WORD From The Woods
1 Peter 2:13-17
“Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover- up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”
This is a very important passage for us today. The issue of when and how to obey Government regulations and mandates has been a very common topic of discussion and debate over the last few years regarding certain restrictions about a certain virus. I really don’t want to start a debate through this devotional, but I don’t skip over passages just because they are difficult. We could spend hours talking about this issue, but I’ll attempt to keep this as brief as possible in this format So, here are my thoughts on this passage. Peter tells us plainly here to be subject or to come under the authority of every human institution. Seems pretty simple right? Does that mean that the founders of America were in the wrong when they defied the wicked British tyrants they were being oppressed by? I’ve studied the historical accounts of the men who built our nation, and most of them were Godly Christians who were driven by biblical principles like honor, respect, integrity, and submission to the proper authorities. So, we should take serious pause when we look at their response to tyranny. There is much to learn from the example of many of the great Reformers and Puritans as well. What I have learned from the example of many great and bold Christian leaders who have gone before us, is that they had an understanding of different spheres of authority. We need to recognize that as well. There is the authority of the household, we’ll get to that in chapter 3, but the husband is called to be the head of that sphere of authority. Then, we have the local church assembly, the elders are the head of that sphere. Then there is the Church proper, the whole of the body of Christ, King Jesus is the head of that sphere. We also have civil magistrates, governors, presidents, dictators, kings, congresses, parliaments, and even dusty old constitutions. All of these forms of civil authority have different levels and spheres of authority. In this passage from Peter and Paul’s parallel teaching in Romans 13, you have an interesting qualifier that doesn’t appear in the submission teachings on marriage, parental and vocational relationships. In both passages, Peter and Paul say that the civil governmental authorities are to punish evil and praise those who do good. Peter says that we are to live as free men. Paul in Romans 13 even goes so far as to say that the government leaders are God’s servants or deacons to be more true to the greek. We don’t see much good being done by the government these days. I think we need to understand that these passages are prescriptive of how government is supposed to work. They are supposed to do good, not evil! These are not just blind commands to obey every whim that is mandated by the pen of an evil tyrant. We also have to understand that Jesus is seated on his throne and has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18). And, that we are to render unto caesar the things that are caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s (Matt 22:21). We don’t talk much about the rendering unto God part. All of this has to be taken into context and applied together to get a complete understanding of how we respond to wicked rulers. When the governor issues a mandate that regulates when, where, why, and how we meet for worship, preach the Word of God, partake of the Lord’s supper, or perform baptisms, we can be certain that these are God’s things. With all due honor to those placed in civil authority, when it comes to the things of God, we obey God rather than men. When the laws of our land regulate things like abortion or marriage, in a way that is in violation of God’s law, we obey God rather than men. We also have a constitution and bill of rights in the USA that is supposed to be a supreme authority in our land, we need to look no further than the 1st amendment to see that the church is to be totally protected and free from any government involvement. When our government leaders are almost entirely wicked and mandating and legislating things that are directly in opposition to God’s word, I think we have a duty to live as free men, like Peter, and defy wicked tyranny. We must do this with all honor and respect possible! This doesn’t mean we raise our middle finger, grab our guns and start storming government buildings. First and foremost, it looks like being faithful to the word of God in our homes and churches, and our command to disciple the nations, (Matt 28:19). It means we don’t close our church doors or restrict worship just because the governor says so. It means we understand the battle cry of America’s war for independence, “no king, but King Jesus!” There is a lot more to talk about on the subject, I’m going to have to leave it here for now. These are just some thoughts to get us thinking more biblically. This is a difficult topic, but one we need to get a good biblical understanding on because we are going to face more and more of these issues in the very near future with what’s going on in our world.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
1 Peter 2:13-17
“Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover- up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”
This is a very important passage for us today. The issue of when and how to obey Government regulations and mandates has been a very common topic of discussion and debate over the last few years regarding certain restrictions about a certain virus. I really don’t want to start a debate through this devotional, but I don’t skip over passages just because they are difficult. We could spend hours talking about this issue, but I’ll attempt to keep this as brief as possible in this format So, here are my thoughts on this passage. Peter tells us plainly here to be subject or to come under the authority of every human institution. Seems pretty simple right? Does that mean that the founders of America were in the wrong when they defied the wicked British tyrants they were being oppressed by? I’ve studied the historical accounts of the men who built our nation, and most of them were Godly Christians who were driven by biblical principles like honor, respect, integrity, and submission to the proper authorities. So, we should take serious pause when we look at their response to tyranny. There is much to learn from the example of many of the great Reformers and Puritans as well. What I have learned from the example of many great and bold Christian leaders who have gone before us, is that they had an understanding of different spheres of authority. We need to recognize that as well. There is the authority of the household, we’ll get to that in chapter 3, but the husband is called to be the head of that sphere of authority. Then, we have the local church assembly, the elders are the head of that sphere. Then there is the Church proper, the whole of the body of Christ, King Jesus is the head of that sphere. We also have civil magistrates, governors, presidents, dictators, kings, congresses, parliaments, and even dusty old constitutions. All of these forms of civil authority have different levels and spheres of authority. In this passage from Peter and Paul’s parallel teaching in Romans 13, you have an interesting qualifier that doesn’t appear in the submission teachings on marriage, parental and vocational relationships. In both passages, Peter and Paul say that the civil governmental authorities are to punish evil and praise those who do good. Peter says that we are to live as free men. Paul in Romans 13 even goes so far as to say that the government leaders are God’s servants or deacons to be more true to the greek. We don’t see much good being done by the government these days. I think we need to understand that these passages are prescriptive of how government is supposed to work. They are supposed to do good, not evil! These are not just blind commands to obey every whim that is mandated by the pen of an evil tyrant. We also have to understand that Jesus is seated on his throne and has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18). And, that we are to render unto caesar the things that are caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s (Matt 22:21). We don’t talk much about the rendering unto God part. All of this has to be taken into context and applied together to get a complete understanding of how we respond to wicked rulers. When the governor issues a mandate that regulates when, where, why, and how we meet for worship, preach the Word of God, partake of the Lord’s supper, or perform baptisms, we can be certain that these are God’s things. With all due honor to those placed in civil authority, when it comes to the things of God, we obey God rather than men. When the laws of our land regulate things like abortion or marriage, in a way that is in violation of God’s law, we obey God rather than men. We also have a constitution and bill of rights in the USA that is supposed to be a supreme authority in our land, we need to look no further than the 1st amendment to see that the church is to be totally protected and free from any government involvement. When our government leaders are almost entirely wicked and mandating and legislating things that are directly in opposition to God’s word, I think we have a duty to live as free men, like Peter, and defy wicked tyranny. We must do this with all honor and respect possible! This doesn’t mean we raise our middle finger, grab our guns and start storming government buildings. First and foremost, it looks like being faithful to the word of God in our homes and churches, and our command to disciple the nations, (Matt 28:19). It means we don’t close our church doors or restrict worship just because the governor says so. It means we understand the battle cry of America’s war for independence, “no king, but King Jesus!” There is a lot more to talk about on the subject, I’m going to have to leave it here for now. These are just some thoughts to get us thinking more biblically. This is a difficult topic, but one we need to get a good biblical understanding on because we are going to face more and more of these issues in the very near future with what’s going on in our world.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-