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.

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

1 Peter 2:4-12

4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. 5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him.[d]But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”  8 And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. 9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” 11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

After talking about our riches and who we are in Christ Peter now reminds us of our:

3.     Responsibility – What We Do for Christ

We were not saved to sit, we have been called to:

·      Serve the Savior Vs 5

Peter talks about offering spiritual sacrifices, our purpose is to proclaim His praise. The verb translated proclaim means “to tell, to advertise.” How we live is an advertisement for the Almighty. Everywhere we go our works and our words should proclaim God’s praise. When you remember the Redeemer and reflect on His riches you can’t help but respond with worship? Our work for God must always flow out of our worship for God, otherwise it’s just obligation not obedience. Why do we try to start with works instead of worship because we don’t feel worthy to worship. Many of us are trying to use works to feel worthy, “if I do this God will love me.” But Gods love for us proceeds performance. Have you been using works to get to worship? We don’t work to gain acceptance. Our worth is not tied to what we do but to the One we worship.

·      Shun sin and Shine for God Vs 11-12

Peter reminds us that worldly desires wage war against our souls, we need to take sin seriously. You will either be crushed by sin or conformed by Christ. Christianity is not about comfort, it’s about being conformed to the image of Jesus. But I’m afraid too many of us have settled when it comes to sin, we have cozied up to compromise. But we are called to live holy lives not hypocritical ones. We are to live as testimonies to the truth regardless of how the world treats us. Now while we’re at war with our own sins, we are not at war with sinners. Warren Wiersbe said: “Our real battle is not with people around us, but with passions within us.” As Christians we are called to conduct ourselves carefully in the culture not carelessly. Are you living responsibly or recklessly? This fallen world needs us to show them God the Father, this world at its worst needs the church at its best. We must reflect the Redeemer. We must neither give into culture nor cower from the culture, but maintain our beliefs while engaging and serving the world. The power to maintain this balance comes from being secure in the Savior and faithful to His family. Expect pushback and persecution, don’t be surprised when suffering and slander come. Recognize you are in it for the long haul, be Savior sighted not short sighted, it says that “people will see your good works and give glory to God.” The word see here is more than just a casual glance it means to inspect. It’s the idea of long-term reflective observation. Keep living for the Lord, keep your sights on the Savior, walk out the Word, because your Christ-like conduct will cause people to glorify God. But remember the reverse is also true, your carnal conduct will cause people to criticize Christ. Is your life bring glory to God or staining the name of the Savior?