1 Peter 2:14

1 Peter 2:14 ‘or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right'

‘or to governors as sent by him' -These Christians lived in Roman provinces (1 Peter 1:1), which were ruled by governors and other officials. Roman governors mentioned in the Bible included Pilate (Matthew 27:2) and Felix (Acts 23:24). ‘the legates or procurators (of imperial provinces) and proconsuls (of senatorial provinces), who were the highest authority with which people normally had to deal in their lives. Since they at times had. direct effect on daily life and since their various evils were often well known, they would be much harder to submit to than the distant unknown Emperor.' (Davids p. 100)

‘for' -Here we have. very brief, but comprehensive description of the role of civil government.

‘the punishment of evildoers' -1. Civil government is God's minister to administer justice, keep order, and punish the evildoer. 2. This punishment includes the right to execute the criminal (Romans 13:1; Acts 25:11). 3. Notice that this punishment doesn't have to be aimed at reforming the criminal. Reformation is the choice and obligation of the individual being punished. ‘Though some theories of criminal punishment maintain that reforming the criminal and protecting society from further crimes are the only legitimate purposes of punishment, Peter here includes retribution, the inflicting of just desert on the one who has harmed others….By contrast, governments that fail to punish wrongdoers disobey God's purpose for their existence.' (Grudem p. 120)

‘praise of those who do right' -‘and encourage honest men' (Knox). POINTS TO NOTE: 1. ‘Governors deserve submission because even the worst of them preserve some semblance of conformity to pagan standards of good, and that is better than chaos.' (Davids p. 100) 2. People, even Christians are tempted to complain about the government, but we sometimes fail to appreciate how many benefits are gained, i.e. law and order, which enables people to settle down and conduct business, including providing running water, electricity, transportation systems, comfortable housing, the production of all kinds of material things, food, etc…3. Even. bad or corrupt government is better than anarchy. 4. This verse suggests that civil government is expected by God to provide some incentive for those who do right. This runs contrary to various theories which suggest that government should treat everyone alike. In addition, governments often get sidetracked in rewarding the lazy.