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. (1 Peter 2:13-17 ESV)
I was struck by the power of Peter’s words this morning in light of what the Christian church in America is experiencing right now. I have had numerous conversations these past weeks since the election that end up with someone asking me, “Okay, at what point do we resist the government?”
It’s a valid question from a purely wordly viewpoint. We look back over 200 plus years of economic, political and religious liberty and pine for ‘the good ol’ days’. I myself have felt a certain sense of mourning related to the apparent loss of liberties which were hard-won and kept – the blood of patriots and defenders which seems now to have been spilled for nothing if we simply allow our civil liberties to slip away. It is heart-wrenching.
But in a bigger sense, we as Christians have not only the ability but the responsibility to live lives which are separated from all of this earthly in-fighting. We are not above politics, but we are not of it either. We are to be in the world but not of it – subject to political turmoil but not emotionally invested. And this is what I saw for the first time today in the words of Peter quoted above. I have said before that the liberty that the government allows me does not make me free. It is Christ who makes me free. When we confound civil liberty with true liberty and become invested in the battles of this world, we have ceased to be free people, even as we fight to remain ‘free’ in a civil sense.
The picture that Peter paints in the passage above is one that makes no sense to the natural mind. He offers no opportunity for fear, subversion or fighting against human institutions. None. If the American church were to live in accordance with the words of Peter, we would live as people who are free regardless of what the government imposes upon us. We would not be shouting down the opposition, but by doing good we would silence the ignorance of our opponents (who happen to be every political faction in this country). We would not be stock-piling weapons and installing solar power so we could go off the grid, but actually continuing, without complaint, to be a city on a hill. We would honor all people regardless of their political views. We would be a people who refuse to play the game but go about God’s business knowing that human institutions rise and fall and rise again as the Kingdom of God is steadily, surely advanced.
Note that this is not a position of weakness, but of strength. A person who is aware of his freedom in Christ cannot be stopped in the service of God even by death. He will continue to operate under the most oppressive human regimes (as can be witnessed in other parts of the world and throughout human history) without regard for his own safety, seeking to do good to others for the sake of his Lord. His resistance is not overtly pointed at any human institutions, but at the powers and principalities that direct human institutions. This is the ultimate threat to any and all human institutions, because it is not sided with any of them and therefore cannot be debated nor fought from any of their positions. This doing good for God’s sake is more powerful than any armed resistance. It cannot be stopped by the weapons of this world because it does not belong to this world.
Interestingly enough, the American church has taken a stance that attempts to co-opt the political process in bringing about Kingdom growth. We have decided that the way to bring about heavenly change is to harness earthly institutions. So we have become emotionally invested in the process in such a way that we cannot offer honor to anyone who disagrees with us. The effect of this is that we have become little more than a political faction ourselves, being both in and of the world. This is a position of tremendous weakness because it relegates us to the use of earthly weapons in a battle that is ultimately fought in the heavenlies. We are severely limiting ourselves and are in direct disobedience to the commands of God. We are casting aside our freedom in Christ to fight on behalf of the human institutions that seek to enslave us. And we are throwing away the strength of our witness as it becomes apparent that we are as petty as the other participants.
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1 ESV) To become embroiled in the affairs of men is to abdicate your freedom in Christ and become ensnared once again in the 'elementary principles' of this world. That is the gospel truth.
God Bless
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