The Ordinances of Men – Good and Evil
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 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. For so is the will of God… I Peter 2:13-15a
There is a connection between what God has done for us and the way we live our lives.
Our position in Christ should always match our practice What God has done for us and is doing in us ought always to impact our lives in such a way that we manifest God’s grace, goodness and benevolence in the way we live (Philippians 1:20-21).
The word “submit” in verse 13 links the entire section through I Peter 3:12. Grammarians call it an aorist imperative making this dogmatic. In a military context, it means to be in subjection to those who are above you. It appears that our submission is to political authority but it can also apply to family heads, bosses in the work place and many other circumstances where there are those with authority. Of course, God is at the top of the chain of command.
There are those who say they believe so, but live unto themselves. By God’s design, God placed all of us in an ordered system, whether we like that system or not. God knows, because of the curse of sin on mankind, that there will be sinfulness, self-assertiveness, selfishness and corruption of all kind and yet the order stands and as Christians, we are the most obligated to set the example for all mankind.
Currently, there is much corruption in our government and in the liberal agenda of leaders, college professors. Many who are in headship positions want to turn our republic into a socialistic nation. You cannot watch the news on television without feeling the tension, hatred, selfishness and self-assertiveness among men and women in Washington. My wife and I simply shut it off; we are so tired of this continued sinfulness.
There is another aspect and it is where we get involved. In verse 13, we are to submit for the Lord’s sake and verse 15 reveals that this is the will of God. We need to recognize that Jesus Himself gave obedience to the state by respecting Pilate’s position. You will remember that He also commanded his followers to Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s (Matthew 22:21). This would have been so that they would not dishonor His name, and that would apply to us today. We live in a world that is watching and how we live will cause some to recognize the importance of knowing Christ.
There will always be limits. The authorities commanded Peter and John not to speak in the name of Jesus. They then arrested them and placed them in prison. They offered no resistance as honoring the authority of the officials. When God miraculously released them, they went right back to preaching Christ. Again, they were rounded up and they answered, We ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). Actually, government officials ought to be in subjection to God, but it is not always going to be that way and in many countries today, there are people being killed for no other reason than for being a Christian. There is a place for refusing authority when that authority forces you to disobey God.
Even here, this must be soft-pedaled with a gracious attitude. Verse 16 reveals that we are free, but we are not to use our freedom or liberty as a cloke of maliciousness. We must always recognize that we represent the sovereign ruler of the universe. Therefore we are to Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God, Honor the king (I Peter 2:17). We should not live in bondage or terror but we should never be guilty of lawlessness either. We cannot advance the cause of Christ through vengeance or wrong attitudes toward those who are over us or who persecute us.
Read Matthew 5:16 and Philippians 1:20-21. Regardless of our circumstances, we must always manifest Christ and glorify God.
George Stiekes held successful pastorates in churches in Michigan and Washington among other places. He currently resides in North Carolina and blogs at Reverent Reflections. We recommend his ministry and republish his material by permission.