Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of the foolish. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love your fellow believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
Dig Deeper
A few years ago, while leading the campus ministry in Milwaukee, we had a young person who was having a particularly difficult go of things at their job. It seemed that they had a boss and some co-workers who acting quite unfairly to them. Their initial reaction was to get angry and quite frustrated with the whole situation and either fire back in an angry fashion or just quit and leave the whole mess behind them. The problem with both of those quite natural responses is that neither of them addressed the situation with the principles of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God plays by different rules (cf. 2 Cor. 10:4) and does not need to resort to using the same methods that the world does, nor should we just avoid situations. Either of this young person's inclinations would have been playing by the world's rules. Yet, and it is important to note, for them to stay and deal with the situation in a godly manner, proclaiming the kingdom of God through their actions, was not endorsing the behavior of the boss or the co-workers. It only seems that way if you are still viewing things from a worldly point of view.
Many have criticized this first epistle of Peter, saying that it could not have been written during Peter's lifetime, because of his call here to submit to worldly authorities and honor their rule. How, argue the critics, could it follow that this church was being persecuted in some form or another, while at the same time Peter is calling them to submit to their authorities? This only seems impossible to comprehend if we operate from a worldly perspective. The kingdom of God, though, operates with different weapons. The strongholds of the world are demolished by staying in the situation in which God has put us and living according to the principles of the kingdom of God. This doesn't mean that Peter was endorsing the Roman government. Quite the opposite. He was in fact, prescribing the very method through which the forces that were opposed to God would be torn down.
Many people read Peter's descriptions of Christians as foreigners and exiles and think that he is referring to fact that their lives should be unique and out of place from the people of the world that surround them because they should focus on their future life in God's presence. While that is certainly part of it, Peter's primary point is that they are the people of God. He calls them dear friends, which doesn't convey the full force and meaning of the word agapetoi, a word that carries the meaning of agape, the love of God. They are Jesus' people because they are characterized by the love of God, but they are also the people of God, which Peter demonstrates by using language that applied to the Israelites (Lev. 25:23). It is probable that the concept of being foreigners and exiles was quite literally true as well for these people that suffered socially and economically because of their status and identification with the people of God.
Peter not only urges them to live as the people of God, distinct from society, but to abstain from sinful desires, literally fleshly lusts. Peter's description of having fleshly lusts that constantly pull us to do our own will rather than God's is identical to Paul's battle between walking in the Spirit and the lusts of the flesh (cf. Rom. 8, Gal. 5). It is only through abstaining from our own will and doing the will of God that Christians are enabled to the positive behavior of living such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Evidently the Christians communities that Peter was writing to had been accused of wrongdoings. The response was not to give into their fleshly desires and respond in a human manner. No, fighting with the weapons of the world such as violence, anger, or revenge would do no good and would certainly not announce the kingdom of God. It is only by submitting to the rule of society, loving one another with the love of God, and living exemplary lives that would make a difference. It is possible that Peter means that the people around them will be impacted and even converted by their behavior, but it is equally possible that Peter's point is that the way they will glorify God is through the judgment of the second coming, as the innocent people of God will be seen to be vindicated when He returns. It is likely that Peter meant both possibilities. Some non-Christians would be converted but the other would have to answer for their unjust actions and that would also bring glory to God.
In verse 13 Peter begins the real call to godly subversion. It isn't in rebellion or uprising but in submission. God gave mankind the institution of human authority and government to keep the rule of society. The intended purpose of those governments are to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right. The fact that they are not upholding that God-given commission shouldn't insight Christians to a wholesale upheaval or rebellion, although there will be times when Christians have to actively disobey human governments. In general, the response should be to willingly submit to that authority and live such lives of love and upstanding order that it makes even their enemies and those who would engage in untrue, malicious, and ignorant talk would have little left to say. This might sound counter-intuitive but the constant biblical call is for Christians to live as Christians regardless of the behavior of others. In Luke 21, Jesus mentions a scene in which the un-godly actions of the Jewish leaders have oppressed a poor widow, causing her to have less money than anyone should be able to live on, yet He commends her for giving the last of her money to God. Jesus' point was that the leaders had acted unjustly but she is still praised for her actions regardless. This is a frame of mind that Christians must constantly return to. Even if we are being treated unfairly or unjustly, if Christians act in a godly manner and in good faith, our actions are not negated. It is the wrong-doers who will have to answer for their actions. It is through this counter-intuitive commitment to godly behavior that the strongholds of the world will be demolished. It is by doing God's will in this fashion that the false talk of the foolish will be silenced.
Christians don't live in this sort of submission and reverence because they are slaves to human governments, quite the opposite. Because Christians are God's people they should live as free people. Peter was not calling them to live in submission to the authorities because they had to or had no other options. He is calling them to make the choice to do so because it is the means through which God will advance His kingdom. There was perhaps a temptation for them to fight back and fight violence with violence or insult with insult, but to fight that way would be to use their freedom as a cover-up for evil. When one chooses to submit to others in dignity and out of their own free will, that is the true definition of freedom. To sum it all up, Peter urges them to show proper respect to everyone, love your fellow believers, fear God, honor the emperor. It is this kind of living which will slowly erode the very human authority that stands in opposition to God to which they are submitting.
Devotional Thought
Have you ever gotten so paranoid about being wronged that you refused to behave in good and godly behavior? Remember that the call of the Christian is to honor God with our lives and actions and realize that we cannot control the actions of others. In fact, it may be in acting in a godly fashion in the face of wrong that we bring an ultimate end to the wrong.
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