Peter’s words about civil obedience bring the gospel to the point of simple and practical application:

1 Peter 2:13-17 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men - as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

The first thing I would like to discuss is Peter’s idea of submission to the government. Peter here is speaking particularly about a monarchy, and is probably referring to Rome which sat in submission to Caesar. Notice that he tells his readers to submit themselves to every ordinance, or human law, for the Lord’s sake. Now, how do we as U.S. citizens apply this principle? Undoubtedly, there are many laws and ordinances that we might think are ridiculous. Speed limits, registration regulations on our vehicles, hunting and fishing regulation, recycling requirements, and I could go on ad infinitum; my point is this, we have a requirement to God to comply. However, the wonderful thing about America is that our constitution lays out guidelines by which we can bring about change if we do not agree with such massive government intrusion. The constitution also seems to clearly depict a government which is much smaller than it now is and definitely a government which does not regulate every moment of everyone’s lives. Also, because of these verses, Christians should be motivated to vote. A major part of our government consists of the voice of the people, and as believers trying to submit to every ordinance, part of that submission is speaking out and voting. Consequently, here Peter tells us that it is important to the gospel for us to submit to these ordinances. Why?

Because by obeying we put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. They can no longer say, “this person believes in Christ, but they don’t obey the government.” It is not that Christians are to be perfect, but they are called to be submissive to authority, to be at peace as much as possible with all men, and to love the brotherhood. This sends a definite message to everyone else that the people believing the gospel act differently in the world.

I would like to share a few words about the last command, “honor the king.” How is it possible to honor the king when the king is a despicable and debauched unrepentant sinner? How is it possible to honor a king who treats people unjustly as Caesar did? I think what Peter is getting at is what Paul is getting at in Romans 13. Every human authority is allowed that authority by God, yes, even the tyrants and evil kings. Thus, there is the idea of respecting the position which God has allowed the person in authority. This obviously does not mean that the evil deeds of any ruler need to be endorsed by the believers, but that their position needs to be honored. That being said, if the king commands the believer to do something sinful, as Daniel was, the believer obviously has an obligation to disobey. But I would argue that the manner in which Daniel honorably disobeyed was part of what God used to bring Nebuchadnezzar to repentance. Daniel honored Nebuchadnezzar’s position, but not his sinful behavior. As believers, we would do well to emulate such a civil attitude.

In conclusion, how do we live this out?  Well, in order to submit correctly to our government I would suggest gaining a better understanding of our government.  It is amazing to me how many people I talk to who have not read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights; I know I didn’t read them for a long time after elementary school.  Sit down and read these documents, understand how our government works, and understand what your responsibilities are.  Also, I would recommend researching your representatives.  If you don’t like what you find, research who will be running.  There is a presidential election coming up in ‘08, with the primaries in a few months.  Get out there and research your candidates!  Submit to the government over you and fulfill your civil duties.