1 Peter 2:15-17
"It is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor."
The will of God is that you will submit to his will, and by noble living you will silence the wicked rulers who judge and rule over you.
Live your life in such a way that the witness of your life and the spiritual fruit of that life, stand as a witness for the kingdom of God, of which you are a citizen. This is the message of the righteous alien Christian lifestyle that the Apostle Peter was giving. It's about maintaining the credibility and foundation of your righteous testimony in your own life.
The testimony of a Christian's life is good conduct, always shaped by answering to God’s will and the impact of His grace on their lives. Submission is the strategy for implementing this good conduct in the world, but it's not an absolute call to subvert the righteousness of God in light of an evil generation. Christians are meant to be agents of good, and subordinate to the local ruling authorities, but that subordination is not governed by that sometimes-wicked ruling class, but rather stands above all authority out of supreme respect for The Lord.
The only way to survive a good lifestyle in a secular society is to live a good lifestyle. To be good and above reproach. Muzzle them with goodness, because it's the purity of life that they cannot tolerate. And turn that society to Christ by being good. So, it has an evangelistic message. Your good lifestyle is an agent for the good news; you're living in peace and good will and thereby silencing the slanderous and ignorant charges of the people who are against you. The command is to live a humble and submissive life in the midst of their hostility. Don't be contentious, don't be foolish, don't be enslaved to envious living.
1 Peter 2:15
"For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people."
You are NOT submitting to the wicked ruling class and promoting them, you are obeying God. To the best of your abilities submit to each other and to the authorities.
What does that mean, "submit"?
It means appropriate service to God and country, rejecting all forms of evil, and to do what is good for all people, yes even the king. Hold all persons in honor, including the king.
Does this mean you can't call former VP Joe Biden a brain-dead cabbage head?
No.
Remember, God doesn't have opinions, He speaks truth. And we who are the children of God, the citizens of the kingdom of God, must live likewise, in His truth. And so, we hold each other in love and serve God in reverential fear, and to the best extent of our ability we submit to the authorities God has established.
So, what do we do when the authorities are horribly wicked?
(v.16) "Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves."
It is said that we must sing the Lord's song in a strange land. By doing right, acting as free men and women, while honoring godly justice and mercy. In spite of the hostility and injustice, we stand as principled people. Principled people submitted to the church wherever the church is truly manifested and wherever the Christian finds themselves manifesting.
What if the culture oversteps its bounds, obey God or man?
Obviously, we obey God.
Resist arrest?
No.
Obey God, count it all as a blessing and sing the praises of God.
Is this dual citizenship?
Not really.
Everything we do is for God, even when we obey the local authorities. Our weapons employed in the defense of his kingdom are the instruments of the spirit. Not of human flesh. But God powered. Taking every thought captive.
2 Corinthians 10:4
"We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments."
We destroy the wicked thoughts of the rebellious people with obedience to Christ and his kingdom. What people do because they feel as if God has given them some authority to make the kinds of decisions that will affect the outcome of earthly public policy in such a way as to prevent God's will from being overthrown really doesn't count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend their witness for His kingdom. God isn't empowering the people to build the kingdom of God out of the man-made world systems of authority. God's not creating his kingdom by our submission, His kingdom is completed already. What's happening in 1 Peter chapter 2 is the citizens of God's kingdom are being instructed in how to silence the enemies of heaven in the world.
Acts 7:1
Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”
Sooner or later, it was bound to happen. The witness to the kingdom of God has resulted in one of its citizens being tried, convicted, and executed. But not before Stephen makes the faithful case for the truth. And no protests followed. No rioting. No war. Just Stephen entrusting himself to God's plan, and the wicked Sadducean aristocracy gnashing and grinding their teeth having been so completely destroyed spiritually by the truthful witnessing.
And Paul (Saul) was watching.
Stephen’s witness does nothing to endear him to his opponents. And yet his faithful witness continues right up to his final act. He prays for his opponents.
Acts 7:59-60
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Right up until his last breath he submitted to the witness of Christ's kingdom. This was how he responded to the law, no matter how unlawful it was.
This attempt at destroying the witness to Jesus Christ becomes the impetus for its expanded witness and outreach far beyond Jerusalem. Throughout the entire planet actually. And one of those witnesses to this witnessing, (Paul), becomes God's witness to all the powers that be. Stephen's testimony was his obedience. The gospel's success is founded upon that submission.
God judges all the parties involved, the wicked and the obedient. God established both and judges their respective responses to His kingdom witness. He alone has that authority. Therefore, we who are his people, his kingdom citizens, are to submit to His authority.
We respect and submit to authority, but we must be prepared to “obey God rather than man” when the situation necessitates it (Acts 5:29).
Amen.
#RespectAuthority #HonorGod #ChristIsKing