In 1 Peter chapter two, Peter urged Christians to behave honorably among unbelievers. To accomplish this goal Christians needed to be submissive in all aspects of life (2:13-17, 18-25; 3:1-7). How could Christians accomplish this honorable goal? They needed to imitate the example of Christ when He submitted to the cross to vicariously bear the sins of mankind (24-25). Our sinless Savior suffered unjustly (22), yet His speech remained pure (Matt. 26:59-60; Luke 23:41).  Not only did Christ suffer unjustly, He also suffered emotionally (23a). They railed on Him, heaping abuse upon Him, but He did not mimic their behavior – He reviled them not.  Still Jesus also suffered physically (23b) being struck in the face, beaten with a rod, scourged, and nailed to the cross, but He did not threaten bodily harm to His accusers (Matt. 26:57-75; Luke 23:34). Through it all, He trustingly relied on the Father to heap upon His abusers their just reward – never taking vengeance into His own hands (23c; Luke 23:46). Whether we are suffering vicariously, unjustly, emotionally, physically, or all the above, we must avoid vengeance and trust in the Father to vindicate us on the Day of Judgment.  Will we do it?

How God Saves – Keep the Faith