Comments on: Civil Submission in 1 Peter and the Contemporary Context

By: Brief Summary of The Jesus Paradigm (Giveaway) | for the Sake of Truth

Brief Summary of The Jesus Paradigm (Giveaway) | for the Sake of Truth — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:23:28 +0000

[...] How should Christians engage (or disengage) in political matters as citizens? (my view). [...]

By: Josh Mann

Josh Mann — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:54:21 +0000

Thanks for your comment. I think the most significant qualification on the phrase ‘human institutions’ in the passage is the adjective ‘every’ (πάσῃ). I think given the following context with slaves submitting even to crooked masters, your qualification above is incorrect. Peter’s answer is “Yes, we are to submit, even to evil-doers… for the sake of Gospel witness.” If you’re interested, I’ve discussed the context of 1 Peter 2-3 in related posts which you’ll find linked above.

By: Pastor Bob

Pastor Bob — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:06:17 +0000

Brothers, in Bible college they taught us to diagram sentences. So, a cursory examination leaves me with a question for you. Which “human institutions” was Peter calling for our submission to? It would appear that the text of 1 Peter 2:13 states that it is those “sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”

OK. Then what of those ‘authorities” that punish good and reward evil? (This applies to Romans 13, as well). It would appear to me that Peter was being very specific as to which authorities are worthy of our submission. Are we then to submit to evildoers? Is that not what authorities that punish good and reward evil are? And, how can the ignorance of foolish men be silenced when godly men submit to evil authorities?

If you want to know why a Christian nation such as ours has fallen into the gutter, I would suggest you look no farther than the pulpits that preach absolute submission to the state. Is that not idolatry? Forget God, the state will provide? A good source for further study on this issue is A Christian Manifesto written by Francis Schaeffer. I highly recommend it to you.

By: Josh Mann

Josh Mann — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:41:36 +0000

If my previous statement is accurate (in light of my discussion of 1 Peter in recent posts), then it would be disobedience.

By: Pantman

Pantman — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:58:51 +0000

Josh, I agree with your general principles stated here. My wondering is whether to obey laws of segregation *IS* in fact disobedient to Scripture. Loving one’s neighbor, perhaps? I haven’t decided on this myself, but it is certainly an issue I consider ripe for debate.

By: Josh Mann

Josh Mann — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:40:17 +0000

Let me be clear: segregation was and is wrong. However, if we take the situation as you have qualified it above (esp. the qualification ‘illegal’), I think proper application of 1 Peter suggests that the right course of action would be to remain obedient for the sake of the Gospel. Again, the purpose of obedience is Gospel-witness. The willingness to sacrifice personal justice for the purpose of Gospel-witness is central to the passage. It seems to me that civil disobedience is the right course of action only when such disobedience is required to obey God’s explicit commands as found in Scripture.

By: Pantman

Pantman — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:14:42 +0000

But surely the crux of civil disobedience is not the speaking out or otherwise against a regime, rather it is the breaking of the law.

My question would be this: when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on that bus in 1955 (and lets presume such WAS illegal rather than debate the specifics of the driver’s request), was it is sin? If the law was broken and she refused to submit to the authorities in that matter, did she sin?

If not, why not? What were the factors making her civil disobedience unsinful?

By: Red, White, and Blue Hermeneutics | for the Sake of Truth

Red, White, and Blue Hermeneutics | for the Sake of Truth — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:45:25 +0000

[...] Note: For my view on how the NT DOES apply to civic issues, see here. [...]

By: The Bible Archive » Blog Archive » Christian Carnival 290 is Up!

The Bible Archive » Blog Archive » Christian Carnival 290 is Up! — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:10:55 +0000

[...] Civil Submission in 1 Peter and in today’s context [...]

By: mike fox

mike fox — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:46:00 +0000

steve,

one of the things i brought up earlier was the role of christian speech when a third party is being abused, and i think josh is in part responding to that (though correct me if i’m wrong, josth). i agree that (authentic) christians must expect persecution & persevere through it (including bearing witness to Christ), but what about when the government is abusing another group that is not christian? do christians exercise a prophetic voice or simply ignore the social abuse/injustice while preaching the gospel?

put simply, sure, christians should seek christ through our trials (even trials imposed by the empire), but i believe the church should exercise its prophetic voice when the regimes abuse other parties (or at least i’m leaning that way). this may not feel relevant in the usa, but people in south africa, east africa, parts of asia, the middle east, well basically the rest of the world outside europe, really encounter such situations.