Submission and persecution..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Would you please open up your Bible to the first letter of Peter? The first letter of Peter.

By God's grace, we can come together once again and meditate upon the word of our Lord and Savior. I don't know if you have noticed, but it seems that every chapter from the book of Genesis and also from the book of Exodus, it seems that every chapter starts with, and then the Lord said, and then the Lord said. It was then the Lord said to Abraham, then the Lord said to Isaac, then the Lord said to Jacob, and then the Lord said to Moses. It seems that every section of each one of the chapters starts with the words of God being told. to one of God's servants, so that the Lord may bring about His purpose for His people.

This evening, beloved brethren, we are going to be addressing chapter 2 of the first letter of Peter. Chapter 2 of the first letter of the book of Peter. Last week, I tried to give a topical, kind of like theological introduction to the contents of verses 13 through 15. But I want us that this evening, by God's grace, we may address the section that is in chapter 2, verse 13, going through verse 17. All of that section we're going to be addressing by God's grace.

And as I said last week, we are now starting a new section in the thought of the Apostle Peter. And that section starts in chapter two, verse 11, and goes all the way through chapter three, verse 12. That's why he says in verse 8 in chapter 3, finally, because he's finishing that section. So, beloved brethren, let's read together, paying much attention to each one of the words of God that have been given to us in Scripture from chapter 2, verse 11. all the way through chapter 3, verse 12, and we're going to be addressing verse 13 through 17.

So pay attention to each one of the words, and with a reverent heart, let's read together the word of our Savior. Now, verse 11, Beloved, I urge you, as sojourners and exiles, to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject, for the Lord's sake, to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to these you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps.

He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continue entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds ye have been healed, for you were strained like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls."

Chapter 3, verse 1. Likewise, Wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external, the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear. But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord.

And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Finally, all of you have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless. For to these you are called, that you may obtain a blessing.

For whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

Amen. This is the word of God. And as I said, beloved brothers and sisters, we're going to be addressing the section that goes in verse 13. through verse 17, in which the Apostle Peter, by the inspiration, by the authority, and by the power of the Holy Spirit of Christ, just as he was in the prophets of the Old Testament, now in the Apostle, he is going to give this exhortation to the church to be subject to every human authority for the Lord's sake, either the emperor as supreme or to the governor as someone who has been sent by him, whose mission is to punish those who do evil, or to encourage, or to praise, or to commend those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing so, we Christians might put to silence the ignorance of these foolish people."

He calls them foolish people. And then he speaks of this freedom that we have. He calls us to live as free people, and not taking the freedom that we have as something, as a cover up for evil, but rather to live as servants of God. And therefore, the Christian has the ability to honor everyone, to fear God, to love the brotherhood, and to honor the emperor as supreme authority. Brothers and sisters, the section that we have here, as I said last week, is a different section of thought compared to what we studied from chapter 1, verse 10, all the way through chapter 2, verse 12.

I said last week that now the Apostle is going to give us, the Church, very practical, very detailed instructions of external obedience. The Apostle is going to address four areas of the life of the Christian in which he is going to give clear instructions, precise, no general commands to obedience, but he's going to instruct us to specific instructions of obedience. The first one is the area of the government. The second one is the area of masters and slaves or employers and employees. The third one is the marriage, husbands and wives.

And the fourth one is the context of the church. And now there is a very particular way in which the apostle is going to present those four exhortations. This evening, we are only going to be addressing the subjection that we are supposed to, the submission that we are supposed to have to the government. But the apostle is giving these four exhortations, these four instructions in a very particular way. He's going to give us the instruction, what we are supposed to do, and then he's going to give us the reason.

He gives us what we are supposed to obey externally for each one of them. And then he's going to give us the reason. And that reason is applied theologically and doctrinally to the life of the Christian. So if you see it, I want you to see the structure of what Apostle does. In verse 13, for instance, he's going to call us, verse 13 in chapter 2, he calls us to be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution.

This is the instruction to be obedient to the government. But then in verse 15, he gives us the reason with the word for, and that is For this is the will of God. He gives us the reason for that particular instruction. Then in verse 18, the apostle is going to give us the other very specific instruction, and that is servants be subject to your masters with all respect. and then in verse 19 he gives us the reason for this is a gracious thing with mindful of God and same pattern is going to repeat when you go to chapter 3 speaking of the submission of the wives verse 1 likewise in chapter 3 verse 1 likewise wives be subject to your own husbands And then the apostle, after elaborating on that in verse 5, he's going to give us again the reason for this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves.

And then finally, when he concludes that section, in chapter or in verse 8 he's going to speak to the church he's going to speak to christians and he says finally all of you have unity of mind and sympathy and brotherly love speaking to the church and then in verse 10 he's going to give the reason for whosoever desires to love life and see good dates and so on and so on. By God's grace, we will arrive to those sections of the scripture in the future. I hope if he extends our days and gives us life and keeps us together as a church. But now we're going to be addressing beloved brethren. the exhortation or the instruction that the apostle is given to obedience to these governing authorities, and I want us to do it that way, seeing the instruction that he is given to us Christians to be submissive or to submit, to obey the governing authorities, and also the reason that he gives us which is applied to us as Christians.

Beloved brethren, brothers and sisters, the structure of the instruction that he gives is very clear. The apostle is calling us to be submissive, to obey, to put ourselves under the authority of governing authorities. He's not going to say to some governing authorities. He doesn't say to the ones that you think that are worthy of your submission. He doesn't say to the ones that you think that are good enough so that you may submit to them.

But he says to every human institution, the Apostle calls us to be obedient to every human institution, not the ones that we think that are worthy of that respect or that honor but actually he includes every single governing authority and the purpose and he says that this is for the Lord's sake. It doesn't say that this is for your sake, that in a way that you are to preserve yourself from the punishment of the government that will be upon you if you disobey the government. The Apostle Paul addresses something of that in Romans chapter 13, but the Apostle prefers not to say that. He says that the obedience or the submission that you are supposed to have to The government, it is for the Lord's sake, not for your sake. He doesn't even say for the sake of the church, so that by being obedient to the standards or by the precepts of the government, that the church is going to be protected, even though when he's writing to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 2, he calls us to pray for the governing authority so that we may have a peaceful life.

He doesn't even say that we are to submit, obey the government for the government itself. But rather, he says, that we are to submit to the government or to every human institution for the Lord's sake. There are many reasons why this could be for the Lord's sake. If you go to the letters of Paul, Paul says that whether you eat or drink, everything that you do, whatever you do, you do for the glory of God. And therefore, obedience to the government is for the sake of the Lord, that the Lord may be glorified.

Or you could go to Romans 2 and say that the hidden blaspheme the name of the Lord because of what we do. And if we disobey, then God is going to be blasphemed because we represent Christ. And all of those things could be true. But beloved brethren, I'm going to submit to you that these principles of headship, these principles of authority, these principles of obedience, these principles of submission, are not principles that were invented or created by men. It's not that men decided when they became more civilized and they understood more how societies were supposed to work that they came to the conclusion that societies were to operate in a particular way and hierarchies of authority were necessary and therefore submission of the lower levels of those hierarchies was necessary so the system will operate.

Beloved brother, The principle of headship and authority and organization is not invented or created by men, but it was given to us by God himself. God is a God of order. God is a God of authority. When he created men back in the garden, he said to Adam, I have created you in my image and in my own likeness so that you may have dominion over everything that I have created. The purpose for which man was created in the image of God and in his likeness was so that he will have dominion and rule on behalf of God.

And the ruling that Adam was supposed to exercise in this world was under the ruling and under the kinship of the Creator and under the ruling and the authority of God. To the point, beloved brethren, keep your mind with me, please. that when Adam had this command from God to have dominion and to rule, that God created Eve of the woman so that she would be a helpmate to him in the purpose that God had given men. Men and authority and this purpose of headship is something that is rooted in God himself. God is the God that defines that which is righteous and that which is unrighteous.

Or if you want to speak in terms of government and authority, it's God the one that defines that which is obedience and that which is disobedience. God is the one who defines the order of the things to the point that Paul can say that every authority has been instituted by God. himself, because headship and authority is rooted in the nature of God himself. It was the intention of God that his people will rule and have dominion over everything that was created under the kingship and under the authority of God. Israel had a king, but they asked for another king, and the king was God.

And God gave them a king, and he accepted this system of authority. But the system of headship and authority, it is rooted, it has given to the world, rooted in the covenant of creation, in the covenant with Adam in the garden, to all humanity. That means, beloved brethren, That when the apostle says to us, to the church, that we are to be subject to governing authorities for the Lord's sake. It is because ultimately, ultimately we are not obeying men. It's because no, we are not submitted ultimately to the systems of men, but rather we're following the system and the structure of authority that God himself has given it.

And by doing so, by doing it biblically, according to what is written, Then we are not bringing glory to the system or to the kingdoms of men. We are bringing glory. to the God of this universe, who rules over everything, who is the one that is seated on his throne, and the one that is governing everything. This is very important. When we respond positively to these commandments, be subject and submissive to the government, we are actually doing it for the Lord's sake.

Now, beloved brothers and sisters, think about this. We are to submit to governments or to systems which are integrated or which comprise people who are wicked and righteous, whose mind is deprived or whose mind is depraved or whose mind is filled with unrighteousness. Yet the system that they all together ran is a system that has been established by God, is instituted by God. So then the line, or let's say the danger, we have a danger of being either rebellious against this government because we see the wickedness and the unrighteousness that this government applies to society or the rulings in society. The other danger that we have is that we blindly submit to the wicked rulings of the government just because we have been told that we have to submit to the government.

And what I said last week, beloved brethren, is that the righteous standard of God is that which defines the extent to which we are to submit to the government. But I wanted to point you to some four important things that we are supposed to understand when we are meditating upon our duty as Christians when submitting to the government? What are we going to understand or what are the things that we are supposed to have in our minds and in our hearts by the Word of God and the Spirit of God in us? so that we will understand biblically, according to what is written, our duty of submission to the government. The first thing that I said last week is that we have to remember this dichotomy of who we are and where we are.

This contrast of who we are in Christ and where we are. This is that we are exiles, that we are sojourners, that we belong to a kingdom that is not of this world but has been inaugurated and established in this world and that we're walking towards glory, but that we belong to Christ, that we are in by grace through faith in Christ, but that we are in exile in this world. This is this dichotomy of who we are and where we are, that just as the Lord Jesus Christ is in John 17, that we are not of this world, but that he does not pray that we might be removed or taken from the world, but rather he prays that we might be kept from the evil one, because we are supposed to stay in this world. And Ephesians 2 says that Satan is the prince of the power of the earth, that he's the one that is ruling in this world. So we belong to a different kingdom.

We are united to a king, but we live in this present world. But now, brothers and sisters, the king of this kingdom, is a king that is not only the ruler of this kingdom, but is the ruler of all the kingdoms. And that's what I tried to point to you last week with the story of Daniel, to show you that it is God, the one that rules, that is the most high, the rules over all the kingdoms of men, that he is the one that establishes the kingdoms of men and he is the one that takes the kingdoms of men. So then what the psalmist In Psalm 2, these rhetorical questions will make sense when he asks, why do the nations rage? Why do the hidden rage?

Why do the people rage? Why do the nations come together and they plan these vain things against the Lord and his anointed? Why do they come together, the rulers and the kings of the nations? Why do they come together planning these things against the Lord and his anointed, trying to break the court of authority that is upon them? What does the Lord say to those things?

He says that in his wrath and in his judgment, he responds to him and he has set his king over his mountain, his holy mountain, which is Zion. And then the Lord is speaking to the Lord, says, you are my son. And today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will give you the nations as an inheritance. Christ Jesus, the one that says, all authority has been given unto me on earth, on earth that is not heaven, all authority given to the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, when Christ came, he came as a king. And indeed, all authority, brothers and sisters, has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ. No, a future is catalogical authority. No, a kingdom that is only abiding or that lives in the future, but a kingdom that is here. He is the king of king and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ, the one who died upon the cross, the Lamb of God, who received the wrath of God upon that cross.

He is the king of king. And therefore, beloved brothers and sisters, he is above all kingdoms. of men. Kingdoms of men are servants of Christ. Kingdoms of men, the kings, the lords of this world are servants of Christ.

They are the deacons of God, as Paul will say in Romans 13. They are the servants of God, and they are supposed to rule according to the righteous and perfect law of God, as has been given to us in scripture. That's why Paul says that the kingdoms of men or that the governing authorities are the avengers of God. that they are the administrators of the wrath and the judgment of God. Brothers and sisters, this should give us absolute peace and rest, because independently of what we see when we open our eyes and the wickedness of the kingdoms of men, The Bible is very clear that there is a king of kings and lords of lords who is ruling above them and that he has defined the time that they are going to be ruling in this world and how they are going to be ruling and when they're going to finish because there's a kingdom that has been established and that will come to fulfillment.

Praise God! Because this is by grace, not by the might of men, but brothers and sisters. There's a very important concept that I want you to pay attention to. May the Lord give me grace to explain this. Now, brothers and sisters, think about this.

governments, as what Paul says in Romans 13, the government of men are the avengers of God, that they administer the judgment and the wrath of God. So that means that they have the ability to discern that which is good and that which is evil. In the words of the Apostle Peter, it says in verse 14, or two governors are sent by him. What is their mission? To punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.

Do you see the complications of what the Bible teaches about doing good and identifying that which is evil? The Bible clearly teaches that the individual is not good, that because the sin that it is within us, that we have been separated from God and that we are utterly unrighteous, unable to submit ourselves to the law of God, that there is no one good, that no one seeks after God, that there is no one good, not even Yet, when it comes to a system that rules a society, the Bible clearly speaks that this system, that is comprised by people who are unrighteous naturally and in their heart, can come up with rulings that can be determined as good or evil. Actually, governments are supposed to punish those who do evil, and the government is supposed to encourage or to commend those who do good. Now, there's no contradiction, beloved brothers and sisters. Man individually, as an individual, if he is not in Christ, He's an enemy of God, as Romans 4 will say.

We are unable to submit ourselves to the law of God. But when it comes to the system of government, God providentially works through the God-given conscience in the work of the law written in the heart of the people, so that they, as a system, may be able to come up with rulings that are in accordance to that which has been given to us in the Scripture. the government as a whole decides that killing or murdering is a crime, it is not because they are smart. It's not because they have this ability, this moral ability to discern between good and bad. It is because the God-given conscience, because the work of the Lord written in their heart, in the heart of every person when they are created, has taken them to conclude as a system, as a governing system, to come up with a conclusion that murdering it is something wrong.

They will not necessarily call it a sin. We will love that we'll call it a sin, but it's a crime and therefore is something unrighteous in the vocabulary of men. Now, brothers and sisters, this is very important because this is the exhortation that the government has given us. And now I want to point you to actually what I want to teach tonight. And that is found in verse 15.

In verse 15, the reason why we are supposed, beloved brothers and sisters, the reason why we are supposed to submit to the government, it is because this is the will of God. And what is the will of God? It says that by doing good, You should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. So now we are not talking about the good works that have been producing us by this period because we are Christians necessarily. But here we in the context of obedience to the government.

So that is that these good deeds that we are supposed to do or this doing good is in relation to our submission to the government. I really hope that I'm not being so complicated. Brothers, he's calling us, in verse 15, he's saying, that is the will of God, that by doing good, not the good that is rooted in the work of this people within us necessarily, but in our submission to the government, that we are to put to silence the ignorance of certain foolish people. Why am I making this emphasis? Because this verse, beloved brethren, is going to define the nature of persecution.

Okay? Just stay with me. This verse is going to define the nature of persecution for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, who are these foolish people who are ignorant, or this ignorance of these foolish people? If you put your eyes in chapter 1 verse 14, The Apostle has already spoken.

The Apostle has already spoken. Chapter 1, verse 14. Of this ignorance, he says, As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. That is when we went in this thick darkness, and we were taken to the marvelous light of Jesus Christ, that before we were ignorant. That is what the Bible calls us foolish, that we did not know the things of God, but God opened our eyes and then he took us into this light.

So these ignorant, foolish people or unreasonable people are the lost. These are the Gentiles, spiritually speaking, those who are not the true Jews, those who have not been circumcised in their heart by the circumcision of the Spirit. Those are the lost. So, brothers and sisters, that verse is saying, be with me, please, with your mind and your heart, that it is the will of God that by submitting to the righteous rulings of the government, because we're talking in the context of the government here, that we are to put to silence the ignorance of foolish people being the lost. Now, if you need to put to silence something, that means that these people were saying something, right?

Because that's why they're being put to silence. The apostle has already told us what is the speech of these lost people, spiritually speaking Gentiles in verse 12. In verse 12, he has already told us what they speak against Christians. He says, keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable. That is, obey, do good things, good doing.

That is what he's saying in verse 14. Why? So that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God." Brothers and sisters, I don't know if I'm able to communicate this. The apostle is calling these people, by their submission and their obedience to the rulings of the government, to put to silence the Gentiles, spiritually speaking, or the lost who will come to them to speak against Christians as evil doers.

He has said this already. So the Gentiles, the spiritual speaking, the Gentiles will come and speak of the Christian as evil doers. And the good deeds, the obedience to the government is that which puts that to silence. Now, why is this important, beloved brothers and sisters? This, I submit to you, that this defines the nature of persecution.

The nature of persecution, it is this. People are not going to persecute us against moral failures. People are not going to speak so much against the Christian of moral, spiritual behaviors. They will. They will call us liars.

They will call us immoral. So they will call us whatever thing may happen within the moral aspect of the person. But most of the persecution that will happen, and then I will prove that to you, is in relation to the government. He's calling us not sinners, because remember that the laws cannot differentiate that which is of God and that which is of Satan. They will call us criminals.

Persecution will come to the church by saying these people are criminals. They are not submitting to the government. Now, think about this and then step back in your mind and see in your mind Old Testament and New Testament and try to think about the examples of persecution in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Almost every single example of persecution against the people of God was always pointing to these people as criminals. Not saying they are, morally speaking, in shortcomings or failures, but rather they are criminals.

Think about the unjust and wicked, unrighteous ruling that was given in the times of Daniel, that people were supposed only to pray, I think it was to the statue or to one of their gods, and that they could not pray to any other god. This was an unrighteous ruling of the government of Babylon. And then, of course, because it was unrighteous and this was against the righteousness of God, Daniel was not going to submit to that. Even though the Bible says that we are to submit, we do not submit to things that are unrighteous and against God. So Daniel came and opened the window and prayed.

Everyone saw him and they said, he is a criminal. He has broken the law. Same thing happened with his friends. And when you see the prophets, the people of Israel persecuted the prophets, as criminals. Now brothers and sisters, I don't have to give you big examples, but I just have to point you to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ was not accused necessarily or only as an immoral person. He was accused of being a criminal. He was accused in the system as being a criminal. Go with your eyes to Luke 23 so you can see it yourself. Luke chapter 23.

Let's just read this lengthy portion, but I want you to have this in your mind. What is the accusation that the Jews or the Pharisees are bringing against the Lord Jesus Christ? Luke 23, verse 1, it says, Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. Now, who is Pilate? Pilate is the governor.

Pilate is the governing authority. Pilate is the one that is ruling, right? He is the government in this case. And they began to accuse him. This is a legal word, accuse him, saying these are the three charges that they are going to present.

I don't know what you said in English, against or on the Lord Jesus Christ. We found these men misleading our nation. First one. and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, second one and third one, and saying that he himself is Christ. And then they add a king, because that was what it was offensive to the Romans, that this may be a king.

Now it continues and Pilate, Pilate, asked him, Are you the kings of the Jews? And he answered him, You have said so. He is the king of the Jews, of course. And he answered him, You have said so. Then Pilate said to the chief priest and to the crowds, I find no guilt in this man.

That is, I don't think that he is a criminal. I don't think that he has broken the law. Guilt is this authority term. Verse 5, But they were urgent, saying, He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place. When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.

And when he learned that he belonged to the Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. This is another source of authority in this government. This is another governor. Now, when Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him because he had heard about him and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer.

The chief priest and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. So Herod, with his soldiers, treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arriving him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate, another governing authority. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers of the people and said to them, You brought me this man as one who has misled the people, and after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him.

Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. I will therefore punish and release him. We know that Pilate will not release the Lord Jesus Christ, but he is going to be pressured by the crowds and he is going to end up surrendering the Lord or giving the Lord Jesus Christ with his words. He delivered Jesus over their will.

We know that this is what is going to happen. The Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters, was accused as a criminal. Now, brothers and sisters, this is very important. Please don't think that this is only that happened to the Lord Jesus Christ. He was accused as a criminal of misleading the nation, of calling himself a king and also of telling people not to pay the tax to Caesar.

Go back to this story in Mark 12, because I want you to see what the Lord teaches us in that story, when He's going to be asked about paying the taxes to Caesar. In Mark 12, verse 14. Mark 12, verse 14. Remember that I'm just trying to present to you what the Apostle Peter presents. The ignorance of these foolish people that is put to silence.

It's put to silence because they were saying certain things against the Christians, and I'm portraying that in the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark chapter 12 verse 14, And they came and said to him, Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion for you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. It sounds so disgusting. I don't know if it sounds in the gut, but then the Lord is going to say something here. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

Should we pay them or should we not? Verse 15, this is the Lord Jesus Christ. But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius, and let me look at it. And they brought one.

And he said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said to him, Caesars. Jesus said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marveled at him." The Lord Jesus Christ was accused of telling people not to pay the taxes.

Now, brothers and sisters, The Lord Jesus Christ would die upon the cross as a criminal in the mind and in the eyes of society. And you know what he says to us in Matthew five, verse 11, he says, Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evils against you falsely because they did that to me. The Lord Jesus Christ says, then they will do that to you. The nature of the persecution of what happened to the Lord Jesus Christ is the same type of persecution that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ will have to face. Even brothers and sisters, here in verse 21 says that Jesus Christ, In the letter here of Peter, chapter 3, verse 21, he says that Christ Jesus is our example and that we are to follow that example in his sufferings.

The same is what the apostle will say in chapter 4, verse 1, that Jesus Christ set the example of suffering and that the church is meant to follow that example, brothers and sisters. They are not going to accuse the church of immoral. They're not going to church. They will. But this is not the main persecution that we will suffer.

They will not accuse us of sinners because they do not understand the righteousness of God. What they are going to do is they are going to accuse the church of evildoers. As Peter says, they are going to speak against us as evildoers. and they are going to put those charges on us. But the apostle calls us to do these righteous deeds of obedience by brothers and sisters.

the government is increasing in unrighteousness. And as I said last week, they are calling good that which is evil, and they are calling evil that which is good. They are calling bitter that which is sweet, and they are calling sweet that which is bitter. The standard of the government is going to become unrighteous and more unrighteous and more unrighteous. And because of the ruling power that is within us, We are not to submit to the unrighteous rulings of the government.

And then they are going to say criminals. They are going to say criminals. I don't know if I should finish. They are moving to the next verse, because brothers and sisters, the next verse speaks of the true power. I'm talking about the section that we have in Peter.

In verse 16, it says, leave us people who are free not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God." That word servants is slaves. Now, think about the contradiction of the verse. He says, live as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for doing evil. This is in relationship to submission to the government.

This is the context. But he says, as slaves of God, as servants. of God. Why brothers and sisters? Because there is a power and that is the power of the gospel.

A power that has set us free from that which obedience represents to the lost. You see, the lost is under the law so that they will obtain righteousness. They cannot obtain righteousness because they have broken the law already. But Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, and praise God, He has taken us from under the law and He has put us under grace. He has put us under Himself so that we are not slaves anymore to the righteousness that is by the law, but we are slaves to the righteousness that is in God unto life.

This is what the Apostle has taught in verse 17. Go to chapter 1 verse 17. This is the freedom that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter 1 verse 17. Pay attention to this, redeeming the power of the redemption that we have in Christ.

Verse 17, chapter 1, And if you call on Him as Father, who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourself with fear throughout the time of your exile. Now pay attention to this. knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or without spot. You were ransomed. from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, you were liberated, you were given freedom from this darkness that was thick, that we could feel it, that we could perceive it in ourselves, in our soul.

We were taken into the marvelous light of the Lord Jesus Christ. So that our yoke, brothers and sisters, is not anymore to the law or to righteousness, but our yoke is under Christ, and the burden is light, because He has fulfilled the requirements of the law, so we are free, and the obedience that we can produce is an obedience unto God, not an obedience unto the systems of men, so that When unrighteousness is placed upon us, or when unrighteous judgments are given to us by the government, we can submit to that. Not because we derive peace and rest by pleasing a government, or by pleasing a system, but rather, we prefer to suffer for righteousness sake, because this is pleasing in the sight of the Lord. This is what Peter will say then in the end of chapter 3. If you go to chapter 3, verse 13, and I will finish very soon.

Chapter 3, verse 13. Pay attention to these glorious truths, brothers and sisters. Now, who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason, for the whole that is in you.

Yet do it with gentleness and respect." Now, people pay a lot of attention to that verse always, but pay attention to verse 16. having a good conscience, that is obeying not unto men, but obeying unto the king of your conscience, who is Christ, so that when you are slandered because they will speak against you as evil doer, those who revile your good behavior, and I love that because that good behavior is in Christ might be put to shame, for it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, that for doing evil. It is only the Christian, it is only the one who by grace through faith has been taken from the kingdom of darkness and inserted into the glorious kingdom of Jesus Christ, The one who can live in the freedom, in the law of liberty, as James will call it in chapter 1. This law of liberty.

We are not like the natural man observing our face in the mirror, then observing who we are and then walking away. But we are the man in Christ who comes to the law of liberty and observes himself in the law of liberty. And that person becomes not only a hearer of the word, but becomes a doer of the word. Not because we have the ability to submit to governing authorities, but because we are servants of God. And then the shining glory of Christ, the kingdom of Christ is within these earthen vessels that we have the ability to do what the apostle Paul says to do in verse 17.

To honor everyone, to love the brotherhood, to fear God, to honor the Emperor, we are able to be servants unto everyone. We are able to lay our lives for our brothers and sisters. We are able to respect and to live in a reverence, in a holy reverence before our God, not because we have the ability to do it, but because the Spirit of Christ is within us. And because the Spirit of Christ is within the Christian, It is a matter of time that the unrighteousness of the world will be hating the righteousness that is found in the Christian. Now the question that I suppose it follows from this is, are you ready?

Are you ready to do all of these things, brothers and sisters? Are you individually, not with the appeasing sound of the voice in the collective pronoun, but are you ready? to live all of these things, each one of the things. And I suppose that readiness is not about ability, because there are many people who are able to endure persecution, even the Muslims, they have the ability to endure persecution, but rather, readiness in the life of the Christian is attached to willingness. to the will, to the desire.

Are you ready to endure that persecution for the right motives? And that is for Christ Jesus. That they persecuted Him and they treated Him as a criminal. Being the king of this universe, He was accused of being a criminal. Are we ready, brothers and sisters, to give up our social reputation?

To give up our clean legal records? Are we willing to give up the perception that society has of us as good citizens? Are we willing to go against the system of this world when they call good evil? Are we willing to stand on the righteousness of the gospel and to say that is unrighteousness? Are we willing, brothers and sisters, to submit to the government to the extent that righteousness allows?

But when unrighteousness is clear, we say, we obey God before obeying men. Brothers and sisters, sometimes we speak of this persecution as a topic that simply happens in the first century of the church, or it simply happens in the third world, it happens in Africa, or in South America, or somewhere there. Brothers and sisters, there is going to come a time, and I hope that it comes soon because it will purify the church, in which we are to stand firm in the things that we believe and in the things that we hold as the root of our faith. In which we are going to have to stand in front of people, the Gentiles, speaking against us as evil doers. And not only that, when these people are put to silence because of the righteous deeds of us, they are going to be pushed by Satan to slander us and speak lies.

Because it would have been good that they remain in silence because of our good deeds. But the power of Satan goes beyond that silence. This is a silence in their conscience, but Satan pushes them to slander. Because when they are not able to find a legal accusation against the Christians, they will be like the Pharisees that will say, give us Barabbas. give us Barabbas and take Jesus Christ and crucify him as a criminal.

And sometimes even the providence of God would allow that we might be delivered, that we might be taken into prison so that we might be tested and trialed, that the genuineness of the faith of the Christian might be proved by fire. Brothers and sisters, the only way that the Christian can be ready is by having the type of behavior that Peter says here in Christ. It is being in Him. It is having the mind of Christ, as the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2. It is by having His heart, a heart to love and to give the life, but also to have His will.

And His will is the will to die. The will that says, not you, not my will, but your will be done. The will that is in alignment with the will of the Father. The will that is in alignment with the spreading of the gospel and the spreading of the righteousness of God. Brothers and sisters, there's no time for those who call themselves to be Christian to continue playing Christianity, just to belong to a nice little church and doing particular things.

There's no time for that. There's going to come a time in which we are going to be tested and pushed to decide and to stand for our faith. And may the Lord have grace upon us, because I don't know about you, but I know that we are weak. And we only can do that through the power of the Holy Spirit, that in every relationship that we have, they may see the shining glory of Christ in us, honoring when we have to honor, loving when we have to love, and then respecting when we have to respect, and fearing when we have to respect, but also standing in our faith when we are supposed to do so. Amen?