In this sermon, Pastor Babij teaches on submission from First Peter 2:13-17. He shows that submission is not a choice but a command from God and teaches that resistance to lawful authorities is resistance against God. Pastor lists several attitudes, reasons and benefits for submission. He also lays out principles for biblical resistance against the government. Pastor ends by exhorting Christians to live peaceful lives to glorify God before all men.
Full Transcript:
Every single week, we are looking at 1 Peter, and it is our practice to start 1 Peter and go through it until we are finished. After this, I will be going into 2 Peter, which would be logical so that the messages are connected. We are looking at 1 Peter 2:13-17:
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. 17Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.
Let’s pray:
Lord, Thank You for the word of God, for the privilege to be able to have it in our hands, and to have Bibles that we can take with us wherever we go. I pray, Lord, that the Bible would become our constant companion, and that we would desire to know as much of it as we can. I pray, Lord, that we would not only be hearers of the word, but doers of it. I pray, Lord, that we would be conscious of practicing what we are learning. I pray, as we do that, Lord, that we can do what Peter said. Part of our behavior is the reason why we get people’s attention. We are different and not like other people only because of Christ. The spirit of God is transforming us and making us new. Lord, I pray that You would give us opportunities, by the way we live, to be able to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who do not know You but may come to know You. I pray that You would bless us this morning with an understanding of what it means to learn submission to the different groups that are mentioned in 1 Peter. I pray, Lord, that one group being governing authorities that are over us, and that we would learn to submit properly. I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.
Once we become believers, we must learn anew how to understand and deal with ourselves; then, how to live with others. We live in this world, which has been twisted and complicated by sin. Already, we have been called citizens of another kingdom. As aliens and strangers on the earth, our mandate is to live in accord with a higher standard.
Keeping in mind our alien nationalities, temporary residencies, what God has done for us in salvation, who we are in Christ, that we are in a spiritual warfare, and that we are to avoid and keep ourselves free from old impulses that belong to the flesh. The war is between our renewed spirit and fallen nature.
Keeping in mind that we have a new master, Christ, and a new relationship to sin. We are dead to sin and alive to righteousness. Keeping in mind that the Holy Spirit, who indwells us, is making this change in us through the word of God. In our mind, He is transforming us, and in our heart, He is developing deep Biblical convictions.
In turn, we want to do what is right and live in a pleasing manner before the Lord, Jesus Christ, in all our behavior. Keeping in mind our new, inner commitment to live before God. All holy behavior is accompanied by a Christian duty to live responsibly before unbelievers. 1 Peter 2:12:
Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Last time, we learned that we are to submit to a new course of conduct, so that we, as followers of Christ, can demonstrate an alien lifestyle with the goal of proclaiming the Gospel to win others to Christ to become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. On the day of judgement, they may give glory to God since someone adorned the Gospel with their lifestyle, shared with them verbally the message of Jesus Christ, and they became a born-again believer.
In continuing to unpack the next section of Peter, we are to learn to properly submit to others. First, we will submit to governing authorities. Then, we will submit to those who are in our household like masters that are over us. Then, there is subjection in family structures such as husbands and wives.
As God’s children living in this world, we must be learning submission. Submit implies putting oneself under the authority of another, or to take a subordinate place. In 1 Peter 2:13, “submit yourselves,” is a command, so we are to submit to the governing authorities.
The principle of submission is applied within the context of interaction of believers with non-believers in areas of various social relationships. There are certain behaviors Christians are to maintain. First, inward loyalty, which is a certain behavior that pleases the Lord. Secondly, an outward submission.
In the first application of a Christian’s responsibilities in their behavior, they are to relate to governing authorities within any form of government that they may find themselves. In applying the principle of submission, the great difference from then as to now is that we have a level of push-back to our government without fear of much serious punishment.
If you were to pushback against the Roman Empire, in which Peter wrote, it would probably mean imprisonment or death. Today, there are still governments that have that kind of philosophy and mentality where you don’t say much against the government or pushback against the government. If you do, you will suffer the consequences.
However, we must all be discerning concerning the changing tides of our political landscape in our country, especially since things could change very quickly. In any case, Christian’s ought to be aware of the Biblical principles regarding legitimate human government. In other words, there is a way to behave in whatever country you live in since the Biblical principles apply no matter where you live on the earth or government you live under.
In learning submission, first it is to governing authorities, and it is a command in Scripture. If we apply the definition of the term submit, it would imply that Christians are to willingly put themselves under the authority of governing bodies, or to arrange one’s life under the authority of another.
The second part of that definition would assume some freedom on the part of the one submitting and would most likely apply to people that are under a democratic type of government where there is more wiggle room. These Christian’s that were written to in 1 Peter were Christians that had no rights.
In the United States, we have rights as citizens, and if they had rights, they were limited rights. Even if they were Christians, those rights could have been limited because they were Christians. For us, the secular hierarchy would be the local, the state, and the federal government. We, as Christians, are to submit to the authority of these institutions and the persons representing these institutions.
We live in a day where there is much disrespect toward all authority. Many people rebel against our own government. Some Christians have taken a wrong attitude toward secular government as to its laws and leaders, and in some ways, rightfully so. Even though we may strongly disagree with some or the things that the local, state, and federal governments do, Christians still need to gain Scriptural understanding on their responsibility toward government.
Behind this submission, there is a proper motive to governing authorities. There is a command, but there is a motive. In 1 Peter 2:13, the second motive for our act of obedience to submit is for the Lord’s sake. The first motive is found in 1 Peter 2:11-12:
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 12Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Because the lost world is looking on our life, we are to submit to a course of conduct for the lost sake. However, here we are to submit to governing authorities for the Lord’s sake, which is the primary reason believers are to submit. The sovereign Lord has put in the world three institutions, which has been ordained for the good of mankind. What are they?
First, it is the home. Second, it is that of human government. Thirdly, it is the local church. God established the principles of maintaining law and order in society by means of governing authorities, which are ordained by God. God gave society the right to enforce laws and to use capital punishment when necessary. Meaning, God is sovereign. Daniel 2:21 says:
It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding.
God does this in a world that is sinful. If we did not have government, what would happen? If we did not have that thin blue line between us and big government, then there would be anarchy and it would be a terrible place to live. However, God is sovereign over the fears of the world.
He is sovereign over Satan and sin. He is sovereign over all government and military power. He is sovereign over nature and natural disaster. He is sovereign over sickness and disease. He is sovereign over every human being. With all that sovereignty, we must keep in mind that God’s sovereignty does not excuse human sinfulness or irresponsibility. Therefore, God gives authority on the earth, and that same truth is repeated in Proverbs 8:15-16:
By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16“By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
If God did not give authority to governments, they would possess none. The most unjust and wicked rulers in the world have no power, but what is given them from above. Remember when Pilate was talking to Jesus, he said that he had the authority to put Him to death, and Jesus says in John 19:11:
Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
Thus, God has ordained and given authority to governments for mankind’s benefit. We may not think of it that way, but it is, especially today on April 15th, which is Tax Day. Hopefully, you did your taxes, and the government doesn’t fool around when it comes to taxes. They want your money, and I found out that they get it where you cannot do much about it.
Some people get very upset about it, and sometimes I do. However, I like driving on nice, paved roads. I do like lights that work at the intersections. I do like the structure that we have, which must be paid for, and we all chip in and pay for it.
In looking at this subject, there is a third thing, which is the benefit of governing authorities. In 1 Peter 2:14, it benefits us in two specific ways. The first way it benefits us is for the punishment of evildoers. Private citizens and individuals do not have the authority to punish evildoers.
For those who do evil, God has given the power to government to carry out justice and wrath, and to make laws and enforce them. The Vigilante, The Lone Ranger, and The Rogue Cop mindset, who takes upon himself the responsibility to take vengeance and get justice, makes for a great suspense-filled story for a film or media. Individual human beings have not been given that authority to take any kind of vengeance. In fact, God says, “Vengeance is mine. I will repay.”
Even though governments carry their responsibilities out in an imperfect system, it is still for our benefit and protection. Even the most flawed system is often better than nothing. Even today, people say that if we didn’t take out Saddam, the Middle East would be better off, and if we didn’t take down Gaddafi, the Middle East would be better off. There’s probably some truth to that since these guys knew how to take care of some of the factions in their country, but they were ruthless, and it is what it is. In thinking of that, notice what it says in Romans 13:1-2:
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
Another passage of Scripture, along the same line of Romans, is in Romans 13:4-5:
for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.
God gave governing authorities the right to enforce laws to prevent chaos, mayhem, and anarchy; at the same time, to maintain peace while promoting the free-flow of human beings, protection of them, and rights of citizens. This is done by use of security forces like policemen, the military, and using our judicial system. The government has been given the authority to even use capital punishment to punish evildoers when necessary. Genesis 9:6:
Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God
He made man.
If you notice in Romans 13:4, the government has been given the authority by God to even carry out capital punishment if need be to rid evil from a society. For the one ruling, justice is God’s primary demand on human authorities. They must judge fairly, shunning bribes, so that they may be impartial in their judgement. Proverbs 20:8:
A king who sits on the throne of justice
Disperses all evil with his eyes. A king who sits on the throne of justice
Disperses all evil with his eyes.
Also, in Proverbs 29:2:
When the righteous increase, the people rejoice,
But when a wicked man rules, people groan.
Thus, the first benefit is that the government is given to us to take care of evil, to suppress evil, and to keep evil in its place. Pretty much, we can freely move around without much fear in our country. However, there is a second thing, which is not only the punishment of evildoers, but the praise of those who do right. That is governments responsibility too, and maybe this what the government needs to do more of. When it does do it, then maybe we need to take notice of it more.
When a citizen has in some way done something good, they should be publicly praised by the government. Whether it is private citizen, a police officer, or a military person, they should be praised by the government for doing something that is good. They often do that, but sometimes it never trickles down to the public or local media about some of the things in the world that are good.
This public praise for doing good should encourage onlookers to endeavor to do the same. The power of a good character, a good deed, or a good example should not be downplayed. In fact, it should be up played. If the government and media would give equal time to such things, they would encourage more good deeds and produce even better citizens. That’s part of the government, and it is also saying to us that we ought to be the people that are doing the good deeds.
Secondly, under this command, submission is God’s method and will. In 1 Peter 2:14, this is the way God wants Christians to act no matter what government system they are under. It is the good and wise will of God for us to be the best possible citizens in the society in which we live. The world should be able to look at a believer and see what a good citizen should be.
However, onlookers are usually ready to point out the blunders, mistakes, and mishaps of Christians. As we are going to find out in 1 Peter, there is a lot of verbal abuse against the Christians that is unjustified. The question is: how are believers going to silence their critics?
According to our text, they are going to silence the critics by living an exemplary life within society. Christians put down slander and silence ignorant and foolish people by living consistently good lives, and by living an alien lifestyle within the goal to proclaim the Gospel to win others to Christ to become citizens of the Kingdom of God.
In other words, they are to do that by doing what is right. In 1 Peter 2:15, the Bible is assuming that believers know what is right, and what is the thing to do that honors Him. From the word of God, they know now that by doing that, they can silence people that are against them.
In our passage of Scripture, the foolish person is the person who places themselves against God, and disregards God, the people, and the things that represent the true and living God. Proverbs 1:22:
How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?
Not only in Psalm 14:1, but also in Psalm 53:1:
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.
Often, those are the ones who are coming against believers who are living in society. Christians are not to be rebels, anarchists, or revolutionaries. If there is a lawful way to make change, they should endeavor to make the change lawfully. So then, we are to seek good, the good of our country, and doing nothing or joining in nothing that tends to disturb the peace that God is giving us.
We ought to be respectful, law-abiding citizens, which have the right attitude towards those in leadership over us. Also, the Christian can never forget that there is no one freer than a Christian. Remember, it was also God’s will for you to be saved, it was God’s will for you to have the spirit of God, and you have been given everything pertaining to life and Godliness.
A Christian yielded to the spirit of God is a powerful force of divine energy within a society. The word of God has made you free in Christ. Christians, therefore, are to submit to governing authorities willfully and freely.
If you notice the next things in 1 Peter 2:15, submission, by the believer, is a matter of free choice to resist or to comply, or to cooperate or to not cooperate, with fellow citizens and with ruling authorities. By this passage of Scripture, Peter anticipates that some of his readers would object that the demand of submission to human rulers go against the principle of freedom of the believer in Christ.
Thus, people were thinking, “I don’t want to obey because I don’t agree with anything they are doing.” There are a multitude of reasons people come up with on why they don’t want to submit. There are many ways to abuse freedom.
One way could be to say, “I think our taxes are too high and the money is unfairly distributed, so I’m not going to pay them.” I have met and had conversations with Christians who very strongly believed that, so I guess they didn’t read this part of the Bible. This part of the Bible is showing us that it would be against what God is commanding. A good example is in Mark 12:14:
They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?
They wanted to know if they should pay or not since they didn’t want to pay. Knowing their hypocrisy, or their evil, He said to them in Mark 12:15:
“Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.”
Jesus gave a masterly reply, which amazed His opponents and stopped the delegation in their tracks. Jesus, with a very innocent question addressed to Him, exposes their evil, hypocrisy, and Satan-like craftiness in Mark 12:16:
They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
Here comes Jesus’ unexpected response, which the delegation did not even consider. Then, Jesus said to them in Mark 12:17:
And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.
Man, they did not expect that. In other words, that coin has the image of Caesar on it, but God’s image is on every human being. Thus, give the emperor his coinage and give him all the obligation due him. Also, you who are created in God’s image, give Him all the obligation due Him.
Jesus places the two obligations side by side. There is no clash between them, but they harmonize. Paying Roman taxes was not in conflict to a person obligation to God. In the providences of God, the Jews are the emperor’s subjects and are under the legitimacy of Roman governments. Now, this was something that the Jewish delegation did not like at all.
Their response, in Mark 12:17, was that they were amazed at Him. Meaning, they had no idea how to respond to that. He tipped their philosophy and mindset on its head that they had to agree with it. By the way, is it God’s will that we pay taxes? Romans 13:6-7:
For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
We would have to answer that question in the affirmative. In addition, if tax or other reforms are necessary for the public welfare, then Christians should exert whatever influence they have to effect those changes lawfully.
Back to our text in 1 Peter, we find that we are talking about freedom, a freedom that has been given to believers to make choices. Peter is making sure that we make the right choice. In our text, if a believer uses their freedom incorrectly to disobey those placed over them in areas God says we should submit, then we disobey God’s sovereign authority.
Yes, we are free from sin. Yes, we are free from the law. Yes, we are free from condemnation. Yes, we are free from death. However, in taking notice of the last part in 1 Peter 2:16, Peter is giving an answer to our freedom. Christians are free from sin, but they are slaves to God. Freedom never means being free to do what you want. You are free to do what the dear Lord requires. 1 Corinthians 7:2:
For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave.
Christ bought us out of the slave market of sin to be free people, who then should willfully put ourselves at God’s service as servants of Jesus Christ. Whatever the Lord commands, that’s what we should do. He commands His people to have a right perspective on the governing authorities. They are for our good, but we have a responsibility in that system to properly respond in the way that pleases and honors God.
In that way, we put down the foolish people, the gainsayers, and the one’s that are against us. They look at us and say, “how come you’re not against this or protesting over here?” Then, you can tell them why you are not doing it.
In saying all of that, the question must come up, which is this: what do you do when the call to subjection goes against Christian duty? In 1 Peter 2:13, you are to submit to every human institution whether it is to a king, a president, prime minister, and those under them who carry out all the necessary things a government ought to.
What if the government tells us to do something immoral, antibiblical, or if the government tells us not to do what God said we should do? Then, there must be in Scripture limits to our obedience. A good example is found in Acts 4-5 where the Roman authorities were trying to get the Apostle Peter to stop speaking publicly about Christ. Peter and John told the authorities that if it came down to whether they would obey God or man, they would obey God and disobey man. Acts 4:19-20:
But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
There is a clear indication where they disobeyed those who had some authority whether it was religiously or politically. Meaning, there are limits to our obedience. Of course, that takes wisdom, and those two limits would fall under the extent of our Christian submission.
We are not called to obey laws that violate morality. For example, if the government tells us that we are commanded to get an abortion, then we can disobey that. Secondly, if they tell us that we cannot meet as a church, hold a Bible in our home, or preach somewhere, then we must disobey them.
In every case, even in the book of Acts, when an apostle or a believer disobeyed government or the religious part of the government, they were beat, put into prison, or something was done to them to send a message. However, they did no matter what because God was moving, and it is God’s will, so no one was going to hold back the Gospel. God is sovereign over government, and His will is for us to proclaim the Gospel. Finally, Peter said to them that we must obey God rather than man.
If the civil powers commands something that God forbids or forbids something that God commands, we must disobey. While studying, I came across a good point and this is what the person said:
In Scripture, the believer’s submission to human authorities is always partial and proximate. Blind obedience is never required. The Christian is always, in principle, ready to rebel and say no in the face of wicked command. For we must obey God rather than man.
If times come that we must disobey, we must do it respectfully. We must use every legal channel to express our protest. If we resort to anarchy to promote our cause, we are violating the principle of submission to authorities. Violence, vandalism, and other destructive acts are to be avoided by believers at all costs and all times. However, there are Biblical examples of God’s people refusing to obey laws that violate morality and hinder obedience to God.
Take the midwives of Egypt, who refused to murder the newborn Hebrew boys under the king’s order. They want to obey God rather than man. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s image even though the penalty for refusal was to be throne into a furnace of blazing fire. Daniel refused to obey the law of King Darius, who was forbidding anyone to pray to God, and refusal meant to be thrown into the lion’s den.
As I was reading my chronological daily Bible reading, I came across the story of King Saul when he ordered his body guards to massacre the priests of the Lord, and they refused even though they knew they would be severely punished or put to death. Most likely, they saw it was wrong, evil, and displeasing to the Lord. They knew that there was a higher authority than King Saul. John, the Baptist, spoke out against the immoral lives of King Herod and his stolen wife even though he faced imprisonment and finally beheaded.
All these situations from Scripture, and one’s I didn’t even mention, say that a Christian must have a very strong understanding of where they stand with God, but also where they stand in relationship to governing authorities.
Let’s face it, if they tell us we cannot meet, we’re going to meet. Even if it is some tree somewhere, we will meet. If they take your property, we are going to meet. If we have air to breathe, blood running through our veins, and a Bible in our hand, then we’re going to meet somewhere. You don’t have to have a building and grounds to meet. God owns the earth, so we will meet anywhere.
It may come to that, and in some countries, it is like that for Christians. We have a creampuff existence as Christians. We don’t even know what persecution is, but there definitely is persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ right now that is unimaginable to us. Even looking at what they are going through, you must honestly say to yourself, “If that happened to me, can I go through that? Would I survive? Would I denounce the name of Christ?”
If you live in America, you are blessed with its freedoms and opportunities. That is not the case with many of our Christian brethren spread throughout the world. Because they are Christian, they are a threat to their own governing authorities. This week, I was reading an article in a magazine, and it said this:
It has been reported, in a recent publication, that the persecution of Christians in other nations is not solely inflicted at the hands of Islamic radicals, but also authoritarian governments and social tribalism. Their faith seen as an affront to their countries dominant religious group, and a threat to tradition, national values, and government regimes.
Lastly, when you read 1 Peter 2:17, you may read and bypass it real fast. It is structured in an important way. If you don’t know the priority structure that you are supposed to have as a believer, it is in this passage. When it comes to this subject of subjection and governing authorities, there are attitudes of Christian subjection, and these attitudes are to all the levels and groups of people.
First, honor all people, or respect all people. Meaning, these are the outsiders and external relationships that we will have with people, who are one the same level with us. In other words, Christians are to respect all human beings because they are created in the image of God. They are to do this regardless of social status, race, gender, creed, skin color, and nationality. We ought to respect all people, which is a Christian mandate.
Second, we move to the internal group, which is to love the brotherhood, who are the insiders and the internal relationships we will have with our Christian family. Us, also being on the same level, where we love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Because we have a special family connection to them, we bare the image of Jesus Christ since we have received the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are family, and in fact, we are more family than our family because we are in Christ. To the brotherhood, we are to love them and be loyal to them.
Then, there is the second internal category in 1 Peter 2:17, which is the fear and reverence of God. Christians are insiders with God because of Christ’s work on the cross. However, God is above us and is a sovereign King. Therefore, He is the only one we are to fear. The fear of God refers to reverence as well as terror because He is sovereign over all. Matthew 10:28:
Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Lastly, honor and respect the king. Now, we move to the outside group again, but this outside group is with people that are above us. In other words, they have authority over us. However, only God should receive our fear. The king should fear the sovereign Lord because it will show that they know that they are responsible to God like in 2 Samuel 23:3:
The God of Israel said,
The Rock of Israel spoke to me,
‘He who rules over men righteously,
Who rules in the fear of God
According to Scripture, once a person is in office, there should always be a display of respect and honor for the person who holds the office because God says so and has ordained ruling authorities. God has granted to us our president in office, and they are ministers of God whether they acknowledge it or not. The watching world takes notice of the way the Christian community extends proper honor to their governmental leaders, so what is the best way to honor our leaders?
Because we are citizens in this country and we are to promote its welfare, it is to pray for them. That is one of the ways, but not the only one. The dutiful responsibility of the Christian falls under all these: to pray for them that they will be just, to pray for those who rule to fear God, to pray for them that they will punish evildoers, to pray for them that they will praise do-gooders, and to pray that they would be converted to Christ. Let’s not forget what it says in Proverbs 21:1:
The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.
If we want to move the kings heart, the leaderships heart, the presidents heart, and those who surround him, we ought to be praying to the Lord that He would move the channels of their heart. He turns it whatever way He wishes. I will conclude with 1 Timothy 2:1-3:
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.
You see the benefit we have by doing this. Don’t you want to live a tranquil and quiet life? Everybody does; though, in all Godliness and dignity. When we do that, that is something that is acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior. That should be the result of us following this command to submit ourselves, for the Lord’s sake, to the governing authorities that are above us.
No matter where we find ourselves living in the world, we want to learn to navigate the waters, so we give honor to God. Also, to have an influence where we live by being respectful and loyal to the brotherhood, that we would fear and reverence God, and that we would honor and respect those in authority. That is God’s will. Let’s pray:
Lord, Thank You for the word of God. Thank You, Lord, for the instruction that we find in it. Lord, without the instruction, we wouldn’t really know how to respond to some of these things. Lord, I pray for those who were listening, taking notes, and thinking through these things, that You would place in their heart a desire to want to be one of those people, who carries these things out. Make us discerning, prayerful citizens of this country. I pray, Lord, that we would do it in a way with a goal. Not only to honor You, Lord, but to be able to get the attention of people. We are different so that we may share the Gospel, so they, too, may become citizens of the Kingdom of God. I pray this, in Your name. Amen.