https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/Honor-the-King-1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: I Peter 2:13-17<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. I Peter 2:17 – Honor the King<\/p>\n
A. It is getting hard to avoid the problems this country has with its leaders<\/p>\n B. Everyone knows about the sins commit by some of our recent presidents and each\nhas his own opinion on the matter\n
C. But knowing that a leader has sinned creates a difficulty for Christians<\/p>\n
II. Romans 13:1-17 – We are to show respect for authority<\/p>\n
A. Every soul must be subject to the governing authorities<\/p>\n
B. The authorities are called God’s minister or God’s servant three times!<\/p>\n
C. They rule by God’s decree<\/p>\n
D. As Christians we are obligated to pay our taxes and to give proper honor<\/p>\n E. Romans 13:5 – We must obey because of the wrath of these men but also because\nit is the right thing to do\n
III. There is no escape clause<\/p>\n A. Look at I Peter 2 and Romans 13 again. Do you see some qualifier that states it is\nOK to withhold honor from dishonorable leaders?\n B. Is there some indication that you do not have to give respect to a disrespectful\nruler?\n C. Many have a hard time believing there has ever been a time or place where\nrighteous leaders have been in such scarce supply\n
IV. Recall the time when these words were written<\/p>\n A. Rome, which ruled the world in Paul’s day, began as a republic, but by the first\ncentury was ruled by dictators who called themselves emperors\n 1. Some were noble men but few would have served as examples of good\nbehavior\n
B. Claudius ruled from A.D. 41 to 54, during the time Paul wrote many of his letters<\/p>\n
1. He was known as an able and efficient administrator<\/p>\n 2. But he is the one who issued the order expelling all Jews from Rome –\nActs 18:2\n a. Two who were expelled were Aquila and Priscilla, Christians of\nJewish ancestry, who moved to Corinth where Paul found them on\nhis second journey\n
3. Claudius assumed the throne after the murder of his nephew, Caligula<\/p>\n
a. Caligula was an insane man who ruled from A.D. 37 to 41<\/p>\n
b. Like Caligula, Claudius’ reigned also ended with his violent death<\/p>\n
C. Yet, it was about these ruling men that Paul said to give honor as kings!<\/p>\n
D. Then there was Nero (A.D. 54 to 68), a well-known hater of Christians<\/p>\n
1. Followers of the Way had never enjoyed popularity among the Romans<\/p>\n
a. They refused to worship the emperor as a god<\/p>\n
b. Therefore, their loyalty to Rome was questioned<\/p>\n
2. But Nero raised the persecution of Christians to new heights of evil<\/p>\n a. Nero, at times, set Christians on fire or had them torn to pieces by\nwild dogs in his arena\n
b. Even his fellow Romans were appalled by his cruelty<\/p>\n 3. It was to Nero whom Paul appealed for a review of his case in Palestine –\nActs 25:10-12\n 4. Later, when a large part of Rome burned in A.D. 64, Nero blamed it on the\nChristians\n
E. Yet both Paul and Peter wrote while living under Nero – Honor the King!<\/p>\n F. There are many others we could name, such as Domitian, who reigned near the\nend of the first century and surpassed Nero in the persecution of Christians\n
1. Other rulers have committed atrocities against Christians through the ages<\/p>\n
2. They feared those who would obey God over men – Acts 5:29<\/p>\n
3. These were men who were accountable to no earthly power<\/p>\n
4. Under his rule, John was exiled – Revelation 1:9<\/p>\n 5. Christians in their countries found they had two choices: obey the ruler\nand live, or obey God and die.\n
G. Yet they were told to honor the king!<\/p>\n
V. We live in a country where the people have a say in who rules them<\/p>\n
A. We vote on many issues and vote on our leaders<\/p>\n B. Our laws allow us to speak freely on anything we desire, though these laws are\nbeing eroded\n C. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that those elected will have the same high\nmoral standards as Christians\n D. Nevertheless Paul’s words in Romans 13 and Peter’s words in I Peter 2 remain the\nsame.\n
E. Yes, we should strive to elect men who will stand for biblical principles<\/p>\n
F. Yes, we should try to persuade others to live by the Bible as well<\/p>\n G. But once they are elected, never forget our responsibility to give honor to those\nwho have the rule over us. \n H. Remember that honor doesn’t include unswerving obedience. We honor and obey\nGod above all others.\n
I. Honor the king, and pray they rule wisely – I Timothy 2:1-4<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Peter 2:13-17 I. I Peter 2:17 – Honor the King A. It is getting hard to avoid the problems this country has with its leaders B. Everyone knows about the sins commit by some of our recent presidents and each has his own opinion on the matter C. But knowing that a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[310,198],"class_list":["post-62742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-government","tag-honor"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7553,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-honor-mean-in-i-peter-217\/","url_meta":{"origin":62742,"position":0},"title":"What does “honor” mean in I Peter 2:17?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 19, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does the word honor (spelled \"honour\" in the King James Version) as used in I Peter 2:17 instruct followers of Christ Jesus to honor all men, implying that we are to separate the wrong that we maybe aware that a person does from the person and then honor the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50978,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-does-live-as-people-who-are-free-fit-with-submission\/","url_meta":{"origin":62742,"position":1},"title":"How does “live as people who are free” fit with submission?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I wanted some clarification on what Peter says in I Peter 2:16.\u00a0What does Peter mean when he says \"Live as people who are free\"? The context throws me off a bit because he's talking about being submissive to authority. Answer: \"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47839,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/an-honorable-man-mordecai\/","url_meta":{"origin":62742,"position":2},"title":"An Honorable Man: Mordecai","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Corinthians 13:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Because of Paul\u2019s late arrival on the scene, his apostleship was at times questioned. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In Corinth, though established by Paul, the church struggled with many sins. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There were some among the Corinthians less inclined to correct their problems or to heed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83370,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/honor-the-emperor\/","url_meta":{"origin":62742,"position":3},"title":"Honor the Emperor","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chadwick Brewer \"\u2026living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor\" (I Peter 2:16-17). Often in Scripture, within a list of commands, one command or concept seems dissimilar to the others. I believe this serves to throw its importance into sharp relief. It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53168,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/honor-your-parents\/","url_meta":{"origin":62742,"position":4},"title":"Honor Your Parents","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Whit Sasser In the list of things worthy of death found in Romans 1:30 is disobedience to parents. Proverbs 30:17 says, \"The eye that mocks his father, and scorns obedience to his mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young eagles will eat it.\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63771,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-christ-is-worthy-of-praise\/","url_meta":{"origin":62742,"position":5},"title":"Why Christ Is Worthy of Praise","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Hebrews 1:1-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Christ has been appointed heir of all things \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Everything belonging to the Father are Christ\u2019s - John 16:15 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The nations were given to him as an inheritance - Psalms 2:8 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0All things are gathered together under his rule - Ephesians 1:10 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0D.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0All\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62742\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}