13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 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. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
1 Peter 2:13-16
History and Context:
1 Peter 1:1 says, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the
pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia". From this we get the author of the letter, Peter, and the
recipients of the letter, those dispersed among the five provinces of Asia
minor. The author doesn't specifically say whether he is speaking to the Jews in
those areas or the Gentiles. Peter was a man known for his passion and not
always for his control. He was one of the inner three of Jesus' disciples. One
of three to experience the transfiguration (Matthew 17), and one of three to be
brought further in the Garden of Gethsemene (Matthew 26:37).
The Text:
In chapter two Peter is emphasizing how God has chosen us, as Christians, out of this world. We have been chosen as a royal priesthood and as a holy nation set apart for God. With this in mind Peter than goeson to speak about how we should live. If we are chosen out of this world than how should we live differently. Some people response to being chosen out of the world would be to say that I no longer have to follow the world's rules or laws, but Peter gives us the opposite instructions. He says to submit yourself to the ordinance of man, not for the man, but for the Lord. He then says that the way to put to silence foolish men and their accusations is simply by doing good.
The Challenge:
If we want people to stop talking bad about us then simply do good until they have nothing bad to say. If we look at today's society we can see a perfect example of this in the celebrities. If you watch celebrity news you see story after story of the bad things which the celebrities are doing, but if you pay close enough attention you'll begin to realize that certain celebrities are never mentioned. The ones who are always complain about the press and the tabloids but all they have to do to get people to stop mentioning them is to stop doing stupid stuff worth mentioning, start doing good and they would silence the 'foolish men' of the press. We should live as if our lives are under the same microscope as the biggest celebrity. Make sure that if someone was spying on you in your own home and following you wherever you went that you wouldn't be ashamed of what they find out. Through doing good put to silence the foolish accusations that may come. Be so good that they can not even create a credible accusation.
The Prayer:
Lord, give me strength to make decisions at all times of my life to do good. Help me to do good in everything so that any accusation that may come against me would not be credible. Thank you Lord! In Jesus' name, Amen!
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