Obedience to Authorities

1 Peter 2:13-16 NASB

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God, that by doing right you silence the ignorance of foolish people. Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-servants of God.”

I believe this is self-explanatory, so I am not going to expound much on this subject. What I am going to talk about are the exceptions to this rule. Why? Because so many people are using this to try to persuade people to obeying them and not God, or to obeying them over obedience to God. And I am going to give you some biblical examples of this so that you do not think that you have to obey all human authority over obedience to the Lord.

Jesus Christ is our prime example. The religious and governing authorities of his day tried to get him to stop teaching and saying the things that he said and taught, and they tried to get him to stop healing people on the Sabbath. And what was Jesus’ response to them? Did he comply with them? No, he didn’t. He continued obeying God the Father regardless of what the authorities over him were trying to convince him to stop doing. And he had some pretty strong words for them, in fact, where he spoke the truth of God in love to them, and where he accused them of being hypocrites.

Then we have Peter and John. The authorities over them commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. And what was their response? Did they comply with the governing authorities over them? No, they did not. Instead they answered them and said, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). Amen! Praise God! They stood for what was right even in the face of possible death for their disobedience.

And then we have the example of Daniel from the Old Testament. He was commanded to stop praying to his God, but he continued to pray openly to his God as had always been his practice. So, he was thrown into a den of lions, but God rescued him. And then there were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were ordered to bow to a golden statue. And did they comply with the governing authorities? No! And they were thrown into a fiery furnace, but God rescued them. But don’t expect to always be rescued, for many of us will be persecuted and martyred for our obedience to God.

And then we have many “pastors” of “churches” today who are teaching what is false and who are trying to shame their people into submission to them. And they are trying to get Christians to stop speaking the truth of the gospel, but to comply with the diluted and altered gospel message which was created to appease human flesh and to be more acceptable to the world. But just know that you do not have to remain under the authority of any man who calls himself a pastor if he is not teaching the truth of the gospel and/or if he is trying to persuade you to follow him over God.

For we have many “shepherds” of the flock now who are charlatans and who are wolves in sheep’s clothing, who are leading the people of God (and those who give lip service only to God) to follow after marketing schemes and business goals and plans, and to reject much of the teachings of the Scriptures with regard to faith and salvation and eternal life with God. And they will try to lead you away from following the Lord, in purity of devotion to him, by trying to shame you into submitting to them. But you can walk away from that, and you should (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Revelation 18:4-5).

Now, the only way we can walk away from our governing authorities is to move to another country, but they are pretty much all headed in the same direction, toward the rule of this beast (Revelation 13), and we may end up in a worse situation than we have now. So, we obey them unless they command that we disobey God, or unless they command that we commit some kind of sin against the Lord. We never have to obey sin! Please know that! We should be people who will die for our Lord and for righteousness and holiness and for doing what is right and for not doing what is wrong.

Obedience to Authorities

Video Talk

April 19, 2023

https://youtu.be/efZCFxsfnoI

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For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

http://youtu.be/_XQkomPFz4Y

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