Wednesday, November
19, 2014, 7:17 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “I Do Not Seal My Lips.” Speak, Lord,
your words to my heart. I read 1 Peter
2:13-3:18 (quoting selected verses ESV).
Submission to
Authority
Be
subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the
emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil
and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God… ~ 1 Pet.
2:13-15a
We, as Christ’s followers, must submit ourselves to all human
authority over us, for the Lord’s sake. This is the will of God for us. Yet,
are there biblical exceptions to this rule? I believe there are. From what I
understand of the teachings of scripture, and of the examples set down for us
both in the Old and in the New Testament, I see that we are to obey human
authority unless that authority asks or commands us to disobey God’s authority.
In other words, we should not commit sin, we should not
disobey Christ’s commandments to us, and we should not follow after other gods.
We should not deny the name of Jesus or stop worshiping, praying to and/or speaking
in the name of Jesus Christ. Other than that, I believe we are to submit. I do
believe scripture allows us to respectfully challenge authority, i.e. to make a
defense for ourselves, and/or to make an appeal for a change of heart, yet I
believe we are not to resist or refuse to obey human authority unless human
authority demands we reject God’s authority over us. Then we must obey God
rather than man.
We must also willingly endure unjust suffering, being
mindful of God in this. The command to submit to human authority does not say
that the authority must be just and fair. They may not be. We may suffer great
persecution for our faith under human authority, and we may even be put to
death because we did not bow to “the beast”, and because we refused to deny our
Lord. Yet, we are to be thankful that we are counted worthy to suffer for the
sake of the name of Jesus and for the sake of his gospel. Jesus Christ set the
example for us in how we should respond to unjust suffering. He committed no
sin, and he didn’t get even (retaliate). Instead, he placed his life into the
hands of his Father in heaven.
Life and Death
Live
as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but
living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God.
Honor the emperor. ~ 1 Pet. 2:16-17
He
himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were
straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your
souls. ~ 1 Pet. 2:24-25
In our humanistic society, and in our modern, culturally
relevant church today, we have lost the fear of God. By fear I mean the honor,
reverence, respect, awe, and submission (obedience) to God/Jesus. So much of
our society and our worldly church are so “ME” focused instead of God focused.
Worship services and church activities are more about pleasing human flesh than
they are about honoring and reverencing God through our loving and humble
surrender to his will for our lives. The gospel of Jesus Christ has even been
altered to make it more appealing to human flesh and for it to be more focused
around making us feel good about us, even in the midst of our sin, then it is
about loving God, worshiping him, and desiring to please him in all that we do
and say. This should not be!
Jesus Christ did die on the cross to set us free from
slavery to sin, but we are not to use that freedom to indulge in the sinful
nature or as a cover-up for evil. I see so many in today’s church using God’s
grace as a free license to continue in willful sin, claiming who we are in
Christ even while we are in the act of committing sin, although adding to the
list of God’s character traits those not consistent with scripture at all, and so
as to alleviate any sense of guilt or personal responsibility for our sin. This
kind of teaching is all about “ME” and not about honoring God for the holy God
he is. Jesus is NOT pleased with us when we sin. Our sin does impact our
fellowship with our Lord (See: 1 Jn. 1:5-7; 1 Co. 10:14-22). We died to sin.
How can we live in it any longer? (See: Luke 9:23-25; Ac. 26:16-18; Ro. 6-8; 2
Co. 5:15; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:24-25 & 1 Jn.
1-5).
Husbands and Wives
Likewise,
wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the
word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they
see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the
braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—
but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable
beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For
this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting
to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are
her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
Likewise,
husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the
woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life,
so that your prayers may not be hindered. ~ 1 Pet. 3:1-7
For those of us who are married, we are to be in submission
to our husbands, as to the Lord. This does not mean we don’t render an opinion,
or that we don’t enter into discussion over the direction of our lives or over
decisions we must make, for God did make woman to be man’s helper, and the two
are to be one flesh. As well, other scriptures teach mutual submission and
respect, love and honor, one for the other. Yet, the man is the head of the
wife, as Christ is the head of the church, and he is to give himself for her to
love, nurture, and protect her, and to lead and guide her in the ways of the
Lord. And, the wife is to respect (honor, value, and regard) her husband and to
care for him and to meet his needs.
Yet, some Christian wives may be married to non-Christian
men (or vice-versa), or they may be married to men who claim faith in Christ
but who are not living godly lives, and thus they may not be fulfilling their
biblical roles and responsibility to their wives. So, even if our spouses are
not obeying the Word of God, we should still walk in obedience to our Lord.
Wives should be a witness to their husbands by how they conduct their lives
with respect and purity. We should adorn ourselves with the imperishable beauty
of a gentle and quiet spirit. Again, this does not mean we can’t enter into
discussion about things related to our lives as husband and wife or that we can’t
speak the truth in love when necessary, but what it means is that we should not
be harsh and demanding, mean and cutting, and we should not get even or punish,
but we should be loving and forgiving at all times no matter what. As well, Christian
husbands should fulfill their responsibility before God to their wives so that
their prayers may not be hindered.
A Tender Heart
Finally,
all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a
humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the
contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
For
“Whoever
desires to love life
and see good days,
let
him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
let
him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
For
the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But
the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” ~ 1 Pet. 3:8-12
When scripture speaks of “unity of mind,” it is speaking of
unity of the mind of Christ (of the Spirit) and not unity with the mind of
humans. Many churches today stress unity, but what they mean is unity with
human goals and objectives, and thus they will sometimes call out someone as a “disunifier”
who holds to the Word of Truth, who teaches the Full Gospel of salvation, and
who does not compromise with the world or deny the name of Jesus. So, make
certain that you unify yourselves with Christ and his Word first, and then with
those of like-mind (of the mind of Christ). Be discerning about this.
We, as well, should love one another as Christ loved (loves)
us, so it is important that we interpret these verses here in light of the life
of Christ and the teachings of scripture, and not on the basis of our culture,
the world and tradition. Sympathy does not mean being accepting of sin.
Brotherly love does not mean we never confront sin. A tender heart also does
not mean we lie to people just to make them feel good. True love cares enough
about each other to tell each other the truth, but to do so with gentleness and
respect.
If we see someone crossing the road, and a truck is barreling
down the road, and we realize that person does not see the truck, we are going
to either run out and rescue the person or we are going to warn him or her to
get out of the way. It would not be love to just stand there and watch another
human being get run over, would it? And, yet we do this when we fail to tell
others the truth because we think somehow we are sparing their feelings.
I Do Not Seal My Lips
/ An Original Work / January 13, 2014
Based off Psalms 37,
40
Do not fear when evil
man
Has success in all
their plans,
For like grass they’ll
wither soon.
They’ll be cut off
from the land.
Trust in the Lord and
He’ll give you peace.
Find your delight in
Him through all stress.
All of your ways
commit unto Him.
All your desires from
Him He’ll fulfill.
Wait for the Lord;
keep His way.
Delight in His Word
always.
He’ll be with you to
the end;
Life eternal found in
Him.
I waited patiently for
my Lord.
He turned to me, and
He heard my cry.
He set my feet on the
Solid Rock.
He gave to me a firm
place to stand.
Blessed are we, who
trust the Lord,
Who do not turn to
false gods.
Our desire’s to do
God’s will.
His word is within our
hearts.
I will proclaim
salvation to man.
You put a new song now
in my mouth.
I’ll not withhold your
love and your grace.
I’ll speak forevermore
of your truth.
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