Christians as Citizens

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1 Peter 2:13 – 17

We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can download our service on iTunes or tune in for “The Good Word” each day on AM 1230 WSAL or on Hoosier Country  103.7 FM just after 8am. Today there’s a large part of our culture and society that ridicules, slanders, and condemns true Christians. Christians are often represented as uninformed rightists who condemn everyone who doesn’t think exactly as they do. The sad truth is way too many Christians let people think like that because they are themselves afraid of presenting a proper picture of what biblical Christianity really is. In this section Peter tells us how we as Christians are to live as proper citizens.

1. OUR PRACTICE = BE SUBJECT! V. 13. There are two words in this verse that raised the hair on the back of our necks. Those words are “subjection, and every.” If you remember earlier we learned subjection is a product of creation and is designed by God as protection rather than punishment. We also learned “every/all” is God’s requirement for true Biblical wealth from a spiritual viewpoint. So that leaves us just “human institutions.” Christians are to be subject first to God’s laws, then we follow the rules of human government. As true believers we are required to follow the law of the land only as long as those laws don’t violate or contradict God’s laws in any way. At any point where any government law goes against Scripture in any way, true Christians are at the point of conflict to follow God, not man! One writer explained it this way: Peter is telling us as true Christians we are to be subject to the Emperor = federal government; and the governor = state and local governments because of their redemptive relationship to the Lord. Nowhere does Scripture ever tell Christians they must rejoice with, agree with, or swallow everything that “comes out of the palace!” We are citizens of heaven and as such we are to live here as proper citizens within our governments.
2. OUR PREMISE = BE SERVANTS! V. 15, 16. Here Peter is telling us we are to live as free men, who are servants to God. The biblical truth is we cannot be servants of God until we are first freed from slavery in sin. Our salvation accomplishes that! The desire of the true Christians heart is to live in total servant-hood to God. When we as Christians do that, God than assumes responsibility for us and our reputation, and when the ungodly or unsaved trump up charges against us they are silenced! Finally notice
3. OUR PROCEDURE = BE! Peter gives us four imperatives that are hallmarks of Christian character. You will notice the first and the fourth are the same. Peter begins and ends with “honor.” He then uses three verbs that set the tone for all interpersonal relationships. Notice that honor and fear are directed from true Christians to all other people. Fear is directed only to God. In this context fear means fright, dread, or horror. It is not the Greek word translated “respect” rather it means dread fear. With a proper fear of God all other things fall into place. So the question is what kind of citizen are you?

If we can help you answer your spiritual questions, call us at (574) 643-9419.