A Free People of God

Introduction

Often times when we think of America, we think of Freedom and religious liberty. I mean after all didn’t the Pilgrims come to America so they could worship how they pleased. It is true that they sought religious freedom in America, but the sad truth is that the colonies did not provide that freedom to other groups such as the Baptist’s. Each colony had its own state church at the time which persecuted other religious groups.

One example of this is John Waller. Waller was known as “Swearing Jack” before he got saved and despised the Baptists for preaching the gospel. But after serving on the Grand Jury trying one Baptist pastor for his faith, Waller began to be convinced of the truth of the gospel and got saved. Waller was arrested for preaching for the first time in 1768, a few years prior to the revolution. In 1771, Waller was arrested by the Caroline County Sherriff in VA who smashed his mouth with the but end of his whip and then horsewhipped him. He was left for dead.

It is for this reason that Baptists lobbied for religious freedom for everyone and separation of church and state which at the time did not mean that men could not have faith and serve in politics but that any religion would not control the governance of the state. The Constitution as originally drafted did not include what we call the “Bill of Rights” today and did not offer religious protections. Pastor John Leland was a close friend to both Jefferson and Madison and had a strong influence on their insistence that a “Bill of rights” be drafted and the amendments be added to the constitution. Madison and Leland had a falling out over including these religious liberties in the federal constitution after which leland began to run against Madison. At the time Leland had more votes, but he agreed to drop out if Madison would promise to include a “Bill of Rights” amendment to the constitution.

Believers of all eras have held for Freedom and sought it with passion. We owe our current “right” to the influence of these Baptist preachers from the early years of America. Since today is July 3rd, I felt it was fitting to preach a message on Freedom from the book of 1 Peter. The Title of my message is “A Free People of God.”

As we discussed about a month ago when I preached a message from 1 Peter, the theme of the book is Living in Exile and focuses on the fact that believers are a unique people of God living in a culture foreign to our values and our identity as God’s people. We see this more and more in America, where the culture continually becomes more antagonistic to biblical values. Peter uses the exile imagery to refer to the people of God because we are like immigrants living in another country. Our text for tonight comes from the central part of the book where Peter describes what our relationship to the society we live in should look like. The first area he deals with is politics and governing authorities.

Vs 11,12 introduce the section of the book. Peter starts off saying “Dearly Beloved”. His tone is gentle because he knows what he is about to say is going to be hard. The text also uses the word beseech instead of the word command. Beseech means to encourage, to plead, but it also carries the idea of advocacy. It is like Peter is saying, “Hey, I know what I am about to say is hard, but I am here to help you. I am on your side.” Next he reminds us of the theme of the book. In the way that strangers and pilgrims live, you should live in this world. In the next two sections he summarizes everything he is going to talk about later:

Abstain from fleshly lusts- these lusts are the lusts in 1:14 from our lives before we were saved. Some of you grew up in the church, so maybe you don’t know what these look like. But the world “lusts” to be entertained, to satisfy their desires, eat what they want, talk how they want, sleep with who ever they want. They live for self. Living according to these lusts means putting yourself first, living to satisfy yourself ultimately. These lusts aren’t neutral. The verse says that they war against the soul. Giving in to your own selfish lusts over and over again will damage your walk with God.

Have your conversation honest among the Gentiles- conversation means your lifestyle. We should live honestly with the world. Christians should not be the ones known for taking advantage of other or giving them a raw deal.

The end of verse twelve tells us why we should live this way: so that the lost may come to saving faith thus glorifying God. This verse does teach lifestyle evangelism. The way you live affects your witness with other people around you. Many have rejected Christianity today because they do not see truly transformed, godly lives in those who profess the name of Jesus.

Tonight we are going to deal with the first area where our lives should have an influence on the lost around us: the way we relate to government.

1 Peter 2:13-17 “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

The command to submit to the government vs 13-14

A. The Meaning of Submit

Meaning of ordinance- governing authorities

Submission does not mean just to reverence or respect. Peter uses the word simultaneously with the word obey in 1 Peter 3:5-6 “For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.”

The word itself means “to place oneself under.” In choosing to submit, we are placing ourselves under the authority of someone else.

Submission implies disagreement. You do not need to submit if you are already doing what the person is telling you to do.

Our submission is ultimately to the Lord- for the Lord’s sake

B. The Object of our submission

King- as supreme (probably a reference to the Emperor of Rome who was probably Claudius or even Nero at this time.

Governors- those sent by the king as his representatives

C. The Purpose of Government

punish evildoers

Reward those who do right

The reason we submit to the government vs 15

A. The Glory of God

Tie in the inclusio Explain the meaning of inclusio as a reason for submitting to governing authorities 1 Peter 2:12 “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Peter here is tying in to a point he made in the last section 1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

1 Peter 4:11 “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

B. The will of God

For so is the will of God- We have to ask ourselves what the will of God is in this verse. Peter says “for so”, well what does the “so” refer to?

silencing ignorant men

submitting to government

It seems grammatically that the phrase refers back to the command to submit and the silencing of ignorant men is the result of our submission.

with welldoing- Peter throughout the letter is drawing on exilic themes from the old testament. Jeremiah 29:4-7 “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.”

“Well doing” seems to refer to more than common purity and holiness which are more private matters. It isn’t just not doing wrong things, but actively doing good, seeking the good of those around us. At CFA, this is what we called second-mile service. Going above and beyond what is expected in the way that you do good to the community you live in. It cannot be limited to just great benevolent works though because most of these Christians were most likely poor. It is the small good things we do for people every day. This is a lifestyle of doing everyday good things for people.

In the year 165 AD, a plague swept through the Roman empire. This was most likely the first appearance of smallpox. This plague lasted for 15 years and ¼ to ⅓ of the population died. It was so bad that the famous physician Galen fled Rome for his country estates until it subsided, but most could not leave. Two generations later, they faced a second plague. Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria describes the scene:

“At the first onset of the disease, they [pagans] pushed the sufferers away and fled from their dearest, throwing them into the roads before they were dead and treated unburied corpses as dirt, hoping thereby to avert the spread and contagion of the fatal disease; but do what they might, they found it difficult to escape”….

During these plagues, Christians tended to the sick when everyone else fled or acted selfishly. They put themselves at risk because they knew they had a home in heaven to look forward to. It was noticed that Christians must have been able to perform miracles because fewer of the Christians died during the plagues. It is proposed that much of the mortality of these diseases could have been avoided with just proper food and nurturing medical care. Because the Christians provided this to other Christians, many survived. Cyprian in a sermon challenged the Christians to action:

“What credit is it to us Christians if we just help Christians? Anyone can do that. We have to help not just the household of faith, but everyone.”

Historians propose that the aid that Christians provided along with the diminished populations contributed to the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Later Emperor Julian commanded his governors to feed the poor because the Christians were putting them to shame.

Silence the ignorance of foolish men- Many accused Christians of all kinds of horrible evils such as cannibalism (Lord’s Supper), incest (called each other brother and sister and professed love for each other), being atheists (Christians didn’t believe in the gods of the Roman world), and treason (all religious festivals were also civic celebrations in the Roman empire; so not participating seemed to indicate you were not patriotic).

C. Salvation of the lost-

1 Peter 2:12 “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” The day of visitation refers to the final judgement. Those who are glorifying God in this final judgment are the saved; so the implication is that our lifestyles helped lead these people to faith in Christ.

By submitting to authorities, Christians show that they are good citizens and not anarchists.

How we are to submit to the government vs 16-17

A. As free

1:18-19 believers are redeemed by Christ’s precious blood and because of that we are no longer servants to the former lusts. As free people, we submit not from a position of weakness, but strength. Matt 17:24-27 “And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.”

B. Our Freedom should never be an excuse for evil

True freedom gives us the ability to do what is good.

C. As the servants of God

Romans 6:15 the one to whom you yield yourselves to obey is your master. Matt 6:24 you cannot have two masters Notice the bible seems to assume that you will have a master. There isn’t a life truly lived outside the control of someone else. It is funny to me how teenagers get so upset at their parents telling them what to do so they join the army. They just jumped from the pot into the frying pan. Every aspect of life involves authority and accountability. As we submit to our governing authorities, we do it as if we were really submitting to God because He placed them in their position.

Vs 17 seems to randomly give us four separate commands to finish up this section but there really is a logical tie between this and what Peter has just stated. Notice that the first and the fourth commands have exactly the same verb: honor. Peter is contrasted two sets of groups:

Lost men with the brotherhood

the Lost King with God

To the lost, we owe honor, but to the brotherhood we owe love. To the King we owe honor, but to God we are to fear. In a sense, Peter is saying that only God is worthy of fear 1 Peter 1:17 “And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:”

Our primary allegiance is to God and the people of God; not the world and our secular governments. Your loyalty should be to God and not Donald Trump or Joe Biden. No matter what you think of each, God comes first.

Conclusion

As the People of God, we are a free people and no one can subject us to slavery again. Peter calls us to submit to governing authorities not as weak slaves who can’t help themselves but from a position of strength. It takes strength to submit when you don’t have to. Our true position with God is so much more elevated than even the King. We are a holy nation, priests and we will reign with Christ in the future. But if we are going to glorify God and fulfill His will, we must submit ourselves to governing authorities. Hebrews 11:13 “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

We look forward to our own Kingdom and so all the days on this earth are just biding our time. In the mean while, we must live for the good of those around us, seek its peace and pray for it. In doing so, some may be brought to the Lord before the final judgment.

Invitation

As the pianist comes and plays a song of her choice, let’s all bow our heads and close our eyes. This time is a time to talk to God and if needed make things right. Is the lost world silenced and drawn to christ because of the way you live? Are we just another reason for people to hate Christians because we are not actively promoting the good of society around us?

If you need to talk to the pastor, feel free to come down to the front and we can pray together. If you do not know the Lord as your savior, we can have a counselor slip out into another room with you and show you how you can know Jesus as your savior? Feel free to come now as the piano plays.