1 Peter Bible Study #6: God's People Submit to God's Word
1 Peter Bible Study: Stand Firm, Stay Joyful, Suffer Well • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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As we’ve been studying through the book of 1 Peter, there has been reminder after reminder of the importance of obeying God’s will and standing on God’s Word in the midst of a culture and society that directly opposes what we see in Scripture. Last week we studied how Christians are saved in order to proclaim the praise of God because He called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. We were lost in darkness and living as God’s enemies, but He sent His Son to seek and save the lost. This is our testimony inside the church! Therefore, we are called to proclaim God’s goodness, faithfulness, and excellence to a lost, dying, and confused world. We noted last week how lost people are not our enemy… they are our mission field! They are the ones that we need to be praying for daily that God would open their eyes to see their need and give them receptive ears to respond in faith to the Gospel message.
In our community, and more broadly, in our country, many people grew up going to church or having some sort of background inside of church. Maybe it was coming as a kid to VBS. Maybe it was as a youth going to church camp, kind of like Camp Joy for our children and youth! Maybe for others it’s being welcomed to an Easter Pageant or event at a church. Lots of people have been to a church and have a background in church, but many people think that they are fine with the Lord because they’ve been a good person or because they repeated some words or got dunked in some water or did something to warrant God’s blessing. They think that they are fine just as they are when in actuality, they are producing fruit that doesn’t align with Scripture. Matthew 7 tells us that good trees produce good fruit
16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.
18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit.
19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.
As we look around our world, so many claim to be in Christ, but their fruit looks nothing like Christ. The question that should follow is simply this: How do we produce good fruit? Go to John 15 and you find the answer, by being connected to the vine - by being “in Christ” and having Christ work in and through you to accomplish His good pleasure. This is what we need and this is what our world is in need of as well - so how does it happen? 1 word: Submit. Now, I’m sure there were some shrugs to that word because it’s one that we, especially as Americans, don’t really like. Yet, it is a word that shows up over and over in Scripture. We are called to submit to God’s Word. As we talked about on Sunday morning, we believe that God’s Word is authoritative and inspired and inerrant, it has the right to tell us what to do and when to do it. We must submit to God’s Word… and as we submit to God’s Word, God’s Word has the right to change us and to tell us how to interact with others. This evening as we unpack 1 Peter 2:13-25, let’s pray that God would help us be a people who follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and produce fruit that brings Him glory!
13 Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority
14 or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good.
15 For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.
16 Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves.
17 Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
18 Household slaves, submit to your masters with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel.
19 For it brings favor if, because of a consciousness of God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly.
20 For what credit is there if when you do wrong and are beaten, you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.
21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22 He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth;
23 when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
25 For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Pray
Tonight is obviously different from most of our Bible study nights and my hope is to cover the first 5 verses of this passage of Scripture and then conclude this text next Wednesday night, November 1st. So, in your hand is an outline for these first 5 verses, 1 Peter 2:13-17 as we see that we must submit to God’s Word and as we submit to God’s Word, we also do what is good before others. Let’s get started by looking at this first question, why do we submit in the first place.
Why Do We Submit?
Why Do We Submit?
Go back to last week’s text: We are a kingdom of priests, a chosen people saved in order to shout the goodness of God to the mountaintops! This is our calling in God’s Word as Christians. How do we stand out and live this changed life? Verses 11-12 told us a few ways last week. We abstain from sinful desire internally, and externally we conduct ourselves honorably before people who are lost. We do what is right, even when it might not feel like the right thing to do. We respect others, even when they slander us. We love others, even when they are hateful towards us. Why? In hopes that people would see those actions and glorify our God in heaven and come to be saved and changed by Jesus Christ.
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
This is the same principle in 1 Peter 2:11-12. This is why we do what is good and let our light shine and point others to Jesus Christ. Now that we know why we are supposed to do this, Peter gives some tangible examples of what this looks like. Sure, whenever someone slanders you we might be able to brush that one off because it’s just one person… but what about whenever a whole group or a lot of people, or even an entire government or country starts to pick on us? What then? How do we stand out? By submitting to them. Now, in our American ears that’s hard to hear because our country was founded by revolting against a tyrannical government and leadership. Maybe we’ll say that we’ll submit to a leader that we like, but not another leader. What does God’s Word tell us about governments and leaders?
1 Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.
What does this tell us? That God is the ultimate authority and that God is the giver of authority as well. Leaders are only in power because God allowed them to assume that position of authority.
28 for kingship belongs to the Lord; he rules the nations.
1 Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,
This is a theme throughout Scripture and it isn’t easy… but it is what God has called us to do because it is a way that we trust in His decree in giving this person authority and it is a way that we are able to stand out in a strange world. This doesn’t mean that we worship the leader - that’s idolatry - and this is what Peter is teaching against in the Roman world as the emperor was literally worshipped as a god. We don’t worship men - as JC Ryle said, “The best of men are only men at their very best.” The principle here is that we submit and the reason why is because of the Lord. The Lord puts people in positions of power and as we submit to them and do what is good, we are able to silence naysayers and opponents of the Lord by doing what is right and what is good. We submit to these leaders by being good citizens - this is what God commanded the Israelites to do even while in exile
7 Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”
Even in exile, we submit and we trust in the Lord. Why do we submit? Because this is what the Lord says to do - we’ll get to examples where there is a line in the sand and we have to choose God over government, but the principle is that we should be people who are good citizens who submit to earthly authorities in a way that honors Jesus - who also submitted both to the Father and, generally speaking, to the authorities of His day.
Think of the issues that can arise whenever a society hears that Christians supposedly are commanded to love others and submit to authorities but don’t obey the simple laws of the land - I’m not talking about refusing to share the Gospel, I’m talking about breaking present laws like rendering to Caesar what is his. There was a story several years ago of a pastor that had quite a following who got in trouble with the government because he refused to pay taxes for years and years. He didn’t submit to the government in that regard, he got caught, and his ministry was stained because he broke the laws of the land. Think of the witness he shared to a lost world? It wasn’t a good one! Verse 15 reminds us that it is God’s will that we submit to governing authorities… so long as they do not go against the Word of God. Even if that time comes, may we be like the early Christians who submitted well and didn’t lie in order to save their own hide. May it never be said of us that we used our freedom for evil.
How Long Do We Submit?
How Long Do We Submit?
So, we submit because this is God’s will for us as we witness to a watching world… but this second question is extremely important for us to examine. How long do we have to submit? Consider verse 17 in our text: Honor everyone, love your brothers and sisters, fear God, honor the emperor. The reason that we obey is because we fear the Lord and we submit to Him - and He is the one who ordains and brings people to power, including wicked governments and leaders. This is difficult to understand at times, but we can rest assured in knowing that God knows what He is doing and He calls on us to trust in Him while doing what is good.
19 So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.
Say we have a leader in power who does not follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. What do we do then? Do we submit or do we rebel? Some people I’ve met would say that we should rebel and do whatever we think is right… What God’s Word reminds us of is that God is the person with the power and God gives people power in this world. We may not understand why God did what He did, but we can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God knows why He did what He did! If we have a boss or a government official who does not know Jesus and they tell us to do something that does not violate God’s Word, we go forward and we do what they instruct because God has given that person authority and we honor God as we honor that person. Our prayer in doing this is that they would see our submission and good work for God’s glory and walk away changed by God’s power. That’s our prayer! Further, because of God’s common grace, there are governmental officials who can do things that benefit our lives as Christians as they judge evildoers and punish those who break laws, because of common grace, we can benefit from these people in authority and we submit to them willingly.
But here comes the million dollar question that everyone wants to know: When is it ok to not submit? Think back to Daniel 3 with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego… We know that Nebuchadnezzar told the people of Babylon to bow and worship a golden statue, likely of himself, and this is idolatry. These men couldn’t do this. They couldn’t obey because to obey was to sin against God. When is this permissible? Whenever you’re living in exile, do you have the freedom to do whatever you want? In some ways, we’re living in exile today - does that mean that we have a license to rebel against our government whenever they do something that offends us? The answer is no. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were servants of whom? Nebuchadnezzar. They were officials in his court - in fact, those 3 and Daniel were high ranking and respected workers in Babylon - we could say that they were like his chief of staff or at least close to that level. They knew that Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t a believer, but they still obeyed him and served in his government that didn’t worship the true God. They sought the welfare of Babylon, the bitter enemy of Israel, the power that destroyed their homeland. Why? Because this is what God’s Word says to do. When did they finally disobey? When Nebuchadnezzar told them to do something that went against God’s Word. That’s the line in the sand.
That is our Acts 5:29 moment
29 Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people.
What led to this statement? They were told by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leadership, that they must not go around and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What did Jesus command His disciples to do?
18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
To obey the civil leaders meant to disobey Jesus Christ - that is the moment when we have to stand on God’s Word and not cede an inch. Even when doing this, though, we still honor those in authority. Like Paul before the Roman leaders, like Jesus before Pilate. We honor those, even those with whom we must disagree… because this honors God and this is a way that we witness of God’s goodness to others.
What Happens When We Submit?
What Happens When We Submit?
Again, this passage continues onward and there’s too much to tackle tonight - we’ll do more next week! But I want to conclude with some observations made by a man named Jonathan Edwards in regards to operating in this world and submitting to governmental authorities while honoring Christ. Edwards is wellknown for his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, but he should also be equally if not more wellknown for his faithfulness to Jesus inside and outside the walls of the church. He was the president of what would become Princeton University. He was familiar with interacting with government leaders in a God-honoring way. These are 6 things that scholars say that Edwards taught and practiced with his life
1 Peter Contemporary Significance
(1) Christians have a responsibility to society beyond the walls of the church. Christians must break through the tendency to isolationism that has at times characterized the church.
(2) Christians should not hesitate to join forces with non-Christians in the public square to work toward common moral goals. While I generally agree with Edwards here, we must also keep in mind the need to establish our principles and to refuse to compromise in areas that are fundamental to Christian truth. But cooperation is critical and isolationism is to be avoided.
(3) Christians should support their governments but be ready to criticize them when the occasion demands. Once again, we find here the cautious respect that Peter invites but also the willingness to speak against policies when conscience demands.
(4) Christians should remember that politics is comparatively unimportant in the long run. Many Western Christians have gotten off the path at this point. The Christian’s responsibility is first to his Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, and then, and only then, to his government. Too many have confused the two responsibilities. Peter looked forward to a day when Jesus Christ would return, and he knew at that time the Roman empire would dissolve into the kingdom of God and that final kingdom would not tolerate geographical or power distinctions. No matter how much we respect our government, we should respect the church even more.
(5) Christians should beware of national pride. In the history of the church there has never been a truly Christian nation. Until that does occur (and we have reason to doubt that it ever will), we are obliged to put our pride on the back burner and put our trust in the kingdom of God, which transcends national borders. I have taught with people from New Zealand, Canada, the Netherlands, and Great Britain; we have students who come from every corner of the globe. In such a context, to focus on national pride would be an affront to others’ consciences. The gospel of Christ levels us all into an international community of those who follow Christ, and that church deserves our allegiance. I believe in the “holy, catholic church,” and in so confessing I confess also that national pride is secondary.
(6) Christians should care for the poor. Such a point cannot be dismissed lightly, for it reveals an attitude of mercy toward those in need and encompasses more than financial help on bad days. It means that Christians ought to help, and ought to want to help, those who are in need, whatever those needs are. Furthermore, they ought to extend this desire into a plan for the government to help. If God is a God of compassion and mercy, then Christians ought to reveal that compassion and mercy to those they meet. Moreover, Christians ought to work for compassion and mercy to be written into the fabric of their society.