"Christians and Government"

It’s a topic that we don’t talk about particularly often, however, I am not one to skate around the difficult passages of Scripture and this is where our study through 1 Peter has brought us.

From this point on 1 Peter discusses the effect of our salvation on our life and relationships. Because of our fallen understanding and our sin corrupted views, Peter is using practical details to spell out what living the Christian life entails.

Over the next few weeks, the main idea of each sermon is going to be something that everyone loves to talk about… “Submission”… And as we start, I want to acknowledge up front that these passages are difficult. Even though I may not like everything that Peter will teach us here, the Bible is still absolute truth whether we like it or not. And so we receive the whole thing and not just the parts we like.

Warren Wiersbe explains it this way… “Submission is certainly not a popular topic, but it is needful, especially in our rebellious and self-gratifying society. Submission does not mean slavery or subjugation but is a recognition of God's right to govern our lives. God established the home, government and the church and He has the right to tell us how these institutions should run. We will not understand or exercise authority properly, until we come under God's authority.”

I will probably share that explanation from Warren Wiersbe before each of these sermons that are dealing with submission, that way we start with the right train of thought.

In our passage today, Peter indicates that our salvation should impact how we relate to governmental authority…

Let’s look at 1 Peter 2:13-17… (Read)

Meat:

Remember that these instructions are for “God’s Special People”… These are for those who have put their faith in Christ and are trying to honor God with their lives.

As God’s Special People, Our Submission to Government…

1. Is Commanded

1 Peter 2:13 “13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake… ”

God established governments to administer the civil affairs of a nation. Verse 13 commands believers to submit to their established government.

The word "submit" which Peter uses in verse 13 is a military expression meaning "to place oneself under." The emphasis is on placing oneself under delegated authority.

The principle is that the Christian should submit to the government or human institution under which he lives. Christianity has existed for two thousand years under all kinds of governmental structures. God has ordained the institution of government to provide order for society, and as Christians, we need to fulfill our proper duties within and under it.

1.1 We Have Responsibilities

I will put in a little plug here… one of our “responsibilities” is to get out and vote… We vote against proposals or candidates that are not God honoring and we vote for the ones that are…

As Christians we are responsible to obey the law… Paul tells Titus in Titus 3:1-2 “1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”

I am just hitting all the words we don’t like to hear today… submission, responsibilities, … obedience…

This leads to our second point… As God’s Special People, Our Submission to Government…

2. Requires Proper Motivation

What motivates us to obey the laws??? The punishment of prison is a pretty good motivation… not losing my ability to hunt is a pretty good motivation to abide by the rules and regulations of the DNR…

Here’s one that the Holy Spirit convicted me of recently… what’s your motivation for setting your cruise control right at the speed limit??… Full disclosure… this is an area where I have struggled, and still struggle…

maybe you’re driving along a two lane highway, not in a huge hurry and you have the cruise set at 5 over the speed limit… you happen to see this fella in your mirror that is weaving in and out vehicles with each passing lane… now he is on your rear bumper and there is a two mile stretch of a no passing zone… … motivation to reset the cruise control, right on that speed limit mark…

maybe you’re travelling down 131, come around a bend in the road and there is one of them blue cars with the single red light on top… motivation to reset the cruise control, right on that speed limit mark…

Here’s the thing… The motivation for obedience should not be… avoiding punishment… look at what v.13 says… “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake…”

Our motivation should be…

2.1 To Honor God

We as Believers obey earthly authority to honor God who ordained authority including human government. As Christians we are to observe man-made laws carefully as long as those laws do not conflict with the clear teaching of Scripture… We will talk more about that later...

The principle of submission to government is found in many passages in the New Testament… and of course our best example is Jesus Christ…

Matthew 22:21 is where Jesus says to “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s… ”

At the end of Matthew 17, Jesus tells Peter to “go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them (tax collectors) for you and Me.”

When He was arrested, He submitted to the authority of the Roman soldiers and did not call for legions of angels to release Him, even though He had committed no offense.

In just these few accounts, we can see that Christ submitted to the authority of government during His life on earth.

In a similar passage of Scripture, the Apostle Paul gives us, pretty much, the same message as Peter… Turn in your Bibles to Romans 13… (Read vv. 1-7)

I know that our main passage is in 1 Peter… but I want to give you a quick breakdown of this one…

1. v.1 tells us two things..

We are called as Christians to submit to the authority of the government. (same thing that Peter says)

The opposite of having a governing authority, would be anarchy… and anytime that the sinful human race is left to what it pleases, it does not end well...

The second thing that v.1 tells us… is that…

b. The government’s authority has been given by God.

In God’s omniscience, He knew that we could not handle an anarchy situation, so He instituted government to preserve order.

2. v.2 Tells us that we are not to rebel against the government.

Romans 13:2 “2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.”

Paul is saying that rebelling against the government is like rebelling against God.

When we hear that, we immediately say that, “there are the exceptions to the rule!”… and we will look at that as well, but we cannot rush past this important point: the authority of government is established by God.

3. v.3 says that there will be no fear for those who do the right thing.

Romans 13:3 “3 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.”

The government should not be frightening if you’re doing what is right… If you’re cruise control is set at the speed limit, when you pop up over a hill and there is a cop running his radar gun, you should have no reason to fear him pulling you over… you are not doing anything wrong...

4. v.4 gives a warning to those that are doing wrong, because God has given the government the authority to punish those that are engaging in illegal activities.

Romans 13:4 “4 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.”

This is obviously talking about the most severe punishment of a crime, but the point that is being made is the fact that the government is “God’s servant” to bring about justice, including punishing the wrongdoer.

5. And then v.5… Romans 13:5 “5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.”

For all those reasons, Paul says that we are to submit to the authorities… Ultimately, it boils down to honoring God.

Getting back to our passage in 1 Peter… As God’s Special People, Our Submission to Government…

3. Will Be Difficult

1 Peter 2:13-14 “13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 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.”

We are to submit to anyone who possesses authority over us… Let me show you how difficult it really is. According to what we read in these verses we are to submit to: President Joe Biden, The U.S House of Representatives, The U.S Senate, The U.S Supreme Court, The Federal and State Judiciary systems, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, The Michigan State Legislature, The State Police, The County Sheriff and the list goes on…

There are many people, that God has placed in positions of authority that we are called to respect and submit to. I didn't say it would be easy and neither did Peter.

As long as we live in this world there will be Leaders we don’t trust, Laws we don’t like and taxes we don’t want to pay. But God says we are to be submissive.

Moving on…

Because submission is so difficult verse 15 gives us the reason behind our being commanded to submit.

1 Peter 2:15 “15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men...”

As God’s Special People, Our Submission to Government…

4. Is God’s Will

It is the will of God that Christians should be subject to their governments, because through our obedience, we entrust ourselves to Christ and it is a way to show Him to others… Our law abiding behavior eventually silences those who would oppose us as Christians and our testimonies.

Evidently Christians were being slandered and falsely accused of evil, for Peter stressed that it is God's will, that through excellent behavior, they silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.

The Greek word translated "silence" means "to close the mouth with a muzzle." … … Christians in the first century were the targets of all kinds of slanderous rumors.

People said, "They have secret rites." "They are people of another kingdom." . . . "They follow another god." . . . "They have plans to overthrow us." "They are out to change our society, to impose their morality on us."… Not much different than what is being said about Christians today…

Through out the Roman Empire people gossiped about their secret meetings, their rebellious ideologies, their loyalty to another kingdom, their plans to infiltrate, indoctrinate, and lead an insurrection. This kind of paranoia was common, all the way to Nero.

To muzzle these rumors, Peter encouraged submission to the powers that be. By submitting, Peter said, by doing right before God, they would muzzle the mouths of those passing around such rumors.

So how does this apply to us? Peter said that by doing good we will silence those who criticize us. For instance, instead of only speaking out against immoral programming on TV be in favor of positive change-and then work with local stations to make it happen. Instead of just being against poverty, make a tangible contribution in the life of someone who needs help.

It would be easy to do nothing but point out the wrongs in our world and spend a lifetime denouncing them. But if we did, people would get tired of listening to us and eventually write us off as complainers.

Someone once said that “Christians should be known as people who are for the good, not just against the bad. While we may want to criticize our sick society, We should instead do what is good in order to change the bad we see. Even a small example can have a big influence.”

The last thing that I want to mention this morning… actually, the last thing that I have time to mention this morning… is…

As God’s Special People, Our Submission to Government…

5. Is An Act Of Stewardship

1 Peter 2:15-17 “15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

The NASB words v.16 like this “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God”…

As believers we are free… free from the bondage of sin and free from the condemnation of sin… Some have used this freedom, this liberty of the Gospel, to say we are not under the law, but under grace… which is absolutely true… but they use it as an excuse for doing evil things morally… they have the attitude of “God will forgive me any way, so I can do whatever I want...”

Folks, we have to be good stewards of the freedoms that God has given us. He freed us from the shackles of sin, in order that we would be able to serve Him.

Our freedom in Christ is not a license to do as we please or to ignore our responsibilities to holy living. This is especially true when it comes to our relationship with the government.

It's important to keep the right perspective on the principle here. We do not submit because we necessarily agree. We do not submit because deep within we support all the rules, codes, and regulations. At times they may seem annoying, terribly restrictive, and even counterproductive. We submit because it is the "will of God" and because we are "bondslaves of God." and we are to be His stewards…

Closing:

As we go through another round of elections, it is our duty to get out and vote for for things and people that line up with God’s Word and against the things or people that don’t.

And no matter how this election goes…

As God’s Special People, Our Submission to Government…

Is commanded

Requires proper motivation

Will not be easy

It is God’s Will

It is an act of stewardship…

I know the big question that most everyone has is… “WHAT ABOUT WHEN THE GOVERNMENT ISN'T DOING RIGHT?”… That my beloved, brothers and sisters… is what we will dive into next week…