Open your Bibles, if you would,
to 1 Peter 2. The name of the message is Submission
and Freedom. Submission and Freedom. We'll
continue our study in 1 Peter. We'll be reading verses 11-16,
but our text will be found in verses 13-16. 1 Peter 2, starting
in verse 11, I beseech you, as strangers and
pilgrims abstain from fleshy lusts which war against the soul,
having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that, whereas
they speak against you as evildoers, that they may by your good works,
which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether
it be the king as supreme, or unto governors, as unto them
that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and
for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God,
that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
men, as free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness,
but as the servants of God. So today we'll look and see the
Apostle Peter exhorting believers. Now we've seen him exhorting
believers through this epistle. And we'll see him exhorting believers
here to writing, he's writing to them to submit to the authority
that God has placed over them. And let us remember that too,
that it's God who's placed the authorities that are in power
over us. It's him. He's done this. They're
ordained of God. And two weeks ago, we considered
verses 11 and 12 in this chapter where we looked at the fact that
believers are our strangers and pilgrims in this world. And we're
just passing through below this. This world is not our home. It's
not. No, we seek a better country,
don't we? And we've we've heard by God's grace the The good news
from a far country, we've been given ears to hear and eyes to
see the Lord Jesus Christ. And so heaven is the better country
which we seek. And heaven is only heaven, right?
Because Christ is there. It's only heaven because He's
there, our Savior. We will behold the one who has
redeemed us with His precious blood. And Peter has been bringing
forth the fact of the war against the flesh that occurs when we're
strangers and pilgrims in this world. And this war will continue
until the day we die. It'll continue until the day
we die. The war between the spirit and the flesh. Because the new
nature within us seeks to please God and to follow the Lord and
our flesh. Well, we know how our flesh is
because we battle against it all the time. All the time. And
we can understand. We've experienced what Paul writes
in Romans when he says, For I know that in me that is in my flesh
dwelleth no good thing. We know that, don't we? We as
believers have been taught that. For to will is present with me,
but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good
that I would do not, but the evil which I would not, that
I do. So Paul's got a battle going
on. within his body. And then he says, Oh, wretched
man, that I am who shall deliver me from this body of sin or body
of death. I thank God through Jesus Christ,
our Lord. So then with the mind, I myself
serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. There
is therefore now no condemnation to those which are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
So Peter is bringing forth here before us this same war that
Paul writes, this same battle, as some of us grace preachers
like to say, this civil war within us. The civil war within us. And he says to abstain from fleshy
lusts, which war against the soul here in this chapter. And
then he exhorts them to keep their conversation, which in
the Greek means notice in verse 12, having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles conversation there in the Greek means manner
of life. It's not just our speech. It's
our manner of life, our conduct, our behavior. So he exhorts them
to keep their conversations. their manner of life, their conduct
of behavior in a way that that unsaved folks will not speak
evil of you. Now, they're going to call us
fanatics. They do. They do. They're going to call
us radicals, they're going to call us hypocrites. Yet, when
real trial and examination is put upon you who are the blood
washed saints of God, when God visits you and them with afflictions
and trouble, they must admit that there's something different
about you. There's something different about you. And we know
it's nothing in us, do we? It's Christ. It's Christ in us,
the hope of glory. It's the Holy Spirit. They have
to admit that you have something they do not. Now, sometimes God
visits in prosperity, sometimes he visits us in disappointment,
sometimes in joy, sometimes in sorrows. And how we conduct ourselves
under different tests will determine whether those who observe you
glorify God or not. With that in mind, let's continue
in our text here. And we see an exhortation by
the Apostle Peter to the saints' submission to authority. Look
at verses 13 and 14. Submit yourselves to every ordinance
for the Lord's sake, whether it be the king as supreme or
unto governors as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment
of evildoers and for the praise of them that do well. So the
Christian is to obey all the laws of the land, where to live
and in our community, our state and our nation as good and obedient
citizens. This is what we're to do. For
civil government and rulers are ordained by God for our good
and for our peace. And so let us always remember
that it's God who has set those of authority over us. It's Him
who has placed these people in these positions. And we are to
submit to His high authority by submitting to men He has placed
in authority over us. And so Paul brings this forth
for our learning over in Romans 13. Turn if you would to Romans
chapter 13 if you would. And he brings this forth just
as Peter does in our text for our learning. And so let us remember
this too. That these words that we're reading
are by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. They're there
for us. They're there for our learning.
And he's put these he's put these texts here for us to learn and
to grow. We who are the blood bought saints
of God. Look at Romans 13 verses one to eight. Let every soul
be subject unto higher powers, for there is no power but of
God. The powers that that be are what? Ordained of God. That means it's not by chance
or luck that the president is the president. Because we know,
we don't believe in chance or luck, do we? No. It says right
here, they're ordained to God. Whosoever resisteth the power,
resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist shall receive
unto themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to
good works, but to evil. If you've done nothing wrong,
you have nothing to fear from the law. nothing at all. Wilt thou then
not be afraid of power? Do that which is good, and thou
shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God
to thee for good. But if thou do that which is
evil, be afraid. For he beareth not the sword
in vain. For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute
wrath upon them that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject
not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For For
this cause pay ye tribute also, for they are God's ministers,
attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore
to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to
whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no man
anything but to love one another, for he that loveth another hath
fulfilled the law. Let's go back to our text in
1 Peter and note again in verse 13. We're to do this for the
Lord's sake, because it's he who has ordained these leaders
over us. Submit yourself to every ordinance
of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be the king as supreme. And notice it says, for the Lord's
sake, for the Lord's sake. Let us never forget that those
who we are under, the higher authorities put over us, whether
they believe it or not, it's God who's given them that power
and that authority. And they have this power and
this authority because God has ordained that it should be so.
Whether they believe it or not, we know it to be true. We know
it to be true. Note in verse 14, those who are
appointed over us in government such as judges and magistrates
are for the punishment of evildoers. Or unto governors is unto them
that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, for
the praise of them that do well. Now Gill brings forth about this
text in verse 14, the breakers of the laws of God and men on
whom punishment is to be afflicted by the civil magistrates for
the breach of them, sometimes by death itself, according as
the crimes are, and notice for the praise of them that do well.
We have nothing to fear, again, beloved, we have nothing to fear
if we haven't broken the law. Nothing to fear. Now think of
that in light of God's holy law. There's not a human being who
hadn't broken God's holy law. Folks don't fear God, do they?
They ought to. They ought to. Oh, the only way
that God's holy law and God's holy justice is appeased is where?
In Christ. In Christ alone. That's the only
place. Gil continues, those who behave
according to the laws of God and nations and are obedient
to magistrates and subject to every ordinance, those have praise
of men, of magistrates, and are rewarded by them by protecting
their persons, defending their properties, and preserving them
in the peaceable enjoyment of their estates and possessions.
So the Lord, by His sovereign decree and will, uses them to
keep us safe, to prevent Do you imagine what it would be like
if there was no restraint on evil? The Lord restrains, doesn't
He? He does. He does. So even within
this, when we see governors and authorities, even think the police
officers around us, they are given that authority by God.
And that is all used to protect His people. Everyone else just
gets the residual effects. It's absolutely wonderful for
the elect of God. It's truly amazing. So let us
always remember this, that it's by God's protective hand that
any freedoms we enjoy. We live in a free country. Any
freedoms that we enjoy comes from God's protective hand, comes
from Him. It's all ordained by God, and
He uses means to accomplish this, such as governments, magistrates,
police officers, and we saw that over in Romans chapter 13. Now
let us consider verse 15. For so is the will of God that
with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
men. By doing good works, by living
an honest life, by a right attitude toward our leaders and those
in authority, we will take away from the enemies of God one of
their chief weapons. And do you know what that is?
We even have to be careful of this as believers. It's a critical
tongue. It's a critical tongue. Peter
is bringing forth that your godly lies will silence the ignorant
charge. to silence the ignorant charges and the ill-informed
criticisms of foolish people. And think of that in light of what they were saying about
believers. And think of that in light of what people say about
we who are believers. Think of that. Well, we're to live godly lives
to silence them. And note in our text, for so
is the will of God This is his command. And notice silence there. Vine says that this is a very
graphic word in the Greek meaning to muzzle or gag. Puts him right
to silence. Puts him right to silence. Let's consider our next verse
in light of verse 15. Look at verse 16. As free man,
and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but
as servants of God, You know, sometimes, beloved,
I. I do not think we know just how free we are in Christ. The freedom that we have in Christ. I sometimes think that we we
don't grasp it, and I don't think we ever really will. The freedom
and the liberty that we have in Christ, we are free men and
women. You know, we're free from the
curse of the law. We're free from the penalty of
the law, and the law of God, that's the law of God. We're
free from the punishment of the law of God, because that all
fell upon Christ for us, didn't it? And then the liberty that we
have in our lives, the freedom that we have in Christ, the fact
that that our sins are not imputed to us. The fact that we have
forgiveness of all our sins, past, present, and future. That
doesn't give us the liberty to go crazy, though, does it? No.
But what freedom we have, beloved. And if you're in Christ, you're
free indeed. You're free indeed. And this makes the believer,
when the believer ponders the freedom that we have in Christ,
it makes us shout for joy. It's precious. Because we know
how this freedom was purchased, don't we? It came at a cost. The blood of Christ. We know
that our Savior gave His life. So
His life and His blood. The life of the flesh is in the
blood. And so Christ gives His life for His people. So our freedom
is not free, is it? Not for us, it costs something.
We freely receive it, but it costs something. It costs something,
beloved. The blood and life of Christ. So we're to show ourselves to
be true servants of God, to live a holy and honest life. And we're
not to despise the government and authority that's put over
us. Turn, if you would, to Galatians chapter 5. I'm only going to
read one verse in Galatians chapter 5. This verse, we should burn
in our memory. Look at this. Now, we know that
the religious world, right? They try to entangle us, entangle
others with things. Oh, you've got to do this, you've
got to do that, right? But the believer says, no, I don't have
nothing to do with that. I don't have nothing to do with that.
I'm not going to be entangled with the yoke of bondage. Some
of us came out of the yoke of bondage. Now we all came out
of the yoke of the bondage of sin, didn't we? But some of us
came out of also the yoke of the bondage of religion, where
folks used to tell us what we had to do, and we could only
do certain things, and we could only do this and that, and we
had to dress this way, or walk this way, or whatever. It was
horrible, wasn't it? It was horrible. I'm free in Christ. I'm so thankful. Look at Galatians chapter 5 verse
1. What's it say? It says to stand
fast. That means don't be moved. Now we know this. The only way
we stand fast is because God keeps us standing fast, doesn't
He? But He does, doesn't He? We're to stand fast in the liberty,
the freedom. Beloved, we have liberty. Where
do we have liberty? Wherewith Christ hath made us
free. And be not entangled again with
the yoke of bondage. Don't be entangled again. If
someone comes to you and says, well, you've got to do this to
be saved, or a certain person does this, so therefore they're
not saved at all, and they're a grace preacher, and you're
just sitting there going, what in the world's going on here?
We as grace believers stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free. I'm free in Christ. Hallelujah. What a Savior. What a Redeemer. And the cost of my freedom is
the life of Christ and His precious shed blood. And so for you, if
you're a believer. And it makes us rejoice And so
Paul brings forth in Galatians there that we're free in Christ
Jesus our Lord. We have liberty. We need to be
cautious not to be entangled by lawmongers. By people saying,
well, you've got to follow this or you're not saved. Nope. Christ fulfilled all the law
for me. He satisfied everything that God demanded of me. And think of this as you as a
believer. Everything God demanded for you. He paid it all. Amen. He paid it all. He satisfied
God. Isn't that wonderful? Now think
of the liberty we have. Think of the freedom we have
in Christ. It leaves us in awe. It leaves
us in awe. So we're not to be tangled again
by lawmongers. We walk in freedom, but we don't
do whatever we can, do we? We don't fall into the ditch
of antinomianism, do we? No, not at all. Not at all. Folks would say, well then I
can just go and do whatever I want. They don't know Christ. No, we
can't do whatever we want, because now, and you've heard me say
this many times, the love of Christ constrains us, doesn't
it? Constrains us. Do you get convicted
when you sin? Yes, we do, don't we? Yes, we
do. Do we confess our sin? Yes, we
do. Did you before the Lord saved
you? No, we didn't. It's incredible. What a change! What a change! The Holy Spirit
rots in His people. So we're told by the Apostle
Paul in Galatians chapter 5 there to stand fast. That means to
maintain and defend the liberty of Christ. The gospel, the grace
of God in Christ. Now think of this. What has Christ
set us free from? Sin. Not the indwelling of it
or the temptation to it, but he's delivered us from the guilt
of it, hasn't he? He's delivered we who believe
from the damnation of it and the dominion of it. He doesn't
have the dominion at one's head over us. And he's delivered us
from the ceremonial law, from circumcision, sacrifices, feast
days, Sabbath days, all of the burdensome rites and ceremonies.
He's delivered us from all that. And He's delivered us from the
moral law, too, as a covenant of works, hasn't He? He's delivered
us from the curse of the law and the condemnation of the law. And it's all through Christ Jesus
our Lord. Look at Galatians 5, 2 and 3. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you,
that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For
I testify again to every man that is circumcised that he is
indebted to do the whole law." So Paul's saying, well, if you
want to take one little piece of the law and say, well, you
have to do this to be saved, Paul's saying, you've got to
do all the law. You can't pick and choose. Aren't we thankful, we who believe,
that Christ fulfilled the law for us? My, we can't even, we
can't even Do one of the laws of God. We
can't even fulfill one of the laws of God. No human can. But
Christ the God-man did it for his people, didn't he? As their
substitute. In his life and in his death.
He satisfied God's law and justice. So Paul brings forth here that
you can't pick and choose which parts of the law you obey and
which ones you won't. If someone's going to put someone
under the law as a measure of righteousness, and that's what
they do. They put people under the law as a measure of righteousness. Well, who's our righteousness?
Christ. Christ is our righteousness as
believers, isn't He? I know what my righteousness
is like. It's like filthy rags. It's nothing. Nothing I do in
the flesh, nothing I did in my natural state could please God.
Nothing. God is only satisfied and God
is only pleased with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the only one He's satisfied
in. So these folks here that Paul's
writing about, they're a debtor to do the whole law, beloved.
If they're going to say you've got to keep one, they're a debtor
to do the whole law. They're not trusting Christ.
They are under obligation to obey perfectly the complete law,
both ceremonial and moral. And that's who anyone outside
of Christ, they're under the obligation to fulfill the whole
law. None of us can! And this is what Christ reveals
to the sinner. And I'm a sinner. I'm a saved
sinner. But isn't this what Christ reveals
to us before he saves us? That we cannot fulfill the law
of God. That we're sinners before God.
And that we're in desperate need of a Savior. And then he makes
us willing. And we flee to Christ. Look at
verse 4 of Galatians 5. Christ has become of no effect
unto you. Whosoever of you is justified by the law, that ye
are fallen from grace. So if someone wants to justify
themselves by their works, this says Christ has become of no
effect. Works and grace do not mix. They're
like oil and water. These folks that say, well yeah,
I believe on Christ, but yet they also yoke you under all
these other things. Because, as I've said many times,
how much work does it take to no longer be grace? Just a pinprick. See, salvation is either all
of grace, isn't it? Or it's not salvation at all.
And we completely, we as believers in Christ, we completely and
we wholly trust Christ for the salvation of our souls. We do
not trust anything in ourselves. And so here, Paul is writing,
Christ has become no effect unto you, whosoever of you is justified
by the law, you are fallen from grace. So works and grace do
not mix. Salvation is by grace alone.
No one is justified before God based upon their own works. The
believer is justified before God by Christ and Christ alone. And then we're clothed in His
perfect, spotless righteousness, aren't we? Isn't that wonderful? Our righteousness is not our
own righteousness. Our righteousness is the righteousness
of Christ. Perfect, spotless righteousness. Look at Galatians 5 continues.
For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness
by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth
anything nor uncircumcision, but faith worketh by love. We know that faith is a gift
of God, isn't it? God gives us faith, He grants
us faith. And who's the object of our faith?
We don't trust in our faith, do we? No, our faith trusts in
Christ. It looks to Christ and Christ
alone. You did run well. Who did hinder
you that you should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh
not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the
whole lump. A little bit of works is no longer grace. I have confidence
in you, through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded,
but he that troubeth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever
he be. And I, brethren, if I preach
circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offense
of the cross ceased. that you were even cut off, which
trouble you. So the offense of the cross is
that salvation is in Christ and Christ alone, plus nothing. See, man, we naturally think
we have to do something to gain merit and favor with God. The
scriptures proclaim that salvation's only found in Christ and Christ
alone. That's the offense of the cross. It wounds people's
pride. Because they say, well, yeah.
But that takes me out of the equation. salvation. Yes, that's
right. That's right. Salvation is only
in Christ and Christ alone. Oh my. And here's the tie in with our
text in the next verse. Look at this in Galatians 5.13.
For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty, only use not liberty
for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Galatians 5.13. In Christ, by the Spirit of God,
every believer has been called, not only externally, but internally,
out of the bondage of sin. We were once in the bondage of
sin, weren't we? We were. Dead in trespasses and sins.
In bondage to Satan and the law, and now we've been called into
the liberty of Christ, the gospel. And let we who are redeemed rejoice
as Christ has made us free. He's made us free from keeping
certain days. He's made us free from ceremonies,
sacrifices, circumcision, and all external rituals. And anything
that we would do to gain salvation. We're set free from all that.
You know what? We're complete in Him, aren't
we? We're absolutely complete in Christ. In Him. And yet the
doctrine of Christian liberty may be abused. If we use it as
an excuse to fulfill the lust of the flesh, if we forget the
rules of moderation, or if we make our liberty a stumbling
block to weaker brethren. We're directed in all we do by
a love for Christ, aren't we? It's a love for Christ which
directs us. And a love for others. And especially for those who
are babes in Christ. Look at verses 14 and 15. For
all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one
another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. If you are critical and unforgiven
and unkind and filled with bitterness and division, you will destroy
the unity, the peace, and the fellowship of the church. For
love, I love what Brother Henry always says, that the blood of
Christ is is the cement, and so is the love of God. It's the
cement that keeps us all together, beloved, as stones built up. We share the same Savior. We're redeemed by the same blood.
We have the same Spirit. We have the same Father. The
same love which we have for the brethren and for God is the same
love that our brothers and sisters in Christ have. It's incredible. And then look at verse 16, it
says, this I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not
fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Verse 17, for the flesh lusts
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and these
are contrary the one to another, so that ye cannot do the things
that ye would. Again, here's the civil war within
the believer. And Peter brings this forth.
And Paul is too. We've seen him bring forth the
civil war before the Romans, and now we see him bringing it
forth before the Galatians too. Look at verse 18, but if you
be led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Let's go back
to our text in 1 Peter 2, verse 16. And then also put your finger,
we'll be closing the message with John 8. So we'll just read
1 Peter 2.16 and then we'll go right to John chapter 8. 1 Peter 2.16. It says, "...as free, not using
your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God."
Now turn over, if you would, to John chapter 8. We are free
indeed, beloved. We who are the blood-bought,
redeemed, born-again believers. We're free indeed. And let us remember that we're
the servants of God. We're the servants of God. We're
the servants of the King of Kings. We're the servants of the Lord
of Lords. And it's He that's made it so, isn't it? It's He
that's made it so. We're servants of the Lord Jesus
Christ, God incarnate in the flesh. who loved us and who gave
himself for us. And I'll tell you this, there's
no freedom on this earth like the freedom we have in Christ.
Nothing even compares. Now, we live in a very free country,
don't we? We know what freedom is like. But this freedom we
have here doesn't even compare to the freedom we have in Christ.
It doesn't even come close. No freedom on earth is the freedom
we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. Look at John chapter 8 and we're
closed with verses 32 and 36. John chapter 8 verses 32 and
36. In light of this, I'll read 1
Peter 2.16 again. As free and not using your liberty
for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. And
then John chapter 8 verses 32 to 36. And ye shall know the
truth. Who is the truth? The Lord Jesus
Christ. He's the way, the truth, and
the life, isn't He? And God's people know Him. He's revealed
Himself to us. We wouldn't know Him in our natural
state, but He's revealed Himself to us, isn't He? And the truth
shall what? Make you free. Make you free. They answered Him, Will we be
Abraham's seed? And we were never in bondage
to any man. How sayest thou ye shall be made
free? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever
commit a sin is a servant of sin. And now these are the words of
the Master. And the servant abideth not in the house forever, but
the Son abideth forever. If the Son therefore shall make
you free, ye shall be free indeed. Oh, how free the believer is
in Christ. Let us rejoice in the freedom
and the liberty that we who are the blood-bought saints of God
have in the Lord Jesus Christ.