Emperors, Tyrants, & Weaponized Honor

In the preceding verses of this letter, Peter soared to glorious heights in naming the people of God—in telling us who we actually are. “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God’s] own possession! You are like living stones, being built up into a spiritual house for God to dwell in!”

And a very reasonable response for a Christian hearing this soaring rhetoric, say a Christian in Asia Minor, the original recipients of the letter, might be, “What is a holy nation to do in the midst of a wicked empire? What is a chosen race to do in subjection as citizens of Rome under delusional, tyrannical, wicked Nero—who claims to be a son of God?”

Or we, modern Christians reading this letter, which is as much to us as to those first-century Christians: “What is a royal priesthood to do in the midst of a nation with the blood of 60,000,000 aborted infants on her hands? What is a people for God’s own possession to do amidst a people abandoning all moral reason and unfazed by desperate acts of evil?”

Together, we might respond, “Peter, we believe we are what you say we are. We believe the gospel, our newness. We believe that we are God’s new creational people amidst the kingdoms of darkness. But what do we do with the collision of these Kingdoms? What do we do as the values of the Kingdom of God—where we anchor our true citizenship—collides with the way of the kingdoms of men?”

And what Peter is going to give us is essentially a not-that-way-but-this-way sort of answer. Because one of the ways this could work, one of the ways kingdom can work, is like it did several times in history with Islam.

In several major periods, but especially in its early history, Islam spread behind military conquest. In contrast to this, the church spread rapidly through the Roman Empire—not behind military conquest—but at the other end of the sword! It spread, not by killing but often by dying! It spread through the activity of church planting and missionary work, not through conquest.

What Peter gives us this morning is what became the grand war strategy of the ancient church in the conquest of a wicked culture—not by might, nor by power, but by God’s Spirit. Not by violence or by swords, but by love and honor. By radical embodying of a better Kingdom and its better way, occupying the very heart and throne of a wicked kingdom and its deathly way like leaven occupies a lump of dough and transforms it.

And so I need to warn us: We may be tempted to desire “better” weapons than the ones we’re given. We may look at the culture of death we inhabit and say, “Don’t you see the power of this beast? Don’t you see its weapons and influence? Where is our power?”

Our brother Peter is going go put weapons in our hands today, weapons for Kingdom war—but not the kinds of weapons we are quick to reach for. Not violent revolution, but gospel-reformation. Not reviling, but honoring. Not killing, but loving. 1 Peter 2:12—17,

“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.

Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor 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.”

-1 Peter 2:12–17