To Obey, or Not to Obey

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. (Romans 13:1-2)

To obey, or not to obey — this is the question. It’s really not a difficult question, but for some people (maybe for many people) it is a question they genuinely wrestle with because they do not want to obey. One’s will, or motivation to obey, has nearly everything to do with whether or not we obey.
I’m not referring in a limited way to obedience to God’s will, although that will really be our focus; the point I want to assert is that obedience to mankind’s will — authority that God has established (according to the passage above) — is also a matter of submission to God’s will.

The best example of submission is Jesus: when He was twelve years old, He had stayed behind in Jerusalem while his parents were traveling home. When they discovered He was not with their party, they went back to Jerusalem, finding Him in the temple.

When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:48-51)

We might suppose that if anyone had the divine right to disobey their parents, Jesus would have since He is God among us; but He didn’t because He is God among us.

It is not merely American idealism that goes against authority. But we are living in a time when people generally do not seem interested in what the rules are — unless, of course, we’re talking about something insipid like a game of football.

It’s not that everything is falling apart, but the things that are falling apart seem possible because people are not willing to submit themselves — and when everyone does what is right in their own eyes, we’re repeating history (e.g., Judges 17:6; 21:25; also see Micah 2).

I remember being in high school and some of my friends adored the concept of anarchy. At least they thought they adored it until someone (who shall remain unidentified) sucker-punched one of them to make the point that anarchy was pointless. If there are no rules, then there are no rules.

The natural order all around us is governed to the rules of its creator without debate. We have been given free will, and many of us simply don’t want to submit ourselves to the rules of our creator. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

God is not trying to keep us down. His desire is our salvation, and therefore our elevation (2 Peter 3:15). “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:6-11)

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)

If the Son of God willingly humbled Himself to His heavenly Father and to His earthly father, then why won’t we? (cf. Hebrews 12:1-11)

The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. (1 John 2:4-6)

"Lead Me in the Way Everlasting"

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23–24)

Are we open with God? The question is not: Are we open to Him, but are we open with Him? The writer of Hebrews 4:12–13 clearly suggest that we are open to Him — and there’s nothing we can do to hide our thoughts or intentions from Him (also see Psalm 139:7–12).

Being open with God is something for which we should strive. It may not be an easy thing to accomplish, but if we desire heaven, then we are going to open our hearts, minds, and motives to Him. But how can we do this, and do this well? By examining ourselves in the light of His Word — “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). One of the opportunities we have in examining ourselves is in our participation in the Lord’s Supper, when it should be a time of personal reflection and honest appraisal with the intention of:

• understanding where we have sinned against God,
• why we desperately need the sacrifice of His Son, 
• and a thankfulness determined to please Him in our lives — “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Corinthians 11:27–29). 

It’s not that God is wanting to merely “put us in our place” — although the truth is, our deserved place is far below Him as His thoughts are ways are far superior to ours (Isaiah 55:8–9; Matthew 5:43–48). Through His Word, God is striving to elevate us through right-thinking, and therefore, right living —

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:11–14).

It’s not just about knowing God’s will, but performing it to His standards (Acts 26:19–20; Romans 12:1–2; 1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Why do you call me “Lord, Lord,” and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great (Luke 6:46–49).

God seeks what is ultimately best for us (Hebrews 12:3–11). This doesn’t mean that He’s like a genie seeking to grant every wish; rather, that He is our Creator and Savior and knows what is best for us with the fullest intention being our soul’s salvation from sin! “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him” (1 Thessalonians 5:9–10; see 1 Timothy 2:1–5).

Being open with God — expressing ourselves in absolute dependence upon Him in prayer in bad times and good times — is to our eternal benefit (Luke 18:1; Ephesians 6:17–18; 1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23–24)

Caring Enough to Confront (Matthew 18:15-17)

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:15–17).

The hardest commands are more likely the ones we understand completely but really struggle in accomplishing. I believe that what Jesus says here in this passage is one of those difficult commands because it’s a lot easier to talk about someone than to talk to someone, especially when we feel that we’ve been wronged.

I’ve learned the hard way that talking to someone is, in the long run, the better thing to do … always. There’s never a wrong time to do the right thing.

Many of the problems we endure are self-made: whether we think someone said something negatively about us, or we think they don’t like us — a lot of times these issues are in our own minds. Maybe we misunderstood what someone said, or we took umbrage because of a perceived tone in what they said: “I don’t like the way he said that to me!” Sometimes our immaturity manifests itself in these things.

Again, and always, there’s never a wrong time to do the right thing. And the converse is equally true: There’s never a right time to do the wrong thing.

The key sometimes to walking “in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:1–2) is doing what the Lord commanded in Matthew 18:15 — “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.”

By the way, what Jesus said here not a divine suggestion: it is the Lord’s command with how we’re to work together. The point is in gaining one’s brother!

I’m not sure exactly what’s at the heart of our not wanting to talk to one another: maybe it’s pride (where we want to hang onto things to the point we feel justified in our bitterness), or maybe it’s simple foolishness (we just don’t know any better, and don’t want to know or do any better) . We might actually defend ourselves by saying that we don’t want to get hurt; well, apparently, we’re already hurting: and misery loves company. Maybe it’s cowardice (Rev. 21:8).

Again, in my experience, after all is said and done, peace comes by confronting ones fears and talking to someone: the ideal situation would be to do a face-to-face, but sometimes calling and talking will work — it’s a lot more effective than texting or emailing because so much is missed or even read between the lines; when we are able to hear how someone is explaining themselves or talking to us, it leaves a lot less room for dangerous ideas.

In Luke 17:3–4, Jesus said: “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (Luke 17:3–4).

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. … Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Eph. 4:25–27, 29–32).

In nearly every relationship we have in life under the sun, we’re going to find those moments where we test one another. We should realize that it’s not just that we have to be patient with others, but that others are being patient with us. As the apostle Peter put it: “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” (1 Pet. 3:8–9).

God is calling us to love — “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. … Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:10, 15).

If we truly love our brethren, when they sin against (or we feel they have) then we will be honest enough and kind enough to confront them privately — Jesus said it, that settles it.

Remembering

September 11, 2016, marks the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11.

“What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met” (David Levithan, an American young-adult fiction author and editor).

As an American, 9/11 still strikes me. I don’t have a great memory about a lot of things, but I remember well where I was when the first tower was hit and how the news was reporting this very unusual event, trying to decipher what it might mean: Was it an accident? Did this happen on purpose? If it happened on purpose, then why did it happen? How many people were on the plane?

And then, as all this was being discussed, the second plane hit the second tower of the World Trade Center — and then the world knew for certain this was not an accident, but a horrible crime.

For a while, a very short while, people from all walks of American life cried, and even cried out to God for help — the mantra being, “God bless America!” I remember seeing those three words everywhere — billboards along the highways, liquor stores, movie marquees, church signs, etc. It seemed possible that our country was going to make changes about itself.

Well, here we are fifteen years later and it is more than obvious that the good and needed tough changes our country seemed determined to make are distant memories with most citizens. Life has gone on; everything is back to the normalcy that immorality and chaos brings with it. And, as a country, we are generally satisfied with how things currently are.

Politically, many see we’re in trouble when the candidates — not just from the Democratic and Republican sides, but even with the Independents — are presented as the cream of the crop: This is a really bad crop!

As an American, I’m not happy, but I continue to remain thankful that I live in this country because of the remaining freedoms I enjoy. Maybe it’s the half glass full ideal, but again, I’m thankful there’s the proverbial glass and that it is half full.

Now, as a disciple of Christ — a Christian — I assess things differently.

The apostle would remind Christians that “our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20–21). Or, as the Lord Himself said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).

As Christians we would do ourselves an immense service by remembering that “the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales” (Isaiah 40:15). This is God’s perspective, and therefore, it should be ours also. “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:6–9).

We need to remember to read God’s word more often and more diligently — looking to apply it to ourselves first. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer” (Proverbs 15:28).

We need to remember to practice what we preach. We all preach by how we choose to live (Joshua 24:15; Matthew 10:32–33). And if we don’t live it, then we really don’t believe it. “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27). The apostle Peter admonishes us to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed” (1 Peter 3:15–16).

We need to remember that judgment is awaiting us all — “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:32–34).