Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. We are free, but notice what Peter says in verse 15, but you live as servants of God. We're not free to live any way we want as Christians. We are free to please God and serve others. Here's one of the paradoxes of the Christian life.
We are slaves of God, but we're free. Mm-hmm. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Yesterday, we began exploring Peter's guidance for Christians living in a secular society. Today, John continues this timely thread, focusing on Peter's command to honor everyone.
In our increasingly polarized society, this biblical directive may seem impossible, but let's listen. Here's Pastor John Monroe with part two of his message titled Subject But Free. How do you find living in an ungodly world? Are you frustrated when laws are passed or decisions are made which are contrary to the Word of God? Peter gives us great advice in 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 13 through 17.
We must understand that this world is not our home. We're pilgrims bound for our eternal home. Meantime, we are to shine Christ's light. Peter is exhorting us to submit to all levels of the secular government's authority. Peter's readers were under the heel of such emperors as Nero, who were pagan and cruel.
But we are. To submit. But while we are to submit, we will learn today that we're to live as free people. Whatever happens to our society, our identity in Christ cannot be destroyed. Peter gives three commands.
which will help us to live. as citizens in a secular Society. Let's look at the first command, which is found in verses 13 through 15. If you have your Bibles, please open them. 1 Peter chapter 2, and in verses 13 through 15, Peter is telling us to submit.
to secular governments. In fact, submission is to be the lifestyle of the Christian.
Now Peter who's writing these Verses also said in Acts 5, verse 29: We must obey God rather than man. That's true. Civil disobedience is appropriate. When the government passes a law in direct opposition to a specific command, from God. We are to disobey it.
We are to obey God rather than man. But in civil disobedience, the weapons of our warfare are not the flesh. but they're divinely powerful. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10, verse 4: We are to be exemplary citizens, not rebels, not disrespectful of our rulers. We are to be known.
for doing good. That's the first. Command, submit to secular governments. Do you find that oppressive?
Well, here's the second. Commands. Use your freedom. responsibly. Verse 16.
Live as people who are free. Not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Peter is saying, and the Holy Spirit is saying to us, live as free people. Remember Paul in Galatians 5? For freedom Christ has set us free.
We are redeemed. We are ransomed, Peter said in chapter 1. We are redeemed from the bondage of sin and death by the blood of the Lamb. We've been set free. Even though we may be under unjust laws and ungodly rulers, we as the people of God are free.
Living a life of submission is not inconsistent with being free.
Well, we do submit to the secular government. That government is never our master. The Lord Jesus Christ. is our Supreme Master. He owns my total obedience.
We are free, but notice what Peter says in verse 15, but you live as servants of God. In fact, the word is slaves. How can I be a slave? and free. Here it is.
in doing God's will. You are truly Free. I want you to understand that. And we are to use our freedom that we have. to serve God and Others.
Here's one of the paradoxes of the Christian life. We are slaves of God, but we're free. Freedom? fulfillment And joy come. from living for the glory of God.
God is our Creator. God knows what makes us joyful and sad. I'm to follow him. I'm to obey him. My obedience to Christ produces great freedom.
disobedience Brings Bondage. and spiritual slavery. You're in bondage. Bondage to your sin and your guilt and your shame. Christ wants us to be free.
Free in Christ. You've been set free. From the chains of your sin. I'm a slave of God, but I'm free, and my greatest joy is in obeying and pleasing God. My saviour.
And one of the ways We demonstrate our freedom. is by showing respect. The gospel produces, as we're going to see, respect for others. First command Submit. to the secular government.
Command number two. Use your freedom. Responsibly. Command number three. Honour others respect.
Others. Look at verse 17. Honour Everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God.
Honour The Emperor. Christians are not only to honor the emperor, the king, but everyone. The same Greek word, tamao, is used twice in seventeen. It's the same word. Honor everyone, that word honor is the same word used for honor the emperor.
to respect The emperor But I'm to respect Everyone. All races. People have a different color of skin from me. different nationalities, different cultures. Different people.
The homeless. Those in the margins of life As well as the successful people. I'm to honor, I'm to respect everyone, particularly those who are different from me. All are made. in the image.
of God. No, I love the Economist, the magazine. and it has brilliant obituaries. And so when I get my Copy of The Economist, the first thing I do is I turn to the back and I read obituaries. You think that's a strange thing to do.
Well, I'm a pastor, I deal with death, I hear people describing people at funerals, and I like to read obituaries. They have brilliant writers in The Economist. And uh I read this one.
So much of what we disquoted from the economist. On December 30, Age 92. Elmore Nicklebury. died.
Some of you know this story. It was new to me. He was one of the last striking sanitation workers of Memphis. In April 1968, Elmore Nickelberry was one of 1,300 in the city of Memphis who had gone on strike. Every morning Elmore would get up at 7 a.m.
Walk two miles to the depot and spend his days hefting tubs in and out of people's backyards. A garbage collector. Sanitation. The tubs loaded with loose waste were heavy, so he didn't have much choice but to put them on his head. They were old and leaky.
So maggots and foul stuff ran down his face. The sanitation workers were given no overshoes, no uniforms or rainsuits and could not use the depot's bathroom or the shower because they were black men. This is only 1968. By the end of the day, Elmore stank so badly he couldn't ride the bus. In 1968, his pay was $1.65 an hour for a nine-hour day.
$1.68 an hour. At the first strike, March, The police yelled Get off the sidewalk, boy. It was that word boy. that hurt him more than anything. Do this, boy.
Over here, boy. As a sanitation worker, he also heard, hey, garbage man. as if he was garbage himself. A young man thought up a slogan for the strikers that simply said, I am a man. There it is, part of American history.
They marched silently in a single file Just holding up that message, I am a man. Martin Luther King came to support the strike and linked arms at the head of a march. The world's eyes turned to Memphis. within a month. The city agreed to give Mr Micklebury and the others a fair amount of what they had been asking.
He got fifteen cents more an hour. He got shoes, uniforms, and was allowed to use the Depot bathroom. He never forgot that Dr. King had come from out of town to fight for them. Thanks to him, the kicked-around boys had become men.
I'm more than men. Because with him they had climbed a mountain and glimpsed the promised land. Amazing story, isn't it? Human beings treating other human beings in their own. country with deep Deep respect.
The scripture says In my Bible, verse 17, honor Everyone. We are So respect and honour everyone. As I say, I respect for those in authority has decreased. Very tough, for example, being a police officer now because of the disrespect given to them when they're trying to uphold the law. But what does the Bible say?
Honor Everyone. I am to respect. Everyone. That's it, no debate, no exceptions. I'm not only to honor the emperor, the president, the prime minister, the leader, the king, I'm to honor everyone, including those who are different.
From myself. Everyone. That's quite a challenge. We're not to slander people, we're not to put them down. We're not to be vengeful or hateful or But respectful.
to everyone. Christians should be characterized by gracious. Courtiers. kind behavior and speech to everyone. We should have good manners.
We're to honor everyone. And I read this, I was very convicted because sometimes I ignore people, I pass them by. They're not my type of person, as it were. Honor everyone. Do you respect everyone who comes to church?
Someone who's different from you, different nationality. Respect. Everyone. Also, says Peter, honor the emperor. Claudius and Nero, the Roman emperors, persecuted Christians.
Very difficult to be a Christian. You would lose your job. You had to move sometimes. You could be imprisoned. You could be stoned.
You could be killed. I am to honor a corrupt immoral and idolatrous Emperor? We, as Americans, Christians, we must honor. The president. Honor Congress, honors our governor, our mayor, on our judges, on our law enforcement officers, even when we disagree with them.
We should not. According to this verse, Some of you may disagree with me, but I think it's clear in Scripture. We should not speak disrespectfully. of the President or the former President. They may speak disrespectfully of each other.
They may engage in rhetoric. But that's not the way. of Christians. We're to honor our senators. We're to honor our congressman.
We sometimes wonder what they do. We sometimes don't agree with their laws. but we are to honor them. Here they were to honor the emperor, a pagan, cruel, and immoral man. No, we don't honor him, we don't obey him when what they say conflicts with scripture.
But when I honor God, I'm honoring others.
Now there's a challenge for you this week. You show respect. To everyone. You made Yeah. Your bank.
The hospital. the factory, the store, the community. Do you do the other people? Do you honor That waitress that comes to you. Do you do that?
But notice also how beautifully In the middle of this, Peter says, love the brotherhood. One of our themes for this year is love. One another. I challenge you. I challenge myself.
Love one another. Love the brotherhood. We have a special love, a nagape love for one another. We saw that in chapter 1, verse.
However, having purified your souls, By your obedience to the truth, he's talking to authentic Christians. For a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart. It's to be sincere, it's not to be hypocritical. It's to love people earnestly. I'm to do that from a pure heart, not with a hidden agenda, not to manipulate someone, but I'm to do it genuinely and sincerely.
Why? They're my fellow brothers and sisters. We love. one another. It's wonderful when I hear people say They have felt that warmth.
and that love. I trust that you it that is your experience. Wh we are to love. one another. I know we have some difficult personalities.
I know we have some odd people like myself. And you? But we are to love. one another. What a beautiful environment is created, isn't it?
In your life group. As you go in, you feel loved and cared for. What a wonderful thing if you sing in the choir and you feel that love. from your brothers and sisters. When you come into the sanctuary, You're worshiping God.
Yes, it's primarily a relationship with God, but we're worshiping together and we feel the love of the brothers and sisters around us. Love openly. Proverbs tells us that Love that is hidden is worthless. Love openly as long as you can do it with sincerity. Do it with a pure heart.
I ask you. I ask it. Do you think we could do this at church?
Some of you have come from churches which have been divided. Where people have said nasty things to each other. where people have treated each other with disrespect. Yes, we're going to have some differences. Of course we are.
Yes, you're not going to be pleased with everything that we do at church. That is true. But we are commanded in Scripture to love the brotherhood. Could you do that? Reach out to someone.
Show them love. Many of you do that. taking meals to those at their home. Making a phone call. encouraging one another.
giving someone who's discouraged a hug. Reminder. That you are loved not only by God, but loved by one another. There's a last one, isn't there? We are to fear God.
I am to fear. God. The emperor is to be honored, that's true, but only God is to be feared. I don't fear the President. I don't fear a police officer.
I'm to fear God. Yeah. The ultimate authority is not the emperor, but is our Lord Jesus Christ risen from the dead, who has supreme authority. Peter says in chapter 3, verse 22 regarding our Savior who's gone through the resurrection, who has gone into Heaven. And it is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to Him.
Same word. Subject. They are subject to Him. All of the authorities, all of the angels, all of the powers. Are under his mighty hand.
Therefore, I am to fear God and reverence. And all. We use the word awesome. We trivialize it. to refer it to an ice cream or something.
But God Truly. is awesome. And having a sense of the greatness of God. And the power of God and the love of God produces in us a fear, a reverence, yes, a joyful reverence, and that is a great motivation to live a godly life. The fear of the Lord.
Say Solomon is the beginning of wisdom. Do you want wisdom? The fear of the Lord is the beginning. of wisdom. And fearing God motivates us.
to honour and respect others because they're made in the image of God. How are we to relate to the unbelieving world? According to verses thirteen through seventeen, four ways. Submit to those in authority. Do you hear me?
Do good deeds. Use your freedom responsibly. But rejoice in your freedom. Don't allow anyone or anything to put you back into bondage. Celebrate the freedom that you have in Christ.
and honour People. A quiet Godly, winsome. Good, respectful conduct. is the key. Yes, even in the face of opposition and ridicule.
Wherever you are, in all circumstances, live. that the world sees in you a difference. That the world realizes that you are a different kind of person. And You are a good person. And you are a respectful person.
And when treated badly, Peter is going to say, whether it's in society, whether it's at your work, when treated badly, your godly attitude and conduct will have a profound impact on people. Our goal as Christians is not primarily to change society. Our goal is to display and proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ. Starting in your home. Whatever you do, in all circumstances, particularly in difficult circumstances.
I am to display and proclaim my Lord Jesus Christ. Because my permanent home The kingdom isn't here. And we eagerly anticipate, don't we? That great day. when every existential Contradiction will be resolved.
and our Lord Jesus Christ will return. With power. and glory. And as the world looks on, Jesus said, Matthew 5, verse 16, let your light shine before you. In such a way.
that they may see your good deeds. and glorify God in Heaven. May that be true. That we will shine Christ's light. that we will love one another.
And as people come onto this campus and as we go into society. That will be a powerful apologetic. that Christianity does make a difference. Even in the midst of difficulties, even in the problems of life. We will continue to look to our Saviour.
who's soon coming. But do you know him?
Some of you here have never yet been freed from your sin and your shame and your guilt. It means that you come to the cross of Christ. Peter has already explained. This perfect lamb. whose blood was shed.
That you, whatever your condition, whatever you've done, We repent. and looked at Christ. for salvation. and transformation. and true freedom.
This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe, and the conclusion of a message titled Subject But Free. John will be back in just a moment, so stay with us. The message we've heard today is both challenging and countercultural. As John shared, when Christians honor everyone, regardless of background, status, or viewpoint, we display the transformative power of the gospel. To help you continue to build your biblical big picture view, we're now offering John's special booklet for the time is near: Lessons from Revelation.
This booklet reminds us that while earthly powers rise and fall, Jesus Christ remains the ruler of kings on earth. Understanding God's prophetic timeline helps us maintain proper perspective during times of social and political tension. and that means demonstrating authentic love and respect to everyone we encounter. Request your free copy of For the Time is Near today by visiting theverdict.org. As we seek to apply today's teaching in our daily interactions, would you consider supporting this ministry financially?
Your generous gift enables us to continue sharing these biblical perspectives with listeners across the nation and around the world. You can make your tax-deductible donation easily online at theverdict.org. For those in the Charlotte area, we'd love to welcome you to Sunday worship at Calvary Church, where John serves as senior pastor. Or join us from anywhere through our live stream online. Find service times and all of our details at theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor Jean Monroe with closing remarks.
Well, what's your verdict? It's one thing to complain about the government, but another thing to display good deeds to those around us. Can you give an example of a situation where you have used your freedom not in a self-indulgent way? but rather to honour and to respect others? While we have a special love for fellow believers, we are to do good to all.
In this way, we please God and bless others. How are you doing? Don't miss next time as we take a break from 1 Peter to study the fascinating book of Esther. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies.
Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
