1 Peter series – “Holding onto Hope in a Hostile World”

1 Peter 2:13-17

13 For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, 14 or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. 15 It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. 16 For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. 17 Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.

Last time we saw Peter calling us to rest in our Redeemer, remember our riches and live out our responsibility. He said that we were responsible to shun sin and shine for the Savior, but these are not our only responsibilities. Peter is teaching saints how to live in a sin soaked society and for many our next responsibility is a rough one, we are called to:

1.     Submit Rightly

Now for many people this passage is not a popular one. The thought of submission is one many of us find unpleasant, and one we may be tempted to cringe in our culture. Most American’s are assertive and the idea of submissive almost seems un-American. But Peter is getting ready to preach on 4 areas of submission, starting with governing authorities, then bosses, then marriage, then our everyday relationships. This clear call to submit raises at least four questions for me– what, who, why and when.

·      What are we to do?

Simply put, we’re to submit, this word submit is made up from 2 Greek words meaning “to place oneself under.” It was a military term used to instruct soldiers to fall in line under the officer in charge. The verb is in the form of a command, giving a clear implication for obedience.

·      Who should we submit to?

We’re to submit to “all human authority” The word “all” helps us see that our submission is not just to government authorities but also to other institutions that provide for the orderly function of human life. For instance, children submit to parents, employees submit to employers, teachers submit to principals, principals submit to school boards. Now as we talk about government we are called to respond rightly regardless of our political persuasion. Submitting to authority is not based on our bias, it’s based on the bible. Now before you tell me how much you like or dislike our current administration let me remind you that submission is not based on our likes but on God’s law. If it’s based on our likes then submission becomes based on self and not the Savior. Peter makes it clear that our submission to Authority is based on the Almighty. Some in this country don’t just dislike government they despise them because they believe they are destroying the country. Because of that they are tempted to toss out the truth of this teaching. But let me remind you who was in charge when Peter preached this, Nero was the Emperor in Rome, probably one of the most unfit rulers ever. He plotted and kill his mother He reportedly covered Christ followers in tar and then set them on fire while they were still alive, using them as torches to provide light for his garden parties. He wrapped Christians in the skins of wild animals and then sent his hunting dogs out to tear them to pieces. He nailed some to crosses and fed other Christ-followers to lions for sport. No matter what you think of our current administration it pales in contrast to the political persecution of Peter’s time.