Have you ever known people who continue to talk and put down things they know nothing about? You want to tell them to just shut up! I’ve known many. Especially those who are not Christians. yet they think they have Christians all figured out. They babble about a verse that they have heard somewhere. They totally take it out of context and misapply it. You stand by silently until you can’t take it any longer. You speak up, only to irritate the situation. Now all those who are listening are put in a position of taking sides. If you are in a situation where most are not Christians, or even worse, they call themselves Christians, but they have no evidence of their profession, you become, as they say, “on the short end of the stick.” The world is full of those who, because of their ignorance, speak about a God they know nothing about.
In I Peter 2:15-17, Peter tells us how to handle these people. He contends in verse 15 that it is our conduct that will put them to silence. The first thing we can do to silence them is to live exemplary lives of submission to all authorities. By obeying the laws of those in authority we deflect the attention away from ourselves. In other words, we are giving them nothing to talk about.
I Peter 2:15-17 “For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”
Once we surrender our hearts to Christ, we have new authority in our lives. We are no longer mastered by our sins, but we are free to live the way God intended from the beginning of time. Peter reminds us that we possess the freedom that nonbelievers can not enjoy. We are free from the curse that falls on the disobedient.
Galatians 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree:”
We are also free from sin’s power controlling our lives. We have the necessary tools to combat sin. Our freedom is the freedom to serve. We are to live in such a way that we influence those in authority around us to want what we have. The freedom we have in Christ is the freedom to serve God in a way that brings glory to Him.
Romans 6:22 “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”
In verse 17, we are reminded that we are to honor all men. We are to treat everyone with dignity no matter what their situation in life. It is only right to respect all people because we all bear the image of God. How can we treat others with respect when they are totally against the things that God says are right? We do so by remembering who our example for life is. It is Jesus Christ. How did He act toward those who were in authority when He was being treated so terribly before His crucifixion? He returned not a word. He didn’t yell and scream about their injustice. He took it with dignity. There will always be those who hate the gospel and the things of God, but we do not influence them for Christ when we act like them. We should stand for what is right, but with respect and we must remember who we represent.
How do you handle those who are not Christians, those who are so disrespectful to the things of God? Could it possibly be that they would act differently toward us if we handled them the way God instructs us to? When will we learn that doing things according to scriptural instruction will do more for the Kingdom than anything else we can do? It’s called simple obedience and faith, that God will take care of us. He will work out what is best for the Kingdom and shut up those who are hindrances if we will just obey.
