Just one edict, with just the stroke of a pen, and in an instant, everything changed for true Christians living in France.

It was 1685, and King Louis XIV had just signed the Edict of Fontainebleau. Louis wanted the kingdom of France to have only one faith—Roman Catholicism. In signing this edict, he declared that practising Reformed Christianity (Protestantism) would now be illegal. The edict meant all their churches had to be demolished, their gatherings for worship—banned, and much of their property—confiscated. Pastors were required to convert to Catholicism or leave France; all their schools were immediately closed; and all their children had to be baptised and then raised as Catholics by the local priest, separating many from their parents.

If you were a Reformed Christian living outside of France, you were required to return within four months or lose all your property. Men who tried to flee were sent to the galleys; women were sent to prison. Technically, you were allowed to remain in France—but without your church, your schools, your property, or the ability to raise your children in your faith!

What would you do if you were placed in that situation? Thankfully Christians still enjoy many freedoms, but it’s becoming easier to imagine! In our own country, there’s already a law in Scotland prohibiting parents from smacking their children. There are places where it is illegal to pray, or to preach.

How should you react if government education and perverted sex-ed classes for your children become compulsory? What if travel restrictions “to save the planet” mean you are not able to drive your car to get to church? What if the law required you to take a new vaccine?

How should you respond in those situations? Really, the question is: Are you sometimes free to say “no” to the government?

Covid lockdowns forced churches to reexamine their understanding of authority and submission in society. Faithful Christians had real disagreements about these matters. Some Christians’ mentality was “if the government says so, we do so, unless they require us to sin!” They cited the commands of Romans 13, Titus 3, and 1 Peter 2, and pointed out that these commands seem unqualified. Others had concerns that the government was overstepping its authority, operating outside its “sphere.” They argued that the government had no right to tell the church how to worship, and that these commands for submission are always qualified by what the Bible says elsewhere.

The questions raised in this debate have huge ramifications! And yet, Peter’s teaching in 1 Peter 2:16 seems to have been missing from the debate. This is perhaps because many English translations add the word “live” or “act” at the beginning of verse 16. Those words are not there in the Greek, but when they are added, it’s easy to miss how verse 16 qualifies the command to submit which Peter gives in verse 13. In verse 16, Peter is giving three crucial qualifications for how we are to “be subject” (v.13) to the governing authorities.

A careful study of the grammar of verses 13-17 shows that the command, “Be subject...” in verse 13, is then later qualified by three phrases in verse 16. Each of them is marked by the word “as”:

                                    - as people who are free...
                                    - not as using your freedom...
                                    - but as slaves of God.

It’s these three phrases that will give us three qualifications to our submission:

Qualification 1: You must submit as someone who is free.

You must submit as someone who is free, not as a slave. In other words, you don’t submit to authorities like a slave would submit to his master!

When Peter wrote his letter, there were only two basic categories in society: everyone was either a slave or a freeman. These two groups had two completely different relationships to authority. Slaves (douloi) were under their masters’ absolute authority. They had no legal status of their own; they weren’t even recognised as people. They were regarded legally as property. If their masters gave them a command, they had no right to question it.

On the other hand, freemen (eleutheroi) were free because they weren’t someone’s property. They could own property, make a will, inherit belongings. They could marry legally, and have children who belonged to them. Crucially for our understanding of this verse, they were free to do whatever they wanted to do unless there was a law against it.

So, as a freeman your submission wasn’t automatic. In fact, if someone was giving you a command, you were free to question it. Is there a law requiring this? Is it against the law? Slaves were not legally responsible for their actions, and they couldn’t even be sued for what they did, because they had to do what their masters commanded. Freemen were free, but that made them responsible to question what they were being told to do.

Christians, here in 1 Peter 2:16 are being told to submit to the authorities, as freemen! This means you are able to question the commands given you by the authorities. You must adopt the fundamental position of submission (v.13) but you must only submit as a freeman. This gives you both the freedom and the responsibility to evaluate whether what you are being commanded to do is actually right.

Qualification 2: You need to submit not as holding your freedom as a cover for evil.

Although Christians are free, we must not use our freedom as something to hide the fact that what we are doing is wrong! Peter writes in v.16 “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as slaves of God.”

A Christian who objects to interference by the government by saying, “This is a religious matter,” while in fact it’s simply his own desire not to have to submit to authority, is doing just this. We should beware our own sinful hearts abusing the freedom God gives us to question what the authorities command. God sees your heart. Be sure your sins will find you out!

Qualification 3: You have to submit as slaves of God.

You must submit to earthly authorities as a free person, but you must also do so, as a slave to God. The word here is douloi in Greek, and means slaves, not merely servants. The point in context is that God is our Master, not the authorities, and this has to come out in how we submit to authorities. We must be willing to ask, “Is there a law requiring this, or a law that forbids it?” However, when we are asking these questions, the law we are thinking about is not the law we aregiven by the authorities! We are talking about God’s law! If any command from the authorities conflicts with God’s commands, you must submit to His law, not theirs!

From this study of 1 Peter 2:13-17 we can now draw ten foundational principles concerning biblical authority and submission in society:

1. You must adopt a fundamental position of submission (“be subject” – v.13). 
2. You must have this attitude towards every authority structure governments invent (“to every human institution, whether it be...” etc. vs.13-14)  
3. You must do it because you love God (“for the Lord’s sake” - v.13) 
4. You must do it because you appreciate God’s good purpose for government (“to punish  those who do evil, and to praise those who do good” v.14). 
5. You must do it so that by doing good you silence foolish critics (“For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people,” v.15). 
6. You must only submit as a freeman, (“as freemen,” v.16).
7. You must evaluate every command from the authorities, (“as freemen,” v.16). 
8. You must never abuse your freedom and use it as a cover-up for evil, (“not as holding your freedom as a cover up for evil,” v.16). 
9. You must not trust your sinful flesh — it will try to take advantage of your freedom, (“not as holding your freedom as a cover up for evil,” v.16). 
10. You must only ever submit to authority as a slave of God, (“but as slaves of God,” v.16). 

Peter summarises his teaching in v17: “Honour everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God (as Jesus said in Lk 12:5: “fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell”). Honour the emperor (even Nero!).”

Conclusion

If you are not truly a slave of God, none of this makes sense. On the one hand a true Christian is someone who willingly submits to the government wherever possible: gladly paying his taxes, and eager to honour the authorities in every way.

On the other hand, the same person is no slave to their authority. He is ready and willing to die and lose everything—rather than obey the government—if obeying them means disobeying God.

If you ask, “Why?” The answer is simple, because he has hope! Jesus died. His sins are paid. Heaven is waiting. His hope is not in this life! He was bought, with the blood of Christ. Now he is a slave of God. He’s happy to submit and to serve in any way he can, but he’d rather die than disobey his Lord.

Would you?