•        Introduction

An identity card came around the edge of the front door as I opened it to the knock.

It was followed by a forearm, an elbow, a shoulder … and an environmental health officer was standing in my kitchen in front of my wife and family demanding at the heart of my family to be shown immediately the freezers in the cellar where we stored our produce.

We were direct selling pork, sausages, ham and bacon from the outdoor pigs we were rearing on rented land early on in our farming life.

There had been no problems.

No one had been poisoned.

No one had complained.

It just seemed it was this person’s job to presume we were doing something wrong and to find out what it was.

Nothing was found wrong, but to have that sense of being placed under accusation brought a swift end to direct sales from Bowkett & Sons Pig Enterprise.

We just weren’t prepared to live under that pressure and have the threat of accusation living over us and marching whenever it danced right into our own home.

And all around us to this day, we see farmers and all sorts of other small business-people running perfectly legitimate operations living under the threat of inspection and accusation from bureaucrats who exert pressures of this sort.

How do you deal with it?

Scripture is full of people who have to contend with pressures applied by bureaucrats and the threat of the powers that be.

And the first thing the Bible has to tell us about this is …

1)   All governments are bad governments, and you can tell

Before anyone gets too alarmed here, let’s just ask if we often actually ask too much of governments.

I don’t mean financially … low taxes but high wages and abundant, free of charge social service provision, that sort of thing.

I mean in terms of what we expect them to be in terms of integrity, morals, good will and beneficent leadership.

Is it TOO much to ask your politicians or rulers to be nice to you?

Well, possibly, it is!

Ask yourself what you’ve got to choose from when your picking politicians … the answer is, realistically, only other sinful human beings.

The Scripture says (Romans 3:23) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

Now it’s talking about Jews and Gentiles, but since the foundations of civilisation all politicians and rulers are known to have been either Jews or Gentiles, so for our purposes ‘all’ does just fine.

The Government?

Sinners, all of ‘em.

And then ask you what sort of sinful human beings are going to climb to the top in a world given over to and dominated by the sorts of things that ring the bell of broken sinful human beings, and you’ll find it’s going to be standard for the most intensely broken sinful human beings that are going to be chosen that will therefore preponderate in such a situation.

All governments are going to be ‘bad’ governments because they are made up of bad human beings … which are all you’ve got to choose from … it does seem that the baddest will preponderate amongst those chosen to be the government.

From a Christian’s perspective that’s going to add up to all human and humanly elected governments being to some extent bad governments, it’s just the extent of that feature that’s going to vary!

Consistently throughout scripture we find that recognised in one way or another, and yet God’s Word does also require compliance and civil obedience to some extent or other, out of reverence for God.

Let’s get a handle on this, to start with by getting a handle on the powers that be that Peter is writing about.

A)  The powers that be Peter is writing about

1 Peter is written by Peter to believers living in Rome at the heart of the evil empire of his day … he refers to that great imperial city in this book as ‘Babylon’.

‘Babylon’ was the Biblical prototype of evil empires from the times of the Babylonian captivity onwards.

And in addition, 1 Peter has this recurring theme of the Exodus from Egypt … the first place Israel encountered captivity and rotten treatment by the government of the place.

As bad government’s go, Peter is writing about life under a very bad government.

B)   Peter’s own experience of the powers that be

Peter had personally fallen foul of this bad government himself.

If you think you’ve had bad experience of the powers that be, Peter has had plenty.

You’ve heard the expression ‘born free – taxed to death’?

Well Rome invaded his homeland in 63BC and appointed proxy rulers (Herod and his progeny) from 40BC so Peter wasn’t born free, and as a hard-working business man in the Galilean fishing industry he had been exploited at the toll booths by tax collectors who prospered by over stating the excise duties raised on Peter’s fish exports to fill their own pockets.

And those duties were pretty high to start with.

And then when he became a preacher he set out on a life where he was watched closely for any possible cause of offence, arrested on weird charges, flogged, imprisoned, tortured … eventually we believe crucified upside down because he worked for the risen Jesus.

Whether Jewish ones or Roman ones Peter had a hard time throughout his life from the powers that be he’s talking about here.

And it just throws out the question: why are the powers that be acting like this?

C) The REASON the powers that be are acting like this

The reason the government Peter’s writing about were acting like this went far deeper than politics or economics.

The reason unrestricted governments behave like this, acting as if they are unaccountable, is not because of their personalities or even their vested interest, it is because the heart of the human heart is rotten at the core.

If human nature is not restrained, then the outcome becomes disastrous.

Now it might be constrained internally by conscience or matters of principle, but it will almost certainly also need external restraint and accountability … unless you can change the way things are at the core.

But when you’re having hassle from the powers that be, it can be helpful to remember where it’s coming from … and that by nature, in general terms, we’re not so different and would ourselves be getting away with crazy stuff if we thought we were able to.

Here’s where Peter starts to tackle the accountability thing …

2) All governments are ordained governments

A) They are sent

vv. 13-14 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.”

Right … so these are the same sorts of officials Peter got all his bad experience of the powers that be from.

But Peter is saying bold and outright that believers in Jesus are to submit themselves to every human authority (powers that be) NOT for anything to do with those people but out of reverence for the Lord.

This is getting radical.

But following Jesus IS pretty radical in our sort of world so let’s look at it.

Submit to them because they are SENT.

Submit is the Greek verb ὑποτάσσω which has to do with social ordering or ranking … more about function than inherent worth or worthiness, but definitely entailing the imperative to recognise the authority that comes exercised by the role.

They wield the sword so show proper respect, at least, not like a doormat but at least seeking to comply.

Submit to God’s ordering, not because of any right of that person but because God has sent them for a purpose (broadly to keep good order in society) whether they are upholding God’s purpose faithfully or not.

Do this because … and confident that …

b) Their power is DERIVED power

Vv. 13-14 here make it very clear that the people who come against us from government and bureaucracy don’t own the power they wield over us.

Their power is a derived power:

“the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.”

Not only is it derived but the very fact that it is derived means it belongs to someone else, who has given this authority they are using NOT for their purposes, but for His.

Not only are they using His power in a derived way, they are sent to use it in a specified way … not to make themselves look big, or to become rich and powerful but to fulfil HIS purposes.

Jesus is so confident of this fact as He stands before Pilate and faces mortal threat from the powers that be that he can speak out like this:

““Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

So Peter writes here, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right …”

And it follows from this that if the power isn’t theirs, and is also to be exercised (when granted) for HIS purposes, their delegated power can be regulated.

C)   It follows that their delegated power can be regulated

The Old Testament is full of jumped-up human beings who are using a power that’s not theirs but delegated to them to serve themselves rather than the purposes God put them there for.

Not so long back we were looking at the example of wicked Haman in the book of Esther who used the power he was given to exalt himself and to help himself in quite grotesque ways.

Obviously, in that example as in so many others over the course of history, it got to a point where God had had enough and brought the man down.

So if we get hassled by regulators and bureaucrats who seem to us to be following unhelpful agendas … how should we relate to that experience and to them?

2)   How should we relate to them?

Peter is pretty clear about this in vv. 11-12

A) Your objective: 1, vv. 11-12

“as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

Can you see that when the inspector is at the gate, the first thing you need to do is watch yourself!

Remember that believers are only passing through here on the way to our Heavenly home.

All that we’ve got here, which they might seem to be threatening to take from us, is temporary and passing away.

So, as the foreigners and exiles we are … non-entitled, non-privileged … put aside the sinful desires that wage war against your soul.

Shout? Rage? Threaten in some way or another?

It’s a NO.

Just no.

That’s a negative.

DON’T do that.

But positively with the inspector at the gate live like the good guys they’re not expecting you to be, “that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

See, the believer doesn’t live to pass the regulator’s inspection.

The believer lives that His God gets glorified, no matter WHAT else is happening at the time.

Are you thinking that sounds a bit radical?

Well that’s what it looks like to be following Jesus, so mebbe ‘radical’ is only the half of it.

But wait, there’s more, because in v. 15 Peter speaks out what our second objective in trouble of this sort is going to be

D)  Your objective: 2, v. 15

“For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.”

Oh dear.

When we feel pressured and threatened by the powers that be, that just isn’t the way we’d naturally chose to play it.

We’re only thinking about how to get out of it.

Peter’s saying don’t think about how to get out of it – far less how to get away with it – yes, silence the ignorant talk of the foolish people afflicting you, but do it only always by doing good.

They’re coming along to accuse you and make out you’re doing bad?

Well obviously, then, don’t join in with the bad that this world’s got plenty of!

“For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.”

If they’re coming to catch you out and stick the mud to you like that, then they’re really not going to cope with this next bit, and this is going to give you the UPPER hand!

E)   Submit yourSELVES, vv. 13-14a

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority,

 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right”

Oh, this is funny!

Peter’s spoofing about the Emperor being the supreme authority.

He doesn’t believe that for a MINUTE, and neither do the Christians in Rome that Peter’s writing to!

Peter’s counsel is not to try to arm wrestle the authorities, but to try to comply, to go along, to help them out.

Do it as someone submitting their own selves to the responsibilities these officials are insisting on (something that’s the opposite bad rulers and self-serving officials are doing), thereby showing them up to themselves of course but that’s not why you’re doing this!

Do it as one submitting to the Emperor as the supreme authority?

Oh, hello!

He isn’t the supreme authority, but Peter and the Christians of Rome are in a dangerous situation where it would be terribly unwise to say a thing like that and certainly likely to end up in very unnecessary trouble if they wrote it down.

Peter is reminding them that behind this usured authority of the Roman Emperor stands Almighty God, Who lends them such authority as they wield and holds them accountable for the way that they handle it.

More than that.

It is their DERIVED authority we’re looking at.

An authority that can very easily be regulated by the One Who is lending it.

And THAT’s the sort of thing Peter’s readers need reminding of!

As no doubt do we.

Well, all this powerful stuff we’ve looked at being the case, let’s look more closely now at how we can deal with these inspectors, these governors and these little emperors.

4) How can we deal with them? Vv. 16-17

“Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor.”

A) Live as free people

Here’s the first thing: don’t let them camp out in your head.

Live consciously and deliberately as free people

If you stand in awed respect for the will of God … because He’s too big and too strong to get the wrong side of … trusting Him for the outcome every day, then who’s going to be living (as we say) ‘rent free in your head’?

They might mean you all sorts of malice but if you stand in ‘fear’ of offending the One Who loves you, cares for you and protects you IN SPITE of what he has to put up with from us … what can their malice amount to?

You see, there is REASON not to be living with paranoia of the powers that be, because if GOD is for us who can be AGAINST us?

That’s not my idea, by the way, it is literally what Paul writes in Romans 8:31… a GREAT verse to commit to memory and keep safe in your head.

But this come with a warning …

B) But do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil

v. 16 “ Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.”

All through the Bible, making the effects of sin worse is always achieved by trying to cover it up.

Covering a festering wound up instead of cleaning it is a poisonous pass-time!

That’s going to be important firstly so you don’t become as bad as they are but secondly (and mainly) so you don’t break down your relationship with the God Who is your greatest help with all of this.

C) Maintain this pattern of relationships as God’s slaves 

That ‘slave’ bit sounds really bad in English but the Greek word is δοῦλος and it means a slave, but that can be literal or figurative, meaning an involuntary or a voluntary one, which many Roman ‘slaves’ were.

This is not likely to be anything like the images you will have seen from the transatlantic slave trade of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Frequently, it applied only in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency.

We’re talking about reciprocal, patronage responsibilities.

It’s like you are God’s faithful servant but He is tied in to you as your faithful patron.

He is not just an advocate for you.

You see, there is truth in the idea that the hand that rocks the cradle rule the world, but God wouldn’t even be afraid of your Welsh Mam!

His hand HOLDS the world in it, and if we turn from only serving our selves to also serve Him …

And if we turn from sin to our Saviour … to follow Him instead of following our animal instinct … well, He takes pride in being our patron, our protector and even our provider.

Conclusion

Now then, where is that wise old Peter, no stranger to the problems we encounter with this, has brought us in our understanding of how to deal with Paranoia and the powers that be?

When the troublesome official turns up in your life, they may be helpful, they may be malevolent or just harmfully ignorant. 

The Lord Himself seems to have lost His earthly life because the governor washing his hands was a lot more harmfully ignorant than directly malevolent.

But all the while for Him and for us who face the powers that be these principles hold:

God has provided for and appointed rulers and officials.

They have a useful job to do.

God has appointed them “to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” (v. 14).

But they are obviously just as sinful as the rest of us, and it can show in the way they ignorantly use and self-aggrandising way they use the office and authority that’s been given them.

That’s what we get paranoid about, isn’t it?

But look, that’s not the end of the story here.

It’s because the authority is delegated that the authority they use is subject to the higher authority’s own regulation … and that Higher Authority is the absolute power of your loving patron, the Almighty One Himself.

So how to handle it?

By staying close your Almighty Patron, who is going to handle it.

Doing what you need to of course to do your best in the situation, but that means living as free people not paranoid people, while not using your consciousness of your freedom in Christ as an excuse to cover up anything you MIGHT have got wrong.

So here’s Peter’s summary:

v. 17

“Show proper respect to everyone, 

love the family of believers, 

fear God, 

honor the emperor.”

And may the Lord help us t put this into practice avoiding paranoia and sustaining a proper relationship with both the human the temporal and the Divine heavenly powers that be.