Keeping our eyes on the prize, our heart’s devotion to the right King… 1Peter 2:13-17
13Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
Reading this text incorrectly, put our focus on the wrong thing. We are then distracted from the greater by the lesser, from the giver to what or who we consider to be the taker.
Who is that Giver? God, our Father, the sovereign King, of whom we are slaves...
That Giver of rights and liberties, freedom through mercy and grace, is God our Father, through the life and sacrifice of Jesus. We should revel in that freedom, in those liberties, to live as children of God without fear of man. But, let us understand that the freedom we have in Christ must be governed, and that governing is by agape love.
What is agape? It is to prefer another, to love them by choice, being benevolent toward them wanting, being committed to their best, their blessing. (1Cor 13)
As God has chosen us by his preference and desires for us our, His, very best, having received His best, He calls us then to love others in the same way. How we have been loved and shown mercy, He calls us, as His slaves - as we are now obligated - He commands us, to love the same way.
This is not a commandment that we cannot obey. But in fact, a commandment that our character has been designed to obey. 1Peter 1:1-2
“To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout… ...chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood. Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”
We have been saved, to obedience, to Jesus. By his Spirit. And that obedience is a reciprocal expression of the love we have been loved by.
So that obligation mentioned above is not a begrudging obligation, but a wonderful privileged imitation and following the one who loved us and loves as well. And then gives us the privilege to live and love just as well.
Where do we go from here?
Laying a foundation of righteousness: of liberty and governance: living as free people: what does that mean?
What is righteousness?
It is to live according to the rightness of God, to express the character of God, to reflect His nature. It is to live like Jesus, in the freedom, the power, the Spirit gives us, and to do so with mercy, grace, joy, love - we have received, now, by God, through us, extended to others. It is Jesus’ life in us, lived through us, by us, in communion with His Spirit, by His truth.
So, let us understand: Righteousness is not a standard we live up to you, it is a nature we express. The nature of Jesus in us, by his Holy Spirit, according to his truth, has given to us by God, His indwelling, empowering Spirit, alive in us.
So as we dig into this text, it is through that lens that we must view it…
Freedom and liberty without a sense of responsibility is a recipe for anarchy in self-rule and a culture of “do not do to others what you would not have them do to you”.
As God’s slave, live as free people…
Freedom and liberty with a sense of responsibility for others is an exercise of agape which grows out of mercy. (Matt 5; Luke 6; Romans 12)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ d ”
28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii e and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
The point of mercy is that it is given to someone who deserves something bad return for what they have done…
Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you… permissive passivity and self-preservation
Levite and priest did the least that they could do
Got what he had coming to Him
Should not have been there, alone, to begin with
“I cannot render myself unclean” - going to Temple worship would have been risked (see Jesus healing on the Sabbath)
“I must get where I am going” a late man is an irresponsible man
At least they did not…
Add to his suffering
Kicking him while he was down
Mocking his stupidity and irresponsibility
Rub salt into his wounds
Take anything else from him
Cause him to feel guilty for…
Imposing himself and his plight upon them
Rendering them unclean
Keeping them from being on time; making them late - there are “righteous” duties to perform
Inconveniencing them
Cost them… use your imagination
Imagine the weight of guilt and shame they could have mounted on him if they had stopped to help - by not doing anything for him, they didn’t risk a mounting set of problems for themselves or the man
Jesus calls us “to do” for the “least of these”
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you… obligatory mercy actively expressed in and with apape and a servant’s heart - preservation of or care for others
We tend to see this as an example of how to behave, how to act, how to be moral.
When in fact, it is a depiction of the Messiah. Who sees us in our plight, our sin, when He could walk past and leave us in our brokenness, but, He does not, instead, He stops and ministers, expressing agape and mercy.
It is this mercy we are implored to keep in view, to imitate, to bring to bear…
Seeing us in our sinfulness, our rebellion, I disregard for our own eternal health and welfare, our penchant for going our own way as we understand the way, our irresponsibility, and accompanying sin and its obvious consequences… what we have done and keep doing to ourselves and each other…
...and yet…
...He does not shake his head, or click his tongue, or see us and walk by with a heavy sigh, a shaking head or wag of a finger in disgust and leave us, perhaps, deservedly, in our often self-induced misery.
But instead, he stops in spite of us, even though we are responsible for our own demise, our own condition, our own need. He stops despite our having rebelled against Him, the way of His wisdom, instead going our own way, knowingly, on a path of destruction, peril, and danger…
He stops, and stoops, and meets us in our need. He extends mercy and grace and provision - a refuge - in the midst of my foolishness - He stopped, He stops, to meet and minister and this, at His own expense.
This story is to show us His mercy, His love, His care and consideration - regardless of why we are where we are. Not calling down judgment and condemnation, but putting salve on the wounds inflicted by our own willful way and pays for our place of refuge and healing and promises to come back and pay some more.
Now, he calls us to do the same. Not anything he was unwilling to do, but exactly he did. “As a father his mercy and merciful, now you be merciful.“
This is the table to which we come today. That in spite of us, He invites us to join Him in the feast. This, even as we are so often spiteful and in rebellious opposition to Him and His way. In His mercy, He does not hold that against us, He does not withhold mercy, He does not withhold grace - but ministers and serves,
...and instead of condemnation, He offers Himself for us, and now, what He is asking us to do in response to His agape by mercy and having received mercy, this mercy now obligates us to do as He has done for us - to show that we are truly children of God. the blessing comes from the doing! Amen? THAT’S when other see the AGAPE, see Christ, in us and through us! That’s the Kingdom. Matthew 5; Luke 6; Romans 12.
We are free! We do have liberties, we do have rights; we are free to be righteous, we are free to be holy, we have the right to become children of God (John one): and with that right - through Jesus - to be a child of God (John 1) we, and only we, who are children of God, can imitate him (Ephesians 5:1-2) and bring to bear God’s mercy to a sinful rebellious people, as His mercy was showered on this sinful man, as I have received mercy, may I now be merciful.
Forgiveness
The goal cannot be “my rights and freedoms”
What is Christian freedom? Before I came to Christ I was a prisoner, in chains, kept in captivity, depraved, unable to free myself - I could only be what I was - sin and a sinner separated from God. I might be able to do good, but I could not be goo, i might be able to do right, even be right, but not be righteous, acceptable
Though a slave, I am free...
In Christ I am now free. Free to be holy, righteous, good, I can choose rightly the right path, an acceptable approved way
Free to be
Righteous
Holy
Purveyors of agape
I am free from
From captivity of the enemy
The penalty of sin
Death and eternal condemnation
I have the privilege of
Responsibility for the effectiveness of my testimony
Responsibility for the health and welfare of my brother
How is my liberty governed? Consideration of or for - or - agape: being loved as God loved us, me - (a) preferred choice both in choosing and in benevolent care and welfare
God and His honor and pleasure
Live and die for the Lord
Others’ welfare - Romans 12
For whose sake?
Do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil
Brings disrepute to God’s name “...for the Lord’s sake…”
To do what you want or feel you have the “right to do” - Galatians 5:13
If your freedom harms another
If your freedom causes another to stumble
