Submission: Training for Exiles

With Jenny Greer.

We are not the tribe of the dogear the elephant where the tribe of the Lamb.

I'm not saying all voting choices are equal on same elections don't matter.

I'm not even saying that you should belong to a political party, but at our core, we should stand above and apart from all of them willing to honor and praise rulers from both parties were beginning to critique and where we must leave it.

Events between Kobe 19 in the recent election. The amount of stress that comes with following the authorities set before us all time high. When there's a shelter in place order the person we want in office wasn't collected. We can feel on easy about who's in charge now. The Bible clearly calls believers to submit to authority that windows in places of power seem to be morally corrupt or unconcerned with light. Today Pastor J. Greer answers that important question to grab your Bible and let's get started with the last time in chapter 2 was about to dive in the three really difficult relationships of believers in his day often found themselves in. One was being under the authority of unjust rulers will see that in chapter 2 verse 13 to 17.

Missouri discussed being under the control of an unjust master to be verses 18 to 25 in the number three is discussed be married to an imperfect person.

The first seven verses of chapter 3. Now will be totally honest with your cake was really really tempted to skip this whole section to see if you didn't notice, because it just seemed like a really difficult time to talk about some of these dynamics, I get brought up on the first and third relationships are relevant enough for us. All of us.

Of course, feel the frustration of being under the governance of incompetent and sometimes unjust rulers.

Amen. Right. And all of us were married know what it's like to be married to an imperfect person, a man got this second relationship right in the middle about masters and household servants. Some translations say slaves and you're like, what is that all about.

So I was tempted just to become a skeptic but but Peter teaches us a principal through these relationships that is incredibly relevant.

Awesome. Even though we felt we think about these relationships now are is different. The principal, but Peter teaches us is still really really important for Peter ECB's three relationships are merely an application of one single principle that is trying to drill a hole and that is that one of the Christian's primary callings as a stranger and exile is to patient and faithful endurance in the face of unjust suffering in how we talking about B's three relationships.

He is telling you that God is not blind to your suffering in these relationships, and he is going to give you justice. One day, but in the meantime, he is using your suffering is a part of his redemptive work on earth both in you and and three. The word that Peter uses to introduce each of these three relationships is the word submit sometimes Christian men wrongly think that submission is is a woman's issue. Peter shows you. It is an important and essential part of every Christian's life.

It was one of Christ's most dominant characteristics Peter explains. Yes, God has called us in Christ to thrive in the sora depth to rise above but is also called us to humble ourselves to to surrender and to guide ourselves to submit the right in the middle of of Peter's discussion of these three relationships you can appoint us to Christ.

Christ he says is your guiding example for how you should approach any of these relationships any relationship. These three are otherwise in which you experience injustice. But what he says. Verse 21, for you were called to this because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. Verse 22.

He did not commit sin and no deceit was found in his mouth. A quote from Isaiah 53, when he was insulted. He did not install in return when he suffered, he did not threaten, but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly, he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness because the Scripture says, by his wounds you have been healed. What did Christ do in the face of injustice number one. He was patient, verse 22. He knew that suffering was an integral part of God's plan for salvation to follow in Jesus. The steps means that we should expect unjust suffering. Jesus didn't roll into Jerusalem and escalated and take up residence in a mansion he came in on a donkey and he and he and he died on the cross. Number two. Jesus committed himself to him who judges justly. That's verse 23 he knew that earthly justice will may never come. It would fail him often but but God would give him justice in his heavenly country number three when Jesus kept doing good. Verse 23.

Even when he was being slandered even when others wronged him. He EE Doing the right think knowing that in all situations. He was responding first and foremost, God and even of the person in front of him was treating them unjustly.

He could do the right thing because he was responding, not the Bim responding to God and God would vindicate him one day number four.

Jesus rested in the fact that God was bringing salvation to the world through his wounds. That's verse 24.

Jesus's wounds were that the means by which God brought salvation into the world. Peter tells us that in some mysterious way that is true of of us in our sufferings also. So now with that as our example let's look at the first two of of the three relationships of Peter tells his readers they must they must submit unit will get to the third when next time.

Number one, number one, the Emperor and every human authority.

Look at verse 13 submit to every human authority, by the way, which human authorities right every human authority means anyone in a rightful place of authority are you you do that he says because of the Lord. In other words, you responding. First and foremost, not them, but to him whether to the Emperor, he says, is the supreme authority, or to governors as though sent out by the murder punish those who do what is evil into praise those who do what is good. In other words, even when the people who occupy the office are fallible about the office itself is one that is been appointed by God. You respect the office even when you don't agree with the person occupying the office.

Verse 15 for it is God's will that you should silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good for 16 submit as free people. In other words you're submitting, not because they're better than you work because they own you because because your only real authority is God, yet you choose to submit to these governors for his sake as a free person you choose to submit for his sake not using your cut your freedom. He says, is a cover-up for evil but you know it is God slaves for 17 honor everyone love the brothers and sisters fear God honor the Emperor. Alright, so the big question, of course, how do you submit to government leaders when there's so much about their lives, their beliefs. The policy sometimes that you disagree with the first realize that Peter would not have approved of or endorsed the vast majority of what the governing leaders of his day.

Did I pretty sure that had there been a free election. They probably would not have voted for any of the seizures that we have on record.

We have reason to complain about our leaders would dare say Peter had even more this letter, we know was written and about 60 A.D. which means that that the Emperor whom Peter is talking about is me wrote me wrote was third in a trio of truly terrible seizures assess serial cuckoo train that started with Caligula and Nero Nero turns out to be one of the cruelest most sadistic Christian haters of all time.

He intentionally set fire to Rome or at least it was believed on strong evidence that he did it intentionally is wrong.

Bernie stood on the balcony watching it and playing the harp like he was some kind of tragic poet blame whole thing in the Christiansen use that as a pretext to have them rounded up and fed to the lions to slip this again okay this is the Emperor Nero Peter is talking about when he says submit to every human authority, and honor the Emperor Peter in these verses tells us four things about our submission to rulers like this.

Firstly, he says always to be done with respect and honor this for 17 even when we don't agree with them.

We can respect the office they occupies God-given that office is worthy of respect. That's what Peter does. Here Peter was not part of some hashtag not my Emperor Facebook group.

He recognizes God has established government and the authorities, they send out like police as a gift to humanity and because of that office to be respected.

Verse 16, number two you noticed three men again. Not because they're superior to you because they they own you as a Christian, you're under the authority controlled no one but God but in that freedom.

He says you're still God's servant God wants you to submit to them for his glory for the cause of Christ not to use your freedom, he says, is a cover-up for evil, but as God slaves verse 15 it is God's will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good you shut their mouths to the slander they give about Christians in the faith of the gospel by way that you are no baby authorities and you and you pursue justice, but that means number three that is submitting to authority. We never disobey the commands of God in their certain lines.

We can never and should never cross.

If our government tells us one day that we can't preach faith in Jesus is the only way of salvation. Well, by God's grace we won't change our message one bit. We have to honor what God says about the sanctity of marriage and in this community and the sanctity of life, regardless of what what the government says that leads to number four what Peter says honoring emperors does not preclude speaking out against evil.

What you notice that honor. The Emperor is is only one of four commands in that final verse, honor everyone love the brothers and sisters fear God honor the Emperor honoring everyone a loving the brothers and sisters mean speaking up for their suffering right.

Furthermore we live in a country where peaceful protest is a constitutional right and we get to choose our own emperors honor the Emperor and love one another.

Those are two things that you got a balance. I do think Dr. King Martin Luther King balance it well expressed in this letter from a Birmingham Jail, which I would encourage all of you to read.

By the way, Dr. King said one has not only illegal but moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.

He then explains laws that lift up the sanctity of human life or just laws that degraded our unjust. Many said a peaceful protester designed to force conversations on those issues when society refuses to have them honoring the Emperor speaking up for others living with this tension is going to make you odd right because people want us to be on one side or the other. They want you to either be pro-Emperor or anti-Emperor, but a Christian is not captive to any Emperor that means we honor the mall we critique them all. Christians today should therefore not be owned by any political party. We critique them all.

It's like I told you we are not the tribe of the donkey or the elephant where the tribe of the Lamb. Now, to be clear, I'm not saying all voting choices are equal or not. Same elections don't matter. I'm not even saying that you should belong to a political party, but at our core, we should stand above and apart from all of them willing to honor and praise rulers from both parties were recanted and critique them where we must limit give you a really practical way of of of telling whether or not you've achieved that balance here is if you criticize the bad in a ruler. You also praise the good or, conversely, if you if you praise the good in a particular ruler. You also criticized the back. If you've mastered Peter's balance here. I believe your Facebook page will have both praise for the good and criticism for the bad and I assure you this will make you a ride on Facebook and that's Peter's point. Life is too short and eternity is too long to make political identity. My primary identity I want my life to point to Jesus and understand that some believers are called in the politics also know the good politics is a way of loving our neighbors, which is why it's important to get involved in four ways you relate to an imperfect and infallible government. One can always do it with respect and honor. Number two, you do it is free men and women.

Three. Never disobey God and in obeying the authorities and before you speak out against evil anywhere what happens when you do this, people see Christ at this point this is somebody who is confident that politics and earthly judges don't have the last word. People who belong to a heavenly kingdom with a with a perfect king. It is God's will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good consistently know this was the posture of the most notable posture that characterized early Christians, and it made their their gospel witness incredibly powerful. How do you think were doing on this ready for relationship number two is an unjust earthly master verse 18 household slaves, submit to your masters with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones, but also to the cruel ones, for it brings favor if because of the consciousness of God.

Someone endures grief from suffering unjustly for what credit is there if we do wrong or beaten you endure it when you do what is good and still suffer if you endure it well, that brings favor with God and you thought the first section was challenging limiting knowledge. This passage has been twisted and manipulated to to justify institutions like slavery order to minimize its injustices, but reading this to say Peter is supporting slavery would be a severe misreading of this passage. Peter's whole context in writing this is injustice. First electrically okay slavery in Rome. Peter was referring to is not exactly like slavery in the US in the United States. Slavery was tied to ethnicity and even worse theory of superiority based on ethnicity, you became a slave in the Roman Empire. In one of two ways either a Rome conquered your nation and Morency became slave or be you sold yourself in the slavery in order to pay off the debt. Southcenter, about 60 million people enslaved in these ways throughout the Empire.

Now let's be clear, this system was rife with injustice. Also, neither Peter nor Scripture is condoning this version of slavery. In fact, Scripture strictly condemns slavery that involves taking somebody About horses explicitly condemned in the Bible. For example, Exodus 2116 anyone who kidnaps another and sells them must be put to death in first Timothy one.

Paul put slave traders in the same category as those who kill their parents. Right second entire message of the gospel subverts the idea of slavery gospel teaches the revolutionary message that all people are made in the image of God were all united by common problems, then we've all got up, and hope the blood of Jesus. In Christ we are brothers and sisters and one family in Christ the poor sits down in equality with the rich in the kingdom of God. The slave is the equal the master even in this passage Peter tells us to honor everyone as an equal son or daughter of God. Now that we just undo the entire basis of the entire system of slavery right the whole New Testament ethic is doing to others as you would have been doing to you.

Which is why everywhere throughout history that this gospel has been preached and taken seriously.

Societal revolution has been the result the theologian or historian DA Carson says that in his opinion the best work on slavery out there is by an African-American scholar named Thomas soul massive three volumes that have guided my library soul points out, the slavery was universal terrible European slave trade traffic 11 million Africans but twice that many were bought and sold on the Arabian Peninsula.

During the same time. Slavery was a nearly universal problem yet you got an enormous amount of guilt, literature, coming out of the West, but none comes out of Arabia and the efforts to stop slavery all came from the Christianized West soul points out, why is that he asked me slavery is Caesar universal in the human condition, but what stop slavery in the West is answer is undeniably is the great awakening the preaching of men like John Wesley and the reforms of Christian statesmen like William Wilberforce when Christian seriously reckoned with the gospel as they did in the great awakening brought the entire system of slavery, and it said I look again let me be totally frank with you right when I read passages like this one in first Peter, I want Peter to be more direct in his condemnation. I want Peter to say this whole system is bad. It ought to be rejected immediately but evidently God thought that a more effective way was to plant seeds for transformation from within. You gotta wonder had Peter, Paul merely issued a political manifesto.

Believers may have focused exclusively on political action to the neglect of the more the more permanent the lasting change that would come to the preaching of the gospel. Yes, we want to be involved injustice, we must be involved in it but the most important thing the church can do is preach the gospel is the preaching of John Wesley that creates the reforms of William Wilberforce and bring her back to Peter's main point. Peter's purpose in writing this is not to evaluate the merits of the current economic system is people rent for his purpose is to encourage those experiencing injustice. Methanol thrust of this passage how to respond to injustice.

You see we live in a world where at some point you were going to be treated unjustly in the matter how much you speak up and how much you present your case. At the end of the day, things still may not work out fairly for you. That was true for Christ right. Peter's point is that in moments like these, you can still respond like Christ. You can like he did entrust yourself to God who judges justly, you can remind yourself, even when you're suffering that your heavenly citizenship is your you can be assured that through your unjust suffering. God is working redemption and salvation for others just like you use Christ unjust suffering to work. Salvation for you and me you let me press this way press this down to us. Maybe you're really frustrated with what feels like consistent injustices at work in our legal system would also be frustrated.

Or maybe you're discouraged because a spouse is treated you badly and you try to make things right, but your spouse lied about you and slandered you people seem to be believing them and feels unjust.

Or maybe you're in a marriage with the other spouse treat you all are even worse, they tear you down to others may seem to be winning you live under this cloud of unfair treatment of slander and you are getting justice. Or maybe you've recently been taken advantage of in business and he fought in the court she tried a major case for the other person got their way in and injustice prevail. You can protest all these things we should protest these things and and we can and should pray for deliverance and and we can and should keep fighting but realize that the reality of the world is that at some level your call this we should expect it. It's the path of Jesus. Listen to be real or personal with you I five experiences recently in my own life to do slander that I've had to endure people line about me and and and and impugning my motives now only ostomy things Rex, funny. There's a few main tweets. JD is a growing leader buddies which she is more wishy-washy than a drive-through carwash in a dusty West Texas down Jenny's Romans one sermon clearly so you can't follow the flow of the text and that he'll jump to skinny jeans avoid preaching against sin. I have to do this when I where I got the worst Christian of 2019 on a blog by the way, this is not a spurious thing that actually had contestants and they had criteria by which the judge said it was, whoever had had been the Christian would cause the most damage to the kingdom of God that your 2000. Ideally they elected me and maybe submit a trophy.

This is not a joke. Now some of the sins got humorous writing to me that's done that bother me, but their times of slander really hurts and I know for some of you much I make light of its you just you like why is injustice prevail and when it's appropriate you clear these things out, but it's help me see to remember that that Jesus experienced these kinds of names, and he told me to expect. Also to this.

I have been called back even when you read Paul's epistles. You see that Paul dealt with veggies you will places like Demas has done me much harm her Sausalito silversmith is. We lied about me and and damage me and I'm sure Paul try to keep that from happening, but that Paul, like Jesus and like I should knew that in some ways this was inevitable. He had been called to this been called to have people say things like this and we expected and we endure faithfully and it God uses it as a part of his redemptive process to see. Like Paul, like Peter, I I continually take my refuge and first Peter two. You were called in this because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. He did not commit sin, no deceit was found in his mouth about what they said or did about it when he was insulted.

He did not insult in return when he suffered, he did not threaten, but he entrusted himself to the only one who judges justly waited for him. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that, having died to sin, we might live for righteousness by his wounds you have been healed so that means be patient. Committing myself to the one judges justly continuing to do good rest that God is bringing salvation of the world.

My wounds also. I continually rest in the fact that this world is not my home, I'm a stranger and exile here in our ultimate justice.

My ultimate wisdom be found in the resurrection and in my eternal kingdom. And every day I get one day closer to my heavenly home and I in ways I will be homeless without his goodness will be greatly now you're listening to some it light. If you happen to miss any of our previous teaching in first Peter.

You can find the entire series free of charge@jdgreer.com.

Well I don't know about you but I think it's safe to say that I will be happy to see the year 2020. In our rearview mirror. Very soon, but the uncertainty isn't magically going away when the Interchanges yeah that's quite an understatement back. I was really looking forward to 2020 for a number of reasons. And I know that that uncertainty yeah there is no guarantee of when it's going to end and some of us the there was uncertainty our life before lockdown encoded and all these things that took place. You know coming in God's providence he had me write a book called searching for Christmas in which you really just explore what was really behind the promises that God gave about the birth of this baby.

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Not only will we get one for anyone to give away offering extra get $50 per hundred dollars give the gift of the Savior. This Christmas by supporting defendant might think I will give online requested clear.com and Molly Neves. Thanks for being with us today. Be sure to join us tomorrow as we jump into a sense of herself. The biblical roles in life on Senate life