Let’s read our passage of Scripture for today:

“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

There is a lot to cover in this passage of Scripture, so before we jump into this specific passage, here’s an outline of what we are going to cover today:

We are going to look at the history of the Roman empire during the time this letter was written. 

We are going to look at the mindset of the Romans who were in authority.

We are going to look at the purpose of 1 Peter. 

We are going to study the text while considering the historic and cultural background, as well as the purpose of the book.

The History of the Roman Empire

According to internal Biblical and external historical evidence, 1 Peter is thought to have been written while Peter was in Rome between 62 – 63 AD. This places Nero as the emperor of Rome during the time frame in which Peter wrote this letter. 

Nero was the emperor of Rome from 54 AD to 68 AD. He became the ruler of the Roman Empire after the death of his adopted father, the emperor Claudius. Emperor Nero was the last ruler of what historians call the "Julio-Claudian" dynasty – a dynasty comprised of the first five Roman emperors. 

Nero has become one of the most infamous men who ever lived. During his rule, he murdered his own mother, Agrippina the Younger; his first wife, Octavia; and allegedly, his second wife, Poppaea Sabina. 

In addition to these horrible acts, ancient writers claim that he started the great fire of Rome in 64 AD so that he could rebuild the city center with a new palace.

After the great fire of Rome in 64 AD, Nero blamed the Christians for the fire and subsequently persecuted them for it. The most detailed account of the persecution comes from Tacitus, who indicates that those who pleaded guilty to being Christians were forced to identify other Christians. 

Christians were executed by torture, often being torn by dogs, crucified, or used as human torches to illuminate Nero’s gardens at night.

In 68 AD, there was a huge revolt against Nero by Vindex and Galba, which cased Nero to flee the empire as a public enemy. Because of the revolt and the fear of being capture Nero killed himself in 68 AD.

Though 1 Peter was most likely written before the great fire of Rome in 64 AD, it is important that we consider the backdrop of Nero’s actions prior to the great fire of Rome because it clues us into Nero’s mindset and leadership. 

The Mindset of the Romans

Romans considered Christians as troublemaker and as threats to the Roman empire. In fact, there was a letter written around AD 112 from Pliny the Younger, the Roman governor of Pontus, to the emperor Trajan. In this letter Pliny the Younger is requesting advice in his dealings with Christians. 

The letter demonstrates that no proactive persecution was carried out against the Christians programmatically throughout the empire. 

Instead, Roman authorities dealt with Christians as atheists and troublemakers who, by refusing to worship the emperor and Roman deities, threatened the social and political fabric that held the empire together (Pliny, Epistle 10.96). 

Pliny’s letter also suggests the presence of a large church in Pontus whose rapid growth he saw as cause for concern (Epistle 10.96.6). This letter from Pliny the Younger gives us insight into the Roman mindset towards Christians and ultimately the mistreatment and persecution of Christians. 

Christians were seen as being atheist and troublemakers who threatened the social and political fabric of the Roman empire and with this mindset, the Romans randomly mistreated and even persecuted Christians. 

If we look at history from this point in time to the present day, we still see similar attitudes and disposition towards Christians today and in some areas of the world we also see a high level of persecution against Christians. 

The Purpose of 1 Peter 

The purpose of this letter is to encourage believers to stand fast while they endure suffering, distress, and persecution in the present evil age. 

This letter came at a time in which Christians were enduring suffering, distress, and persecution for their faith. Yet despite these circumstances, Peter exhorts Christians and gives them instructions on how to live under the governing authorities who are causing much of this suffering, distress, and persecution.

Studying the Text

From here, we are going to study the text in light of emperor Neo, Pliny’s letter, and the purpose of 1 Peter. Let’s read our text of Scripture again.

“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

The Scripture is quite clear here: 

•   We are to submit to the emperor and those governing authorities appointed by him. 

•   We are to submit to the governing authorities because of our relationship with God. 

•   By obeying the government, we carry out God’s will. 

•   By doing good in the public, we will contradict those who claim that Christians practice evil. 

•   We are to honor all people.

•   We are to love the brotherhood. 

•   We are to only fear God.

•   We are to honor the emperor (ruler).

Before we dive any further into 1 Peter 2:13-17, we need to understand a few things about this portion of Scripture: 

•   Peter did not see human authorities as the ultimate authority. Peter’s view was that Christians obey governing authorities because such obedience is God’s will.

•   The supreme authority for Peter was not the emperor but God himself. 

•   Believers are to submit as those who are free in Christ and as slaves of God. 

•   Peter cautioned that a Christian’s freedom should not become a pretext for evil. 

Again, it is vitally important to understand that this letter came when Christians were enduring suffering, distress, and persecution. 

Yet, during this time Peter exhorts them and gives instructions on how to live under the governing authorities who are causing much of this suffering. To put it simply, Peter tells them to obey the governing authorities because it is the will of God. 

Peter does not go on a rant about the emperor or governors and tell them that they shouldn’t obey the governing authorities because they are vile and evil people. 

Peter doesn’t say, wait to obey the governing authorities when the new emperor comes into power. Peter doesn’t say, only obey the governing authorities when you agree with their political positions.

No, he doesn’t say any of that. Instead, he says obey the governing authorities because it is the “will of God.” To Peter it wasn’t a matter of who was in power, it was a matter of doing God’s will. 

Let’s pause and think about this for a moment. You are living in Pontus, enduring suffering, distress, and persecution and someone sits down and reads you a letter from Peter – a man that you know is a godly man, a man that you respect, a man that you admire. 

As you listen to the speaker read the words from Peter’s letter, you find yourself considering Peter’s words in light of your current circumstances. You are enduring all sorts of things, yet Peter’s letter is telling you to obey the people who rule over you – even if they are the ones causing your suffering or persecution. 

Try reconciling that in your mind for a moment! That’s tough, but as we will see, Peter provides a good argument as to why we should be subject to the governing authorities. 

Now, let’s dive into our first passage of Scripture.

1 Peter 2:13 “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,”

The central theme of this section is found in the word “subject” (hypotassō). In this context the word “subject” is a word that represents a relationship to authority. 

It means to willingly place oneself under the authority that God has instituted. In this case, as Peter mentions, we are to be subject to “every human institution.” 

Why are we to be subject to “every human institution?” Well, Peter starts off by saying it’s “for the Lord’s sake.” He wants us to be subject to “every human institution” because of the Lord.

The words “every human institution” in this context doesn’t exactly mean every human institution. 

We do not have to place ourselves under the authority of Costco, even if we really love Costco. Peter provides us with a context for “every human institution” by using the words “emperor” and “governor,” which lets us know that he is referring to the governing authorities. 

Peter is essentially saying, be subject to the governing authorities for the Lord. 

Now the idea that Christians should be subject to governing authorities is not a new idea that is only mentioned in 1 Peter. The idea is a standard part of New Testament’s ethical exhortations to believers, and it is an exhortations that we should take seriously. 

In fact, Romans 13:1 says, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

And Titus 3:1 gives us the exhortation to, “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,”

So, what do these Scriptures mean to us? Well, practically speaking, these Scriptures mean that as citizens of the land we are to obey the emperor, those who he has set in office, and the laws of the land. 

Another practical point for us is to see beyond the person, beyond the office the person holds, and see the Lord Himself. In other words, we need to remind ourselves that God is completely sovereign! 

When we look to the Lord Himself and believe that He is in control of all things, we will resist the temptation to disrespect, disobey, and rebel against the governing authorities He has set in place. 

What’s important here, and we will talk about this a little later, is that we are not obeying the emperor or the law just for the sake of staying out of trouble – we obey for the Lord’s sake, out of a genuine love for Him. 

We need to recognize that our act of submission is not simply a service to another person – it is a service we render unto the Lord Himself. 

Having said that, we need to understand something before we move any further in this passage of text. 

Peter gave a command that represents a general truth. That is to say, he specified what Christians should do in most situations when it comes to governing authorities. 

Christians should obey and submit to the governing authorities; however, the governing authorities are not the absolute authority – God is the only absolute authority. 

So, what does this general truth mean? It means that we have a choice to make when it comes to our submission to the government. 

For example, if the governing authorities create a law that would directly causes us to sin, we should not obey that law. 

A good example of a law being created that would directly cause us to sin can be found in Daniel 3. 

In this account, King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold and commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego worship the image he had made. If they did not worship the image, the King would have them killed by being thrown into a fiery furnace. 

How did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego respond to this command from the King?

Let’s look at Daniel 3:16-18 which says, “16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.’”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego made a choice not to worship the golden image, because they knew that they would be directly sinning against God Himself. 

They knew that God is the ultimate authority and they feared God! 

They made a choice to NOT obey King Nebuchadnezzar even though it could possibly cost them their life. 

What we can take from this passage in Daniel is that we should not obey a law that would directly cause us to sin against God – even if we would be tortured or killed for not obeying that law. 

As we consider this position of general truth, let’s move forward and tie verse 13 and 14 together and look at the correlations.

1 Peter 2:13-14 “13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.”

When Peter said, “every human institution” in verse 13, he meant both the emperor and governing authorities under the emperor. 

The word “governors” (hēgomosin) is not intended to be very specific since it can include officials, tax collectors, and all sorts of other people who have been set in positions of authority by the emperor. 

The idea and intention here is that we as Christians should not only submit to the highest human authority, such as the emperor or in our case the President, but to all those who are set in authority by him. 

In other words, governors are commissioned by and under the authority of the emperor and they are to be obeyed as his representatives.

So, what do these “governors” or governing authorities do exactly? 

Well, Peter doesn’t leave us hanging here in limbo without an explanation. In fact, he goes on to explain the purpose of ruling authorities – they punish evildoers and praise those who do good. 

When it comes to punishing evil and praising those who do good, it is important to note that Peter did not intend to say that all rulers will always punish evildoers and praise those who do good. That’s just not the world will live in. 

Peter knew this because he was familiar with the Old Testament, and he knew that rulers resisted God and His commands. 

Peter probably also recognized that many believers around the Roman empire were being persecuted during the time that he wrote this letter. 

Peter also probably knew that several Roman rulers may be involved unjustly in oppressing Christians (3:14, 16; 4:14, 16). 

To add to this, Peter and the early Christians knew that Jesus was unjustly condemned under Pontius Pilate and that James was put to death by Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:2). 

Having said that, it is the general responsibility of the ruling government authorities to punish evil and praise those who do good. 

Speaking of praise from the government – words you probably never thought you would here in the same sentence. 

Receiving praise from the government is not a concept that most Americans are familiar with. However, the Romans were very familiar with it. 

When people in the Roman community helped the community or the empire in some way, the Romans would erect statues, grant privileges, or commend them in some way. So, despite the Romans cruelty, they did celebrate people occasionally for doing good. 

Now that Peter has establish why there are ruling authorities and a portion of what they do, he goes on to hit a home run in verse 15 by explaining why we are to obey these governing authorities.

1 Peter 2:15 “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.”

Peter gives us the ultimate reason why we should be subject to the governing authorities, arguing that we are to submit to them because “this is the will of God.” 

To put it plainly, it is God’s will for us to be “subject” to our governing authorities.

By submitting to our government, we please God. By submitting to our government, we as Christians demonstrate that we are obeying God’s will. 

We are not simply submitting for the sake of submitting or just going with the flow of the government – we submit because we love God, and we know that He is the ultimate authority. 

Peter also adds another point here by saying “that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.” 

By submitting to the government, we are demonstrating that we are good citizens. We demonstrate to those around us that we are not troublemakers. 

By submitting to the government, we extinguish the criticisms of those who are ignorant and those who may persecute us out of ignorance. 

Speaking of ignorance, we need to pause here for a moment and seek some understanding something about unbelievers and ignorance. The first thing we need to understand is that unbelievers are not stupid, in fact most unbelievers are quite smart. 

It would be easy for us to look at history and find all kinds of smart unbelievers.

The problem is not with their level of intelligence, the problem is that they do not fear the Lord or walk in His ways. 

Because they do not fear the Lord or walk in His ways, they will at some point act foolishly towards Christians out of ignorance. 

This is not a justification or an excuse for their behavior, as they will have to give account to the Lord for their ignorance and foolish behavior. 

However, this is something we should understand, and we should also find comfort in the fact that in some cases God will use our good deeds to extinguish the criticisms of those who do not believe. 

Having said that, it is equally important to understand that believers may be slandered or persecuted while practicing what is right in the sight of the Lord. 

Again, Peter’s statement represents a general truth. That is to say, he specified what would most likely happen in this context.

Just because we do what is good, does not mean that we will be free from people slandering us or even persecuting us. 

Peter did not envision a utopian government in which the government was always siding with Christians or inevitably praising Christians for their good behavior. 

Peter did not envision a utopian society in which the society was always siding with Christians or inevitably praising Christians for their good behavior 

That idea is simply unrealistic in the fallen world that we live in today and Peter was well aware of this. 

Peter’s point, in light of a general truth, was that the good behavior of Christians would “put to silence the ignorance of foolish people” in most cases. 

So, what does that really mean? It means that in most case the slanderous ignorance of the foolish would be discovered to be stirred by hatred and found to be lacking any factual ground. People would be able to see through their foolish ignorance and see the good conduct of the person. 

Even though this point is not explicitly made here, my personal hope and prayer is that some would see my good conduct as a servant of God, and that God would use it to lead them into a saving faith.

Speaking of living as a servant, let’s move on to verse 16.

1 Peter 2:16 “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”

Peter was not just concerned about the outward actions of Christians here. He was also concerned about the motivations that inform their submission. Peter wanted his readers to be informed so that they would live a life that was pleasing to God. 

Peter goes on to use three phrases in this text to explain the informed standpoint from which we should conduct ourselves in submitting to the governing authorities. 

First, we are to submit “as people who are free.” 

Folks, we have been ransomed by the blood of Jesus Christ (1:18–19) and we are no longer slaves to sin. We are free people! 

Our act of submission as believers is never given out of a sinful or an unhealthy willingness to serve or please others. Nor is our act of submission given out of a place of weakness. 

We are not people pleasers, and we are not weak – we are free!

Our act of submission comes out of the freedom Jesus gave us and a sincere love for God. We want to honor Him and present our bodies as a living sacrifice to Him. 

Second, as free people we are not to use our freedom as an excuse to indulge in evil. 

The blood of Jesus gives us a genuine freedom that liberates us to do what is good in the sight of the Lord and we should never use that freedom for evil! 

Those who would use their freedom as a license for evil only reveal that they are not truly free, since a life of wickedness is the very Biblical definition of being a slave to sin. 

We should never respond to our governing authorities or governing laws with wicked intentions or sinful desires. We should obey our governing authorities and the governing laws out of the freedom Jesus has so graciously given us. There can be no room for a sinful pretext.

Third, we should submit “as servants [douloi] of God.” 

This may come as a shock, but as Christians, we do not enjoy unrestricted freedom. 

Our freedom operates within the context of God’s Word. His Word shows us what freedom truly is and how to live in continuous freedom. 

Truth be told, genuine freedom is only experienced by those who are God’s children. True freedom, according to the New Testament, means that we have the freedom to do what is right in the sight of the Lord. 

With this in mind, I want to circle back to the ultimate authority point I made earlier and our submission to the government. God is the ultimate authority, not the government. 

We are servants of God. We are liberated from fear which means that we should not fear the government or any other person. We should not feel compelled to do whatever the government says out of a fear for the governing authorities. 

We are God’s servants first, and we have a criterion called the Bible by which we assess the rules of government. 

I firmly believe that Peter wanted to avoid anarchy and any ideals that rejects the human structures God has established. To be clear, we are to submit to our governing authorities and the laws they create, however if that law would cause us to sin – we should not obey it. 

Our inclination should generally be to submit to our government. 

Nevertheless, if the government impose what is evil or demands that we refuse to worship God, then we as slaves of God must refuse to obey.

As we begin to wrap this section of Scripture up, let’s look at the final verse. 

1 Peter 2:17 “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”

This section in 1 Peter 2:13-17 closes with four commands and it is interesting to note that Peter reserved “fear” for God alone and set it right before “honor the emperor.” 

Peter did not place God on the same plane as everyone. This is because God cannot be equated with everyone. He is God and there is no one like Him. So, what does Peter do here? 

He specifically distinguished one’s attitude toward God (“fear”) from one’s attitude toward the emperor (“honor”). This means that our attitude and disposition towards God is different from our attitude and disposition towards other people.

We are to truly “fear” God. There must be a deep reverence for Him and His word!

The first imperative Peter gives us here is to “honor everyone.” 

The word “honor” is the Greek word “timaō” (tim-ah'-o) and it means to demonstrate a high respect or great esteem for someone. 

As believers, we are called by God to treat every person with dignity and respect since all human beings are created in God’s image (Gen 1:26–27). Even sinners are to be given respect and honor as human beings. 

What is interesting about this is that the same honor that should be given to the emperor should also be given to all human beings. Just because someone may have more power and authority does not mean that they are to be exalted over “ordinary” people. 

As Matthew 22:37-39 points out, “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 

If we are to honor people, we need to start by loving our neighbor as ourselves.

The second imperative Peter gives us is to “Love the brotherhood.”

The word “love” is the Greek word “agapaō” (ag-ap-ah'-o) and it means to love dearly.

We know that there is a special bond between fellow believers. The best way to describe this bond between fellow Christians is to use the word “family,” which is why we have the command to “love the brotherhood” (agapate adelphotēta). 

There are a lot of reasons behind why we should love the brotherhood, however for the sake of time I would like to draw out three specific reason as to why this is so significant and why we should obey it. 

1.   By loving the brotherhood, we show a deep and genuine love for God. To love God is to love the brotherhood of believers. 

2.   By loving the brotherhood, we show new and younger believers what it looks like to sincerely love another as brothers or sisters in Christ.

3.   By loving the brotherhood, we are setting an example to unbelievers. Unbelievers see how we treat other Christians and God may use this to draw them to Himself. 

The third imperative Peter gives us is to “fear God.”

The word “fear” is the Greek word “phobeō” (fob-eh'-o) and it means to have reverence and awe. 

The injunction to “fear God” is placed in contrast to honoring the emperor. We are to honor the emperor or in our case the President and show him respect because of his office, but we are not to fear him. 

Only God is to be feared and rightly so, because He is God – the creator of all things, the One Who holds all things together by His power! 

Peter was quite clear that we are not to fear other human beings (1 Pet 3:6, 14) and that only God should be feared as the sovereign Lord. 

The third imperative Peter gives us is to “honor the emperor.”

The word “honor” is the Greek word “timaō” (tim-ah'-o) and it means to demonstrate a high respect or great esteem for someone.

As believers we should continue to respect and honor the emperor or in our case the President, even though we are free citizens of God. 

Our freedom in Christ does not mean that we are free from giving our governing authorities the proper respect the office deserves. 

Final Thoughts 

With everything that is going on in America today, it can be very tempting for us to become critical of, speak ill of, gossip about, or even rebel against those who are in authority over us – especially when we do not agree with their policies or political views. 

However, our submission to our governing authorities is not about their policies or political views – it’s about lovingly obeying God from a sincere heart. 

Again, it is not about them – it’s about lovingly obeying God from a sincere heart.

With this in mind, I would like to leave you with some practical advice from Scripture. 

The first Scripture is, 1 Timothy 2:1–4 which says this, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

The truth is that our political leaders need prayer, no matter who they are. And as Paul exhorted Timothy, Christians are called to pray for those “in high positions.”

As we go about our life, the realm of politics can often seem so far removed from us. And, let’s be honest, sometimes we may not feel like praying for every leader. 

Despite our feelings about politics or political leaders, we are called to pray for them, and we should pray for them on a regular basis because the Lord tells us to. 

So, let’s show the Lord some love by setting aside our political views and our thoughts on our political leaders and just pray for them on a regular basis.