Fearing God in a Political World.

Steve Gentry

[0:09] We’ll go ahead and have a seat. Welcome to Village Church. We are well into our series [0:15] on the book of 1st Peter. Our focus has been winning in a hostile culture. You know, as [0:23] the gospel spread throughout the known world at that time, the early church, can we get [0:27] the lights for these poor folks in the cave? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I’m looking [0:32] out for you guys. I want to be able to see some of you at least. The early church was [0:39] enduring persecution because of their faith at that time. Peter penned this letter in

[0:47] response to that persecution in order to encourage the Christians to continue to endure [0:54] faithfully even in the face of much hardship. And God would use that word, that message, [1:01] to deliver the reward that is kept in heaven for them if they remain faithful to the gospel. [1:08] You know, last Sunday we looked at the identity that God had given these Christians through [1:12] their faith in Jesus. We are a chosen race. We are a royal priesthood. We are a holy nation. [1:19] God defines our purpose through our identity and sets the direction for our lives in light of who

[1:26] he dictates that we are. And then as we looked at verse 12, it becomes about our external witness [1:34] to the gospel, that we live the Christian life in view of others so that they may come to faith in [1:41] Christ. And so the following few sections that we’re going to have in this chapter kind of hinge [1:48] on that verse 12 mindset that God would use us in different areas, different spheres of our lives, [1:57] different spheres of our influence, different spheres of relational dynamics so that other [2:03] people who don’t share our faith can see the effect that faith has on our lives and become

[2:10] Christians so that on the day of visitation they will be able to give God glory. He speaks of that [2:18] day of visitation to remind you, which is basically stating there is going to be a day [2:23] where all of us meet God. I believe that verse, verse 12 is talking about the day of judgment. [2:30] And so what Peter writes from this vantage point is that he is setting his face towards [2:37] the coming judgment of God for believer and unbeliever alike. That just because you deny [2:45] Christ doesn’t mean you’re not going to meet him. All will come under his judgment. And what

[2:54] differentiates between the type of judgment that you receive is whether or not you have [2:59] faith in Jesus Christ. And so if you have faith in Christ, your judgment is complete. Christ has [3:03] endured judgment for you. But if you’ve not put your faith in Jesus Christ, Peter wants the church [3:11] to understand that it is their responsibility to make others understand that they will face [3:17] judgment even if they deny that he exists. No one will avoid it. So Peter’s focus, though, [3:26] for this persecuted church is that they should not live facing the day of judgment with the mindset

[3:35] they’ll see. They’re going to pay for everything that they’ve put me through. They’ll see [3:42] that I’m right. They’re going to face judgment. That’s going to be my vengeance. And Peter doesn’t [3:48] continue the chapter with that mentality. Peter is going to transition to focus [3:56] on the things that are causing hardships in the lives of the Christians and how they can face [4:03] injustice that they are enduring with the hope that their very persecutors will see their faith [4:10] in Jesus Christ and turn to faith in Jesus Christ. And Christ will have paid the penalty

[4:17] for their persecution. And I would say it’s very tempting in a political age, which by the way, [4:23] I tried to organize these sermons so that Jake would have to either preach this week or next week, [4:28] and I failed because this week I’m talking about politics. Next week I’m talking about slavery. [4:32] Oh boy. And I had zero volunteers. Nobody wanted to preach for me today or next week. And so [4:41] here I am. And here I stand for better or for worse. But so Peter wants them to understand [4:48] how can you live not with injustice happening in someone else’s life, but rather with injustice

[4:55] happening in your life with your face towards the day of visitation with the hope that God will use [5:01] your witness for the gospel so that not just more people will come to faith in Jesus Christ, [5:07] but so that your very persecutors, so that the very people who are abusing you, who are persecuting [5:14] you, are making you endure injustice so that on the day of visitation, they will be able to glorify [5:20] God rather than endure persecution and from God himself. And so from verses 13 through 17, Peter [5:28] begins with an overview of the Christian relating to the earthly government. I believe there is a

[5:36] connection between Christians submitting to the government and obedience to the commands of Christ. [5:42] And the vision that Peter gives looks ahead, as I said, to that day of visitation while [5:48] living in light of God’s overall authority over every human institution, bar none. [5:55] There are complex decisions ahead for these Christians in the early church, [6:01] as there are for contemporary Christians like you and I in this age. And by God’s grace, [6:07] scripture gives us wisdom, it gives us strategy, and it gives us vision for living for God’s

[6:13] justice while enduring injustice. I want to start reading in verse 13 of chapter 2. [6:21] Be subject for the Lord’s sake, and that’s a vital qualification for the Lord’s sake, [6:28] to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him [6:35] to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. Number one this morning, I want you [6:43] to understand that living in a political world requires God’s wisdom. Living in a political world [6:50] requires God’s wisdom. You know, it takes wisdom to submit to human institutions. It takes great

[6:57] wisdom to submit to those things. It is not a simple matter. It can be very complex and it [7:03] can require huge decisions in your life as to what you are going to do, how you are going to do it, [7:09] and how you are going to live in light of the political structures that do exist in this world. [7:15] He starts with a very clear indicator that God has ordained earthly authority structures. [7:22] This world is not to exist in anarchy. There is to be order under God’s design, and God has [7:31] delivered to us human institutions that keep that order. The original language that phrase

[7:40] for human institutions actually means organizations for humans. And so what he’s talking about is not [7:49] just some arbitrary office. No, he’s talking about political order. He’s talking about the [7:54] governing authorities over the state at that time and over all of human history. It is a grace from [8:02] God that chaos does not reign supreme. I know some people are going to tell you otherwise, [8:08] and those people are really dumb. All right. We cannot be libertarian anarchists for soul [8:17] and society. It just doesn’t work that way. God has not ordered his world to function

[8:24] in such a way as to you do you, I’ll do me, and that’s never going to be a problem. Now, [8:31] that’s going to be a head on collision sooner rather than later. And so God has provided [8:37] structure to the government. More than that, God has supplied a definition for both good and evil [8:45] by which everyone must submit at some point either now or in the eschaton. And so he uses [8:53] the phrase be subject. And that’s actually one verb. It’s the same verb that literally means [8:59] submit. Now, I don’t know if you realize this, but that means you are to submit to authority.

[9:10] Again, we’ve already reached a problem for some of you, but he’s saying the submission to human [9:17] institution is the design of God for society to function the way that God means for it to exist. [9:25] That verb is actually a military term that in that era was used for meaning you need to [9:30] arrange yourself in proper formation under your commander. And so it has in view the military, [9:40] the soldiers marching in formation with one another. He’s talking about you living in order [9:46] under your superiors. Now, this is easily applied to our current context as it was in that context.

[9:53] Stretch is not great. We do not exist outside of an authority structure of government. No, [9:59] we as a society are blessed to have governing authorities over us. We have a government that, [10:04] yes, for better or worse, does give order to society. And that is good. It’s God’s design, [10:11] he’s saying, and it is righteous in many ways. Albeit, we must admit, inconsistent at times. [10:20] It’s not perfect. It’s not directly from God. It’s from God through imperfect rulers transferred [10:29] over to us. And if you are living in a world that is under the curse of sin, that’s not going to

[10:36] function the way God intends every single time. But to pretend that because it is not perfect, [10:44] the Christian has no responsibility to submit to the governing authorities, [10:49] is both foolish and belligerent. It’s sinful. It is a sin to repent of. There are many just laws [11:00] that are enforced, that keep society from devolving into a hellscape. And here’s the deal. [11:09] You should submit to the goodness of government. You should submit to those things. Why? [11:14] He uses a very important phrase. Not because they’re deified, not because they are your gods,

[11:21] but the text is very clear. For the Lord’s sake. What he’s saying is, by doing this, [11:28] you are obeying the commands of God. By including that phrase, Peter states that your obedience to [11:35] just laws is not a declaration for this church that Caesar is God. That would have been the [11:43] implication for them. He’s saying, that’s not what’s going on here. You are not saying [11:48] Caesar is God. Rather, it’s wisdom because the ultimate author of good laws is who? [11:57] It’s Yahweh. It’s God himself. It’s the creator God. Friends, you have to understand the ability

[12:03] to act reasonably under a just society is a good testimony to unbelievers that shows that Christians [12:11] are helpful in society. And so what Peter is saying is, if you just run around as a scoff law, [12:17] you’re just throwing every law to the wind. You don’t care. I live for God. I don’t live for man. [12:22] Who does he think he is? The governor can’t tell me what to do. The police can’t tell me what to do. [12:27] The local magistrate can’t tell me what to do. The board of supervisors can’t tell me what to do. [12:31] If you’re in the city, the mayor, which is inferior by the way, the mayor can’t tell me what to do.

[12:41] What Peter’s saying is you’re not giving a good testimony for Jesus Christ. You’re actually giving [12:47] a terrible testimony and you’re living a life in sin. And that’s not going to point anybody [12:51] to the gospel. This also serves as a revelation of the necessity of Christian involvement in [13:00] society. He’s telling them you can’t divorce yourself away. You can’t go buy acreage in [13:08] Montana, build giant walls and form a new civilization for yourself. That’s not the call [13:13] of God in your life. If there’s justices going on in your society. And again, I know there’s some

[13:19] type of Plymouth historian in here that wants to talk to me about the pilgrims. You’re not a [13:23] pilgrim. Shut up. We’re not going to deal with the margins as some of you would like to do. [13:29] We’re going to deal with normal life, but understand politics shape society and God [13:39] created politics. I believe that is a inference of what Peter is talking about for us. And if [13:48] you live as a citizen of the United States, God has put you in a unique place in history [13:56] where you live in a society where the people do have involvement. You know, over the history of

[14:03] the church, more than 2000 years of church history, do you know how rare it is for Christians to be [14:07] given a seat at the table instantly where politics and government is concerned? That’s so rare. [14:13] We’ve spent the majority of church history persecuted by the government or being the [14:19] dictators kind of doing some weird stuff. And so what Peter is talking about is a clear cut [14:26] indicator for how you can function in politics in the United States, because if you’re born as a [14:33] United States citizen, you’re born into politics, baby. And there’s no getting out of it. And so we

[14:40] can’t create this Gnostic mindset where Christians exist in this spiritual plane, not affected by [14:47] material, not affected by the stuff going on in society. And we can’t pretend, you know, that old [14:53] meme that’s going to, it goes around Facebook, every single political cycle, not the elephant or [14:59] the donkey, I worship the lamb. Good for you. But some of us actually want to have an impact in [15:05] people’s lives in society. And you do in our society have to kind of go one way or the other. [15:13] And so you can’t devotionalize yourself out of this. You have a responsibility from God himself

[15:20] that if you’re going to submit to human institutions of government in this society, [15:26] you have to realize we live in a political society. There are no politics that God himself [15:32] did not institute into our society. It is impossible to follow Christ and avoid politics. [15:38] Jesus himself didn’t do it. Some would tell you to cultivate this overly pietistic view [15:45] of Christian political involvement, and it’s foolish. You have to take responsibility [15:51] for the material world, for the influence that God gives you as a Christian. And you can’t say,

[15:57] well, I’m trying to do spiritual good. Well, spiritual good is involved in people’s everyday [16:03] lives, which is where government has great influence. And Romans chapter 13 verse 1, [16:10] a text that is often used as an excuse to divorce faith from politics when it actually [16:15] does the opposite. Paul writes, he says, let every person be subject, there’s the same verb again, [16:21] to the governing authorities. There is no authority except from God. And those that exist have been [16:27] instituted by God. Now, some people would say, see, it says right there, you just submit,

[16:33] let them worry about it. And you focus on the gospel and nothing else. That’s such a reductionist [16:39] view of scripture. It shocks some people when I point out there is more in the Bible than just [16:45] the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, I believe everything leads to Christ. I believe everything [16:49] flows from Christ. But there’s instruction to more. Read the book of Proverbs. You want to know how [16:56] to handle your money? Proverbs. You know how to raise your kids? Proverbs. You want to know how [17:02] to be really sad about how bad the world is? Ecclesiastes. All right. I was having a conversation

[17:10] with the pastors earlier. I’m always a bright, sunshiny guy. But I said, why in the world do [17:14] people think they’re supposed to be happy? And they were like, right, they should read Ecclesiastes.

[17:21] See, the governing authorities, yes, they exist as instituted by God. And because of that, [17:27] Christians must be involved. It’s not a reason not to be involved. It is a reason to be involved [17:34] because only Christians, think about this. We are the only people in this world that have the [17:40] revelation of how God wants government to function properly. Only Christians have the Holy Spirit. [17:48] Only Christians have the word illuminated to their lives. Only Christians can influence both

[17:56] God’s good and politics has a huge impact on both. When Peter calls for Christians to submit [18:04] to the emperor there, that is a very real command that would have been difficult for the early church. [18:12] Note again that qualification he gave. Just as in Romans 13, Peter is clear that it is submission [18:19] to God. And by noting a submission to God, what Peter is doing is, as Paul is doing, [18:25] he’s setting up boundaries. He’s saying the authority of the emperor is not absolute. [18:33] There are ways by which that emperor can step over the line. And it’s the place of Christians

[18:40] to be the accountability people for that. Peter is writing in verse 14 [18:47] that the limit of good government is what? Praising good. When the government ceases to exist to [18:58] praise good and hold accountable the bad, who else is going to show them the difference? [19:06] Because who created good? God. Who notes what is bad? God. We’re the only people with the [19:15] definitions of both. Now, this requires walking and chewing gum at the same time, which I know [19:20] is a very difficult task for some of you. Wisdom can be tricky in applying it in a world

[19:28] cursed with sin. This is especially true when it is government leaders who do not always submit [19:35] to the lordship of Jesus Christ, as the Roman emperor did not. But in trying to enforce the good [19:42] and trying to hold the government accountable for condemning the bad, I would rather, in my [19:50] journey of doing that and in my advocacy for that, make a few mistakes in my political involvement [19:56] than be a spineless coward avoiding it. In 1 Timothy chapter 2, the apostle Paul writes [20:02] to a young pastor and he says, first of all then, I urge the supplications, prayers, intercessions,

[20:06] and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions. Why? [20:14] Not just because it’s some pie in the sky hope and all you do is pray and you leave the rest of [20:19] the dirty work to them. No, there’s a reason that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, [20:25] godly and dignified in every way. There’s an application to the prayer. Therefore, [20:30] on the other side of their prayers, there was work to be done. It is the desire for [20:35] Christians to be free to be about the Lord’s business that we pray for our leaders. This is

[20:44] not divorced from proactive involvement. The big mistake people make is in thinking political [20:51] involvement is always hostile rebellion. No, it’s actually about being a good citizen when [20:58] justice is applied while obeying righteous laws first. That’s primary. If you’re not obeying the [21:07] laws, if you’re not praising good yourself, then you’re not helping the government. You’re not [21:12] submitting to every human institution, but that actually builds credibility for you and it enables [21:19] you to showcase God’s goodness so more will turn to Christ and society will improve over the long

[21:28] haul. When you live to avoid the political divide though, you cannot honor Christ in this arena. [21:37] Now understand, this is going to cause conflict, but it’s also going to open people’s eyes to [21:43] righteousness. That’s why God gives us his wisdom for it, because when righteous living conflicts [21:51] with unrighteous living and political advocacy for unrighteous living, many of you think, oh my [22:00] goodness, I’m going to face political conflict and I would just rather have nice conversations and [22:05] never face that conflict. No, you should always be ready to explain why you live a righteous

[22:10] lifestyle, because that’s how God designed it and everyone should live a righteous lifestyle. [22:14] Therefore, you cannot accept unrighteous lifestyles. It’s not complicated, but it is going to be the [22:20] most difficult thing you’ve ever done for your life and it would cost many of the original [22:27] recipients of this letter their very lives. There is a lot at stake for these people under the [22:35] Roman Empire. That’s why number two, engaging the culture requires God’s strategy. Where are you [22:42] finding strategy? I think sometimes we try to come up with it on the fly because we think we’re

[22:46] smart enough. We aren’t, but God gives us one in his word. Look at verse 14 again.

[22:53] He says,

[23:06] Peter does not pull punches there. It’s not usually well received when you call someone ignorant. [23:13] I can tell you I’ve been called ignorant more times than I’d like to admit. [23:18] Usually they’re wrong. All right. Usually. But Peter is calling unbelievers ignorant right here.

[23:26] He’s saying you want to put them to silence? Live good. It’s very simple. Verse 16, [23:33] live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover up for evil, but living [23:42] as servants of God. He doesn’t just hold citizens accountable. And that’s what a lot of [23:52] milk toast Christians who just want to roll over with every whim of government. That’s what they [23:58] miss. These political texts do not just hold citizens accountable. They hold governing [24:04] authorities accountable as well because Paul in Romans 13, Peter here in first Peter two,

[24:10] he actually delivers mandates to the government through his texts as well. [24:16] On the day of visitation, government leaders will be held accountable for if they submit to God, [24:24] or if they do not submit to God’s commands and vision for their leadership. But do not reduce [24:30] texts like this to solely focusing on your submission to government. This is about their [24:36] submission to God. Verses 14 through 16 clearly state that the governing leaders must punish evil [24:44] and they must praise good. And again, who defines evil and good? God, not the governors,

[24:53] not the president, not the magistrates. God defines evil and good. But the question is, [25:01] who will exercise the voice to proclaim evil and good? Christians have that voice. We have [25:11] that responsibility. When the government refuses, Christians must hold them accountable. [25:18] And that may incur consequences. The church that Peter is writing to, the dispersed church, [25:25] were going to face a lot of consequences for living Christian lives and very un-Christian [25:30] circumstances. But Peter says, that’s what it is to live for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[25:38] Look at how Romans 13 furthers that idea by stating that rulers are not to be a terror [25:44] to good conduct, but to bad. He says, anyone who resists the authorities, [25:49] resists what God has appointed. And those who resist will incur judgment. But look at the [25:54] qualification in verse three. Rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Here’s the key. [26:03] Not always. Sometimes the government gets it wrong. Would you have no fear of the one who is [26:09] an authority? Then do what is good and you will receive his approval. For he is God’s servant.

[26:18] Never miss that every governing authority, I don’t care if you’re on a school board or you’re the [26:25] president of the United States, you are God’s servant, whether you believe in him or not,

[26:33] for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid. For he does not bear the sword in vain. He is [26:39] the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. So it’s not the good, [26:47] who resists government. Who are the ones who resist government? Those guilty of evil. [26:52] Romans 13, four makes that explicit. The ruler is God’s servant. The ruler is bound by God’s word, [26:59] just like everyone else. Too many people believe texts like this force Christians into servitude [27:05] to sit by silently complying with evil. Again, that’s not what’s going on here. The failure

[27:17] of Christians being discipled about good government, I know this is very controversial, [27:22] but the failure of many church leaders to be discipled about how to respond to government [27:26] was exposed in 2020 during the pandemic. People were left just completely disarmed. [27:36] And Romans 13 was bastardized by many, and I believe they were well-meaning pastors [27:43] who also had very soft hands and no spine whatsoever as an excuse for why they would just [27:54] let their people get rolled over by the government, why they were willing to just

[27:58] shut everything down. Even when we realized this may not survive this.

[28:07] But after about two weeks, when the food line clerks weren’t dying, [28:12] I said, wait a second. They’re not even that healthy looking.

[28:22] You received that well. Not everyone would. But once we realized that, [28:31] we had to come around and say, come on, man.

[28:36] This text is not saying citizens treat the government as God. This text is saying the [28:44] government must treat God as God and not try to take his place. That’s what this text is saying. [28:52] Friends, this is a blind spot for so many, even to this day. We, yes, celebrate good government. [28:59] You should be a patriot. You should be a great citizen. But we must be willing to follow the [29:03] Jesus in righteousness by standing and proclaiming for the good when evil comes from the government. [29:15] And so when the government begins to advocate for sin in soul and society,

[29:23] no one else has the voice that the church of Jesus Christ has. We must stand and refuse to submit [29:31] to the evil of abortion. We must advocate. Not only does life begin at conception, [29:38] life begins in eternity past. We do not have the authority to play God in the womb. [29:47] We must be those who stand for life, vote for life, advocate for life. We must be the ones [29:54] that are willing to be called made up things like transphobes. Yes, I’m a little worried about them, [30:01] so I’ll take it. All right. But when they want to not have gender reassignment surgery, by the way,

[30:07] you can’t live by lies. You cannot reassign gender. Only God assigns gender. And so when a [30:14] doctor proclaims, I am God, what he’s doing is called gender mutilation surgery. And he’s doing [30:21] something that cannot be undone. And he will pay the price if he does not repent of his sins [30:29] and trust the gospel of Jesus Christ. But how will he know his wickedness if we do not expose it? [30:37] How will he know what he is doing if we are silent by God’s grace? Just recently, [30:45] there was an executive order put into place that bans gender mutilation surgery for minors. That

[30:51] is a great start. But I don’t care if you’re 50 years old. I don’t believe it should be legal [30:57] for you to mutilate what God has called good and is radical evil in soul and society. And if the [31:04] church will not hold the government accountable for their wickedness, tyranny will rule the day, [31:13] friends. Government leaders are not God. And they cannot be submitted to as though they are. [31:24] The passages context finds Peter addressing these Christians about living in countercultural ways. [31:34] Remember, this is about showing people the difference that Christ makes in your life.

[31:40] And because of that, this cannot possibly mean for them to sit idly by and be silent in the face [31:48] wicked government. This is about them resisting the temptation in the face of persecution to cower [31:56] and hide their faith. They were to even under the threat of persecution and the sight of [32:03] persecution, they were to be public about their witness for the gospel of Jesus Christ. [32:09] In Acts chapter 5, starting in verse 28, Peter says this when the government of Israel says, [32:16] stop preaching. We strictly charge you, this is what they said, not to teach in his name,

[32:22] yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man’s [32:27] blood on us. By the way, this man whom 50 days earlier they had condemned to the cross, [32:35] but Peter and the apostles answered, we must obey God rather than men. [32:39] And so Peter knew what was at stake when he wrote first Peter. He knew the potential [32:46] for being beaten that these people had, for being martyred that these people had. Some though, [32:55] foolishly reduce Acts 5, 28 through 29 to say something like, well, we only rebel

[33:02] if they say we can’t evangelize. Friends, that is reductionistic, that is unreasonable, [33:08] where the whole council of God and his word is concerned. He also knows that the entire [33:16] Christian life and worldview are connected to every part of human existence. And so, [33:24] I believe Peter would call evangelism standing against all forms of wickedness. Because, [33:32] in order for someone to repent of sin, they kind of have to know they have sin. [33:37] They kind of have to know that they do have something that they need to repent of. And I’ve

[33:41] always found it very helpful if I’m very specific with people. We are the voice of righteousness in [33:49] every sector of society. And that means when necessary, Christians must rebel against bad [33:55] government, specifically vocally against bad government. And this often looks like Christians [34:02] holding people accountable for both injustice as well as wickedness. But make no mistake, [34:08] Christians must advocate for Christianity. We must rebel with strategy while following the law [34:15] as far as possible. Even when we are standing against wickedness like abortion, we must seek

[34:24] to attempt to follow legal recourse as far as we can. And I know some of you just have it in [34:31] your mind that you’re going to be a counterrevolutionary and take up arms immediately [34:36] against every injustice. That’s not submitting to every human institution either. You must seek to [34:43] be civil in a civil society and bring things down when we can while following just laws as we can. [34:51] But when laws become unjust, such as the instance that I just said, [34:57] when they’re marching their children to hospitals to mutilate their genitals,

[35:02] we must be the people that stand and say, we’re going to replace bad government with good [35:06] government and by God’s grace. I’m not saying we did that, but we did that. We must be the voice [35:13] to say that is an abomination and that must be illegal. This toxic pietism that exists in our [35:22] society that would tell me that I can only stand up here and give you platitudes for your devotional [35:27] life and only give you the specific facts of the gospel. And if I do that, then I’ve overstepped [35:32] my bounds as a pastor. What that’s called is cowardice. And one thing that I will die fighting

[35:38] is cowardice. I don’t want to be a coward and I don’t want you to be a coward. Sometimes there’s [35:44] a price to pay and we must be the people willing to pay that price because worst case scenario, [35:48] they kill you and you go to heaven. It also means that when the government tries to be God, [35:57] we must submit to God rather than men. And I will say many disagree with this, [36:04] but when the government wants to inject everyone against their will with experimental medicine [36:10] that may or may not be the chief cause of myocarditis, we must advocate for God-given

[36:18] autonomy and demand people have a choice in what medicine they will or will not put in their bodies. [36:25] And it was a sin

[36:30] when leaders of companies forced their people to do that. It was a sin when Southern Baptist leaders [36:40] forced our missionaries, many that were not in countries that required it, [36:47] to have their 16-year-old children injected with experimental medicine. And I will pay the cost of [36:55] what are they going to do to me? I don’t care about them, but they were in sin and they’ve not [36:59] repented yet. And so if you ever catch wind that we’re not that popular in the SBC, it’s because [37:06] we’re not. Because it means that while the fire department has the authority to break down the

[37:18] doors of this building if it is on fire to put the fire out, they do not have the authority to tell [37:24] us when we meet in this building, how we meet in this building, and how we worship in this building. [37:30] The pastors have that authority and the pastors alone. It means that for the dozen, two dozen, [37:37] I lost count of times the health department told us to stop having services. We just said, [37:41] thank you and have a nice day and went ahead planning the Sunday service. [37:45] The government does not have the authority to enforce tyranny on its people and we must be the

[37:51] ones to stand against said tyranny. That requires strategy though. Look at what Jesus did in Matthew [37:57] 22. I love Jesus’s wisdom. The Pharisees are trying to hold Jesus accountable and so they try to [38:03] trip him up over taxes. Like I said, Jesus didn’t avoid politics. Tell us then what do you think? [38:08] Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Now I want Jesus to say, no, you don’t have to pay taxes. [38:14] That would be fantastic. I would love that. That’s not what Jesus says, all right? [38:19] Gotta pay for the road somehow. But Jesus, aware of their malice and tend to do evil, said,

[38:25] why put me to the test you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax. And they said, they gave him [38:30] rather, a denarius. And Jesus said to them, whose likeness and inscription is this? They said [38:34] Caesar’s. Then he said to them, therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God [38:38] the things that are God’s. When they heard it, they marveled and they left him and went away. [38:43] Now what you don’t realize is what’s not often explained very well is what Jesus is doing here. [38:50] Jesus is being so strategic. He says that’s Caesar’s face. So give it to Caesar, but whose

[38:56] face is God on? The image of God is in every human being. And so what Jesus is actually doing is [39:03] he’s saying, Caesar can’t be God over people. Caesar can’t even be his own God. Caesar will [39:08] be held accountable for his sin. See the Bible’s very political, but number three, don’t miss this. [39:16] Living for Christ above all requires God’s wisdom. Look at verse 16.

[39:23] Live as people who are free. I love freedom. Not using your freedom as a cover up for evil. Don’t [39:28] do that. But living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor [39:35] the emperor. I love the way he finishes verse 17 and we’re stopping there today [39:41] because he reminds people not to get lost in a political world.

[39:47] There are times when we can get so lost in how good or bad we think the government is [39:54] and what our responsibility in a political age is that we lose our primary calling. [40:03] Yes, we have to engage it for the good of soul and society, [40:08] but in doing that, we cannot forget our primary task from God. What is your goal? [40:15] Is it owning the libs? Is it being the most based guy ever? Now those can be fun goals,

[40:25] but never forget the goal of this was in verse 12. [40:29] See, excuse me, that they may see your good deeds and glorify God.

[40:37] Some of you live as though our political opponents, we want them to go to hell.

[40:43] Friends, that’s a sin against God as well. The goal is to see as many people as possible [40:49] turn from their sin and trust the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s the goal of citizens. That must be [40:55] the goal of rulers because Christ is King. What Peter’s saying is he is our ultimate authority. [41:00] Because of that, we expose evil and never use our freedom in Christ to avoid that conflict that [41:09] it’s going to have. But the purpose behind that conflict is so that they can see the beauty of [41:15] Christianity. We live to serve God above all else. Our commitment to Christ above all, he’s saying,

[41:22] should be obvious in our speech. It should be obvious in our advocacy. It should be obvious [41:28] in how we respect others as image bearers of God. In the midst of conflict, Christians are still [41:35] to be the most decent and respectable people in the room, even in the face of great disrespect. [41:42] Being respectable, though, should never be an excuse for cowardice. It should intimidate people [41:50] that we know we win in the end. It should intimidate people that we will stand against them. [41:58] And in the very same breath, talk about how much we want them to join us in heaven.

[42:05] But repentance is required of all. Romans 13, five through seven reminds us that while our [42:13] citizenship is in heaven, that does not excuse us from being involved in society. He says, [42:19] therefore, one must be in subjection not only to avoid God’s wrath, but also for the sake of [42:24] conscience. For because of this, you also pay taxes for the authorities or ministers of God [42:30] attending to this very thing, pay to all what is owed to them, taxes to whom taxes are owed, [42:37] revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

[42:44] He’s advocating for decency right there. Government exists for the glory of God and the good of [42:50] others. There is no other reason it exists. We pay taxes, we respect our leaders, and we honor [42:56] those to whom it is owed while reminding them what is required to actually be an honorable person. [43:05] And faith transcends culture and faith transcends society itself.

[43:12] When he says things like honor the brotherhood, fear God, he’s talking specifically to the Church [43:21] of Jesus Christ, don’t be such a political fireball that you don’t take inventory of what fruit of [43:31] ship you are actually bearing for the cause of Christ.

[43:36] Scripture clearly makes demands on your life in that category, and some of us forget that sometimes. [43:42] Honor the brotherhood is about your responsibility to other Christians. [43:47] We are building the church and we must do so together and we must never lose sight of that. [43:54] Peter then concludes with the order of respect. I love that Peter does this and we often just [43:58] pass right over it. He says fear God, honor the Emperor. He’s setting a pecking order [44:06] because what many think is love God, which is vital, fear the Emperor. Peter turns that on

[44:14] his head, you don’t fear the Emperor, he’s not God. You fear God and because of your fear of God [44:22] you seek to honor the Emperor and sometimes the only path of honor is to stand against him [44:29] because the Emperor wants to be feared. That is only due to God though. You live with honor [44:36] for the Emperor that goes through the filter of fear of God above all because he rules over all, [44:44] especially over those with authority. And the only way to live in a political world [44:51] is to have those priorities straight. So start with the fear of God and then follow with everything

[44:58] else. A few application points. Submit to God by respecting human government. Form your vision of [45:07] politics with your vision of faith. Secondly, engage politics for the good of others. [45:15] Understand lives are at stake where politics is concerned. We cannot remove our obligations [45:21] there. We have to engage for the good of others. Third, build a strategy to know when to rebel [45:28] and don’t have a 15-year-old definition of rebellion. Some of you, your vision of rebellion [45:35] really needs to grow up. Understand how to strategize, how to win the day, how to take the

[45:42] right to people in wise, intelligent, and timely ways. And then finally, fear God for the sake of [45:51] society. Fearing God is going to win you heaven. But don’t be so self-centered that to only build [46:01] a fear of God is how it affects you. Understand that I fear God in ways that sets me to order my [46:07] life and obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ. And I understand that that helps my wife, [46:13] that helps my children, that helps my neighbors, that helps my church, and that helps people across [46:18] the globe that I’ve never even met. Fear God. Honor the emperor.