Living Well Before Men

1 Peter 2:11-17

V. 11 (Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.)

I imagine that there were those in the church, upon hearing this part of Peter’s letter were appalled. Here they had waited for word from Peter on how to deal with persecution in their lives, and he is telling them to clean up their lives, not realizing that this is the greatest witness before men to be faithful to God, in the face of persecution.

They had become strangers in there own towns, since accepting Christ as their savior. I remember the crowd I hung around with before recommitting my life to the Lord, I walked as they did, drank as they did, talked as they did, I was not a stranger to them, I was one of them. After I changed my life I quit getting invited to parties. Trying to balance both worlds, as an immature Christian, I began talking about Christ as I drank, the more I drank the more I talked. This was not uncommon for me, for as I drank my inner nature always came out only now my inner nature had changed. This is what Peter was trying to tell them, they were new creatures in Christ and their inner being was now at war with the way they used to be. Not only did their old nature not understand what was happening to them, their friends had new clue as well.

This is not an easy thing to do, as we all can attest to. The flesh was comfortable with the old us, and as new creatures in Christ the Holy Spirit had set up house keeping in us and was trying to make the house comfortable for Him. When Teresa and I moved into our home, we saw traces of the past occupants we did not like. A big thing was the purple walls in the back bedroom, they had to go. The Holy Spirit sees things in our lives that are contradictory to the will of God, and wants to paint those old walls as well. But the flesh likes the purple walls, and the Spirit says no, not going to happen, this has to go. I remark as men get remarried that everything changes, anything that reminds the new wife of the old wife has to go. I experienced this and we both laugh that the only thing I have left form my old life is a cigar box full of memories. This Holy Spirit changes us from the inside out over time so that we are pleasing to God. I look back over what I lost and realized that change was good as I now enjoy what my wife and I have accomplished together.

As strangers in our own bodies, homes, and work places we have a partner in our journey, The Holy Spirit is our guide to the will of God and we will be with us through the changes we face as new creatures in Christ. Not to leave us older, but not always wiser Christians out, remember that God is not finished with us. This process of becoming holy is a lifetime journey, and there are times I feel as a stranger to God, but I am not. He knows me better than I know myself and has been with me in my times of trouble, and persecution, to mold me into what He wants me to me. It is amazing how many who come out of trouble, develop ministries to help others going through the same thing. Only God can do that, as He takes our weaknesses and makes them our strengths.

V. 12 (having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.)

Matt. 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

As God helps us to overcome our past lives, and walk according to His will, those around us will also be watching our walk. Christ says to let our light shine before men, what does Christ mean by our light? It is to let the love that comes from God, come out in our conduct so others may see that we are different from the rest of the world and desire the same sureness, love, peace that we exhibit to the rest of the world. As you step out in faith and profess your faith in Christ, as your personal savior, others will begin to watch every detail of your life, and will judge you by your past and look to see if the old life will resurface in this new you. I have always believed that people will not care how much you know until they know how much you care. As they observe our lives they will see the good works that we do, not to be seen by men, but as we walk in the will of the Father, who has enabled us and called us to these good works, that despite the persecution that we suffer at their hands they will glorify God. This day of visitation Peter talks of is any time that God may come in a special act of judgment or mercy. In this context visitation is God’s time of dealing with the unsaved, or the glorious return of Christ.

V. 13,14 (Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of those who do good.)

Submit is a word that we have trouble with, right along with the word wrrrr- wrrr- wrong. Both words require humility, and find their roots in the word pride. It seems all our days are lived in pride and rebellion, even as Christians. In a book on parenting, written by Dr. James Dobsen he states that there are twice as many strong willed children as compliant children. He also says this rebellion against parents’ rules often starts at a very early age. Rebellion is not only a characteristic of the child, but most people, regardless of age, find it hard to submit to others. I had to deal with this in the work place till I realized that it was not my bosses’ problem, but mine.
So who is the biggest target of our rebellion, government officials, employers, teachers, police officers? These positions are positions of authority and fly in the face of prideful man. In these verses Peter addresses our submission to these people. Should we be submissive to government? Even though we are citizens of Heaven, we are citizens of this world as well, and therefore we are to accept the authority of our government. Jesus said in Matthew 22:21; “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”
Peter wrote this epistle a few years before the persecution began under Roman Emperor Nero in 64 A.D. Nero was one of the most notorious rulers of all time. During his reign there was a fire that destroyed part of the city of Rome. There was a rumor that Nero had started the fire, and this rumor was so widely accepted by the people that Nero had to find a scapegoat. He diverted feeling against himself to the Christians by accusing them of arson and by persecuting them. Peter and Paul both died in this period.
There is another story of Nero which shows how evil he was. Halfway through his reign, Nero got the idea that he was a great chariot racer. So he built a track and raced all day. Soon he decided that he should race at night too, but electricity had not been invented yet. So Nero came up with a very sick plan. During the day he would get his soldiers to go into the city and find Christians. They would cover these Christians in pitch and tie them to poles around Nero’s track. As the sun set, these Christians were set on fire and became human torches.
Peter says that governments are to punish those who do evil and reward those who do good. Generally, this is true; however there are always exceptions. Obviously, Peter was not saying that we should compromise our beliefs in our submission to government. In Acts 5:29, when Peter and the other apostles were told by the Jewish leaders to stop preaching the gospel, they said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” We don’t always agree with everything that our government does but this is no excuse for not submitting to its authority. On election night I told another brother that no matter who won the election, they would be our president and needed our prayers.

Why should we submit to the authority of government? In Romans 13:1 we find these words: “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” There is no governmental authority except that which is ordained of God. Proverbs 21:1 says, The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water: he turns it wherever he wishes.” God controls the actions of rulers in the same way He controls the flow of the water in the rivers. This truth was strikingly illustrated by the Lord Jesus. In his anger Pilate said, “Are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify You, and the power to release you?” Jesus put Pilate in his place when He answered, “You could have no power at all against me, unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:10-11). Since all power comes from God, the believer is to be subject to that power.

V. 15 (For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men-)

There were many who said that by following God, they were not following the government, and that their religion made them bad subjects. By doing the will of God and being submissive to government, they put to rest any argument from those who spoke out because they did not understand this new faith. Should Christians have a part in government? Indeed they should, as we saw the country divided on values this past election.

V. 16 (as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.)

We are indeed free, free from sin and death, and citizens of God’s kingdom, but we are not free to use our religion as a mask to disobey civil authority. I can not speed ten miles an hour, over the speed limit and claim my freedom in Christ as a reason that allows me to do so. Nor can I pray that God would keep me from getting a ticket as I try to make up a little time.

We are not our own, we are bought, by God, with the priceless blood of His Son, and as slaves we are not free to walk outside of the will of God, without suffering the consequences, just as I would if I exceeded the posted speed limit. Still think we need not obey government? Jesus, living in a time when slavery was the norm, never spoke out against slavery. We all agree that slavery is an appalling practice, yet Christ instead of speaking against slavery talked about how servants were to behave towards their masters, and masters to treat their slaves.

What about the woman brought to Jesus who was caught in adultery? Jewish law said she was to be stoned, yet Jesus stopped this, and forgave her. Not really, He invited all around Him to stone this woman, yet spoke of their own guilt as reason to examine their own lives, and then they were free to stone her. Each of us as needs to examine our lives compared to the live of Christ before we justify our actions.

V.17 (Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.)

Give honor to whom it is due. At work we have a recognition program, where each employee has the opportunity to recognize the actions of another as they go above the norm in their duties at work. It is a simple thing, yet means a lot to the recipient as another recognizes that their hard work does not go unnoticed.

All Christians form a great family who have their roots in Jesus Christ. He is our bond that makes us a band of brothers and sisters. I have a brother in the Lord that I do not talk to near as often as I should, yet I know that when I call him, we pick up the friendship as if there was no gap in it at all, no matter now long the gap in our conversations.

Fearing God is not only to stand in awe of Him, but it is indeed to fear the consequences of our actions. God gave us a book that we should guide our lives by, He also gave us the live of His Son, that we should honor. By disobeying His commandments we walk in direct disobedience to God’s will for our lives. I believe that you can get so far from God, as a Christian, that God will take you out of this world rather than see you fall farther in sin, or He can let you live in your sin, the choice is His, and leaves us in fear and awe of Him. God gave me this ministry, and I know that my actions against His will for it could take it away from me just as quickly as He first gave me the idea for it. I give it back to Him each week and ask that He use it for His glory. The biggest fear I have is that sin in my life will break fellowship between the Lord God and I. Our obedience to God allows God to use us for His will. I leave you with the words from Hebrew 13:20, 21; “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ to whom be the glory forever and ever, Amen.