Introduction
Are you ready to follow Jesus in a way that still looks like Jesus when the world feels unstable, and even the church feels pulled apart? The central teaching we need right now is this: as citizens of heaven living under earthly government, we pursue honorable conduct by submitting where we can, standing firm where we must, and doing visible good so God is glorified (1 Peter 2:12–15). Peter is answering a question that always becomes urgent in uncertain times: Where do believers belong in a non-believing world, especially when civic pressure rises? Many of us remember how quickly unity can fracture when fear, mandates, and opinions multiply. Peter gives us a timeless, timely path forward.
Main Points
Are you ready to follow Jesus in a way that still looks like Jesus when the world feels unstable, and even the church feels pulled apart? The central teaching we need right now is this: as citizens of heaven living under earthly government, we pursue honorable conduct by submitting where we can, standing firm where we must, and doing visible good so God is glorified (1 Peter 2:12–15).
Peter is answering a question that always becomes urgent in uncertain times: Where do believers belong in a non-believing world, especially when civic pressure rises? Many of us remember how quickly unity can fracture when fear, mandates, and opinions multiply. Peter gives us a timeless, timely path forward.
Called To Submit For the Lord
Peter’s instruction is plain:
“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake…” (1 Peter 2:13)
Submission is not a word that comes naturally to us. Something in us resists it, because we are born in Adam’s rebelliousness (Genesis 3), and because our culture trains us to treat personal freedom as ultimate. Yet in Christ, we’re being sanctified into a new kind of life: a Spirit-empowered willingness to obey the authorities God has sovereignly placed over us.
Submission does not mean we love every rule. It means we love the Lord and honor His name in the public square. We submit “for the Lord’s sake,” because we bear Christ’s reputation in the neighborhood, workplace, and community. The aim is that those who don’t know God would still be able to say, “These Christians are reasonable, kind, and orderly; they make good neighbors and upstanding citizens.”
Practically, this means a posture of compliance in ordinary civic life, paying taxes, getting licenses, obeying safety laws, respecting public order, even when an ordinance feels inconvenient or doesn’t seem to make sense.
Learning Submission From Peter’s Story
I want you to notice who is teaching us this: Peter, a man who once swung a sword when government officers came to arrest Jesus (John 18:10–11). Jesus told him, in effect, “Put it away.” Now Peter tells us, for the most part, to put away our swords too.
And Peter wrote this under Rome, on the doorstep of Nero’s brutal persecution. That matters. If believers could hear “submit” under an empire that would soon burn Christians alive, then we can’t dismiss Peter’s command simply because our moment feels tense.
So I’m speaking to both temperaments among us:
- If you’re a “rule follower,” don’t turn submission into smugness or simplicity, because Peter’s teaching has depth, courage, and exceptions.
- If you’re a “freedom fighter,” don’t turn discernment into default defiance, because Peter’s teaching calls you to a general posture of compliance.
We need each other to obey Scripture well.
Government’s God-Given Purpose
Peter explains what government is for:
Governors are sent “for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.” (1 Peter 2:14)
That’s the basic design: punish evil, praise good, preserve order so society doesn’t collapse into anarchy. This helps us understand why a believer with a clear conscience doesn’t need to live in constant suspicion or panic. If I’m not doing evil, I’m not living as though the authorities are automatically “my enemy.” In normal circumstances, a law officer “is someone else’s problem” because I’m not making myself a lawbreaker.
This also gives us an important lens: when government operates in line with its God-given purpose, Christians should be known as cooperative, peaceable people.
When Obedience To God Requires Noncompliance
Now for the question many believers carry: Does submission mean blind compliance, no matter what? No.
Peter’s command is framed by this phrase: “for the Lord’s sake” (1 Peter 2:13). That means the Christian cannot submit to anything that requires dishonoring Christ. Scripture gives precedents where God’s people honor Him through courageous noncompliance:
- Exodus: When Pharaoh mandated the murder of Hebrew baby boys, the midwives refused and protected life (Exodus 1:15–21). When government commands evil, we do not comply.
- Daniel 3: When commanded to worship an image, God’s people refused, because worship belongs to God alone (Daniel 3).
- Daniel 6: When forbidden to pray, Daniel prayed openly anyway (Daniel 6).
- Acts 4: When authorities commanded Peter to stop preaching Christ, he answered, “We ought to obey God rather than men,” and continued proclaiming Jesus (Acts 4:18–20; 5:29).
So here are clear categories that guide our conscience:
- If the government commands us to do evil, we refuse.
- If the government punishes good and praises evil, we may be called to resist.
- If the government impedes worship, prayer, or gospel proclamation, we must obey God first.
This is where “rule followers” and “rebels” can unite: we generally comply, but we never bow our allegiance away from Jesus.
And I want to apply this concretely: if authorities ever told the church again that we cannot gather for worship, prayer, or preaching the gospel, then we would continue to meet. We do not seek conflict, but we will not surrender what Christ commands.
Doing Good Silences Foolish Accusations
Peter gives another anchor:
“For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” (1 Peter 2:15)
Many believers ask, “What is God’s will for my life?” Peter answers with something unmistakably clear: God wills that your life, your visible goodness, would silence false stories about God and His people.
And yes, we live in an age where “ignorance has a microphone.” People confidently spread distorted ideas about Christians and about the God we worship. Our temptation is either:
- to win arguments and lose souls, or
- to withdraw into a bunker mentality and call it faithfulness.
Peter gives a better way: do good, publicly, sacrificially, consistently, so the lies lose oxygen.
Jesus taught the same:
- “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
- And He pushed it further: if compelled to go one mile, go two (Matthew 5:41). That is not neutrality. That’s a people who go beyond minimum compliance into extraordinary goodness.
The goal isn’t merely “don’t break laws on your way to heaven.” The goal is that we stand out as people who actively seek the good of others, so that the watching world has to wrestle not just with our claims, but with our Christlike lives.
Conclusion
Peter is teaching us honorable conduct in civic society with a gospel-shaped balance:
- Submit to earthly authorities as far as you can, for the Lord’s sake (1 Peter 2:13).
- Refuse only when obedience to government becomes disobedience to God (Acts 5:29).
- Be so committed to doing good that foolish accusations lose their power (1 Peter 2:15; Matthew 5:16).
This is how we find common ground in uncertain times. Not by forming battle lines inside the church, but by uniting under King Jesus, citizens of heaven who live beautifully on earth.
Father, You are sovereign over every throne and every authority. Forgive us for the ways we’ve been driven by fear, pride, or anger instead of faith. Shape us into a people who submit with humility when we can, who stand with courage when we must, and who do good so consistently that Your glory becomes undeniable. Give us unity in Your church, wisdom in confusing times, and a steady devotion to worship, prayer, and the preaching of Jesus Christ. For the Lord’s sake, make our lives honorable before a watching world. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
Peter is teaching us honorable conduct in civic society with a gospel-shaped balance:
- Submit to earthly authorities as far as you can, for the Lord’s sake (1 Peter 2:13).
- Refuse only when obedience to government becomes disobedience to God (Acts 5:29).
- Be so committed to doing good that foolish accusations lose their power (1 Peter 2:15; Matthew 5:16).
This is how we find common ground in uncertain times. Not by forming battle lines inside the church, but by uniting under King Jesus, citizens of heaven who live beautifully on earth.
Closing Prayer
Father, You are sovereign over every throne and every authority. Forgive us for the ways we’ve been driven by fear, pride, or anger instead of faith. Shape us into a people who submit with humility when we can, who stand with courage when we must, and who do good so consistently that Your glory becomes undeniable. Give us unity in Your church, wisdom in confusing times, and a steady devotion to worship, prayer, and the preaching of Jesus Christ. For the Lord’s sake, make our lives honorable before a watching world. In Jesus’ name, amen.