Who Wins When God And Government Clash?

Submission is one of the most misunderstood Christian words, especially when politics are loud and trust is low. We open 1 Peter 2 and face the question most of us feel but rarely say clearly: how do we honor government authority without compromising our conscience or disobeying God? Dr. Timothy Mann keeps it grounded and practical, showing why Christians should cooperate with lawful authority “for the Lord’s sake,” while never letting any human rule override God’s Word.

We talk through real-world flashpoints like church building codes, safety requirements, and the temptation for believers to label every restriction as persecution. We also deal with a blunt biblical issue many people try to spiritualize away: taxes. From there, Peter’s commands get even more personal. We’re called to honor all people, love the church, fear God, and respect leaders, learning to respect the office even when we cannot respect the officer.

Then the focus shifts to suffering and the workplace. Peter’s words to servants land hard on modern employees: do honest work, endure wrongs patiently when conscience toward God is at stake, and refuse to “poison the well” on your way out. The anchor for all of it is Jesus Himself: our example in suffering, our substitute who bore our sins, and our Shepherd who watches over our souls. If you want a clear biblical teaching on Christian submission, Christian witness, and hope in a hostile world, this message will steady you. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review telling us what challenged you most.

Transcript

Series Setup And Big Idea

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Dr. Timothy Mann open the Bible to create charity and encouragement for everyday life. Today on Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann, we return to our series Hope in a Hostile World for part two of Submission is Helpful to Christians. Let's join Dr. Timothy Mann now.

Obey The Law With Conscience

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And as much as possible, we seek to cooperate with the government and obey the law. However, we must never allow the law to make us violate our conscience or disobey God's word. That's the tricky part. And unfortunately, some very zealous Christians have used these differences as opportunities for conflict and to actually end up hurting the cause of Christ instead of advancing the cause of Christ as they behave in a way that goes against God's word.

Building Codes Taxes And Integrity

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For example, soon and very soon, within a matter of months, this body of believers is going to get to move to a new property, right? We're going to get to do that because of God's blessing upon us. And when a local church furnishes a building or does reconstruction or constructs, there's a local code that must be obeyed. Ormond Beach has a local code that has to be obeyed. Now, the government, the government of Ormond Beach, the government of the state of Florida, the government of the United States of America has no right to control the pulpit or to control the business affairs of the church itself in its decision-making process. But it has every right to control matters that relate to safety and operation. And if a certain law requires a certain number of exits or fire extinguishers or emergency lights, the church must comply. It must. The state is not persecuting when it sets up the code, nor is the church compromising when it obeys the code. But I know some overly zealous saints who have disgraced the name of the Lord and said, You know, I don't have to pay my taxes. This is God's money. Study ministry. On and on and on. By the way, the Bible's

Respect The Office Not Always

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very clear. You have to pay your taxes. Jesus paid his taxes. Look, Peter even goes so far as to name the offices that we're to respect. He said, Therefore, submit yourself, verse 13, to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors. The king meant the emperor at this time. In democratic nations such as ours, we have a president or a premier if you live in some quasi democratic nation. It's interesting here, Peter did not criticize the Roman government. It's awfully quiet in here. Peter did not criticize the Roman government, nor did he suggest it be overthrown. Let me tell you, all throughout history, all throughout history, God's church has been able to live and grow in all kinds of political systems. The church is exploding under the tyranny in North Korea today. It's just underground. The governors are those, verse 14, are those under the supreme authority who administer the laws and execute judgment. And ideally, according to what the Bible says here, ideally they punish those who do evil and they praise those who do good. And admittedly, the ideal is not always reached. It wasn't reached in Peter's day. It's not reached in our day. Why? Because fallible, depraved sinners are a part of that government. It's not always reached, but again, we must remind ourselves to respect the office even if we cannot respect the officer. That's what the Bible says. It's what the Holy Spirit says. There's two phrases here that are very important. Verse 15. For this is the will of God. For this is the will of God. And verse 16. As bond servants of God. See, when we do something in the will of God, and we do something as servants of God, we're doing it. We're doing it, as it says in verse 13, for the Lord's sake. When we do something in the will of God and as servants of God, we're doing it for the Lord's sake. And so God has willed.

Silence Critics By Doing Good

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God has willed that we silence the critics. And we have plenty. God has willed that we silence the critics by marching and protesting. Is that what it says in the text? What does it say in the text? That we silence the critics by what? By doing good. Verse 15. For this is the will of God that you sil that you that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. We silence the critics by doing good, not by opposing authority. The word silence here in 1 Peter 2, verse 15 literally is a muzzle. As though pagan critics were like a pack of yelping, snapping dogs.

Freedom Used For Others

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Now, someone may argue, but as Christians, are we not free? Are we not free? Yes, we're free in Christ. But according to what the very next verse says in verse 16, we're never free to use our freedom for ourselves. Never free to use our freedom for ourselves. We must always use it for others. And sad to say, there are religious racketeers who prey upon ignorant people and use religion to veil their own evil actions. But according to what the Bible says, a true Christian, a true follower of Jesus Christ, submits himself or herself to authority because he or she is, first of all, submitted to Christ. Submitted to Christ. Understand, there is no authority over you, no authority over you that is not ordained by God. According to Romans chapter 13. Verse 17, if we're sincerely submitted to authority for the Lord's sake, then we will show honor. We'll show honor. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the King. We may not agree with their politics or their practices, but we must respect their position. We will, of course, love the brotherhood, meaning, of course, the people of God and the church. That's a recurring theme in this letter, by the way. And one way that we show love to the brethren is by submitting to the powers that be together. And as we do that, we're bound together as one in our Christian witness. It's interesting here how fear God and honor the king go together. Fear God and honor the king, since they are, according to Romans 13, 1, powers that are ordained of God. Solomon had the very same counsel in Proverbs 24, verse 21. He said, My son, fear the Lord and the King. Fear the Lord and the King. We honor the King. Why? Because we do fear the Lord. By the way, little word study here. It's noteworthy. You don't see this in the English text, but it's noteworthy that the tenses of these verbs indicate that we should constantly maintain these attitudes. In other words, it could be read like this: keep loving the brotherhood, keep fearing God, keep honoring the king. It's in a perfect present tense. Keep doing these things. And so I'm ready to move on to the next passage. But listen, I've got to be faithful to teach God's word. I'm not going to soft soap this. I'm not going to twist it around to fit your agenda or make you feel good about it. I don't necessarily like everything that I read either all the time. But it's God's word. And if we're under his authority, then we're going to do what he said.

Wisdom About Rights And Citizenship

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Now, what does that mean? That means this. That means as Christians, we must exercise discernment in our relationship to human government. We have to exercise wisdom. There are times when it's the right thing to set aside our own privileges. And there's also a time that it's the right thing to use our citizenship in the right thing, in the right way. For example, the Apostle Paul was willing to suffer personally in Philippi, but he was very much unwilling to sneak out of town like a criminal. He was arrested on false charges, and when that happened, he used his citizenship to protect himself. And he insisted on a fair trial before Caesar. I pray that we have godly men and women, Bible-believing Christians who will truly feel the call to public service, to do God's will. But understand, until Jesus comes, until Jesus comes, until Jesus comes back, there is never, ever, ever going to be a thoroughly Christian government on this planet. Our salvation is not in the government. Our salvation is in Jesus. And he has placed that authority over us. And we better honor and respect it because it's his authority that we're first submitted to.

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Submission In Work And Authority

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Now, I submit to authority for the sake of unbelievers. I submit to authority for the sake of the Lord. And then I submit to authority for my own sake. For your own sake. Verses 18 through 25 talks about this. I'm not going to reread the text because I'm running out of time, but I want to tell you this. In this paragraph, Peter addresses Christian slaves in the congregation. And he again stressed the importance of submission. Now, you would think if anybody submitted, it's a slave, right? He addresses this. Because what happens is some newly converted slaves thought that their spiritual freedom automatically guaranteed personal and political freedom. And you know what that caused? That caused all kinds of problems for themselves and the churches at that time. And the Apostle Paul dealt with this problem in 1 Corinthians 7, verses 20 through 24. He also touches on it in a letter to his friend Philemon. Little bitty letter. You ought to read that. Philemon. And thank God what happened eventually is the gospel eventually overthrew the Roman Empire. By the way, that's what overthrew the Roman Empire was the gospel. Not just their own downfall and depravity. The gospel facilitated, escalated the overthrow of the Roman Empire. And the gospel eventually overthrew the Roman Empire and the terrible institution of slavery in that Roman Empire. Even though, interestingly enough, the early church, you don't find it anywhere, the early church did not preach against either one. They didn't preach against the Roman Empire, and they didn't even preach against slavery. Now, there are no Christian slaves today in our culture, at least in the New Testament sense. But what Peter wrote about does have application to us as employees. We're to be submissive to those who are over us. And it's interesting here. He said, whether they're kind or unkind to us. Did you see that? Verse 18. I'll tell you, I don't like that. Can I just be honest with you? I don't like that at all. I mean, I'm to be submissive to my masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. That doesn't seem right. I don't have God's perspective, though, on that. See, He knows what's best for me. I don't always know what's best for me. Most of the time I don't know what's best for me, maybe. Christian employees. Of their employers, whether their employer is Christian or not. Each worker should do a good day's work and honestly earn his or her pay. Now, admittedly, sometimes a Christian employee may be wronged by an unbelieving co-worker or employer. You say, Well, I can't I just quit and find another job? Sure, absolutely. If that's the opening and the door that God gives you, and you feel like that's what you need to do, you transfer, do whatever you need to do in that case. But you don't poison the well as you go. You don't harm others in the process as you go. He says this.

Grace When Suffering Unjustly

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Verse 19, this is in the context of submitting to a master. For this is commendable. If because of conscience toward God, one endures grief, suffering wrongly. It's commendable. For conscience' sake, he says that even if I'm not in the wrong, I endure it patiently. Man, I don't like that. That goes against my human nature. See, here's the issue. This is really the bottom line. A Christian's response relationship to God is far more important than his or her relationship to men and other people. It's far more important. Matthew 5, verses 10 to 11 says, For this is grace. This is grace. This is thankworthy to bear reproach when you're innocent. And the fact of the matter is, anybody, including an unbeliever, can take it patiently when he or she's in the wrong. Right? It takes a serious, dedicated Christian, follower of Jesus, to take it when you're in the right. And he says, this is acceptable with God. This is grace. God can give us the grace to submit and take it and in this way glorify God. Now, that's to say if you're going to stay in your employment situation. If you're not, move on. Now, of course, my natural tendency, your natural tendency, our human tendency is to fight back and demand our rights. That is the natural response of the unsaved person. That is the natural response of the unbeliever. And we must do much more than they do. We must. Why? Because anybody can fight back. Anybody has that capability. But only it takes a spirit-filled Christian to submit and let God fight his or her battles. That's what it takes. Oh, how I need to be more spirit-filled. And I know you do too. I deal with some of you sometimes. I'm kidding. I love you. Kind of. No. In the Bible, now listen carefully. In the Bible, duty is always connected with doctrine. Duty is always connected with doctrine. It's never separated. God's word is all about the teaching of the truth of who God is. It's all about doctrine. And when Paul wrote to slaves, when Peter writes here to slaves, they relate these admonitions to the doctrines of the grace of God. Peter connects his counsels to the example of Jesus Christ. That's kind of what I just want to walk through here at the end and help us to see this. He connects it to the example of Jesus Christ, God's suffering servant. Peter had learned in his own experience that God's people serve through suffering. Remember, at first Peter had opposed Christ's suffering on the cross, but then he learned that most important lesson that we lead by serving and we serve by suffering, and he learned that this kind of suffering always leads to glory. Three very important applications right here at the end to help us see this picture.

Jesus Our Example And Savior

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Peter encouraged these suffering slaves right here in this context by presenting three pictures of Jesus Christ in these verses. Verse 21 on down through 25. First of all, he's our example in life. He said, He's our example. All that Jesus did on earth, as recorded in the four gospels, is a perfect example for us to follow. That's what he says. He suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. He's especially our example in the way he responded to suffering, in spite of the fact that he was sinless in both word and deed. He suffered at the hands of authorities. And this is this connects, of course, to Peter's words here in verses 19 through 20. I wonder how I would have responded during those circumstances. No, I don't. I know how I would have responded. Wouldn't have been like Jesus, probably. But he says that we're to follow in his steps. I think the fact that Peter used his sword in the garden suggests that he would have fought rather than submitted to the will of God. I'd have pulled my pistol, you know, whatever. Jesus proved that a person could be in the will of God, be greatly loved by God, and still suffer unjustly. There's a very shallow brand today of popular theology that claims that Christians will not suffer if they are in the will of God. Those who promote such ideas have not meditated very much on the cross. Because our Lord's humility and his submission were not evidence of weakness, but they were evidence of power, of great power. Jesus could have summoned the armies of heaven to rescue him. He could have done that. And in his words to Pilate in John chapter 18, they were proof that he was in complete command of the situation. It was Pilate, as I've mentioned, we were in John, it was on trial, not Jesus. And Jesus had committed himself to the Father, and the Father always judges righteously. However, I need to say this: we're not saved by following Christ's example, because each one of us would stumble over 1 Peter 2.22 that says, who did no sin. Sinners need a savior, not just an example. But after a person is saved, he or she will want, will desire to follow closely upon his steps and imitate the example. He's our substitute in his death. That's what it says, verse 24. He died as the sinner's substitute. He didn't die as a martyr, he died as a savior, a sinless substitute. It says he bore, he that he might bear, bore our sins in his own body on the tree. That means to carry as a sacrifice. I don't know about you, but the paradoxes of the cross never cease to amaze me. Christ was wounded that we might be healed. He died that we might live. We died with him that we might be dead to sin, so that we might live unto righteousness. And by the way, the healing Peter mentions here in 1 Peter 2 24, you might disagree with me on this, but biblically speaking, this is not physical healing, but rather the spiritual healing of the soul. Because one day, one day, when we have glorified bodies, all sicknesses will be gone. But meanwhile, in the meantime, and you know this to be true, even some of God's choicest servants may have physical afflictions. So that kind of teaching doesn't line up with reality or the fact or the truth of God's word. It's not the example, it's not the teacher who saves us, but Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. And then, verse 25. Verse 25 He's our watchful shepherd in heaven. In the Old Testament, The sheep died for the shepherd. But at Calvary, the shepherd died for the sheep. And every lost sinner, he said, But you were like sheep going astray. Every lost sinner is like a sheep going astray. Ignorant, lost, wandering in danger, away from the place of safety, and absolutely unable to help himself. Absolutely unable. And the shepherd went out to search for the lost sheep. And he died for the sheep. And now that we have been returned to the fold and are safely in his care, the Bible says right here that he watches over us lest we stray and get into trouble. Get into problems. He's our overseer. He's our bishop. So here then is the wonderful truth that Peter wanted to share. As we live in the Christian life and submit in times of suffering. What's happening? What's happening is this we are following Christ's example and becoming more like Him. That's what's happening in those moments. And we submit and we obey not only for the sake of unbelievers, for the sake of lost souls, not only for the Lord's sake, but also for our own sake, so that we may grow spiritually and become more like Christ. We need to be reminded that the unbelieving world is watching us, but also that the shepherd in heaven is also watching over us. And so what does that mean? That means we have nothing to fear. Not really. We can submit to him, we can submit to his authority, we can submit to the authority over us and know that he will work everything together, ultimately, for our good and for his glory.

Closing Hope And Next Steps

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Thank you for joining us today for Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. We hope today's message has encouraged you to trust God's sovereignty, follow the example of Christ, and live honorably before a watching world. For more biblical teaching and to hear this message again, or share it with friends. And if you'd like more biblical resources about the ministry, visit us online. Foundationsoftruth.net. That's foundationsoftruth.net. Until next time, remember when the world around us is uncertain and the road before us is difficult. God's word remains true. Christ remains faithful and our hope remains secure. Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann is supported in part by Cat Care Clinic, located in Ormond Beach, and serving families with thoughtful and compassionate veterinary care for cats. We're grateful for their partnership in helping carry biblical truth farther.

New Book Recommendation And Farewell

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Before we close today, I want to tell you about a resource that I believe will be a genuine help to you. I've recently published my first book, Saved, Understanding God's Work in Us. In over 30 years of pastoral ministry, one of the questions I've encountered more than almost any other is this How can I know that I am truly saved? It is a question that deserves a careful, biblical answer. And that is exactly what this book is designed to give. Saved, understanding God's work in us, walks through what the Scripture teaches about salvation, what God has done for us, what he is doing in us, and the assurance that every believer can have because of his work. If you want to understand salvation more deeply, stand on firmer ground in your faith, or be better equipped to share the gospel with someone you love, then this book was written for you. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes Noble, and Books a Million, and pretty much anywhere you buy books. Just search Saved, Understanding God's Work in Us by Dr. Timothy Mann. I pray it strengthens your faith. Thanks for being with us today. God bless you.