Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme.”
Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man
The “ordinance of man” is human government. God wants us to obey the national entity over which He placed us (Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:1-7; I Timothy 2:2; Titus 3:1-2). These are […]
Archive for July, 1997
Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme.”
for the Lord’s sake
The phrase “for the Lord’s sake” means because of the Lord’s sake. The motivation to obey the government is our love for the Lord. We submit ourselves to the social and political institutions to honor […]
“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme.”
whether to the king as supreme
The king was supreme in Peter’s day. If he wanted to put someone to death, he could do it without recourse. He had the power over life and death. No one questioned him. […]
Or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.”
Or to governors
The Roman governor was subordinate to the Emperor. Caesar appointed the provincial governors who’s job was to curb those who were unprincipled and lawless. The Caesar appointed the governors […]
For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men –“
For this is the will of God
Non-Christians slandered Christians for their lack of allegiance to the Roman government. Peter now states God’s will for handling these false accusations.
The will of God is the most […]
“As free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.”
As free
Submission to civil law does not cancel our Christian liberty (John 8:32,36; Galatians 5:1,18). The Christian should obey civil law from their freedom, not from fear.
yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice
Some Christians use their Christian liberty […]
“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”
Peter concludes this section on the Christian and government with a four-fold summary. Here is the biblical scale of values for the Christian’s relation to government. Now that we are Christians, our thinking changes not only about the person but the whole, human race.
Honor all […]
“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”
Love the brotherhood.
The second command of this verse challenges Christians to love the family of God. Christians belong to a fraternity of the redeemed. Christians are a corporate community sharing a common life in Christ together.This is not the brotherhood of union members or […]
Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”
Fear God.
The third command of this verse is that Christians are to allow the fear of God to come upon them. The Greek indicates that we cannot make God’s fear come upon us, we allow God to impact us.
“Fear” here is not the fear […]
“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”
Honor the king
The fourth and last summary of the believer’s relationship to government is to honor the king.
“Honor” is the same word as at the beginning of the verse. God wants us to respect those who represent government to us.
Nero was king at the writing […]