A Weird Way to Witness
Elect Exiles • Sermon • Submitted
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· 9 viewsWhen God's people are subject to authorities, then God is honored.
Notes
Transcript
If you have your Bible’s please open them to 1 Peter 2:13.
Announcement: Lock-in this Friday
food
games
movies
Most important - no sleep
That’s my only announcement, let’s turn our attention to God’s Word.
Tonight, we continue our time in 1 Peter that we are calling ‘Elect Exiles’ - In his letter, Peter is teaching us how to live the Christian life in a world that is hostile to God and his people.
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. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Let’s pray
We are constantly exposed to various messages and advertisements… more than we probably realize…
How man advertisements do you suppose the average American sees in a day?
It’s estimated that we are exposed to anywhere between 6-10,000 ads in a day.
Advertisements
Billboards - commercials
Social media adds
Strange advertisement
Think about shirts are branded boldly across the front…
You have guys on the corner of the street holding and flipping signs…
Tube man adds…
There are plenty of strange ways to get a message out there today. In a sense this is what our text is about tonight… it’s a strange way to make God known. Peter shows us a strange way of making God known that is stranger than a tube man add…
But we should recall that mission of the church is to make God known… and as such should be a huge part of our lives… making Christ known by proclaiming the gospel.
we call this evangelism, or bearing witness to all that God has done
If we were to consider how be a witness for God, most of us would probably think about sharing the good news of the gospel by word of mouth.
Or maybe you even think of those adds on billboards that have Scripture posted on them… certainly this is a creative way of sharing the gospel with those who drive past.
But in tonight’s text, Peter tells us another way to make Jesus known in the world that is far stranger than tube men adds…
Peter tells us that we can make God known by submitting submitting to human authorities… even those who are not godly.
1. God is glorified when we graciously suffer for doing good.
1. God is glorified when we graciously suffer for doing good.
Tonight’s text shows two of three ways that Christinas are to submit even in the midst of suffering… next week we will look at the third part…
but in each of them the purpose of submission is the same; that through our good works and by our submission, we would glorify God with our lives even in the midst of suffering.
Peter lays out three different scenarios… we will only cover the first two tonight, and next week we will talk about the final scenario.
The first paragraph (v13-17) is the relationship between Christians and governing authorities
The second paragraph (v18-20) is the relationship between a Christian and their master
And then next week we will look at the relationship between a Christian and their spouse (Ch 3.1-7)
But between the second and third scenarios, we are given an example to follow in Christ. (v21-25).
With this in mind, let’s hear how we can glorify God in our life…
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. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
2. When we honor those in authority we also honor the Lord.
2. When we honor those in authority we also honor the Lord.
this is difficult for us, especially as Americans… because we are taught that we are free from all rulers over us.
We pride ourselves in our liberty our revolt from the British monarchy every 4th of July…
But let’s call the revolutionary war what it was… it was a revolt against governing authorities… and it goes in complete contradiction how Peter instructs the Elect Exiles to live.
Listen, revolts and rebellion to authorities contradict the way of Christ. Hear how Peter puts it.
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.
Be subject to every human institution…
In case we want to make this just about the early church submitting to Rome… we have to hear and understand who is included in this text… it’s not just about emperors and their governors… Every human institution includes all the governing authorities here in America. So we are to submit to governing authorities.
That’s what it means to be subject to human institutions… it means we obey
Listen to the way the disciples used this word…
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
When the demons were subject… it means they listened and obeyed the disciples…
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.
For the Lord’s sake… not for the emperor’s or governor’s sake. When we submit to governing authorities - we do it as unto the Lord.
Back when we were always wearing masks… there were a lot of us who didn’t like wearing masks, and I will say I didn’t like wearing them… but when we consider that in honoring governing we are actually honoring the Lord I wonder how this might have changed our perspective on masks?
But this isn’t just about wearing masks…
For those who drive… you ought to obey the speed limit and wear a seatbelt - you do so not just so you don’t get a ticket, and it’s not just so you don’t get hurt if you crash. But you do so for the Lords sake to bring honor to his name.
And the same goes for any other way that we can submit to governing authorities.
But there are some guardrails that are needed here. In all that we do, we ought to do it to honor God and bring him glory. So what are we to do when a governing authority tells us to disobey God?
Well let’s look to God’s Word… similarly, Daniel and his friends were commanded disobey God by worship an Idol when they were in exile in Babylon. Listen to the command of the governing authorities in Babylon;
4 And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
Now Daniel’s three friends know better than to do this… for God has given his people these commands;
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
So what did Daniel’s friends do? Did they submit to the governing authorities?? Well the officials reported to Neb…
12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
These men were right to disobey the governing authorities in Babylon in order to obey God. And we ought to do the same when it comes to these matters.
Very similar, the Apostles were told to stop preaching the gospel… and so what did they do?
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
So too, we must honor God and obey him instead of men when they tell us to disobey God. And we must do this even if obeying God has terrible consequences.
But if governing authorities do not tell us to disobey God, then are to obey them.
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.
And why do we submit to them?
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
You see, Christians were not liked in Peter’s day. And they aren’t liked by many today as well.
Since Christian’s weren’t liked it Peter’s day, they were often accused of doing all kinds of unlawful things.
Listen to the accusations that were brought against those in the early church.
20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.”
and again in ch 17
6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
Christianity is offensive to the world… and as such, we will be hated by all kinds of people. We will be accused of doing terrible things. In Acts, they are accused of doing unlawful practices. They are accused of trying to replace Caesar with their own king, Jesus. Similarly, even Daniel and his friends were repeatedly accused of rebellion when they obeyed God.
We should expect people in the world to be confused by our conduct. And as such, we should expect them to accuse us of being unlawful. But when they accuse us of doing wrong, what will they find?
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.
And in doing good peter says
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
When Christians are accused of wrong doing, they won’t even need to defend themselves, because their good works will speak for themselves. So honor those in authority and do not go against the law, for doing so will give glory to God.
Peter then shifts his focus from governing authorities to that of servants submitting to their masters.
18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
These are similar principles that elaborate further to what was said about submitting to governing authorities. But here the focus shifts to the relationships between Christian servants and their masters.
This is certainly difficult to understand, because we not longer have servants and masters in modern America, but just a note here - the cultural practice of having servants in the NT were not the same as the American slave trade…
Perhaps the closest we can compare this to is the relationship between those who we work for…
So for those who have a job, consider this… as you work and submit to your boss or your manager… you honor God. And those who you work with may recognize your conduct…
This doesn’t apply just to those with jobs
Consider, if you even do chores around your home… you honor God in the work you do in your home
Even when we listen to our teachers, and do our homework that they assign to us… when we do so without complaining and disobeying them, we honor and glorify God.
And we don’t just submit to those who are good… but even those who are unjust as Peter says in v18
Side note… if you are a victim of abuse, you should tell another adult about this… This text is not telling you to tolerate abuse
But what it does say is that when you are wronged, there is a way to conduct yourself as such that God will be glorified. And how can we do this?
Focus in on v 19…
“This is a gracious thing, when mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.”
Being mindful of God… the way we can enduring hardship begins in the mind. By being mindful of God... this is the key to enduring suffering for God’s glory.
3. We can endure suffering by remembering the gospel.
3. We can endure suffering by remembering the gospel.
Remember, suffering well is a weird way of witnessing… I told you that suffering as a way of witnessing was stranger than the tube man adds that you might see. So we must learn how it is that we can endure suffering so that God can be glorified when we are mistreated
So how does remembering the gospel help us endure suffering? Peter tells us, by walking us through the gospel, specifically by reminding us of Jesus’ suffering.
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
Often, when we talk about the gospel, we talk about the grace and forgiveness we receive… but in these verses Peter talks about a different aspect of the gospel. Peter tells us that Jesus suffering was not just a means of receiving mercy… but Jesus’ suffering also provides us with an example that we can follow. This means we should look at the life of Jesus and imitate the life of Jesus in the power that God supplies. So what did Jesus do when he suffered? Peter continues…
22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Have you ever suffered unjustly? Well, Jesus did too… but his suffering was even greater than ours. You see, each of us deserves God’s wrath… in fact none of us even deserve life. This is because each and every one of us is a sinner. But Jesus committed no sin… and as such, he didn’t deserve any punishment from God let alone from man. He didn’t deserve to be reviled, didn’t deserve to be beaten, he didn’t deserve to crucified… for he was blameless. Yet he was mistreated… And what was Jesus’ mistreatment? Well he did not revile in return… that is he didn’t talk back… when he suffered he did not threaten…
What did he do? He entrusted himself to his Father who judges justly.
Jesus didn’t execute judgment, because he knew that a day would come when every sin would be accounted for by God.
Now we are not very good at waiting for God’s justice are we? Instead we would so often rather play the judge by exciting justice in our own hands…
But if you want justice, then you should remember what you deserve from God… what do you deserve according to your works? You don’t deserve God’s love, rather you deserve his wrath. You don’t deserve life, rather you deserve wrath… But what did Jesus do?
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Jesus died… so that we could have life. So consider this when you suffer unjustly… Jesus suffered unjustly as well, and he did it so you might live.
So too, endure suffering. In doing so, you are reenacting the gospel so others might get a glimpse of Christ in you. And as you endure suffering, others might see your good works and give glory to God.
But whether they do or they don’t, know that God sees your good works and he is glorified. So, be subject to every human institution for the Lord’s sake, and in so doing, may he be glorified. Let’s pray.