I Peter 2: Understanding Liberty and Vice

 

I Peter 2: Liberty Not Vice

Peter’s letter to the early believers reminds them of their new identity and calls them to live peacefully with their respective rulers. But where are the exceptions to the rule?

“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.” (13 and 14)

There isn’t a lot of wiggle room for rebellion against crooked rulers here. But examples abound where rebellion was warranted. Think about Daniel. The King’s satraps passed an ordinance to entrap him (Daniel 6). If he prayed to God, Daniel would violate the law (or ordinance) against worshipping another god but Darius, the ruler.

How to be Disagreeable

 Jesus also told the disciples to eat the heads of grain when they were traveling through the countryside (Mathew 12). This was unlawful to do on the Sabbath. Yet, he permitted it. 

A lot of what Peter is concerned with is rooted in appearances. The Christian church was a new movement that the Romans would have loved to shut down for rebellion. Peter warns these Jewish believers to “abstain from fleshly lusts” so your enemies won’t find fault. It’s like when your dad tells you not to tarnish the family name. “Don’t’ make me look bad by fighting with your classmates and disrespecting the teacher. People will connect your actions with me, so behave!”

 We read “fleshly lusts” as sexually driven, but Peter could also be talking about anger, bitterness and resentment. Every natural instinct might be demanding you rebel. 

How to Maintain a Movement

 Some might be tempted to throw rocks at officials as they ride by on their horses. Peter might be saying, the minute your fleshly lusts take over and you start fighting against the government, our movement is done. Not only will the Romans come for us, but the citizens won’t support any rebellious religion. Instead of converts we’ll have enemies. So yes, submit because that’s what Christ did. We know the early church multiplied. Despite all the hardships it grew exponentially. They emphasized living like Jesus and carried it out through the beatings. Citizens of every town noticed and converted to Christianity.

In addition, the second part of the ‘submission to government’ starts with a warning against draping yourself in liberty. “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of men—as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.” (15-16) There is an old SNL sketch where Will Ferrell wears an American flag speedo and a half t shirt. The office where he works relaxed the dress code to allow for patriotic clothing. He hilariously uses patriot day to bring attention to himself. It’s not exactly vice, but he is clearly taking advantage of a policy that wasn’t designed for that purpose. Ferrell takes the liberty of the day to get laughs, and mock the purpose of why it was created.  

How to Understand Liberty

The Liberty Peter refers to is the freedom found in serving Christ. Specifically, by not being bound to traditions of old. He reminds them at various points of their new nature as that “incorruptible” seed which “abides forever”. Throughout the New Testament, from Paul to Mathew, there is a theme of newness in Christ. Because of the work of the early church, the disciples write to remind their burgeoning churches of their new identity. This isn’t just a last ditch attempt to get them back on track. It’s a practical reminder of the change that’s taken place in their hearts.

Parents who’ve had to discipline a child for an infraction know this principle. I got in trouble for hosting a party when my mom left town for a weekend. She was disappointed because it wasn’t something I’d normally do. I received a heavy dose of “This isn’t like you” and a long-term grounding for that. But she couldn’t have used that scold on me if I was known to throw parties for my friends at every opportunity.

The reprimand brought me back to the higher standard which I’d forgotten. It’s like saying, “Remember the change that took place in you and do the right thing next time.”

How to Seek Peace

On the second half of the verse, Peter warns about “foolish men”. What’s that about? Who really cares what they think about Christian behavior? I think it means that foolish men look only to ordinances to be there guide when deciding infractions against you. In other words, they’re foolish (or simple) because they don’t have the same relationship with the risen Savior. They don’t understand the things of God because they interpret life through strictly carnal means. If you want to turn simple men against followers the Jesus, just act contrary to whatever restriction exists in society. If there are laws against eating meat or drinking wine, make sure to flaunt them at every opportunity. Foolish men look for a reason to smother this new lifestyle before it gets any air. Be careful.

So where are the exceptions? How might Peter interpret the modern world and would his advice be different?

How to Understand Responsibility

 It’s important to remember that Peter was writing to an occupied people. Their situation was not quite like ours. Jews governed themselves to an extent, but the Romans governed the territory. These were subjects to a government they didn’t vote for. His letter is for us as much as it was for them. But the situation reads different in a few ways. We have churches in America on every street. For now at least they are free to say what they want, despite increasing pressure to avoid certain topics. Christians understand liberty in Christ as axiomatic. We aren’t as bound by tradition. Our collective understanding of grace is much richer than what the early church knew.

A good short hand for knowing when to rebel is asking what’s at stake? The scripture supports this. Daniel was a government official and he broke an obviously unjust law. So did his three companions (Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego) when faced with bowing to the god/king Nebuchadnezzar. When law, ordinance, rule, pronouncement or decree drive a wedge between God and His people, disobedience is necessary.

Conclusion

We should promote good governance and leadership on this earth. Proverbs 29:2 says “When the righteous are in authority the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” We have the authority to expand righteousness in the civil realm. Beyond that, we must place a higher value on citizenship of God’s kingdom, than citizenship of our country. Also, lead with prayer and seek peace in the midst of chaos.