For Your Good

Monday, August 06, 2012, 7:35 a.m. – The Lord woke me with this song:

Near the Cross / Fanny J. Crosby / William H. Doane

Jesus, keep me near the cross;

There a precious fountain,

Free to all, a healing stream,

Flows from Calvary's mountain.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,

Bring its scenes before me;

Help me walk from day to day

With its shadow o'er me.

In the cross, in the cross,

Be my glory ever,

Till my raptured soul shall find

Rest beyond the river.

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Romans 13 (NIV 1984):

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. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

Submission

There are three main topics covered in this 13^th chapter of Romans: 1) Submission to governing authorities, 2) Love for others, and 3) Time to Wake Up! The first of these three is the teaching on submission to governing authorities.

We are commanded and exhorted in scripture to be subject to, or to be in submission to our governing authorities. I know of only a few Biblical exceptions to this rule, and that is when an authority over us asks or commands us to:

·         Renounce our faith in Jesus Christ and to stop worshiping the only true God

·         Bow to and worship (pledge allegiance, loyalty and faithfulness to) another god (or entity of man of any kind, such as a human government or institution of men)

·         Do something unlawful, immoral, or sinful, that conflicts with God’s laws, or to

·         Stop sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ; stop trying to win people to faith in Christ

God’s commands always trump man’s rules, so if man asks us to do something contrary to God’s specific requirements and commands, as recorded in the New Testament of the Bible, then we are always to follow God’s commands. Included in those commands is that we are not to take the mark of the beast. That command is a little ambiguous, so let me try to shed some light on that one. Though a physical mark on our bodies may be part of this, and I am not disputing that here, the true mark, I believe, is the kind that affects our thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.

A mark, besides being something physical that we can see, is also a sign, indication, characteristic trait, indicator, symptom or evidence of something. It is “evidence of the influence or involvement of somebody or something;” or “a distinctive and identifying feature or characteristic” (Encarta), which can be physical in nature, or it can be in our attitudes, actions, behaviors, etc. The beast, as I understand it, is a governing force of some kind that is global and that will rule over the entire world. This is coming together right now in our present day. I believe it won’t be long until we feel the full effects of this beast, which is why I bring this to your attention now.

Yet, the beast also represents that which is opposed to God, is of this world, and is of the devil, too. So, if we are giving way, already, to worldly influences and sinful involvements in our daily lives, and we are already denying our Lord by how we live our lives according to the flesh, instead of according to the Spirit, we have already begun to take the mark (influence) of this beast in our day-to-day lives, though not necessarily the final mark. By allowing ourselves to compromise with the world, we have opened ourselves up to deceptive influences in our lives, which can take hold and take control, instead of allowing God to be the one in control. We must be aware of this and pray much for discernment, so that we don’t end up following the beast thinking we are doing the right thing.

Ok, with that said, we must understand these next few sentences. All authorities on this earth have been established by God. Even evil men in positions of authority fulfill God’s intended purposes for mankind, which are mainly to draw us to God. So, if we rebel (refuse to obey) the governing authorities, unless the authorities require we obey them over God, which they will do (see Revelation 13), we are rebelling against God. We must obey the authorities, even if they persecute us, and even if we disagree with them and their laws. We must do this, not only out of fear of punishment, but out of a good conscience before God. Yet, we must never obey man over God! God’s laws always trump man’s laws.

Love Others

Whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the law. Jesus is God. God is love. Thus, love is the fulfillment of the law. If we follow the example of God (of Jesus Christ), we learn what it truly means to love others. God loved us so much he sent his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to suffer as we suffer, to be tempted in the same ways in which we are tempted, yet without sin, and to die on the cross for our sins so that we could go free, not only from the ultimate penalty of sin (eternal damnation in hell), but also that we might be free from bondage to and the control of sin over our daily lives. That is true love!

God so loved us that he gave his Son for us that whoever believes in him will not perish but will have life everlasting (John 3:16). So, true love means to give of ourselves to the legitimate needs of others. God’s word teaches us what men need. We need food, shelter and clothing (the basic necessities of life), affection, love, healing, salvation from sins and eternal life with God. Men need to learn to obey God, for that is how we show that we love him. Mankind needs to turn from sin and to walk in obedience to Christ and to his commands, for that is how we show that we are truly the Lord’s servants.

True love meets true needs, but does not cater to selfish wants and desires. True love looks beyond what lies on the surface and looks to what is underneath, and reaches out to meet the true heart needs of people according to Christ’s example to us. It does not placate sin. It does not pamper childish behavior. It speaks the truth in love so that we can all grow up into Christ, who is the head of the church, his body (see Ephesians 4). Love does no harm to others, i.e. it does not sin against others, but does what is good, i.e. what is best in God’s eyes for each person, to draw men to God and to holy living.

Wake up!

The hour has come for us to wake up from our slumber. The hour is the time in between Jesus’s ascension back into heaven after his resurrection from death, and his eminent return for his bride, at which time he will sit in judgment and will rule and reign over the earth. And, if we are discerning at all concerning the times in which we now live, we can see that we are nearing that time of the end at which time our salvation will be fully realized.

That means we are also nearing that time spoken about in the book of Revelation when the beast rules the earth for a time, times and half a time. We need to be prepared spiritually for that time, for there is no guarantee of a pre-tribulation rapture, or that we will survive what is coming. Many are trusting in a false hope of eternity with God based upon a lie of Satan. We need to wake up spiritually and understand that God does require repentance (turning from sin) and obedience to his commands for salvation. The Bible says so!

We need to stop living like the world and taking its mark (influence) on our minds, hearts, attitudes and behaviors, and we need to start living like the children of light that we are supposed to be. We must clothe ourselves with (put on the character of) Christ. We must be concerned about doing what pleases the Lord, and no longer be interested in doing what gratifies our sinful nature. Ephesians 4 speaks much to this subject, and has great practical advice for how to daily put off the misdeeds of the body and how to put on the things of God in our lives. Old habits (sinful) must be replaced with new habits (godly). We can’t put a new garment on over an old raggedy one. This is what the Bible teaches. We must turn from our lives of sin, and we must turn to walk faithfully in obedience to Jesus Christ. Amen!