Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

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When I think about our nation, I have many mixed feelings. I love that we have freedom to practice our faith. I love that in a democracy the people have a voice. I love that our Declaration of Independence stated that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

But I do not love all things about our nation. We are full of sinful people, of which I am one of them, and we’re reminded of this every time we turn on the television. All of our laws do not honor God, and the trend is that our nation is becoming less godly in our laws rather than more godly. So I am not content that our nation remain the same as it is. I long for a better country, and I long to rest in my eternal home where there is no pain or suffering or ungodliness.

But, as for now, we live in this world, so we must know how we are to relate to our world, nation, and government.

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, 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 men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. “ (1Pe 2:13-17 NIV)

When a person becomes a Christian, they immediately are free from all law: biblical and national. We’re free from needing to observe laws, and we’re free from condemnation from laws. Christ has fulfilled the law for us, and He’s paid the price for our failure to obey the law. So there may be a temptation for the believer to completely disregard laws because they don’t apply to us anymore. But this is exactly what Paul argued against in Romans 6:1-4. And this is exactly what Peter was saying about freedom in v. 16. The law shows us how to glorify God more!

We are not to rebel against our government (v. 13-14). We don’t have a king in our nation, but there is a person that we all treat as royalty: the president. We call them the First Family, we call the wife the First Lady, we watch them buy their pets and as they go on their vacations. We are to be subject to our president as unto the Lord. Whenever he signs a bill so that it becomes a law, we are to obey that law as if it came from God.

But what if the law of man contradicts the law of God? Are we still to obey it? The same apostle who wrote this letter found himself in such a situation in Acts 5:27-29. God is a higher authority than any earthly government. We should obey God in all things. When there is no conflict between the law of God and our nation’s law, we are to obey both as if they were directly from God. But when there is a conflict, we are to obey God, and rejoice when we receive a consequence from our government, because we are suffering in the name of the Lord.

This is not our home. Might I suggest to you that the “Good Old Days” were not as good as you remember them? People have always been sinful. Our nation has never gone more than 10 years without been involved in war or conflict. This nation, like every other nation on this planet, has and has always had major problems. Even when this nation was founded, people took slaves. Women were not treated as equals.

We are not to find our joy in this nation. I am thankful that we live in a free country. But this country is not my home. The freedom that I experience in this country is nothing like the freedom of heaven. Like Abraham, we look forward to a better country. Heaven is a place where there is no more pain. Heaven is a place where there is never-ending joy.

We obey the laws of our nation not because it is our master, but for the sake of the Lord (v. 13). We do it so that those around us cannot accuse us of anything. We do it so that they will see our faithfulness and give their lives to God (v. 15). We want to silence their disobedience to the nation’s laws. By our good example, we hope to create a better country to live in. We want to silence their accusations against believers. We want to show with our good lives that we have peace in the midst of a nation at war. We want to show that Christians aren’t rude or rebellious or insensitive, but kind. We want to show that our hope doesn’t rest in our nation, but in God.

The conclusion of all this is summed up v. 17. 1) Honor everyone. We have an obligation to all people to play show and tell. Show them our good lives. Tell them about Jesus. 2) Love the brotherhood. Although we have an obligation to all people, we have a special relationship with believers. We share all things in common, having the same purpose and beliefs and love. 3) Fear God. God is our Master. He makes the rules. He is the authority over us. 4) Honor the king. We are respect him and his authority. We are to obey our government as long as it does not conflict with God’s Word. We ought always remember that this is not our home. We are aliens and strangers in this land (v. 9).