Wayfaring Strangers
A Study Of 1 Peter
Part 10
“Citizen’s Arrest”
1 Peter 2:13-17
Open in Prayer
Today we are going to continue with our study of 1 Peter titled wayfaring Strangers
Please turn to 1 Peter chapter 2
Reading verses 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.[a] Fear God, and respect the king. For today’s message
I have downloaded a clip from the Andy Griffith Show
So just set back and enjoy
I promise there is a point to it
----- Show video---- 5:32
How many of you like the Andy Griffith Show?
I would live to live in a place like Mayberry
Wouldn’t you?
Nobody ever dies
Nobody ever gets seriously sick
All problems are solved within thirty minuets
And all of this is done with
No Judge Judy
No foul language
No explicit images
Nothing but
Good
Wholesome entertainment
In this episode as you saw
Barny
Wanted to enforce one set of rules
And play by another
As funny as this video is
Many believers
I myself at one time
Often try and do the same
We preach one set of rules and live another
The subject of “authority” is one of those sensitive issues that is often viewed with controversy or cynicism today.
The nonconformist revolution of the 1960’s
The sense of entitlement that has become prevalent in the world today
Along with
The widely publicized scandals in government
And the generalized moral degrading of our politicians
Has helped to promote a popular, even “cool” disregard or even distain for
Rules
Ethics
Laws
Those in authority
And
Authority in general
But
Despite these popular worldly attitudes
Authority remains as a very important institution to God as it ever was
One that is critical for Christians to understand in order to properly relate to Him and His system of values.
Listen
The world changes
But God’s word never changes
It does not get outdated
Or evolve with the conditions of society
We are called by God
In many places in scripture
To submit to authority
This includes the authority of the elected officials
The authority of those who keep our laws
The authority of the family
The authority of the church
Even those who we allow to have authority over us, such as employers, supervisors etc.
In todays world, authority is sometimes a nasty word
It brings with it thoughts of corruption
unfairness
Power struggles
And authority can just cause us sometimes to get our hackles up
Our Red necks to get even redder and stiffer
But
If we
Read scripture
Believe Scripture
And apply scripture to our lives
God’s word clearly says we are to follow our leaders
Today though the words of the Apostle Peter
We will look at why we should submit to authority
In this text Peter is talking about submission
submission to authorities in government
submission to bosses
He goes on to talk about submission to family and to the church
and in context he is saying even in suffering, we are to submit to those in our lives who are placed in positions of authority over us.
Listen
When people look at Christians, they shouldn’t find those who are slandering their leaders or starting riots to overthrow government, even in the cases of injustice, such as persecution
You may be saying
Preacher
You just don’t understand
My boss
Our Elected officials
Are just unfair and harsh
I need you to understand and remember from our prior teachings in 1 Peter
That Nero is on the throne
And Christians are being thrown to the lions and burned at the stake.
Killed for their beliefs
You would think that would have been just the time to fight back
But that is not what Peter teaches the Christians to do.
He tells them to submit to the unjust authorities in leadership.
In this passage, we will learn why we as Christians should submit even to unjust authorities and see how they should be known for their submission.
We will discuss some ways of standing up and helping to make changes in a way that honors God in the conclusion
Why should believers submit to the ones in authority even to unjust authorities?
Believers Should Submit to Authorities to Honor God
Verse 13-14a
For the Lord’ sake submit to all human authority- whether the king as head of state or the officials he has appointed
The first reason believers are called to submit is because of the Lord.
All authority is instituted by God
Peter says we should submit for “the Lord’s sake.”
This is the reason that believers should demonstrate submissive lives even in both the good times and the bad times
Why for the Lord’s sake?
God’s word says that all authority comes from and originates with God.
He is the absolute source of authority in the universe and has delegated His principle of authority to mankind to maintain order in the world.
Romans 13:1
Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God”
We will cover Paul’s teaching on authority n more detail in our Wednesday night study of Romans
But know this
God’s word says clearly that all governments and authorities are ordained by God
Does this mean all governments are Godly?
Or Good?
No
Sometimes God uses evil governments for his glory as well
Verses 13 – 14a
Again
“For the Lord’ sake submit to all human authority- whether the king as head of state or the officials he has appointed”
Al means all
And includes
Government
Bosses
Families
The church
So, we see right here in Peter’s writings
That we are to submit to all human authority for the Lord’s sake because he has ordained all authority
Next
We are to submit because of the job they do
Verse 14b
“For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right”
Listen to me
I don’t like all the laws
I don’t like all the rules
But the people in my life who are called to make those rules and laws are doing a job that is planned by God
We live in a democracy more fitting a republic
No one person makes the laws
The laws are created by our elected officials to protect you and I
Sometimes for others and sometimes from ourselves
Unlike some dictatorships in the world
Our laws are made by many people with human rights and safety in mind
The ones who keep the laws are called to enforce them
They did not make them, but they did take an oath to uphold them
Rules are also there for the protection of people and even the church
Listen
Without rules
Without laws
What we have is anarchy
Everyone just doing as they please
And we know from experience
As well as God’s word
that when that happens
It is not long before the wheels fall off the whole deal
So, we are to submit to all human authority for the Lord’s sake
And submit to the law and rule makers and keepers
Because of the job they are called to do
Next
We are to submit to silence foolish people
Verse 15
15 It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you”
We covered this a little last week
The world is watching
They want to see if we as believers are the real deal
If we are Bona Fide
They want to see if we walk the walk when we talk the talk
Back to our illustration from Mayberry
Barny wanted to enforce the laws
But he did not want to be bound by them
And as you saw
the crowd was not impressed
We as believers are being watched to see if we are living what we say we believe
Many in this world think all believers are hypocrites
And when we break the laws
Bend and break the rules
Rebel against authority
Cause division
Dissention
And confusion
We are proving them right
We are to follow the laws
So that when they look at us
What they see if someone who is striving to be more like Christ in all they do
And prayerfully they will see the difference and want what you have
Next, we are to submit to authority
Because we have been freed for the penalty of our sins
Verse 16
16 For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.
When we accept Christ as savior
Our past mistakes
And sins
Are forgiven
Cast into the depths of the ocean God’s word poetically says
We are free
But with freedom comes responsibilities
We have received salvation
Not because of what we have done but for what Christ has done
But
It is very irresponsible for us
To use our God granted freedom
To cause others to stumble
There is no doubt
We are free
But in gaining our freedom
We become servants
Our job is to share the love and light of Christ with the world
In our words
Actions
And our love
When we use our freedom to do as we please
We are not fulfilling pour purpose
We are confirming the unbeliever’s idea about all believers being hypocrites
And we are showing the world
And our Lord in the process
that we are more important than
God or his word
And that we somehow feel we are superior
We want everyone else to follow the rules
But we don’t do it ourselves
So, we are to submit to authority for the Lord’s sake
To submit to all types of authority for the job they are called to do
We are to submit to silence the naysayers
And show ourselves to be Bona Fide
We are to submit because in gaining our freedom
We have become servant to Christ and must fulfill our purpose
We must submit in order to show our respect and love
For God
For the unbelievers
And for our brothers and sisters in Christ
Verse 17a
17 Respect everyone, and love the family of believers
Part of respecting others is not leading them astray
When we as believers break the rules
Break the laws
And rebel; against authority
What we are doing is disrespecting God
And we are disrespecting the unbelieving world
How you may ask
By not placing enough value on them
That we care if the accept Christ or not
How many times have you tried to witness to someone
Only to hear
I used to go to church
But, this person or that person
Did something
Or said something
Or acted one way at church and another in town
They did not practice that they preach
When we don’t submit to the authority in our lives
We show the world it does not really matter
and we also show our brothers and sisters
Some just infants in Christ
That God’s word says it
We say we believe it
But
In Reality
It doesn’t really matter
Jesus says we are to love as we are loved
And he says if you love me you will do what I say
And he says we are to follow the rules
And Peter wraps up this section with these words
Verse 17b
“Fear God and respect the king.”
Fear as we have studied is not Freddy Kruger
Of Great big spiders--- kind of fear
Peter is talking about respect
Reverence
Awe
So, let me wrap this up for you this morning
We are called to submit
Not submitting shows disrespect for God and his word
And can and does have drastic effects on our credibility our witness
And our testimonies
Failing to submit lets the ones who talk negatively believe they are right
We are free to serve God
And to do that we must show love and respect
To all
And reverence to God who created all authority I the first place
Let me leave you with this
There may be times when the ones in authority ask, tell or order you to do things that go against God’s word
------ We are to submit first to God-------
Then to men
And if the laws and rules of men contradict the rules and laws of God
We are not commanded to follow them
But
Be aware
We may suffer the consequences of our actions
Peter himself as well as Paul was imprisoned
Daniel was chucked into a Lion’s den
Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego into a fiery furnace
John the Baptist was beheaded
And Christ himself crucified
But all drew a line
They followed the rules except where those rules went against God’s word
But Listen they never sinned in not following them
We have a way of making changes
It is called prayer
Pray for your leaders
And then vote for those who follow God
Close from the heart
Pray
