If you came to Christ recently, this might surprise you. Following Jesus does not pull you out of the world. It sends you back into it.
That is the heart of 1 Peter 2:13-17, and the heart of last Sunday's sermon. Peter is writing to believers scattered across the Roman Empire. He has just called them sojourners and exiles. Their real citizenship is in heaven. They are not bound by the law of the earth. They are bound by the law of the gospel. They are free.
And then he says this. "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution" (1 Peter 2:13). Be free. Then go submit yourself.
Saved out of the world, but sent back into it
Jesus prayed for us in John 17:18. "As You sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world." Christ has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). That happened the moment we believed.
But our physical address has not changed. We are still on 52nd Street. We are still in our jobs, our families, our neighborhoods. And God leaves us there on purpose. He sends us back into the spiritual darkness we were rescued from, so that more people can be rescued.
Subjects of man. Servants of God.
Peter names five human institutions over the next chapter and a half.
Government. The state, the laws, the people in authority where you live.
Vocation. Your work. Your boss. Your industry. The roof over your head.
Family. Husbands, wives, children, parents.
Church. The local body of Christ, and the believers in it.
Every other human institution. School. Sports. Police. Military. Anywhere there is order and authority.
Which of these do we submit to? The ones we are in. The government where you pay your taxes. The marriage you committed to. The church you joined. The job you took. God is sovereign over the time, place, and family He put you in. None of it is an accident.
The will of God for your life
Most of us, sometime in our 20s, asked the question. What is the will of God for my life? We meant specifics. Where should I live? What career should I pick? Who should I marry?
Peter answers a different question. "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people" (1 Peter 2:15).
The will of God for your life is less about which job you take and more about what you do in that job. Less about whom you marry and more about what you do in that marriage. Less about which church you join and more about what you do as part of that body. Wherever God has placed you, the will of God is that you do good, you serve, and you make disciples.
That takes the pressure off. You do not need to nail every specific. You need to be faithful where you are.
Fear God. Love the church. Honor everyone.
Peter closes the section with three commands (1 Peter 2:17).
Fear God. First, and above all. Reverence for who He is. A deep awareness of His holiness. Without the fear of God, obedience weakens every single time. We are not talking about terror. We are talking about reverence that anchors us when the culture pulls.
Love the brotherhood. A special affection for the church. Honor and love are not the same thing. We are called to honor everyone. We are called to love the church in a deeper, covenantal way. I am accountable to my brothers and sisters in Christ in a way I am not accountable to a stranger on the street.
Honor everyone. The image of God is on every person, even the ones we disagree with. Even the ones who have done terrible things. Honor does not mean blind affirmation of everyone's beliefs. It means seeing each person as a person, not a policy.
What honor does not mean
Honor does not mean agreement. We can serve someone with a different worldview without affirming that worldview. We can love a family member who is walking in sin without celebrating the sin. In fact, one of the strongest ways to honor someone is to tell them the truth.
If a government punishes good and praises evil, honor looks like speaking truth and seeking correction. Read Romans 1. When a society approves what God calls sin, that society invites judgment. We are not called to sit on the couch and let that happen. We are called to do good. To vote for good. To create policies that promote good. To stay engaged. To share the gospel with our neighbors. Not to baptize the country by force, but to disciple it one person at a time.
Jesus is the example
Christ submitted to earthly authority though He is Lord of all (Luke 20:25). He submitted to His parents (Luke 2:51). He fulfilled His calling under imperfect leadership without sin. And in the garden, He prayed, "Not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).
Where every human institution gets it wrong is when it says my will, not Yours. As we are sent back into every institution we belong to this week, may we pray the same prayer Jesus prayed. Not my will, but Yours be done.