When a child talks back to his parent, or a boy calls his dad “the old man”, or a person refers to police officer as a “pig”, or Christians have “roast preacher” for Sunday lunch, or citizens make degrading jokes about a government leader, or when people call God as “the big man upstairs”, in each case they are being disrespectful. Because of our sinful nature, we struggle to maintain a respectful attitude toward those who are over us, but disrespect is always wrong.

Transition

In our text this morning, God gave us five commands that will help us develop a respectful attitude.

Submit to Every Ordinance of Man

  1. Submission is yielding to an order (v.13-14)
    1. The word means to allow yourself to be arranged under another. God is commanding us to yield to authority and respectfully allow ourselves to be arranged under them.
    2. We are to allow ourselves to be arranged under the authority of every ordinance of man. The word “ordinance” means something created. In this case it probably speaks of a created institution or laws. Generally speaking, the laws of any land are for the good of society.
      1. We are to submit to these laws for the Lord’s sake. When Christians disobey the laws of the land, they bring disgrace on the name of the Lord.
      2. You may ask, “What if a law forbids something that God clearly commands?” Years earlier Peter faced this when he was commanded not to preach and God told him to preach. Remember what he said? “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) In our arrangement under authority, God is at the top, then the government, then us.
    3. We must submit to our government leaders.
      1. God said that the government of the land has a twofold purpose.
        1. It is appointed to punish evildoers.
        2. It is appointed to praise well-doers.
      2. The Lord is reminding us that the government in a general sense is not against us. Even the wicked government of Nero was generally for their good.
  2. Submission is God’s will (v.15)
    1. It is God’s will that we submit to governmental authority. You don’t need to pray about this. God ordained governments. “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” (Romans 13:1)
    2. Another reason is because our obedience will silence the ignorance of foolish men. Doing good (obeying laws) will literally muzzle or cover the mouth of the opposition, like a dog is muzzled so he cannot bite. When Christians rebel needlessly against the government, they stir up slander from those who are ignorant of the Bible.
  3. God wants submission to be from the heart (v.16)
    1. Christ set Christians free from the bondage of sin (Joh 8:36) and free from the OT ceremonial laws (Col 2:16). However, this does not mean that Christians can do as they please. Liberty in Christ is not a “cloke of maliciousness” in other words a cover for wickedness. Liberty gives us the right to do right not the right to do as we please.
    2. Instead of demanding that we are free from human authority, we must submit to human authority because we are slaves to God and He has so commanded.

Honour All People

  1. What does it mean to honour?
    1. Honour means to value, prize, respect, or revere. Honour is a type of submission. It is elevating another instead of myself.
    2. Kenneth Wuest describes it this way. “To honor someone therefore, is to evaluate that person accurately and honestly, and treat him with the deference, respect, reverence, kindness, courtesy, and obedience which his station in life or his character demands.”
    3. We can show honour or respect to people with our words, our attitudes, proper titles, and our actions towards them.
  2. God said we are to give honour to all people.
    1. All humans deserve honour. They are created in God’s image (Gen 1:27). God loves them (Jn 3:16). Jesus died for them (1Ti 2:6). We must value their soul, respect their person, and honour their qualities.
    2. Children, you must honour your parents and teachers (Eph 6:2)
    3. Even evil people are to be honoured. How? You cannot honour their evil deeds, but you can honour their position and other good qualities they have.

Love the Brotherhood

  1. God commands us to love the brotherhood.
    1. Who is the brotherhood? This is a term that refers to a family of brothers.
    2. In a Christian context it refers to brothers and sisters in Christ.
  2. Love is a step above honour.
    1. When we love with agape as God commands, we give of ourselves to meet the needs of another expecting nothing in return.
    2. Love is reaching out to help fellow Christians, even sacrificing for them because you are spiritual kin. To do this we must place them ahead of ourselves.

Fear God

  1. God demands our fear
    1. To fear God is to lovingly respect His authority and to tremble at the thought of displeasing Him or even worse receiving His discipline. Those who fear God obey Him in everything and without excuse.
    2. Fearing our God is not an option. Failure is disobedience. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
  2. God deserves our fear
    1. God is the omnipotent, holy, sovereign of the universe. He is our Creator. He has all power, yet his demands are perfect in every detail.
    2. He has planned and provided for our eternal salvation. We deserve damnation in hell, but He offers us forgiveness and eternal life through Christ’s atonement.
    3. Trusting Christ to save you is showing Him respect.

Honour the King

  1. We have already defined honour
    1. Again, honour means to value, prize, respect, or revere. Honour is showing respect. It is elevating another instead of myself.
    2. Remember, we honour others with our words, our attitudes, proper titles, and our actions towards them.
  2. God commands that we honour our leaders
    1. This would have been difficult when Nero was the emperor. He was a cruel and heartless persecutor of Christians.
    2. In our case, the king is our prime minister. You may not agree with our prime minister’s policies, or his life style, or his character, but God commands that you to speak respectfully of him because of his position.

Conclusion

We have looked at five commands that will help us develop a respectful attitude. We must respectfully submit to government leaders, respectfully honouring all men, respectfully love fellow Christians, respectfully fear God, and respectfully honouring the prime minister. We are to do this for the Lord’s sake. The Lord is pleased and praised when we do.

If you have not been showing the respect that God commands, whether it is to a government leader, to fellow Christians, to your spouse, to your parent, or to God, now is the time to begin.

Song: Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord – 337
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A Respectful Attitude
5 July 2015 AM – 1 Peter 2:14-17 – 1Pe15 – Scott Childs