I'm really looking forward to Wednesday. I'm guessing some of you are too. It's hump day after all, but that's not why I'm looking forward to Wednesday. I'm looking forward to Wednesday because it's the day after election day. That's when things will start to get back to normal. The mailbox won't be overflowing with flyers. The telephone won't ring for opinion polls and candidacy announcements. The news won't be only recycled sound bites from the candidates. The political machinery will finally take a time out from its full-court press for a while. Some of you, like me, can hardly wait for the break. We're weary of all the hype. We're confused by all the spin. We've become cynical, distrustful of everyone and everything political. Others can hardly wait for entirely different reasons. If you are aligned with victors, you're eager to see promises kept and progress made. And if you're not, well, you're eager to get ready for the next fight. In either case, whether it fires you up or whether it wears you down, the power struggle of politics is a reality of our lives. And it can cloud us and seduce us to neglect the civics, The function of our citizenship here that it's intended to serve. Now, civics, there's a word that you maybe have never heard or you forgot long ago after government class. I don't know which. But though you may not know the word, we all know something about the reality that it reflects, that it represents. Each of us has some understanding of our rights and of our duties as citizens. Now, politics emphasizes our rights and encourages us to support people and proposals that will get them for us. Civics reminds us that we also have duties and urges us to fulfill them for the good of the whole, for the common good. So the question, and everyone has this question, we have this question all the time, but especially at election time, is how are Christians to participate in the civics of our nation? What's our role? What's the role of the church? Is there any help from God's word? Indeed, there is. I invite you to turn this evening to one of those places that touches on this strongly, and that's the letter we know as 1 Peter. 1 Peter. It's near the end of the Bible. It's after James, and 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, 3 John, and Revelation. So it's pretty close to the end. It's on page 1294 in your pew Bible. We're going to turn to chapter 2 there. We've turned to this letter because Peter wrote to Christians scattered throughout the Roman Empire who were suffering trials because of their profession of faith, as we heard this morning. Just because you make a profession of faith doesn't mean that there's no battle. That's when the battle starts, and this is what these people found. These new converts in Christ found themselves bound up with unbelievers at home, in the workplace, and in their government. They found themselves at odds with those who had authority over them. And Peter wrote to warn them that things were about to get a whole lot worse. They thought things were bad. Nero was coming into his own, and he was about to declare Christians public enemy number one. And he warned them in chapter 4 to not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. Jesus himself warned in John chapter 15, a servant is not greater than his master. They persecuted me, they will also persecute you. And so suffering on the account of Christ ought not to surprise them. And suffering on the account of Christ ought not to surprise us. And so we read this tonight, understanding to whom he wrote, but also understanding that this word comes down to us today. And so we read, beginning in chapter 2, verse 4, for some context. And we'll give our attention to the text that begins in verse 11 through 17. Again, 1 Peter chapter 2, beginning at verse 4. Hear now the word of God. As you come to him, a living stone, rejected by men, but in the sight of God, chosen and precious, you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture, Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. So the honor is for you who believe. But for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. 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 his visitation. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution whether it be to the emperors as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. And here ends the reading of God's word. And we trust that by his spirit he will apply it to his people. Well, we begin in verse 11. Peter starts in verse 11 to give an answer to the question, how are we as Christians to live under the authority of unbelievers? Now, he will address the family and he'll address work and civic life, but we'll limit ourselves this evening to civics. And so in answer to our question, we might prefer a full-color, step-by-step guide for what we're supposed to do. Or perhaps a voter's guide that would come in the Bible and tell us how to think and what to choose. But that's not what God gives us. That's not what Peter gives us. Instead, he gives us a primer in Christian civics. He gives us an orientation to how we as Christians live in this world under the authority of unbelievers. And he orients us to three key aspects of our citizenship as Christians. First of all, he considers our situation as temporary. He also offers us a summary of our civil responsibilities. And lastly, he orients our civil activities to our primary purpose as God's people. Now, it's clear from our text that Peter considers our situation temporary. He doesn't say that outright, but everything he says screams it. He begins in verse 11 by addressing the saints as the beloved, beloved, dearly loved. Now, certainly Peter loves them, but that's not his point. He's speaking to them and to us as the beloved of God. How do we know? Because it comes on the heels of all that God has done for his people in verses 9 and 10. They're loved by God, the one who has established you as a chosen race. He has handpicked you for his own. A royal priesthood who can enter into his presence. A holy nation. Set apart as citizens of His kingdom. A people for His own possession who can never be separated from His love in Christ. Beloved, all this is already true for you. Why? Because God Himself has already called His saints out of darkness and into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. You're no longer under his wrath. He's brought you close. The beloved of God are already citizens of his kingdom. And this is through faith in Jesus Christ who has delivered us from this present evil age. Who has condemned sin in our flesh by taking it to himself on the cross and set us free from the tyranny of the devil. We are free people here. We're servants of God. Christ is our king. But we're citizens of heaven. And this is the starting point for Christian civics. This is the place we must stand before looking at anything else in life that we're engaged in. This is who we are. This is who God has made us to be. But there's a rub in verse 11. Even though we are already citizens of heaven, we're already beloved, we are not yet residing there. We're here. For the time being, until we die or Christ returns, we remain here, he says, sojourners and exiles. Sojourners traveling through, living and working on a green card from God. We're exiles. We're not home. We want to be home. But we have to wait. And so we see from this contrast that he says that we're already beloved, but we're sojourners and exiles. This time of trial is limited. Our situation is temporary, and it will come to an end. The Apostle John envisioned this end in Revelation chapter 21. He says, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He saw us coming home. And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. For the former things have passed away, including the situation we're in today, as citizens of heaven, sojourning in the world. And so in the meantime, as we wait for that day, when we come home, we'll find the account of the Old Testament of Jerusalem in exile in Babylon instructive. And I believe it was in Peter's mind, at least in the back of his mind, as he brings forward his text to us today. If you remember the story, the Lord sent the citizens of Zion, the citizens of the city of God, Jerusalem, into exile in Babylon. And they were to sojourn there for 70 years. And while they were there, he did not revoke their citizenship. He didn't take away their citizenship in his city. For he promised to bring them back. But during those 70 years, they would be resident aliens. They'd be sojourners and exiles in Babylon. And during that time, he commanded them to live in a way that not only extended the kingdom of God where they were, but also served the good of unbelieving Babylon. He told them in Jeremiah chapter 29, Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters. Multiply there and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf. For its welfare, you will find your welfare. You see the parallel. The living image that we have from the Old Testament for how it is we live today. And in like manner, Peter presents the saints here with a summary of our civil responsibilities here and now in Babylon, if you will. Waiting to return home to our heavenly New Jerusalem. Now in this, our second point, we'll start where Peter ends in verse 17. I want you to look there for a moment. In that verse, he gives us four very pointed commandments. And there he sums up our civil responsibility as Christians for the time that we must wait. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Now we want to read and understand this from top to bottom. That's how we look at things. But we need to read and understand this from the inside out. Let me explain. Honor everyone and honor the emperor function like bookends. And they focus our attention to what's in between. And when we look and listen to what's in between, what do we hear? What do we hear? We hear love the brotherhood and fear God. Sound familiar? Do you hear the echo of Jesus' summary of the law from Matthew 22? You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is the first and great commandment. And there's a second like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. You see, just as in the rest of life, home, work, any place, also in our civil responsibilities, Our life and our practice is to be centered on the will of God as he's revealed it in his word, in his law. And it's from this center, as citizens of heaven, that Peter would have us move outward to interact in this world. And the first way we move outward is from the command, love the brotherhood. Those who are near and dear to us, fellow believers, to the command, honor everyone. Again, we hear the echo of Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount. He said, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. It's not enough to love those who love you or to greet only your brothers. Even unbelievers do that. He goes on to make an argument that if you're going to love even your enemies, as Jesus commands, If you're going to honor everyone, as Peter echoes, then without distinction, you must shower everyone with goodness. Just as our Heavenly Father makes his sun rise and fall on the evil and the good, and causes his rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike. Honor everyone. And Peter unpacks this a bit in verses 11 and 12. There he urges us to pursue one thing with two aspects. I want you to catch this. One thing, as we honor everyone, two aspects, one inward, one outward. Our English text disguises this from us, so I want you to follow along as I read from there with some minor clarifications. Verses 11 and 12. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which inwardly wage war against your soul while keeping your outward conduct honorable among the Gentiles. Now hear this together again. Abstain from the passions of the flesh which inwardly wage war against your soul while keeping your outward conduct honorable among the Gentiles, the unbelievers. This is not two separate commandments. This is one commandment that has two parts. You see, our civil responsibility does not involve waging war against unbelievers. We're not called to jihad like the Muslim. We're not called to Christian crusades. Our real battle is not with the people around us, but with the passions within us. To borrow a quote, I have more trouble with Stephen Donovan than any man I know. And I know the same is true for you. I have more trouble with me than I have with any neighbor. But as citizens of heaven, we're empowered by the Holy Spirit in our souls. And as he empowers us, we are to wage war against the sin that still clings to us in the flesh, which is the habits of the heart that are left over from Adam and from our own sinful youth. That's where we wage war. If we don't, we'll keep living like and blend in with unbelievers. We won't look any different. But as we more and more abstain from these inward passions that rouse us to sinful conduct, we will more and more keep our conduct honorable. Our battle on the inside will yield fruit on the outside. And Jesus made this connection in a parable in Matthew chapter 12. Either make the tree good and its fruit good. Or make the tree bad and its fruit bad. For the tree is known by its fruit. We honor everyone there to know our fruit. As we wage war at the root in the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God. And according to verse 12, this honorable conduct is attractive, and God intends for it to be seen. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that they may see your good deeds. And anyone, even an unbeliever, can recognize this kind of conduct. Conduct that is beautiful, or beneficial, praiseworthy, or sometimes just the right thing to do. We move from loving the brotherhood, honoring everyone. And the second way we move outward is from the command, fear God, and God alone, to the command, honor the emperor. Well, first of all, what does it mean to honor the emperor? At the very least, it means the same as what we honor our neighbor. We honor everyone. That includes the emperor. He's not above our honor. But it also means that we honor the position, the office to which God has appointed him. The Apostle Paul helps us here in Romans chapter 13, the other place in the New Testament that's very clear on the role of the civil magistrate. There, Paul writes, let every person be subject to the governing authorities. Why? Because there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. We honor their emperor because he's the emperor because God made him the emperor. And Peter agrees in verse 13, he says, Be subject, that is, submit for the Lord's sake to every human institution, every human authority. And he makes it clear that every means every when he adds, whether it be, or we might say even if it be, the emperor as supreme or the governors as sent by him. Submit to every authority. And if honor is owed to the highest authority, it's certainly owed to every lesser. authority. Now, we're Americans. That's a tough pill to swallow. I'm not seeing any acknowledged, but nobody wants to be known as a traitorous person, but we don't like this. It's a tough pill for us to swallow, but I think it was a tougher pill for them, Peter's readers, because even the official, public, and deadly persecution that would soon be upon them would not void this command. It stands. And this honor requires more than lip service. According to verse 15, the will of God requires doing good. Paul expands on this again in Romans 13 saying that because they are ministers of God, pay to all what is owed them. Whether that be taxes or revenue or respect or honor. Pay your dues. action like I said this is a tough pill for us to swallow and I think I know I wrestled with this and I suspect others might as well we'd like to think this surely doesn't apply to us today after all we don't have an emperor we have rights and we have freedoms we're Americans now it's true we're not governed by the whims of an emperor there's checks and balances in our system that buffer those things But we are governed by multiple authorities, layers of magistrates, the federal, the state, the local, separated powers, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. And we're impacted in every aspect of our lives by an alphabet of agencies. You think the government was everywhere in Rome. The government's everywhere here. I don't see how the complexity of our government in any way lessens this command. In fact, I think it heightens this command to be subject to every human institution, every authority. And it's true, we do have freedoms and rights granted to us by our system of government here, likely many more than our brothers and sisters in Rome had. And this too adds complexity to our Christian civics. It's why it's a difficult thing to wrestle with when we come to the practicalities of what to do and when to do it and who to do it with, with regard to our politics. It's complex because being subject to our governing authorities includes being subject to the laws that govern them as well. And so, not only do we honor them by giving them what we owe them, In our context, we honor them by doing all things lawful to influence them. We honor the emperor in this culture by fulfilling our civil responsibilities and opportunities that the magistrate has granted us under the law. And so we participate in good and honorable ways that good and honorable carries over. Good and honorable ways as the law allows in speaking and writing and acting on behalf of persons and projects and causes that we believe in. And we assemble with others to either agree or to debate. And we honor them by choosing who and what we support when we vote. Yes, our vote counts. It may not count in California for a lot. But before God it counts. This is how we honor the emperor. This is a piece of how we honor the civil magistrate here. And we do these things for the common good. Not to lie in my pocket, not to get what I want, but to pursue what we believe is right. And what we believe accomplishes the good for the whole in this world. We're looking to honor everyone, even as we fear God. Now remember, God has appointed governing authorities for this purpose, to praise those who do good and to punish those who do evil. That's clear from Scripture. That's their job. And when our deeds are good and when our conduct is honorable, they should be praised. They should be praiseworthy by the magistrate. But as we all know, what should be and what is aren't always the same. And when governing authorities abuse their power, and they will, so that the good works and honorable conduct of God's people are punished rather than praised, we have a choice. We have a choice. Our inner passions will tempt us to repay evil with evil, to curse, to strike back. To exact vengeance. But the will of God is this, according to verse 16, that we live and keep on living as people who are free. Not using our freedom as a cover-up for evil. But living as servants of God. Living out of our fear of God and love of the brothers. To honor everyone and to honor the emperor. And so how do we respond as God's people when the government abuses our goodness, our honorable deeds on behalf of the state? Well, according to Romans 13, we repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to what is honorable in the sight of all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. In short, when we find ourselves oppressed, disparaged, persecuted by those in authority in our civil system, we entrust ourselves to God. Just as Peter's readers were to entrust themselves to God. It's he who judges justly. And it's he who turns the heart of the king in whatever way he will. And so we pray, as Paul taught us in 1 Timothy chapter 2, for the kings and all who are on high places. We pray for them. And we pray for them so that we, God's people, may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. We pray that they leave us alone in a sense. And Paul says, this is good, and so do we. We like that idea. In fact, isn't that part of the American dream? I've got the government off my back. That's not Paul's point. That's not God's point. He doesn't stop there. God does not grant this peaceful and quiet life as an end in itself. That comes when Jerusalem comes. If the Lord grants us peace and quiet in this life, it is something He is granted and pleased to do for the furtherance of His purposes. And His purpose is that all people would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. He wants the gospel heard everywhere. And he grants peace and tranquility in a culture, in a society, to open the door for that to be proclaimed without hindrance. And so when we pray for governing authorities, we are to ask God to work through them to uphold justice, to maintain peace for this reason, primarily, that the gospel of Jesus Christ would not be restricted. either in his preaching from pulpits or in the lives that we live. That we would be free to bear witness to his goodness to us in Christ by how it is we speak, how it is we act. And pursuing these, our civil responsibilities toward this end leads us to our final and brief point of Peter's primer, our Christian civics. And we want to know how Peter orients Christian civics to our primary purpose. This is not divorced from who we are and what we're supposed to be about. This is not an add-on to our life. This is part of who we are in this world as we wait for glory. And so I ask you, what is our primary purpose? What is our primary purpose? Let me ask it in a way that may be more familiar. What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. this is clearly the teaching of scripture it's stated plainly in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 31 so whatever you do civics included whatever you do do it all to the glory of God and Peter warns us that whatever we do to the glory of God among the Gentiles amongst unbelievers when we do this we're going to be met with hostility he doesn't promise a friendly bunch they'll accuse you of being evildoers good for nothings maybe even criminal we know in nations around the world that speaking the truth of this word is being counted as criminal that day may come here but he also assures us in verse 15 that their accusations are the ignorance of foolish people as we heard this morning their eyes are closed they have no idea what they're hearing or seeing unless the Lord would open their eyes. According to Isaiah chapter 5, they stand under the condemnation of God. He says, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness. Woe to them. Judgment will come upon them in the day of judgment, in the day of visitation, as Peter refers to it here. But until that day, the day that Christ returns, our good deeds and our honorable conduct are to serve as a light in this darkness. As a light to those who are blind. For God can use us in that way to draw people to the gospel. Peter hints at this in verse 15. He says, It is his will that by doing good he should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. And he makes it really clear in verse 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. They may see your good deeds. This is not a passing glance. This is not an intense study. This is the kind of scene that Pastor Gordon talked about this morning that God would grant that open their eyes to see that there is something in you and in me that is a conduct and an attitude that's different because we operate from the place of fearing God and loving the brothers. Therefore, we honor all men and we fear the emperor. And they see, they're allowed to see. And so this is why Peter in 1 Peter 3.15 says that we should always be ready when asked to give a reason for the hope that we have. No one's going to ask unless they see. And no one's going to see unless we do. And again here we hear the echo of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount. He says, you are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others. And why does he say this? For this purpose so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. This too is in our confessions. Heidelberg question answer 86. All of you young people, if you haven't memorized it already, you're working on it. This is an important question and answer. And Peter has laid out much of it right here in these verses. There we ask. We have been delivered from our misery by God's grace alone through Christ and not because we have earned it. Here's the question. Why then must we still do good? Why does this matter? Why does Peter call us to have honorable conduct among all men and to honor everybody? Answer. Well, to be sure, Christ has redeemed us by His blood. We start the same place Peter started. To be sure, we're already citizens of heaven. We don't have to do anything to earn that place. But we're not yet there. And so we do good because Christ by His Spirit is also renewing us to be like Himself. So that in all our living we may show that we are thankful to God for all that He's done for us. And so that He may be praised through us. There's our primary purpose. That we might glorify God. And we do good. so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruit, that from our progress in conduct that's honorable, we may know that the war inside is being waged and progress is being made, and so that, by our godly living, our neighbors may be won over to Christ. The primer was simple. The task is lifelong. May the Lord equip us to carry it forward, not only to Tuesday, but day after day and to carry it out as sojourners and exiles waiting to take up residence in the new Jerusalem. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, as people made in your image, we praise you and thank you for the common good you've shown to all mankind. By establishing restraints through civil government. Your word tells us that apart from restraint, Father, the sin that we all inherit from Adam, the sin that is so vibrant in us, Lord, would run its course among all men. And we thank you for that restraint. And we thank you, Father, that the civil magistrate appointed by you, Because he's been appointed by you, he's appointed to not stand in the way of your work through Jesus Christ and the gospel that proclaims him. And we pray, Lord, for our civil magistrate in this country at every level, in every sector, that you would show us grace to keep the gospel of Jesus Christ unencumbered. That the truth of your word and the hope that it offers in Christ would be proclaimed freely and broadly. To be heard by many and heard by all. And that we as your people would be free to live godly lives in peace and in quiet. That through your work in us, Lord, we might become beacons of light. To be known and recognized as those who stand apart and are different. And beg the question. What's up with you? And Lord, we pray that we'd be ready to give a reason, a simple reason for the hope that we have. That we're sinners like everyone else. And that we have come to know that Jesus Christ lived and died and was raised for us. And we believe it. Help us, Father, to be good citizens here. Christian citizens in this land. That we would bear good witness to you and to your promises. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.