#DailyDevotion Living Out Your Christian Life To Please God
1 Peter 2: 13Submit to every human authority to please the Lord: to the emperor as one who is over you, 14or to governors as men whom he sent to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. 15God wants you to silence ignorant and foolish people by doing right. 16Act as free men, and don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do wrong, but be God’s slaves. 17Honor everyone. Love your fellow Christians. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 18Servants, submit to your masters, showing every respect, not only when they’re good and kind but also when they’re unfair.
Why does Peter tell us to submit to every human authority? To please the LORD Jesus. It pleases the LORD Jesus because according to Paul in Romans 13, every authority was placed there by God. When we submit to them, we are submitting to Jesus as their Lord. Peter even told the people of his day to submit to the emperor who a pagan and to governors who are pagan. That has not changed with the times. Our LORD Jesus Christ set up these authorities to “punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.” Though I have to admit, there seems to be a lot less praise these days for those who do right. Certainly, we respectfully disobey them if it means opposing the revealed will of God in the Scriptures.
By submitting ourselves to the authorities we thereby silence ignorant and foolish people by doing right. In Peter’s day, many people were accusing Christians of being revolutionaries and troublemakers, even atheists, because they did not worship the false gods or offer a pinch of incense to the image of the emperor. Many may say that of Christians today who do not subscribe to the call to put aside morality and endorse whatever sin they are pushing for as normal now. Yet by our being good citizens and following the laws of the place we live in we can silence their accusations.
We are free men in Christ. The accusation of the Law no longer can touch us. Yet we were also bought with a price, the blood of Christ. We are called to be God’s slaves which truly is ultimate freedom, though those who oppose Christ and God see it as tyranny because the LORD’s freedom opposes every perverted instinct they have. As Freemen in Jesus we are called to honor everyone. Paul also reminds us of this in many places. In Romans 10:4 he says, “Outdo one another in showing respect.” In Phil. 2 he says, “3Don’t be selfish or proud, but humbly treat others as better than yourselves.” In such fashion we will show who we truly worship. For all people were made in the image and likeness of God. We should treat them according to this honor and dignity.
Love your fellow Christians is the great command given on Maundy Thursday. Jesus told us to love one another as he has loved us. It was to be sign to those on the outside of who we are and that we are different. This is different from love your neighbor as yourselves. This requires sacrifice on our part as Jesus sacrificed himself for us.
Finally, we are to show respect to those over us even if they are unfair. That is how Jesus acted and through that he won our salvation. Perhaps the LORD will through us bring them into Christ through imitation of him.
Heavenly Father, give us your Holy Spirit so we give glory and praise to your name and Christ’s name through our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.