1 Peter 2:19

1 Peter 2:19 ‘For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God. man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.'

‘For this finds favor' -The slave who remains submissive and respectful, even to an unjust master.

‘if for the sake of conscience toward God' -‘conscious sense of one's relation to God' (Vincent p. 647); ‘spiritual awareness of God' (Arndt p. 786); ‘because conscious of God's presence' (TCNT); ‘from. sense of duty to him (God),' (Mon).

POINTS TO NOTE: 1. We must endure with the right motive. Some endure suffering out of Stoic apathy, others claim that injustice is only an illusion. Others simply have resigned themselves that they are powerless to change the circumstances. And then there are those who endure, simply because they are waiting for the right moment to take revenge. 2. The only motive that gains favor with God, is to endure such injustice, because it is God's will that we continue to live godly lives, even in the midst of trial. Thus, patience is only. virtue, when it has the right motive behind it, the same is true with all other virtues (1 Corinthians 13:1). 3. ‘God is pleased with Christian slaves who bear up under unjust suffering, not because there is no other option or because of their optimistic character, but because they know this pleases God and conforms to the teachings of Jesus.' (Davids p. 107) 4. God doesn't exempt Christians from suffering (2 Timothy 3:12; Acts 14:22). Suffering doesn't prove that God is apathetic or unloving (Romans 8:35).