I never realized how divisive the topic of authority was until the summer of 2020. Just the mention of that year sparks strong emotion, doesn’t it? I was getting towards the end of my internship at our sister church in Covington, GA, when I taught a class on the 10 Commandments, and that night we were talking about the 4th Commandment which is all about how a child of God honors human authority. Now again, summer of 2020, we start talking about how God calls us to honor government leaders at every level, and a hand gets raised and tensions rise, “What if the government tells us to do something ridiculous like wearing masks? It doesn’t make any sense to me!” Now, looking beyond the topic of mask-wearing, do you see the underlying view of authority heard there? We hear its echoes in every segment of the political spectrum. We hear, “A government is only worth following if it does what I think is right, and doesn’t impede my independence!” Or something like this, “The government has no business telling me what I should do with my body!” as a woman said to me in a neighborhood near church. Do you see how we as a culture have resentment toward authority? We think we need to legislate morality or let the individual control it all, either way, Christianity has a far different take on authority. The living hope of Jesus opens our eyes to see what true freedom is: To be God’s slaves.
I realize that slavery is a loaded term and for good reason. We have a dark chapter in our history of using race as the way of considering a person’s value, and not the fact that the blood Jesus shed makes every one of us valuable. These verses of 1 Peter are some of the most controversial in the entire Bible. Yet, they reveal one of the deepest truths of the Christian faith. If you’re thinking submitting to governmental authority or slave-owners was any less controversial when Peter wrote this as it is today, you’re wrong. Most Americans indeed have less trust authoritythan ever before. A recent study found that only 20% of Americans trust the government. If you look at practically every institution, churches, schools, police forces, etc. it’s similar, Yet, it still doesn’t compare to what Peter and Christians at his time were dealing with.
Do you know who the emperor of Rome was when Peter wrote this letter? A guy named Nero. Do you know how he treated Christians? The historian Tacitus tells us this, “He had them thrown to dogs, nailed to crosses in his gardens, and burned alive to serve as living torches in the night.” Romans in general saw Christians as cannibals for celebrating the Lord’s Supper, as promoters of incest since they called each brothers and sisters, all these false accusations, and what does Peter say? Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Peter is saying, submit, why? “For the Lord’s sake.” How do you feel about that?
Is your blood boiling a little? Does this bother you? Why do you think it does? Think about this. Why is it easier to laugh at a “I did that” sticker on a gas pump, instead of praying for our president? Why is it easier to seethe at what an ex-president says than to pray for the Lord to change his heart? This is where sin is the great equalizer, no matter what political thought you subscribe to. The core of sin’s delusion is that we don’t want to submit to anyone. We don’t like showing honor to someone we completely disagree with. Again, there is a difference between not agreeing with a leader, whether it’s the president, or your parents, or your boss, and shaming them. We can disagree and bring our concerns to God in prayer, instead of bashing, cutting down on social media, and criticizing. I’ll be the first to admit my failure in this. How often do I fall in this way! How attractive it is to mock than to honor! It would be one thing if Peter stopped there, speaking only to the government authorities, but remember he says, “every human authority” and in their culture, and sadly in many cultures still today, that meant submitting to a slave owner.
Look at what he writes, “Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.” I could ramble on about how Roman slavery wasn’t based on race, which is true, but that really wouldn’t calm your nerves, would it? I know where the mind goes. What about sex slaves, the human trafficking going on all over the world? They should just submit? What about abusive relationships? A person domineering another, just submit? It’s here that we must be abundantly clear. The Bible says we are called to submit to authority, not authoritarianism. Big difference. Peter specifies that in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than human beings!” If human authority demands we do something against God’s Word, we remember that our ultimate identity and citizenship belong to King Jesus. So how do we explain this? This seems so unfair, so wrong, to submit like that. To submit to a boss, to a parent, to a teacher who is harsh towards you, who doesn’t seem to understand you, how could Peter say something like this?
Peter uses such vivid descriptions to tell us something amazing about real freedom, Christian freedom. Remember he is talking to Christians, most of whom were in the very bottom social class, who couldn’t do anything to change their status. Any sort of violent rebellion would have only ended in bloodshed and death. The only thing that truly changes a person, a culture, the world? It’s the hope of God’s grace that changes hearts. Peter is saying, “Dear Christian, no matter what the world says, you are always in the position of strength, and you already have what will cause real change!” To which you’re probably thinking, WHAT?! So he’s saying a slave should just be content with being a slave, that a citizen should just submit to the government no matter what? Again, remember Acts 5:29. If you’re asking those questions, you’re seeing what sin does: Sin and Satan want to convince you and me that the self is the one worth submitting to. That “self” should be the authority! Do you hear the ancient whisper, “Did God really say?” Peter is saying the reason we submit, the reason we seek to love even those who hurt us is because of our love for the ultimate authority: God.
This is where critics of Christianity start screaming, “So God was behind Hitler? God is behind governments of genocide? God is behind the parent who abused me? Don’t be mistaken, God has never condoned nor been behind such atrocities. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” Our God is the God of the outcast, he identifies with them: The fatherless, the widow, the prostitute, the tax collectors. Christians living in the sure hope of Jesus, are called to identify with the same, to love the loveless and the oppressed. But none of that happens if God isn’t the ultimate authority. If God is not in total control, then who’s to say who’s right or wrong? Morality would be fluid, based on personal preference leading to chaos, anarchy, and oppression. God calls us to submit why? “For the Lord’s sake” or “in reverent fear of God.” Recall what that means. You’re not being a pushover, nor are you a wimp to be slapped around, you stand above, because you stand with Jesus because of his awe-inspiring love for you. We submit because of the One who submitted to the worst injustice and unjust suffering anyone will ever face.
The almighty God with total authority, who did nothing wrong, suffered hell itself. Look at what Peter says, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” Yet, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” How could Jesus withstand such unjust treatment? Can’t you see? It’s because Jesus was always in the position of strength! He could’ve sent down legions of angels in the Garden of Gethsemane the night he was betrayed but he didn’t why? Look at these amazing hope-filled words of Peter, “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” Jesus knew the greatest hope you could ever have would not be won with debates, swords, guns, or revolution. Jesus knew the only living hope this world has ever seen would not be gained by legislation or behavior modification. This hope could only be given through sacrifice.
Jesus saw the wandering and clueless sheep we are, approaching the cliffs of pride, arrogance, and power-hungriness, the very things that our sinful nature craves. And the Shepherd-King of all became the ultimate slave of all, willingly submitting to the most painful and unjust treatment, abuse, and trauma, so you and I would no longer live for ourselves, but live for him who died for us. Think about how personal this is, how freeing it is! This says no matter if you are at the bottom, having no influence, money, ability, or respect, you have eternal value! You are no longer obsessed over your position, trying to prove that people should submit to you because of your intellect or skill. Instead, you have been given the greatest hope ever: You are, as Peter puts it, “God’s slave,” and that’s what makes you free. Not to use the freedom of sins forgiven, heaven waiting, and identity given to cover up sin, but to live the most substantial, most incredible, most amazing purpose ever known. It means you don’t live the impossible life of trying to make everyone submit to you, that’s slavery to self, but instead, you live in true freedom to live life motivated, empowered, and set free by the grace of God which we see no more clearly than at the cross. In other words, as one mentor of mine named Rick Loewen once said, “You are not a victim anymore, you are a victor in Christ.”
It’s from that position of strength that you are called to follow in the steps of Jesus. Notice this following cannot happen unless you remember what Peter reminds us, “because Christ suffered for you.” To see the gospel overwhelm you with a love that every letter of every form of language can’t harness, you experience a freedom that gives you hope for every situation God places you in. Christians are called to serve others, to go the extra mile, to suffer without demanding their rights, knowing that they have an assured status before God, and that he will vindicate them on the Last Day. Because we are constant victors with our King Jesus leading us, we can judge the authority. If you believe that God has spoken in his Word, it makes us mavericks, independent people, being able to decipher truth from untruth, justice from injustice. We aren’t cowards. We boldly live as God’s love calls us to live, even if we lose it all, because when King Jesus rules in your heart, you know you always have it all. Such hope changes everything.
I’m going to end our conversation today with two amazing stories just to show exactly how God works through such things. One is Vietnam. Vietnam remains today a socialist nation, filled with corruption, and poverty. For decades no church body could offer any theological training. Well, our church body, the WELS, was given access to start a theological school and it was dedicated last year. We are currently the only protestant church with official government permission to work with the Hmong in Vietnam. More than 2 million people who don’t know Jesus and since it opened last year 55 students have completed seminary training, and 120 more men are studying to be pastors. Why did they let us in? Because we stand on this truth of the Bible that we are God’s slaves which means we are free to build up and not destroy, to be the best citizens we can be because we belong to a different King, focused not on political utopia, but saving souls. If you’re still battling with his whole idea of true freedom as being God’s slave, I have one more story to share.
The year was 1948 in the town of Soon-chun, South Korea. A band of communists had taken control of the town and had executed the two older boys of Pastor Yang-won Son. They died calling on their persecutors to have faith in Jesus. When the communists were driven out, Chai-sun, a young man from their village, was identified as the one who had fired the murderous shots. His execution was ordered. Pastor Son requested that the charges be dropped so he could adopt Chai-sun. Rachel, the thirteen-year-old sister of the murdered boys, testified to support her father’s incredible request. Only then did the court agree to release Chai-sun. He became a pastor’s son, and a believer in Jesus. Can’t you see it? We have been called by our King Jesus, called yes to suffer for his sake to win more souls so they can be in his heavenly country alongside us. Jesus is the only authority that gives hope beyond compare. Remember what he said, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” That’s the radical freedom we have in Jesus! Amen.
