The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Romans 13:6-7,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor."
Paul tells us that civil authority is established by God. Love it or hate it, the authorities are used by God for continuing his redemptive purposes. Civil authority maintains human existence in some form of order as the Lord accomplishes his will in building his kingdom. Some civil authorities are great and some not so much.
For the believer, it raises a lot of questions. What about when an official is dishonest and may be plundering through the authority he holds? What if an authority himself or herself breaks the law? What if the civil authority attempts to establish wickedness through their position of power (abortion comes to mind here)? What if those in power pursue that which I vehemently oppose because of my relationship to Jesus Christ? What if they try to force me to do something I cannot do in good conscience because of my faith in Jesus Christ (the owners of cake stores come to mind here)?
There are all kinds of questions we can ask and debate, but Paul's admonition is that we submit ourselves to the authorities. One very helpful guideline is to follow Jesus' famous teaching, "So give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Matthew 22:21.
For me, I have to approach Paul's admonition as something directed to me personally. I need to obey the police, stop if they order me to and follow their directions. A lot of people these days would have fared much better if they adopted that as a wise guideline. Bad things happen when you don't, as Paul says, "rulers do not bear the sword for no reason", verse 4.
Likewise, I may not like the rate at which I am taxed and I may strongly disagree with the things tax dollars are spent on. That is not my responsibility. I'm responsible for obeying the law and paying my taxes (and not cheating on them).
There certainly is a case to be made that believers should be active in bringing God's principles to the public debate persuasively. The attempt to quiet Christians because they shouldn't be "pushing their Christianity" on others is simply a ruse from the dark side to keep us quiet as they attempt to enforce their agenda on us. And while our civil structures may ebb and flow in regard to godly principles, I need to follow Paul's direction here.
Good things to think about this election season.
Paul tells us that civil authority is established by God. Love it or hate it, the authorities are used by God for continuing his redemptive purposes. Civil authority maintains human existence in some form of order as the Lord accomplishes his will in building his kingdom. Some civil authorities are great and some not so much.
For the believer, it raises a lot of questions. What about when an official is dishonest and may be plundering through the authority he holds? What if an authority himself or herself breaks the law? What if the civil authority attempts to establish wickedness through their position of power (abortion comes to mind here)? What if those in power pursue that which I vehemently oppose because of my relationship to Jesus Christ? What if they try to force me to do something I cannot do in good conscience because of my faith in Jesus Christ (the owners of cake stores come to mind here)?
There are all kinds of questions we can ask and debate, but Paul's admonition is that we submit ourselves to the authorities. One very helpful guideline is to follow Jesus' famous teaching, "So give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Matthew 22:21.
For me, I have to approach Paul's admonition as something directed to me personally. I need to obey the police, stop if they order me to and follow their directions. A lot of people these days would have fared much better if they adopted that as a wise guideline. Bad things happen when you don't, as Paul says, "rulers do not bear the sword for no reason", verse 4.
Likewise, I may not like the rate at which I am taxed and I may strongly disagree with the things tax dollars are spent on. That is not my responsibility. I'm responsible for obeying the law and paying my taxes (and not cheating on them).
There certainly is a case to be made that believers should be active in bringing God's principles to the public debate persuasively. The attempt to quiet Christians because they shouldn't be "pushing their Christianity" on others is simply a ruse from the dark side to keep us quiet as they attempt to enforce their agenda on us. And while our civil structures may ebb and flow in regard to godly principles, I need to follow Paul's direction here.
Good things to think about this election season.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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