FREE BONDSERVANTS OF CHRIST – 1 Peter 2:13-17

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on July 1, 2018 under 2018 |

Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; July 1, 2018 from 1 Peter 2:13-17

Theme: We as believers are to be in reverent submission toward all human governing authority for the sake of Christ our King.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

As we draw closer to the celebration of our nation’s birthday this week, I hope that you are grateful—as I am—for the wonderful gift of liberty we enjoy.

Jesus once said;

“Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).

That speaks of our eternal liberty as sons and daughters of God through Jesus Christ. It is the greatest of all liberties. And I believe that it is the liberty that gives the greatest meaning and joy and purpose to our national liberty.

So; keeping our spiritual liberty ever in the forefront, dear brothers and sisters, I have felt led this morning to share from a passage in 1 Peter 2 that speaks to how we, as followers of Jesus, are to embrace the wonderful blessing of our national liberty.

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Peter’s first New Testament letter was written by the apostle to a group of Christians who did not have the kind of national liberty we enjoy today. As we’re told in the first few verses of this letter, they were Jewish Christians who were suffering persecution for their faith in Jesus. They had been driven from their homeland, and were ‘pilgrims of the Dispersion’—living in Gentile lands under the domination of pagan rulers and authorities. How they lived-out the implications of their ‘liberty’ in Christ under an ungodly and sometimes oppressive human government was a very important thing for them to know.

And what’s more, these words were written by someone who didn’t always handle that matter very carefully. Peter, you’ll remember, once violently resisted human authority. When Jesus was being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter zealously drew out a sword and sliced off the ear of one of the arresting officials. After Jesus put the official’s ear back in its proper place, He had to put Peter back in his proper place also!

So; what Peter has to say to these believers was highly relevant to them—and was a matter of hard lessons learned by the apostle himself. He wanted these believers to know how to behave as godly followers of Jesus while living in an ungodly and sometimes-hostile world. He wanted them not to give in to their fleshly emotions and ungodly inclinations, and to instead be good and faithful representatives of their Lord and Master in the way they behaved.

In 1 Peter 2:11-12, he set the theme for them when he told them;

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation (1 Peter 2:11-12).

He went on from there to give them several instructions on how to live-out a faithful witness for Jesus in several different spheres of daily living. And it happens that the first area of daily living that he mentioned was that of being citizens under a human government. How does the believer live as a truly free person—a person set free in an ultimate sense in Christ—while still living as a citizen under temporal human governmental authority?

In verses 13-17, Peter gives them these very practical words of instruction through the Holy Spirit;

Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 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. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king (1 Peter 2:13-17).

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“Submit yourselves”, Peter says.

I wonder if, when we read that instruction this coming holiday, it doesn’t bring forth a disturbing tension that wasn’t present last year. We have been going through a very difficult season of division as a nation recently. Don’t you feel like that call to “submit yourselves” has a bit more of a bite to it than it has had before? And don’t you feel that, if you put those words on your bumper-sticker today, you might have to be careful where you drive?

I don’t believe it’s my proper place to get into specific political issues. But it’s undeniable that a growing number of people in our land are exercising their ‘liberty’ by rebelling against governmental authorities that they don’t like. I don’t mean, of course, merely that they express disagreement with policies. The freedom to “petition the government for a redress of grievances” has always been a vital part of our national liberty. Rather, I mean that there is a growing and very expressed movement toward selectively rejecting duly elected governmental authorities with whose election one disagrees, and actively resisting policies legally enacted, and openly dishonoring and disgracing and abusing those who hold office. To many within that growing movement today, these words of Peter in this passage would be absolutely unacceptable. Such words would sound like a surrender of liberty.

I believe it’s important to remember that Peter’s call of submission to human authorities was not written for all people. It was directed specifically to the redeemed follower of Jesus as a part of the call to live faithfully for their Lord. But I would suggest to you that they are far more of a bold declaration of true liberty than many people today might think. They constitute a declaration that, as followers of Jesus Christ—followers who have been set free in the most ultimate sense by Christ our Lord—we submit willingly and whole-heartedly and respectfully to the human government under which God has providentially placed us; but that we do so in full and obedient submission—first and foremost—to Jesus Christ our true and ultimate King; and that we will do so with the confident faith that all of human government will one day be held accountable to Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

As Christ’s faithful followers, our obedient submission to human government is not in any respect an act of mere servitude to men—a cowardly surrender of liberty. Rather, it is a bold attitude of confident faith in the self-declaration of Jesus who said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). It is a confident affirmation to the world that, when we became saved by God’s grace, our focus of authority had shifted; and that whereas we were once the slaves of men, we are now set free from men to be the bondservants of Jesus Christ—the most liberating Master any bondservant could ever serve. And believing that He holds complete authority over all human governments, we submit to human government in obedience to Him and for the cause of His eternal kingdom.

As this passage shows us, we—as believers who have been set free in Christ—are now commanded to be in reverent submission to all human authority for the sake of Christ our King and the righteous Judge of all the earth.

Frankly, I can’t think of a greater expression of genuine liberty on earth than that.

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So then; let’s look carefully at what did Peter wrote about this. First, in verse 13, we see …

1. THE COMMAND FOR US TO SUBMIT.

He wrote; “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man …” Some of us have a Bible translation that has the word “therefore” present at the beginning of this verse; and some do not. It’s found in some ancient Greek manuscripts of Peter’s letter; and it’s absent from others. But I believe that its presence in the translation I’m using correctly expresses the basic idea—that this passage is meant to be seen as an explanation of how we are to keep our “conduct honorable” among unbelieving people—just as Peter said in verse 11. We are to “submit” ourselves—or to ‘place ourselves under’—every human ordinance in an honorable and godly way. We are to be a people who faithfully keep and honor and live under the laws and ordinances of the government in which God has providentially placed us to live.

Now; living as we do in an environment that is sometimes quite hostile to the faith, you might immediately ask, “But what about those occasions when human government calls upon me to disobey God?” That has been something that we’ve had to deal with more and more over the past few years and months, hasn’t it? Well; I believe that it helps to remember that Peter wrote, very specifically, that we are to submit to every ordinance of human government “for the Lord’s sake …” That phrase qualifies our submission in some very important ways.

First, it qualifies it by saying that we obey human government in obedience to the Lord—for His sake, and for His cause. And that means that we do not, under any circumstances, disobey Him—even when human authority demands that we must disobey Him. The man through whom these words were given to us—the apostle Peter—was, you’ll remember, the same man who was once ordered by human rulers to cease preaching the name of Jesus. He openly disobeyed their orders and continued to preach the gospel. And when he was arrested and brought to account for it, he bravely told them, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

The phrase “for the Lord’s sake” teaches us that our submission to human authority is not absolute. We owe our first allegiance to King Jesus. We are to obey human authority as much as we possibly can—but never in rejection of our Lord’s ultimate authority or in disobedience to His clear commands in Scripture. We must, of course, always be absolutely sure that it’s a case of our Lord’s commands and human authority truly being in conflict. But whenever that truly is the case, we must make sure we obey our Lord every time.

And second, that phase “for the Lord’s sake” qualifies our obedience to human government by making it an act of witness to our devotion to the Lord Jesus. Our obedience is for His sake—for His cause—for His kingdom’s purpose—as His ambassadors on earth. The apostle Paul wrote to Pastor Titus to teach this to the people he served; saying,

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men” (Titus 3:1-2).

And why?

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life (vv. 3-7).

We don’t submit to human government ultimately for human government’s sake. As a people set free by Jesus, we do so in obedience to our Lord and Master for His kingdom’s sake.

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Next, notice …

2. THE OBJECTS OF OUR SUBMISSION.

Peter wrote that we’re to submit to “every ordinance of man”. So long as doing so does not require us to disobey an ordinance of God, we are to submit to the laws of our government. And he specified that this is so, in verse 13, “whether to the king as supreme …” (or as I believe it would be better to translate it, “whether through the king”).

Now; we recognize that we are unique in human history. In our remarkable form of government, we do not have a king. We have a president. He ‘presides’ over a constitutional republic that is of the people, by the people, and for the people. But even then, we should not make the mistake of thinking that this means the president is a substitute concept of “the king as supreme”. We are not under the authority of a president alone. He is not supreme. We live under three branches of federal government—separate and distinct, but all equal in authority; each having different spheres of governmental responsibility. The Legislative branch makes our laws. The Judicial branch interprets those laws. The Executive branch puts those laws—found constitutional by the Supreme Court—into action in the president’s administration. And what’s more, those three branches are to be understood as distinct from the same three branches that govern over each individual state in accord with each state’s individual constitution. Ours is a truly unique system of government.

But the point is that, under this remarkable form of government in which God has called us to live for Him, we are—as His people—to submit to the governing authorities as they are legitimately and constitutionally exercised. When the Judicial branch acts in violation of its constitutional role, or when the Legislative branch does so, or the Executive branch does so, we are not obligated to those violations. It can be complicated at times; but so far as these three different branches operate within their constitutional boundaries and do not transgress into one another’s proper roles, we are absolutely obligated to submit to their ordinances in obedience to our Lord.

And not only that, but we are also obligated to the lesser authorities who serve under ‘the king’. Peter wrote in verse 14 that our submission is to be given “to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.” Those “governors” (or better to say “officials” in a more general sense) serve under that higher authority; and we are to submit to them also when they are fulfilling the roles delegated to them.

The apostle Paul wrote about this in Romans 13:1-7;

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor (Romans 13:1-7).

All legitimate authority is from God. And so, when we submit to human government—in all levels—we are submitting to God.

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And that, brothers and sisters, is how we serve our Lord and advance His cause under a human government. Peter went on to tell us …

3. THE REASON WHY WE OBEY THIS COMMAND.

In verse 15, he wrote; “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men …” As Christians, we are not to be known as an argumentative and belligerent people. Instead, we are to have a reputation of respecting authority. In that way, we show the world that we are devoted to and have confidence in a King that is greater than any earthly human authority. We show that we are obedient to Him by doing as He commands us to do—which includes being submitted to the authority that He places over us.

The Bible presents this to us as one of the greatest arguments for the Christian faith. We sometimes think that we defend the Christian faith in this world by out-witting or out-arguing or out-shouting unbelieving people. But the apostle Paul wrote;

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will (2 Timothy 2:24-26).

Think of it! The arena of human government under which we live is given to us by God as one of the places in which we are to demonstrate our love and devotion to a greater King! Peter said, “For this is the will of God”; and what an honor it is to do His will in the sight of people who would not otherwise notice Him or acknowledge Him!

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Peter went on to tell us …

4. THE ATTITUDE WE’RE TO HAVE IN SUBMITTING.

In verse 16, he wrote; “as free …” We are never to forget, dear brothers and sisters, that no matter what man may do to us, no matter how human powers may seek to set shackles upon us, we still remain forever a people set free by Jesus Christ. We are free indeed.

But our freedom is not because we are set free from all authority. We are not free simply because we have ceased to be servants of anyone at all. Rather, our freedom is because we have exchanged service from one master for another. Peter tells us to be subject to human authority as free people, “yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice [that is, as a covering for wrongdoing], but as bondservants of God.”

Paul made this wonderfully clear in Galatians 5:13-14; when he wrote,

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:13-14).

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And how do we do all this? Peter closed-off this exhortation in a truly remarkable way. He gave us …

5. THE PRIORITIES THAT GUIDE OUR OBEDIENCE.

In verse 17, he gave us four short, concise, clear, simple-to-remember, universally applicable commands: “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

Think of it, dear brothers and sisters; don’t most of our problems with respect to human government come from getting these four things out of balance from one another? We run into trouble when we leave one of these four things out (when we try, for example, to love the Christian brotherhood and reverence God and honor the king, but do not show sincere honor and respect for all people); or when we try to do the right thing in the wrong area (like when we fall into the trap of ‘fearing’ the king in the way that we should only fear and reverence God); or when we take things out of proper order (like when we put ‘honoring the king’ first before all the others). But when we do all four things properly:

• when we honor or show respect to all people; that is, when we don’t necessarily agree with all people or condone all that they do, but nevertheless show respect to them as people who are made in the image of God and eternally valuable;
• when we love the Christian brotherhood; that is, when we set aside our lessor differences and unite in love for one another as members together of the same family through Jesus Christ; when we see ourselves as bound together in love to Him and linking arms together in the truth of the gospel and in the cause of His kingdom;
• when we truly “fear” God; not in a phobic sort of fear, but in the sense of reverencing Him and holding Him in awe; living all of life in obedience to His commands; putting His authority over our lives first; treating the things that concern Him with the utmost respect;
• and when we then, finally, “honor the king”; showing respect for human authority; submitting to it in reverent obedience to our Lord;

—when we do all these four things properly, then we are doing things right. If we keep all these four things in proper balance with one another, then I believe we, as free people, can’t go wrong with respect to human government.

Dear brothers and sisters; as followers of King Jesus—as His free bondservants—let’s prove our allegiance to Him by how we honor the human authority He has placed over us.

AE