Following Jesus in a Fallen World
I Peter
2:13-17
Introduction: This week we saw someone who decided that his answer
to cases of apparent injustice that were revealed through media reports, that
intentional violence against police in Dallas would be a valid response. So twelve
policemen were shot, five of them killed. My father was a policeman in New
Jersey during the riots in the mid 1960s. As a young boy I remember him going
on duty, to help preserve order and keep the peace in the midst of protests.
And I remember being afraid if he would come home that night. He was not
perfect in what he did on the job. But he was my dad. Where fallen humans like us are asked to put
on a uniform and preserve order there will always be isolated cases of
prejudice and injustice, and even cases of people becoming frustrated and
losing their temper, maybe even some abusing their authority. And those things need
to be investigated and addressed. But violence against the police is a step
toward anarchy. Where would we be without the “thin blue line” between us and the
criminal element? Every time these guys
put on a uniform, every time they walk up to the window of a car or investigate
a complaint in a home or a place of business they put their lives on the line —
for us. They deserve our support and our respect, and as Christians, they
deserve our prayers…
In an
election year with perhaps less than exciting options before us we may wish we
had more options! Even so we can find comfort in remembering we are pilgrims
and exiles, and we know and are known by the King of kings! He knows your name!
He knows your every thought! Last week in our “God and Country Day” service,
Carroll Conley reminded us from I Timothy 2:1-4 of our obligation to pray for
those who are in authority over us. That seems like the Christian thing to
do! Today, “just by chance,” as we
return to our study in I Peter, we are reminded further of our obligation to
government. Not only are we to pray for
those in authority, but we are to respect and submit to them as well. This section in I Peter will deal with some
sticky issues, and a dominant part of that is submission to those in authority.
He starts talking about the king and governors, he will talk about respecting
our supervisors and employers in the workplace, he will talk about line of
authority in the family, and he will even talk about the authority that God
delegates to leaders in the church. The
point is that we recognize God as the ultimate authority, and our conduct
“among the gentiles” will lay a foundation for our witness and for the mission
of God.
The Maine* Idea: Voluntarily acknowledge and accept every authority
God has put in your life... including government.
I. Believers are to respect and submit
to government authorities for the sake of the Lord (13,14).
13 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human
institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him
to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.
The call
to “be subject” or to “submit yourselves” to all human authorities has its
roots in the idea that God has delegated authority to certain people and
institutions to maintain order and to make it possible for Christians to carry
out His mission in the world. It is a military expression (hupotassÅ) literally meaning “to arrange in formation under the
commander.” (MacArthur, First Peter). As armies have a line of command, so God has
ordained government to bring order in society (see Rom 13:3,4). I remember Dr.
Dobson telling the story of a stubborn little boy who finally gave in and sat
down at the table. Then he announced, “I’m sitting down on the outside, but I’m
standing on the inside!” With my dad I wouldn’t have been able to sit after
that! Peter is talking about submission
that is not the result of compulsion, but stems from the recognition that God
is in control, and that no one has authority unless He allows it.
Remember
that as we have been reading I Peter, at least three times the apostle already has reminded
his readers that they are exiles, sojourners, and pilgrims in this world. How
then are they (and we) to live? Remember
the previous verses,
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to
abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the
Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may
see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation… (I Peter 2:11,12).
600 years earlier, the prophet Jeremiah was writing to
the nation that would soon be swept into exile. This is how he told them they
should live during their time in exile in Babylon (Jer 29:4-14):
4 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of
Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to
Babylon: Build houses and live in them;
plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters;
take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may
bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the
welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on
its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the
LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners
who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,
for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send
them, declares the LORD. "For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are
completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise
and bring you back to this place. For I
know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not
for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come
and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. When you
seek me with all your heart, I will be
found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather
you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares
the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into
exile... (Jer 29:4-14).
They
are to build houses and have children and plant gardens, they are to make it
their home while they are there. We were
not exiled to Brazil when we went there as missionaries. But we were
foreigners, resident aliens. It did put us in an odd position, especially after
our first five year term. We owned no property in the US (or Brazil). We always lived in church or mission owned
housing! By the time we came on our first
furlough, Sarah said something like, “I don’t want to leave home!” For her,
home was where we lived, not where we were returning. We asked ourselves that
question a few times over the years, and Mary Ann always determined to make a
“home” wherever we were. We are thankful that now “home” is in Boothbay! Jeremiah
told his countrymen that they were not only to make a home, but notice v.7
again,
“But seek the
welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on
its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
As we
heard last week from Carroll Conley as he shared from I Timothy 2:1-4, they were
to pray for those in authority, they were also to seek the good of the
country to which God had sent them! Yes, we are citizens of heaven, we are
pilgrims, but this country is our home (for now!) and we are called to pray for our
leaders and seek the welfare of this place.
Remember, God is in control, He is sovereign, the Lord of history. As Paul said in Rom 13:1, “Let every person be subject to the governing
authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist
have been instituted by God…” So we should voluntarily acknowledge and accept every authority God has put in your
life... including government.
II. Being a good and respectful citizen is one way
that we silence accusers and give a good witness (15).
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good
you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
Verse 15
begins with the phrase, “For this is the
will of God…” That should get our attention! We all want to know God’s will
and do God’s will if we are His children. We want to obey Father, not because
we are afraid He will hurt us if we don’t, but because we know our rebellion will
hurt Him. Remember this passage
immediately follows verse 12 where we read,
12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so
that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and
glorify God on the day of visitation.
This is one more way that our conduct among the
nations is revealed to be honorable, one of the “good deeds” that characterize
us, and so “silence the ignorance of foolish people” and ultimately bring glory
to God. Paul gave similar instruction to
Titus as to how he was to admonish the believers in Crete to live:
Remind
them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready
for every good work, 2 to
speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect
courtesy toward all people. 3
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various
passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others
and hating one another (Titus 3:1-3).
Fallen humanity rebels against authority. That is our
sinful nature. As new creatures in Christ we are to respect authority,
including government authority. Peter
would one day be put to death by Nero, the emperor, yet here he is saying the
submitting to kings and governors is one way that we silence the ignorance of foolish
people. This is the will of God.
Like some
of you I’ve felt a little discouraged at times at how the primary process has
gone in this presidential election year. It could be worse! This week a former classmate at WTS who
recently returned to Australia after about 30 years in the US voted for the
first time in his country of birth after so many years. He posted last week about his voting options
included 121 candidates to choose
between in last week’s senate election! Nothing as boring as our two party
system for the aussies! Some options included: the Pirate Party, the Australian Cyclists Party, the
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, the Family First Party, the Secular Party
of Australia, the Australian Christians Party, the Rise Up Australia Party, the
Australian Sex/Marijuana Party, the Mature Australia Party, the Animal Justice
Party, the Renewable Energy Party, the voluntary euthanasia party, the
Australian Motoring Enthusiasts party, the Non-custodial parents party, and the
upgrade Democracy party! Our
choices are a lot more limited. But be comforted that God is in control. Be
informed. Vote as wisely and prayerfully as you can. And respect (and pray for)
those in authority. That’s the Maine Idea: Voluntarily acknowledge and
accept every authority God has put in your life... including government.
III. We are
free, not to do whatever we wish, but to serve God by serving others (16).
16 Live as people who are free, not
using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
Freedom is
something we cherish. The New Hampshire state motto says, “Live free or die!” In
Maine it’s “the way life should be!” And if we are in Christ we are
free, just as the Lord said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you are
free indeed!” How has Christ made us
free? First of all, we are no longer
slaves of sin,
We know that our old self was crucified with him in
order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no
longer be enslaved to sin (Rom 6:6).
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in
Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2).
Related to that idea, we are no longer slaves to
Satan…
Little children, you are from God and have overcome
them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (I Jn 4:4).
His point is that we are no longer in bondage to sin,
we are not slaves of Satan or in bondage to our fallen nature. We are free. Not free to sin, God
forbid. We are free to live in a way that brings glory to God. We are free to
obey, free to choose righteousness. Freedom is not license to sin. We are free
to serve God, by serving others. And so we are to voluntarily acknowledge and
accept every authority God has put in your life... including government.
IV. Respect
for human authorities flows from our reverence for God, the ultimate authority (17).
Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood.
Fear God. Honor the emperor.
Peter makes
a general, overarching statement first: “honor
everyone.” Respect each person, recognize they too are created in God’s
image, however hard it might be to see. They have value. Yes, ALL LIVES
MATTER. Humans are unique, and all human
life is precious. Our Declaration of
Independence agrees that “All men [all humans] are created equal and endowed by
their creator with certain unalienable rights…” Race, nationality, social
standing, income, people are people. They deserve respect.
“…love
the brotherhood…” What is true of
our attitude toward all people, takes on a deeper, more personal element among
believers in Jesus. It stems from the Lord’s own words in John
13:34-35,
A new
commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you,
you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my
disciples, if you have love for one another."
Peter
has called his readers to this already in 1 Peter 1:22, “Having purified your souls by your obedience
to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a
pure heart…”
John
speaks about it repeatedly in his first letter, for example in 1 John 4:7-12,
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from
God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does
not know God, because God is love. 9
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son
into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we
have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for
our sins. 11 Beloved, if God
so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God
abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
We are to honor all, love the brethren, and thirdly “…fear God…” We’ve spoken enough about
that that we needn’t dwell here. God is God, our creator, the all-powerful,
awesome, infinite King of the Universe. We are His creatures; once lost and in
darkness but now brought near by the blood of Christ. We tremble when we grasp
that, but not because we are afraid, rather because, by His grace, we are His
(I Jn 3:1). As Peter said a few verses back, in 1 Peter 2:9-10,
“…But you are a
chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own
possession… Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you
had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy…”
So it is proper for us to “fear God.” Paul
put it this way to the Philippians...
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so
now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling, 13
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good
pleasure. 14 Do all things
without grumbling or questioning, 15
that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the
midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in
the world... (Philippians 2:12-15).
And
He, the Lord of the universe, the absolute authority to whom we owe everything,
has delegated authorities in the world, and He calls us to “…honor the emperor…” Carroll reminded us last week of who the
emperor was from the mid-50s to the mid-60s A.D., Nero. Whatever authority he
has, it is because God has allowed it. So honor the emperor.
What is God
saying to me in this passage? Voluntarily
acknowledge and accept every authority God has put in your life... including
government.
What
would God have me to do in response to this passage? We’ve seen a
change in our country since 9/11 and more people, when they see a veteran or
active duty military, they will thank them for their service. That is
respectful and good, and a few veterans have told me it means a lot to them. The law
enforcement officers need to be reminded too that we are thankful for what they
do to keep order, and to keep us safe. We respect them and should be highly
appreciative. Show it, and say it if you agree. God gave us government, let’s
respect the authorities He has established.
AMEN.
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