in order that he may form a proper estimate of himself. Such humility displays itself in reverential prayer, in scrupulous obedience, in patient submission, especially under disciplinary affliction.

2. The Christian is humble in his demeanor towards his fellow-men. This is a far more difficult exercise. And it must not he supposed that humility is expected, of the same kind and the same degree, in the attitude of man to man, as in the attitude of man to God. A wise man is not required to regard a fool as his superior in wisdom, or a virtuous man to regard a criminal as his superior in character. But the Christian is to guard against an overbearing and haughty spirit; he is to treat the lowly and the poor with due respect and consideration. Humility is best shown in the bearing of a man towards those who are his inferiors, and even towards those who are ungrateful for favors and services.

II. THE DISCIPLINE AND HABIT OF HUMILITY . The expression in the original translated "gird yourselves with humility," is not without difficulty; yet it seems to imply both that an effort and resolution are required, and that humility is to become a vestment, a clothing, to be habitually worn for use.

III. THE MOTIVES TO HUMILITY . The need of powerful motives in order to overcome powerful temptations is obvious; and such motives are provided for the Christian's benefit and aid.

1. The consciousness of our own feebleness and ill desert. None who truly knows himself can cherish pride. His frequent errors in the past, his liability still to err, must be too present to his mind. to allow of self-confidence and boasting.

2. The pressing necessity of the service of man. All around us are those who need help. It may not promote our personal advantage to minister to their needs; and such ministry may involve the sacrifice of self, the crucifixion of pride.

3. The prospect of the future exaltation of the lowly. This is a proper motive, for it is one presented by the inspired writers. The way of self-denial is the way to victory.

4. The precepts and example of the Lord Jesus himself must have great force with his affectionate followers; and he has shown us that it is right and admirable even "to wash one another's feet"!—J.R.T.

1 Peter 5:7 - The cure of care.

The Christian religion is not simply a body of doctrine, it is a provision of grace. Its practical helpfulness has been proved by all who have accepted its guidance and put themselves under its authority. It is intended not merely to brighten this life, when dark, by the prospect of a better life to come, but to supply motives to service and to endurance, even when toil is hard and thankless and trials are many and oppressive.

I. THE ILL THAT CALLS FOR REMEDY . This is anxiety; and from the beginning human life has abounded in occasions of anxiety. No doubt the measure of this evil varies with the character and temperament of individuals, and with their needs and circumstances. The anxieties of some are personal; those of others are relative. Many are anxious because health is broken, or circumstances are narrow, or a vocation is uncongenial. Some are anxious concerning the prospects of their children, others concerning the state of their Church or their country. The anxieties of not a few arise from their spiritual state—their temptations, doubts, and fears. These anxieties are distractions, and have a tendency to depress the spirits, to mar happiness, to cripple in the discharge of duty.

II. THE REMEDY PROPOSED FOR THIS ILL . It is, in the simple language of St. Peter—language prompted, there can be no doubt, by his own personal experience—to cast anxiety upon God. But how is this to be done? It is to be done by confession, i . e . where there is a consciousness of sin, where there has been distrust or murmuring. By prayer; in which deliverance is to be sought. "Roll thy burden," said the psalmist, "upon the Lord." By faith; in which the anxious Christian, convinced of God's all-sufficiency, is content to leave all that concerns him in the wise and merciful hands of his Father and Savior. Whether the cause for anxiety be temporal or spiritual, great or small, personal or relative, the remedy is the same, and is equally efficacious.

III. THE ENCOURAGEMENT TO APPLY THE REMEDY TO THE ILL WITH A VIEW TO RELIEF AND CURE . The apostle assures us that God "careth for us." By this we understand that he observes, being minded otherwise than the fabled Epicurean deities, who were deaf to human cries and indifferent to human affairs. And he takes a deep and sympathetic interest in the condition and the sorrows of his children upon earth. Nor is this all. There are ways in which God gives expression to his interest and care for his own. By his providence he guides and governs all human affairs for their good. And by his Spirit he brings their hearts into harmony with his will, and thus causes all things to work together for their good - J.R.T.

1 Peter 5:8 - Watchfulness.

Peter may well have remembered the Lord's appeal to him and his companions in the garden of Gethsemane, "Could ye not watch with me one hour?' And his failure upon that occasion to exercise this virtue, connected as it was with the reproach of his Divine Friend, may well have deepened his sense of the importance of the Christian virtue which he in this passage inculcated upon his readers.

I. THE NEED FOR WATCHFULNESS .

1. The uncertainty of the future. No one can reckon upon events succeeding one another with even regularity, and therefore no one can make provision for time to come, and abandon himself to security and ease, assured that all things will continue as from the beginning. In our Lord's discourses we find frequent warnings of changes and catastrophes, accompanied by exhortations to vigilance.

2. The certainty that every man will be called upon, and that before very long, to appear before the Divine Judge, to give an account of the deeds done in the body. How important that that day should not come upon us unawares and find us unprepared!

3. The temptations to unfaithfulness and indolence which beset us from without. Whether Christians are vigilant or not, they may be sure the adversary of souls is upon the alert, and ready to take advantage of every opportunity of attacking us by force or seducing us by craft.

4. The frailty of our own nature is prone to concur with the enemy's activity in exposing us to spiritual danger. We have not only to watch against Satan, we have to watch against self.

II. THE METHODS AND SCOPE OF CHRISTIAN WATCHFULNESS . As the avenues by which danger approaches are many, it is necessary to set a guard against every one of them. More especially is it important:

1. To watch the thoughts . Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts and sins; accordingly the precept of inspiration is most appropriate, " Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

2. To watch the lips . We are reminded by St. James that the tongue is a little member, hut that it may be set on fire of hell. How much misery is caused by unbridled speech!—misery to the speaker himself, who regrets words spoken in sinful anger or passion of some other kind; misery to others, whose character may be blasted, whose usefulness may be crippled.

3. To watch the actions . It has been said that four-fifths of life consists of conduct. Certain it is that, unless the actions be watched, unless deeds of justice and mercy occupy the energies, all professions of religion are worthless. No man ought to be so confident of the stability and purity of his character as to deem himself exempt from the necessity of observing his conduct and consciously regulating it by the counsels of inspired wisdom.

III. THE MOTIVE TO WATCHFULNESS . The motive which will weigh most with the Christian will be the wish and authoritative command of his Lord. How deep an impression his frequent admonitions to spiritual vigilance produced upon his Church is apparent from the truly Christian names which were so frequently given or assumed by Christians; they took a pleasure in being called by such names as Gregory and Vigilantius, meaning "the Watcher." The Lord has said, "I say unto all, Watch!" "Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation!"—J.R.T.

1 Peter 5:10 - The God of all grace.

This language, so natural coming from the pen of an inspired apostle, would have been almost impossible to a religious teacher ignorant of Christ. It is testimony to the moral revolution wrought by the Christian faith that such a description of the almighty and eternal power should seem to us just and by no means singular. For nowhere can we meet with language more glorious in itself, more comforting to feeble, sinful, needy men.

I. A SUBLIME DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD . To some minds omnipotence or omniscience might appear the grandest attributes to be predicated of the Supreme. But to the Christian the moral attributes are the most majestic. That the Eternal is a God of grace is to him the peculiar revelation of Christianity, transcending in excellence every other representation of the character of Deity. And that "all grace" should be attributed to God enhances our conception of his glory. In fact, it is the manifestation of God in Christ which makes this declaration comprehensible and real to us.

II. A DOCTRINE MOST CONSOLATORY TO MEN . There is no one of us, at any moment of his life, who does not stand in need of grace—pardoning grace, renewing grace, strengthening grace, enlightening grace, consoling grace. And when our Father in heaven is thus depicted by the inspired apostle, the Christian reader cannot but recognize, in such a delightful representation, abundant ground for gratitude, abundant encouragement to faith, abundant stimulant to prayer; whilst he who has offended against God's righteous laws, and who repents of his transgressions, may find, in this representation, ground for approaching the Divine presence with the assurance of a favorable reception and of forgiving mercy - J.R.T.