by David Brenneman
"Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." Romans 13:1-14.
There's many of this current generation who believe it's their 'right' to protest their governments and those in authority over them. They even take stands by openly blocking traffic, clogging thorofares and public meeting places.
What's sinful are those who call themselves Believers and likewise participate and encourage others to do the same.
While reading this morning and wondering about other things that I have read others say and do, of both the believing world and the unbelieving world, I was directed to this passage. Right from the beginning Paul teaches what is right, proper and true for Believers to be behaving like. To look at Jesus Himself you never see Him in any way attacking the Roman government. Rightly so His attention was upon those who were of that present darkness claiming to be the spiritual leaders of the children of Israel. We should never confuse the two.
While we can rant and rave, we should always think twice before doing so. Jesus stated clearly to the Disciples of what can come out of the heart of man. Of what DOES proceed out from the heart of man.
We can also ruin our testimony before both Believers and the world by our actions and our words.
We are to be living in the character of Christ in all we do.
We are not when at any point in our daily interactions the world only sees us and not Jesus.
Our lives are to be lived in Christ in such a way that people see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. They're not to be lived in a way that Christ isn't seen by them at all.
Our lives shouldn't be a billboard for things of this world. Look at the lives of the Apostles. Jesus commissioned them to go and make more disciples. More who would be walking in this world trained as they were to live lives that pointed people to Jesus.
Satan's schemes are designed to get us to love the things of this world and to justify our love of those things. All the while we're oblivious to the truth that we're caught in a trap.
What is your life really showing others about your relationship with Jesus? Do people even see a shred of your life as belonging to the Savior? Do you wear clothes that promote worldly desires? Are the words of your mouth aligned with the teachings of the Word of God or do you make believable excuses unto yourself for tearing down others? Do you show a rebellious heart against whom the Lord put over you? Have you put up a wall yourself to keep you from fully living a life displaying the character of Christ in you?
You have to be honest enough with you to not trust yourself. You will not tell yourself the truth as God sees it as truth. You and I will deceive ourselves because we yet still battle a sin nature.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6.
Even with more wisdom than any ever born among men outside of Jesus Christ Himself, Solomon still lead Israel astray and still lost his way from living the righteous life that God desired for him. All kinds of idols were in King Solomon's life. Don't ever think for a moment that you don't have them in your life.
While we can appreciate things of this world, the Bible is clearly telling us to love not the world nor the things of the world.
We're taught to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit. To love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. To love your neighbor as yourself.
Someone once said that you will never look anyone in the eye that Jesus didn't die for.
We will give an account of our lives before Jesus. Every single careless word we thought or spoke or thing we did or didn't do or even considered doing or not doing.
We are encouraged to stand firm in the Lord. We are to be Jesus everyday to those around us. They're watching us to see if what we say matches up with our lives.
It's more than passed time to be serious about living the righteous life that God desires for us.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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