Some people are just gifted at music or naturally talented with their hands. Others find that sports come easy, while others can perform math functions with total ease. But there is something that practically everyone finds difficult and that is submission. To abdicate our will to that of another, even for the sake of order and peace, is extremely tough. But there are higher goals and loftier purposes for believers to live submissive lives.
Welcome to Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition. Thanks for joining us today. Here at Connect with Skip, we love to help you know God’s Word better and apply it to your life through clear, practical Bible teaching and real encouragement. And if you’d like to keep growing in your walk with Jesus, sign up for Pastor Skip’s free weekly devotional. You’ll receive biblical insight, teaching highlights, and exclusive resource offers designed to help you stay strong in your faith, all delivered right to your inbox. Signing up is quick and easy, and you’ll be glad you did. Go to connectwithskip.com and join the list today. That’s connectwithskip.com. Now let’s dive into today’s teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig.
SPEAKER 02 :
We’re in chapter 2 this morning, 1 Peter chapter 2. I was first pulled over by a police officer when I was 15 years old. I’ll never forget it. Being 15, I did not have a driver’s license. I was on the freeways in Southern California, and what’s most interesting is he pulled me over for something he called impeding traffic. And he said, you were going 55 miles an hour, but the flow of traffic is much faster. And it’s actually illegal to go slower than the flow of traffic. Only in California, I might add. So he asked me if I had a driver’s license and I, being unredeemed, said no. Yes, I do have one. It’s just not with me at the time, but I have a driver’s license. So I lied through my teeth. And this began a very uneasy relationship with law enforcement in my life. As time went on, I was riding motorcycles where I lived, and I had right down the street from me Officer Lattice. He was a member of the CHP, California Highway Patrol. He had a brother named Officer Lattice, who was also a member of the California Highway Patrol. And so between the Lattice brothers and the Heitzig boys, it was like a match made in hell. They did not like motorcyclists, and we were not that fond of law enforcement. And it was very difficult. We’d get pulled over all the time, and we felt like we were being harassed and hassled by the man. Which leads me to open up with a question. Of all the doctrines in the Bible, which is the hardest one? I know it’s a sort of a loaded and even a trick question because if by that question I mean which is the hardest doctrine in the Bible to understand, you might say the doctrine of the Trinity ranks pretty high up there for me. It’s hard to understand that one. If you were to say the doctrine of submission, which is what I’m talking about today, that would be the hardest one to actually do and obey. The doctrine of submission is the doctrine that Peter addresses in these verses that we have before us. You see, nobody likes to be told what to do. Nobody. Nobody likes it when their personal right to choose and self-determine their future is taken away or hindered. In fact, I would even say American culture is sort of based upon the idea that we have freedom from the restrictive laws of a tyrannical government. That’s how we began as a country. But the difficulty in submitting is not just an American proclivity. It’s human tendency. It’s human nature. Most of you remember the name or know the name James Dobson. Dr. James Dobson has written several great books on families and marriage over the years. And if you remember some of those books, if you’re familiar, he speaks about two kinds of kids in a family. Remember the categories? There’s the compliant child and the defiant child. And he speaks about those in his writings. And Jim Dobson says that there are twice as many defiant children as compliant ones. And that they learn rebellion to their parents at a very young age. While I do not disagree with Dr. Dobson, I think what he said is true. I just want to add, it’s not limited to children. Resisting authority and finding it difficult to submit is as human as is blinking. The prophet Isaiah in chapter 53 said, we are all like sheep who have wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing and we have gone our own way. It’s human nature. However, without submission, There is no safety. There is no security. There is no protection. And I would add, there is no music. Let me explain. At a meeting of the American Psychological Association, one of its members, Jack Lipton from Union College stood up and he described with his colleagues how members of a symphony orchestra perceived one another. He said, the percussionists, these would be the drummers, are seen as insensitive, unintelligent, hard of hearing, and yet fun loving. String players were seen as arrogant, stuffy, and unathletic. But the orchestra members overwhelmingly chose the word loud as the primary adjective to describe brass players. whereas woodwind players seem to be held in the highest esteem and were described as quiet and meticulous, though a bit egotistical. Now, here’s a question. When you have a group of people with such different personalities and perceptions, how on earth are they going to make music? What’s the answer? Submission. When they subordinate their feelings and their biases to the leadership of one conductor, there’s beautiful harmony, there’s beautiful music because of submission. There is a theme that Peter has been working with in chapter two, and I just want to bring you back up to speed since it’s been a few weeks since we’ve been there. What Peter is addressing is how you and I as Christians are observed by the outside world, the kind of accusations they make against us. And Peter says, when you live with the close eye of scrutiny upon you, there are certain ground rules you need to play by. Go back to verse 12 of chapter 2 and you’ll see what I mean. He says, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, a euphemism he uses for unbelievers, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. In other words, by an inward purity of life, that is demonstrated by an outward quality of life, you will put them to silence. Any accusation they make against you won’t stick. And then he gives examples, beginning in verse 13, of how to do that. How to do that societally, how to do that socially, how to do that familially within the family unit. So you will notice, even though I’m skipping a little bit ahead, Number one, you submit to government. That’s verse 13. Number two, you submit to your employer. That’s essentially verse 18 and following. And within the family, wives submit to their husbands. That’s chapter 3 beginning in verse 1. So let’s go to our text. Verse 13 says, Therefore… Playing off the previous verse, as the unbelieving world is looking at you, you are to conduct yourselves honorably. Therefore, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme or to governors as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God. that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. In those verses, there are four principles that we want to look at. Four principles. First of all, the principle of submission. Second, the particulars of submission. Who are we to submit to when it says that we are to submit? Third, the purpose of submission. Why are we to do it? Do we do it just to keep order in a culture, or is there a higher good? And then finally, the practice of submission. All of that is inclusive within this text. Look at a phrase where we begin in verse 13. Therefore submit, there’s the principle, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man. The word submit is the Greek word hupotasso, which means to arrange in orderly fashion a group of soldiers under the ranking of a commanding officers. It has a military term with a military use. However, it is used here and elsewhere in a non-military sense. It speaks of voluntary cooperation or even helping somebody carry a load. In other words, believers, you and I, are never to be known as subversive troublemakers, but as model citizens.
SPEAKER 03 :
You’re listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig, Weekend Edition. Every day, the generosity of friends like you helps make clear, verse-by-verse Bible teaching available to people searching for truth, purpose, and hope. And this month, we want to thank you with a pair of powerful resources to help you understand your identity in Christ and God’s design for your life and relationships. When you give, you’ll receive the Expound Ephesians 9-CD series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip’s book, Beyond the Summer of Love. Together, these resources explore the richness of the gospel, reveal your place in God’s family, and show how biblical truth brings strength, restoration, and lasting hope to your relationships. We’ll send both resources as our thanks when you give $50 or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com slash offer. Now let’s return to today’s teaching.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now before you get all itchy and riled up about being a model citizen and thinking of ways that it’s sort of impossible to be a model citizen in the culture and governmental structure that we find ourselves here, let me just remind you about the New Testament and the kind of culture that that was birthed in. When Jesus came and when Paul wrote the New Testament culture, it was politically corrupt. It was filled with tyrants, filled with despots. When Peter wrote these words, There was not a democracy in Rome. People didn’t get to vote. There was no free speech. It was an autocracy. The king, Caesar, made the rules, and everybody had to abide by them. Here’s a sampling. In Rome, there was Caesar. At this time, it was Caesar Nero. I’ll get to him. The Caesars were deified by the people, considered God to be worshipped as God. So that once a year, it was required of a Roman citizen to stand before an altar, offer a pinch of incense, and say, Caesar is Lord. At which point, they would be given a little certificate called the libellus, which certified that they had worshipped their emperor, and now they were free to worship any god they wanted to worship. But you had to do that first. Well, that posed a great problem with early Christians. Because when they were dragged before the altars, they didn’t say, Caesar is Lord. They said, Caesar is not Lord, Jesus Christ is Lord. And they were persecuted because of it. Those Jews who had been living in Judea remembered guys like Herod the Great, who had all the babies in Bethlehem, the males under two years old, killed to get a Jesus Christ. Then there was slavery in the Roman Empire, and it was in epidemic proportions. One writer says that there was three slaves for every one free person in Rome. It’s believed that over half of the population of the ancient Roman Empire were all slaves. And then, then there were taxes. and you think it’s bad now, the kind of taxation that we have discussed with you that was present in the Roman Empire was absolutely oppressive. It crushed the people, and the taxation was simply a form of cruel injustice. Into that world, Jesus Christ came as the Messiah, but not as people expected. They thought when the Messiah comes, he’s gonna deliver everyone from that oppression. He’s going to deliver everyone from Rome and the yoke of Rome upon them. But he didn’t do that. In fact, Jesus never picketed. He never told his followers to make a protracted march on Rome or Jerusalem and protest cruel government. He never started an insurrection. He never tried to win any culture war at all. In fact, it so surprised people that on one occasion they tried to trap him, and there were two groups of people who did it. Both of them hated each other. There were the Pharisees who hated Rome, hated Roman government, hated paying taxes to Caesar. And there were the Herodians who thought it was okay to follow Rome, and especially Herod in Judea, and to pay all those taxes. So these two groups hated each other. And they were both present on one occasion and they tried to corner Jesus. And they said, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Thinking whatever way he answers, we got him. If he says yes, half will hate him. If he says no, another half will hate him. So Jesus took out a coin and he said, whose mug is on this? Whose face is on this? They said, it’s Caesar’s face. He says, then give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God. In other words, well, if his face is on it, you better give it to him. It’s his, he owns it. So you pay those taxes, exorbitant as they are, but you make sure you give to God what belongs to God. Well, it was an amazing statement, but not everybody agreed with that statement. There was a whole other group of Jews called zealots. They were Jewish nationalists. They refused to pay taxes. They staged terrorist attacks to kill their oppressors. And they did all of that, get this, they did all of that based on Scripture. We have the right to disagree with the government and protest and disobey them based upon the Scripture. What was their Scripture? Deuteronomy 17. It says, “…you shall not set a foreigner over you who is not your brother.” So because there’s a Caesar in Rome, and because there’s a Pontius Pilate in Judea and a Herod, we didn’t put him there. We must be sworn to overthrow the government. So what is a Christian to do in the midst of that? In an ungodly government, what is a Christian to do? Peter, in the midst of that world, says, submit yourself to every ordinance of man. That’s the principle. But then there are the particulars of submission. Let me spell it out for you. Verse 13 says, Notice that. Who was the king back then? Caesar was the king. And in this case, Caesar Nero was the king. Then it says in verse 14, notice, or to governors as to those who are sent by him, by the king, for the punishment of evildoers, for the praise of those who do good. Now, Rome had 28 imperial districts, and those imperial districts were all governed by governors or procurators. Pontius Pilate was a procurator or a governor. And so Rome gave to them part of the Roman army, legions of soldiers who would keep the peace. They were law enforcement officers for the government to use on behalf of Caesar. So here’s the principle. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man. Whether it’s to the king, Caesar Nero, or to all those 28 provincial governors, submit to them. Now let me tell you a little background. When Peter wrote this letter, he was about one, maybe even two years away from what’s called the Great Persecution in Rome. Happened in 64 AD. Here’s what happened. A fire broke out in Rome. Most all of the Roman citizens, and it destroyed a great portion of the city. Most of the Roman citizens believed, and many historians to this day believe, the fire was started by Caesar Nero. It was so controversial and so widely believed that their own Caesar started the fire that Caesar Nero needed a scapegoat. And guess who he chose? The Christian population of the city of Rome. He accused them of arsony and he started persecuting them in mass. Here’s just one story. About halfway through his reign, Caesar Nero started fancying himself as a race car driver. except they didn’t have race cars. They had chariots, a chariot racer. He just thought it was the coolest thing to race chariots. He had a track built for himself in Rome so that he could race chariots during the day. And he started getting into it so much, he wanted to do it not just during the day, but also at night. The only problem is nobody invented electricity yet. So… His sixth solution was to have his soldiers round up during the daytime Christians and bring them to his palace, and while they were still alive, cover them in tar and pitch. Tie them to poles so that at sunset he could light those torches around his track so that he could spin his little race car at night while Christians were burning after he accused them of setting fire to Rome. Can you see by this the obvious problem that the early Christians had, and even we have today, that the world is filled with Caesar Nero’s and Adolf Hitler’s and Bashar al-Assad’s? Which makes us ask this question, is there ever a time when a Christian can or should defy and not obey and not submit to the government? Is there? Yes, there is. But here is the rule. The general rule is submit. Until submitting to earthly authority makes you not submit to heavenly authority. You obey until your obedience makes you disobey God. At that point, a whole other set of rules comes into play. And there are many examples to show you. Example number one is back in the Old Testament when Pharaoh of Egypt commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill all the boys that were born among the Hebrews. It was a law that was passed. Kill the baby boys. They refused to do it. Exodus chapter 1 tells us, Flat disobedience. Later on, there was a guy named Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who when the captives came in, Daniel and his buddies made them eat a certain diet that was against kosher Old Testament law, the delicacies of the king’s table. They refused to do it. Daniel chapter 1 tells us, but Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the king’s delicacies. I’m not going to obey you because it would mean I would have to disobey the covenant of my God. Another example is later on when Nebuchadnezzar built a huge image of himself, a golden image, and commanded everybody to bow down and worship that image. And there were three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who said, we’re not going to do it. Their reply in Daniel chapter 3, we will not serve your gods, nor will we worship the golden image. Another example, also in the book of Daniel, King Darius, the prevailing king of the time, the Median king, Medo-Persian king, made a law that for one month, 30 solid days, nobody could pray to any other deity except to himself. You want to pray? You pray to me. I am your new God. What did Daniel do? Did he say, okay, I’m going to submit to that? No, the Bible says in Daniel 6, he opened his windows toward Jerusalem, knelt down on the ground, and three times that day he prayed and gave thanks before his God.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember, your generosity helps share God’s Word with people around the world, offering truth, hope, and encouragement where it’s needed most. And this month, we’d love to thank you for your gift of $50 or more by sending you the Expound Ephesians 9 CD series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip’s book, Beyond the Summer of Love. These resources will help you understand your identity in Christ and see how God’s design brings strength and restoration to your relationships. Give today at connectwithskiff.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time on Connect with Skip Heitzig. We’ll see you next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God’s Word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God’s never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
