Peter spends quite a bit of time in 1 Peter 2 and 3 talking about authority. This question of authority is important for us as Christians, because we are a part of two worlds at once. We’re in a series called Here / There. We live here, but our citizenship is there. God’s Word translation says in 1 Peter 2:11 that we are “foreigners and temporary residents in the world.”
As Christians, this means our ultimate authority is There, but since we live here, we’re under authority Here. As people who are under the authority of Jesus and God’s Word, how should we respond to authority here? What attitude should we have toward human authorities here on earth? It doesn’t matter whether it’s the city council, the county board of supervisors, the local sheriff, state government up in Jefferson City, or the authority we all love to complain about in Washington D.C.