‘For The LORD’S SAKE’—1Peter 2:13—3:12
A. CHRISTIAN GOVERNANCE-&-GOVERNMENT--I—1Peter 2:13-17
So far in our study of 1Peter we have examined the fact that
Christians are...CONSIDERED ALIEN(1:1-2)...
We’ve examined...WHAT’s So GREAT About GOD—(1:3-12)
Discovered God’s means of...UNLEASHING Your SPIRITUAL VITALITY/Vigor—(1:13-21)
And we’ve found the importance of LOVING THE BRETHREN(1:22—2:12).
Now we are going to see how those truths play into the overall scheme of SUBMISSION...the give-&-take of relationships in our world.
And particularly, the role Submission plays in the Christian’s relationship with government(2:13-17).
Attention:
Government Workaholic?
A Federal Government Employee sits in his office & out of boredom, decides to see what's in his old filing cabinet. He pokes through the contents & comes across an old brass lamp. "This would look nice on my mantelpiece," he thinks, so he takes it home with him.
While polishing the lamp, a genie appears & grants him three wishes.
"I wish for an ice cold Pepsi cola right now!"
POOF!
A icy-cold Pepsi appears before him on his desk, so he picks it up & guzzles it all at once.
Now that he knows this genie thing is real, he can think more seriously. So he states his second wish. "I wish to be on a tropical island with my wife & kids surrounded by beautiful blue ocean waters, white sand beaches & a hammock under palm trees that swaying in the breeze"
POOF!
Suddenly he is on the tropical island he just described, with his family.
He describes his first 2 wishes to the family & tells them that he only has one more.
They all decide that they want to remain on the island together but Dad having to work, would have to leave. So they get Dad to ask the genie for his last wish.
Dad says excitedly, "I wish I'd never have to work ever again."
POOF!
He's back in his government office.
Typical government slacker right?!...
Americans have a love-hate relationship with government....
We typically assume that any government work is easy, pointless, & largely ineffective. We assume that all government work hindered by layer upon layer of what we call ‘red tape,’ or cumbersome, self-contradictory, & burdensome laws, intent on making citizen’s lives more miserable.
Government in general & it’s Governance has a bad reputation. It is the topic of heated conversations & the brunt of many a joke in the barbershop, the fellowship hall, on the job site, & at the supper table.
Peter pressed the importance of Christian submission to secular governance.
Peter expected the submission of Christians to secular governance.
Christian submission is indissolubly linked/tied to secular governance.
How do Christians properly relate to secular governance & vice-versa?
How is Christian governance linked/tied to secular governance?
In What ways is Christian governance linked/tied to secular governance?
6 undertakings/confrontations/Facets of Christian governance & Government.
1— Christian governance & Government addresses...
SUBMISSION To/Of GOVERNANCE(:13a-c)
Explanation:(:13a-c)Fall in line
2:13a—“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,”
“Therefore submit yourselves...”
Peter uses this background concept of ‘Submission’ to show that it manifests itself in various avenues of Christian living, described from 2:13--3:12.
Seeing as how Christian conduct is to be in harmony with being for the sake of others, we must “submit” ourselves to the “ordinances” of man. God does not intend for us to live aside from proper governance.
Our “submission” “to every ordinance of man” is to be done “for the Lord’s sake.”
Rom. 13:1, 5—“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, & the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”.....“Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.”
Christians are “not ultimately under human authority,” yet God is the originator of government & particularly, of good government. “To that end Christians will obey all laws & respect all authority, unless called upon to do something God forbids or not do something He commands.”—MNTC
“Although Peter & Paul both lived in the openly sinful, decadent Roman Empire—a society infamous for evil(homosexuality, infanticide, government corruption, abuse of women, immorality, violence), neither apostle offered any exemption by which believers were free to defy civil authority.”—MNTC
Given that Rome was steeped in the self-indulgence of hedonism, ...We Americans find that our society holds dear the same things as did the ancient Romans, rife with the same ancient maladies! We just use electronic technologies to encourage & accomplish it more quickly & throughly.
This is not a monolithic command to obey any & all governmental authorities; for some governments are utterly corrupt & do not seek the common good, giving evil free reign. It would be ludicrous to think that God would ordain obedience to that sort of governmental regime.
“We do not submit because we necessarily agree. We do not submit because deep within we support all the rules, codes, & regulations.”—Dennis Davidson in sermon--‘Respect Civil Authority.’ We submit thru the power of the Holy Spirit in deference to God’s design for order.
“Submit”[See :18]—upotassw—Verb—1) To arrange under, to subordinate; 2) To subject, put in subjection; 3) To subject one's self, obey; 4) To submit to one's control; 5) To yield to one's admonition or advice; 6) To obey, be subject. Upotassw is a Greek military term meaning “to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader.” In non-military use, it was "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, & carrying a burden.” Strong—To subordinate; reflexively--To obey.
From—upo—Preposition—1)By, under. Strong—a primary preposition; Under, i.e. (with the genitive case)of place--Beneath, or (with verbs)the agency or means--Through; (with the accusative case)of place--(whither--Underneath, or where--Below, or time when--At).—&—tassw—a prolonged form of a primary verb(which latter appears only in certain tenses); To arrange in an orderly manner, i.e. Assign or dispose(to a certain position or lot).
Mat. 22:15-21—“Then the Pharisees went & plotted how they might entangle Him[Jesus] in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, & teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. “Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus perceived their wickedness, & said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? “Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose image & inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, & to God the things that are God’s.””
Rom. 13:5-6—“Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.”
2:13b—“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,”
“...to every ordinance of man...”
“By obeying all the laws we demonstrate a love for God, for our country, & for our fellow citizens.”—‘Why Government Can’t Save You’, John MacArthur
“That is reason enough for the Christian not to be an anarchist(Mt 22:21). The heathen were keen to charge the Christians with any crime after Nero set the fashion. “It should not be forgotten that, in spite of the fine language of the philosophers, the really popular religions in Greece & Rome were forms of devil-worship, intimately blended with magic in all its grades”(Bigg).”—RWP
This is not an inflexible command to obey any & all governmental authorities. Some governments are autocratic, dictatorial, utterly corrupt...not seeking the common good...giving evil free reign. It would be ludicrous to think that God would ordain ‘blind’ obedience to that sort of governmental regime.
“Throughout history, even the most wicked of governments have been a deterrent to crimes such as murder, rape, & theft. Although it hardly justifies totalitarian systems...”...“even ungodly, worldly rulers have a basic awareness of reality.”...“...because of God’s natural revelation”...“& His universal common grace, even unconverted government leaders intuitively know good from evil & thus realize that part of their governing responsibility is to punish evil behavior.”— John MacArthur in--‘Why Government Can’t Save You’,
"Christianity has existed for two thousand years under all kinds of governmental structures. God has ordained the institution of government to provide order for society, & the Christian ought to fulfill his proper duties within & under it.”—Dennis Davidson in sermon--‘Respect Civil Authority’
“Civil government is an instrument, not an end.” “The state owns neither its citizens nor their properties, minds, bodies, or children.”.....“...these belong to their Creator God, who has never given to the state rights of eminent domain.”—Robert Culver in MNTC
“Civil authorities have no right to tell us what to preach, what to teach, or which philosophy to adopt as a church. If they attempt to do that, we have a right-in fact, it's a duty-to rebel, because there is a higher law than their law, the higher law relating to the declaration of truth.”—Chuck Swindol in--‘Hope Again’ 1996
”Every”—pav—Adj.—1) individually—1a) Each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything; 2) collectively—2a) Some of all types. Strong—apparently a primary word; All, any, every, the whole.
“Ordinance/Institution”—ktisiv—Noun Fem.—1) The act of founding, establishing, building etc—1a) The act of creating, creation, 1b) Creation i.e. Thing created—1b1) Of individual things, beings, a creature, a creation—1b1a) Anything created, 1b1b) after a rabbinical usage(by which a man converted from idolatry to Judaism was called), 1b1c) The sum or aggregate of things created, 1c) Institution, ordinance. Strong—Original formation(properly--The act; by implication--The thing, literally or figuratively). RWP—ktisiv(from ktizw, To create, to found), Act of creation(Ro 1:20), A creature or creation(Ro 1:25), All creation(Col 1:15), An institution as here. Used 19X.
From—ktizw—To fabricate, i.e. Found(form originally).
“Of Man”—anyrwpinov—Adj.—1) Human—1a) Applied to things belonging to men. Strong—Human. Used 7X.
2:13c—“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,”
“...for the Lord’s sake,...”
“For the Lord’s sake”—dia ton kurion—Lit.=‘Thru the Lord’
The real puzzling question is how do we submit in any given instance?
*Much of the time there are no hard & fast rules for our given situation.
There are instances in the Bible which can steer us in the right direction as we observe how God is glorified thru a historical situation or thru a mandate to avoid or hold to.
*More than anything we must walk with God! *We ‘properly’ submit to governance by The Holy Spirit!
Jesus told us what to ‘do’ under pressure from secular authority. We are to respond directly to our circumstance by the power of His Spirit!
Lk. 12:11-12—“Now when they bring you to the synagogues & magistrates & authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Because of the Christian’s trust in God for salvation, we are thus to do all things thru Him, by His power, in & for His Kingdom, His people, His creation, His desire & design, etc.
Our willing submission “to every ordinance of man” is pleasing to God. It is not only pleasing to God but the very reason we submit in the manner that we do. We relate to government overall ‘through the Lord.’
Christians can disobey government for the sake of God’s will, but we must disobey being respectful of present secular authority as well as recognizing that the end does not justify the means...
“Should we be willing to be arrested for protests over public policy...”.....“Should we be involved in acts of violence(bombing an abortion clinic, defacing public property)? Should we picket. boycott, participate in a sit in, trespass on government property, or withhold taxes to protest government policy? How far can we go without violating the principle of honoring the government?”.....“Bombings, assassinations, harassment, & deceptive propaganda have no rightful place in pursuing biblical objectives.”.....“We need an attitude of extreme caution when considering acts of civil disobedience. If we take matters into our own hands, we are in effect saying that we don’t think God has things under control. By resorting to unethical practices to promote our idea of a just cause, we may actually be short-circuiting how God wants to use us and others in that situation.”—RBC Ministries in ‘What Do We Owe The Government?’
Argumentation:
Acts 5:12-20, 25-32, 33, 40-42(:12-16, 17-20, 29, 40, 42)—“And through the hands of the apostles many signs & wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men & women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets & laid them on beds & couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people & those who were tormented by unclean spirits, & they were all healed. Then the high priest rose up, & all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), & they were filled with indignation, & laid their hands on the apostles & put them in the common prison. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors & brought them out, & said, “Go, stand in the temple & speak to the people all the words of this life.”.....“But Peter & the other apostles answered & said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”.....“And they agreed with him, & when they had called for the apostles & beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, & let them go.”.....“And daily in the temple, & in every house, they did not cease teaching & preaching Jesus as the Christ.”
I MAY or MAY NOT be led of the Spirit of God to do the very same bold thing, in the same kind of atmosphere! But I am never to entertain such boldness of myself in the flesh, claiming the leadership of the Holy Spirit!
*I am reminded of those who claim to be ‘faith healers.’ These act presumptively, supposing & teaching others that they can restore Pentecostal times, experiencing the Holy Spirit’s sign-gifts(tongues, prophecy, miracles, & healings).
Eph. 5:22-33—“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; & He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church & gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify & cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy & without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes & cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh & of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father & mother & be joined to his wife, & the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ & the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, & let the wife see that she respects her husband.”
Eph. 6:1-4—“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father & mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you & you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training & admonition of the Lord.”
Eph. 6:5-9—“Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear & trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, & not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, & there is no partiality with Him.”
Illustration:
Whether you have a building(IGA, Ace Hardware, Dollar General) or a beach tarp(selling locally grown seasonal vegetables) in which you do business you must have specific permits to sell specific things/There is accountability in such submission for the protection of the consumer as well as for the seller/Particularly if you sell tobacco, booze, or potentially recreational marijuana—These are highly regulated & taxed because they can easily injure & cause injury to others!/Christian don’t take part in production & sale of such substances, but they can have a voice in their allowance, limitations, & regulation/SUBMISSION To/Of GOVERNANCE
Christians who marry thru the church, also must legitimize that marriage thru the government/Your marriage is recognized as one...as a unit/You both being committed accountable citizens to one another & to the government/SUBMISSION To/Of GOVERNANCE
Application:
?Does your governance honor God by addressing the SUBMISSION To/Of GOVERNANCE?
?Does your Governance declare God...Is it Righteous/Christian?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Typical(popular opinion) government slacker...“I wish I'd never have to work ever again.”—POOF!--He’s back in his government office!
Action:
Christian governance & Government addresses...
1. The SUBMISSION To/Of GOVERNANCE(:13a-c)
Pt. 1 only! Presented 11/06/2016am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SW
Carrabelle, FL 32322
