Getting God's Attention

Just the word “submission” likely makes some of you reading this bristle. “I don’t want to hear about that,” may be a thought that is running through your mind. Don’t resist or reject what the Bible commands. 1 Peter 2:13 clearly commands “submit yourself to every ordinance of man, for the Lord’s sake.”
 
The word "submission" simply means "being under," or being willing to cooperate with another. It's a military term. Joel 2:7, in describing the people of God, says, "They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, and they do not break ranks." How do they maintain such order? Through submission to authority.
 
Our submission gets God’s attention. Luke 7:1-10 describes an instance where a Roman centurion’s understanding of submission and authority made Jesus marvel. The centurion asked Jesus to heal his dying servant. As Jesus approached, the centurion said, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed." He then explains, "For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes." The Bible says Jesus marveled at this man's faith, saying, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."
 
This Gentile demonstrated remarkable faith because he understood God's structure of authority. He knew that Jesus' word carried power. Jesus was surprised, amazed, astonished by this man's faith, and this man’s faith was developed, in part, because he understood submission to authority.
 
Adrian Rogers once stated it this way: "We will never be over that which God has placed under us until we first are under that which God has placed over us." God has given us His Word, but He has also established institutions in our world for our good, for His glory, and to maintain order in society.
 
1 Peter 2:17 provides four ways to show submission in our lives. It reads, “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”
 
"Honor all people" reflects humanity’s equality of worth before God, and it applies to everyone. This command isn't limited to Christians. In society, every single person on Earth is made in the image of God. Genesis 1:26 states, "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'" Every single person bears God's image and is precious to Him. We are not to honor just some people; we are to honor all people.
 
It means recognizing the inherent value of every individual in God's eyes. This means they are more valuable than animals. Sometimes, in our society, we see the life of an animal valued more than the life of a child, a baby, or someone nearing the end of life. This is contrary to God's Word. Even if society trends this way, as Christians, we must affirm that humans, not animals, are made in God's image. Because of this, every person is worthy of honor.
 
Sometimes we hear, "The rich are valuable; the poor are not." James 2:1-9 directly addresses how believers are not to show favoritism and illustrates this with the example of showing preferential treatment to a rich person while disregarding a poor person. He calls this favoritism sin. Rich and poor alike are equally valuable to God. We are to honor all people. It doesn't matter about their background, status, or anything else.
 
"Love the brotherhood" refers to the church. Jesus said in John 13:35, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." How we treat one another matters. There should be an aura of respect, certainly, but also an aura of love—a familial love within the family of God. We are part of the same family, destined to spend eternity together, so we should embrace one another and show love to one another.
 
"Fear God” means reverence and respect for God. Proverbs 1:7 states, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." We can't truly know anything until we recognize God's rightful authority in our lives. We show reverence and respect for God by respecting His Word and acknowledging His supreme place in our lives. Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." We should affirm that Jesus is the only way to heaven because that is what Jesus Himself declared. To reverence God is to acknowledge that He is in charge. You might ask God, "Why?" And God replies, "Because I said so." And our response should be, "Yes, sir." That is recognizing God's authority in your life.
 
“Honor the king” includes respect for government leaders. In a democracy where we can vote for our leaders, we should. However, no matter who is in office, we should honor them. We should also pray for our leaders, as instructed in 1 Timothy 2:1-2: "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." Our submission includes honoring the king.
 
When discussing submission, we must also state that there are exceptions. For instance, Acts 5:29 says, "We must obey God rather than man!" We sometimes cling to that phrase to justify all sorts of rebellion in our hearts. However, in this verse, Peter had been told not to preach in the name of Jesus, and he rightly refused to comply.
 
When something is immoral or sinful, we must obey God. I counseled a wife whose unbelieving husband asked her to do something immoral and sinful. She asked me what she should do. I told her, "Absolutely not. You tell him, 'I obey God, not man,'" because his request was sinful. She rightly refused to comply.
 
We see this in Exodus 1 when Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill any Hebrew baby boys. The midwives refused. When Pharaoh confronted them about the increasing number of Hebrew boys, the midwives lied and said the Hebrew women were so strong they gave birth before they could arrive! A blatant lie, but they did it because they feared God. And God honored them for protecting those Hebrew babies. They refused to comply.
 
So, there are times when we must disobey institutional authorities, specifically when we are asked to do something sinful or immoral. But we must not use this principle as a cloak for our own rebelliousness.
 
1 Peter 2:15 says, "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people." "Put to silence" means to muzzle. When people criticize or slander you, your actions as a Christian will silence them.
 
If you demonstrate proper respect for the institutions God has established—whether it's your home, your workplace, the government, or the church—people will notice. They'll observe the order and respect, particularly in contrast to the prevailing rebellion and anarchy. They'll see that Christians are exemplary employees. Recruiters should be eager to hire Christians, recognizing their strong work ethic and commitment to authority. As Christians, we should be the best citizens, employees, employers, husbands, wives, and children, pointing others to Jesus.
 
“Lord, help me to understand the importance of submission in my life. Teach me to reflect my obedience to You through my attitude towards authority. May my actions be a testament to my faith and demonstrate the transformative power of the Gospel. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
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