Submission To Authority (2)

Submit to Governing Authorities

Peter is writing to Jews scattered about by the very authorities that he is telling them to submit to. This is the Roman Government. In particular The Caesar known as Nero. He was perhaps the most corrupt king of the Roman Empire. He oppressed all people groups through indoctrination of roman culture through the schools, excessive taxes, and brutality against anyone who opposed Roman rule.

One may ask why thy should submit to such an evil dictator such as Nero. The answer is for the Lord’s sake. This means that even though a ruling authority has dominion on earth, it only has that authority if it is given by God. Remember what Jesus told Pilate when he questioned Jesus. John 19:10-11

John 19:10–11 (NASB95)

So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

Jesus reminded Pilate that any authority given him regarding Jesus was given by the Father. Jesus used the evil Governor to fulfill His purpose in crucifying His Son.

God ordains all authority, even the evil ones. When we oppose the authority that God has put in place and is using, we are fighting against God. Romans 13:1-2

Romans 13:1–2 (NASB95)

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

The only time that we are to oppose the governing authority is when they command that we do something that is in direct opposition to what God commands or to refrain from something that God commands.

We see an example of this when they try to silence Peter from sharing the gospel in Acts 4:18-20

Acts 4:18–20 (NASB95)

And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

In this instance Peter and John are being told to do the very opposite of what Christ commanded them to do. In this case they were justified in their civil disobedience. Christ is their authority over everyone else.

Application

Many people today refuse to subject themselves to the governing authorities because they disagree with their policy. It is okay to disagree with their policy, but it is not okay to disobey their policy unless it poses a violation to the commands of God.

Though there is great distrust in governing authorities because of the corruption that occurs in government, it does not give us the right to rebel in anarchy against the governing authorities. Though there is a lot left to be desired with some governing authorities, they do provide punishment for evil doers and praise for those who do right.

Our judges are either elected by the people or appointed by an elected official for the purpose of punishing evil doers. Though the system is not perfect, imagine a world where there was no law enforcement or courts to deal with crimes. Our world and community would be in total chaos.

Imagine a country that had no military to protect the sovereignty of the country. They would be overtaken by another country that would oppress and seek to destroy them. We have the best military force in the world. It is funded by our tax dollars and administrated by governing authorities.

Imagine a country without roads, ports, and airstrips to move trade. It would be a third world country with vast amount of people that do not have or even have access to food, shelter, and clothing. The US is blessed with all the necessary infrastructure to provide an abundance to its citizens. Without governing authorities none of these would be possible. Our tax dollars pay for the infrastructure and our governing authorities make sure they are functional and administered properly.

Though we may have mistrust in our governing authorities we must not have mistrust in the One who gave them the authority. As peter says in 1 Peter 2:15

1 Peter 2:15 NASB95

For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.

By submitting to the laws of the governing authorities we silence the ignorance of foolish men. For example, people who disagree with our Christian principles will label us as a hate group or even worse as a terrorist group for our stances. When we submit to the governing authorities, we demonstrate that we are not what they accuse us of in their foolish accusations.

Don’t Use Authority For Evil

Because our governing authorities are flawed and pass legislation that is not right, we should not use their mistakes for the promotion of our sinful desires. 1 Corinthians 10:23

1 Corinthians 10:23 NASB95

All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.

Just because something is legal doesn’t make it right. For example, same sex marriage is legal but it doesn’t make it right. Having an abortion is legal in some states, but it doesn’t make it right. Viewing pornography is legal but it doesn’t make it right. There was a time that slavery was legal, but it doesn’t make it right. There are many more things that are permissible by law but are not right in the eyes of God.

What Peter is saying here is that we cannot excuse our sin because it has been made legal by the governing authorities that God has put in place. Christians will be judged on the commandments and ordinances of God, not on the laws of man.

Christians are to submit to governing authorities and live in accordance to God’s command. When the two are in conflict the Christian is to obey God rather than man.

Honor All People, Love The Brotherhood, Fear God, Honor the King

Honor all People

God calls us to honor all people. Even those who have different religious, political, cultural, and yes sports differences than us. The basis for doing so is that all people are created in the image of God. We never have the right to mistreat anyone.

Those that differ from us are not our enemies. They are still people! We do not have a right to harm anyone based on any of the above differences or and difference that we may have. We do not have to agree and certainly not endorse those differences, but we must not disrespect them for their differences.

Love people as made in the image of God. Share truth and love well!

Love the Brotherhood

Christians are to love one another. We are to focus on the irreducible minimums of the faith rather than the secondary doctrinal issues that cause division. We do this by adhering to Philippians 2:2-4

Philippians 2:2–4 (NASB95)

make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

We must put our agendas aside for the purpose of unity in the body. Talk about School ministries and how churches put aside racial and doctrinal differences to share the gospel with middle-schools.

Fear God

Peter is not talking about living in constant paralyzing fear that God is going to destroy you. He is talking about having a healthy understanding that you are accountable to God and to conduct your life accordingly.

When there is no fear of God there there is no boundaries to behavior. It is the fear of God that brings about civility.

Also, we are to stand in awe of God because of His power, wisdom, holiness, and sovereignty!

Honor the King

In our case it would be the President of the United States. We do not have a king, but the President is the highest governing authority in our country. We are to respect and pray for our President.

Many who do not like him disrespect him because of the way he governs. This is not our place. The Bible says that we are to Honor the King.