Chapter 5

SILENCING THE CRITICS

Picture a young man who is very earnestly wanting to know God’s will for his life’s work. He’s so dedicated to God that he’s even willing to be a missionary, which seems to be the ultimate sacrifice in the eyes of some people.

But our young friend, despite his dedication, has some problems. He is a little headstrong. He seems to have trouble getting along with those in authority over him. His reasons for rebellion are good, of course, at least in his eyes.

Finally, our young seeker-after-God’s-will takes his problem to a wise old pastor. “I believe God wants me to be a missionary,” he says, “but I’m not sure whether He wants me to be a home missionary or a foreign missionary.”

The pastor looks him straight in the eye. “Young man,” he says, “what you need to be first of all is a ‘submissionary.’ You need to learn what submission means.”

Hard words? Perhaps. But true. The apostle Peter wrote, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise for those who do right. For such is the will of God” (1 Peter 2:13–15).

What is it God wills that you do? Submit. What kind of submission is He talking about? Scripture outlines several kinds, including to parents and other believers. But here Peter called specifically for the kind of submission that makes you the best possible citizen in the society in which you live.

Who is it that we are trying to reach? The world. If we are not the epitome of what a citizen should be in the world, we will certainly harm our testimonies. God not only commands our submission to those in authority, but He also clearly tells us the reason. “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 Peter 2:15).

Do you know what the critics of Christ look for in Christians? Faults. How are we going to prevent them from finding faults? Eliminate the faults. We need to put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

How are you going to silence your critics? By living an exemplary life within society. That was Peter’s point. The Christian is not a revolutionary. If there is a lawful way to make a needed change, the Christian takes that route. The Christian works. The Christian strives to be the best person he or she can be and to make the best contribution to society possible within the bounds of the law.

Don’t ever abuse your freedom. Do not use your freedom as a cloak for being malicious and evil (1 Peter 2:16).

Someone will inevitably say, “I don’t believe in this restriction. God has told me in my heart that it is wrong. So I am going to break this law or resist that rule.”

Wait a minute! The Bible says not to hide your maliciousness under the blanket of so-called Christian liberty. God said, “Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17).

If you happen to be employed by somebody, be “subject to your masters with all fear” (2:18 KJV). You may say, “You don’t understand my boss!” The Scripture continues, “… not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.” The word froward means “difficult to deal with.” Do you have a boss who is difficult to deal with? What are you supposed to do? Submit, lovingly and willfully.

Shake the World

So many times I think to myself that if Christians ever learned to live the kind of life Peter described, we would turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6). But sometimes the world can’t distinguish us from itself. The apostle Paul called us who are Christians working for non-Christian employers to give them an honest day’s work for a day’s pay and show them that is the norm for a Christian (Eph. 6:5–8).

If you are the citizen of a certain state, obey the laws of that state so that people might know that your faith is real, that it reaches and influences every area of your life. I always get disturbed if a guy who has a Christian slogan on his car bumper weaves in and out of traffic like a maniac.

The principle of good citizenship is further upheld by Paul, who said that when the church chooses an elder, it is to pick one who is blameless (1 Tim. 3:10).

You may ask, “Am I supposed to obey every law in the land?” Yes, every law. If you do not agree with them, that doesn’t change the matter. Obey them. Now if you know a way to work politically to change poor laws, fine; but until they have changed, obey them.

But what if they tell you to do something that violates God’s clear revelation and command? Then do not obey them! That is the only exception. This is what happened when the Jewish rulers took Peter and John into custody. They told them not to preach anymore in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered, “You judge whether we ought to obey God or men.” And they went right out of that place and started preaching (see Acts 4:18–20). The only time believers are ever to violate the law of the land is when the law either forbids them to do what they have been told to do by direct command from God or commands them to do what God forbids.

What am I saying? It is that God wants us to be the kind of citizens in the world who will draw the attention of the world. We need to be different. We need to have the qualities of salt and light (Matt. 5:13–16). That involves submission, which is clearly commanded in Scripture.