TEXT:
‘So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’ (2 Peter 3:17-18 NLT).
The epistles Peter wrote are quick to read, but they are packed with truth and well worth meditating upon. Today’s Teaching highlights four words that will help us to avoid error and experience the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first two key words we studied were “Faith” and “Precious”. The third word is “Submission”.
The key to true submission is firstly, “Submit to God”. When we’re willing to submit to the highest authority, we’ll have no real trouble in submitting to anyone else.
There is forced submission, such as in wrestling when your opponent overpowers you and you have no choice but to concede. Many people live under a dictatorship where submission is enforced with an iron fist, and they have no real choice but to obey.
Then there is willing submission. This is what Jesus did when He humbled Himself and was clothed with humanity to save us from our sins. He is our supreme example. In his epistle, Peter highlights four areas to manifest submission.
1. Submission within the nation – ‘For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honour those who do right’ (1 Peter 2:13-14 NLT).
Simply put, Christians are to be good citizens, even in a corrupt and godless society. It’s not clear whether Peter was in prison when he wrote either of his epistles, but his impending death (on the orders of Emperor Nero) was fast approaching (See 2 Peter 1:12-15). Despite that, Peter urged his readers to submit to and honour the Roman authorities.
Paul expounded this truth in Romans 13:1-7, stating that the authorities had been appointed by God to protect society, even if at times they reneged on their responsibilities. Paul urged Christians to pay their taxes and honour those who should be honoured.
The only time Christians are allowed to refuse to obey the authorities is when they insist they do something that is clearly against the will of the highest authority – God! Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and Daniel are good examples of this (See Daniel chapters 3 and 6). While God rescued all of them unharmed from both the burning furnace and the lion’s den, millions of Christians throughout history have suffered at the hands of ungodly leaders and laws and even paid the ultimate penalty of death for choosing to honour God.
2. Submission within the workplace – ‘You who are servants, be good servants to your masters—not just to good masters, but also to bad ones. What counts is that you put up with it for God’s sake when you’re treated badly for no good reason’ (1 Peter 2:18-19 MSG).
It’s possible to be a good employee or servant even with a bad manager or master. Christians who are disrespectful and lazy, do not honour God and are an embarrassment to the testimony of Jesus Christ.
When King Darius contemplated making Daniel his prime minister to oversee the kingdom, the other government officials tried to prevent it by setting a trap for Daniel (See Daniel 6:1-5). Knowing they could not fault his honesty and workmanship; they schemed a plan against his faith that was so God-honouring.
How much more productive the workplace would be if every employee pulled their weight and worked to the best of their ability, instead of trying to do the least amount of work for the most money. Christians should set the right example and rest in the knowledge that if workers were to be laid off, it should not be them because they are too productive!
3. Submission in the home – ‘Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands …For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands’ (1 Peter 3:1, NIV).
The Christian home, like the church, is intended to reflect the Godhead, where there is submission, obedience and honour. Peter urged wives to be submissive to their own husbands. Then to ensure the husbands did not take unfair advantage, Peter urged them to love and give honour to the wife as to the weaker vessel. Doing that would ensure their prayers were not hindered.
When parents properly honour each other, they can expect their children to do the same (See Ephesians 6:1-4). Paul reminded the Ephesians that honouring their father and mother released God’s promise, ‘That it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth’. When love and honour is lacking in the homes, it does not bode well for the future of any nation.
4. Submission in the church – ‘In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility towards one another, because God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble’ (1 Peter 5:5 NIV).
There is a leadership structure for the church made up of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders and deacons. Peter urged the Christians to submit to the elders.
Jude warned against those who ‘Reject authority’ (Jude v8). Rebellion has no place in the church which is to reflect Christ’s submission. Be warned, God will always resist the proud and rebellious, but likewise will always give grace to the humble and submissive.
Church is not about what can it do for me, but how can I submit, fit in and function? The Bible says, ‘Submit to one another in the fear of God’ (Ephesians 5:21).
From the above we can clearly see the need for submission covers every area of our lives, from childhood to adulthood, from school to the workplace, from the home to the church. Our role model is Christ. Let’s be good imitators of Him!
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