Ordinaces of Man: Addressed/Enforced

Introduction: The Place of Duty in Christian Preaching

0:03 Now let us turn together to 1 Peter chapter 2, 1 Peter chapter 2, and I shall read in your hearing verses 11 through 17, 1 Peter chapter 2, beginning in verse 11.

0:28 Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your behavior seemly or honorable among the Gentiles, that wherein they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they behold glorify God in a day of visitation, be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme or unto governors. As sent by him for vengeance on evildoers, and for the praise to them that do well. For so is the will of God, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak or a veil or covering of wickedness, but as bondservants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood.

1:43 Fear God. Honor the king.

1:52 Duty, duty, duty. All I hear in the preaching is duty.

2:04 I want more of the promises of grace. I want to hear more of the privileges of grace. Leave the duty preaching to legalists. Leave the duty preaching to those who have never come into the full spirit of sonship in the blessings of the new covenant.

2:29 Those sentiments I've just expressed, or similar ones, reflect the attitude of many within the evangelical Church today, and alas, within all too many so-called reformed circles. One of the new buzzwords is...

2:48 Ah! построing church! Ah, that pulpit is marked by duty preaching.

2:55 Duty, duty, duty. All I hear in the preaching is duty. Well, how do we respond to such a cry, to such an objection? Well, we respond by saying that any ministry that is shaped by the commission of the Lord of the Church, Jesus Christ, will give much of its content to the preaching of duty.

3:27 For Jesus said in Matthew 28, in verse 19, Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe whatsoever. I commanded you. And when we turn to the epistles of the New Testament, we find that they fairly ooze with very specific and detailed delineations of the duties of the people of God.

4:10 Now, of course, the duties are not separated from the privileges of grace. It is the privileges of grace that form the contours of the duties. And as we have been studying together this epistle of Peter's, we have seen that beautiful, inherent, biblical balance between privilege and duty. And when people object, duty, duty, duty, I'm tired of duty, we not only answer that objection by saying, any ministry that takes its direction from Christ will give a due emphasis to duty.

4:51 Any ministry that takes its direction from Christ will give a due emphasis to duty. Any ministry that is consecutive exposition will reflect the balance of the word of God. And we have seen that in 1 Peter. After his introductory greeting, from verse 3 to verse 12 of chapter 1, there is not a single duty explicitly laid upon the people of God.

5:13 Their great privileges in this great salvation of God are opened up one upon another. But then, in verse 13 of chapter 1, all the way through to chapter 2 in verse 3, Peter gives five distinct categories of duty, five imperatives that grow out of the privileges of grace, so wonderfully encapsulated in the previous paragraph. Then Peter returns in chapter 2 in verse 4 through verse 10 to lay out again the privileges of grace. Now, focusing upon those privileges as they are highlighted in the corporate identity of the people of God. They are in union with Christ made living stones incorporated into God's living spiritual temple. They are made a holy priesthood. They are privileged to offer up spiritual sacrifices.

6:14 They, in contrast to unbelievers who stumble over Christ, God's chief cornerstone, Christ is honorable to them, and they share in his honor. And in union with Christ, they are designated as God's elect race, his royal priesthood, his holy nation, a people of his possession, who in time past were no people, but now are the people, privilege upon privilege, wonderfully displayed in that section. But then, beginning in verse 11, and any faithful exposure, I say to you, God's name, God's name, must be as detailed in his opening up of these verses as he was of the previous. And you see, people who have a problem with duty forget all of the messages that opened up their privileges, and they say, here we go, duty duty duty. You know the problem's not with the ministry. If it's following the track of scripture, the problem's with your own heart. You've got a controversy with God and his right to delineate your duty.

The Unhealthy State of the Soul that Resists Duty

7:19 And if you ever find yourself in a situation where you have to deal with God's life, yourself more eager to hear the privileges of grace than the obligations of grace, your soul is in an unhealthy state. And you need to face that for what it is. So now as we've come into a section that is dense with duty, we began last week by looking at verses 11 and 12, in which Peter calls upon these believers in Asia Minor in what we might call his introductory section to this new part of imperatives and directives that as those who are conscious of their identity, sojourners and pilgrims, resident aliens and temporary dwellers in this present world, they are to abstain from fleshly lust, that's the negative duty, the positive, they are to have their behavior honorable among the Gentiles to whatever. And that whereas men speak against them as evildoers and slander them and lie about them, they may by their good works, good works that are done in the eyes of the very ones who are their detractors, these detractors may in the day of God's gracious visitation glorify God as they have seen the reality of His grace operative in the lives of His people. Now beginning in verse 11.

The Foundational Directive: Submission to God-Ordained Authority

8:48 Verse 13, Peter begins some detailed application of what it means to live a life honorable among the Gentiles. It's as though someone asked him, they said, Peter, you've told us to abstain from fleshly lust that war against the soul, to have a manner of life, an anastrophe, a lifestyle that is honorable, one that will confront the conscience of the very ones who speak evil of us. Peter, what does that involve? And it's as though Peter says, well, I'll tell you.

9:22 First of all, it involves subjection, submission, a disposition of ready compliance with every single structure of authority established by God. Notice verse 13. Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. And that subject of being in submission to every ordinance of man is Peter's theme all the way through to chapter 3 and verse 6.

9:59 For after speaking of the Christian in his submission to the established civil order, verses 13 to 17, notice verse 18, servants, be in subjection to your masters, having dealt with the citizen and his submission to the state. He deals with the servant and his submission to his master. Then in chapter 3 and verse 1, in like manner, you wives, be in subjection to your own husbands. And now he applies the same category of concern in the relationship within the marital bond, the wife and her submission to her husband. So as we stand on the threshold of a more detailed study of this section, you should understand at the outset, and I hope you've seen it with your own eyes in your own Bible, that to live a life that is honorable in the face of the unconverted is, according to Peter in this section of the Word of God, to live a life in which there is a meticulous concern to render proper submission to every single person. This is the fundamental structure of God-ordained authority. Now, need I tell you that this is a hot-button issue in any age, but particularly in our age?

11:29 If ever we needed to have Romans 12-2 applied to us, it is in this area. Paul says, be not conformed to this world or this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good. We live in an age that breathes crass individualism, that breathes independence, that breathes and constantly exudes a disposition of egalitarianism. Everybody's on the same level.

12:09 It breathes rebellion against every constituted structure of authority, and yet God says to you and to me, Be not conformed to this world or this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your If we would live as we ought to live, as resident aliens in this world, as temporary dwellers, on our way to our inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fades not away, already and continually reserved in heaven for us, we must be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. So that's the overall flavor of this section. This morning, God willing, we'll consider together verses 13 and 14 under two headings, and then tonight we'll consider verses 15 and 16 under two more headings. I will not be in the pulpit next Lord's Day, and I did not want a two-week hiatus. This is a unit of thought, and so this will be our food from the pulpit both this morning and this evening, God willing. Notice with me then, first of all, in verse 13.

The Duty Addressed: 'Be Subject to Every Ordinance of Man'

13:19 Verse 13a, the foundational directive, the foundational directive, be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. We have two things in this foundational directive, the duty addressed, be subject to every ordinance of man, and the duty enforced for the Lord's sake. So the duty addressed. And the duty enforced in this foundational directive.

13:54 What is the duty addressed? I use the word duty without reserve because the form of the verb is that of an imperative. And it's a form of the verb that even highlights the urgency of this directive.

14:11 The other usages of this verb are participles. In the present tense, for you Greek students, here's an aorist imperative. It is, it were, cast its intensity and its weight over the use of the same root word in verse 18 when referring to servants and wives in chapter 3 and verse 1, but it is a duty that is addressed by the apostle. And the particular word from its etymology means to rank yourself under another.

14:46 To rank yourself under another. It's dominant ideology. And the other ideas are the recognition of authority, an internal submission to that authority, and an explicit outward obedience to that authority. And all of that is bound up in that word hupotasso.

15:08 Peter says, you pilgrims and sojourners, you who in one sense have no citizenship in this present world, your citizenship is in heaven. I want you to live in such a way that you commend the gospel. Here is your first line of responsibility. Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake.

15:31 Recognize every single structure of legitimate authority. From your heart, submit to that authority, and where it is appropriate and necessary, obey the directives of that authority. That's the duty addressed by Peter. This is the word that is used to describe what Jesus did when as a twelve-year-old he went back to Nazareth after that unusual visit to the temple.

16:02 And in Luke 2.51 we read that he went down to Nazareth and was, here's our word, subject to them. Jesus Christ, the creator of heaven and earth, the Lord of glory, submitting himself to the very law that he thundered from Sinai, went down to Nazareth. And was subject to two of his creatures, two of the people he would in a few years die to save.

16:33 He went down to Nazareth and was submissive, was subject to them. He saw in Mary and Joseph, though he was their creator and their redeemer, he saw a legitimate theater of God-constituted authority. Children. Children, obey your parents, honor your father and your mother.

17:02 He recognized the authority vested in two people he made and two people he redeemed. But the fact that they were in the domestic sphere as his stepfather and his uterine mother,

17:21 he was subject. It has nothing to do with your inherent dignity or the lack of the same in the one to whom you'll be submissive. The creator is subject to creatures, the redeemer to the redeemed, the sinless one to sinners. But he went down to Nazareth and was subject to them.

17:46 He recognized in them legitimate authority. He internally submitted to that authority.

17:55 Had he not done so, he would have broken the fifth commandment. For you remember in the Sermon on the Mount, he taught very clearly God's commandments, touched the intentions, the desires, and the attitudes of the heart. Willful lust is murder, unrighteous anger, I'm sorry, willful lust is adultery, unrighteous anger is murder. So when it says he was subject to them, he wasn't like the little Quaker child, you know, in the meeting.

18:21 I've told the story before, little Quaker child, Quaker meeting has begun, everyone must be quiet. And the mother sits the little child down and she looks up and says in her quaint English, me sitteth on the outside, but me standeth on the inside, me standeth on the inside. I have by constraint externally submitted, but internally, no, not our Lord Jesus. He was subject to them, recognized their authority, internally submitted to it, and in his external pattern of life, he was a model of an obedient son.

19:00 It's the same word used of what happened to the demons. Luke 10, 17. They came back from their first tour, having been given authority, the 17, they said, behold, the demons are, here's our word, subject to us. When they spoke in the name of Christ, the demons recognized the authority of Christ.

19:21 They internally, volitionally submitted to that authority, and externally, they left the bodies and the personalities they were inhabiting. You take your concordance and you look up this word, submission, and you find in all of it. In all of its usages, these are the leading thoughts, and that is the duty addressed by Peter to the believing community. And to what are they to submit themselves?

19:47 Look at the text.

19:49 Be subject to every ordinance of man.

19:56 A literal rendering would be to every human creature or to every human created thing. And this is given the commentator's fits. A literal rendering of the original would be just that. Be subject to every human creature.

20:19 And some have actually tried to say, well, what Peter is doing here is emphasizing what Paul does in Ephesians 5 and verse 21. There is a sense in which all believers are to subject themselves one to another. That is, recognize in each other our dignity as creatures, our dignity in Christ, our obligations. That is, we are in a position to prefer one another in love and to be prepared to respond to each other's needs.

20:47 But that is a very forced interpretation. Both the use of the words and also the context lead us to the translation that we have. Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme or to governors as sent by him. In the area.

21:10 in which these believers lived, they would have heard a secular use of this Greek word ktesis. And they would have understood that this was the word used if someone founded a city. They would say they had created a city or the city was so-and-so's creation or if someone established a governmental body. I commend to you Wayne Broodham's excellent commentary on 1 Peter to substantiate this use of the word in the current contemporary secular Greek world in which Peter lived and in which this letter was received.

21:49 And though Peter is about to make a specific application to the government as it then existed in the Roman Empire and the expressions of that empire in Asia Minor in those five provinces, the language does not allow us to restrict its meaning. Notice again, it says, be subject. To every ordinance of man. Be subject to every ordinance of man.

22:20 Every and any institution among men where there are those appointed to lead or govern or to direct and those whose lot it is to follow, to submit or to obey. God says, would you live a life that is honorable? Among the unconverted? Would you so live that if God visits them in grace, they will glorify God that they saw a real Christian?

22:51 Then here's how you do it. Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. That's how you do it. That's how you do it.

23:02 Peter says, this is how you live such a life. You will recognize every, every instituted framework of authority. From the heart, you will submit to that authority and where appropriate, you will render specific obedience to the directives of that authority. Yes, Peter's going to specify in this paragraph the civil authority, but his introductory statement, his foundational principle, is much broader.

23:40 It extends, it extends to the parent-child relationship. Church officers and their members, teachers and administrators and students in the school, community organizations, athletic and academic teams. You've got a captain of the debating team. You've got a coach of the debating team.

24:01 You've got a coach for the local soccer team. You've got a captain who has to make decisions on the field. That's an ordinance of man. Yes.

24:10 Yes, it is. Yes. And the president of the local PTA, that's an yes. And the chairman of the school board, yes.

24:19 Those are human institutions. But be subject to every human, every man-made structure of authority within which society functions in some measure of order and decency. Be subject to every ordinance of man, of man. In the corporate structure, in the manufacturing structure, there's a foreman, and he's accountable to a general plant manager, and he in turn is accountable to someone else.

24:57 In the law enforcement agencies, there's the crossing guard who tells you when to cross the street and not to cross the street, as well as the officer who can pull you over and ticket you. Be subject to every ordinance of man. Ah, but what? No, no, no. Peter doesn't qualify. Peter doesn't bring in the exceptions.

25:19 He just simply says, be subject to... Ah, yes! No, no, no. Forget the objections. Forget the qualifications.

25:27 I know they are there. I'm not ignorant of them. I've spent hours poring over the text, asking perhaps ten minutes, more questions than you're presently asking, but feel the weight of the text. Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake.

25:48 He's not dealing with the source of authority. He deals with that, or God deals with that in Romans 13. There is no power but of God, and the powers that be are of God. Peter is focusing on the framework of authority as it exists.

The Duty Enforced: 'For the Lord's Sake'

26:03 Be subject to every ordinance of man. For the Lord's sake. There is the duty addressed. Now look at the duty enforced.

26:15 How does he enforce it?

26:18 He enforces it with this fascinating little phrase. For the Lord's sake. For the Lord's sake. Can you imagine? Perhaps some of these people had a knee-jerk reaction.

26:32 Though we have reason to believe the church was made up primarily of converts from the Gentile pagan world, there were no doubt some converted Jews. And the Jews had a tremendous sense of suspicion about any earthly government. For you'll remember that they lived under a theocracy for centuries, and God had told them that they were not to take a king like the other nations would. God was to be their king until he gave them a king.

27:02 And the Jews were notorious for causing insurrections. Eventually, that's what caused the burning of their sins. And that's what caused the burning of the city in 70 A.D.

27:12 So imagine the knee-jerk reaction some of these Jewish converts to the Christian faith must have felt when they heard the words, Be subject to every ordinance of man. And perhaps there had been wild, independent, self-willed, headstrong Gentiles that said, My only God is my lust. You read chapter 4 and we'll see. That was the lifestyle of many of them.

27:35 Abandoning themselves to every form of sensuality. Abandoning themselves to every form of sensuality. But in that framework of that lifestyle, there is rarely any respect for, let alone any love to authority. I'm my own boss.

27:49 It's my body. I'll do with it what I will. I've got appetites and passions. I'll let them take me where they will.

27:57 I'll fulfill them as I choose. It's my life. It's my body. It's my this.

28:05 It's my that. Now they hear, Be subject to every ordinance of man. I'm a Gentile. If they are true believers, Peter says, For the Lord's sake.

28:16 For the Lord's sake. He enforces the duty with this pervasive gospel motive. For the Lord's sake. Now what does that phrase mean?

28:28 Well it can mean many things. And again it's been fascinating to read the 18 or 20 commentators. If I were to just give you the list of things that they all suggest it may mean, I'd not only be here for the rest of our time this morning, but all of our time this evening probably. They suggest that, well, what he may be saying is, For the sake of the Lord's name.

28:49 You bear his name as he reminds them in chapter 4 and verse 15. If any of you suffer as a Christian, that's one thing. But don't suffer as a murderer. He says you carry the name of Christ for the sake of the name you now officially carry as a Christian.

29:04 You've been baptized into the name of the Triune God. You are identified as Christianos, little Christs. You are Christians. For his name's sake, Peter says.

29:18 Could be that that's what he's emphasizing. Some suggest maybe he's saying, For the Lord's sake. That is for the sake of your response to the Lord's command and example in this area. Remember what Jesus said, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's.

29:35 They tried to trap him into appearing either as a disloyal Jew or a disloyal Roman citizen or Roman subject. They brought him the coin. I mean, they asked, Should we pay taxes? What should we do?

29:48 And the Lord says, Bring me a coin. Whose image is on it? Caesar's. Well, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's.

29:55 Our Lord clearly taught, Caesar has certain just claims over Jews living under Roman rule that was not voluntarily embraced. The Roman Empire was an imperial empire. It came to its possessions of things and people by conquest. But Jesus said, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's.

30:25 And you remember when they asked about the temple tax? There was a local ecclesiastical slash social civic authority that demanded a tax. And the Lord showed that it really wasn't a just tax. But he said, Hey, go down there and pull up a fish and pull out the coin lest we cause any offense.

30:47 He paid the taxes for the sake of this Lord. You claim to be attached to a Lord who said, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's? Who perform a miracle rather than give any occasion for anyone to say, Oh, he's a rebel. He doesn't keep the local laws for his sake, for the sake of Christ.

31:07 Be subject to every ordinance of man. For the Lord's sake. Could mean a number of things. But one thing is clear.

31:16 That Peter is confident that to introduce the Lord Jesus into the sphere of motivation for a very difficult duty would really cut mustard with these people. He knows he's got them here. If he says to true believers, Do this for the Lord's sake. What Lord would they immediately think of?

31:43 Oh, the Lord about whom Peter's been writing. In verse 3 of this chapter he said, Since you have tasted that the Lord is gracious to whom coming as living stones you are built up into this spiritual temple. It is in union with Christ that you've been made alive. It's in union with Christ that you are part of his new covenant spiritual temple.

32:07 It's in union with Christ the Lord that you are a spiritual priesthood. You can offer up sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ. It's in Christ that you are the royal priesthood. It's in Christ that you are a people of God's possession.

32:25 To say for the Lord's sake would be to bring within the orbit of their affections and their motivations all that Peter has been reminding them that they are and have because of the Lord Jesus. And Peter knew that for true believers there was no higher and no more powerful motivation. And I want to pause here and say by way of application perhaps few things will reveal more quickly and more accurately whether or not you're a true believer. If somebody can get inside your conscience with this phrase For the Lord's sake. Please do this. For the Lord's sake. Please don't do this.

33:18 Does that really get you where you are? You children, if you really love your mom and your dad what more powerful motive is to say look kids, for the sake of your dear mom don't do this. This will break her heart. This will grieve her.

33:38 This will send her to her grave with tears and a broken heart. For the sake of your mom don't do this. Or positively for the sake of your mom do this. Get this.

33:52 Go here. For your mother's sake. You children, if you really love your mom does that get you where you really are? It does, doesn't it?

34:01 If I say for your daddy's sake so that you please your daddy you don't grieve your daddy. Well, if you really love and honor mother and father that gets you where you are. Oh, and these people would hear be subject to every ordinance of man. For the Lord's sake.

34:21 Peter knows he's got them where they really are. Does that get you where you are? What do you say with Pharaoh in Exodus chapter 5 when Moses came in and says thus says Jehovah let my people go that they may serve me. You remember Pharaoh's response?

34:42 Who's Jehovah that I should serve? For Jehovah's sake let them go. And Pharaoh says for whose sake? He said nothing to me.

34:56 My dear friend when I say for the Lord's sake does that get you where you are? And even now does your heart say oh God, as difficult as these directives may be as withering to my flesh as contrary to everything I've fought and everything I've cherished Lord, if it has to do with your sake that's motive enough to change my thinking change my attitudes change my actions does it get you where you really are? If not, my friend you are lost you're dead in your sins you are under the wrath of Almighty God if this doesn't get you where you really are. Peter knew it would get these people where they really were. Because they had in union with Christ been brought to spiritual life. They had in union with Christ been begotten again unto a living hope for the Lord's sake to advance the cause of His word to promote His honor to secure the advancement of His gospel in their generation be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake.

Specific Application: Submission to Civil Authority

36:21 Well, that's the foundational directive we have looked at the duty and then the duty the duty identified and the duty enforced. Now, secondly consider with me more briefly the specific application of this directive 13b and 14 Whether to the king as supreme or unto governors as sent by him for vengeance on evildoers and for praise to them that do well Here we have the specific application of the directive. When Peter used these words rendered king and governors to what was he referring? We're going to look at the meaning of the terms and then we're going to look at the function of those who are identified with those terms. When Peter wrote be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake whether to the king as supreme or to governors as sent by him what was he conveying to the minds of those there in those five Roman provinces in the land that we now identify as the land of Turkey at that time Asia Minor? Well, the term king would not be a term that a Roman would delight to use.

37:47 The Romans were reluctant to call their Caesars rex or king. But in the Greek speaking world and even in Palestine Caesar was king. Caesar was called a king. He was the supreme ruler in the Roman Empire.

38:05 You remember in John 19 and verse 15 we have an example of this in the Gospel record John chapter 19 and verse 15 They cried out away with him away with him crucify him Pilate said unto them shall I crucify your king? And the chief priests answered we have no king but Caesar. So you see it's clear though the Romans would be reluctant to call their Caesars king recognizing what his true position was there was no reluctance to use the standard Greek word for king in the Greek speaking world. So the king would be in the understanding of those believers there in Asia Minor when this letter first came to them when Peter says be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake whether to the king they would understand he is now applying that general principle of subjection to every framework of instituted authority now applying it to the area that we would call the civil authority civil government the commonwealth whatever term we use and he says from the highest seat of authority the king as supreme the one who is in the place of influence over others

39:33 or to governors being sent by him. Now this term governor is what was used of Pilate Matthew 27 and verse 2 it was used of Felix in Acts 23 and verse 24 these procurators or pro-councils were duly appointed by the king or by the Roman Senate and they were sent by the king in order to implement Roman rule in the particular area in which they were sent and that was assigned to them so when Peter makes a specific application of the directive he focuses on the highest and the lower seats of human authority as they existed at that time in the Roman government now this had real significance and it has real significance for us who was the king at the time Peter wrote some noble righteous convert to the Christian faith selfish sensual petulant Nero who within a couple of years would be the instrument of Peter being martyred you mean you write a letter to Christians in a Roman province

41:01 and say be subject to a scoundrel like Nero yes yes yes and most likely as we saw in an introductory study Peter probably wrote this letter from Rome in the short time he was there before his martyrdom be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake whether to the king as supreme if Nero is brought to the place of supreme power in political power by the sovereign Lord of the nations render him to obedience I didn't write it I didn't make it up I've got no desire to whitewash Rome but I'm ready to spill my blood to be honest with my Bible and this is what the Bible says this is what God says or to governors governors governors pilot weak willed spineless pilot who says I find no fault in the man he's innocent but he caves in to the pressure of the hot shots in Jerusalem

42:25 they stir up the mobs shall I release unto you Barabbas or Jesus hoping it would be Barabbas but when they said Jesus he goes through this silly ritual of washing his hands I'm pure from the blood of this innocent man a governor called pilot be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake whether to kings as supreme or to governors as sent by him dear folks that's the realism of the New Testament and of the sovereign disposition of God in ordering the state of the nations when the church was established in the Roman Empire and either we believe in the absolute sufficiency and authority of the word of God or we're out on the sea of utter subjectivism when it comes to these issues and I say let God be true and every man a liar whatever his political convictions may be whatever his party alignments may be there is a supra party theology of the Christian's relationship to the state and here we have it in capsule form as I leave this part of the text

43:53 where Peter identifies in his specific application those to whom these believers were to be subject I can do no better than give you a brief quote from John Brown the godly Scottish commentator these words that is the king is supreme and governors sent by him and our duty to be submissive to them taken by themselves might mean submit yourselves to civil government whatever form it may wear monarchy aristocracy democracy or representative republic we might add there can be no question that in this sense the words would express the Christian's duty it's equally the duty of Christians if you live in Austria submit to the monarchy if you live in America to submit to democracy if you live in Great Britain to submit to our mixed government of king, lords and commons but from the context it's plain that the reference is not to different forms of civil rule in different countries but to the different organs of civil rule in the same country whether to the king that is to the Roman emperor within the limits of whose wide dominions those addressed by the apostle lived or to governors as sent by him that is the proconsuls or procurators appointed by the emperor to perform the offices of government in the distant parts of the empire to all the officers

45:22 by whom the law is administered Christians are to render obedience whether they be persons in a higher station or in a lower whatever be the nature or the title of their office whether their jurisdiction extend over the whole land or be limited to a county or to a town to every one of the persons appointed to execute the laws we are bound to render obedience in all those particulars in which he is authorized to demand it so much for the illustration of the duty enjoined by the apostle now again I know some of you are thinking yes but what a put all the exceptions to one side and let the word of God take root in its deep and in its vital impression upon our souls the specific application kings as supreme governors and then he highlights the fundamental function of these in human government what is that function obviously this is the king's intention the supreme ruler and he sends governors to implement those functions sent by him literally being sent to continuous activity for vengeance on evil doers for praise to them that do well now what does he say

The Function of Civil Authority: Vengeance and Praise

46:49 he's saying that governors and the kings whom they represent are duly authorized for twofold function number one for the administration of vengeance on those who violate the laws of the state and secondly for the conferral of commendation or approbation on those who keep the laws of the state isn't that what the text says submit yourself to them king governors sent by him to do what two basic functions in order to take vengeance on evil doers and for praise to them to do well in other words vengeance is used in such passages as Romans 12 19 vengeance is mine I will repay second Thessalonians 1 8 Christ will come at his second coming taking vengeance retributive justice will be meted out in flaming fire upon all of his enemies Hebrews 10 30 vengeance is mine I will repay vengeance is just repayment for wrong done by an authorized person that's vengeance Peter commends this function as it was presently a part of the purpose of civil authority vengeance upon evil doers

48:18 an extended commentary upon this is found in Romans 13 1 to 5 I hope you read it this afternoon where that's one of the primary areas upon which Paul focuses in the function of the powers that be they are minister of God the same term used as ministers of the gospel they are ministers of God to do what Paul says to take vengeance on evil doers he bears not the sword in vain the sword of execution the sword to rightly execute capital punishment upon capital offenses the function of government was never intended by God to be didactic and reformatory re-educate the criminal no he's to be punished they are sent by the king these governors to do what to take vengeance on those who do evil those who do evil those who do evil you see the function of the civil government has to do with actions doesn't get in and change the hearts of men government does not have to do with the inner sanctum of the man's conscience before God it has to do with his actions and the flip side of that is for the praise of those who do well

49:43 this word praise can mean verbal commendation but it can mean something less than that and the commentators again debate whether there was actually a practice in the government at that time to give more public recognition to good citizens but certainly it does suggest that those who do well will have the protection and the consideration and the honor that is afforded them for their pattern of well doing now again perhaps I can do no better than to give you another brief quote from one of the commentators who's been very helpful to me in this series of studies a man by the name of John Lilly not as well known as John Brown but he writes whatever these words taken by themselves I'm sorry I've got John Brown in front of me again I want to get Mr. Lilly here we are told to submit to the governor to the king as they exercise themselves in the punishment of evil doers and the praise of well doers being of course implied that the purposes for which the supreme power commissions its subordinates equally define the spirit and aim of its own immediate action what then are these purposes not the regulation of men's opinions nor the determination of their religious faith nor the coercion of their consciences into the inner sanctuary of the soul where it holds converse

51:11 with spiritual and eternal things the civil magistrate be his station what it may must not seek to intrude his place of ministry if I may say so is the outer court his domain that which is seen and temporal especially is it his care to maintain public order to dispense justice between man and man by all necessary pains and penalties to repress and punish violence and fraud while even by so doing as well as by other positive manifestations of his favor to protect and encourage the honest and the upright members of society as Peter applies this directive he highlights what was still with all of its decadence at hand at that time the fundamental function of the powers that were in existence remember what Paul said in the book of Acts he said if I have done anything worthy of death I refuse not to die he recognized a legitimate authority in the governor sent by the head of state to punish an evil doer and he said and if I've been guilty of a capital crime I refuse not to die with all of its decadence with all of its failures there was still an element of stability there was still an element of leaving alone the honorable citizen

52:40 and though at this time as we'll see in greater detail God willing tonight there was an emerging opposition to the church to try to mark them out as being subversive to civil stability and we'll go into some of those reasons Peter is especially careful to make sure that no one would ever have any just grounds to say that of the people of God because there was still within the overall framework of government a fulfilling of this biblical biblically warranted function of the government to punish evil doers and to reward those who do well now it was difficult to gauge our time in opening up the passage having looked at least briefly at the foundational directives the duty addressed submit yourselves to every ordinance of man the duty enforced for the Lord's sake the specific application of the directed we've identified the civil authority the function of the civil authority God willing tonight as we look at the next two verses we'll consider the horizontal goal of this directive you see that's obvious verse 15 for so is the will of God that by well doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men and then the spirit in which we are to fulfill this as free yet not using your freedom as a veil

Closing Application 1: The Broad and Binding Nature of the Directive

54:09 a covering of wickedness but as bondservants of God but as I bring the message to a close will you bear with me while I make just two closing applications the first is note with me how broad and binding is this divine directive submit yourselves be subject to the to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake and some of you who listen with a Greek text you may say but Pastor don't you know that's an aorist passive imperative yes I do but the aorist passive imperative of has the sense of a middle alright so I've alleviated your tension over the Greek grammar and so it's right to render it submit yourselves be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake and as I've hinted all along the way we immediately begin to think of all the loopholes yes but what about this yes but Peter was well aware of this remember it was Peter who in Acts chapter 4 and again in Acts chapter 5 resisted the authorities when they said shut up don't preach he said we ought to obey God rather than man and he said you judge we're to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's and when Caesar tries to take God's rights Caesar must give way

55:38 to God the book of Daniel is a marvelous example of this I'd hope we had time to go into Daniel chapter 6 Daniel is commended for his civic obedience he was a model citizen of Babylon until they said you can't pray to your God he didn't get all fussed he didn't cause a riot he didn't go cause a demonstration it just says he knelt and prayed three times a day as usual it's as though he never even heard the king's decree because the king entered an area where he had no right to enter and Daniel said I'm going to obey God and listen I'm going to accept the consequences of that disobedience under this government that's what Paul meant when he said if I've done things worthy of death I'm ready to die if a Christian disobeys the civil authority out of conscience to God I'm ready to take the consequences of that disobedience and the Bible gives us a record of that yes but some of us will live and die and never face that situation and it's easy in matters like this to think up all kinds of what ifs what ifs what ifs what ifs what ifs what ifs and we never let the full weight of the word of God grip us be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake I will not treat the cross crossing guards with indifference I will not round off the figures in my benefit

57:07 when I make out my income tax I will not allow myself to be a litterer even with a gum wrapper I will cross the street where the lines are I will meticulously take to heart the injunction obey every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake for your sake Lord I will put the gum wrapper in my pocket and not throw it on the mall floor you say pastor you're serious yes I am yes I am yes I am obey every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake it doesn't say except the ones you think are piddly except the ones you think are inconsequential except the ones you think are unreasonable except the ones that you would change where it doesn't give the expression of the word it doesn't give the exceptions dear folks I don't find that in my Bible and I trust the breadth and binding nature of this directive will grip us this morning and remember it's for the Lord's sake and note how crucially relevant is this divine directive you and I are part of a nation that's witnessing a tragic and frightening erosion of moral principles in the highest and most influential positions

Closing Application 2: Crucial Relevance in a Decadent Age

58:35 of government what are we to do 1st Timothy 2 pray for kings and rulers and those in authority over us pray for the modern Manassas that they might be converted yes use every bit of influence in the ballot box and in your own legitimate sphere of influence in this particular form of government where you and I can have an influence yes but here's the baseline directive be exemplary in your submission to the powers that be and that submission as we'll see when we come to verse 17 involves honoring the king you mean we've got to honor Nero yes we've got to honor that man in the White House yes and I have no stomach for Christians who reflect the language of Bob Grant and Rush Limbaugh you angry with me honor the king who's the king when he writes Nero who's going to secure Peter's execution in a couple of years selfish petulant irresponsible blame shifting that was Nero honor the king and frankly I'm embarrassed

60:04 when I hear some of you talk the way you talk about our president he's President Clinton who put him there not the American electorate God did the pundits can sit and analyze what happened in the last election every governor in his governorship by God everyone in the House of Representatives every unseated Republican every newly seated Democrat though I may have scriptural convictions that make me loathe some of their policies I must relate to them biblically God help us not to be a worldly church in reflecting the worldliness of pagan conservative political bad mouthing of unprincipled liberal leaders you've got no right to it nor do I well you're a closet liberal no I'm not don't you judge my political convictions I'm seeking to bring you to judge yourself by the Bible is this relevant folks is this relevant you might think I was riding the hobby if it just didn't come up next thing in first Peter there it is

61:34 there it is obey every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake he says to servants you got unjust masters obey them seems unreasonable when he says to a wife who's got a churlish husband he doesn't obey the word but he says be submissive God doesn't call you to live a reasonable life he calls you to live a supernatural life in the power of his supernatural grace as you claim to be saved by God imposed by his gracious hand that we might command the power of his gospel to a cynical and to a needy generation well thank you for your patience I've gone a bit longer than I had intended to God willing we'll come back to those next two verses tonight if I haven't preached all of your way may the Lord help us our Father to bow our necks to your words forgive us forgive us and we've allowed ourselves to think and act and speak

Prayer

63:02 in ways that have been contrary to your truth we would confess our sins and ask you to wash us in the blood of Christ we pray that you would help us to have our conduct honorable among the Gentiles among the Gentiles in our attitude and actions and disposition towards constituted authority wherever we find it that we are indeed living as those determined to please our Savior oh Lord Jesus for your sake we would live this way in the power of your grace seal then your word to our hearts and give us wisdom