Exiles & Government 1 Peter 2:13-17 w Steven Sage November 8, 2015 w Faith Church. Introduction

Transcription

1 Exiles & Government 1 Peter 2:13-17 w Steven Sage November 8, 2015 w Faith Church Introduction We ve been working our way through the book of 1 Peter. As we ve seen, Peter writes this letter to a group of largely Gentile churches throughout Asia Minor, what is much of the country of Turkey today. He began the letter by addressing these Christians as elect exiles of the dispersion. These are words that were used of OT Israel when they were driven out of the Promised Land by Babylon and carried off into exile. The remarkable thing about this description is that Peter is writing to people who are the same race as everyone else around them! They re people who are living where they grew up. What we ve seen from this description is that when you become a Christian, your identity changes, and your relationship with your culture changes. You re now a resident alien, an exile, because your citizenship is now in heaven. You re a member of the kingdom of God through faith in Christ. This truth always applies to God s people. In every time and every place throughout history and around the world, those who follow Jesus are citizens of another realm. We await a heavenly city from God. But it has been easy throughout American history to be confused about our fundamental identity, because our culture has often appreciated our faith. We ve held a privileged place in our society. But those days are changing. I subscribe to the Christianity Today weekly . It highlights the headlines and articles that are featured on the Christianity Today website each week. Look at the headlines from a couple of days ago: How Christians Can Flourish in a Same- Sex- Marriage World, with the sub- title: By many accounts, orthodox Christians have lost the culture wars. How they can live well not vanish in a time of retreat. The next article: Coming to Terms with a Post- Christian World. The sub- title: Our culture is radically rejecting the Christian faith; our response must be radical, too. The next article gives perspective on engaging the culture. Two articles down is a summary of the significant study conducted by the Pew Research Center on the changing religious landscape of America. Other articles include How to Flourish in a Time of Cultural Weakness, controversy over transgender laws for bathroom usage and ways to be like Jesus in a more polarized culture. And this is all in one weekly newsletter from one publication. I saw dozens of other articles and blogs in my news feeds from other sources about these same kinds of issues this week. 1

2 Despite all the alarm about our changing culture, one of the advantages it gives the church at this time is that it forces us to remember who we are: we re God s chosen people, and so we re exiles in this world. So an important question for exiles and resident aliens is how do we relate to the world around us? Last week we saw that we are not at war with it, even if we experience times of persecution. We are in a war, but the war is a battle against the sin in our own hearts. Instead, we are to do good to those around us. We are to be different from the world, but we are to serve the people of the world, even if they reject us. Today, Peter continues this theme of being exiles and addresses how we relate to the wider social and political life around us. We don t have time to explore everything that could be said about our relationship to government this morning, but the issue Peter calls to our attention in this passage is one issue that all of us need to hear these days. I ve entitled this sermon Exiles and Government, because that s the theme Peter takes up in the opening verses of the passage. But it ends with statements about how we should relate to everyone around us. Even though verse 13 begins with our relationship to government, I want to start us off today by reflecting on verse 16, because the whole passage and the passages to follow are implications of the truth that Peter shares with us in verse 16. And here s the point he makes in that verse: I. Exiles Are Free Slaves of God Free slaves. That is a bizarre idea. It sounds like a contradiction. Let s look at what he says. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover- up for evil, but living as servants of God. (1 Peter 2:16) The word for servant in the original is δοῦλος (doulos). It means slave in distinction to hired servants. It s a person that is owned by someone else. Many English translations of the Bible render this word as servant, including the ESV that we read from. That s understandable in light of the horrific experience of the New World African slave trade during the 16 th to 19 th centuries. We re squeamish about this word. And we should be. The NIV brings out the paradox clearly. It translates this verse: 16 Live as free people live as God s slaves. (NIV) Now, it s helpful to realize that the slavery Peter has in mind is different from the slavery that occurred in America. In Peter s day, slaves were not distinguishable by race, speech, or clothing. They looked like everyone else and were not segregated from the rest of society. Slaves were often more educated than their owners and often held important managerial positions. They earned the same wages as free laborers and could buy their freedom. Few people were slaves for life, although some sold themselves into slavery to improve their economic position. 2

3 By contrast, the African slave trade was much more systematically brutal. It was race- based so all slaves could be easily identified. It was slavery for life, and it was made possible through kidnapping and human trafficking, which Scripture always condemns as sin. Even though slavery in the Roman world was different, the NT never endorses slavery, but it treats it as a fact of life, even as it undermined it so that it eventually withered and died in Christian countries. The Bible, for example, teaches that slaves and masters are equal in the sight of God, and slaves must be treated as brothers. Even so, slavery has always been unjust and sinful. And yet the Bible constantly uses slave to describe the Christian life. Mary called herself a slave of the Lord when God revealed that she would give birth to the Messiah. Paul frequently called himself a slave of God, as does James, Peter, and Jude. Jesus himself made himself nothing and took the form of a slave before God exalted him above every other name (Phil 2:6-10). And he leads us by taking up the slave s towel and washes his follower s feet, and then calls us to follow his example. And here, Peter is calling every Christian to live as God s slaves. So what s the meaning of this common New Testament metaphor? Here s what I think is the fundamental point: a hired servant is free, and therefore they give their service as long as they think it benefits them. They can quit and go work somewhere else. They can refuse an employer s request, usually without any consequence other than perhaps having to find another job. But slaves have no ability to refuse service. They belong to their master. They can t quit. This is an important metaphor for American Christians, because we tend to negotiate all our relationships and think of ourselves as customers who demand a product or service on our terms. That perspective has shaped our faith. If God doesn t meet us on our terms or fulfill our expectations, we grow cool in our faith. We may even reject him. A metaphor like this puts things back into perspective. But here s what s interesting. The Bible teaches that everyone is a slave to something. Romans 6 says that we are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness to God. There is no third alternative. Everyone has a lord and master that deep in their heart, they feel they have no ability or right to refuse. As Bob Dylan so poignantly put it in 1979: You gotta serve somebody. You may be a business man or some high degree thief. They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief. But you re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you re gonna have to serve somebody. If you seek your self- worth through the approval of others, you re a slave to what people think. If you think you have to prove your self- worth through what you accomplish, you re a driven person who is a slave to your work and always terrified of failure. 3

4 Maybe you sought pleasure or escape through drugs or alcohol and now you know the profound slavery that it leads to. But slavery to God is different. Rather than leading to destructive bondage, slavery to God leads to freedom. Listen to how Rebecca Manley Pippert explains it: Jesus ownership of our lives is not a control that manipulates us or takes away our dignity. He governs our lives the right way: by being who he is without compromise and by insisting we become all that we are meant to be. And he tells us this can occur only through following him, obeying him and maintaining a living, passionate kinship to him. God created us for himself. If we are living with any center other than Jesus, we will be living incompletely. He is the only one in the universe who can control us without destroying us. No one will ever love you like Jesus. When we belong to God The Bible teaches that we are free from the guilt and condemnation of sin. 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2) We re free from eternal death. Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24) We re free from the slavery to sin. 34 Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:34, 36) We re free from slavery to the world. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14) Paul is saying here that as we grow in our love for God, the world loses its power to attract us and influence us. We re free from the slavery of people- pleasing. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant [slave] of Christ. (Galatians 1:10) Grace does not give us freedom to sin, but freedom from sin. Spiritual freedom does not escape from service; rather, it involves a change of masters. As we draw closer to Christ and become more and more like him, the dark blindness of sinful selfishness is gone; we are free to love. This whole section of 1 Peter is in direct antithesis to the spirit of the world where every individual and group demands its rights and understands liberty as freedom from responsibility. 4

5 That perspective on freedom is bankrupt. It has no substance, and it leads to destruction: both in this life and the life to come. This verse is at the heart of the whole passage, because it is our freedom to be a slave to Christ that enables us better, calls us to live in the world in a way that glorifies God and advances his purposes. And so it is in this context of being a slave to God that II. Exiles Are Free to Submit to Government 13 Be subject for the Lord s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. (1 Peter 2:13-14) The first words can be translated Submit yourselves. Peter is saying that because we are God s people, we can voluntarily submit ourselves to human institutions and authorities. We do it for the Lord s sake. We do it because we recognize the authority that God, in his sovereignty, has instituted, and we desire to honor God by submitting to the authority he has put in place. William Hendriksen said, Kings and queens, president and prime ministers, dictators and despots rule by the grace of God. Paul tells us: 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed (Romans 13:1-2) Jesus told Pontius Pilate that he would have no power over him unless it was given to Pilate from above (John 19:11). Like Jesus, we are called to voluntarily submit to the government, as long as it does not violate God s law. If it does, we must obey God rather than men and suffer the consequences (cf. Matt 22:21; Acts 4:19; 5:29). This is amazing when we reflect that the supreme king of the Roman Empire at this time was the neurotic, bloodthirsty, and immoral Nero and that a governor sent by another Caesar was Pontius Pilate! Peter himself met with martyrdom under Nero s reign outside Rome. It was much more tyrannical than anything coming out of Washington DC. Clearly the Roman Empire didn t fulfill God s purpose for government perfectly. It got a lot of things wrong! One day every king and governor will be held accountable to God. A political revolution is coming! But until that day, we are called to submit, and pray for our rulers, seeking the peace and prosperity of the societies in which we live. Wherever possible, we are to engage in the political process to help it punish evil and encourage the doing of good. 5

6 So governments exist to order society for the common good, and if the Christians in Peter s day would have refused to obey Roman law, they would have given their opponents the necessary evidence to accuse them of lawlessness. And that s another motivation for submitting to government. Look at verse 15: 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. (1 Peter 2:15) The early Christians were often charged with subversion of the established order. Tertullian was a Christian leader in the 2 nd and 3 rd century who wrote to correct peoples misconceptions and prejudice against Christians. After addressing some misunderstandings about Christian worship and practices, he wrote this: Having refuted the charges laid against us, let me now show what we really are. We are a body knit together by one faith, one discipline and one hope. We meet together as a congregation, uniting together to offer prayer to God. We pray for the emperors and all in authority, for the welfare of the world, for peace and for the delay of the final end. We read our holy scriptures to nourish our faith, hope, steadfastness and good habits. We hear exhortations and rebukes. we have a fund [where] Once a month, anyone who wants to makes a small donation but only he who is able and willing; there is no compulsion. It is not spent on feasts, but to support and bury poor people, to provide for orphans, the elderly old persons, victims of shipwreck and those in prison for their faith. The early Christians overcame opposition and misunderstanding by living honorable and moral lives, supporting one another, and caring for those in need, whoever they may have been, and by being good citizens. All of this served to further the mission of God by being a blessing to others and increasing the credibility for the gospel. And as Christians lived this way, the gospel spread like wildfire throughout the Roman Empire. This principle of voluntarily submission to those that God has put in authority over us applies more broadly, as well. Verse 17 tells us that III. Exiles Are Free to Honor All 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:17) With the final verse, Peter brings us full circle. Not only do we voluntarily submit to government for the Lord s sake, we honor it and everyone else made in God s image, as well. It s not enough to simply be a law- abiding citizen, you need to be a respectful citizen, as well. Are you respectful when talking about the politician you don t like? Are you showing honor when talking about the person at work that gets on your nerves? 6

7 We honor everyone because we fear God, and all people are created in God s image and endowed with intrinsic dignity. This is hard when the differences we have with people strike at our core beliefs and values, but it s what we re called to do. Last week, the Pew Research Center released a massive study surveying 35,000 people about their religious beliefs. It indicated to no one s surprise that America is becoming more secular. It was encouraging, though, that it also indicated that the faithful are remaining devout. What is happening is that nominal Christians are abandoning the Christian label. In other words, there is not a collapse of practicing Christianity occurring in our country. Many of the findings indicated that Christianity is getting stronger among those who practice it. But as formerly nominal Christians abandon the faith that they never really practiced, our society is becoming more polarized. Belief is holding strong, but the chasm between Christianity and unbelief is widening. Commenting on the Pew research, Ed Stetzer explained: As we Christians watch our views become ever more unpopular in an increasingly polarized culture, the temptation to defend ourselves in vitriolic, even hateful, ways will grow. As we interact with others virtually or in our communities, we must remember our call to live like Jesus. We must not adopt secular rules of engagement regardless of whether culture is religious or irreligious. The temptation to be disrespectful in our speech or our social media posts will only increase during the election cycle. Stetzer suggests three ways Christians can be like Jesus in a polarizing world. 1. Listen better to people who disagree. Christians are often good at blurting out what we believe and coming across as abrasive toward those who disagree with us. In an effort to take a stand for our values, we too often let loose all kinds of dishonoring, uncharitable speech in person, or even more likely, through social media. Our job is to represent Jesus and his gospel, and the best way to win the ears of others is to use our own. Stetzer says, If we re too busy yelling, we ll never make tie to tell them that someone loves them enough that he came to die for them. And, they won t likely listen if we do; who likes to be yelled at? 2. Love people despite their disagreements. As Christians we are going to have to learn to become more comfortable interacting with non- Christians despite our strong disagreements. You can t love people if you re unwilling to listen to them, and you are called to love them even if you disagree with them. Try to find ways to build bridges: invite your neighbors to dinner; grab coffee with an atheist from work. 7

8 Stetzer points out that you can t hate people and reach people at the same time. He said, words matter, even online, and the more we use our words to hurt and create division, the less opportunity we will be given to use our words to love. The opened door will be closed, and nailed shut. And have a piano pushed against it. 3. Lead people to understand what we believe. We need an increase in evangelism that grows out of relationships. The kind of evangelism that is built on a platform of credibility because of the way we do good and love and serve others the very things Peter is calling us to in this passage. Trevin Wax suggests the idea of an Honor Filter for our Facebook posts. He says that instead of thinking only in terms of putting up internet filters to control what comes into our computers, we should also put up an honor filter that will help us control what goes out of our computers. I think his suggestions apply equally well to our in- person conversations, as well. He offers the following questions for our consideration as an honor filter : 1. Is my point of view offered with respect to those who disagree? 2. Do I assume the best of those who are my political opponent? 3. Does it look like I am raging against injustice or against people made in God s image? 4. Am I showing honor when reviled or slandered? à You are free in Christ, so live as God s slaves. à Do good and silence the criticism non- Christians raise against God and the gospel. à Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. This is not a formula to capitulate to the world and give in. It s God s way to bring spiritual change and transformation. Let s follow Jesus own example with it. 8