How Christians Should Respond to Earthly Authorities

1 Peter 2:13-25

Church tradition has not been for preachers to have “walkout music” after the fashion of baseball batters, politicians, or TV talk show guests. But if such a practice were instituted, the theme song for today’s message would be from “The Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin. RESPECT is the posture that Peter says should characterize the church’s response to earthly authorities. But what does this respect look like in practice? And (more importantly) how does it differ from a full endorsement of sinful or abusive behaviors? Today, we’ll do the difficult work of parsing out what a respectful posture looks like toward rulers and authorities. And we’ll see why it matters for the mission of the church.