The Christian and Showing Honor

Introduction

Good morning. If you will open your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. As you turn there, consider of all of God’s commandments, which ones stand out the most? Usually it might be a commandment that you struggle to fulfill or struggle to keep. It might be a commandment that seems most obvious, like not committing murder. It might be not stealing. Or maybe it’s just the fact that we have to be holy as God is holy. Something echoed in 1 Peter chapter 1. But when we think about 1 Peter chapter 2, there’s an interesting little set of verses, and it has a strong application for our life every single day. And perhaps this week more than any other, it is one of the most violated among the entire scriptures in the Word of God.

In 1 Peter chapter 2, beginning in verse 13, Peter writes, Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the Emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God. That by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor. Verse 17 alone is worth unraveling for the amount of time that you could grant to it. We could continue talking about applications in the Word of God on what does it mean to love the Brotherhood?

What does it mean even to fear God from an elementary standpoint? But I want to look at the first part of verse 17 and the last part of verse 17 and make a couple of points this morning. The first part of verse 17, of course, says, honor everyone. And that last part of verse 17, whether we like it or not, says, honor the emperor. This morning I’d like to discuss the Christian and showing honor. I think sometimes honor is lost in our society. Just this morning in the book of Leviticus, as we were studying in the auditorium class, God had a commandment for the people that they honor the aged, that they have a respect for the elderly. Certainly, if we look around in our communities today, that is something that is lacking.

In fact, we strive for youth, not for wisdom and experience. We don’t want to look younger, we want to feel younger, we want to be younger. And yes, there are some benefits on the superficial way of attaining that type of look, that type of feel. But the Bible’s focus is on wisdom. That’s something the elderly have. The Bible’s focus is on honoring even your father and your mother. That’s something that is the bedrock of society, both within the law of Moses for the Israelites and for us today as Christians, as Paul writes in the book of Ephesians in chapter 6. God continually lays out this plan that we honor, that we respect those who have wisdom, and that we ourselves attain to have the wisdom to know who is God, to know what it means to fear God, and most of all, in knowing and fearing God, that we can discern what is right from what is wrong.

That is wisdom knowing God and fearing Him as the creator that He is. And the truth is this morning, certainly you can tell by the background, and you can tell by just even turning on your television, your radio, firing up the internet. There is a lot to be said in our country this particular weekend about our new president. About even if you extend it to our new members of Congress, and yes, one of those talking points is even about our judicial branch, who is going to be the ninth member of the Supreme Court. But as we think about all this, I want to go beyond just simply the last part of verse 17 in 1 Peter chapter 2, honoring the emperor, honoring the governing authorities. I want to see that the Bible says that Christians are to show honor, as verse 17 says to everyone.

1. Honor Everyone: Created in the Image of God

I think that’s a strong warning because the truth is, if we examine why God made us and how God made us, we’ll see that honor is not only something we should strive for, but that it is deserved if we wish to have honor as well. In Genesis chapter 1, I hope you’ll turn with me there. Let’s look at just three Old Testament passages. In Genesis chapter 1, you know how man was made. And certainly this above any other passage should make it clear how we treat one another with love, with respect, and yes, with honor. In Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26, then God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

But no, verse 27, so God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created them. Male and female, he created them. How powerful is it as verse 27 says in your Bible, that God created man in his own image. Yes, of course, verse 26 is important and shows how special we are, and that we have dominion over the animals that God had previously made. But what a blessing. What a privilege. And yes, what an honor to be created in the image of God. In Psalm chapter 100 and verse 3, we see that concept spelled out in the Psalm. In the 100th Psalm in verse 3, turn there with me. In Psalm 100 and verse 3, note what said, Know that the Lord, He is God.

It is He who made us, and we are His. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Not only are we uniquely made by God, not only do we have the one part of all creation that could be said of none other than mankind, that we were made in the image of God. We have the blessing of knowing that yes, God created us, but that we are His. We are His people. And the image in verse 3 is clear. We are the sheep of His pasture. Certainly we understand how a shepherd would view his sheep, and what a unique relationship and love and feeding and nurturing that goes in for the shepherd with the sheep. How much more can we know that our God loves his creation?

What a blessing to be able to say, God made us and we are his people. Of course, in Isaiah chapter 44 and verse 24, speaking of the nation of Israel, God says, I have formed you from the womb. How powerful to know that we have a mighty God who knows us, who cares about us, but who created us uniquely in his image. I think when we think about that, sometimes we kind of mull over that and we kind of just move on because we’re used to it. We’ve heard that God created us. It’s just kind of like with the Lord’s Supper sometimes. Don’t you have a temptation to kind of overthink it? To just think, you know, yes, Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and that’s a big sacrifice.

We need to know every single day, not just on Sundays, that the sacrifice of Christ means everything to us as Christians. It is not easy, no matter how many times we read about it in the Gospels. Jesus left the sight of God. He came into this life. And he was crucified on the cross for our sins. And that says something about us too. Jesus died, as 1 John chapter 2 says, for the sins of the whole world. How powerful. That God made us unique and special. And that Jesus died for us. And if you look at internet blogs, if you look at radio shows, you look at television shows, what does mankind do with one another? We bicker. We name call. We jest at with harsh tones.

We slander. We gossip. We lie. We cheat. We protest vulgarly, angrily, without the right heart. Sometimes not even within the law. Not only are we failing God with that, but brothers and sisters, we are failing each other. We are uniquely made as children of God. And that means that I and you deserve a special honor from one another as we are God’s children. Yes, 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 17 says, honor all men. Honor everyone. God has commanded it. But can’t we see that God made us special? And if we’re special to God, we should be special to one another. Because we want to be loving like God. We want to be holy as God is holy, as Peter says in the first chapter. But consider a more poignant application this morning, the Christian and the government.

2. The Christian and the Government: Submit and Honor

We kind of get that we need to love one another, that we have to love as we love ourselves. We have to love our neighbor. In fact, in John chapter 13, Jesus said, not only do you have to love your neighbor as yourself, you should love as I have loved. And we know Jesus’ love took him to the cross to die for our sins. But when it comes to the Christian and the government, we see in Romans chapter 13, Paul has some strong points. Hope you’ll turn to Romans chapter 13. We’re going to spend a good amount of time there this morning. But as you’re turning to Romans chapter 13, stop first in chapter 12 to kind of see where he was going. As part of Romans chapter 13, it kind of can be pointed back to verses 1 and 2 of chapter 12, those well-known verses.

I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. That by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. That is a powerful call to action that Paul is making. Be transformed. Do not be like the world. Romans 12 and verse 9, let love be without hypocrisy, abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. Repay no one evil for evil, as you continue in chapter 12. There are all these strong examples of what it means to be transformed. But make no mistake, in chapter 13, we have an example of the transformed life as well.

Let’s see how Christians behave in any government, and we’re going to talk about the government that Paul is writing under in just a moment. In Romans chapter 13, though, in verse 1, let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God. And those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval. For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.

For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore, one must be in subjection not only to avoid God’s wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes. For the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them, taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed. Honor to whom honor is owed. We quickly run into a problem if we try to have any sort of lack of proper manners in our discourse about or to authorities. Because what that word keeps popping up over and over again, doesn’t it? It was in 1 Peter chapter 2, and it’s in Romans chapter 13.

It’s not just to respect, it’s not just to submit to, it is to honor the emperor, 1 Peter 2. It is to give honor to whom honor is owed. Romans chapter 13 and verse 7. We need to submit to, yes, but we need to honor our leaders. When you think about submitting to, that’s become a dirty word in our society. We say, well, women shouldn’t have to submit to men because we’re equal in all ways, although we’ve seen how that plays out, and there’s all kinds of holes that can be poked in that entire line of reasoning anyhow, certainly from the Bible perspective. But as we consider what it means to submit, we do know the concept. We just don’t really like how it is carried out.

To submit to is to give yourself over to, to allow oversight of. We have no problem submitting to God. What does it mean to submit to the will of God? It means to understand what He has said and do it. Now, submitting can be hard, and sometimes even with God, even in our relationship with the Lord, we struggle and we kind of kick back, don’t we? We think, well, why do I have to do this? Or I don’t really want to do that, or here’s the best one. It’s hard to do that. Submitting is hard, even when we understand clear line of authority. We know Jesus has all authority in heaven on earth. And yet sometimes we find it difficult even with God. How about submitting to other men?

Well, let’s always keep in mind, every point we make this morning, we need to remember that God expects that we love one another and that we honor everyone, as Peter wrote. But in a special way, in Romans chapter 13, you see in verse 1, what is part of this submission? Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. In verse 2, whoever resists the authorities resist what God has appointed. So we don’t want to resist, we want to give ourselves over to. We need to submit to, allow ourselves to be ruled by. To honor, what does that word mean then? To give respect. To place a high value, to revere. And ah, here is the problem. The problem is that I don’t always honor people because I don’t agree with them.

And yet in Romans chapter 13 and 1 Peter chapter 2, extra credits given to the first person who can find an exception to giving honor to our governing authorities. When you think about the governing authorities in 1 Peter and in the time of Romans, they had the same world authority. It was somebody you might know by the name of Nero. Yes, it was Nero who Paul was under when he wrote the book of Romans around 57, 58 A.D. And yes, it was Nero who Peter was under around 65, 66 A.D. as well. And when you think about this life that Peter lived, and the life that Paul lived, and the life that the apostles lived, how did they meet therein? They were, as history records, martyred for the sake of Christ.

And even evil, vile, Christian hating, Christian blaming Nero was written in mind of Paul in Romans chapter 13, when he says, Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. It’s Nero, who look at verse 3, and think about Paul writing this under the rule of Caesar. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. Can you imagine? Can you imagine writing that? Can you imagine Peter writing in 1 Peter chapter 2 in verse 17, the passage we’ve made so many times, honor the emperor, that they’re saying, submit to, give reverence and value to Nero?

How can that be? And then I start to think.

Frankly. But the truth is it doesn’t matter about what’s so bad, and that’s the problem. The problem is we think we should submit to and honor leaders who deserve it. Or we say, well, I’ll honor the office, but I can’t honor the man.

As a Christian, we are not. God says, honor the emperor. God says, let every person be subject to the governing authorities. The truth is, Christians should be the best citizens in this world. We should be examples of what is good. In fact, you see, this includes verses 6 and 7, giving everything that’s owed. You know what’s horrible is when Christians are examples of tax evasion. When Christians are examples of leading the charge of rebellion against authorities. When God says we are to submit, we are to be subject to. In verse 6, you see what Paul writes, for because of this you also pay taxes, and the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them. Taxes to whom taxes are owed.

3. The Exception: We Must Obey God Rather Than Men

Revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, and honor to whom honor is owed. And we think about this and we have to say, yes, there is an exception. And it’s found in the book of Acts. Look at me in Acts chapter 5, quickly this morning. In Acts chapter 5, Peter, of all people did understand the exception to the rule. In Acts chapter 5, note with me beginning in verse 27. As Peter is before the council in verse 27, and when they had brought them, they set them before the council, and the high priest questioned them, saying, We strictly charge you not to teach in this name. Yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. And you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.

They were teaching about Christ. And in verse 29, in response to the counsel, Peter and the apostles answered, We must obey God rather than man. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as a leader and savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. There is the exception. We must obey God rather than men. That exception does not extend to I disagree with this tax policy. It does not apply to I disagree even with this social policy. We don’t have to agree to submit.

Or expect us to do this type of work. And the truth is, even if we don’t fully understand, certainly we do know that we owe God our life. We owe God our everything. That’s what it means to be subject to. That’s what it means to give honor, to whom honor is owed. We value God. We understand that we are under his authority. And the truth is the Bible is clear that we are in subjection and to give respect to and to honor our rulers and our governing authority. Paul doesn’t say if you like him. Paul doesn’t say if you voted for him. Peter says, honor the emperor. The question then would be why. Why would Peter and Paul write this under the leadership of Nero? Why would they expect us to do this in this time of America where you may or may not like this president, you may or may not have liked the president before now.

4. The Why: Authorities Are Appointed by God

Well, the truth is Romans gives us that answer. And this is what we need to see. If we are going to be subject to, if we are going to give honor, we have to understand what is God’s expectation for us and the why. Here’s the why in verse 1. Didn’t you see it? When it comes to the book of Romans, he gave the why. Because there is no authority except from God. They were appointed by God. Those that exist have been instituted by God. And in verse 4, again is that reference, the leader is God’s servant for doing good. Consider even in John chapter 19 and verse 11, it’s Jesus who says of Peter that he was given that place by God. But look in the book of Daniel in chapter 2, perhaps we see in an old testament example of how God deals with the kingdoms of men and how we should understand who is our leader and why did God allow him to be there.

In Daniel chapter 2. Turn in your old testaments with me to Daniel chapter 2. As God is revealing Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, we see in verse 20 beginning, Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with them. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we ask of you, for you have made known to us the kings matter.

What did he say in verse 21? He changes times and seasons. God removes kings, and God sets up kings. God appointed them. Sometimes we might be tempted to think, though, surely God didn’t appoint this president. Surely, with all the actions, God didn’t appoint the last president or the president before him. Surely that couldn’t be what our God does. And yet in Isaiah chapter 10, we find a curious example of God using a kingdom that could never be described as righteous, that would not be described as kind in any sense. In Isaiah chapter 10, we learn about one of the most ruthless empires the world ever had. In Isaiah chapter 10, we learn about Assyria. And let’s see how God used Assyria. If he just put them up, and if the king just kind of gained control on his own, or if God did have a hand, yes, even in vile, powerful, ruthless Assyria.

In Isaiah chapter 10 and verse 5, Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger. The staff in their hands is my fury. Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him to take spoil and seize plunder and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. But he does not so intend, and his heart does not so think, but it is in his heart to destroy and to cut off nations, not a few. For he says, Are not all my commanders all kings? Is not Calno like Carkamesh? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? As my hand has reached to the kingdom of the idols, whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her images?

When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. Not only was Assyria known to be a ruthless empire, and not only did God use Assyria, as it said in verse 5, they were the rod of his anger. What else do we know about Assyria? Do you think they knew that that was the part they were playing? Absolutely not. In fact, in verse 12, it was their arrogance that God would judge them for after they were used for his appointed purpose. You don’t have to say about the president, well, he doesn’t act godly, he doesn’t act righteous. God has shown in the Old Testament time and time again, he appoints who he will, he will use the nations to whatever end God has decreed.

We just need to make sure that we’re not like the people of Israel who have rejected God, and God doesn’t send a nation of a king, whether righteous or unrighteous, against us. We will stand in judgment before God and give an account. Let’s do what God says, and that means, yes, submitting to authorities who were put there by God. And of course, we see the problem with that. If we know that God appointed the authorities, if we know that God appointed President Bush, President Obama, and President Trump, and I disagree with them, or I don’t like what they said or how they said it, that puts me in an odd place, doesn’t it? Actually, no. No, it doesn’t. As Christians, we have one response and one alone.

5. By Doing Good, Put to Silence Foolish People

To submit because God has appointed them. If we thought of our leaders as appointed by God, I would hope that would dramatically change our reaction to them. That doesn’t mean we’re in wholehearted agreement with every policy. That doesn’t mean we like the way they talk or their past life. But it does mean, as they are leaders, we will give them honor because honor is owed. Respect because respect is owed. And we will submit to the governing authorities appointed by God. But we see also another purpose. I want to go back to 1 Peter chapter 2, the passage we read at the beginning this morning. And in 1 Peter chapter 2, there’s two reasons given in one verse there. Why would God put all of these men in subhority?

Why do we have to be subject to people like Nero, to our presidents? In 1 Peter chapter 2, notice in verse 13, again, this is given, be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the Emperor as Supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this, verse 15 is number one, for this is the will of God. But note number two that by doing good, you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. I said before that Christians should be the best citizens in this world. Because we should be loving. We should be lights into the world. Jesus commands that. We should be subject to our authorities.

That doesn’t mean rolling over. That doesn’t mean not standing up for the principles of God. And certainly it does not mean abdicating our command to pray for those who have charge over us. That we may live godly and peaceful lives. But we need to be submissive. And if we are, people will notice. It will silence any charges of ignorance, any slander against Christians who say they’re not acting very Christ-like, or what about their Christ? Because when I complain on my social media account about the way this president has happened, or the way rioters respond, yes, rioters who break the law are guilty of law breaking. But if I’m involved in all the slander and all the crossfire, I look no different from the world, and I’m supposed to be transformed by the renewal of my mind.

Honoring everyone, not just the emperor. Frankly, the truth of the matter is when we come back to that thought of can I honor the office but not the man? The problem is in 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 17, we’re not only to honor the emperor, even if you want to say that’s the office, we’re caught with number one, aren’t we? Honor everyone. In our case, the president, the members of the Supreme Court, the members of our congressional body are people. They are made in the image of what is what has been said by Paul or Peter, even if you don’t agree with what our authorities say, to resist is to reject Godself. When you think about Paul’s words there, that’s pretty strong. In fact, in verse 3, what are we looking for?

Excuse me, verse 2, those who resist will incur judgment. How powerful to think that if I won’t submit to, if I don’t honor, if I don’t respect, if I don’t give taxes and revenue to whom taxes and revenue is owed, that I answer to God as He appointed them. I answer to God for slandering his name and my image, what should be a shining light into the world of darkness. And I will stand at the day of judgment guilty before the Lord, because I have rejected him who he appointed. It’s a powerful example of what God expects of Christians. But I do want to close with three applications. And please consider that as Christians, we have a unique call from God to be better than the world, to not be caught up in the muck, to not be caught up in the filth.

Conclusion

I want to conclude with two points. One is how to act when we agree with the ruling authorities, but others don’t. Number one, we need to submit to God, and we need to submit to the governing authorities when we agree with them. We need to not gloat, but be thankful, praying for God’s hand in all decisions. And remember that name calling and bickering is not Christlike. It is not honoring everyone and it is not honoring the emperor. But consider, secondly, how to act when we disagree. We need to submit to God. We need to submit to the governing authorities. We can disagree with the law while still submitting to it. But we also need to pray for God’s hand in future decisions. And also, rioting, name-calling, and bickering is not Christ-like.

It is not honoring everyone. It is not honoring the Emperor. It is not loving the Brotherhood, and it certainly does not show a fear of God. If you notice, those lists are the same. Because Paul and Peter’s commands are for submitting ourselves to our authorities. Not when we like them, not when we voted for them, and not when their platform is your personal hobby. We need to submit to governing authorities who were appointed by God. Finally, let me conclude with just this one word. We need to trust in the Lord. Maybe we don’t see why President Trump was elected. Maybe you don’t see why President Obama was elected. Maybe we don’t know why Nero was ever allowed to reign, or any of the Roman Empire, to be as harsh and brutal as it was.

But we need to trust in the Lord. The Israelites had to trust in the Lord. The people of Jesus’ day needed to trust in Jesus. We need to trust in the Christ. We need to trust in our Father, who uniquely made us, who specially created us. And consider the words of one final passage in 1 Timothy chapter 2 as we conclude this morning. As we see God’s command, this is not an option, this is not just good advice. This is what God expects of his servants. He says, first of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings, and for all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

The truth of the matter is, brothers and sisters, you may not like the last president, you may not like this president, you may not have liked any president or elected official to Congress or who any judge sitting on the Supreme Court or any more local ordinance. But the truth is we are blessed in this country to live a godly and dignified life. We have a unique opportunity in this country in this year 2017 to live a peaceful, quiet life. What are we doing with that opportunity? Are we spending all of our freedom of speech? Are we spending up all of our spare time lamenting how things could be better if it was done my way? Are we taking advantage of whom God has appointed? Taking advantage of the freedom and liberty that we have, telling everyone about the Christ, and if and when we don’t agree, or even when we do, are we praying for kings and all who are in high positions?

Let’s not give up on our leaders, because we don’t want God to give up on us. If God can appoint men to lead over us and he is behind them, we should be too. I said at the beginning, and we’ll conclude with the statement in 1 Peter chapter 2, right now this may be the most transgressed law of the Lord. But the good news is, as we said in 1 John chapter 2, Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. Yes, that includes Christians who have lost their way. That includes Christians who have been focused on the carnal, the temporal, rather than the eternal, mighty God, who is and who was and will forever be our King, our God. You can come to Him today.

You can ask for forgiveness, you can ask for the prayers of the saints, knowing that God will forgive you. It may be that you’ve never been a Christian, but you see the lights in the world. You see that while Christians may disagree, they submit. You may see that while Christians don’t agree with everything that the world has said and done, that they act honorably, peaceful, and dignified. You can become a Christian. You can have all of your sins washed away. Trust in the King of Kings. Trust in the Lord of Lords. Trust in Jesus. Be made right. Be baptized into Him this very moment, this very day. If we can help you in any way to answer the call of God, come forward as we stand and sing the invitation song.