Staying Right With Government
Book of 1 Peter
Chapter 2: 11-25
Peter has taken a
lot of time to teach us that by loving the Lord Jesus Christ, we
become the people of God. Now this is not how we become Jews, it is
how we become the Bride of Christ!
Now Peter changes
gears and he will beg us, that since we are the Bride of Christ then
there are some things that we must do.
Peter will express
to us the urgency to do certain things!
Peter will express
that because we are now the strangers in this world, because we are
just pilgrims passing through this world, it is not our home, we are
to abstain from anything this world desires to offer us, for we have
better promises of better things in our home in the New Heaven.
Study along with us.
*****1Pe 2:11
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from
fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
1Pe 2:12 Having
your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak
against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they
shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
As strangers we are
those in a strange house.
As pilgrims we are
those in a strange country.
We are to abstain
from the desires of anything in "this" house and this
"country" which are things of this world that will never be
allowed in Heaven.
What are those
things? We live in a world that is dominated by lust!
All that is in our
government is lusts for power and those who do so, will attempt to
have and to control power by any means possible. Legally and
illegally, right and wrong, no matter who is harmed, without any
regard for the people.
All that is in our
nation is the lusts of sexual pleasures without regard for the
outcome.
Abortion is out of
control and now considered a right, with a right to murder the unborn
child.
There is the lust of
lesbianism and sodomy, that has led to the destruction of many
nations in the past and will lead to the destruction of this world.
There is still of
course that lust for silver and gold, for what it buys and the
control it gives.
In fact God still
says: It is the love of money that is behind all the evil that is in
our world today.
1Ti 6:9 But they
that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many
foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and
perdition.
1Ti 6:10 For the
love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted
after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows.
In fact God still
says: It is lusts that is in control of our world today as it has
always been!
1Jn 2:16 For all
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world.
We should not miss
the fact that we are the "Dearly Beloved" of God!
You see God does not
tell us these things, (We should use the word "Command")
just to keep us from the things of this world but because He loves
us, and all these things will bring nothing but sin and destruction!
How does the world
value the man?
By how much of the
world he possesses.
By how much money he
has.
By how much power he
has.
By how much pleasure
he is able to enjoy.
By how famous he
becomes.
By how many people
he is able to conquer in face to face meetings.
Our flesh will war
against our soul!
But the message of
God is clear, these are not to be the ways of the men of God!
The model for our
way of life must be and must remain the Lord Jesus Christ!
Php 3:20 For our
conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ:
Php 3:21 Who shall
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious
body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all
things unto himself.
In the end which way
is the most important?
Rev 21:27 And there
shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither
whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are
written in the Lamb's book of life.
As the "Born
Again" children of God, we must always have in mind, our home is
in Heaven!
Heaven is where our
riches are!
Heaven is where our
possessions are!
Heaven is where our
Lord is, and He wants us to be with Him!
We are not wanted
upon this world in fact we are hated upon this earth!
We will be pilgrims
upon earth until the day the Lord takes us home to our true home, in
the New Heaven.
Most of the world is
searching for aliens and the aliens are the children of God. They
will never find any other aliens in God's creation!
We do live in this
world until the Lord is ready and while we are, we need to obey the
laws of man as long as those laws do not go against the Word of God.
We must always stand
on the Word of God!
Eph_6:13 Wherefore
take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
We must still obey
the laws of the land, even when we travel, we need to obey the laws
of that land.
*****1Pe 2:13
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake:
whether it be to the king, as supreme;
1Pe 2:14 Or unto
governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of
evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
We have just read
where the government had ordered persecution of the Christians,
especially the Roman government.
The leaders of the
Jewish religious system were persecuting the Jews that had turned to
Jesus Christ.
All the false
religions were persecuting the Christians.
Most all societies
of that day were persecuting the Christians.
Only the poor who
were no better off tolerated the Christians.
The one thing about
government we should consider is that even the worst government is
probably better than anarchy or no government at all!
We must remain true
to the Lord no matter what man says!
We must obey the
civil rights that are allowed and by legal means try to live with all
men!
Lawlessness would
run wild.
Not many would be
safe to walk the streets.
Christians had to
live behind closed doors then as they do now in some locations.
Abuse, attacks,
murder, and war would be a constant threat.
Do any of these
things sound familiar, because this is the world we live in today and
even though we have a government.
In fact corrupt
governments create a corrupt people, because most all our resources
are used up by politicians who do nothing but use all their time in a
battle for power.
Wake up America!
God is saying if we
the "Body of Christ" would be obedient to the Word of God,
which by the way, will do what God sends it to do, then we would not
get caught up in this corruption, we would live in harmony with God,
God would fulfill all His promises, and the lost would see a people
who are at peace with God and our light would shine throughout this
world!!!!!
Chaos is not God's
will for this world, and the history of the Bible teaches us, God
would use some nation, or some people, to cause chaos to cease. It
would not mean a better government but there would be government.
God's will upon this
earth is for all people to live with the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
How did Paul
describe his days?
Act 16:37 But Paul
said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans,
and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily?
nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.
Paul was a Roman and
he was treated in this manner, but He did never quit the work, God
called him to do!
It is God who places
the rulers of governments in place!
Rom 13:1 Let every
soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of
God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2 Whosoever
therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and
they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Rom 13:3 For rulers
are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not
be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have
praise of the same:
Rom 13:4 For he is
the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is
evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the
minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth
evil.
Rom 13:5 Wherefore
ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience
sake.
Rom 13:6 For for
this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers,
attending continually upon this very thing.
It is an abomination
to God for rulers to misuse the people they are over!
Pro 16:12 It is an
abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is
established by righteousness.
God expects every
ruler to have mercy on his people!
Isa 16:5 And in
mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in
truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and
hasting righteousness.
Many rulers like our
presidents may live out a life always protected, but God will not
have forgotten the works that they have done!
This goes for every
member of the ruling government, congressmen and senators, and all
other forms of government!
Why are all these
things true? Because it is the will of God!
*****1Pe 2:15 For
so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the
ignorance of foolish men:
Who are those who
are foolish and ignorant? All those who have rejected the Lord Jesus
Christ!
You see it is our
good behavior as we are like Christ in His ways, that we can silence
the critics of Christ.
We must remember,
those who will never come to Christ will never cease their wicked
ways and their harassment of the Christians but there are many who
stand in the middle who do not know which way to go and the ways we
are like Christ Jesus can be our best witnessing tool to get us close
enough to tell them about the love of God by His Son.
Sure we must render
to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar, but we are to render to
God the things that are God's which is ourselves, for He is our
Creator and our life belongs to Him!!!!!
Act 4:19 But Peter
and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the
sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
Act 5:29 Then Peter
and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather
than men.
Act 5:30 The God of
our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
Act 5:31 Him hath
God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to
give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Act 5:32 And we are
his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom
God hath given to them that obey him.
The truth is, there
are times we can serve the government better by refusing to obey the
government and insist on the things God has proven to be true. In
fact it is God who ordained the government and the government will
answer to Him!
Remember the 10
commandments are our guideline to teach us to be obedient to the
government, but the first commandment is first for these reasons!
Jesus simplified
these things for us:
Mat 22:37 Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is
the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the
second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these
two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
We are never to turn
our backs toward the Lord!
We are free because
the Lord has made us free!
John 8:32 And ye
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:36 If the
Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
*****1Pe 2:16 As
free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as
the servants of God.
1Pe 2:17 Honour all
men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
We are to be the
servants of God and as so we can live as free citizens not attached
to any government but placed by the Lord in the places we live and
work for one reason and that is to promote the "Gospel" of
Jesus Christ in the way we serve the Lord and in the way we live!
When we receive the
Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts and souls, we become servants of
God and not servant to our own thoughts nor our own ideas.
To break the laws
that govern where we live is to break the laws of God, but we are
also not to break any of the laws of God, because God is our higher
authority.
We sometimes make
these things hard, when these things are not very hard to comply
with.
We are to honor all
men and women as our created brothers and sister realizing that they
are not yet our "born again" brothers and sisters in Christ
and sadly some will never be, but let not this one thing be because
we have not been obedient to God. God will hold this against us!
Loving the
brotherhood means we are to love all our brothers and sister in
Christ no matter who they are!
Regardless of color,
nationality, or beliefs if they have given themselves to the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is our diversity that makes the church to be strong!
It is not enough
just to honor the brotherhood, we are to love them with the love of
God!!!
We are to support
one another.
We are to help one
another.
We are to protect
one another.
We are to share with
one another.
We are to fellowship
and commune with one another.
We are certainly to
pray and worship with one another.
Love means we do not
criticize, back bite, grumble, murmur or do anything that would be
divisive.
The Lord is the
foundation of only one church.
It is all these
things and more that have divided the church!
Rom 12:9 Let love
be without dissimulation(hypocrisy). Abhor(hate) that which is evil;
cleave to that which is good.
Rom 12:10 Be kindly
affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring
one another;
Rom 12:11 Not
slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Rom 12:12 Rejoicing
in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Rom 12:13
Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
We are never to fail
in our duty to love God knowing He is the Higher Power!
In America, we are
to honor our President and the government that he leads.
In this time of
Peter, Nero the most-evil ruler of Rome was in place, and Peter still
wrote these things by the Holy Spirit!
In some nations
there are still slaves and servants and these words still hold true!
*****1Pe 2:18
Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the
good and gentle, but also to the froward.
1Pe 2:19 For this
is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief,
suffering wrongfully.
During this age of
the Apostle Peter, millions of slaves and servants were everywhere
throughout the empire of Rome and even lands that were not conquered
by Rome.
We must realize that
the New Testament does not directly attack slavery, because again we
are placed in our location as it suits God.
It is the Church
that destroys slavery, when both parties have become the children of
God!
It is Christian
principles that will destroy all evil, including slavery.
Slaves and servants
are treated as any other workman or workingwoman.
We are all to
subject ourselves to our masters, our employers in the fear of God.
In this case "the
fear of God" means "in reverence, to all the Word of God"
but submissive to them just as we are to be submissive to our Lord
yet knowing, Our Lord is still the higher authority!
These things are
necessary to earn a livelihood to provide for ourselves and our
families.
What does God say?
2Th 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that
if any would not work, neither should he eat.
We must understand
that the energy and effort we put into our jobs pleases the Lord.
The mark of the of
the Christian workman is his fear of the Lord!
These are some of
the things we are judged of and are written down in the Lord's Book
of Remembrances!
Mal_3:16 Then they
that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD
hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before
him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
No matter if our
slave master or work master is good or evil, it is not to change our
attitude about why we are working or the work itself!
Why is this
necessary?
*****1Pe 2:20 For
what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall
take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye
take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
1Pe 2:21 For even
hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving
us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
1Pe 2:22 Who did no
sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
1Pe 2:23 Who, when
he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened
not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
1Pe 2:24 Who his
own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being
dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye
were healed.
We should clearly
understand that no one will be accepted to God for doing wrong but
only for doing good.
The pure fact is,
that before we met the Lord, we had no goodness to display, and even
now we can only display His goodness!
Isa_64:6 But we are
all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the
wind, have taken us away.
The Lord Jesus
Christ was sent into this world to die by the Father Himself.
By this world
standards, to murder Jesus was to murder the perfect man.
Jesus had not
committed one sin in the eyes of His heavenly Father.
Jesus had not broken
even one law of man in His 33 and 1/2 years upon this earth.
The world had
murdered the only perfect man without a cause!
When we accept the
perfectness of the Lord Jesus Christ into our heart, then and only
then will we be righteous in the eyes of God!
As sin came by Adam
so righteousness came by Jesus the Messiah!
Rom 5:19 For as by
one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of
one shall many be made righteous.
1Jn 2:1 My little
children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any
man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous:
Our eternal life
exists, because we have a perfect Savior in all things of this world
and the perfectness of Heaven!
If we suffer, even
as Christians because we have done wrong God is not impressed even in
our patience, but if we suffer having done no wrong and we have the
patience of our Savior for this we are acceptable to our Father in
Heaven because He can see the works of His Son in us and the fruit of
the Holy Spirit.
It is by these
things that we are the children of a Holy God!
God is seeking
genuine Christians to be with Him throughout eternity! This is the
government of God!
We are called
because we accept that Christ Jesus suffered for us!
We are called
because we are willing to follow His example!
Luk_9:23 And he
said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
This is the
government of God!
We all want to live
glorious lives for Christ then this is the life God has called us to
do.
We should also
understand that God will never cause us to suffer as His Son
suffered.
This is a hard
saying, when so many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted to
their death, but they just make a quick trip to Heaven.
The Apostle Paul
said he suffered more than all the other Apostles, but they all were
murdered except the Apostle John who God would not allow the
governments of this world murder Him.
So we see God is on
our side in all persecution and He just ask that we patiently wait on
Him just as Jesus did!
This is the
government of God!
God in the flesh
(Jesus the Messiah) did no sin neither was guile found in His mouth!
Guile is deceit.
Jesus Christ was not in this world to deceive us, but to show us the
glory of God and the government of God's Kingdom!
God (in the flesh,
Jesus) gave everything He could give us, including His life so our
souls could return to Him, if we would only trust Him.
This is the way God
conducted His business. He bought and paid for us and He has given
all His possessions, the inheritance of His dear Son, just so we can
live and live eternally.
This is the
government of God!
When it gets down to
it, God in the flesh, Jesus the Christ, died for me and I was
certainly not worthy and if you love Him, then He also died for you,
you also being unworthy of God's great love!
How does God see us?
*****1Pe 2:25 For
ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd
and Bishop of your souls.
In reality sheep are
one of the most useful animals God has given to us. Not only for
food, but for its wool which has been an article of clothing for its
warmth since the time of Adam.
Sheep are normally
timid animals, but the one thing sheep need to be this great benefit,
is a Shepherd!
It is God our
Creator who is the Owner of our Souls and the Lord Jesus Christ the
Bishop of our souls!
Psa 23:1 (The Psalm
of the redeemed) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psa 23:2 He maketh
me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still
waters.
Psa 23:3 He
restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for
his name's sake.
Psa 23:4 Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psa 23:5 Thou
preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psa 23:6 Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I
will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
We must stay right
with the governments of this world, the place where God has placed
us.
More important we
must stay right with the government of God, who loves us with a
greater love than can be found upon this earth!
Amen
Let's Pray about
these things!
