Skip to main content

Be Subject...

             Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13:1) 

            Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!  As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:18-20)

 

            Those who approve of a governing authority (or at least the authority’s philosophy) are always quick to say, “Be subject!” but the moment they no longer agree, they tend to cry, “Revolution!” And there is a sense in which God is no different. According to this passage, God establishes authorities – even bad ones. They are put in power to fulfill God’s plan, even if they are godless and cruel. This is not to say that we should never act against a despot, but that we should pray long and hard, seeking unambiguous answers about what we should do rather than reach for torches and pitchforks whenever we disagree with what leaders say or do.

            In our country, we have been given a peaceful way to “revolt.” It’s called an election, and it takes place next Tuesday. It’s your right and your responsibility to participate in this process; if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to revolt. I’ll take it one step further. If you don’t pray earnestly for your leadership's well-being and change of heart, you really don’t have a right to revolt. You haven’t done everything you could short of a revolution, and the revolution should be our last resort, not our knee-jerk reaction.

            On the other side of the equation, submitting to an authority does not involve agreeing with what it does or doing what it commands if/when those commands oppose what God has taught. Submission doesn’t remove responsibility to make decisions. “I was just following orders” doesn’t work. Peter asked the Sanhedrin whether it was right in God’s eyes for Peter and John to obey God or to obey the Sanhedrin. Remember that the Sanhedrin claimed to be good Jewish people (not as much as the Pharisees, but enough), and therefore, they at least gave lip service to serving God. It wouldn’t have been a good thing for them to officially say, “Ignore God, do what we say.”

            Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are great examples of submission and “revolt.” Jesus and the disciples are as well. Their goal was never to take control but always to do what God commands. In other words, our goal should always be submission, but submission to the highest authority, with submission to lower authorities only as submission to the highest permits. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more