Hope In Exile | Submitting to Authority – 1 Peter 2:13-17
We pursue Christ as people free to do so, not needing to defend ourselves, knowing that everything we need is secured in Jesus Christ.
Peter has exhorted the elect exiles to not live according to the passions of their flesh but to live according to their inheritance and identity in Jesus Christ. The people in the churches throughout Asia Minor understood that they had been living as exiles in a world that at best was ambivalent to their presence and at worst hostile to their influence. They would stick out from the practices of the culture of the day and offend them by failing to take part in things that the culture glorified. Even in the midst of persecution though, the people of God could still have an opportunity to glorify God and proclaim the message of the Gospel in how they interact with society and culture. Peter continues to encourage the believers to not work contrary to the structure and authority that is in place but rather to submit to the authority that has been established in a local context.
Often times, Christians, who also live as elect exiles, seem to be under the impression that our main task is to rebel against everything in our community and everything in our culture. We view the world as something we should stand against rather than as opportunities to proclaim the Gospel to a lost people. We understand that the source of all authority comes from God and anyones authority stems first and foremost from God. The Christian should be a member of society that submits to authority not as one who creates and causes chaos in the world. We pursue Christ as people free to do so, not needing to defend ourselves, knowing that everything we need is secured in Jesus Christ.
The Authority of the Culture
The people of God has been plucked from their homes and placed in a land not their own. They each had new customs to become accustomed too and cultural, societal norms to follow. Furthermore, they had new governing structures that likely had been open in their bias against Christianity. As exiles, they would have been barred from certain aspects of society. While they could own businesses and take part in the cultural landscape, the felt subject to the governing that had set up a system against them. Christian exiles could own businesses and homes but likely could not hold political office, vote, or otherwise engage in governing. The exile, then would need to find ways to exert their influence and proclaim the Gospel through means other than a ballot.
Peter’s exhortation, though, is not to cease to have an influence on the culture, but rather to not become known for standing in opposition. The Christian should be known more for what they stand for rather than what they stand against. To constantly take the contrarian point of view against authority paints a picture that God is against the people. In actuality, God is for the people even when the people are not for themselves. When the authority is simply acting out of an extension of their authority, the Christians should not be the ones to overthrow that authority. When faced with the opposition of Rome, Jesus Christ extended grace to Rome to overthrow the actual issue at hand; sin. Likewise, though we are exiles, we are still God’s elect, chosen to represent Him to the world. The authority, especially an unjust one, needs the grace of God to be extended to them. Even when enduring unjust persecution, the Christian turns the other cheek, allowing the mistreatment, knowing that Jesus Christ did the same thing for us. The love of the Gospel shines through in that moment, knowing that submitting to authority will show the love of Christ to the culture around us, rather than seeking only to continually condemn culture.
Submission to authority, though, does not equate to full obedience. When we submit we lower and humble ourselves to the standards of another. In this case, we may not agree with the governing authorities, but rather than descending into chaos and rebellion, the Christian submits to the governing authority to create a positive impact on society. The exceptions come when the authority asks us to do or not do things in direct contradiction to our faith in Christ. When God is our ultimate authority, we submit to Him above all. Like Daniel refusing to pray to any God but the One True God, Daniel did not submit to laws that contradicted His faith, but He did not attempt to flaunt the rebellion. The quiet disobedience demonstrated a submission to God and a desire to show love to the world around Him. We do not incite riots, violence, and other forms of chaos, but by the testimony of our witness the world will see the love of God moving in and through an individual by what He chooses to submit to as an authority.
- What reasons does Peter give to submit to authority? How does that reveal our faith in Jesus Christ?
Freedom to Follow
In submitting to authority, Peter tells the churches in exile that they do good in submitting to authority as they have been placed there by God to punish evil. The church has no right to serve justice on people but rather to extend and proclaim grace to others. Yet, for society to continue, the idea of just and consequences must persist. Rebellion, riots, and chaos should all be seen as antithetical to the Spirit of God within us as God is a God of order and structure. Nothing is chaos or random and all things are held in by hand of God. We proclaim the goodness of God by standing for what is good and right in our society. We grant a taste of the goodness of God by allowing the governing authorities to uphold justice in our society without our need to declare our own form of vengeance or attacks.
Before Christ, we had the heart of one looking to exact our will up on others and a need to defend ourselves. Now, as people of God, we have the freedom to do what is good and what is right. Our hearts, having been so turned away from God in rebellion made us unable to stand in His presence without standing in the fullness of judgment. Now, through the works of Jesus Christ, we have been given a new heart and a new ability to pursue His presence. We can go where God calls us to God because Christ has paved a path ahead of us. We can do good and right things where we once could not because our heart has been turned to the things of God. Now, no longer standing condemned by the standards of a just and gracious God, we are free to engage in the life giving actions according to the will of God. We are free so that we can do good because Christ’s works have been imputed to us as our own. He is our victory and our strength.
Thus, as exiles, in a land that is not our own. Our actions serve as a witness to the goodness of God. The Christian’s life should be marked by one that stands for the goodness of society and calls people towards a relationship with our sovereign creator. We experience today through the lens of eternity, knowing that our doing good in the eyes of God may ostracize us in the eyes of culture. With an eternal mindset we demonstrate the importance of Jesus Christ by choosing to be obedient to our ultimate authority while loving those in our daily path.
- What does our freedom to do good communicate to the culture around us? How does it do this?
Discussion Questions
- In what ways does submitting to the authority around us reveal the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
- What does it look like to submit to authority in our modern day? What authority had God given you to submit to?
- What does it mean that we are free to follow Jesus Christ? How did we become free to follow Jesus Christ?
- Where in your life do your actions fail to fall in line with what God calls us to as a standard of holy living? How can we bring our actions into alignment with the will of God in our lives?
- What is the relationship between the commands in 1 Peter 2:17 “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
