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.
1 Peter 2:13-25
Peter commands the Christians, to whom he is writing and Christians today reading the Holy Bible, to submit to all human authorities because, whether good or bad in human eyes, such authorities are in place by God’s Sovereignty. Christians are free, from the slavery of sin into which all humans are born, and authorities are God’s instruments of judgment against the unjust and evil doers who must be punished. Peter, also, deals with unjust rulers and sufferings of Christians, no matter the age we live in. Christians are servants of Christ to bring the good news of the gospel to a dying world. In so doing, a Christian may suffer for his Lord Jesus. Christians may sin and are punished by the God-given authorities as the laws may require. But, Christians who suffer for the gospel message they bring, are suffering unjustly when persecuted for their Lord. This suffering is to be endured by the Christian just as Jesus suffered during His earthly ministry, even unto death. Christ Himself “bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” Christians are to do the will of God, even at the cost of their earthly lives, because our bodies will die, and cannot enter Heaven, but, our souls will be with the Lord as soon as we close our eyes in this life and open them to eternal life in the presence of Jesus. Peter concludes by writing, we “were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Oh, straying Christian, Jesus seeks you to bring you back into the sheepfold. If you are not of Jesus’ sheep, you can be by calling upon the name of the Lord and believing that Jesus died for your sins. Through repentance, you can become one of the sheep of the Good Shepherd.
Source: S C Ball September 24, 2023
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