The Problem of Unworthy Authorities | Part 1

Do you have a problem with God's Age?

Good question. Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring profound truth simply stated by Adrian Rogers. One of the chief weapons that God has given us is the principle of submission. It is the thing that closes the mouths of those who oppose us and allows us to exercise our kingdom authority. 1 Peter chapters 2 and 3 reveal how to submit to godless authority figures. If you have your Bible, turn this video on.

Join us there now as Adrian Rogers gives insight on the problem of unworthy authorities. Would you take God's Word and be finding 1 Peter chapter 2 as we continue our series on discovering kingdom authority. If there's ever a day and an age in which we need to discover and to deploy kingdom authority, this is the day and this is the age.

Now, before I read the Scripture, and we're going to be reading from 1 Peter chapter 2, beginning in verse 11, before I read the Scripture, let me just tell you something about the Christians to whom this Scripture was written. They were going through tough times. It was open season on Christians. They were being accused and they were being slandered by the enemy.

Let me tell you some of the things they accused them of. Jesus is not Lord. Jesus is Lord. And so they were hunted and hounded and killed.

Do you know why they were? Because they were like the Lord Jesus. And the servant is not better than his master. Jesus said, if they've hated me, they will hate you. And Jesus was slandered.

They called him a wine collector. Now, I'm going to tell you this, that anybody who lives for the Lord Jesus Christ in this day, in this age, or in that day, and that age, or any age, is going to find himself going against the tide. We're twice-born people in a world of once-born people. And what we practice and what we believe begins at a different source. It follows a different course.

It arrives at a different conclusion and we're going to be going against the tide. Now, the chief weapon, the chief weapon that God has given us in these days, other than our faith in Him, is a principle that many of us don't like to practice. It is the principle of, listen, submission. You say, now wait a minute. It would seem like if we're going to be overcomers, it ought to be the principle of rebellion.

No. It's the principle of submission. And this principle is such that it will close the mouths of those who oppose us. Look in verse 11. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims.

Abstain from fleshly lust which war against your soul. Having your conversation, that means your behavior, honest among the Gentiles, that's the pagans, whereas they speak against you as evildoers. They may by your good works, and we're going to show you what those good works are in just a moment, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Now, the day of visitation is not talking about when Jesus comes again.

It literally means the day of inspection or the day of observation. And then notice what he says in verse 13. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake.

Did you see that? Submit yourselves. Now skip on down to verse 18. And he says we're to do something that will cause them to recognize in us a quality that is absolutely astounding and amazing. And look down, if you will, in verse 15. For so is the will of God that with well-doing ye may silence the ignorance of foolish men.

People who oppose God's people are ignorant and they're foolish. And how do you silence them? Submission, submission, submission. And this word silence literally means in the Greek language to muzzle, like you would muzzle a yapping dog. How are we going to make a statement in this world? How are we going to exercise kingdom authority by submission? You say, now wait a minute, submission doesn't sound like authority.

You see, that's the secret of the whole thing. Remember again that centurion who said to Jesus, Jesus, I know how you operate. I know why you have authority over this disease because I also am a man set under authority. And I say to this man go and he goes and to this man come and he comes. And Jesus, all you need to do is to speak the word and my servant will be healed for I know how you work.

And Jesus said, I've not seen faith like this in all the land of Israel. This man who was under the emperor was over his soldiers. You can never be over those things that God has put to us and give us the release of the spirit until we know the restraint of the spirit. How do you submit to a bad boss? How do you submit to a mean mate? What if they ask us to do something wrong, ungodly?

What do we do? How can we live this principle of submission in a wicked, lascivious age? Good question. Verse 13 says, submit yourselves. Verse 18 says, servants, be subject.

Chapter 3, verse 1 says, wives, be in subjection. What is submission? Submission is one equal voluntarily placing himself under another equal that God may therefore be glorified. Submission is simply getting under the authority that God has established not for that authority's sake but for God himself's sake who established the authority.

Look in verse 13. Submit yourself to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. When you submit yourself to some governmental authority, you're not doing it for his sake. You're doing it for Jesus' sake.

And that makes a difference. You see, God has established authority everywhere. And God is behind all authority.

When you're submitting, you're not submitting to some human being. You're submitting really ultimately to Almighty God. And when you do that, God begins to invest in you kingdom authority. Remember that when you have the spirit of rebellion, you're like Satan.

He was the original rebel. When you submit to authority, you're like the Lord Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation. Being found in form as a servant, he humbled himself and became obedient. Now, Satan said, I will exalt myself. God says, you're going down. Jesus said, I humble myself.

God said, I'll give you a name that is above every name. Now, Jesus has this incredible authority because of this principle. Remember what Samuel told Saul that rebellion is as witchcraft. 1 Samuel chapter 15, verse 23. When you have a rebellious spirit, you're practicing the same spirit that made the devil the devil to begin with. And that is witchcraft. Now, you want kingdom authority.

I do too. I want to live victoriously. I want power over the world, the flesh, and the devil.

But come up close and I want to tell you something. Authority and submission are heads and tails of the same coin. Authority flows out of submission. That's a principle that we need to understand. And being submissive does not demean you. It exalts you.

It makes you like the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that is the principle. That is the principle of submission. Now, let's talk about some places of submission. We've already mentioned them.

But three very hard places. Number one, he's talking about being submissive to a godless government. Now, you say, well, when Peter wrote this, he didn't know who was in the White House. Let me tell you who was on the throne of Rome. His name was Nero. Well, first of all, let's read verse 13. Let's read verse 13.

Well, you say, if they had a good king, I can understand that. Well, let me tell you who was the king. His name was Nero.

Let me read what one man said about Nero. Well, let's read verse 13. Well, let's read verse 13. That's the one. That's the one that Peter says honor the king. Honor the king.

That's incredible. Well, why is this? Because verse 14 says, Verse 14 teaches us that authority is necessary.

C.S. Lewis said this about democracy. He said that he was in favor of democracy not because everybody is equally intelligent or equally qualified to have an equal say, but because everybody is equally sinful and we all need to keep an eye on each other. That's why he said we're in favor of democracy.

Well, whatever it is, whether it is a king or democracy, an oligarchy, whatever it is, there can be no civilization without government. We are to have a submissive spirit to the government, and an attitude of rebellion is as bad as the rebellion itself. Let's read it again in verses 16 and 17. We're free and not using your liberty as a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

Now, look at this. Honor all men. In our social life, we'd honor all men. Every man, red, yellow, black, white, young, old, Christian, pagan, every man in the similitude and image of God is to be honored. The word honor is a Greek word. It's the word from which we get our word preciousness. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. All men are intrinsically precious to God. Do you believe that?

I hope you do. I don't care who He is. It matters not what He has done. The Bible says honor all men in our social life, and then in our church life in verse 17, it says love the brotherhood. Now, we are special. There is a special love that we're to have for our brothers and sisters in Christ. I love all people, but my wife is my beloved.

She is above all other women in my life. And in the Christian world, our brothers and sisters in Christ are special. We are to love one another with a very special love, and so the Bible says we're to honor the brotherhood. And then in our spiritual life, He says fear God, verse 17. If there's one thing that we need in America today, it is to bring back the fear of Almighty God, for the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, and America has lost that. But then He says finally in our political life, not only in our social life, our church life, our spiritual life, but in our political life, we are to honor the King.

Whether that government is led by king or president, the principle is the same. Put in your margin 1 Timothy chapter 2, verses 1 through 3, I exhort therefore that first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. And so, we are to submit to godless government. Now, second thing, not only should we submit to a godless government, but to a bad boss. Look, if you will, in verses 18 and 19, servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.

For this is think worthy if a man for conscience toward God endured grief, suffering wrongfully. Now, the word servant here literally means household slave. It's not talking about a domestic servant like we have today who is paid, but it's talking about a person who is a slave. And these slaves were not inferior people. In that day, a man would have a doctor slave to take care of him.

He would have a teacher slave to educate his children. But Aristotle, his philosophy had come to full flower, and he said, master and slave have nothing in common. A slave is a living tool, just as a tool is an inanimate slave. Slaves were not treated as persons, they were treated as things. And yet, Peter says, slaves, be in submission to your master as unto the Lord. You say, well, now, wait a minute. Shouldn't we be against slavery?

With all of our heart. And what Peter taught here brought slavery crashing down. He was speaking of reality. We're going to say more about that later on.

They found themselves in a situation over which they had no control. But he said, now, guard your spirit. Have a submissive spirit. Maybe some of you today are not a slave in that sense, but you work for what you call a slave driver.

Well, let me tell you something. There is no better place for you to demonstrate the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ if you have an unfair or an ungodly boss. Any pagan can gripe and rebel when things are wrong.

But notice what he says in verse 19. For this is think worthy if a man for conscience toward God endured grief, suffering wrongfully. Now, he mentions a third case of an unworthy authority.

How do you react toward unworthy authorities? Godless government, bad bosses, mean mates. Chapter 3, verse 1, likewise ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands that if any obey not the word. This is not talking about a Christian husband. It's talking about an ungodly husband who will not obey the word of God. They may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives.

That is, while they behold your chaste or pure behavior, joined or coupled with fear. Whose adorning, let it not be the outward adorning of the plaiting of the hair, the wearing of gold, or the putting on of apparel. Now, the lady's not saying it's wrong to fix your hair or to wear gold. If it is, it's wrong for you to wear clothes.

He's not saying that. He's saying that is not your adornment. But let it be the hidden man of the heart and that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and a quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price. This is so contrary to the wisdom of this world that a wife is to be submissive even to an ungodly husband.

But the Bible teaches that a home cannot function without a head. I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ and the head of the woman is the man and the head of Christ is God. God the Son and God the Father co-equal, co-eternal, of course. Is a man and a woman, are they co-equal?

Of course. She is not inferior to Him. Submission is one equal placing Himself or herself voluntarily under another equal that God thereby may be glorified. Galatians 3 verse 28 says there's neither Jew nor Greek, neither is there bond nor free, neither is there male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

That is settled. But God teaches authority. And what should a wife do if she has an ungodly, unworthy husband? She's not to lecture Him according to the Scripture. She's not to leave Him. She is to love Him. Mrs. Billy Graham said, it is your job to love your husband.

It is God's job to make him good. And coming up tomorrow, we'll hear part two of this important message. I hope you can join us then. You know, at Love Worth Finding, one of our greatest honors is to come alongside you and pray with you and for you.

Maybe there's something heavy on your heart today. Go to our website homepage at lwf.org slash radio and scroll down to our prayer wall. There you'll find the option to submit a prayer request or pray for others. This resource is one of our favorite ways to keep the ministry and the community praying continually for one another's needs.

Let us hear from you today. Again, go to lwf.org slash radio and scroll down to find our prayer wall. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message, call 1-877-LOVE-GOD and mention the title, The Problem of Unworthy Authorities. This message is also part of the insightful series, The Incredible Power of Kingdom Authority. If you'd like the complete collection, all nine powerful messages, call that number 1-877-LOVE-GOD or go online to order at lwf.org slash radio. Or you can write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Now, make sure you sign up for our daily heartbeat emails and you'll get daily devotions and message links sent straight to your inbox.

You can sign up at lwf.org slash radio. We hope you can join us tomorrow for the convicting conclusion of The Problem of Unworthy Authorities, right here on Love Worth Finding. Here's a message from a listener in Iceland who said, Love Worth Finding is the only true Bible teaching program in this area, not theories or manmade religion. Iceland and the rest of the world need to hear the truth, and the only truth that matters is what the Bible says. We are thankful for it. We truly need the fire of revival in our own lives and in the churches.

Please pray for us. Well, messages like that reignite our passion to equip believers with resources to help you grow in your faith day by day. That's why when you donate to the ministry right now, we want to send you the book, The Incredible Power of Kingdom Authority. This book contains profound and practical insights from Adrian Rogers that will help you recognize the priority, understand the principle and learn the places of kingdom authority. Call with a gift at 1-877-LOVEGOD.