God's Will, Part 4

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.  For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men (1 Peter 2:3-15). 

Submission, that is a hard one for most people but a most necessary command to follow.  The Bible speaks of many types of submission (to parents, employers, etc) but this verse is about submission to make ourselves the best possible citizens in the society in which we live.  Do you know what critics of Christ look for in Christians?  Faults!  We need to "silence the ignorance of foolish men" and the best way to do that is to live an exemplary life within society.  We must obey the laws (except for when they make us do something God has said not to do).  We are free in our society to try and change laws we do not agree with, through lawful means, but we must not break laws just because we do not agree with them.  

For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong (1 peter 3:17). If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.  Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; (1 peter 4:14-15)

Jesus lived the most godly life one could live and He suffered.  He was persecuted.  If it happened to Him it will happen to us.  Anyone who lives a godly life in the face of the world will suffer for it but the Bible says we are to rejoice for this because the Spirit of God rests on us.  This is not talking about suffering because we did evil but because we are doing what is right and the world hates us for it.  Evangelism is not just the job of a preacher, it is yours and mine as well.  Evangelism is also more than handing out gospel tracts and witnessing to people, it's living a godly life in the face of an ungodly world.  Believe me, if you separate yourself from the world through godly living, you will be persecuted because the world hates Jesus and they will take it out on you.  We can't worry about our own egos or being treated as an outcast, we must proclaim the truth with no compromise.  We are expendable, God's truth is not.    
 
For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, (Philippians 1:29)

God's will is for us to be saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive and suffering.