SPEAKER_00: Good morning everyone.
SPEAKER_00: So our reading today is from 1 Peter chapter 2.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to start reading at verse 11.
SPEAKER_00: It's on page 1218 in the church Bible.
SPEAKER_00: And now there's a chance for the congregation to demonstrate their power.
SPEAKER_00: If they want a Bible, anyone put your hand up and someone will come and bring you one.
SPEAKER_00: No hands?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: So let's start reading 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 11.
SPEAKER_00: Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to abstain from sinful desires which wage war against your soul.
SPEAKER_00: Live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day that he visits us.
SPEAKER_00: Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority, whether to the Emperor as the supreme authority, or to governors who are sent by Him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right, for it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.
SPEAKER_00: Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil.
SPEAKER_00: Live as God's slaves, show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
SPEAKER_01: Good morning, my name's Dave.
SPEAKER_01: I'm one of the two pastors in the church.
SPEAKER_01: If you're not surprised to see me up here, I am.
SPEAKER_01: Because it should be Hafan sharing with you this morning on this text.
SPEAKER_01: When we settled on preaching the series in One Peter and I looked at the breakdown, this text, particularly under the heading as we look at it this morning, submission to authorities, I thought there's no person better qualified in terms of their current experience of living under an oppressive regime and understanding what that's like than Hassan.
SPEAKER_01: So I asked him, Hassan, would you preach this text?
SPEAKER_01: He said, Yes, I'd happy to do that.
SPEAKER_01: And then when we had to start a week later than planned, I checked with him that he was still going to be here and he could still preach that text.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Yes, that's fine.
SPEAKER_01: And then Tuesday afternoon my phone rang, it was Hassan.
SPEAKER_01: Hi Dave, um, about Sunday, I'm not going to be here.
SPEAKER_01: I'm really sorry.
SPEAKER_01: And it's like, okay, I'll do it.
SPEAKER_01: We'll work it out.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, so I trust that God in his grace, um, whilst I had purposed that Hassan spoke on this text, uh, he seemed to have another plan, hopefully a better plan than my original.
SPEAKER_01: So we come together this morning to look at this text.
SPEAKER_01: Please do have your Bible open, page 1218, as it's been said, and follow it through.
SPEAKER_01: Well, follow the text through, but let us look at this.
SPEAKER_01: We continue our series this morning in 1 Peter.
SPEAKER_01: Over the past three weeks, we've thought together about a living hope, living in holiness, and living as a people belonging to God.
SPEAKER_01: This morning we begin a three-part section on submission.
SPEAKER_01: Today, submission to authorities, then submission to masters.
SPEAKER_01: That's the week after next, because next week we're looking at the text of Pentecost.
SPEAKER_01: And then the third part, the submission in marriage.
SPEAKER_01: At first glance, this may feel uncomfortable territory.
SPEAKER_01: We live in a culture that values autonomy and independence.
SPEAKER_01: We're naturally suspicious of authority, especially when we see corruption, injustice, and misuse of power.
SPEAKER_01: And yet, Peter writes these words to believers living in the Roman Empire.
SPEAKER_01: The Emperor at the time was Nero.
SPEAKER_01: Peter and the Apostle Paul both knew suffering personally, yet both write on the theme of submission to authorities.
SPEAKER_01: Both would eventually be killed by the state for proclaiming Christ, and yet neither cause Christians to rebellion or revolution.
SPEAKER_01: Instead, Peter teaches believers how to live faithfully under earthly authority while belonging ultimately to another kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: This morning at the Lord's table, we remembered the Lord Jesus Christ, the King who willingly gave himself for us.
SPEAKER_01: We remembered the one who was betrayed, falsely accused, mocked by rulers, condemned by corrupt authority, and crucified by the Roman state.
SPEAKER_01: Yet he did not retaliate.
SPEAKER_01: He entrusted himself to his father.
SPEAKER_01: And now as we come to 1 Peter 2, Peter teaches us what it means to live as people shaped by that same Christ in a hostile world.
SPEAKER_01: That's important because Peter's call to submission is not rooted in fear, weakness, or political conformity, but in the example of Jesus Christ Himself.
SPEAKER_01: Christian submission is not passive surrender to evil.
SPEAKER_01: It is Christ-shaped witness.
SPEAKER_01: It is confidence in God's sovereignty, even when earthly powers act unjustly.
SPEAKER_01: At the Lord's table, we have been reminded we belong to Christ.
SPEAKER_01: We are one body, redeemed by his blood, and we're citizens of another kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: And that's what Peter wanted to emphasize when he wrote, Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles.
SPEAKER_01: So communion reminds us this world is not our ultimate home.
SPEAKER_01: So my prayer this morning is that we would hear Peter's words not merely as behave better, but rather live out the identity Christ has secured for you.
SPEAKER_01: And so the big idea this morning that I want us to get a hold of is this that because Christians belong ultimately to God's kingdom, we live honorably under earthly authority, so that our lives point people to Christ.
SPEAKER_01: So as we begin the text of a number of points just to work us through, we begin looking at this thought.
SPEAKER_01: Remember who you are, as we begin in verse 11.
SPEAKER_01: So Peter wrote, Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, Peter reminds suffering believers that they are not fully at home here.
SPEAKER_01: This is foundational to everything else in this passage.
SPEAKER_01: Christians are citizens of heaven, living temporarily in earthly societies.
SPEAKER_01: We engage seriously with the world around us.
SPEAKER_01: We care about justice.
SPEAKER_01: We care about truth.
SPEAKER_01: We care about our communities and our nation.
SPEAKER_01: But our deepest allegiance is not to nation, it's not to a political party, it's not to an ideology, nor is it to government.
SPEAKER_01: Our deepest allegiance allegiance must always be to Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Peter's readers were already experiencing pressure, suspicion, and marginalization because of their faith.
SPEAKER_01: The severe persecution under Nero would intensify later, but even now, these believers knew what it meant to stand out from the surrounding culture.
SPEAKER_01: And Peter does not tell them blend in completely or withdraw entirely.
SPEAKER_01: Instead, he calls them to a faithful distinctiveness that guards us from two equal dangers: withdrawal from society on the one hand or total assimilation into society on the other.
SPEAKER_01: Many Christians today increasingly feel uncomfortable in British culture.
SPEAKER_01: Peter would say that shouldn't surprise us.
SPEAKER_01: Not because Christians are trying to avoid, to create conflict, but because following Christ inevitably places it at odds with every culture.
SPEAKER_01: If our values are shaped by Jesus Christ, there will always be moments when we feel like strangers here.
SPEAKER_01: And then to my next point, fight the real battle as we continue in verse 11.
SPEAKER_01: Peter writes, Abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul.
SPEAKER_01: Peter suddenly moves from politics to holiness.
SPEAKER_01: And that's striking.
SPEAKER_01: The greatest threat to the church is not Nero.
SPEAKER_01: It is not Rome.
SPEAKER_01: It is not hostile media.
SPEAKER_01: It is not secular government.
SPEAKER_01: The greatest danger is the sinful desires within us.
SPEAKER_01: Peter is more concerned about the corruption of the Christian heart than the corruption of the Roman Empire.
SPEAKER_01: And this is profoundly relevant today.
SPEAKER_01: It is possible for Christians to become consumed with outrage about society while neglecting private holiness.
SPEAKER_01: We can become experts in identifying the sins of others while ignoring pride, bitterness, greed, lust, envy, anger, or self-righteousness in our own hearts.
SPEAKER_01: But Peter says the real battle is spiritual.
SPEAKER_01: Sin wages war against the soul.
SPEAKER_01: So where is our focus this morning?
SPEAKER_01: Are we more troubled by the moral failings of society than by our own need for holiness before God?
SPEAKER_01: Because no political victory can substitute for spiritual transformation.
SPEAKER_01: And then think about this that we live such good lives that people see Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 12.
SPEAKER_01: Peter writes, live such good lives among the pagans.
SPEAKER_01: Peter assumes Christians will be misunderstood and slandered.
SPEAKER_01: The early Christians were accused of atheism because they refused to worship pagan gods, disloyalty, because Christ came before Caesar, social disruption, because they would not participate in pagan practices, even cannibalism, because of misunderstandings about communion.
SPEAKER_01: Yet Peter does not say, win every argument, dominate the culture, or even retreat in fear.
SPEAKER_01: Instead, he says, do good, live honourably, let your conduct speak.
SPEAKER_01: Peter's concern is not merely that Christians avoid trouble, but that our lives help others see the beauty and truth of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: That is why he says, that they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
SPEAKER_01: Our lives are meant to point people toward Christ.
SPEAKER_01: And this remains deeply relevant in modern Britain.
SPEAKER_01: Christians may increasingly be viewed with suspicion on issues of sexuality, truth, exclusivity, ethics, or even the authority of Scripture.
SPEAKER_01: Peter's instruction is not panic or outrage, but visible goodness.
SPEAKER_01: Peter expects Christians to Christian conduct to have a missionary impact.
SPEAKER_01: Let me say that again.
SPEAKER_01: Peter expects Christian conduct to have a missionary impact.
SPEAKER_01: That gives ordinary Christian living enormous dignity.
SPEAKER_01: Not everyone preaches publicly, not everyone leads ministries, but every believer bears witness through visible conduct.
SPEAKER_01: As a church, we influence around 170 folks in the building on a Sunday, and a good number more viewing our services online even now or later in the day or later in the week.
SPEAKER_01: But how many more do we influence outside of the church?
SPEAKER_01: Family, neighbours, friends, colleagues, those we meet on the bus or in the queue.
SPEAKER_01: The church's most persuasive, apologetic is often the beauty of transformed lives.
SPEAKER_01: Does your life cause people to want to know your God?
SPEAKER_01: Then Peter writes under this heading, submit for the Lord's sake, verses 13 to 15.
SPEAKER_01: This is perhaps the hardest section of the passage, and that's why I thought it most appropriate to ask Hassan to do it.
SPEAKER_01: But he's not here, and so am I.
SPEAKER_01: Peter says, Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 13.
SPEAKER_01: Paul says something very similar in Romans 13, if you read that later.
SPEAKER_01: Paul writes, let everyone be subject to the governing authorities.
SPEAKER_01: And remember again, both Peter and Paul wrote under Nero.
SPEAKER_01: That historic context gives these commands a shocking force.
SPEAKER_01: So look at four principles here.
SPEAKER_01: First, the principle of submission.
SPEAKER_01: Peter is not saying every government action is good, nor is he saying rulers are always righteous, or that Christians must obey evil unquestioningly.
SPEAKER_01: But he is teaching that normal Christian posture toward authority is not rebellion, hostility, or contempt.
SPEAKER_01: It is respectful, peaceful submission wherever obedience to God allows it.
SPEAKER_01: That would have sounded extraordinary to the believers living under Roman rule.
SPEAKER_01: And yet Peter still says, submit yourselves.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because Christians trust that God remains sovereign even over flawed earthly rulers.
SPEAKER_01: Then the limits of submission.
SPEAKER_01: Now the Bible is also clear that submission to earthly authority is never absolute.
SPEAKER_01: The apostles said in Acts 5, we must obey God rather than human beings.
SPEAKER_01: When earthly authorities command what God forbids or forbid what God commands, Christians must obey God first.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible includes several examples of faithful civil disobedience.
SPEAKER_01: From the Old Testament to the Hebrew midwives refusing Pharaoh's command, or Daniel continuing to pray despite the king's decree, and then the apostles continuing to preach, Christ despite opposition to their preaching.
SPEAKER_01: So Christians are not called to blind obedience, but neither are we called to a posture of constant rebellion.
SPEAKER_01: The normal Christian pattern is this submission where we can, resistance only where we must, and honoring Christ in both.
SPEAKER_01: And then the heart of submission.
SPEAKER_01: Notice what Peter says for the Lord's sake.
SPEAKER_01: This is really the theological heart of the command.
SPEAKER_01: Peter is not advocating political quietism, nor personality-driven obedience or nationalism.
SPEAKER_01: Christian submission is Christ-directed.
SPEAKER_01: It is worshipful.
SPEAKER_01: It is missional and rooted in trust in God's sovereignty.
SPEAKER_01: Think of Jesus standing before Pilate.
SPEAKER_01: Pilate tried to assert his authority, saying that he had power either to free or crucify him.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus replied, You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.
SPEAKER_01: That beautifully captures both submission to human authority and confidence in God's ultimate sovereignty over it.
SPEAKER_01: So submission for the Lord's sake becomes an act of trust in God, a witness to the world, and ultimately an act of worship.
SPEAKER_01: And then the purpose of government, as we look at verse 14, Peter continues, whether to the Emperor as a supreme authority or to governors.
SPEAKER_01: Does that surprise you?
SPEAKER_01: Did it surprise the foreigners and exiles Peter was writing to who lived under Emperor Nero?
SPEAKER_01: Peter leaves no room for misunderstanding.
SPEAKER_01: Whether directly under the Emperor in Rome or under governors across the wider empire, Christians were still called to submission.
SPEAKER_01: And Peter explains why authorities exist.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 14, to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right.
SPEAKER_01: Government is not presented merely as unfortunate, necessary, or inherently oppressive.
SPEAKER_01: Government is a part of God's common grace in restraining evil and preserving order in a fallen world.
SPEAKER_01: This matters because many.
SPEAKER_01: Many modern people swing between cynicism about authority and unrealistic expectations of such authority.
SPEAKER_01: Many of us instinctively criticize government while forgetting how much daily stability we quietly depend upon.
SPEAKER_01: It is government that is charged with maintaining law and order, operating courts, establishing laws, supporting emergency services, and maintaining national infrastructure.
SPEAKER_01: Even flawed governments are often instruments through which God restrains chaos, protects the vulnerable, and preserves social order.
SPEAKER_01: Without authority, society does not become freer, it becomes more dangerous.
SPEAKER_01: And yet, Peter knew governments would often fail in this God-given role.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes authorities reward evil and punish good.
SPEAKER_01: That is precisely why Peter's teaching is so remarkable under Nero.
SPEAKER_01: And then we look at the witness of good conduct in verse 15.
SPEAKER_01: Peter then says, For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.
SPEAKER_01: Notice Peter does not say Christians silence critics primarily through outrage, aggression, or political domination, but through visibly good lives.
SPEAKER_01: Christianity spread largely through households, through trade networks, through acts of mercy, and the quiet witness of ordinary believers living differently.
SPEAKER_01: Roman historians noted how Christians cared for the sick during plagues, rescued abandoned infants, and visited prisoners.
SPEAKER_01: Tertullian, a Christian theologian and writer, noted how Christians, sorry, records pagans saying of Christians, see how they love one another.
SPEAKER_01: Their lives gave credibility to their message.
SPEAKER_01: And Peter says, that still matters today.
SPEAKER_01: So let us remember, submit where we can, resist only where we must, and honor Christ in both.
SPEAKER_01: And then Christian freedom is not autonomy.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 16 with me.
SPEAKER_01: Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil.
SPEAKER_01: Live as God's slaves.
SPEAKER_01: Modern culture defines freedom as I answer to nobody.
SPEAKER_01: But biblical freedom is different.
SPEAKER_01: Biblical freedom is freedom from sin so that we may gladly belong to God.
SPEAKER_01: Romans 8 tells us we are set free by the Spirit who gives life.
SPEAKER_01: And Galatians 5 says, You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh.
SPEAKER_01: Christian freedom never becomes arrogance or contempt or lawlessness or self-assertion.
SPEAKER_01: And once again, communion helps us understand this.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus possessed absolute authority and absolute freedom.
SPEAKER_01: Yet he humbled himself in obedience to the Father.
SPEAKER_01: True freedom is not self-rule.
SPEAKER_01: True freedom is joyful obedience to God.
SPEAKER_01: And as we draw to a close a concise Christian ethic, Peter finishes with four simple but profound commands.
SPEAKER_01: Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor.
SPEAKER_01: Notice the structure carefully.
SPEAKER_01: Respect everyone, love the church, fear God, honour the emperor.
SPEAKER_01: First, Peter says, show proper respect to everyone.
SPEAKER_01: A few years ago, when working with Swindon Youth for Christ at Lydia Park Academy, we used to teach a lesson on respect to each year seven tutor group.
SPEAKER_01: At the end of the lesson, we asked pupils to finish this sentence.
SPEAKER_01: A person deserves respect when?
SPEAKER_01: Most answers went something like, when they respect me.
SPEAKER_01: And that's understandable.
SPEAKER_01: But if everybody waits for somebody else to show respect first, society quickly breaks down.
SPEAKER_01: Peter says, show proper respect to everyone, not just those we agree with, not just those who are kind, and not just those who earn it politically or morally.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because every human being bears the image of God.
SPEAKER_01: And this is ultimately a step more than we suggested to the year seven pupils to adopt.
SPEAKER_01: You see, only God is feared.
SPEAKER_01: The emperor is merely honored.
SPEAKER_01: That protects Christians from two opposite errors: idealizing government or despising it.
SPEAKER_01: Notice too how Peter carefully distinguishes between honour the emperor and fear God.
SPEAKER_01: That distinction is politically explosive in the Roman world.
SPEAKER_01: Caesar was increasingly treated with divine reverence.
SPEAKER_01: Peter refuses that.
SPEAKER_01: The emperor receives honour, only God is held in reverent fear.
SPEAKER_01: That means Christians are respectful citizens, but never ultimate loyalists to earthly power.
SPEAKER_01: That is enormously relevant today because modern societies also demand forms of ultimate allegiance: political, ideological, moral, or even identity-based.
SPEAKER_01: As Christians, we are to honor earthly authorities, but reserve worship, conscience, and ultimate loyalty for God alone.
SPEAKER_01: And as I conclude, Peter's vision is not of angry Christians, fearful Christians or hidden Christians.
SPEAKER_01: It is of holy Christians.
SPEAKER_01: Christians whose lives are so honorable, so gracious, so respectful, so visibly shaped by Jesus Christ, that even in a hostile world, people catch sight of the gospel through them.
SPEAKER_01: Close with this thought.
SPEAKER_01: When people look at your life, do they see something of Jesus Christ?