Love Your Enemies

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

Good day to you all, Brethren. For quite some time, I have wanted to write upon one of the most important subjects of all time. This subject lies at the foundation of Christianity, being not only the  summation of the way in which the Children of God must walk, not only the breath and life of believers, but it is also the foundational element of God and the great gravity which binds together the Holy Trinity. Love is the basis of all that God does, has done, and will do. Therefore, we can rightly say that love is not merely a description of God, but rather that God is love (1 John 4:7-8). 


This reality is arguably the most important reality for us to grasp, and a full discussion of love would last for an eternity, since our God is eternal and unfathomable. However, in this post, I wish to discuss a specific aspect of love, one which is beyond us: love of our enemies.


Out of all types of love, this is probably the most difficult of all. Honestly, it is difficult to love someone who is always attempting to put you down or undermine your faith, or even kill you for believing Christ and obeying Him. It is difficult (to say the least) to do good to those who do evil to you (Romans 12:17-21, cf. 1 Peter 3:8-12). Nevertheless, it is commanded.


So, if we are to understand how we are to treat our enemies, the first question we must ask is: what is love?


Well, I can tell you that love is not a wonderful fluttering in one's heart over, or an infatuation with, someone, although those can be outward signs of love under certain circumstances. How do I know this? God, who is in a very real sense the essence of love itself, does not love in this manner.


"God is a righteous judge,
And a God who has indignation every day.

If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword;
He has bent His bow and made it ready.
He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His arrows fiery shafts.
Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.
He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has fallen into the hole which he made.
His mischief will return upon his own head,
And his violence will descend upon his own pate." (Psalm 7:11-16)

Therefore, God’s love for man does not necessitate giddy infatuation over them. Now, one may look at this passage and say that it shows a god of hate, not love. However, we in the modern church have been emphasizing the word love for so long that it has actually lost its original meaning and power. God is not giddy over sinners (or even us who are saved), nor is He romantically in love with anyone (the Song of Solomon was not a picture of the love Christ has for His Church, quite frankly that idea is absolutely revolting and blasphemous on so many levels). Nevertheless, God does love all men, even those whom He has righteously decreed to be created as hell-bound vessels of wrath. 

 

How is it that the Lord still loves those whom He is sharpening His sword against to slay? How is it possible to be absolutely furious with those who refuse to repent (Psalm 2:4-6), so furious that you command your Son to dash them to pieces with an iron rod (Psalm 2:9) and ultimately cast them into untold, eternal torment and yet love them? Honestly, I do not know. I firmly believe that this is a reality too deep for mortal man to understand, but it is true nonetheless.     

However, I will admit that this still does not seem like love to our modern minds. Honestly, few will look at these truths and see love behind them. Nevertheless, love is there. First of all, the Father does this out of love for the Son (since it was love that motivated Him to give all things into the hand of Christ) (John 5:20-23) and the Son then obeys the Father out of love (John 14:31), destroying the unrighteous and then giving the Kingdom back to the Father (1 Cor. 15:24-28). Thus, all this is done in an ultimate sense as a result of the love within the Trinity.

Secondly, God also does this in spite of the love He has for the perishing ones.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

 

This passage is found in the well-known Sermon on the Mount. Here we find a powerful declaration of God’s love even for those who hate Him. Firstly, Christ repeats a statement popular among the unsaved-yet-super-spiritual persons of all time: namely, love those that love you and hate everyone else. However, Christ declared that this idea is completely false. In fact, one must love not only his brothers, but also those who are enemies of yourself and God. Why? Because God does the same thing. In spite of the hatred of unbelievers, God showers innumerable blessings upon them. He grants them rain, sun, snow, food and happiness (Acts 14:17), and all other blessings (such as the sending of Grace and Truth incarnate, Christ Jesus, to proclaim the truth).

Yet, is this love, or is this mere concern for them? Well, we must look at this passage in further detail to determine this.

First, Christ states that we must be perfect just as our Father is perfect. Moreover, we are to be sons of our Father, and sons are called to become images of the Son (Romans 8:29), and Christ merely does what His Father does (John 5:19). Therefore, whatever we are commanded in this passage to do is what our Trinitarian God does.  

So, what are we commanded to do? Agape our enemies. In this text, Christ uses the word agape (ἀγαπᾶτε specifically) to denote what kind of love we must have for our enemies (those who hate us and thus hate God). This is not merely being nice to the other person, rather it is true love.

 

Yet, what is this love? Well, I would argue that the best summation of agape love is found in 1 Corinthians 13.

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

This love, agape love, is the love which we must have for all men, not merely fellow believers. This is not to say that we love those outside of the Church in the same exact way as we love those inside the body, for we are commanded to give especial love to the Church (Galatians 6:10). Nevertheless, we must be patient, kind, selfless, humble, gentle, enduring, hopeful, unfailing, never keeping a record of how they have wronged us. 

 

This has huge implications for us. For example, this is one of the reasons why we Christian workers are called to do good to our unsaved masters (Eph. 6:5, 1 Peter 2:18, Titus 2:9-10). In all of this, we are to work hard, as for the Lord (Colossians 3:22-24). Why would we do so? Well, we love both God and man, and we long for all men to escape the wrath to come. Like our Lord, we do not take pleasure in the destruction of the wicked, but rather long for them to turn from their evil ways and live (Ezekiel 18:23). We realize that living a holy life will make an impression upon those who are outside of the faith, and thus our hard work may lead to the repentance of our unsaved bosses. This is love, and this is what motivates us in all our dealings with the unsaved, even those who hate us.

Again, we are called to love those outside of the Church. This is key, since if we love only those inside the Church, what reward do we have? It is easy to love those in the Church, because they will love you back. However, it is so much harder to truly love those outside of the Church because they will often hate us in return. Nevertheless, it is still commanded of us, and is a demonstration that our love for God and man is far greater than the “love” which the unsaved have for one another.

Now, does love always bring peace? No, for Christ came to bring a sword, not peace (Matthew 10:34-36), and our love will inevitably stir up hatred, even possibly amongst those closest to us. This is not because we are unloving, rather our patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, self-control, etc., is of the Spirit, and God is light. As I have said before, men love darkness and hate light (John 3:19-21), and therefore will hate our love. Moreover, they will really hate the message which we lovingly preach (Eph. 4:15), which is Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 1:23), and this reveals their sins, which is something they fear (John 3:20). Therefore, it is the very love we have for them and the message it compels us to preach that will both draw some and repel others. As wise men have said, love hurts.

Because of what we originally declared about this passage (from Matthew 5) being based upon a command to be like our Heavenly Father, loving whom He loves and in the same way, we must also conclude that God has this same required love for those who hate Him and will hate Him eternally. God must love all men with agape love, otherwise He would be no better than the unsaved. It is this love for all, coupled with His justice, fury, holiness, faithfulness, kindness, mercy, gentleness, goodness, and all of His other attributes that sets Him above all men. Moreover, the degree to which we imitate this love is the degree to which we are set apart (sanctified) from those who hate the Lord.

God’s love for all men is the type of love described in 1 Cor. 13. Look throughout the Bible (especially in the life of Christ), and we see God’s patience, kindness, humility, selflessness, lack of swift provocation, forgiveness and passing over the times of ignorance, not retaliating against those who spat on Him, hatred and sadness over evil but joy over truth, bearing all things, full of hope, and enduring even the worst of trials unscathed. Overall, His love never failed, and never will fail. What love is this!

One could go for an eternity about this subject, but I must close sometime. So, let me close with this. We must love all men, even those that would kill us. We must never cease to do good to all men (Galatians 6:10), not only through teaching them the truth, but also through doing general good things for them (Romans 12:19-21). We must be like the Good Samaritan, showing mercy to and loving your neighbors, even those who are of a nation which collectively hates you, in our case, those who are citizens of the kingdom of Satan (Luke 10:25-37). Ultimately, it is not enough to love those within the Church. We must also love those who hate us, for that is a love beyond humanity: the agape of God.

Grace and peace to you all.

God's Soveriegnty vs. Man's Will

Well, it has been a very long time since I have posted anything, and I have felt guilty because of this. It is my God-given duty to proclaim the Gospel, and I have done poorly at that lately. So, by His grace, I have been able to devote some time to this post. It is on the sovereignty of God and its relation to salvation and man's will. This is a very controversial topic, but only because of our sin. In this post, I will briefly go over many foundational truths of the Gospel, and I beg you to pay attention and read to the end. This is not even the beginning of the wonderful grace which God has granted us to know through the Bible, but it is a good place to peer into the marvelous plan of God called the Gospel.

 

As with every theological truth, we must start with the basics. The current problem of mankind goes back to the Fall of man (and finds its origin in an eternal decree of God, but I will get into that in later posts). When Adam decided to rebel against the authority of God and submit himself to Satan, God made a most interesting decree. In Genesis 3:15, God said to Satan,

 

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel."     

In part, God is speaking of the ultimate Seed of the woman, which is Christ, the Son of God. What is extremely crucial for us to also grasp is that the first half of this verse is speaking also of two separate, non-deity seeds. In this context, God is speaking of two separate, distinct families, the offspring of two separate personages. The first is the offspring of Satan. Who are these people? According to John 8 vs. 41 and 44,

 

"You are doing the deeds of your father... You are of your father the Devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of all lies."

Here our Lord declares that those who both do and want to do the desires of the Devil are born of him. This is not mere conjecture on my part, since the Spirit reminded John again of this teaching, and he repeated it in 1 John 3,

 

"The one who practices sin is of the Devil; for the Devil has sinned from the beginning... By this the children of God and the children of the Devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother." 

So, we now know that any man who practices sin and hates righteousness is born of the Devil. Now we must ask, who specifically is born of the Devil? To answer that, we must understand that you can only be one of two seeds: the seed of the woman or the seed of Satan. In innumerable passages, we see the seed of the woman equated with the Children of God. This is especially seen in John 3. Here the Lord declares, that you must be born from above, of water and Spirit, in order to inherit the Kingdom of God (John 3:3 & 5). This is set in contrast with those born of the flesh in vs. 6. However, every man is born of the flesh. Look at your body, is that flesh or is that spirit? By virtue of your physical birth, you are a child of the Devil. From your conception you were a sinner (Psalm 51:5). This is especially frightening when we see that if one sins, he is a slave to sin (John 8:34). Since everyone has sinned (Romans 3:23), that means that all men who are born solely of the flesh are slaves to sin and thus sons of the Devil.

 

 

So, everyone (at first) is a son of the Devil, of the flesh. This is a huge problem, since this means that no man can inherit the Kingdom of God, since flesh and blood can't inherit it (1 Cor. 15:50). Thus, our Lord brings a wonderful solution to mankind's impending doom: we must be born of God (John 3:5). Easy enough, right? All you have to do is be born of God.

What is holding you back? Is this not the easiest of actions one could do? Can you not make yourself born of God? Can't you make God give you birth? Well, did you make your mother bear you in your flesh? No. It is the same with this spiritual birth. You do not have the ability to make God bear you.

"But read John 3:16! It says that if we believe in Jesus, we will be saved! Since only those who are born of God are saved, then it must mean that if I believe in Jesus, I will be born of God!" Well, I will grant you that those who truly believe in Christ are born of God. However, can you really, truly believe in Christ? “Yes”, you say. Well, let us test your assertion.

First off, if we want to know whether man is capable of believing in Christ, which is a righteous deed, we must understand his heart. This is because the heart is the wellspring, the origin, of our whole life (Prov. 4:23). So, what is in man’s heart? Well, our Lord, who knew the hearts of every man, gave a list which summarizes man’s heart in Matthew 15:19,

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”

Notice that nothing is said about love or faith or obedience here. This is because the hearts of men are desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). There really is nothing good left in there. Why? Because they are the image of their father’s heart, which is devoid of all good. So, it is only natural that they are devoid of all good and full of all evil. Thus, no man can do anything, anything, good. Nothing at all. This is especially evident as Paul repeats in Romans 3:10-12,

“There is none righteous, not even one:

There is none who understands,

There is none who seeks for God;

All have turned aside, together they have become useless;

There is none who does good,

There is not even one.”

This is an extremely bleak picture. If this is true, which it is God’s Word and is thus true, then no man can do anything good. Nothing good at all. In fact, it can be said that every unsaved man is just like the unsaved before the flood, with every wish of their heart always being pure evil (Genesis 6:5).

So, can you, of your own will, believe in Christ? “Yes, it must be possible!” If this is still your reply, understand that it is only possible if the Scripture is either wrong or if belief in Christ is evil. Both arguments are sick and unthinkable. Thus, you are left with the fact that you cannot believe in Christ. Moreover, since those who obey Christ are those who are born of God, and since you cannot obey Christ, you cannot make yourself born of God. To make matters worse, you don’t even want to be.

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. Because everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:19)

If you remember nothing of this post, remember this: you are impotent, hopeless, and purely evil. There is nothing in you that is good, and you in fact hate all good with all of your being. It is true that you are as much a son of the Devil as Hitler, Stalin, and even the arch-son of Hell Judas Iscariot. You cannot save yourself, nor would you do so if you had the ability. No, you prefer to have your sin and your impending doom along with it. Well, you don’t like the idea of going to Hell, where God will pour out His perfect, terrifying wrath on you forever. However, you don’t hate the idea enough to cause you to beg God for mercy. Yet, that is to be expected, since you can’t do anything good because of your own fleshly nature. So, again, you are hopeless. No, you can’t “choose Christ”, or “open the door of your heart to Him”. You can’t accept the Light because you hate the Light and absolutely love evil. Thus, you are headed straight to Hell, where God will pour out His wrath on you for eternity as a result of your rebellion against Him. You are hopeless.

Yet, there is hope, hope that comes from outside of you. This hope is birth from God. Since we have established the fact that you can do nothing good, this hope must come completely from God. Realize, birth from above is a completely new creation inside of you. Through being born of God’s Spirit, you become spirit (John 3:6). In so doing, God creates a clean heart in you, a heart that actually wants and does His will (1 John 3, Ezekiel 36). He truly gives birth to you by miraculously creating a new soul in you, which makes you His son/daughter. As a result, you will inherit the Kingdom of God, which was prepared for you since before time began (Mat. 25:34). All of this is of God, for it is by His grace, through his granting of faith to us, since this work is not of ourselves but is of God (Eph. 2:8).

One of the central tenets of the true Gospel of our Lord is that man is impotent. You are impotent. You can do nothing at all that will allow you to be saved, since you can’t do anything good. Thus, God must save you, He must birth you. Every single part of salvation, from obedience to God to “saving faith”, is impossible for man. Yet, nothing is impossible for God.

Do you understand your utter inability to obey God? Do you realize how wretched, miserable, and poor you are? Good. Are you truly broken and mourning over this fact? Good. Are you humbled before the Almighty, realizing His Greatness and your utter lack of worth? Are you craving for His righteousness as a starving and parched man for food and water? Are you now granting mercy to others? Is your heart purified? Realize, the Kingdom of Heaven is yours. Why? God birthed you, for these are the fruits only of spiritual birth. Our Lord lays it out clearly,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the Earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in Heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Mat. 5:3-12)

If the above is true of you, rejoice! Be thankful, for while you were still a sinner and enemy of God, God chose you, sent His Son to die in your place, and thus demonstrated His perfect love for you (Rom. 5:8). However, remember that this was not of you. So, lay aside your pride, acting as if you somehow earned salvation. Rather, live a life of perfect humility and love towards all men. Most of all, love God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength.

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

Greater love has no man than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

You are My friends if you do what I command you.

No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.

This I command you, that you love one another.” (John 15:12-17)

 

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

And those whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)

 

Nothing in your walk as a Christian comes from yourself (if it is good). No, either your works are wrought in God alone, by God alone, and by His blessed Will alone, or your works are of the flesh and evil (John 3:20-21). Thank God that He gave us life by His Will. When we could not obey and submit to Him, He granted us faith and repentance in spite of our flesh and evil wills (John 1:12-13). All glory to His Name.

 

God bless.

Godly Men and Youth in the Church

     What is biblical masculinity? A good spot to look to be a godly man is in Titus 2:1-2,6-8

But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.

Likewise, urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

     First you will notice that the list of requirements for the young men is longer than for the old. That could be because we need the most help, when the young person gets these down he will be more sanctified when he is old, or that the person that Paul is writing to is a young men, thus he will elaborate a little more. What is interesting is that this list for young men is similar the list for an overseer or an elder in Titus 1:7-9.
      Older men are to be temperate, not excessive. The next command is shared with the young man, that is dignity, not childishness, not unintelligence, and not skinny jeans... Dignity is a virtue even when it is looked down upon. Men are to be dignified but not arrogant they are to be "in love." Now let us practice dignity for a second, take the first thought that came to mind out. Love in the Bible is a choice towards someone, a commitment for their betterment. It is not only a feeling or sentiment but part of you volition. You choose to love someone. Older men are love the people around them, to desire their good.
       Older men are to be sound in faith, younger men are to be pure in doctrine. Young men have an uncanny knack to get involved in false doctrine, for whatever reason, even when they know better, and they usually do it just because, which sets them apart from the older man. The older man often chooses their heresy for gain or to protect their sin and failures. That is only what I have noticed in my experience, which is fallible. Let us avoid these pit falls, and depend on the Scriptures to teach us and let us humble ourselves before God's Word, for they are His commandments.
    Older men are to persevere in what is good, not to get lazy or let loose once in a while. Always remain dignified, temperate, and loving, no matter what the occasion.
    Young men are to be an example of good deeds, not just a doer of good deeds, people should look up to the young men of the church to know how to do what is good. The young man is active in good deeds.
     Young  men are to have sound speech. They are to be clean, sensible, not outrages or impure. Their conversation is to be that which is transparent, so the enemy, whether human or supernatural, will have no bases to attack God's church. Now how different is that to the youth of today's church. If a church's young people are above reproach, that alone, will set it way above all other churches. Imagine all the insults and all the bad things that the enemy has said against us because of our young people!
      Well, I hope that is encouraging and helpful. I have written another post on this issue before as well as a post that the admin wrote.

Psalm 2

Psalm 2

1 Why are the nations in an uproar

And the peoples devising a vain thing?

2 The kings of the earth take their stand 

And the rulers take counsel together 

Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying

3 "Let us tear their fetters apart 

And cast away their cords from us!"

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs

The Lord scoffs at them 

5 Then He will will speak to them in His anger

And terrify them in His fury, saying 

6 "But as for Me, I have installed My King 

Upon Zion,My holy mountain."

7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You. 

8 'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, 

And the very ends of the earth as Your possession

9 'You shall break them with a rod of iron, 

You shall shatter them like earthenware.' "

10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;

Take warning, O judges of the earth.

11 Worship the Lord with reverence 

And rejoice with trembling.

12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,

For His wrath may soon be kindled.

How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!    

More on Biblical Submission to Authority

 "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." 

(Declaration of Independence)

Our nation, our very identity as citizens of America, is founded in revolution against oppressive governments. Ever since our founding, we have encouraged revolution against oppression throughout the world. As was once said, "rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God."

What does God say about this? Well, let us turn to His Word.

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour." (Romans 13:1-7)

This is extremely blunt and easy to understand. All authority is given by God. He chooses all the leaders of all governments. That means He has chosen everyone from Reagan to Stalin, Washington to Hitler, Bush to Mao. Furthermore, because He has appointed the powers that be, we must obey the authorities and not resist them. If we revolt against human authority, we revolt against God Almighty Himself, and as a result earn damnation.

Many people in America, including many pastors, do not like this idea of submission to authority. Therefore, they come up with highly complex arguments that "disprove" submission. Chuck Baldwin is one of these men, and I strongly encourage you to read his reply to Romans 13.

Let me be blunt with you for a moment. This is a perversion of the Biblical doctrine of submission to authority. Let me explain:

First off, he claims that people who believe that we must submit to the government and not rebel are ignorant sheeple, or "just plain lazy". Not only is this insulting to me, it is a direct insult against God Almighty, the One who made this passage. Now, let me move on to specific Theological issues with this man's arguments.

He brings up a good point that our obedience to Man and human institutions is limited. However, he does not define this limit according to the Bible, and here is where he goes wrong.

Mr. Baldwin says that this passage says that all true rulers are not a terror to good, but only to evil. Therefore, any government that punishes good behavior is no longer legitimate and must be defied and/or overthrown by Christians. Is this true according to the Bible? 

First of all, the Apostle is here teaching that the government which was then in power over Rome should be obeyed. Since this Epistle was written somewhere in around early to late 50 A.D., we know that the Apostle must be talking about the government in that time. This was the same government that murdered the Apostle James in A.D. 44 (Acts 12), allowed the murder of Stephen, and instigated the killings, jailing, beating, and otherwise harassing of the followers of Christ. The worst travesty that this government had done was to murder the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, the Lord and God of all. 

I must say, this government was definitely not a terror to good works, which is why the Apostle said that Christians should obey it. 

Let us further expound upon this argument.

 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;

Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.

For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:

 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. (1 Peter 2:13-17)

Also:

 "And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.      Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”

 And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”
 Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’"(Acts 23:2-5)


Could it be any more clear for us? Here Paul was slapped, and followed Baldwin's advice: he reviled and slandered the Authority which God had placed above him. Guess what, when Paul was rebuked, he repented, saying that he had disobeyed God's command just by slandering the Sanhedrin. 

If Paul's mere slander was sin, how much more terrible is the idea of revolting! 


Now, what is our obedience limited to?

 ^"Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:25-29)

There we are. If the Government tells us to disobey God, then we do not disobey God.

Another thing needs addressed. Baldwin's argument here rests upon the idea that any government which harms people for doing good is not recognized nor chosen by God. It is thus not God's Agent. 

Not only is this impossible to prove using the Bible (notice how Baldwin does not use the Bible to defend this), this teaching is a slap in the face of God, for it defies His Absolute Sovereignty over everything including governments. All things, ultimately, are agents of God. He has put every single government and authority in place, and nothing can have any power without His Sovereign decision to give that power. THAT is what this passage is saying, and what Baldwin is denying.

How does Mr. Baldwin get to these conclusions? He takes the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence as if they were decrees of God Almighty. They are his substitution for the Bible, Natural Law Philosophy is his Theology, and America is his Heaven on Earth. 

That, sadly, is the state of many people today. Make no mistake, I love this country. I am patriotic, and supportive of the government. However, this nation is not my Home, this government is not my Lord. Heaven is my ultimate destination, and God is my King. 
As leaders in the Church, let us remember to look forward to what lies ahead, obeying the human authorities for Christ's sake.

Obeying Wicked Leaders for the Glory of God

    I think that it is important to note that God recognizes a leader as a leader to be obeyed and respected despite the leader's wickedness.

Matthew 23:2-3

(Jesus) "Saying ' The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them." 

    Is it just me or is that pretty clear? Here is Jesus' opinion on how to respond to wicked and hypocritical leaders. God said that those who have seated THEMSELVES in authority, we MUST recognize their authority. Notice that these scribes and Pharisees seated themselves to a position of authority, they did not gain the position through inheritance nor any good merits of their own but interjected themselves into the seat of Moses, but despite how they got to sit in the position of leaders, they were there and were to be obeyed. We, slaves of Christ, must not rebel against our authority because we think that the individuals or group of individuals do not belong in the seat of a leader. Ultimately God Himself placed those people to be authority. So if we think that we can rebel against Obama because he isn't an American citizen or that he president due to fraud and he asserted himself, we must still obey him because, despite how he rose to presidency, God placed him there.

    We, slaves of Christ, must obey those in authority despite their wicked actions and hypocrisy. The scribes and Pharisees that Jesus is referring to is the same group that Jesus called white washed tombs and serpents. Despite that the authority is corrupt and is hypocritical we must obey their words, we cannot disobey. Their wickedness does not give us an excuse or license to rebel. Where in the Bible is that commended? I know how wicked the current governments are, they all hate God, all kingdoms of the world lie in the lap of the evil one and that has been true since the beginning of time! The governments have always been wicked, and America is no exception, America is not the new promise land or God's new people. The whole world is wicked, but what has God said? 

Mark 12:14-17

"They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” ¹⁶ They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “ Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him. 

Amen! 

    Though the main reason for asking this question to our Lord was to trick Him, the question was one that the Jews struggled with. The Jews hated their Roman rulers and they disliked paying the Romans taxes because they said, and rightly so, that paying taxes to Rome encouraged and financed many wicked practices that was prolific in Roman culture, including idolatry. Despite all that, though, Christ still commanded the people to pay their taxes.  

     Though we are to obey the word of our leaders do not do what they do, for most earthly rulers do not adhere to their very own laws, not to mention the very moral laws that God has placed within their consciences. Do not become twice the son of hell as they are.

    So why do we obey those who are in authority, even the wicked ones? It is not about obeying the government because the government is something special but because we obey and are slave of God and citizens of His Kingdom, which is eternal. God has placed those men in authority Himself and He Himself directs the king's heart to do whatever He wishes. Is He not sovereign? We obey the government because we obey God, and that is why when man's laws contradict God's laws, we observe God's laws. If a government official came and said "deny Christ or die" I will choose physical death, for I cannot blaspheme and disregard His name. "Fear God and give Him glory", and that is a command (yes God can and does command men).

    So if you call yourself a Christian then obey the government, not for the government's sake but because you love God. You are not of this world.