Beloved, I urge you ...

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. ¹² Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Honor Authority

¹³ Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. ¹⁵ For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. ¹⁶ Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. ¹⁷ Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

¹⁸ Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. ¹⁹ For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. ²⁰ For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.

Christ Is Our Example

²¹ For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, ²² who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; ^23]and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; ²⁴ and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. ²⁵ For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

This portion of scripture from today's daily reading in the One Year Bible challenges us again with one of those areas in which we need the leading of the Holy Spirit to center us into the truth and the path we are to stay on. Peter is urging his readers to submit to authority, whether government or work related. His point here is that our submission to this authority, even to our own hurt honors God. When we look to Jesus as our example we see that He maintained that position of respect and submission to government authority throughout His life and even to His death. It was Mary and Joseph's submission to government which led to Jesus birth in Bethlehem, a fulfillment of prophetic scripture concerning the Messiah. Jesus taught His disciple to live in submission. Look at this example from Mark 12.

¹⁴ They *came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” ¹⁶ They brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

We are to give to the authorities what is due them and give to God what is due Him. Peter gives us an important key to our ability to live our lives in this way.   He writes, " I urge you as aliens and strangers". We need always to remember where are true residence and citizenship lies. When we are in Christ, having accepted His work on the cross as the finished work of our redemption, we are restored to our right relationship with God. We are then residents and citizens of God's kingdom even while we live here as aliens.

 Here is where we need to be aware of the balance that we need to have in our lives living here as aliens. In the same way that a citizen of a country has certain rights in that country, when they travel to another country they are subject to the rules, laws and authority of that country. We have rights as citizens of God's kingdom, yet while we live here we must submit to  this earthly authority.

Still there may be a limit to our submission to that authority. Jesus said to give to Ceasar what is Ceasar's and to God what is God's. The line we can rightly draw regarding our submission to authority would be as it concerns our ability to submit to God. This is beyond preference,hardship or even persecution down to the very basics of worship. In Daniel 6 we can read the story of Daniel being thrown into the lions den for not bowing to the statue of the king. Daniel submitted to the authority of and served the king faithfully. He refused though to bow his knee and worship the king or anyone but the true and living God. He fully submitted to the authority, even to the point of his own life, but he refused to worship any other god than the true God. When we are in Christ, we have already died to self and this world. They can't take our life from us because we have already given it  up for our new and better life in Christ.

Now here's the thing we need to keep in mind. We are to live in submission to authority, but we have rights that are ours as citizens of God's kingdom. Jesus said that" upon this rock(the revelation that Jesus is the Christ) I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16). He also said  “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”(Matthew 28)

Even as we submit and render to the authorities of this world we have rights and an inheritence, things we can obtain as we submit to God. We are not to live as peasants. Jesus said He came to give us abundant life. That abundance is for now not just for the future in eternity. The only way for us to successfully navigate this balance in our lives is for us to submit to one additional authority in our lives. The connection we have between this earthly realm and the heavenly kingdom is the indwelling Spirit of God. Jesus says this of the Holy Spirit's role in our lives. John 16:

¹³ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

 “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

When we submit to the authority and guidance of the Holy Spirit we can walk in the fullness of the authority and the promises we  have in Christ.