Does the word honor (spelled “honour” in the King James Version) as used in I Peter 2:17 instruct followers of Christ Jesus to honor all men, implying that we are to separate the wrong that we maybe aware that a person does from the person and then honor the person but not the wrong they have been committing?<\/p>\n\t
“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king<\/em>” (I Peter 2:17).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The word “honor” used twice in this verse translates the Greek word\u00a0timao<\/em>, which means to set a price on, value, esteem, honor, regard, or respect. In other words, Peter is urging us to treat all people with respect. It is simply another application of “love your neighbor as yourself.”<\/p>\n
If I saw a person walking unaware into a dangerous situation, which course of action would be treating him as a valued person: ignoring him and letting him walk into danger or warning him and trying to keep him from danger? I would hope that we see the priceless value of every soul and seek that which is best for them. “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men …<\/em>” (II Corinthians 5:9-11).<\/p>\n
It is not that we separate the bad choices of a person from the person because that could imply that we accept people as they are, even when they are endangering themselves with sin. We ought to love people so much that we can’t stand the thought that they won’t make it to heaven; and thus, we won’t leave them in sin.<\/p>\n
Of course, despite all we might say or do, some people prefer sin over righteousness. “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed<\/em>” (John 3:19-20). When dealing with people of this nature, we must seek to minimize their impact on others, attempting to prevent their evil choices from spreading to others. It is in dealing with such people that David said, “Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting<\/em>” (Psalm 139:21-24). David’s hatred arises from the wicked rejecting God (not himself). David understands the damage such people can do to the world and thus sets himself against them. It is because David values the lives of people that he took a stand against those who would kill people physically or spiritually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Does the word honor (spelled “honour” in the King James Version) as used in I Peter 2:17 instruct followers of Christ Jesus to honor all men, implying that we are to separate the wrong that we maybe aware that a person does from the person and then honor the person but not the wrong…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[198,76],"class_list":["post-7553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-honor","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15912,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-it-mean-for-a-husband-to-not-honor-his-wife\/","url_meta":{"origin":7553,"position":0},"title":"What does it mean for a husband to not honor his wife?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: \"Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered\" (I Peter 3:7). I have some questions about this verse: If a husband is not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47653,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/youd-better-earn-my-respect\/","url_meta":{"origin":7553,"position":1},"title":"You’d Better Earn My Respect!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Adam Litmer People often declare that a person must earn their respect. We like to establish criteria to be reached before respect is extended. The criteria may shift or remain static, yet the end result is the same: the ball is in their court, and they need to play\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83370,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/honor-the-emperor\/","url_meta":{"origin":7553,"position":2},"title":"Honor the Emperor","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chadwick Brewer \"\u2026living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor\" (I Peter 2:16-17). Often in Scripture, within a list of commands, one command or concept seems dissimilar to the others. I believe this serves to throw its importance into sharp relief. It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42859,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/love-and-respect\/","url_meta":{"origin":7553,"position":3},"title":"Love and Respect","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 5:25-33 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There are some topics that are joined such that you cannot have one without the other. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Faith and obedience are two sides the same subject. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You can\u2019t really have faith without obedience - James 2:14-18 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And you can\u2019t really have obedience without\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8382,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-in-the-old-testament-does-it-say-to-honor-others-more-than-yourself\/","url_meta":{"origin":7553,"position":4},"title":"Where in the Old Testament does it say to honor others more than yourself?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 8, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Where is it said in the Old Testament about honoring (or a similar word) the other\u00a0more than\u00a0oneself? Also, what are similar words to \"honoring?\" Answer: In the New Testament you can find, \"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4389,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-honor-and-respect\/","url_meta":{"origin":7553,"position":5},"title":"What are honor and respect?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 1, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are honor and respect? Answer: Honor is used in two different senses. We can speak of a person's honor and we can talk about giving honor to another person. A person's honor is his integrity. It is the idea of doing what is right in all situations. \"Repay\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7553\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}