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How do we, while in the earthly kingdom, live as a holy nation that is set apart and sent into the world?

I am in a bible study, and we are studying 1 Peter. Every week we all receive a group of questions on the part we are feeding on the following evening. This week we are looking at 1 Peter 2:13-25. One of the questions that was asked was "How do we, while in the earthly kingdom, live as a holy nation that is set apart and sent into the world? I rasuled a bit with this whole section of 1 Peter only because I have been reading the book of Daniel.

I felt like maybe the bible was saying some different things in regards to how we should treat people in authority over us. What I mean by this is when Daniel, Shadrach,Meshach and Abednego were under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzer There were some times when they did not submit to what the king had asked because it was against God. It seemed to me as I was reading the passage in Peter that he is asking us to submit in all things,and how would that have applied in the circumstances with Daniel and his friends,And if we are to be obedient as they were obedient, there seems to be some times when to submit to every authority would not be obedience to God? As I read, I asked God to give me clarity about this, because it felt a little contradictory to me. I don't like to use that word in regards to the scripture, because I don't think it is true of the bible. I just think our understanding of it's meaning is contradictorily, or better, unclear. I read over the section again and I realized that maybe submit means to honor? If that is right, then when the king asked Daniel and his friends to worship Him, or other Gods that he had set up, by not doing so did not dishonor, in fact as I read through Daniel and I get the sense that he did honor the king. But there is a differences between honoring someone, and worshiping someone or something other than God. Anyway, God showed me that and it seems to make sense to me? Any thoughts?

All that said, I want to say that the question about how we live as a holy nation is in His word. I think we just neglect to be obedient to it, that's when we are swayed to conform to the the things of the world. His word says, in Romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's well is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." I don't know about others, but my problems come when I chose not to obey this request.

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