Freedom to Be Subject

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh,

which wage war against your soul.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers,

they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of this occasion.

Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,

whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil,

and to praise those who do good.

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, dear God, honor the emperor.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

So, we're in an interesting season as a nation.

It's a presidential election season.

And this year in particular seems to be very divisive and caustic.

So, on the one hand, we have Donald Trump and people who oppose him paint him as an egomaniac who is immature and incompetent.

On the other hand, we have Hillary Clinton and then people who oppose her paint her as someone who is corrupt and unfit to lead our nation.

Right.

Right.

And both parties, it seems to me, to be resolutely set against the other party, the other side.

And it seems like, I mean, if they're going to be elected, I don't know what's going to happen with these people.

It doesn't seem like they're ever going to throw their support into this other party.

It's a particularly caustic election cycle.

And in this kind of environment, especially we could ask ourselves, as Christians, how are we supposed to relate to the governing authorities, to the human institutions?

How, I mean, should we, what if someone that we don't support is elected and they seem to institute policies that we deem unconscionable, that we can't really get behind?

How are we supposed to then relate to the human institutions in the government?

Do we say, well, forget this, since we're sojourners and exiles in this world anyway, let's not have nothing to do with the government and do our own thing?

Or what's the proper posture as a Christian?

And even though the Bible is a heavenly book that deals with spiritual matters, it also deals with things that are immediate like this, that has direct import and addresses how we are to relate in our everyday lives.

And this passage in particular addresses these questions in 1 Peter 2, 11-17.

And what it tells us is that Christians ought to be subject to human institutions as servants of God.

So that's the two parts.

And the way he teaches us this, 1 Peter, is that first he tells us how we are to be subject.

So what does it look like to be subject to human institutions?

And then second, he tells us why we are to be subject.

That's because we are servants of God.

So Christians ought to be subject to human institutions as servants of God.

And what does that look like for us to be subject to human institutions?

Because we live in an in-between age, right, between the first resurrection of Christ and then the resurrection of the dead.

So we're in the in-between age where the kingdom of God has come, it has begun, but it has not yet been consummated and fulfilled.

So we live in a world where good and evil coexist.

So in that context, how are we to relate to and be subject to human institutions?

So let's look at verse 11.

It starts by saying, first, we are to be as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

That's the command from Peter.

And the pair of words, sojourners and exiles, we've gone over this before, come from Genesis 23, 4,

where Abraham describes himself to the Hittites as, I am a sojourner and foreigner among you.

And the idea behind this is that sojourners and foreigners do not have the privileges and responsibilities that are incumbent upon citizens.

So they don't have to fulfill the same duties and they don't have, consequently, the same privileges.

And for that reason, foreigners are kind of looked at with suspicion.

So, for example, even at just a very local level, if you were to be in a classroom and a new student comes,

that student is going to face more scrutiny, not only by the teacher, but also by the peers,

because they see, okay, well, if he's new, what is this person going to be like?

In the same way, when we have immigrants that come to our country, they are under greater scrutiny,

because we say, what are these people going to be like?

What do they believe?

Do they hold the same values that we have?

Right?

So it's human nature to look with greater scrutiny on the people that are foreign and sojourners and foreigners.

And in that context, the Christians, then Peter is telling us, we're sojourners and exiles as well.

And as people who hold to, have an allegiance to a different God, a different king, ultimate authority,

we're going to also be looked at with some skepticism and curiosity.

And in that context, we're supposed to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against our soul.

And if you remember from verses 14 to 15 of chapter 1, Peter had said almost an identical thing.

He says,

So the word conduct and word passions, they both occur again here in verses 11 to 12.

And he seems to be getting at the same idea, right?

He's saying, you know, you ought to be holy because God is holy,

and you ought to live this way in a blameless manner so that you are not following the passions of the flesh as the rest of the world is doing.

So there seems to be a contrast in the way Christians are supposed to live and the way the world lives.

But there's an important twist here,

because it doesn't seem to be setting the way we live up against the way the world lives.

Because if you look at verses 14 to 15,

it says,

And same thing in verse 12.

It says,

Do you guys catch that?

So what's parallel here is that the urging to, as sojourners in exile,

to abstain from the passions of the flesh on the one hand,

is parallel to living in honorably and doing good deeds,

so that even the Gentiles recognize that and glorify God on the visitation, right?

So what's going on here then is not,

Christian community is all good,

and non-Christian community is all evil.

And how Christians live is all good,

and how non-Christians live is all evil.

Rather, Peter is assuming that there is some common ground.

Because he's saying that the way you live,

when you live and abstain from the passions of the flesh,

there's the Gentiles, the unbelievers,

are going to be able to recognize the good deeds that you do,

and agree with you that they are good deeds,

and glorify God on the basis of those good deeds.

Did you guys catch that?

Right?

So that's an important twist that Peter is adding here.

So he's saying that the way we live honorably,

and when we live and do good,

it's going to be accepted also by the norms of our society.

And this is a much more nuanced understanding

of the way Christians relate to society

than all the form and fray of the cultural wars would suggest.

And this is because it's not a binary category, right?

So it's Christian good and society evil.

So if you look at verses 13 to 15,

Peter continues with this thought.

He says,

Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,

whether it be to the emperor as supreme,

or to governor as sent by him,

to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.

For this is the will of God,

that by doing good you should put to silence

the ignorance of foolish people.

Once again, Peter is not saying if you do good,

you're going to be punished for it by the government.

He's saying when you do good,

you're going to be praised by the government, right?

He's saying,

And that doing those good things

is going to silence people who are slandering us

and speaking evil of us.

And note the repetition of the word good.

It occurs three times in verse 12,

that they may see our good deeds,

so that human authorities in verse 14

may praise those who do good.

And in verse 15,

by doing good,

we silence the slander of the Gentiles,

of unbelievers.

So if this is something that's a common ground,

it's something that believers and unbelievers can agree on,

that is good,

then what is this good?

And it doesn't seem to me that what is good,

considered good here,

is a simple observance of the law, right?

So being law-abiding citizens,

and that is a good thing,

but I don't think that that's the kind of good

that Peter is referring to,

because he says that the governing authorities

are going to praise us for it, right?

Because governing authorities,

human institutions,

they don't praise us for just observing the law, right?

I mean, you get a ticket if you speed,

but you don't get a financial reward

for driving at a speed limit, right?

I mean, that never happens.

When you break the law,

then you're punished,

but you don't get praise for simply observing the law

because that's expected,

that's taken for granted.

So this good that the government praises

has to be something more,

something that goes beyond

a simple observance of the law.

And I think what he has in mind

is something that goes beyond mere observance

and deserves commendation,

deserves commendation from people.

And so I was looking up some examples from our city,

and in the 13th annual award ceremony

of the Cambridge Police Department,

they honored the employees of the 1369 Coffee House

because they defended a woman

who was getting attacked at Central Square.

So they received what they call the Citizen's Award.

And so that's an obvious example

of they're doing something that's commendable.

That's a good deed

that our human institutions praise, right?

So obviously it doesn't have to be something

as dramatic and extraordinary for us.

I mean, how often are we going to run into someone

who's being attacked?

But there's many things that we know

our culture, our society also praises

and approves of as good, right?

For example, volunteering at the food pantry

of the East End House, like we've done,

and like serving at Casper Emergency Services

and Shelter to work with the homeless in Area 4

and drug addicts in Area 4,

to volunteer for the annual cleanup day

in East Cambridge, right?

All of these things are things

that are commonly by unbelievers

and believers alike as seen as good.

And the government will praise us for these things.

And this is a, it was particularly,

it reminded me of the talk that I listened to

when I was at the Lausanne Congress

for World Evangelization in 2010.

Tim Keller was the speaker

for this particular session.

And he's kind of a, he's a pastor in New York City

who kind of specializes in urban ministry.

And he says that there's a drastic difference,

cultural difference between the suburbs

and the urban cities.

And that some things that you can, you know,

just slip by and not have to emphasize,

you don't have to emphasize in the suburban areas,

you have to emphasize in the urban areas

in order to get, succeed.

And he says, and he writes this,

he says, the church in the urban cities

needs to be famous in its care for the poor.

If the city sees you only evangelizing

and growing that way,

they will assume that you're just out for power and money

because you're just trying to increase your tribe.

But if the city sees you caring about the poor,

caring about issues of justice in the city,

they will say, well, maybe these people

really are characterized by Jesus' love.

A good urban church is a church

in which the neighbors around look at that church

and say, I don't agree with many of the things they teach.

In fact, some of the things they teach offend me,

but I don't know what the city would do without them.

If that church went away,

we'd have to raise taxes

because they're pressing so much value into the city.

That's the kind of church we need to be.

And we have to become known,

become famous for the good deeds

throughout East Cambridge

and throughout Cambridge and Boston.

And instead of expending all our energy

on the things that the world disagrees with us on,

says these are bad things

and these are good things.

And let's excel in areas

where even the unbelieving world,

the watching world will say,

that is good.

That is to be praised.

That is praiseworthy.

Keep your conduct among unbelievers honorable,

he says,

so that when they speak against us as evildoers,

they may see our good deeds

and glorify God on the day of visitation.

And this promises,

it is such a promising thing

that it gives us so much hope for evangelism as well

because he says,

what he's saying here is that

if we are conducting ourselves honorably

and if we are doing these good deeds

that are praised,

even by the unbelieving world,

and we evangelize and share the gospel

and bear witness in that context,

then he's saying that the people will come to know God

and as a consequence,

on the day of visitation,

which is the day of judgment,

when Christ returns,

these people will not be trembling in fear

and condemned,

but they will actually glorify God

on the day of visitation

because they would have,

through our ministry,

through our witness,

through our good deeds,

they would have been brought to a place

where they can accept Christ

and love God.

So that's such a wonderful promise

that this passage has for us.

And so this is how we are to be subject

to human institutions,

but what about other institutions?

So if that's the way we're supposed to relate

to the government,

and are there only certain kinds of institutions

that we're supposed to be subject to?

And he says,

be subject,

in verse 13 to 14,

to every human institution,

right?

Whether it be to the emperor as supreme

or to governor as sent by him.

This is a really challenging categorical command,

right?

It doesn't matter who,

every human institution,

be subject to them.

And this is reinforced in verse 17,

if you go look at that.

It says,

honor everyone,

love the brotherhood,

fear God,

honor the emperor,

right?

This is really just a kind of a recapitulation

of what he has said,

be subject to every human institution.

Honor everyone is the sociological dimension

to all of the people around you,

dimension.

Love the brotherhood,

that's the ecclesiological dimension,

that's the church,

right?

And he says,

fear God,

that's the personal spiritual dimension,

right?

And he says,

honor the emperor,

that's the political dimension.

So what he's saying basically is,

in every arena of life,

be subject to human institutions.

That's what God's commanding us to do.

And conduct ourselves honorably

and do good deeds.

A Bible commentator,

Robert Leighton,

writes this,

puts this in a really eloquent way.

He says,

when a Christian walks irreprovable,

irreprovably,

his enemies have nowhere to fasten their teeth on him,

but are forced to gnaw their own malignant tongues,

as it secures the godly,

thus to stop the lying mouths of foolish men.

So it is as painful to them to be thus stopped,

as muzzling is to beasts,

and it punishes their malice.

And this is a wise Christian's way.

Instead of impatiently fretting at the mistakes

or willful miscensures of men,

to keep still on his calm temper of mind,

an upright course of life,

and silent innocence,

this,

as a rock,

breaks the waves into foam

that roar about it.

So solid in our good deeds,

in our honorable conduct,

to break the waves into foam

of all the criticism,

of all the slander that roar about it.

But if that's how we are to be subject,

obviously that begs the question,

what if these human institutions are ungodly?

Right?

Because this passage assumes

that the governors are sent by him

to punish those who do evil

and praise those who do good,

but what if the human institutions

praise those who do evil

and punish those who do good?

Then how are we to be subject

to these human institutions?

In order to answer that question,

we have to first answer the question of

why we are to be subject

to human institutions.

It says,

Peter says,

in verse 16,

live as people who are free,

not using your freedom

as a cover-up for evil,

but living as servants of God.

So you'd think that the command

to be subject

would be rooted in our slavery,

saying that,

well, you are God,

you are slaves,

so just be subject.

You have no choice.

You're servile subjects

of the human institutions,

so be subject.

That's not the root,

the grounding of his command.

He's saying the root

of our being subject

to human institutions

is not our subjection,

it's our freedom,

right?

It's the fact that we are free people,

and now we are servants of God

and free people.

That's why we are to be subject

to human institutions.

Not because these human authorities

have ultimate authority over us,

but because God has ultimate authority

over us,

and it's his will

that we are to be subject

to these human institutions.

And it's only those

who are ultimately subject to God,

the servants of God,

that are truly free.

Let me explain

what I mean by that.

Arthur Leff,

who used to be a legal scholar

teaching at Yale Law School,

a couple decades ago,

wrote this article

called

Unspeakable Ethics,

Unnatural Law.

And in it he writes this,

says,

In the presumed absence of God,

the only available evaluators

are people.

Then,

only a determinate

and reasonably small number

of kinds of ethical

and legal systems

can be generated.

Each such system

will be strongly differentiated

by the axiomatic answer

it chooses to give

to one key question.

Who among us

ought to be able

to declare law

that ought to be obeyed?

Stated that baldly,

the question is so

intellectually unsettling

that one would expect

to find a noticeable number

of legal and ethical thinkers

trying not to come

to grips with it.

If each person

is a godlet,

a little god,

there is no room

for a valid society.

If each society is God,

there is no space

for individual freedom.

Either God exists

or he does not,

but if he does not,

nothing

and no one else

can take his place.

To illustrate

at this point,

you might fancy

that as you're driving

on the road,

if there were no traffic laws,

you know,

that you'd be

really liberating.

You know,

you could go as fast

as you want,

you could run

all the red lights,

you could do

whatever you want,

that you would,

you'd think that

that'd be very liberating,

but that is actually

not the case.

In fact,

the precise opposite

is true,

because if there were

no traffic laws,

you would never know

when a car in front of you

is going to stop,

when the car

that's across the street

is going to start

going over your road,

when they're going to,

when they're going

to change lanes.

If you don't know,

there's no traffic laws

to govern the traffic,

then you would be

in constant paranoia

and fear,

and it would cause

destruction.

There will be absolutely

no freedom

for anybody,

right?

It's only when

there's law-abiding drivers

out on the road,

and there's a clear law

that governs everything

that people do

on the road,

that you can truly be free,

and you can truly drive.

Without fear,

right?

In the same way,

it's in society,

unless we are subject

to God and His rule

and His blueprint

for creation,

because He's our creator,

we can't live

as free people,

because if we set

our own standards,

and if everybody else

set their own standards,

this is how you ought

to live,

this is how I should live,

if that's the case,

then we'll be disposed

to everybody else's

whims and wills,

and have no true freedom,

right?

That's why only those

who are ultimately

subject to God,

so that's why

being servants of God

is,

it means that we're free.

It's because we're

servants of God

that we are free,

and Christians

are these people.

We have been ransomed

from our slavery

to sin,

so that we are now

servants of God,

and it's because

we are servants of God,

and it is the will

of God,

it says,

that we're to be subject

to every human institution,

that we,

not for our sake,

not for the government's sake,

but for the Lord's sake,

as it says in verse 13,

we are to be subject

to human institutions.

And what's the purpose,

verse 12,

so that people will see

our good deeds

and glorify God

on the day of visitation.

We subject ourselves

to human institutions

for the Lord's sake,

so that He would be glorified,

not because we're ultimately

loyal to,

or subject to,

earthly governments.

And this is what

Martin Luther had in mind

and wrote in his book

On the Freedom of the Christian.

A Christian is a perfectly

free Lord of all,

subject to none.

A Christian is a perfectly

dutiful servant,

subject to all.

We're simultaneously,

as believers,

subject to none,

and subject to all.

We're perfectly free Lord,

but perfectly dutiful servants

at the same time.

So that means

we subject ourselves

to human institutions

not out of impotence,

but out of our freedom

that we have in Christ.

And so now that we know

the reason

why we are to be subject,

so Christians ought to be

subject to human institutions

as servants of God.

That's the reason.

And that reason also qualifies

how we ought to be subject.

Because if our ultimate allegiance

is to God

and not to human institutions,

then when the government,

human institutions,

contradict what God

would say and do,

we have to agree

with the apostles

in Acts 5, 17-42.

Because they say

after being arrested

and charged

not to teach in Jesus' name,

they tell the Jewish authorities,

we must obey God

rather than men.

And this truth has

tremendous political implications.

Because while it's true

that as Christians,

the Christian program

for transforming the world,

it's not politics,

it's the gospel.

That is true.

But it's simply not true

that the gospel

is therefore apolitical.

Right?

The gospel is profoundly political

because it says,

no,

your ultimate allegiance

is not to these authorities,

it's to God.

Right?

And that's why

we can't neglect

involvement in politics,

that's why we can't neglect

involvement in social justice,

that's why we can't neglect

involvement in people's lives.

Right?

Because God calls us to it.

When Jesus ministered,

he healed the sick.

Right?

And preached the gospel.

Right?

Both were expressions

of his compassion for people.

And it has to be the same for us.

And the challenge then

for the Christian obviously

is to decide

where is our government

aligned with what God is doing.

Where are the human institutions

doing real good?

And how can we get in line with that

and do good deeds

as even they see

and agree with?

But at the same time,

to see where they disagree.

Where are their values

misaligned?

And they praise as good

what is evil.

Right?

And then to take a bold stance

on those issues.

Right?

Theologians Os Guinness

and David Walls

says this is how

that life ought to look.

He says,

We are to live in the world

in a stance of both

yes and no.

Affirmation and antithesis.

Of being against the world

and for the world.

This tension is crucial

to the faithfulness of the church

and to her integrity

and effectiveness in the world.

For the Christian faith

is unashamedly world-affirming

and has a peerless record

in contributing

to education,

to philanthropy,

to social reforms,

to medicine,

to rise of science,

to the emergence of democracy

and human rights.

And at the same time,

the Christian faith

is also world-denying,

insisting on the place

of prophets as well as priests,

on sacrifice as well as fulfillment,

on the importance of fasts

as well as feasts,

and on the place for exposing

and opposing the world

when its attitudes and actions

are against the commands of God

and the interests of humanity.

And that's why,

if you remember from verse 11,

Peter assumes,

expects the gospel

to be highly offensive

to some pockets of the population.

So he says,

as sojourners and exiles

abstain from the passions of the flesh,

there's going to be passions of the flesh

that's formed by the world

that we need to abstain from.

Yet he also expects the gospel

and its implications

to be highly attractive to people,

right?

Highly repelling and offensive,

but also highly attractive

to any pagan culture.

So he says,

they will see our good deeds

and glorify God

on the day of visitation.

And if you look at

our Christian involvement

in politics today,

especially in this country,

you see two impulses,

two extreme impulses.

And the first is to be

really vociferously,

you know,

just set against the government

and to just point out

every place where we disagree.

And it's just very loud

and there's a lot of clashing.

And that's,

and on the other hand,

there's also,

there are people who are really,

they blend in so seamlessly

that one,

people never,

never criticize them

because they think

that they agree

with everything that they do

and say.

The world thinks

that these Christians

agree with everything

they do and say

because they never say

anything otherwise.

They just blend in.

And then secondly,

they never give God

the glory

for how these people live

because they are not

living with reference

to God

in the way they do things.

When they do these good deeds,

they're not doing it

out of reference to God

and glorifying God

as they do it.

So these are,

both extremes

are excluded

by this passage.

It says,

no,

do good deeds,

be attractive

to those around you,

right?

Do good deeds

that even these people

will recognize,

even unbelievers

in your society,

in your neighborhood

will recognize

and give God

the glory for it.

But at the same time,

when the society,

when human institutions

turn against

what God

is calling you to do,

be bold,

right?

Speak up,

right?

But with the recognition

that it has to be

in the context

of these good deeds

that our evangelism

really bears fruit

and these people

will come to God

to glorify God

on a day of visitation.

And this is a hard

command,

obviously,

that Christians

ought to be subject

to human institutions

as servants of God.

But this is exactly

what Jesus did for us,

right?

So it says,

John 10,

17 to 18,

says,

For this reason

the Father loves me,

because I lay down

my life

that I might

take it up again.

No one takes it

from me,

but I lay it down

of my own accord.

I have authority

to lay it down

and I have authority

to take it up again.

This charge

I receive from my Father.

So no one took

Christ's life

from him,

right?

No one forced him

to lay his life down,

but he laid it down,

right?

Likewise,

no human institution

takes our freedom

from us.

They don't force us

to be subject.

But Jesus,

just as Jesus did it

because it was

Father's will,

so we do it

because it is

our Heavenly Father's will.

We subject ourselves

to even human institutions.

And it seems

difficult to maintain

this tension,

but throughout the ages

this is exactly

what Christians have done.

And if you look

at Christian history,

historian Alvin Schmidt

kind of points out

some of these things

in the book right there

called

How Christianity Changed the World.

He says Christian influence

in government

and society

was ultimately

what led to

the outlawing

of gladiatorial games

in the Roman Empire,

the infanticide,

right?

And the segregation

later of male

and female prisoners,

right?

This is all

to the Christian influence.

It's to the Christians' influence

that the practice

of human sacrifice

among the Irish

was abolished,

that the practice

of burning alive

widows in India

was abolished,

right?

It was because

of Christian influence

and how they lived

out the gospel

that the practice

of binding women's feet

in China

also was abolished,

right?

It was the Christian

idea of,

it was a Christian influence

that led to the advance

of education

for children

throughout Europe,

right?

And William Wilberforce,

as you guys know about,

led the charge

to abolish slavery,

right?

In the transatlantic

slave trade.

And even in America,

they said two-thirds

of the abolitionists

were all clergymen,

right?

They led the charge

throughout

to good deeds

that even the world

saw as good

and recognized

and praised God for.

And that's how

we ought to live.

And so let's continue

as a church

in this venerable tradition,

right?

To be subject

to human institutions

as servants of God.

With that in mind,

let's pray.