His dark materials are a fantasy book trilogy by Philip Pullman.
It is a reverse telling of Milton’s book, Paradise Lost, and it has been made into a television series.
This is not an endorsement for the book or the series.
Contrary to Milton…Pullman commends humanity for original sin…in his books, sin was/is the path to true freedom.
Pullman said in an interview about his own worldview as reflected in his books, “If there is a God, and he is as the Christians describe him, then he deserves to be put down and rebelled against.”
(Good luck with that, it’s already been tried)
His books have been described as a direct rebuttal of The Chronicles of Narnia.
Using that comparison…Pullman and Lewis present two very different views of human freedom.
So what does human freedom look like, and how do become free?
In the world of Narnia…it is freedom from sin through the sacrifice of Aslan (Christ)
-It is submission to the authority of God.
In the world of His Dark Materials…it is the freedom to sin through rebellion to the evil “Authority”.
I know these are fantasy series, but they both describe the worldviews of two award winning British authors.
One way to evaluate a worldview is to see if its claims make sense out of the world as it actually is.
- John Collins. Computer Science, Hebrew and OT scholar…wrote:
“An important argument for any position is how well it actually explains ordinary human experience…there is so much sadness in the world, and most feel that such sadness comes from things being wrong.”
So…is human freedom “from authority” or “to live under God’s authority”?
Is human freedom “from sin” or “to sin?”
Pullman doesn’t believe in God…so he believes that some humans use the pretense of God to exercise authority over others…to take away people’s freedom through fear tactics.
What does human history and human experience tell you?
What does your own experience tell you?
I’m not saying that what is true begins with your experience…God’s word is true.
But if we pay attention to the world around us and if we understand what his word actually says…
We will see that our experience of the world looks a whole lot more like Narnia than His Dark Materials.
Let’s go back two verses…then move to today’s passage.
1 Peter 2
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.
Peter calls the church sojourners and exiles (this is not our true or final home) then he tells them to be subject to every human institution (be faithful in this your temporary home).
Part of being faithful is to operate well under authority…starting with the emperor who serves as the supreme civil authority.
It is astounding to me, that this emperor, who Peter says they are to be subject to, was none other than the cruel tyrant Nero, who would soon murder Peter.
How can he say this?
Peter gives an important qualifier…
“Be subject for the Lords’ sake to every human institution.”
This is the theological basis for our submission to authority.
We are to imitate and glorify Jesus in how we relate to those in authority over us.
It’s interesting that Pullman in addition to “His Dark Materials” also wrote his own “biography of Jesus”…it seems that he liked Jesus’ morality…but not Jesus’ theology on which his morality was built.
Jesus is God the son, who lived for the glory of God the father.
Jesus…submitted to the authority of God the Father…and we will see in a few verses that a part of Jesus trusting God the Father…was allowing himself to be crucified by civil authorities.
Before we move on in this passage, let’s deal with the important topic of when is civil disobedience allowed or even required by Scripture?
Is Peter saying it is never allowed? No, of course not.
Peter himself disobeyed governing authorities in Acts 4 and 5 when he was told by them, to disobey God.
Exodus 1, the Midwives feared God more than the King and so they disobeyed his murderous law.
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel…all obeyed the king in everything up to the point of sinning against God…then they were willing to pay the ultimate price rather than disobey God.
There are other examples like this in Scripture.
In the military oath of enlistment members swear to obey the orders of the officers appointed over them.
Then an important qualification is given, “According to regulations.”
What this qualifier means is that you must not obey unlawful orders…in fact you are duty bound by oath to disobey them.
This can get tough…because some military members have concluded that they were given an unlawful order and so they disobeyed it…but the government disagreed, and they were punished for it.
AND
Some have obeyed what was an unlawful order and they were punished for doing so.
The real world can be a messy place.
Peter’s main point here is not to get into the weeds of when we should or should not disobey government.
He is simply saying, “You should be, by far, the best citizens of your country…though that country is not where your primary citizenship lies.”
There are so many potential difficult ethical scenarios regarding the Christian’s response to authority.
And many great Christians have wrestled with this…Augustine and the Romans, Bonhoeffer and the Nazis, Wurmbrand and the Soviets, Colson and America.
Dealing with these various scenarios requires a sound biblical interpretation, counsel from others, prayer and at times a willingness to sacrifice to do what is right.
Let’s summarize in two points:
- Biblically we are to submit to those in authority over us…and Peter’s use of the word “Every” authority implies much greater scope than just civil authority.
He will use the same verb “Submit” to refer to workplace and family lines of authority.
- Biblically we are not to submit to any authority…in a government, workplace, or family structure…that asks us to rebel against our highest authority, God.
We submit, for the Lord’s sake, to all demands that are not in direct violation of God’s written will.
Then Peter touches on two of the key purposes of civil authorities:
They punish those who do evil, and reward those who do good.
This doesn’t mean Peter believes the ideal is a modern Theocracy, like Israel was…or like some Islamic nations try to be today…
Or like some Christians think America should be.
This is about how even in a world broken by sin…in his case, where Nero was in charge…people thrive when those in authority live with clear moral boundaries.
There are laws and people who live outside the laws are punished and those who live inside the laws thrive.
And again, it’s messy, because the world is messy.
Paul wrote in Romans 13 that all authority relationships have been established by God.
-But, when those in authority overstep their limits and try to compel rebellion to God, then at that point they must be disobeyed.
Let’s move on…
In verse 15 you see again Peter’s emphasis on living as Christ-honoring sojourners and how our lives impact those who are outside the church.
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
His primary motivation in all this, is the Great Commission…evangelism that flows from a healthy local church…God’s free people, making gospel freedom known to all people.
If you miss this larger point…we will miss the whole point…Peter is taking the Great Commission seriously.
There have been many who thought that the world is changed primarily through politics…of course it is changed, both for good and bad, by political movements.
But the church is God’s change agent in the world…and we bring change primarily through living and telling the gospel.
We are to do other good things as well…but the Great Commission is our primary mission in the world
Just like God called Abraham out to be the father of a nation…whose purpose was to make God’s glory know the larger world…so, this is our calling as a church.
What was going on, when Peter wrote about silencing the ignorance of foolish people?
Well, because Christians refused to participate in emperor worship, they were accused of being seditious, traitors…if you don’t worship Nero, you are a traitor to Rome
The Jews got a break on this emperor worship thing (for awhile and to a point), and for a short time Christians were lumped in as a Jewish sect.
But when it was seen that they were different…they didn’t get that Jewish exemption from emperor worship anymore.
So, Peter talking about the ignorance of the foolish, is a descriptive not a derogatory statement.
They were ignorant of the truth.
The truth is that Christians obeyed the emperor, unless he tried to compel them to disobey Christ.
Historically, Christians who have taken their faith seriously have been by far the best citizens of their earthly countries.
This is true even in atheistic tyrannies like the former Soviet Union…I’ve read biographies of believers from these countries and how their faith in Christ empowered them to live as good citizens…and then how it empowered them to pay the price when they were told to deny Christ or suffer.
This principle plays out in many places, not just communist countries…but in places like Hartford, Connect.
-When Earnest Alexander was a boy, he had to work to help pay the family bills.
-When he became a follower of Christ as a young teen, he began to give 10% of what he earned (Sacking groceries) as the tithe to his church.
-His mom, who was not a believer at the time, threatened to beat him if he did not bring all the money home.
-Earnest said, “Momma, I will obey you in all things except if you ask me to disobey God.”
*She left him alone…and his. willingness to sacrifice was a key part of his mom coming to Christ.
The foundation for this historical reality of Christians living faithfully as dual citizens (obeying authority unless that authority overstepped), are found in the words of the Lord himself.
Mark 12:13 some leaders with an agenda sought to entrap Jesus and get him into trouble with the Roman government.
“Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God.
(If Jesus didn’t care about the opinions of others…, why did they think they could get to him by way of flattery?)
Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
That is the brilliant description of the tension that Christians live with.
There is currently a shortage of chaplains in the military and the need is tremendous.
To be a chaplain you have to be faithful to your own endorsing agency or faith group (A DOD requirement) and at the same time you must obey the orders of those in command over you. (Also, a DOD requirement)
Potential and sometimes actual tension there.
Southern Baptists have more endorsed military chaplains than any other faith group or denomination.
I bring this up as an example because chaplains endorsed by the SBC must hold to full biblical inerrancy, a commitment to Jesus as Lord, and a commitment to evangelism.
Those are not priorities of the DOD.
I once had a crusty Army commander ask me my religious affiliation when he saw that I had a cross on my uniform.
I said, “I’m Southern Baptist.”
“All you chaplains are southern Baptists!” he complained.
It’s not true, of course…but it seemed like it to him.
I replied, “There is no conspiracy, the chaplains who in are the military are the ones who have raised their hands…Southern Baptist have raised their hands. I’m sure anyone in your denomination (including you) who qualifies would be accepted it they would step up.”
He got quiet and walked away.
Why do so many Southern Baptists become chaplains?
Because of a biblical commitment to their dual citizenship.
Jeremiah told the exiles to Babylon (29:7), “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I sent you into exile.”
They were defeated in battle and exiled by an ungodly nation…and then told to be good citizens in captivity.
Serve God faithfully by serving whereever God has placed you…
It is hard to figure out how to do this sometimes…but it can, and it must be done.
I’ve been asked many times over the years, “So, I heard you chaplains can’t openly practice your faith, how do you do it?”
My response is, “First of all you have heard wrong…I have first amendment rights like everyone else. Second, I do it like every other Christian in the workplace does…Cessna, Koch, or USD 259.”
“I work hard to live within appropriate limits, and to be faithful to Christ, and to be willing to pay a price if need be.”
*Many of you know this struggle, this tension full well.
You are not going to get much human applause if you are faithful to Christ
The people Peter was writing to were in fact going to suffer persecution from the government…no matter how much they tried to be good citizens.
But yet, for the gospel, they were to be good citizens none the less…they were to be willing to pay the price for their faith.
But don’t suffer persecution, Peter writes, because you are being a knucklehead…suffer because you are being faithful.
Let’s press on:
16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
Now, with all this talk of authority, it might sound like we are not free.
So, Peter anticipates this…”Live as free people who are at the same time, servants (bond slaves) to God.”
Some Christian heresies in the NT time and since have taught that since we are free from the need to earn God’s favor…it doesn’t matter what we do.
This is just so dumb…it essence…”Christ has made me free from sin, so now I am free to sin.”
Sin is not a freedom, it is slavery.
There is no sinful action or attitude that does not threaten to enslave and destroy us…to take our freedom.
As we live as God’s servants…we are free to do what leads to a thriving life.
Now, that he has reminded us that we are free people…he will take us back to how we are to live among others as free people.
17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
We should treat everyone with respect…not just “important” people…not just people who “matter to us.”
But people who matter to God…which includes everyone.
Then we have an even higher obligation to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Paul wrote that we are to do good to all people and “especially” to other believers.
How is that we are to treat everyone with respect and “especially” believers?
This comes from the Lord’s teaching that non-believers will know we belong to him by how we love another.
Here’s a potential application of doing good “especially” to believers.
If the guy fixing your fridge is a believer, instead of asking for a price break since you are both Christians, offer him more than the going rate since he is a Christian.
*This doesn’t mean the repairmen should charge more if he knows you are a believer (here’s your upcharge) …but maybe he wants to give a fellow Christian a break because he sees a need.
The idea is that in the church, we are to model putting each other first…not putting self-first…this is compelling to a watching and selfish world.
Then, Fear God, is a higher obligation still. We are not to fear people, even rulers like Nero…God alone holds this high place in our lives.
To make this point clear, Peter returns to the same word he began this verse with, “honor the emperor.”
Peter knows what he is doing when he puts the dreaded emperor at the same level of respect with “all people.”
Remember, this was a culture that claimed divinity for the emperor.
So, here’s Peter’s triage:
First place: Fear God
Second place: Love the Church (Christians)
Third place: Honor all people, including the emperor.
Next Peter talks about what we would call the workplace.
He addresses servants, the word is sometimes translated slaves.
But he doesn’t use the more common Greek word for slave…so servant is a better translation.
What we think of as slavery, like 19th century America, would be far worse than what Peter is referring to.
In Peter’s time these servants were generally well treated and often served in “white collar” jobs…doctors, teachers, musicians, skilled artisans.
They were normally paid for their services and could expect to eventually purchase their freedom.
However, their service was involuntary…they had been born as servants, or captured in war, or were in debt.
But this thing Peter was referring to was by far the most common kind of employee-employer relationship in the ancient world.
There were those called “free men” who worked for others, but they would be closer to what we would consider independent contractors.
So, though it is not an exact comparison it would not be a stretch to compare these servants to employees.
Now, let’s read and apply.
18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
It would be illegal for your employer to literally beat you, but I’ve known people who feel as if they have been beaten down by a boss or commander.
Peter is setting the bar super high in terms of how we are to respond to our bosses.
Treat your boss with all respect.
“Okay if they earn it or deserve it, I will.”
“No,” Peter says, “How is that unique?”
Even if they are jerks…you are to be a good employee.
If you respond to a jerk boss by being a jerk employee…how does that indicate a changed life?
But if you respond to a jerk boss like Christ…then you have the only approval you need, God’s.
Your life is a joy to him.
These general principles apply to all of us under authority…government, business, marriage, family, education.
We don’t just act like Christ to authorities who act like Christ…again, how is that unique?
Peter wrote in 2:9 that we have been called by God out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Now he adds another component to our calling…we are sometimes called to “suffer unjustly.”
I like the “out of darkness” part of my calling…but not the “suffer unjustly” part.
21 For to this you have been called (this=suffering while doing right), because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
This is a sojourner “gut check.”
“Sure, this world is not my home, I’m just a passing through…my true home is heaven.”
Okay, you are going to be treated unjustly in this world.
“Hey, what a minute, here…I don’t think so.”
I can give mental assent to these grand principles…and believe that if there was a “knock on my door” Nazi storm troopers are there…”deny Christ or die”…that I would have the courage to not fail.”
But when you look at my daily life…If I feel like someone has slighted me, disrespected me, wronged me…I become angry, defensive, pouty, or I go on the offense.
Do you see the disconnect?
Jeremiah (12:5) said it, in memorable fashion, like this… “If you have been worn out running with men, how will you keep up with horses.”
The people thought it was “so hard” to follow God right now…but the prophet said, “just wait.”
You can’t keep up when the challenge is low, how will you keep up when the challenge is high.
“You think this is hard…you’re just running with men, soon you will be asked to keep up with horses.”
You better up the training…it’s going to get harder.
My application is, “Terry, if you can’t apply this truth in petty situations how do you think you would apply it much larger ones?”
My point is not to feel guilty…but to pay attention to the need to train for godliness.
Be faithful to respond to the situation in front of you today…train in the small things.
Peter doesn’t go next to a self-focus…he turns their attention fully to Jesus.
22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
What is amazing here is that no one knew Jesus better than Peter…imagine taking a three-year road trip with someone that included hundreds of miles of walking, difficult situations, dangerous encounters…you would know that person inside and out.
Peter wrote, “He committed no sin.”
Jesus is absolutely unique…there is no one like him in history.
When he suffered insult and threat…he did not respond in kind.
He put his confidence in the Father who will bring final justice.
Our most common response is to respond to hurt by seeking to hurt.
To threaten…maybe not threaten to harm them…but threaten to make them pay in some way…silent treatment, talk about them to others.
There are many ways we violate this principle of responding like Christ.
But all of these are the responses of people who like depend on themselves not God.
It is commonly thought and taught that there is therapeutic value in expressing anger.
Some won’t do this, so they stuff their anger and simmer.
Both of those approaches are self-centric.
To let anger fly or to allow it to simmer are both about trying to do things my own way.
Peter says that we, like Jesus…should actively trust God.
Of course, this doesn’t mean we should never express our anger…there are times when we should.
Or that is never right repress anger, when appropriate.
The point is that we are to live like Christ did in a world full of opportunities to take up offense.
We are to trust God not self in how we respond in all of these situations.
We are to live out the gospel in our everyday lives…in dealing with the many lines of authority that are all around us.
We are not passive in the face of wrongdoing…don’t misapply this.
God has used people who have been changed by the gospel to bring large social change.
But that large social change always begins with changed individuals…who are thriving in local churches focused on the gospel.
Peter is describing our path to freedom…he takes us back to the basics of the gospel.
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Christ had the power to stop those who were seeking his death.
He was free to do whatever he wanted…that is just what he did.
He willingly bore our sins in his body on the cross…in order that we might die to sin and live to God’s ways.
Our freedom was in his submission to his Father.
Our freedom is in our submission to Christ.
This will show up in the way we respond to others in authority over us.
The person who is bitter and complaining about the stupid government, their stupid boss.
The person who is angry, petty, unforgiving towards a spouse or parent.
When you look at this do you see freedom or bondage?
When you see the person shake their fist at God…go and live as their own boss…do you see a life of freedom?
That has not been my experience.
Everyone submits to a final authority…the authority of self is an enslaving tyrant.
The authority of Christ is that of the Shepherd and overseer of your soul.