Romans 13:1 ‘Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.’
Wonderful words of wisdom my Friends, from that erudite Apostle, Bruh Paul! (smile) Just trying to add some levity to the greeting. But I sincerely pray that those Words find us joyful in the Lord this cold spring morning, waking to enjoy His daily bounty, and hopefully obeying His dictates of honouring authority. Yes my people, it’s man’s duty to honour those in authority. ‘Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.’ And as Christians, we bear an even greater obligation; ‘For there is no power but of God.’ There is no authority but that which comes from God, or put differently, all authority comes from God, so if we don’t honour those in authority over us, then by extension, we’re disobeying God. ‘Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.’ (Rom.13:2) Not eternal damnation, but nonetheless a judgement of God, since the gov’t’s power comes from His delegation of authority. ‘For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.’ (vs.3) Yes Friends, theoretically, rulers should be suppressing evil works, and not good ones, so if we don’t want to fear the authorities, then we should do what is good, and the powers that be will praise us, or at least not harm us. And in his advice on Christian citizenship to Titus, Bruh Paul declares: ‘Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work. To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.’ (Tit.3:1-2) There again he contends that we need to show respect to those in authority, and not be contentious citizens, bad mouthing others, but showing kindness and having Christian regard for all. And if you don’t believe Bruh Paul, then listen to Peter. ‘Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.’ (I Pet.2:13-15) He’s saying the same thing: respect those in authority. ‘For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God; a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.’ (Rom.13:4) Oh my brethren, the long and short of the story is that human gov’t is supposed to uphold good and punish evil, deciding what’s right and wrong. And believers should revere and obey the powers that be. But my people, there’s one catch, one codicil to all this my: That reverence and obedience is only lawful and legal if the gov’t doesn’t require the believer to do things that violate the Word of God. As Acts 5:29 declares: ‘Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men.’ Note, Peter is not condoning civil disobedience, as we can see from his earlier quote, but when the civil gov’t’s dictates are opposed to the explicit commands of God’s Word, then believers should obey God and prepare to suffer the consequences. For gov’ts are empowered by God, and their primary focus should be on things that uplift and glorify God. The authority (the sword) to punish evil and reward good is also derived from the Lord’s delegation. That’s why it’s so important that we, as believers, should be actively involved in gov’t, so that we can keep the values entrenched there, consistent with God’s Word. It’s our Christian duty to keep the gov’t running on the right path, which we have not done, hence the serious falling off of godly principles in its halls, leading to our current calamitous situation. Oh Friends, by the apostles creed, we have been judged and sadly found wanting. If we had obeyed God and not man, and stood up to the evil enemy that calls itself the gov’t, and not allowed them to remove as many aspects of Christian culture and living as they’ve done, we certainly would not be in such bad shape now. But as we keep saying; while there is Life, there’s always HOPE. And we need to turn that HOPE into FAITH, then into ACTION; enjoin the battle with the evil enemy and begin to recoup our losses, cause Friends, the further we stray from God, the closer we come to destruction. And that’s no great revelation or prophecy, just simple logic if we believe as Bruh Paul says; ‘For there is no power but of God: and the powers that be are ordained of God.’ So, as loyal, Christian soldiers, we seriously need to do something about the lack of godly principles in the halls of power. It’s not going to be easy, but with Almighty God on our side, who can defeat us eh? Much LOVE!….stand up, stand up for Jesus…..the trumpet call obey…..till every foe is vanquished…..and Christ is Lord indeed…..
Wonderful words of wisdom my Friends, from that erudite Apostle, Bruh Paul! (smile) Just trying to add some levity to the greeting. But I sincerely pray that those Words find us joyful in the Lord this cold spring morning, waking to enjoy His daily bounty, and hopefully obeying His dictates of honouring authority. Yes my people, it’s man’s duty to honour those in authority. ‘Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.’ And as Christians, we bear an even greater obligation; ‘For there is no power but of God.’ There is no authority but that which comes from God, or put differently, all authority comes from God, so if we don’t honour those in authority over us, then by extension, we’re disobeying God. ‘Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.’ (Rom.13:2) Not eternal damnation, but nonetheless a judgement of God, since the gov’t’s power comes from His delegation of authority. ‘For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.’ (vs.3) Yes Friends, theoretically, rulers should be suppressing evil works, and not good ones, so if we don’t want to fear the authorities, then we should do what is good, and the powers that be will praise us, or at least not harm us. And in his advice on Christian citizenship to Titus, Bruh Paul declares: ‘Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work. To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.’ (Tit.3:1-2) There again he contends that we need to show respect to those in authority, and not be contentious citizens, bad mouthing others, but showing kindness and having Christian regard for all. And if you don’t believe Bruh Paul, then listen to Peter. ‘Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.’ (I Pet.2:13-15) He’s saying the same thing: respect those in authority. ‘For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God; a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.’ (Rom.13:4) Oh my brethren, the long and short of the story is that human gov’t is supposed to uphold good and punish evil, deciding what’s right and wrong. And believers should revere and obey the powers that be. But my people, there’s one catch, one codicil to all this my: That reverence and obedience is only lawful and legal if the gov’t doesn’t require the believer to do things that violate the Word of God. As Acts 5:29 declares: ‘Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men.’ Note, Peter is not condoning civil disobedience, as we can see from his earlier quote, but when the civil gov’t’s dictates are opposed to the explicit commands of God’s Word, then believers should obey God and prepare to suffer the consequences. For gov’ts are empowered by God, and their primary focus should be on things that uplift and glorify God. The authority (the sword) to punish evil and reward good is also derived from the Lord’s delegation. That’s why it’s so important that we, as believers, should be actively involved in gov’t, so that we can keep the values entrenched there, consistent with God’s Word. It’s our Christian duty to keep the gov’t running on the right path, which we have not done, hence the serious falling off of godly principles in its halls, leading to our current calamitous situation. Oh Friends, by the apostles creed, we have been judged and sadly found wanting. If we had obeyed God and not man, and stood up to the evil enemy that calls itself the gov’t, and not allowed them to remove as many aspects of Christian culture and living as they’ve done, we certainly would not be in such bad shape now. But as we keep saying; while there is Life, there’s always HOPE. And we need to turn that HOPE into FAITH, then into ACTION; enjoin the battle with the evil enemy and begin to recoup our losses, cause Friends, the further we stray from God, the closer we come to destruction. And that’s no great revelation or prophecy, just simple logic if we believe as Bruh Paul says; ‘For there is no power but of God: and the powers that be are ordained of God.’ So, as loyal, Christian soldiers, we seriously need to do something about the lack of godly principles in the halls of power. It’s not going to be easy, but with Almighty God on our side, who can defeat us eh? Much LOVE!….stand up, stand up for Jesus…..the trumpet call obey…..till every foe is vanquished…..and Christ is Lord indeed…..
SCRIP-BITS 