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Speaker: If you want to divide
a room, say something political.

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If you want to divide, divide a room
further, talk about Jesus this morning.

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We're gonna do both.

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But what I love about the Bible is
that the Bible gives us some commands

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and gives us guidance and gives
us principles to live by, uh, that

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really apply to every sphere of life.

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And the realm of how our
Christians should engage with

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politics is no exception to this.

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So what we're gonna talk
about this morning, on the one

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hand, is incredibly simple.

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But on the other hand, as we strive
to live it out, as we strive to apply

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it, as we strive to think about what
this looks like in everyday life,

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it it can get really difficult,
really hard, and really messy.

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It's one of the reasons
why I love this place.

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It's one of the reasons
why I love the church.

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Because God's given us this
place for the messy times.

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God's given us brothers and sisters
in Christ to help us navigate hard

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things, to help us ask and answer
questions, to say, okay, Lord, I, I, I

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believe that your word has everything
necessary for life and godliness in it.

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And yet, sometimes we're gonna ask
ourselves questions that there's not

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a chapter in verse that specifically
addresses that particular issue.

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And that's where we have the spirit within
us, and that's where we have brothers and

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sisters in Christ to come alongside us,
to encourage us to point us to Christ, to

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help us to confirm thoughts that we have
or to redirect thoughts that we have.

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And I think when we think about the
Christian in politics, the Christian in

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government, I find the church to be a
particularly encouraging place for us.

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This morning we launched a brand
new series called Submitted Living.

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Submitted living.

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It's gonna take us through the next
five weeks, and we're gonna look about

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all kinds of different relationships
that the Christian has, where

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we're called to live in submission.

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And that first area that we're gonna
look at this morning is how a Christian

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should engage government, how are
Christians should live in submission to

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the governing authorities in this world.

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And what I want us to think about this
morning, just simply put, is this, in

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every corner of your life, in every
facet of your life, God is our ultimate

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authority in His word, our ultimate guide.

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No matter what we come up against, no
matter what we face, at the end of the

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day, God is our ultimate authority,
and his word is our ultimate guide.

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One Peter chapter two.

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We're gonna be in verses 13 through 17.

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One Peter chapter two, verse
13, begins with these words.

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He says, be subject for the Lord's
sake to every human institution.

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Be subject.

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It's in the imperative voice,
meaning it's, it's a command.

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He's ordering us.

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He's telling us, he's not
saying, Hey, I, I'm, I'm gonna

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suggest that you should do this.

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This is a command from Peter.

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He says To be subject, which is the
word huso, which means to be placed

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under, to be placed in submission to
an authority is what the word means.

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It's the word that's used in one
Corinthians 1527, where Paul wrote, for

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God has put all things in subjection.

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Under the feet of Christ.

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But when it says all things are put
in subjection, and that's our word

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that we're talking about here, it's
plain that he is accepted who put

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all things in subjection under him.

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In other words, Paul's saying one day
God is gonna place everything under the

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authority of in subjection to Jesus,
except for of course the Father himself.

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But Paul says, we are, or Peter
says, rather, we are to be subject,

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we're to place ourselves under the
authority of, and then he goes on

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and says, every human institution.

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Every human institution, the
word institution is actually

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from the Greek word for creation.

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And so Paul says, we're
to place ourselves.

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Peter says, we're to place ourselves.

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I, if there would've been one author
of the New Testament, it would've

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been way easier for pastors.

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Can I just tell you guys that Peter
says that we should place ourselves

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in subjection to every human.

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Agency that God has
created is the idea there.

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And he says, institution
here instead of creation.

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The ESV translators at least have,
because he's going to define that

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as whether to emperors as supreme
or governors here in the rest of

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verse 13 and then into verse 14.

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So he is talking specifically to us
about the institution of government,

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but really he's talking about the,
the institutions that God has.

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Put in place that God has created and
it, it's helpful because I think Peter

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is framing the way that we think about
government here, right off the, the bat.

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For us to think about government first
and foremost, and those that are in the

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positions of authority that they have
as those that have been placed there by

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a God who has created it to begin with.

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Government is not a man made institution,
but a God instilled creation.

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If you go back to the Tower of Babel,
we can see how from the time of the

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tower, Babel onward, men in, in mankind
has been gathering with people of

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common language and common culture.

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And whenever that takes place,
they gather in a common location.

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And then they set up government,
they set up rulers, they set up

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kings, they set up governors.

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This is the way that mankind has
operated from the Tower of Babel.

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And in fact, it, it even predates that.

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This is part of the created image
of God within us as human beings.

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If we go back to the garden
in Genesis 1 28, God said to

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Adam and Eve, God bless them.

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And God said to them, be fruitful
and multiply and fill the earth

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and here it is, and subdue
it, and have dominion over it.

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The word have dominion over The
word in the Hebrew means to rule

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over to exercise governance over.

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And so mankind is created in
the image of God to govern.

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And so the, the idea of government,
the idea of, of what we consider

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to be politics and everything
else, that in essence is part

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of our image bearing of God.

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It's something that God made within us.

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You think back to Israel.

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Israel was supposed to have God
as their ultimate ruler, their

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Lord, their king, their master.

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They were intended to be a theocracy,
which means that God is the king.

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God is the ruler.

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He provided as their governor,
as their ruler, as their king.

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He provided for them a law and a system
of justice, and he gave them judges

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to help to settle disputes among them.

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He divided the people into separate
tribes and made heads of the tribes.

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And then when they entered into the
promised land, God gave specific

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territories with borders to the tribes.

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And so you see God designed even
for his people, Israel government,

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to be a part of their identity.

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Even after they rebel in one Samuel
chapter eight, they go to Samuel

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and they say, we don't want your
kings, your sons to be judges.

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We want a king to be like the nations.

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God still condescended and acquiesced
and gave them a king in that sense.

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If you go to Daniel chapter two and
think about the gigantic statue that

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Nebuchadnezzar has the vision of, we see
more of the fact that this is part of

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God's plan government is that is because
when Daniel receives the interpretation

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of the dream, Daniel prays this way.

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He says this in Daniel 2 20, 1 of
God, he changes times and seasons.

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He removes kings and sets up kings.

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Removes kings and sets up kings.

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And so God is the one behind that.

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And even when you consider that the
image itself, the statue, all of

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the different parts of the statue
represented different governments.

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And it stretches all the way through what
we're still looking to the future for.

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And that is the reconstitution
of the Roman Empire or the

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new Babylon at that time.

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And then finally, the fifth kingdom.

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The kingdom cut from the, the mountain as
a stone, uh, cut without hands or without.

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Tools, and that's gonna be
the fifth and final kingdom.

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That's the kingdom of Jesus.

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And so government, as we think
about it, we have to be careful not

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to think that government is a bad
thing, or that government is a sign

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of man's rebellion against God.

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Rather, government is something
that God has designed, that God

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is behind, and it's a way that
we image him in how we pursue it.

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As long as we pursue it, rightly
we read it during our scripture

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reading, but Paul reinforces this.

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He says in Romans 13, one, he says,
let every person be subject to the

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governing authorities for there
is no authority except from God.

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That's what Daniel was saying
back in Daniel chapter two.

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God, you set up kings like Nebuchadnezzar,
one of the most wicked people that had

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ever walked to the face of the planet.

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God, you put him there.

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And you remove him.

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Paul says, there's no governing
authority except from God, and those

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that exist have been put there by God.

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And so government is not a manmade
institution, though it may be a man

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corrupted institution, but as we as
Christians think about what is our

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relationship to government, it's important
that we frame it by understanding that

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that God has designed it, that it is
something that is from him and as we

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participate in it, the way that he
calls us to the way that he wants us to.

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There's something about worship there
because we are imaging God through our

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desire for and execution of government.

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Point number one this morning, along
those lines, is this recognize.

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God's design in human government recognize
God's design in human government.

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God's design in the, the governments
that are, are put in place by him

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are gonna look different in different
seasons, in different times.

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You think about the government that Peter
was writing about versus the government

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that you and I are under now, and they
couldn't be more vastly different.

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You've got an empire, you've
got a constitutional republic.

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There are rights that we have, there are
privileges that we have, there are things

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that we can do that the, the audience
that Peter was writing to couldn't do.

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And yet there are truths that transcend
no matter what the, the type of government

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is that it's part of God's design.

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We do live in a, a great nation, and
I was reminded of that when I went to

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Israel back in 2019 and I was struck
by how many people there talked about

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America like it was the promised land.

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Like they, you, you guys are from America.

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You guys have it so good there.

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And, and some of them were like, you guys
have malls and you can shop and buy really

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nice clothes and malls and things, but a
lot of them just loved the, the culture.

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And, and love the freedoms that we have.

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Trump was a, a hero at the time, and
that was before, you know, everything

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that was right around the time that
he had moved the embassy and, and

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everything else was going on at that time.

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And so people were really
excited about Trump.

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They were really excited about America.

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They just thought, man, you guys have
it so good there and, and we really do.

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We really do.

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And, and yet at times we
can take that for granted.

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So I want us to think about how should we
think about the government that we get to

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enjoy as we have a, a dual citizenship.

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And here's what I mean by that.

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Remember what Peter's doing?

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He's writing to us as
those that are exiles.

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Those that are sojourner and exiles.

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So we have a dual citizenship in that
we have a citizenship in heaven, which

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we'll get to and talk about a little
bit later on together this morning.

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But we also have a citizenship.

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That's the daily citizenship that
we interact with as citizens of

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the United States of America.

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We're here and, and let's just
admit there's no perfect government

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in our government that we.

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Our under currently is a, a government
that's ruled by sinful human beings,

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just like the last administration
and the next administration.

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There's no perfect government, but as
Christians, how do we operate knowing that

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the government has been designed by God
and there's a way that we can image God

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in the way that we interact with this.

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I think in a room like this,
there's probably three main camps.

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When people think about government.

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There's those that love the government.

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People in here that have the
Constitution tattooed on their back.

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They, you know who, who you are.

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You watch the Patriot once a year at
least, and you just think to yourself,

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this is the greatest place on earth.

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Then there's those that look at
you like you're from planet Mars.

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There's those in this room that
that really, I mean, I don't

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know if hatred might be too.

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Strong of a word, but these are the
people that have the stockpiles of food.

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You've got a, a shelter that's
buried 40 feet underground.

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You have your bug out bag, and you have
a cabin that's located in Montana that

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nobody has ever stepped foot besides you
and Sasquatch, and you are ready to go

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as soon as the stock market collapses.

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There's that group too.

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And then there's a third
group, and maybe this is, is.

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The largest group.

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I, I, I, I don't know, maybe I'm
wrong, but there's a group that's

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probably generally disinterested
in government here that says, man,

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as long as it doesn't really mess
up my life, I, I don't really care.

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I think the words that Peter writes
here in one Peter two 13 be subject

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for the Lord's sake to every
human institution has something

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to say to all of us in this room.

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If you're in that camp,
that's, that's pro-government.

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You got the constitution
there on your back.

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You, you love it.

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You're America first, right?

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00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:51,270
America.

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American America.

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You got the American flag.

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Great.

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That's awesome.

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Lemme just encourage you remember,
it's, it's part of God's design to

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ultimately point us back to him, right?

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Government is, is designed by God to
help us to image God, which means it

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should remind us that there is a greater
reality beyond the image that we see.

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And so as much as we love things like
the, the democracy that we have and the

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order that we have and the, the justice
that we see, the political process, let's

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make sure that as we love those things,
we are allowing that love of those things

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to drive our affections back to God.

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Say, man, I, I love the Lord,
because the Lord is the perfect

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demonstration of all these other things.

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So yes, I enjoy them and I'm
thankful for them, and this is good.

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But man, I, I, I, I love God
because God's the perfect.

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And then I would say the other thing is,
as much as you enjoy this country and

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you enjoy the freedoms that we have, and
you enjoy the way that things operate,

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let that stir your affections for that
fifth kingdom from Daniel chapter two.

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Let that stir your affections for
when Jesus comes back and sets up

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the perfect rule, the perfect reign.

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When he's gonna reign for all time and
there will never be an end to his reign.

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There's no term limits for Jesus, right?

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And that's gonna be the, the, the place
where government will be perfect because

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it will be his rule and his authority.

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So if you love the government, that's
great, but remember as his image bearers

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and as the government is meant to
image God, get your affections to him.

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Don't let them terminate it.

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Just saying, man, I, I, I love the nation.

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I love the, the way that,
that our nation operates.

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Second group.

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If, if you're there and you're the
the bug out group, you got your bag

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00:13:19,710 --> 00:13:23,010
ready to go, you're a little bit more
anti-government, if I can put it that way.

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00:13:23,550 --> 00:13:27,810
Can I just remind that group this morning
that this is part of God's design, right?

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I, I mentioned government is not manmade
man, corrupted maybe, but not manmade.

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00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:35,610
And so as we think about this
as part of God's design, we have

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to interact with it as that.

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And so if we think about our government,
I, I think it's probably helpful for

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us to say, well, what is it that I
don't trust about the government?

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00:13:44,145 --> 00:13:46,455
And I think some maybe have been,
listen, listening to so many different

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00:13:46,455 --> 00:13:50,295
talking heads and, and maybe podcasts
and things, and, and you're worried about

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00:13:50,295 --> 00:13:53,505
all these what if scenarios and actually
none of them have really happened.

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00:13:53,895 --> 00:13:57,015
And so you've developed a spirit of
cynicism towards everybody that is

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00:13:57,015 --> 00:14:00,975
a political leader in a political
position, and, and you've got a heart of

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00:14:01,125 --> 00:14:05,925
bitterness and even perhaps a lack of,
of submission, which is revealing perhaps

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00:14:05,925 --> 00:14:07,755
a lack in of trust in God's sovereign.

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00:14:08,925 --> 00:14:10,005
Romans 13, right?

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God is the one that sets up authorities.

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00:14:12,885 --> 00:14:14,895
He put the authorities in place.

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00:14:16,395 --> 00:14:19,395
I'd also ask of, of this group
are, are you stewarding your rights

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00:14:19,395 --> 00:14:20,775
as a citizen of this country?

286
00:14:21,675 --> 00:14:23,595
God's given you a great
privilege to be here.

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00:14:24,255 --> 00:14:27,075
I mean, if you think about where we sit
compared to where Peter's audience sat,

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00:14:27,075 --> 00:14:30,945
I think there's a great right that, that
we have a great privilege that we have

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00:14:30,945 --> 00:14:35,685
to, to exercise the rights that we do to
be a faithful citizen and, and even to

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00:14:35,715 --> 00:14:37,335
affect the change that we'd like to see.

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00:14:37,860 --> 00:14:39,420
By doing things, by being involved.

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00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:45,510
Third, if you're part of the disinterested
group, lemme just encourage you to,

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00:14:45,540 --> 00:14:48,510
to remember that again, just like
I was just saying, God has given

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00:14:48,510 --> 00:14:53,640
you a, a stewardship to be used,
not to be ignored, and so I get it.

295
00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:56,250
You may not ever be the, the person
that's listening to the, the political

296
00:14:56,250 --> 00:14:59,100
podcast and everything like that,
and, and I, I fully understand that

297
00:14:59,100 --> 00:15:04,230
I'm, but I would say don't, don't
ignore God's call for you to image

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00:15:04,230 --> 00:15:06,060
him by being involved in the process.

299
00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:09,765
By, by playing the part that he's
given you to play by being that dual

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00:15:09,765 --> 00:15:12,885
citizenship and, and doing the things
that he's called you to do here.

301
00:15:12,885 --> 00:15:17,085
And now, no matter where you
fit in any of those three camps.

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00:15:17,085 --> 00:15:19,260
And, and maybe there's more camps
that I'm not considering and, and

303
00:15:19,265 --> 00:15:21,345
maybe some of you're like, well,
I'm kind of in multiple camps.

304
00:15:21,735 --> 00:15:23,925
Lemme just land on this with all of us.

305
00:15:24,345 --> 00:15:26,595
Lemme just ask us the question,
how is our heart towards our

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00:15:26,595 --> 00:15:28,905
brothers and sisters in Christ who
may disagree with us in the room?

307
00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:31,950
Because that's important too, right?

308
00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:34,470
I mentioned at the very beginning, if you
wanna divide a room, talk about politics.

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00:15:34,485 --> 00:15:36,960
I, I hope in the church that
we don't divide the room in the

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00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:38,250
church by talking about politics.

311
00:15:39,150 --> 00:15:41,940
'cause our greater allegiance is
to Jesus more than anything else.

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00:15:43,110 --> 00:15:48,150
I think Jeremiah has some helpful words
for us, uh, as to our thought process

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00:15:48,150 --> 00:15:51,210
about the government that we find
ourselves under currently, and, and how

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00:15:51,210 --> 00:15:52,620
we should be in interacting with it.

315
00:15:52,620 --> 00:15:56,850
And that's for no matter where you
fall on this is is Jeremiah 29, 7.

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00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,930
Jeremiah writes this, but seek the
we welfare of the city where I have

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00:16:00,930 --> 00:16:06,000
sent you into exile and pray to the
Lord on its behalf for in its welfare.

318
00:16:06,030 --> 00:16:08,790
You will find your welfare now.

319
00:16:09,900 --> 00:16:11,460
They're going into exile in Babylon.

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00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:14,820
This is more of a leap for us to
make the connection here, but we are

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00:16:14,820 --> 00:16:18,630
spiritual exiles, and so while we are
here in spiritual exile, I think we

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00:16:18,630 --> 00:16:21,240
can approach this and think, okay,
government is part of God's design,

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00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:23,340
and right now we can interact with it.

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00:16:23,340 --> 00:16:27,300
We can participate in it to seek
the welfare of this place where we

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00:16:27,300 --> 00:16:30,750
have been sent into exile and to
pray for the Lord on its behalf.

326
00:16:30,750 --> 00:16:34,740
Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in
its welfare we will find our welfare.

327
00:16:35,535 --> 00:16:38,175
And so we as, as Christians, need to
be careful not to be overly cynical,

328
00:16:38,175 --> 00:16:39,855
but to recognize God's design.

329
00:16:40,215 --> 00:16:44,055
In human government, you may
say yes, but isn't God's design

330
00:16:44,055 --> 00:16:45,075
broken and marred by sin?

331
00:16:45,105 --> 00:16:49,095
Uhhuh it is, but so are the
other institutions that God

332
00:16:49,095 --> 00:16:50,175
has created and designed right?

333
00:16:50,715 --> 00:16:52,455
Marriage is broken and marred by sin.

334
00:16:52,755 --> 00:16:54,465
Family broken and marred by sin.

335
00:16:55,425 --> 00:16:56,565
And yet in those, what do we think?

336
00:16:56,565 --> 00:16:59,415
We think, okay, yes, those are broken
and marred by sin, but we don't give up.

337
00:16:59,595 --> 00:17:01,695
We don't say, well, we're not gonna get
married, we're not gonna have families.

338
00:17:02,475 --> 00:17:03,345
What do we say instead?

339
00:17:03,989 --> 00:17:06,779
We said, well, how can I redeem
those things for the Lord?

340
00:17:06,959 --> 00:17:09,358
How can I engage with them in a
way that is gonna honor the Lord?

341
00:17:09,358 --> 00:17:12,329
And I think we can do that when it comes
to the Christian and government as well,

342
00:17:12,329 --> 00:17:14,310
the Christian in politics, God created it.

343
00:17:14,669 --> 00:17:15,419
God designed it.

344
00:17:15,449 --> 00:17:18,118
God employed it as a way
for us to bear his image.

345
00:17:19,125 --> 00:17:23,145
Peter goes on here to clarify even
further for us what this looks like.

346
00:17:23,145 --> 00:17:24,944
Who, what are the governing institutions?

347
00:17:24,944 --> 00:17:26,655
And this is what he
says here in verses 13.

348
00:17:26,983 --> 00:17:30,405
The last part in verse 14, he
says, uh, be subject to every human

349
00:17:30,405 --> 00:17:34,155
institution, whether it be to the
emperor as supreme, or to governors

350
00:17:34,155 --> 00:17:39,014
as sent by him to punish those who
do evil and praise those who do good.

351
00:17:40,335 --> 00:17:42,345
This is where we get down
to brass tacks, right?

352
00:17:42,345 --> 00:17:44,205
This is where you're like, okay,
preacher, what you got for me?

353
00:17:44,325 --> 00:17:44,985
What you gonna say?

354
00:17:46,365 --> 00:17:47,504
Lemme just say at the outset.

355
00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:51,270
Uh, it, nevermind.

356
00:17:51,270 --> 00:17:54,750
I'm not gonna say that
God gives us a filter.

357
00:17:56,850 --> 00:17:59,430
Uh, this is where we get down
to the question of what is our

358
00:17:59,430 --> 00:18:03,390
biblical obligation for how we
engage with the government, and are

359
00:18:03,390 --> 00:18:04,710
there any exceptions to the rule?

360
00:18:05,595 --> 00:18:07,125
That's what we begin
to, to talk about here.

361
00:18:07,130 --> 00:18:11,145
And, and Peter says that we are to be
subject to these emperors as supreme

362
00:18:11,145 --> 00:18:14,535
or governors as, as sent by him to
punish those who do evil and to praise

363
00:18:14,535 --> 00:18:17,895
those who do good for this is the will
of God, that by doing good, you should

364
00:18:17,895 --> 00:18:21,375
put to silence the ignorance of foolish
people live as people who are free,

365
00:18:21,375 --> 00:18:24,855
not using your freedom as a coverup for
evil, but living as servants of God.

366
00:18:25,005 --> 00:18:28,725
And so Peter identifies two particular
parties in verses 13 and 14.

367
00:18:28,725 --> 00:18:31,875
He says, be subject to
the emperor as supreme.

368
00:18:32,235 --> 00:18:34,215
The word in the Greek is king basals.

369
00:18:34,544 --> 00:18:37,995
But for Peter it would've
been undoubtedly the emperor.

370
00:18:38,084 --> 00:18:41,235
'cause the only one with supreme authority
during Peter's day was the emperor.

371
00:18:41,324 --> 00:18:44,385
And so this was either Claudius
or potentially Nero, depending

372
00:18:44,385 --> 00:18:49,064
on when, uh, Peter wrote this,
they were to sub be subjected.

373
00:18:49,064 --> 00:18:51,649
They were to submit themselves
to the authority of the em.

374
00:18:52,290 --> 00:18:55,440
And you've probably heard horror stories
of what the emperors would do at this

375
00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:59,190
time, especially Nero, and you can
think about that as regards to what

376
00:18:59,190 --> 00:19:01,440
Peter's calling his audience to do here.

377
00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:05,040
But also he says to the governors
that have sent by them or through

378
00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:08,310
them, and the term governors is
really kind of a catchall term.

379
00:19:08,670 --> 00:19:13,200
Uh, this would've referred to
the the pro pro procurators.

380
00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:17,879
Words are hard sometimes
procurators the pro consoles or

381
00:19:17,879 --> 00:19:21,570
those, even the tax collectors
sent by the emperor on his behalf.

382
00:19:21,629 --> 00:19:24,540
And so these are the authorities
that they were to submit to.

383
00:19:24,540 --> 00:19:27,270
And the reason is, is because their
primary responsibility, if you

384
00:19:27,270 --> 00:19:31,200
look at the text, their primary
responsibility was to punish those who

385
00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:33,600
do evil and praise those who do good.

386
00:19:33,845 --> 00:19:36,629
And, and if that is happening,
that's a good thing.

387
00:19:37,365 --> 00:19:39,284
And so this goes back to
God's design for government.

388
00:19:39,375 --> 00:19:43,274
God designed government to be a,
an institution, an agency of his

389
00:19:43,544 --> 00:19:47,175
that would punish the evil doers
and praise those that do good.

390
00:19:48,524 --> 00:19:51,280
We're seeing that happen a little bit
right now in our current administration.

391
00:19:53,085 --> 00:19:56,415
I don't wanna get overly controversial,
but our current administration is looking

392
00:19:56,415 --> 00:19:58,875
at those that are breaking the law
and saying we are gonna bring justice

393
00:19:58,875 --> 00:20:00,135
against those that are breaking the law.

394
00:20:00,465 --> 00:20:03,525
We're gonna call what is,
what is wrong, what is evil?

395
00:20:03,525 --> 00:20:06,405
What is a law breaking offense,
a law breaking offense, and

396
00:20:06,405 --> 00:20:07,545
we are gonna bring justice.

397
00:20:07,635 --> 00:20:11,115
And then our administration currently
is also praising those that do good.

398
00:20:11,535 --> 00:20:15,090
For example, Charlie Kirk being awarded
the The Medal of Freedom posthumously.

399
00:20:15,870 --> 00:20:19,739
Is an example of holding up somebody
and saying, this one was doing good.

400
00:20:20,159 --> 00:20:22,169
He was seeking the welfare of the nation.

401
00:20:22,169 --> 00:20:24,149
He was standing for things
that were right and good.

402
00:20:24,149 --> 00:20:26,639
And so that is the, the administration
that is our current administration,

403
00:20:26,939 --> 00:20:31,229
commending those that do good and pursuing
justice for those that do evil, right?

404
00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,320
That that's what
government was meant to do.

405
00:20:35,685 --> 00:20:37,604
This is the overarching
design of government.

406
00:20:37,604 --> 00:20:38,685
We see it here in one Peter.

407
00:20:38,685 --> 00:20:41,054
We also see it in Romans chapter 13 or 13.

408
00:20:41,054 --> 00:20:46,365
Yeah, verses three and four for rulers are
not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.

409
00:20:47,024 --> 00:20:48,945
Would you have no fear of
the one who's in authority?

410
00:20:49,155 --> 00:20:52,155
Then do what is good and you
will receive his approval for

411
00:20:52,155 --> 00:20:53,475
He is God's servant for your.

412
00:20:54,255 --> 00:20:57,915
But if you do wrong, be afraid for he
does not bear the sword in vain for

413
00:20:57,915 --> 00:21:02,295
he's the servant of God, an avenger who
carries out God's wrath on the wrong doer.

414
00:21:02,535 --> 00:21:04,155
This is God's design for government.

415
00:21:04,155 --> 00:21:07,185
This is why government exists
to condemn the evil doer and

416
00:21:07,185 --> 00:21:09,555
to praise those that do good.

417
00:21:09,885 --> 00:21:11,095
Does it always work this way?

418
00:21:12,795 --> 00:21:13,095
No.

419
00:21:13,275 --> 00:21:13,605
Right.

420
00:21:13,815 --> 00:21:14,025
No.

421
00:21:14,565 --> 00:21:15,285
Absolutely not.

422
00:21:15,285 --> 00:21:17,985
And, and you've lived through
enough administrations and so have

423
00:21:17,985 --> 00:21:19,155
I had to realize that that's true.

424
00:21:20,010 --> 00:21:21,150
That there's no perfect government.

425
00:21:21,150 --> 00:21:24,240
That government is gonna be corrupted
by sin, and yet there's still good to

426
00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:28,290
be found and to be recognized by us as
Christians when the government does do

427
00:21:28,290 --> 00:21:30,660
this, and we can participate even in this.

428
00:21:30,660 --> 00:21:34,290
And that's what Peter means in verse 15
when he says, this is the will of God.

429
00:21:34,500 --> 00:21:38,160
That by doing good you should put to
silence the ignorance of foolish people.

430
00:21:38,580 --> 00:21:41,490
So when we do good and, and
when we're even recognized

431
00:21:41,490 --> 00:21:42,780
as those that are doing good.

432
00:21:43,470 --> 00:21:45,870
Then we're gonna put to silence
the ignorance of foolish people.

433
00:21:46,230 --> 00:21:49,379
The, the world expected, the, the
Christians, and still does to be

434
00:21:49,379 --> 00:21:52,530
those that are rebellious and those
that are disruptive and those that

435
00:21:52,530 --> 00:21:56,550
are, are anti-authoritarian and
anti-government and all those things.

436
00:21:56,639 --> 00:21:59,185
And there's a time and place for
that that we're gonna get to for.

437
00:21:59,439 --> 00:22:03,129
But there's also a time and place for us
to show the world that, that we can submit

438
00:22:03,129 --> 00:22:04,840
ourselves and and pursue good things.

439
00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,719
This is similar to what we talked
about last week, that by pursuing

440
00:22:07,749 --> 00:22:10,719
honorable behavior amongst the
world, that we will put to silence

441
00:22:10,719 --> 00:22:12,729
those that wish to slander Christ.

442
00:22:12,820 --> 00:22:16,600
And we can do that as well when it
comes to our engagement with politics.

443
00:22:16,959 --> 00:22:19,870
And so we submit because this
is part of God's design when the

444
00:22:19,870 --> 00:22:23,169
government is working the way
that he's called it to work, but.

445
00:22:24,300 --> 00:22:25,050
How do we do that?

446
00:22:25,620 --> 00:22:26,939
How should we submit ourselves?

447
00:22:27,510 --> 00:22:29,010
This is where we look at verse 16.

448
00:22:29,399 --> 00:22:33,449
Peter says, live as people who are free,
not using your freedom as a coverup for

449
00:22:33,449 --> 00:22:35,850
evil, but living as servants of God.

450
00:22:36,735 --> 00:22:39,585
The word live is provided
by the ESV translators.

451
00:22:39,585 --> 00:22:40,785
It's not there in the original Greek.

452
00:22:40,785 --> 00:22:41,715
In the original Greek.

453
00:22:41,895 --> 00:22:44,085
It, it's better to understand
this as Peter's command.

454
00:22:44,085 --> 00:22:45,705
Be subject for the Lord's sake.

455
00:22:45,705 --> 00:22:50,865
And then we get to verse 16 as
people who are free, not using

456
00:22:50,865 --> 00:22:53,475
your freedom as a coverup for evil,
but living as servants of God.

457
00:22:53,715 --> 00:22:55,935
In other words, this is not a
separate command from Peter.

458
00:22:55,995 --> 00:22:58,995
He's still talking about our
submission to governing authorities.

459
00:22:59,235 --> 00:23:02,235
We submit as free people,
which is a bit of a paradox.

460
00:23:02,910 --> 00:23:06,300
You don't often think about a free
person submitting themselves to someone,

461
00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,210
and he's gonna take that paradox even
further 'cause he's about to say that

462
00:23:09,210 --> 00:23:10,860
we are slaves of God on top of that.

463
00:23:11,670 --> 00:23:15,030
Uh, but there's some points about
our submission that are informative

464
00:23:15,030 --> 00:23:18,600
for us here that we can pull from
verse 16 First, we see that our

465
00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,210
submission to the governing authorities
in our lives is freely offered.

466
00:23:22,245 --> 00:23:23,355
We are free.

467
00:23:23,835 --> 00:23:26,655
In fact, we read about this
recently, I believe, in our daily

468
00:23:26,655 --> 00:23:28,935
Bible reading, Matthew chapter 17.

469
00:23:29,175 --> 00:23:33,675
Uh, there's a question about paying
taxes, and they asked Simon Peter, Hey

470
00:23:33,675 --> 00:23:35,445
Simon, why doesn't your teacher pay taxes?

471
00:23:35,445 --> 00:23:36,495
Simon asked Jesus.

472
00:23:36,495 --> 00:23:39,915
Jesus says, well, what do you think
Simon, from whom do Kings of the

473
00:23:39,915 --> 00:23:44,025
Earth take toll and their, their tax
from, from their sons or from others?

474
00:23:44,535 --> 00:23:48,315
When he said from others, Jesus
said to him, then the sons are free.

475
00:23:48,825 --> 00:23:51,495
And yet Jesus then said, however,
do not give an offense to them.

476
00:23:51,495 --> 00:23:52,065
Go to the sea.

477
00:23:52,065 --> 00:23:52,665
Cast a hook.

478
00:23:52,665 --> 00:23:55,215
Take the fish that comes up, and when
you open his mouth, you'll find a shekel.

479
00:23:55,515 --> 00:23:58,335
Take that and give it to
them for me and for yourself.

480
00:23:58,515 --> 00:24:02,025
And so Jesus is saying that because
of our EE, essentially because

481
00:24:02,025 --> 00:24:05,445
of our heavenly citizenships
being sons of God, we are free.

482
00:24:06,284 --> 00:24:10,935
And yet we can still submit even as he
models for us here, as those who are free.

483
00:24:11,205 --> 00:24:13,514
So our submission is freely rendered.

484
00:24:13,695 --> 00:24:14,864
It's freely rendered.

485
00:24:15,074 --> 00:24:17,415
Second, our submission though,
being freely rendered is

486
00:24:17,415 --> 00:24:19,064
still not an excuse for evil.

487
00:24:20,175 --> 00:24:21,885
It's, it's not a coverup for evil.

488
00:24:23,175 --> 00:24:27,675
I, I think of the person that's pulled
over by the police officer because

489
00:24:27,675 --> 00:24:29,114
they're clearly breaking the law.

490
00:24:29,114 --> 00:24:29,895
They're speeding.

491
00:24:30,689 --> 00:24:33,539
And they refuse to acknowledge the
authority of the police officer.

492
00:24:33,539 --> 00:24:35,489
They want to say, well,
I'm a sovereign citizen.

493
00:24:35,489 --> 00:24:37,110
I'm exercising my sovereign rights.

494
00:24:37,110 --> 00:24:38,370
I don't have to do what you tell me.

495
00:24:39,449 --> 00:24:41,789
Okay, you can go to, you can go
to jail, like you're gonna get

496
00:24:41,789 --> 00:24:43,469
handcuffed and be taken to jail.

497
00:24:43,469 --> 00:24:45,149
That's, that's your freedom, I suppose.

498
00:24:45,659 --> 00:24:49,320
But that would be an example of using
our freedom as a coverup for evil.

499
00:24:50,284 --> 00:24:52,620
And so it's freely rendered,
but it's not an excuse for evil.

500
00:24:52,620 --> 00:24:55,979
Third, it's, it's offered, as I mentioned
a moment ago, as slaves of the Lord.

501
00:24:56,834 --> 00:25:00,044
As servants is the word, but the,
the idea there is is slaves of God.

502
00:25:00,735 --> 00:25:04,155
So we are to be subject as people
who are free, not using our freedom

503
00:25:04,155 --> 00:25:07,215
as a coverup for evil, but living
as servants or slaves of God.

504
00:25:07,425 --> 00:25:11,084
Though we are free from our slavery
of sin, we are not autonomously free

505
00:25:11,235 --> 00:25:15,495
as Christians, we are been brought
into, in Roman six talks about this.

506
00:25:15,644 --> 00:25:20,804
We have been brought into a subjection
to now a servitude to the Lord to God.

507
00:25:21,225 --> 00:25:24,225
And so that means our freedom
in Christ is a servi freedom.

508
00:25:24,794 --> 00:25:30,314
Our freedom is a freedom to do what is
right as the Lord and Savior sees fit.

509
00:25:32,354 --> 00:25:36,195
And this last part that our freedom is A,
a freedom subjected to the Lord is what

510
00:25:36,195 --> 00:25:38,534
leads us to this exception clause here.

511
00:25:39,495 --> 00:25:41,235
This is the part that
you've been waiting for.

512
00:25:41,264 --> 00:25:41,475
Okay?

513
00:25:41,475 --> 00:25:43,514
When are you gonna tell me that
I don't have to obey, right?

514
00:25:43,544 --> 00:25:43,634
Mm-hmm.

515
00:25:45,074 --> 00:25:47,445
Back in verse 13, I skipped over
a phrase and I did it on purpose

516
00:25:47,445 --> 00:25:48,764
'cause I wanted to get here first.

517
00:25:49,634 --> 00:25:50,894
Peter says, be subject.

518
00:25:50,985 --> 00:25:53,144
And then he says, what
For the Lord's sake.

519
00:25:54,375 --> 00:25:55,785
Be subject for the Lord's sake.

520
00:25:55,845 --> 00:25:59,355
So when we understand as servants of the
Lord and that our submission is for the

521
00:25:59,355 --> 00:26:02,775
Lord's sake, what we begin to understand
is what we talked about at the beginning.

522
00:26:02,775 --> 00:26:05,775
That as followers of Christ,
our ultimate authority is God.

523
00:26:05,775 --> 00:26:11,235
And our ultimate standard is his word,
him being our, our primary authority

524
00:26:11,235 --> 00:26:14,835
is going to, that is gonna govern
how we understand our submission

525
00:26:15,015 --> 00:26:18,255
to any authority in this world, let
alone the governing authorities.

526
00:26:19,379 --> 00:26:21,689
For Peter and his audience, one of
the ways that this would've provided

527
00:26:21,689 --> 00:26:25,830
a, a, a specifically challenging, uh,
context is through the Imperial cult,

528
00:26:26,884 --> 00:26:31,499
the the emperor worship, that there were
citizens of Rome that were required to

529
00:26:31,499 --> 00:26:35,790
come and render an offering to Caesar
and, and proclaim Caesar is Lord.

530
00:26:36,689 --> 00:26:40,229
And Christians could not under a good
conscience, subject themselves to that.

531
00:26:40,229 --> 00:26:42,090
They couldn't submit to that
command because that would

532
00:26:42,090 --> 00:26:44,639
be to offend and disobey God.

533
00:26:46,905 --> 00:26:52,514
Once we have come to see government as,
as God's creation, we have to conclude

534
00:26:52,514 --> 00:26:55,695
that we have some obligation to it
and we do have an obligation to it.

535
00:26:56,024 --> 00:27:00,044
Generally speaking, we should submit
to the government that God has put

536
00:27:00,044 --> 00:27:05,925
over us that said that submission
isn't blind trust, and it's not

537
00:27:05,925 --> 00:27:08,925
without his parameters, and the
parameters that God has given to us

538
00:27:08,925 --> 00:27:10,635
are found in the pages of God's word.

539
00:27:11,699 --> 00:27:16,769
Our second point this morning, along
those lines is this submit only so far as

540
00:27:16,769 --> 00:27:27,989
a biblically informed conscience allows,
it's a lot of words submit only so far as

541
00:27:27,989 --> 00:27:30,090
a biblically informed conscience allows.

542
00:27:33,315 --> 00:27:34,365
This is the parameter.

543
00:27:35,145 --> 00:27:39,855
Put another way, obey the governing
authorities, except when and

544
00:27:39,855 --> 00:27:45,945
until they're commanding you to
sin, obey until or accept where

545
00:27:45,945 --> 00:27:47,535
they're commanding you to sin.

546
00:27:49,035 --> 00:27:51,705
And, and this y'all is
where we see the simplicity.

547
00:27:52,215 --> 00:27:55,515
And yet the, the profundity of this,
the simplicity and the complexity

548
00:27:55,515 --> 00:27:59,265
both together, the standard,
the guideline is very simple.

549
00:28:00,104 --> 00:28:01,784
Obey unless it's gonna make you sin.

550
00:28:02,985 --> 00:28:07,455
The complex part is determining
what constitutes sin, and that's

551
00:28:07,455 --> 00:28:08,655
something that we have to wrestle with.

552
00:28:09,614 --> 00:28:13,485
The word sin comes from a, a Greek word
that literally means to miss the mark.

553
00:28:14,385 --> 00:28:15,225
To miss the mark.

554
00:28:15,554 --> 00:28:20,370
Synonyms include transgressing,
falling short, incurring guilt.

555
00:28:21,885 --> 00:28:25,215
And so in other words, I can't
subject myself for the Lord's sake

556
00:28:25,274 --> 00:28:27,764
as a servant of God to any authority.

557
00:28:27,795 --> 00:28:33,375
If the authority is telling me, asking
me, ordering me, commanding me to break

558
00:28:33,375 --> 00:28:39,615
his law, or to transgress his commandments
or to fall short of his standards where

559
00:28:39,615 --> 00:28:40,875
those found, they're found in the Bible.

560
00:28:40,875 --> 00:28:43,455
That's why we have to have a biblically
informed conscience for this.

561
00:28:44,685 --> 00:28:47,385
One of the clearest examples I think
that we find in the pages of God's

562
00:28:47,385 --> 00:28:48,945
Word is found in Acts chapter four.

563
00:28:49,950 --> 00:28:53,879
Peter and John had been out ministering
Peter and John had just healed a lame man.

564
00:28:54,149 --> 00:28:58,409
Peter and John were, uh, attracting a
massive crowd and the religious leaders

565
00:28:58,409 --> 00:29:02,760
of the Jews, the Sanhedrin, which was a
governing body of the Jewish people, a, a

566
00:29:02,764 --> 00:29:04,560
a people with, with governing authority.

567
00:29:04,889 --> 00:29:06,810
They called Peter and John before them.

568
00:29:07,634 --> 00:29:08,955
And they concluded at the end.

569
00:29:08,955 --> 00:29:12,225
Look, I guess all we can do right now
is just tell them they have to stop.

570
00:29:12,764 --> 00:29:16,485
And so they call Peter and John in and
they say, you can't do this anymore.

571
00:29:16,514 --> 00:29:19,455
You can't preach Christ anymore.

572
00:29:19,544 --> 00:29:20,175
Stop it.

573
00:29:21,524 --> 00:29:24,915
Peter responds and he said, whether
it's right in the sight of God, and

574
00:29:24,915 --> 00:29:26,115
that's what we're talking about.

575
00:29:26,745 --> 00:29:27,554
That's our question.

576
00:29:27,554 --> 00:29:28,334
That's the standard.

577
00:29:28,334 --> 00:29:31,935
That's where we have to do the hard
work as Christians to be careful

578
00:29:31,935 --> 00:29:33,435
to think and to contemplate.

579
00:29:33,645 --> 00:29:35,385
Is this right in the sight of God?

580
00:29:35,685 --> 00:29:38,024
Peter says, whether it's right
in the sight of God to listen

581
00:29:38,024 --> 00:29:39,375
to you rather than to God.

582
00:29:39,584 --> 00:29:40,814
You must judge for.

583
00:29:40,814 --> 00:29:43,094
We cannot, but speak of what we have seen.

584
00:29:43,385 --> 00:29:47,825
And what we have heard, Jesus had
commissioned the apostles to go and

585
00:29:47,825 --> 00:29:51,395
be the witnesses of his resurrection
to go and proclaim the gospel.

586
00:29:51,455 --> 00:29:54,905
And these people were telling
the apostles, stop doing

587
00:29:54,905 --> 00:29:56,465
what Jesus told you to do.

588
00:29:57,065 --> 00:29:59,075
And so this was not a problem
for them to have a biblically

589
00:29:59,075 --> 00:30:02,075
informed conscience that said, no,
we're not gonna obey you in this.

590
00:30:02,105 --> 00:30:02,405
Right.

591
00:30:03,965 --> 00:30:05,555
So when we talk about conscience though.

592
00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:07,290
What are we talking about?

593
00:30:07,649 --> 00:30:09,750
We probably need to, to do a
little bit of work on that term.

594
00:30:10,139 --> 00:30:11,100
Uh, conscience is this.

595
00:30:11,100 --> 00:30:13,980
William Ames, a Puritan writer,
says, the conscience of a man is a

596
00:30:13,980 --> 00:30:18,659
man's judgment of himself according
to the judgment of God of him.

597
00:30:19,470 --> 00:30:23,220
So it's our judgment of ourselves
according to God's judgment of us.

598
00:30:24,389 --> 00:30:27,419
And so we're gonna assess ourselves,
our actions, the things that we

599
00:30:27,419 --> 00:30:30,629
do, our behavior according to what
God thinks about those things.

600
00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:33,360
That's what should be
informing our conscience.

601
00:30:35,295 --> 00:30:38,985
There's another author, um, another
Puritan author, William Fenner.

602
00:30:38,985 --> 00:30:40,125
And, and Fenner put it this way.

603
00:30:40,155 --> 00:30:44,625
He says, conscience is joined in
commission with God's own spirit to

604
00:30:44,625 --> 00:30:49,004
be an instructor unto us in the way
we should walk, so that the spirit and

605
00:30:49,004 --> 00:30:53,024
it are resisted, and obeyed together
and grieved or delighted together.

606
00:30:54,629 --> 00:30:57,899
And so there Fenner is basically just
saying when you're in Christ, the idea

607
00:30:57,899 --> 00:31:02,189
is that the conscience is wed to the
Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and the way

608
00:31:02,189 --> 00:31:05,790
that happens is the more we ingest
God's word, the more we give ourselves

609
00:31:06,030 --> 00:31:09,629
over to the study of scriptures, the
more biblically informed we are, the

610
00:31:09,629 --> 00:31:12,629
more our consciences will be biblically
informed, and the more we will be able

611
00:31:12,659 --> 00:31:16,560
to make decisions that are right and true
according to what God wants us to do.

612
00:31:19,470 --> 00:31:21,780
For the disciples, their biblically
informed conscience told them they were

613
00:31:21,780 --> 00:31:23,730
not free to obey the Jewish authorities.

614
00:31:25,830 --> 00:31:29,670
There's, there's probably, again, maybe
not three, but, but two groups that I

615
00:31:29,670 --> 00:31:34,680
could speak to in this room that would
hit a lot of us when it comes to this idea

616
00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:36,210
of our biblically informed conscience.

617
00:31:36,215 --> 00:31:38,730
The, the first group would be the
group that, that's not bringing

618
00:31:38,730 --> 00:31:41,520
their conscience into matters
of political engagement enough.

619
00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:46,620
This group is, is kind of on
in the the go along mentality.

620
00:31:47,850 --> 00:31:50,250
Probably a lot of those that would
be in that disinterested group that

621
00:31:50,250 --> 00:31:51,690
I talked about earlier this morning.

622
00:31:52,409 --> 00:31:54,870
This is the group that that's willing
to just kind of go with the flow.

623
00:31:54,870 --> 00:31:58,260
The, the separate and sacred are
separate categories for this group,

624
00:31:59,895 --> 00:32:03,030
and, and, and this group is, is
ready to disobey if something major

625
00:32:03,030 --> 00:32:06,870
happens, but their assumption is
nothing major is really gonna happen,

626
00:32:07,169 --> 00:32:09,810
and so I'm just gonna go along with
the flow and not think much of it.

627
00:32:11,429 --> 00:32:15,450
This passage in one Peter should remind
you if, if that's where you're at,

628
00:32:15,450 --> 00:32:17,040
that even if you're going to obey.

629
00:32:17,865 --> 00:32:22,755
Your obedience should be offered first and
foremost as a submission to the Lord and

630
00:32:22,755 --> 00:32:24,195
only then a submission to the government.

631
00:32:25,185 --> 00:32:28,215
In other words, if, if you find that
it's pretty easy for you to submit to the

632
00:32:28,215 --> 00:32:30,825
things that the government is calling you
to do, such that it doesn't really ruffle

633
00:32:30,825 --> 00:32:33,825
any feathers in your life, and it's not
really anything that you lose sleep over.

634
00:32:35,070 --> 00:32:35,399
You know what?

635
00:32:35,399 --> 00:32:36,240
Praise God for that.

636
00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:39,960
And at the same time, remember that
your simple act of submission is

637
00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:42,480
really more about your submission
to the Lord than it is about your

638
00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:44,070
submission to the governing authorities.

639
00:32:44,310 --> 00:32:46,710
That's why we have to bring our,
our conscience in, even when

640
00:32:46,710 --> 00:32:49,230
it's something that's easy for
us to do or that we agree with.

641
00:32:50,190 --> 00:32:55,290
For example, your obedience to the speed
limit is less about your obedience to

642
00:32:55,290 --> 00:32:58,260
the governing authorities that posted
that speed limit, and it's more about

643
00:32:58,260 --> 00:33:02,639
your obedience to the Lord because you
are submitting as a servant of God.

644
00:33:04,919 --> 00:33:05,760
Paying taxes.

645
00:33:06,750 --> 00:33:08,310
I'm gonna bring that up
again in just a minute here.

646
00:33:08,909 --> 00:33:12,899
But paying taxes is more about an act
of worship to God than it is an act

647
00:33:12,899 --> 00:33:16,679
of worship or rendering any sort of
submission to the governing authorities.

648
00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:23,040
Casting a vote on election day
is an act of worship more than it

649
00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:26,639
is about you as a citizen of this
country doing your citizenly duty.

650
00:33:27,990 --> 00:33:31,530
And so I'm just saying, I, I, I think
all of us, whether it's easy for you

651
00:33:31,530 --> 00:33:34,260
or whether you're skeptical of what
the government's doing, we need to

652
00:33:34,260 --> 00:33:35,760
remember that, that God is in it.

653
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:41,730
All that secular sacred divide is, is
a false dichotomy that when we operate

654
00:33:41,730 --> 00:33:44,640
and when we do these things, when you
drive on the road and you obey the

655
00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:48,450
traffic laws, you are offering an act
of worship to the Lord because you're

656
00:33:48,450 --> 00:33:51,870
subjecting to yourself, to the governing
authorities as a servant of God.

657
00:33:53,729 --> 00:33:56,699
The second group though, this is the
group that probably brings the conscience

658
00:33:56,699 --> 00:33:58,259
in maybe a little bit too much.

659
00:33:58,620 --> 00:34:00,899
Only in that the conscience
begins to be informed by personal

660
00:34:00,899 --> 00:34:02,429
preferences more than the word of God.

661
00:34:04,649 --> 00:34:07,590
There there's matters of preference
that aren't the same thing as as

662
00:34:07,590 --> 00:34:10,679
matters of sin matters of conscience,

663
00:34:13,050 --> 00:34:17,340
for example, where the
government spends your tax money.

664
00:34:18,495 --> 00:34:22,094
I don't believe is a, is a, a
matter of your personal holiness.

665
00:34:23,324 --> 00:34:25,965
And I know that's, that's, that's
controversial and, and I, I understand

666
00:34:25,965 --> 00:34:30,375
that, and I, and I don't say that
lightly because I know there have

667
00:34:30,375 --> 00:34:34,125
been times and, and may come times
again where our tax money has gone

668
00:34:34,125 --> 00:34:38,685
to fund things like abortion, gender
reassignment surgery, things like

669
00:34:38,685 --> 00:34:41,054
that, that I am abhorrently opposed to.

670
00:34:43,514 --> 00:34:45,885
And yet at the same
time, I, I think back to.

671
00:34:46,395 --> 00:34:50,655
The era that Peter wrote and the
era that Paul wrote and the era

672
00:34:50,655 --> 00:34:54,435
that Jesus was was living in when
he commanded those to pay taxes.

673
00:34:54,435 --> 00:34:58,305
And we have to remember that the Roman
Imperial cult, the the emperors, what

674
00:34:58,305 --> 00:34:59,595
were they using the tax money for?

675
00:34:59,595 --> 00:35:00,975
They were building coliseums.

676
00:35:01,755 --> 00:35:03,465
They were holding gladiatorial combats.

677
00:35:03,465 --> 00:35:06,885
They were throwing Christians
to the wild animals and funding

678
00:35:06,885 --> 00:35:09,465
that with the tax money that was
being paid by some in the church.

679
00:35:11,595 --> 00:35:15,795
And so there seems to be that God
allows for there to be a, a separation

680
00:35:15,825 --> 00:35:22,695
of complicity between us and what the
funds are ultimately gonna be used

681
00:35:22,695 --> 00:35:24,405
for by the ones that use those funds.

682
00:35:25,575 --> 00:35:29,235
Now, the protests may come in
and say, okay, but what if we

683
00:35:29,235 --> 00:35:30,615
become aware of those things?

684
00:35:30,615 --> 00:35:33,405
What if we now all of a sudden are
told by our government, you are

685
00:35:33,405 --> 00:35:36,495
paying our taxes to us and now we're
gonna take your taxes and go to

686
00:35:36,495 --> 00:35:38,865
use them to fund these things here.

687
00:35:41,325 --> 00:35:44,025
This is why we need the
church in one another.

688
00:35:44,865 --> 00:35:49,424
This is where it gets really hard, and
if you are gonna make a, a decision

689
00:35:49,424 --> 00:35:52,424
in, in a personal act of conscience
to say, you know what, I, I think

690
00:35:52,424 --> 00:35:59,924
biblically I need to withhold my taxes,
then I would say, okay, I want you not

691
00:35:59,924 --> 00:36:03,285
to sin against your conscience, and
I also want you to be ready to face

692
00:36:03,285 --> 00:36:04,665
the consequences for those decisions.

693
00:36:07,230 --> 00:36:11,760
And there may come a time for that for
us as Christians, and this is what I

694
00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:14,250
mean, that, that there's, there's not
gonna be the black and white answer

695
00:36:14,250 --> 00:36:15,690
that we need every time on this.

696
00:36:16,260 --> 00:36:18,330
That we need to be able to apply wisdom.

697
00:36:18,330 --> 00:36:21,780
We need to seek counsel, we need to,
to have our, our mind saturated with as

698
00:36:21,780 --> 00:36:23,370
much of God's word as we possibly can.

699
00:36:24,060 --> 00:36:26,490
And then I would say this,
I don't think it's wrong.

700
00:36:26,490 --> 00:36:29,670
In fact, I, I think it's absolutely
right that we as Christians vote against.

701
00:36:30,795 --> 00:36:34,005
The use of our tax funds for
these sinful things, I think it's

702
00:36:34,005 --> 00:36:35,355
right that we lobby against them.

703
00:36:35,355 --> 00:36:37,275
I think it's even right
that we would protest.

704
00:36:37,275 --> 00:36:40,215
I think when we look at the rights
that we have as believers, so long

705
00:36:40,215 --> 00:36:42,884
as these rights are not leading us
into sin, I think we should use every

706
00:36:42,884 --> 00:36:46,545
right at our disposal to fight against
evil being present in our country.

707
00:36:47,985 --> 00:36:50,805
What this is from Peter, and what I'm
suggesting here I don't believe is,

708
00:36:50,805 --> 00:36:52,529
is him calling for us to be a doormat?

709
00:36:54,045 --> 00:36:58,725
I think it's for us to be careful
to make sure that when we resist, we

710
00:36:58,725 --> 00:37:01,485
are truly resisting because we can
say this is truly something that I

711
00:37:01,485 --> 00:37:04,545
can't do for the sake of the Lord.

712
00:37:04,605 --> 00:37:06,465
I can't do as a servant of God.

713
00:37:08,055 --> 00:37:09,045
Lemme give another example.

714
00:37:09,915 --> 00:37:14,205
If the government were to come to us and
say, you need to register your church

715
00:37:14,265 --> 00:37:18,045
with us, we're making a, a national
registry of all of the churches in.

716
00:37:18,885 --> 00:37:19,425
The country.

717
00:37:20,490 --> 00:37:24,105
I, I honestly, y'all, I could not
argue that that would be sinful

718
00:37:24,105 --> 00:37:25,305
to register with the government.

719
00:37:26,115 --> 00:37:29,475
I'd have questions, I'd say,
man, I, I don't know that I love

720
00:37:29,475 --> 00:37:30,615
that about the administration.

721
00:37:30,615 --> 00:37:33,405
Let's see if we can change some of that
and let's, how can we go about what,

722
00:37:33,405 --> 00:37:35,265
what access do we have to do that?

723
00:37:35,625 --> 00:37:38,025
But I don't know that I
could in that moment say, no.

724
00:37:40,485 --> 00:37:41,475
It might get there.

725
00:37:42,555 --> 00:37:46,695
For example, if you go to China, the
government wants churches to be registered

726
00:37:46,695 --> 00:37:49,425
in China so that they can control
what's being taught from the pulpit.

727
00:37:50,415 --> 00:37:53,355
All of a sudden when we gain more
information, now we have a different

728
00:37:53,355 --> 00:37:54,945
understanding of what the stakes are.

729
00:37:56,295 --> 00:37:58,845
And so if that were the case, if they
were saying, we want you to register

730
00:37:58,845 --> 00:38:01,695
so that we can come in and control what
you're teaching and preaching there,

731
00:38:01,905 --> 00:38:03,495
we're gonna say thanks, but no thanks.

732
00:38:04,305 --> 00:38:07,365
And again, like I said a moment ago,
be prepared to suffer the consequences.

733
00:38:09,990 --> 00:38:12,690
If the government were to put
tight restrictions on what types

734
00:38:12,690 --> 00:38:15,360
of guns that you can and can't own,

735
00:38:17,670 --> 00:38:20,820
that may sin against the Second
Amendment in your eyes, but I

736
00:38:20,820 --> 00:38:21,960
don't know that that's a sin.

737
00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:26,940
Biblically speaking, you may not like
it, and I'm not again asking you to like

738
00:38:26,940 --> 00:38:31,380
it, but I'm asking you to understand
that, that we can't conflate the

739
00:38:31,380 --> 00:38:34,710
constitutional rights that we have
and the biblical rights that we have.

740
00:38:37,020 --> 00:38:38,340
Praise God for the Constitution.

741
00:38:39,450 --> 00:38:41,190
Love it, thankful for it.

742
00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:44,820
But at the same time, think
about Paul in Acts chapter 16.

743
00:38:46,230 --> 00:38:50,790
Paul is a Roman citizen in a Roman
colony, is arrested and wrongly

744
00:38:50,790 --> 00:38:55,650
imprisoned, and yet he doesn't
immediately throw a flag on the plane

745
00:38:55,650 --> 00:38:56,640
and say, what are you guys doing?

746
00:38:56,640 --> 00:38:57,960
Don't you know I'm a Roman citizen?

747
00:38:57,960 --> 00:38:59,520
You're infringing upon my rights.

748
00:39:01,290 --> 00:39:01,950
Paul said.

749
00:39:03,015 --> 00:39:04,125
Hey, let's, let's pray.

750
00:39:04,305 --> 00:39:04,965
Let's sing.

751
00:39:06,315 --> 00:39:07,485
There's this earthquake.

752
00:39:07,725 --> 00:39:10,215
The jail cells open the jailer's,
like, oh, man, I'm done.

753
00:39:10,215 --> 00:39:11,385
I'm, I'm gonna end my life.

754
00:39:12,045 --> 00:39:13,185
Paul says, don't hurt yourself.

755
00:39:13,185 --> 00:39:14,235
We're all still here.

756
00:39:15,405 --> 00:39:17,955
That man and his family get led to Christ.

757
00:39:19,155 --> 00:39:22,365
And then Paul says, oh, by the way,
there's this matter of my citizenship.

758
00:39:23,805 --> 00:39:26,385
And so Paul was willing for the sake
of the gospel to set aside some of his

759
00:39:26,385 --> 00:39:28,875
rights that he had to serve the Lord.

760
00:39:31,050 --> 00:39:35,070
And so I'm, I'm, I'm not suggesting
that we despise the rights that

761
00:39:35,070 --> 00:39:36,120
we have as American citizens.

762
00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:38,550
We just can't conflate being an
American with being a Christian.

763
00:39:40,260 --> 00:39:44,400
And some of those rights may be taken
away and we may have to subject to

764
00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:45,690
some of those things being taken away.

765
00:39:46,380 --> 00:39:47,160
Again, not as doormats.

766
00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:49,560
We can fight, we can use the
venues that God gives us to, to

767
00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:50,790
pursue correction to those things.

768
00:39:50,790 --> 00:39:53,160
We can try to vote people out
of office and lobby and protest.

769
00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:57,090
We can do all of those things and I, I
would say we should as good stewards.

770
00:39:58,904 --> 00:40:01,935
But we have to be careful if we're
gonna say, no, I'm not going to subject,

771
00:40:01,935 --> 00:40:05,175
I'm going to disobey the command to
subject to the governing authorities.

772
00:40:05,205 --> 00:40:08,865
I have to make sure that I'm doing
that on the solid ground, that

773
00:40:08,865 --> 00:40:13,455
this is something that I am sinning
in if I obey what they're doing.

774
00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:19,830
Richard Baxter talks about a,
a dangerous error he calls it.

775
00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:23,040
He says There's a dangerous error
grown too common in the world that

776
00:40:23,040 --> 00:40:26,430
a man is bound to do everything,
which his conscious tells him is

777
00:40:26,430 --> 00:40:30,450
the will of God, and that every man
must obey his conscience as if it

778
00:40:30,450 --> 00:40:32,040
were the law giver of the world.

779
00:40:32,040 --> 00:40:37,170
Whereas indeed, it is not ourselves,
but God that is our law giver.

780
00:40:39,779 --> 00:40:42,330
So we have to make sure that our,
our conscience is truly biblically

781
00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:45,765
informed and not that our conscience
is informing our view of the Bible.

782
00:40:48,570 --> 00:40:53,220
During 2020, this whole conversation
left the realm of the theoretical and

783
00:40:53,220 --> 00:40:57,060
landed in our laps at the church where
Pastor Rod and I were serving together.

784
00:40:58,110 --> 00:41:01,770
Suddenly, we were receiving mandates
from governing officials telling us

785
00:41:01,770 --> 00:41:04,110
where we could and couldn't hold church.

786
00:41:04,140 --> 00:41:10,200
How many people could gather at one time
together, even in a home where I had to

787
00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:12,720
wear a mask where I had to be vaccinated.

788
00:41:13,245 --> 00:41:17,175
Uh, whether we could sing, whether
we were allowed to be outside

789
00:41:17,175 --> 00:41:19,515
singing together or inside singing.

790
00:41:20,805 --> 00:41:23,805
We were told at one point that to
visit someone from our church in

791
00:41:23,805 --> 00:41:27,165
the hospital, we had to have proof
with us of our COVID-19 vaccine

792
00:41:29,445 --> 00:41:30,285
as pastors.

793
00:41:30,285 --> 00:41:33,675
During this time, we would gather
together daily to talk about things.

794
00:41:34,425 --> 00:41:36,825
We would look at the latest mandates,
we would look at the numbers of

795
00:41:36,825 --> 00:41:38,535
hospitalizations, the deaths.

796
00:41:39,465 --> 00:41:42,765
And we would together pray and
seek the Lord's will for how

797
00:41:42,765 --> 00:41:43,905
we should shepherd our church.

798
00:41:43,905 --> 00:41:44,625
Through that season,

799
00:41:47,385 --> 00:41:50,925
we did make some decisions that went
against the mandates during that time,

800
00:41:52,545 --> 00:41:55,785
and yet there were also decisions that
we made that were biblically informed.

801
00:41:55,785 --> 00:42:00,465
Every time we did that, for example,
they said, no singing, and we

802
00:42:00,465 --> 00:42:03,375
said, no, we're still gonna sing
because it's a biblical command.

803
00:42:03,375 --> 00:42:08,280
This is part of what the church does when
it, she gathers together, so we sang.

804
00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:13,529
We still gathered in homes because
again, the, the meeting together of the

805
00:42:13,529 --> 00:42:17,310
church body is still something that, that
God's word calls us as Christians to do.

806
00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:23,970
And we didn't enforce mask policies
or the vaccination on our staff

807
00:42:23,970 --> 00:42:27,390
because we felt that there was also a
biblical command to steward our bodies.

808
00:42:27,390 --> 00:42:30,570
Well, that could not be usurp
by a governmental mandates.

809
00:42:33,750 --> 00:42:35,250
On the other hand, when they said.

810
00:42:36,810 --> 00:42:41,520
Move outside we did because we
had space to be able to do that.

811
00:42:42,990 --> 00:42:45,360
So when the government said you need
to move outside, we did because we

812
00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:49,170
could, we had space and we were also
in a climate in Southern California

813
00:42:49,170 --> 00:42:53,220
that we were able to do that and,
and that allowed us to continue to

814
00:42:53,220 --> 00:42:55,020
worship and to continue to do church.

815
00:42:55,020 --> 00:42:55,590
Was it ideal?

816
00:42:55,590 --> 00:42:58,170
No, but we, we felt like, okay, we
don't feel like they're asking us to

817
00:42:58,170 --> 00:42:59,760
sin by moving outside to have church.

818
00:43:01,575 --> 00:43:05,325
For some churches they did and, and that
was also a biblically informed decision.

819
00:43:05,325 --> 00:43:07,875
There were some churches that looked
at their body and said, we don't

820
00:43:07,875 --> 00:43:09,495
have a, a parking lot, large enough.

821
00:43:09,495 --> 00:43:12,525
We don't have a space where we can
gather outside so effectively by

822
00:43:12,525 --> 00:43:15,375
asking us to be outside, the government
is asking us not to have church.

823
00:43:15,525 --> 00:43:17,085
Sorry, that's a deal breaker.

824
00:43:17,145 --> 00:43:19,185
We're still gonna gather and
we're gonna gather inside.

825
00:43:20,325 --> 00:43:22,785
That was still a right decision, I
believe, for them to make because it

826
00:43:22,785 --> 00:43:23,895
was a biblically informed decision.

827
00:43:27,615 --> 00:43:31,110
I, I, I hope we never have a
situation like that come up again.

828
00:43:32,700 --> 00:43:36,120
But if we do, it's situations like
that, they're gonna take these

829
00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:39,720
things out of the theoretical and
again, bring them into our lab.

830
00:43:41,310 --> 00:43:43,950
And Peter's not asking for us
to agree with every decision the

831
00:43:43,950 --> 00:43:46,710
government makes, or even to like
every decision the government makes.

832
00:43:48,390 --> 00:43:49,620
Use your freedoms.

833
00:43:49,620 --> 00:43:52,585
Use your rights to exercise and affect
the change that you want to see.

834
00:43:54,315 --> 00:43:58,875
But he is asking for heart to trust
the Lord enough to submit unless

835
00:43:58,875 --> 00:44:00,255
it's directly leading you to sin,

836
00:44:02,985 --> 00:44:03,645
and don't lose sight of.

837
00:44:03,645 --> 00:44:06,075
The big reason for this, again, for
this is the will of God that by doing

838
00:44:06,075 --> 00:44:10,245
so, you should put to silence the
ignorance of foolish people, that

839
00:44:10,245 --> 00:44:13,605
we would be able to rob the world
of ammo to critique our savior.

840
00:44:16,095 --> 00:44:19,424
If you're in the medical field,
say you're an ob, GYN, and the

841
00:44:19,424 --> 00:44:21,975
government comes to you and says,
you have to perform abortions.

842
00:44:23,295 --> 00:44:27,495
Should you continue to practice if
the government makes that declaration?

843
00:44:27,525 --> 00:44:28,575
I would say the answer is no.

844
00:44:29,595 --> 00:44:32,205
That's a case where your disobedience
is preferable to obedience, even if

845
00:44:32,205 --> 00:44:35,295
it costs you your job because you're
going, they're asking you to sin.

846
00:44:36,525 --> 00:44:39,435
If the government comes to us as pastors
and says, you have to perform same sex

847
00:44:39,435 --> 00:44:41,955
weddings, should we acquiesce to that?

848
00:44:41,955 --> 00:44:45,645
And I would say the answer is
absolutely not, because that is

849
00:44:45,645 --> 00:44:48,075
asking us to do something that is sin.

850
00:44:49,725 --> 00:44:51,765
And so there are situations where.

851
00:44:52,350 --> 00:44:54,630
We would say, now it's time to disobey.

852
00:44:55,500 --> 00:44:58,590
We just have to be careful about those
situations and make sure we are making

853
00:44:58,590 --> 00:45:00,570
decisions that are biblically informed.

854
00:45:00,900 --> 00:45:02,100
This is a tall order.

855
00:45:02,670 --> 00:45:05,640
This is a massive order, and it's
one that's really complicated when

856
00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:08,010
we get down into the weeds and
we've just barely scratched the

857
00:45:08,010 --> 00:45:09,360
surface this morning together.

858
00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:12,930
But if we're gonna make such important
consequential decisions for us and our

859
00:45:12,930 --> 00:45:17,280
families based on biblically informed
consciences, this is obvious, but we

860
00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:19,680
have to make sure that our consciences
are indeed biblically informed.

861
00:45:21,885 --> 00:45:22,335
Two things.

862
00:45:22,335 --> 00:45:24,975
On that note, that's one of the reasons
why we do the Daily Bible reading

863
00:45:26,115 --> 00:45:28,815
among others, but that's one of the
reasons why we're saying we want

864
00:45:28,815 --> 00:45:30,195
you in God's word every single day.

865
00:45:31,095 --> 00:45:33,825
It's one of the reasons why Pastor Rod
and I do the the Daily Bible Podcast.

866
00:45:35,175 --> 00:45:39,225
It's why we encourage that,
because the more you are in the

867
00:45:39,225 --> 00:45:41,445
word of God, the more biblically
informed your conscience will be.

868
00:45:42,675 --> 00:45:44,775
It's hard to have a biblically
informed conscience that's

869
00:45:44,775 --> 00:45:46,030
not informed by the Bible.

870
00:45:47,730 --> 00:45:51,780
So being in God's word on a regular
basis because it is our ultimate standard

871
00:45:51,780 --> 00:45:54,090
and authority in this is so important.

872
00:45:54,090 --> 00:45:55,290
And then the second thing is this.

873
00:45:55,650 --> 00:45:58,590
If you want your conscience to be
biblically informed, this is another

874
00:45:58,590 --> 00:46:02,310
reason why the church is so important,
and I've hit this already this morning.

875
00:46:02,310 --> 00:46:03,090
Lemme just hit it again.

876
00:46:03,090 --> 00:46:06,210
It's so good to have brothers and
sisters in Christ who will help you make

877
00:46:06,210 --> 00:46:10,170
decisions or who will help be right there
with you thinking through these issues

878
00:46:10,170 --> 00:46:11,500
as we make these decisions together.

879
00:46:13,140 --> 00:46:15,060
And so we want to be there
to, to help you with that.

880
00:46:15,060 --> 00:46:17,850
And if you're facing a decision
individually, maybe you've got a situation

881
00:46:17,850 --> 00:46:20,010
at work or you've got a situation,
we're gonna talk about work a little

882
00:46:20,010 --> 00:46:22,650
bit more next week, but maybe you've
got a situation with the government

883
00:46:22,650 --> 00:46:25,950
you're struggling with, let me encourage
you to talk to other people about it,

884
00:46:25,950 --> 00:46:28,710
to meet with other believers about it,
to talk to your community group about

885
00:46:28,710 --> 00:46:30,270
it, to talk to us as pastors about it.

886
00:46:30,810 --> 00:46:33,360
We'd love to walk through that and
help you make that decision with you.

887
00:46:34,200 --> 00:46:37,620
Proverbs 1114 where there is no guidance
of people falls, but in an abundance

888
00:46:37,620 --> 00:46:39,870
of counselors, there is safety.

889
00:46:41,190 --> 00:46:44,265
So we submit only so far as a
biblically informed conscience allows.

890
00:46:46,215 --> 00:46:49,185
Peter's gonna end with these
four staccato commandments.

891
00:46:49,185 --> 00:46:50,505
He says, honor everyone.

892
00:46:50,595 --> 00:46:51,555
Love the brotherhood.

893
00:46:51,555 --> 00:46:53,265
Fear God, honor the emperor.

894
00:46:54,134 --> 00:46:54,825
Honor everyone.

895
00:46:54,825 --> 00:46:55,755
Love the brotherhood.

896
00:46:55,755 --> 00:46:59,085
Fear God and honor the emperor
I, I think there's a pattern

897
00:46:59,085 --> 00:47:00,255
here, and the pattern is this.

898
00:47:00,255 --> 00:47:04,995
It's A B, B, A, not meaning a
as in this is first and most

899
00:47:04,995 --> 00:47:06,765
important, but just the pattern.

900
00:47:06,765 --> 00:47:10,065
So you have A and A, and those
are the outside two commands here.

901
00:47:10,365 --> 00:47:11,775
You've got honor everyone.

902
00:47:11,775 --> 00:47:13,845
And then the last command,
honor the emperor.

903
00:47:14,595 --> 00:47:14,895
Okay.

904
00:47:15,675 --> 00:47:18,435
Those are things that we've been
talking about so far together.

905
00:47:18,885 --> 00:47:20,475
Honor is for everyone.

906
00:47:20,895 --> 00:47:22,185
Last week we talked about this.

907
00:47:22,185 --> 00:47:24,435
Keep your conduct among
the Gentiles honorable.

908
00:47:25,455 --> 00:47:27,765
That is something that we
should be doing as Christians.

909
00:47:27,765 --> 00:47:30,165
We should have this, this mentality
towards other people that we

910
00:47:30,165 --> 00:47:31,095
want to show them different.

911
00:47:31,095 --> 00:47:34,335
Show them honor and then
also, yes, honor the emperor.

912
00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:36,000
That's what we've been talking about.

913
00:47:36,120 --> 00:47:40,200
Th this whole sermon is how we can honor
the governing authorities in our lives.

914
00:47:40,200 --> 00:47:44,040
And we do that recognizing God's
design for human government.

915
00:47:44,040 --> 00:47:46,140
And we also do that understanding
that there's a limit.

916
00:47:46,140 --> 00:47:49,590
If, if they're asking me to stand,
I, I can't honor them in that 'cause

917
00:47:49,590 --> 00:47:51,270
I have to honor God above that.

918
00:47:51,570 --> 00:47:55,410
And so those, those outer commands there,
I think are the, the general precepts.

919
00:47:55,410 --> 00:47:56,880
This is how you interact with the world.

920
00:47:57,120 --> 00:48:00,390
But then the inner two commands are,
are how you interact with, uh, life

921
00:48:00,390 --> 00:48:02,880
as Christians outer two commands.

922
00:48:03,285 --> 00:48:04,125
Honor everyone.

923
00:48:04,125 --> 00:48:05,445
Honor the emperor, if
I can put it this way.

924
00:48:05,445 --> 00:48:06,705
That's our earthly citizenship.

925
00:48:07,065 --> 00:48:09,735
The inner two commands love
the brotherhood and fear God.

926
00:48:09,765 --> 00:48:10,875
This is our heavenly citizenship.

927
00:48:11,715 --> 00:48:15,045
And I think these are the, the, the
thrust of what Peter wants us to be doing.

928
00:48:15,375 --> 00:48:17,865
Love is for believers.

929
00:48:17,985 --> 00:48:18,885
Love the brotherhood.

930
00:48:18,885 --> 00:48:21,885
One John 4, 10 11 says, this is love.

931
00:48:21,885 --> 00:48:24,825
Not that we have loved God, but that
he loved us and sent his son to be the

932
00:48:24,825 --> 00:48:29,115
propitiation, which means a word, that
it means the satisfaction of God's

933
00:48:29,115 --> 00:48:32,415
wrath, the appreciation for our sins.

934
00:48:32,715 --> 00:48:36,795
And then he says, beloved, if
God has so loved us, we also

935
00:48:36,795 --> 00:48:37,695
ought to love one another.

936
00:48:37,695 --> 00:48:39,795
We should be loving each
other within the church body.

937
00:48:40,650 --> 00:48:42,480
And then the second thing is fear.

938
00:48:42,540 --> 00:48:43,049
God.

939
00:48:44,009 --> 00:48:45,960
This is the foundation
for everything else.

940
00:48:47,009 --> 00:48:48,750
Fear is for God alone.

941
00:48:49,650 --> 00:48:52,500
And, and, and it's a fear
that is a, a worshiping fear.

942
00:48:52,830 --> 00:48:54,240
It's a reverential fear.

943
00:48:54,299 --> 00:48:56,820
It's not a fear that he's gonna cast
us into hell, but it's a fear that

944
00:48:56,820 --> 00:48:58,620
says, God, you are, you are God.

945
00:48:58,620 --> 00:48:59,370
And I am not.

946
00:49:00,390 --> 00:49:01,410
It's one that respects him.

947
00:49:01,410 --> 00:49:02,279
It's one that trusts him.

948
00:49:02,279 --> 00:49:03,210
It's one that loves him.

949
00:49:03,210 --> 00:49:04,230
It's one that obeys him.

950
00:49:04,920 --> 00:49:05,910
It's one that worships him.

951
00:49:07,965 --> 00:49:11,505
Peter seems to be giving these general
commands as he sums things up, and

952
00:49:11,510 --> 00:49:15,735
I, I, I think again, he's stressing
we have an obligation here on Earth,

953
00:49:15,735 --> 00:49:18,645
but there's also a greater obligation
as those exiles and Sojourner and

954
00:49:18,645 --> 00:49:23,145
that is to one another as believers
in Christ grounded in a fear of God.

955
00:49:23,625 --> 00:49:25,905
Final point this morning, along
those lines is this, prioritize

956
00:49:25,905 --> 00:49:27,045
your eternal citizenship.

957
00:49:28,245 --> 00:49:32,025
How we engage government as believers,
we have to prioritize no matter

958
00:49:32,025 --> 00:49:33,705
what our eternal citizenship.

959
00:49:35,520 --> 00:49:40,200
Verse 17 again, but our
citizenship, or, sorry,

960
00:49:42,480 --> 00:49:45,300
lost my train of thought,
obviously, verse 17.

961
00:49:45,300 --> 00:49:45,900
Honor everyone.

962
00:49:45,900 --> 00:49:46,470
Love the brotherhood.

963
00:49:46,470 --> 00:49:46,920
Fear God.

964
00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:47,490
Honor the emperor.

965
00:49:48,240 --> 00:49:51,660
Philippians three, Philippians
three, verses 2321.

966
00:49:51,930 --> 00:49:56,010
Paul says, but our citizenship,
our citizenship is in heaven.

967
00:49:56,955 --> 00:50:00,255
And from it, we await a savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform

968
00:50:00,255 --> 00:50:03,135
our lowly body to be like his glorious
body by the power that enables him

969
00:50:03,165 --> 00:50:04,935
even to subject all things to himself.

970
00:50:06,075 --> 00:50:08,835
And so do we have obligations to
the world as Sojourner and exiles?

971
00:50:08,835 --> 00:50:09,645
Yes.

972
00:50:10,425 --> 00:50:13,425
But our ultimate obligation, our
ultimate allegiance, is to our

973
00:50:13,425 --> 00:50:16,815
ultimate king, to the one that
will reign in that fifth kingdom.

974
00:50:17,655 --> 00:50:19,395
And so, yes, we honor everyone.

975
00:50:20,205 --> 00:50:21,195
We should do that church.

976
00:50:21,195 --> 00:50:22,515
We should be a winsome place.

977
00:50:22,515 --> 00:50:23,685
We should be winsome people.

978
00:50:23,685 --> 00:50:26,445
We should be people that are,
that, that the, the world looks

979
00:50:26,445 --> 00:50:28,305
at us and wants to be around us.

980
00:50:30,165 --> 00:50:33,615
We should honor those that
we disagree with politically.

981
00:50:33,615 --> 00:50:35,175
Man, that, that's a huge point, right?

982
00:50:35,865 --> 00:50:38,325
Our social media post, we should,
before we hit post, we should

983
00:50:38,325 --> 00:50:39,555
say, does this honor everyone?

984
00:50:42,015 --> 00:50:43,005
We should honor the emperor.

985
00:50:43,815 --> 00:50:45,075
It's been the whole sermon to this point.

986
00:50:45,075 --> 00:50:46,035
I don't need to rere that.

987
00:50:46,035 --> 00:50:46,815
I would only add this.

988
00:50:46,815 --> 00:50:48,735
How about praying for those
that are in those positions

989
00:50:48,735 --> 00:50:49,725
of authority in our lives too?

990
00:50:51,375 --> 00:50:52,605
I referenced Jeremiah 29.

991
00:50:52,605 --> 00:50:54,585
One of the ways that we can seek
the welfare of the city is to pray

992
00:50:54,585 --> 00:50:55,515
for those that are in the power.

993
00:50:56,265 --> 00:50:57,735
Pray for the governing
authorities in our lives.

994
00:50:57,735 --> 00:51:00,405
That's another way for us to honor
them as citizens of this earth.

995
00:51:01,665 --> 00:51:04,095
But then there's our
citizenship in heaven.

996
00:51:04,545 --> 00:51:06,945
Part of that is right here in
this room, loving the brotherhood.

997
00:51:07,635 --> 00:51:10,695
This place, the church being around
believers should feel different.

998
00:51:11,205 --> 00:51:14,565
From any other place in the world, there
should be a respite, a refuge, a place

999
00:51:14,565 --> 00:51:16,515
where you are able to love and be loved.

1000
00:51:17,805 --> 00:51:20,115
And if we don't have that happening,
we've got something that's wrong.

1001
00:51:21,255 --> 00:51:25,455
This room is filled with people that
you have eternal relations with, that

1002
00:51:25,455 --> 00:51:29,025
you will spend eternity with in New
the new Earth, under the reign and

1003
00:51:29,025 --> 00:51:30,765
rule of Jesus as our ultimate king.

1004
00:51:32,985 --> 00:51:36,795
Paul writes in Galatians six 10, he
says, so then as we have opportunity

1005
00:51:36,795 --> 00:51:38,115
to let us do good to everyone.

1006
00:51:38,505 --> 00:51:40,845
And especially to those who
are the household of faith.

1007
00:51:41,895 --> 00:51:43,965
We have a different obligation
as brothers and sisters in

1008
00:51:43,965 --> 00:51:46,065
Christ as citizens of heaven.

1009
00:51:46,815 --> 00:51:48,705
And then we also finally want to fear God.

1010
00:51:49,965 --> 00:51:55,305
We want to fear God as citizens of heaven,
as those that have an eternal citizenship.

1011
00:51:55,665 --> 00:51:59,115
Again, this is the foundation of
everything that we have in the end.

1012
00:51:59,115 --> 00:52:02,865
If asked to choose between God and
man, we will always choose God.

1013
00:52:04,545 --> 00:52:06,825
And so your identity as a
follower of Jesus is the catalyst

1014
00:52:06,825 --> 00:52:07,550
in all of this discussion.

1015
00:52:10,335 --> 00:52:13,575
Your relationship with God changes how
you relate to this world and how you

1016
00:52:13,575 --> 00:52:14,925
relate to the rulers of this world.

1017
00:52:15,855 --> 00:52:19,425
Your primary allegiance should always
be to those you will be in heaven

1018
00:52:19,425 --> 00:52:22,395
with God first and then his people

1019
00:52:24,675 --> 00:52:25,995
in every facet of life.

1020
00:52:26,505 --> 00:52:29,145
God is our ultimate authority
in His word or ultimate guide.

1021
00:52:30,630 --> 00:52:32,640
That certainly includes
the realm of of politics.

1022
00:52:32,640 --> 00:52:36,510
And again, this may be simple, but the
application of the Conte concept is not

1023
00:52:36,510 --> 00:52:42,030
always as easy, and that's why it's so
encouraging to do all this in the context

1024
00:52:42,030 --> 00:52:46,260
of the local church and to do this with
God as our God to do this with the Holy

1025
00:52:46,260 --> 00:52:49,480
Spirit within us, and to do this through
giving ourselves over to the word of.

1026
00:52:50,505 --> 00:52:52,995
He's our ultimate authority in
his word, our ultimate guide.

1027
00:52:53,295 --> 00:52:53,925
Let's pray together.

1028
00:52:57,015 --> 00:53:01,305
Father God, we live as citizens of
this earth and we do so thankful

1029
00:53:01,365 --> 00:53:04,215
for the privileges, the rights,
the, the freedoms that we have,

1030
00:53:04,215 --> 00:53:05,415
especially in, in this country.

1031
00:53:05,415 --> 00:53:08,265
And, and we readily admit that
there are believers around the world

1032
00:53:08,265 --> 00:53:11,025
that don't enjoy the same things
that we get to enjoy right now.

1033
00:53:11,025 --> 00:53:12,855
And so we want to be
thankful of those things.

1034
00:53:12,855 --> 00:53:14,025
We want to steward them well.

1035
00:53:14,880 --> 00:53:17,070
Lord, we don't want to take
them for granted and ask such.

1036
00:53:17,070 --> 00:53:19,770
Lord, I pray that we would think
carefully about this question.

1037
00:53:19,770 --> 00:53:22,170
How as Christians, do we
engage with government?

1038
00:53:22,170 --> 00:53:24,450
How do we engage with, uh, politics?

1039
00:53:24,450 --> 00:53:26,880
How should we think about, how
should we conduct ourselves, Lord?

1040
00:53:26,880 --> 00:53:30,330
So help us, I pray, to have the wisdom and
discernment to know how to do that best.

1041
00:53:31,200 --> 00:53:33,960
Lord, we long for the day when Christ
is gonna come back and set up that

1042
00:53:33,960 --> 00:53:36,780
fifth kingdom and, and we are gonna
be with him forever and ever and ever.

1043
00:53:36,780 --> 00:53:39,300
That there will be no end to that
kingdom as Daniel two talks about.

1044
00:53:39,300 --> 00:53:42,810
Lord, until that day, we find ourselves
here, help us to be good ambassadors,

1045
00:53:42,810 --> 00:53:46,350
good representatives of you Lord, to be
able to walk in that dual citizenship.

1046
00:53:46,755 --> 00:53:49,965
Engaging as citizens of this earth, but
also looking forward to our ultimate

1047
00:53:49,965 --> 00:53:51,345
citizenship, which is in heaven.

1048
00:53:52,035 --> 00:53:55,455
And until Jesus comes back, may we be a
faithful bride and a faithful Lambs name,

1049
00:53:55,455 --> 00:53:56,745
and we pray this all in Jesus' name.

1050
00:53:56,895 --> 00:53:57,225
Amen.

1051
00:53:57,580 --> 00:53:57,870
Amen.