August 25, 2013 Steve & Laurie Rahter 1 Peter 3 1-7 www.praisetabernacle.com

08/18/2013

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Sunday August 18th1 Peter 2:13-25I heard a story about a man named Joe who worked for the government in the Department of Transportation. One morning he woke up feeling sick, with a sore throat and a touch of laryngitis. But being a dedicated government employee he went to work anyway. His boss felt sorry for him when he realized Joe was sick, and he didn't want Joe to have to do any of the hard physical labor where they were repairing a section of the parkway."Joe" he said "instead of helping with the construction, why don't you just go down the road and tell the people to slow down as they approach the road construction area"Joe said “thanks” and set up some cones and a flag a little way down the road from where the construction is going on. He flagged down his first vehicle and as the driver approached, Joe signaled for him to roll down his window."Sir" he whispered "please slow down, there's a Government work crew up ahead""Okay, I totally understand" the guy whispered back "I'll try not to wake them."That joke sort of typifies the way we view the government and its workers.We like to make fun of government inefficiency and bureaucracy. Humorist Will Rogers joked that the workings of Congress were about as productive as a baby with a hammer! But as Peter explains in these next verses of chapter 2, God wants us to have a positive, respectful attitude towards our governing officials:13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-slaves of God. 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.Peter says we are to “Act as free men” and yet we’re still supposed to submit to authority. How do we make sense of that? One commentary says “Submission does not mean a denial of Christian freedom, but is the act of God’s truly free people.”Keep in mind 2 other things about what Peter is saying here:First, what Peter says is in these verses is almost identical to what Paul wrote in Romans 13:1-7:“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.”The second thing to note is that we aren’t just told that we should submit to GOOD leadership, or to NICE leadership!Remember that the Roman emperor at this time was Nero, who persecuted Christians, burned them at the stake and threw them to the lions!Between what Peter is saying, what Paul wrote in Romans, and Matthew 22:21 where Jesus said to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s” I think we can safely conclude that the Bible teaches that submission to government authority is required of believers as long as it doesn’t involve violating the laws of God.In Acts 4:18-20 Peter and John are taken in front of the Jewish authorities for preaching about Jesus.“18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” So they continue to preach the gospel, and later they are summoned back before the council again in Acts 5:27-29“27 When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”Keep in mind that, OTHER than those limited times when someone in authority might ask us to do something contrary to God’s commands, we are called to respect and obey authority and government.I think that one reason God wants us to submit to authority is that the old nature, what we might call our sin nature, is rebellious. Proverbs 17:11 says “A rebellious man seeks only evil”, and we learn to curb those rebellious tendencies by our willingness to submit. That’s why Peter goes on address the specific realm of servants and masters, or bosses and employees, just like Paul did in Ephesians and Colossians:18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. 19 For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.Notice again that Peter specifically points out that this requirement doesn’t apply just to “good and gentle” bosses, but “also to those who are unreasonable.” In fact, he says that bearing and enduring harsh and unjust treatment “finds favor with God.” That might bring some comfort to you on a particularly hard workday!What is it about suffering unjust treatment that would cause us to find favor in God’s eyes? Peter addresses that in verses 21-25:21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.When Peter says in verse 21 “you have been called for this purpose” what is he referring to? He’s talking about SUFFERING! He’s saying that suffering is a part of the Christian calling. Paul wrote in 2nd Timothy 3:11-12“persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! 12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”In John 15:18–20 Jesus warned “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you”Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 1:5 “For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.” And in that same letter, in Chapter 4 verses 8-11 he describes what the Christian life has been like for him and his friends:“we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”In Philippians 3:10 Paul used this phrase to describe it all; “the fellowship of His sufferings.”Peter says that the way Jesus suffered, even though he had committed NO sins at all, and yet he endured the suffering without attacking back, is an “Example” for us to follow.But as verse 24 reminds us, Jesus is much more than just an example; He is the sin-bearer; the perfect sacrifice, who suffered the penalty of the curse of sin for us, accepting the punishment that our sins deserved and providing forgiveness and freedom.Look at the last few words of verse 24 and the first few words of verse 25. They both begin with the word “for”:“for by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep”The first phrase reveals the result of Jesus’ sacrifice. We have been healed, made whole, forgiven, and restored to a right relationship with God.The second phrase reveals WHY Jesus had to be sacrificed! Because we all were constantly straying from God, rejecting Him as our shepherd, wanting to do our own thing, rebellious.One of the most powerful Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah who would pay the penalty for our sins is found in Isaiah 53:6“All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”That’s the reality of this fallen world; nobody wants God. Every one of us has gone off on our own, choosing the path that WE wanted, not the path that God wanted for our lives. And when OUR path led us to a dead end, God was there to rescue us, by having Jesus pay for our mistakes.And if we’ve been RESTORED, and if we’ve been INSPIRED, and if we have a desire to SERVE wherever the Lord might want to use us, then we have to accept the reality that SERVING may involve a degree of SUFFERING.The best perspective that we can gain on the suffering that may come our way as we choose to serve God is that the same root cause of Jesus’ suffering, “SIN” will be what brings suffering into our own lives. When it comes to serving, it’s not necessarily our OWN sin that will cause us to suffer. It may be the sin of those that we’re trying to serve. Because lost sheep don’t always WANT to be rescued; they don’t always think they NEED to be rescued; and they will often try to BITE the hands of those who are trying to rescue them!That is a reality that we must face if we are truly committed to reaching the lost with the good news of salvation; the calling of the gospel is a call to embrace the suffering of others, even to suffer as a result of their attacks, so that they can be set free.It’s what Jesus did for US!