A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): Pastor John Randall reminds the church of its purpose.

John Randall: It's important to remember, of course, yes, we are to stand for what is right and be involved and be informed, but at the same time, listen church, this is really important to me as I've navigated through this in my own life and tried to lead you to the best of my ability is that I never want to exchange the purpose of the church which is to be advancing the kingdom of God and trying to take on the task of moralizing a culture that wants no desire to be moralized.

My job, my role, the church's role is the Great Commission and that is to preach the uncompromising message of the gospel of Jesus Christ that leads people to salvation. Folks, I don't know if you're aware of this or not, I think you are, but there is no legislation that can be lobbied for that can change the hearts of men and women, only the gospel has that kind of power. We want people to be saved. It's important to remember this.

Guest (Male): As believers in Christ, we are called to live out our faith to live in such a way that we're a good testimony to the watching, unbelieving world. Our Lord commands it and our world needs it. Now part of that involves being a good model citizen. Today on A Daily Walk, we'll bring you a refresher in Christian citizenship. Head over to 1st Peter chapter 2 as we bring to life verses 13 through 25. Pastor John Randall is about to point out how we're to live as Christians in a pagan world.

John Randall: Great to be back here with you on this Sunday. If you have your Bibles, if you'd open with me now to the book of 1st Peter chapter 2 this morning. 1st Peter chapter 2 and I want to draw your attention beginning in verse 13. Therefore, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme or to the governors as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.

For this is the will of God that by doing good, you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men as free, yet not using your liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. We're currently in a section of this epistle where the apostle Peter is instructing believers whom he referred to as strangers in a strange land to live their lives in such a way that they would honor God and be examples to the unbelieving world.

This wasn't an easy task, especially because of the increase of persecution that they were faced with. At the time in which this letter was written, Caesar Nero was the emperor of Rome and Nero led a great persecution against Christians in the first century. Historians reveal that Nero would take Christians and he would place them in his garden and he would use them as human torches. He would ride through his garden unclothed on horseback screaming, "Light of the world, light of the world."

Furthermore, it was during his reign of terror that both Peter and Paul were martyred. However, as bad as things were, Peter encouraged the church to maintain a good witness as citizens of Rome. Now, I want to pause for a moment before we proceed and I want to mention something that is very important when it comes to teaching and preaching the word of God. First of all, it's important to understand that the word of God is like a two-edged sword. It's double-edged.

The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 4 in verse 12 that the word of God is living and powerful, that it is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and the intents of the heart. There is a temptation from time to time to take one side of a passage and miss the other side of the passage and in our text today, this would be one of those prime examples.

It would be easy as a pastor to take a text like the one that is before us where Peter refers to submitting to governing authorities and civil obedience and instead use this as a catalyst or pretext to preach about when civil disobedience is necessary. I could turn to multiple examples in the scriptures that would emphasize that point. We could go to the book of Exodus and we could consider together the Egyptian midwives, how they were commanded by Pharaoh to take all of the male children and to drown them in the Nile, in which they defied those orders, they protected the children, and God blessed them.

We could go to the three Hebrew men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, there in the book of Daniel and how they were commanded when the music played to bow before the golden statue which Nebuchadnezzar had put up, and they refused and they were thrown into the furnace and yet they were delivered. You could go a little bit further in the book of Daniel when Daniel was told not to pray any longer and yet he opened up his windows and three times a day he prayed facing Jerusalem. He was thrown into the lion's den and delivered.

We could go to the New Testament and we could consider when Peter and John or the apostles were warned not to preach in the name of Jesus any longer and they even were beaten for their witness and yet they continued to defy civil authority. It'd be easy to preach on that. In this house, in this place, in this congregation, we would easily say, "Yes and amen," to those examples of civil disobedience because we stand for what's right and we vote biblically and we should.

However, listen carefully now, this is the other side of the double-edged sword. In the context, Peter is not talking about civil disobedience, but rather civil obedience and submission to authority in a way that honors and glorifies God. In our politically charged world over the last several years, there have been various extremes that one could observe. You have those ministries, perhaps in churches, that won't touch on the subject of civil disobedience and are compliant, uninvolved, uninformed to a fault.

On the other hand, you have those ministries and churches and even pastors that don't ever touch on civil obedience and every sermon is a call to action and they rarely seem to even open the scriptures anymore. Sermons quickly become more of a political diatribe than an actual exposition of biblical text. The problem, and this is just a warning as you study the word and as the word is preached, but the problem becomes when you take a text and you make it say what you want it to say or what you would prefer it to say rather than what the Holy Spirit intended it to say.

We don't want to be guilty of ever deconstructing a passage to bolster our own personal position. That is a danger. I mention that to say that in biblical preaching, the text that you are reading, that you are studying is considered key because it serves as the foundation and primary source of authority for the message. It is equally important when studying that text to study it in its context, that is the verses before and the verses after so that you know what the thought is, so you know what the flow is in what is being communicated.

If you take a passage out of scripture and you just run with it and you don't compare it to the rest of scripture, that's how cults get started. They take scriptures out of context. That's how false teaching grows, taking scriptures out of context and not understanding the meaning and we will not do that here. Notice the proper context. Peter writes the word, make note of it, "Therefore." Therefore serves as a connection word to what Peter had stated previously in verse 12.

Look back at verse 12 in context. What does he say? 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. What follows being an example in the area of civil obedience is opportunity to put your Christian conduct on display for the unbelieving world. That is why Peter says, "Therefore, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king or to the governors as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God."

In the early centuries of the church, believers were not only governed by pagans that persecuted them, but within their paganism there was this pagan worship. Their social and economic and political systems were also pagan. The church maintained its primary allegiance to Jesus as Lord instead of saying Caesar was Lord and that led to confrontation and sometimes imprisonment and even martyrdom. But in addition to having trouble with Rome, Christianity had also broken from Judaism and the Jewish hierarchy perceived a powerful rival in the followers of Jesus and they sought to stir up trouble everywhere that the church went.

You see, although Christians were pilgrims and this world was not their home, they were still called by the Lord to submit to civil authority. Peter didn't want to be misunderstood. He didn't want his readers to think that separation from worldliness meant disobedience in the area of citizenship. In fact, a Christian, a born-again believer, should be a model citizen for others to follow, for we are not called to be lawbreakers, but we are called to be peacemakers.

We are citizens of heaven and thus our behavior and manner of life should reflect our citizenship. Heavenly privileges don't relieve us of civil responsibility. Peter calls these believers here to submit, which by the way is a military expression literally meaning to arrange in formation under a commander. In Proverbs chapter 24, the writer of Proverbs said something very similar. He said, "My son, fear the Lord and the king. Don't associate with those who are given to change, for their calamity will rise suddenly and who knows the ruin that comes from both of them."

Honor the king, respect him, in other words, have a reverence for those that are in authority over you, those that are in leadership. Romans chapter 13, Paul says something very similar where the apostle Paul declared, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. There's no authority except from God, and God appoints the authorities that exist. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves."

In other words, if you break the law, you're going to suffer the consequence. Don't be a lawbreaker, be a law-abiding citizen, and we should. There should be this reverence and understanding and submission to civil authority. Even Jesus, when he was questioned on a very controversial issue concerning taxes in Matthew chapter 22, Jesus responded and he said, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."

Did you know that as believers, we're not only to be law-abiding, good model citizens and demonstrate civil obedience to the authority over us, but did you know we're also supposed to pray for our leaders? The Bible tells us that. I find it much easier now to pray than before. My prayers have actually changed significantly. I used to pray some serious prayers to which the Lord has answered, but 1st Timothy chapter 2 tells us, it says this, "I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence."

This should be our desire. It's important to remember, of course, yes, we are to stand for what is right and be involved and be informed, but at the same time, listen church, this is really important to me as I've navigated through this in my own life and tried to lead you to the best of my ability is that I never want to exchange the purpose of the church which is to be advancing the kingdom of God and trying to take on the task of moralizing a culture that wants no desire to be moralized.

My job, my role, the church's role is the Great Commission and that is to preach the uncompromising message of the gospel of Jesus Christ that leads people to salvation. Folks, I don't know if you're aware of this or not, I think you are, but there is no legislation that can be lobbied for that can change the hearts of men and women, only the gospel has that kind of power. We want people to be saved. It's important to remember this.

When Jesus walked the earth and the government was as bad as it is today, perhaps even at times worse, what was he doing? What were the apostles doing in the book of Acts? Well, they were preaching the gospel and do you know what it says concerning them? It says that they turned the world upside down. Oh, would to God that the church was able to turn our world upside down with the message of the gospel. That's what changes cities, that's what changes communities, that's what changes families.

It's the message of the gospel. That is what we are to be preaching and I think it is a sad day if we leave the use of the pulpit which is for the proclamation of the life-giving message of the word of God and we only emphasize political agendas. I think that is an unfortunate thing and that won't happen here. There is a balance that we must strike and that is important for us to do. The point is simply this, what Peter is driving home in the context of his message here to this church, that they under civil authority were to live respectably.

Why? Why should they? He tells them in verse 15, "This is the will of God." Oftentimes people say, "What's God's will for my life?" Here's part of it right here. What is it? The will of God to live respectably, to be a good model citizen and that by doing good in this way, what happens? You may, it's possible, you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Peter had already talked about there's going to be those that are accusing you, they're going to be saying all things against you, but listen, you live your life in such a way that anything that they say will not hold up.

It won't stand because you live above reproach. In the same way as you are a good model citizen, you may, it's possible, silence ignorant people. They just don't know what they're talking about. And the word that he uses for silence is a very interesting word because it is a word that means to muzzle, to put a muzzle on it. It's the same word that Jesus used in Mark's gospel chapter 4 when he said to the storm, "Peace, be still. Be muzzled," and it was calm.

It's the same thing that it says concerning Jesus in Matthew's gospel in chapter 22 where it says the Pharisees heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence and they gathered themselves together. I mean he silenced them, he muzzled them just by what he said, by the way he lived. One of our greatest evangelistic tools is how we live as Christians. It's a powerful tool, a powerful testimony. Charles Spurgeon said this, he said, "A man's life is always more forcible than his speech. When men take stock of him, they reckon his deeds as dollars and his words as pennies. If his life and doctrine disagree, then the mass of onlookers accept his practice and they reject his preaching."

Jesus said it best in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 16. He said, "Let your light so shine before men that when they see your good works, they may glorify your Father who is in heaven." When we model good citizenship in this world, not only is this the will of God, but often it ends up silencing the critics who are ignorant of truth. Peter exhorts the believers, live your life in such a way that again it serves as a testimony to the unbelieving world.

Do people see that? Granted, it's okay to celebrate your position politically and be excited about it, but don't let that overshadow your love for Jesus. Don't let it overshadow the preaching of the gospel. Don't let it replace it because I hope you know this and again, I'm sure that you do, you know this, that Jesus doesn't just want to save America, he came to save the world. He came to save the world, folks. That includes the entire world, not just us.

And sometimes we can become very myopic and we only think in terms of our thing, save America. Save the world! He's the savior and who does he use? He uses the church to be that instrument because again, only his kingdom is going to last forever. All the other kingdoms will come to nothing. The Bible makes that emphatically and prophetically clear. Now, although the believers were encouraged submission to authority, Peter also reminded them, and this is good, here's the balance, here's the other side of it, verse 16, "As free." You're free people!

Yet not using your liberty as a cloak for vice. Interesting. As a believer in Jesus Christ, as a born-again Christian, you know what it means to be truly free. I think the freest people there are, are people who are born again, people who have been saved by Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us in Luke chapter 4, Jesus said concerning his ministry as he quoted from Old Testament scripture in Luke chapter 4 verse 18, he said, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who were oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

Jesus came to set people free, people who were in bondage like us to sin. He came to deliver us. We were oppressed and he freed us. He broke the chains that bound us. That is what he does. He's a savior, a deliverer. In John chapter 8, Jesus said it this way in verse 31, "If you continue in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. If the Son sets you free, then you will be free indeed."

Real freedom, true freedom is found in knowing the word and in knowing Jesus. And then in 2nd Corinthians 3:17, Paul said, "Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Oh, we are free in Christ. We have been liberated. Now when we talk about Christian liberty, it can refer to several things. Again, the gospel of Jesus Christ provides liberty. We have been freed from the bondage of sin and death.

But the Bible also speaks of a Christian's liberty in the context of what a Christian should be involved with and what a Christian should avoid being involved with, Christian liberty. Peter gives a warning here concerning the tendency in human nature to use liberty in Christ as a license to sin. He said, "Don't do it. Don't use your liberty that you have in Christ as a cloak for vice." When he uses the word cloak, it's the idea of Christian freedom that is masked for ungodly license. It gives you the appearance to cloak the real intention of the state of affairs, offering a false reason or a false motive, an excuse or explanation.

Guest (Male): We'll hear more about Christian liberty on the next edition of A Daily Walk when Pastor John Randall will return to 1st Peter chapter 2. You can listen to our recent programs on our website at adailywalk.org or wherever you get your podcasts. We also offer an app too. To download our app, do a search for Calvary South OC and check out A Daily Walk devotional video there at our website as well for daily encouragement from Pastor John. That's adailywalk.org.

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