“The Good Life – Surrendered and Free”

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:11-21

As we have been moving through Peter’s first letter to the Church, we have discovered that faith is a major part of its structure and purpose. The Church grows and thrives because of the people who come to it as memorials to what Almighty God has done for them. And subsequently, it is our experience with God that leads us to share our story with others.
Today, we begin to see that belonging to the Church is not just a matter of following – it must be a whole lot more if our Lord Jesus is to be truly honored and praised - if others are to be brought into the glory of his kingdom. A good life in Christ is about becoming free and claiming that freedom to live as one of his disciples, which, incidentally, is not like the freedom that the world understands. Our own nation was founded on the principle of liberty, which in our context means that we have a right to self-expression. People living in our country are allowed to live their lives in the way that they decide, as long as it causes no harm to anyone else or, in a limited sense, to their selves.
But freedom in Christ takes on a whole new meaning – one which the world neither understands nor agrees with. Romans 8:18-25 (21) tells us that we have been “set free from the bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” In other words, our freedom is from the consequences of earth and it carries us into the glory of heaven.

Jim and Shelley Douglas wrote:
An executed Messiah. A powerless king. What kind of king winds up on a cross at the place called The Skull?
Whether it is the first or the 21st century, redemptive violence is the ruling myth. The Messiah, or superhero in this myth, saves himself and us from death at the hands of evil enemies. The means of redemption from evil is killing, massively, if necessary.
How does a king with no army, who dies on a cross, fit into our myth?
He doesn't.
--Jim and Shelley Douglas, Living the Word, Sojourners, Nov./Dec. 1995, 58-59.
It just doesn’t make any sense, does it?

Read 1 Peter 2:11-12

Aliens & Strangers in this world! Is that a comforting thought for you? For most people, they want to belong, because being an outsider frightens them. The world is, for the most part, distrusting of those who are not like them, and we are no different. And scripture is telling us that this is OK – that we aren’t here to live as the world lives, but that we have another home, one that the world might think is strange and alien.
And, Peter tells us, we are to live our lives as though we are at home. The old adage of “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” doesn’t apply to Christians. And this thought is even more crucial when we consider what the Roman life was like in Peter’s day! And quite honestly, it isn’t much different today! But the fact that it isn’t a Godly existence isn’t the only reason that we should avoid it. We are told that if we live a Godly life, regardless of what is going on around us, we could very well have a positive influence on the lives of others!
And isn’t that what our purpose in this life is all about? To show the world what right living, what “Jesus’ living”, is all about?

Read 1 Peter 2:13-17

So now we begin to get into the differences between Christian freedom and the world’s concept of the term. In verse 16, Peter tells us to “Live as free men (& women!), but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.” And that is the telling difference – for the Christian, true freedom must be to God’s purpose, while the world’s concept is based solely in the advancement of self. We all understand that we are to submit ourselves for the Lord’s sake, but did you notice that it is to all authority, not just to God’s? To God’s law, as well as that of the President, the Governor, the County Executive, the Town Supervisor, the Village Mayor? That, too, is a major deviation from the world view. For them, social law, and specifically that which fits their own definition, is the only god they recognize, and the Divine has no place for them.
But didn’t Jesus tell us that we can’t serve two masters? (Matthew 6:24) That God is the only one for our lives? Why are we to submit ourselves to the world’s authority?
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was specifically addressing the issue of money, not authority, and now we are told that we are under all authority. This fits very well, of course, with Jesus’ response to the Pharisees regarding the question “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?” And of course, Jesus’ answer was “Yes”. (Matthew 22:15-22) And why not? Think about the consequences if God had told us that he is the only one we should obey? Confusion would reign!
And what if secular law stands in conflict with God’s? Then we obey the divine law, and seek the mercy of the courts when we are brought up for secular punishment. That may not be a pleasant thought, but it’s the only one that will allow us to “Show proper respect to everyone: … believers … God, and … the king.”

Read 1 Peter 2:18-21

And Peter kicks it up one more notch – submit yourself to all authority, not just those who you like and who are good! Again, we are being called to serve and submit as Jesus did. Pay your taxes, regardless of how they are going to be used; obey the speed limit, even if you think it is much too low; love your neighbor as yourself, even if they don’t deserve your love; don’t steal from your employer - and that includes paper and pencils and time - even if they can afford it; show respect to your elected officials, even if you disagree with their policies; and our list could go on for far longer than we have time for!

The point is, I believe, that the freedom that we have received in Christ doesn’t mean that we have license to do whatever we want. His liberating gift comes to us in our surrender to a new way of life – the gift that has freed us from the consequences of death – the gift that has lifted us up into a new kind of life. And that “lifting up” is closely tied to obedience to his teaching and his commands.
Jesus has set the standard for obedience, and it isn’t so high that we can’t meet it. It’s high, certainly, but it’s only too high when compared to the bar that the world has set. Let Philippians 4:13 be your inspiration in this regard – Paul wrote “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” The Lord Jesus not only gives us commandments, but he gives us the power to follow them. That’s why the Holy Spirit is among us, and in a couple weeks, we’ll be talking about his part in the Church. The problem for most folks, though, is that they don’t want to claim the power of the Spirit – they want to do it all on their own, and that is a sure sign of impending failure.

Surrender to Jesus. Placing our life in him is the only hope for true freedom and the fullness of life. That is the way of eternity, and some people will never come to know it except though the actions of our lives.
Choose the best life, and live Jesus to the fullest, so that others might live in that way, too!