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"For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.." (1 Peter 2.15-16). This expression "cloak for vice [evil]" occurs but once in the New Testament. The term is used here in a prohibitive way, i.e. believers are told something that they ought not to do. A close examination of this text will reveal some interesting and helpful results.

A "cloak for vice" simply stated is a cover-up for evil. The thing that ought not to be used in this way is freedom or liberty. Christians are free from some things but they are bondservants to others. Our freedom is not absolute, in fact, there is no such thing in the human realm. Freedom always demands responsibilities be met so that one's liberty can be maintained. Freedom is always relative. While we as believers are free from some things, we are obligated to serve others.

Watch how this works. Under the Old Law, if a man violated the Sabbath, he was subject to the penalty of death. Under the New Testament if a person defiles that which God has defined as holy he may or may not suffer any immediate harm. Under the Old Testament, if a man was found to be guilty of adultery, he was to be put to death along with the adulteress. Under the New Covenant, a man or woman can be guilty of adultery in the heart and no one will ever be the wiser. Under the Law of Moses, priests who failed to keep themselves ceremoniously clean were banned from serving in the temple. In the New Testament all of God's children are priests and are responsible for their personal purity while they serve.

As can be seen from these few illustrations, it would be relatively easy for a professed believer to appear to be doing good while all the while be bound up in corruption. The Old Testament was seen as a system that placed restraints on physical deeds while basically giving license to unholy and ungodly attitudes. This interpretation is prevalent but it is also wrong. God never divorced attitudes from actions whether in the New Testament of the Old. The heart was from the very beginning a key element in man's acceptance before God.

A "cloak for vice" would be the willful concealment of evil under the guise of righteousness. This could be done fairly easily in the Christian era, far easier than under previous dispensations. However, the principle of godliness demands that the believer be true to his convictions as well as true to God. The realization that one could get away with a particular evil deed is no motivation to one who embraces the sentiment of the verse under consideration. In fact, whether or not one would get caught is of no weight in the decision making process of God's true children.

The attitude displayed by God's children isn't about shrewdness, or political savvy. They do not try to find out how far the issue can be pushed before actual sin occurs. The followers of Christ rejoice in the freedom which is theirs and refuse to take advantage of a situation, even if there is no chance of their getting caught. A "Cloak for evil" is never a part of Christian's wardrobe!

Questions:

1. Why do you think that the heart plays such an important role in the life of a believer, and in pleasing God?

2. Regarding the heart, in what way(s) is the New Covenant superior to the Old Covenant?

3. Why is it true that "...whether or not one would get caught is of no weight in the decision making process of God's true children"?

4. What class of believers is exempt from the possibility of using their liberty as a cloak of evil? Why did you answer the way you did?

"Point of Reference" from Fred Price

Counting the Cost and Bearing the Cross