Post by Sheila on Apr 14, 2024 9:04:33 GMT -5
The title of this thread isn't saying Christians should never obey the law's created by man. Currently, most of man's laws, at least in the United States, are made as a way to protect all citizens from harm and to protect their freedoms. However, as can be seen by court cases being heard throughout the judicial system, this is slowly changing.
The rule about following man's laws can be found in the Bible. "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against authority is rebelling against what God instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves" (Romans 13:1-2). Verses three and four go on to explain that the government's rules should only hold terror for those who do wrong and the authorities are the "agents of wrath" who bring punishment on the people who do wrong. With these verses alone, it seems God is commanding us to always obey the laws of man.
If taken in context with many other parts of the Bible, it should become evident there are times when man's laws shouldn't be obeyed. In chapter seven of the book of Mark, the Pharisees ask Jesus why his disciples don't live according the traditions of the elders. Jesus answered by saying that the hypocrites "worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions" (verses 7-8). Christians are to obey the commands of God. These not only include the Ten Commandments, but everything Jesus taught as the ways in which to be one of his true followers. He told us "If you love me, keep my commands" (John 14:15). Any law based on the emotions or ideologies of man are based on what's established as a "tradition" of man. The easiest way to make the determination of whether or not a law is based on tradition is to compare it to God's commands in the Bible. If it opposes one or more of God's commands, it's based on tradition and not what God has ordained. In cases such as this, we're to place God's law above man's. In so doing, we may be breaking man's law, but we're obeying God's.
One example of disobeying man's laws is shown in chapter five of the book of Acts. The apostles traveled and preached the Gospel in Jesus' name although the authorities repeatedly warned them not to do so. In this case, they were arrested and brought before the authorities - those which we're told in the book of Romans to obey. When asked why they continued to break the law, Peter and the other apostles responded by saying, "We must obey God rather than human beings" (verse 29). For this, they were flogged and released with the warning to stop preaching in the name of Jesus. Did they stop? No. Many of them were eventually killed for continuously breaking the law established by man. Today, we're to do the same. Jesus left the disciples with the command to "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15). That command applies to every Christian. Just because the new traditions of man say we shouldn't do this because the Gospel is offensive to some people, doesn't mean we should stop spreading the Gospel - even in countries that have laws against anything and everything related to Christianity.
The news has covered many stories about Christians being punished by the government or their representatives for obeying God instead of them. Students have been suspended from school for wearing religious themed t-shirts and reading their Bibles in the library. Teachers and coaches have been fired because they pray with their students and athletes. People have been sued for simply answering someone else's question with an answer representing God's law. The government will state these punishments were meted out because the Christian was breaking a law. However, new laws are based on nothing more than the perceived offensiveness of the "crime" or to support some ideology which they're trying to enforce on everyone. When older laws are brought into play, those laws are twisted by interpretation or outright ignorance of their meanings to support the ideology.
The government and other officials who state there should be a separation of church and that God and the Bible should never be mentioned in public and/or politics seem to enjoy quoting the Bible when it fits their agenda. Although we may not have heard it used in such a way, it probably won't be long before those people continuously quote verses such as Romans 13:1-2 as "proof" we must obey their every decree. It's time we take a stand against some of man's laws. If what we're doing is spreading God's message and/or used to combat actions that go against his commands, we should always take the side of God whether or not doing so breaks man's law. God's laws still reign supreme. We'll be rewarded in the end even if that end is met at the end of a life in prison or the death penalty because we broke a law created by man and continued to obey God.
* All quotes are from the New International Version of the Bible.
The rule about following man's laws can be found in the Bible. "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against authority is rebelling against what God instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves" (Romans 13:1-2). Verses three and four go on to explain that the government's rules should only hold terror for those who do wrong and the authorities are the "agents of wrath" who bring punishment on the people who do wrong. With these verses alone, it seems God is commanding us to always obey the laws of man.
If taken in context with many other parts of the Bible, it should become evident there are times when man's laws shouldn't be obeyed. In chapter seven of the book of Mark, the Pharisees ask Jesus why his disciples don't live according the traditions of the elders. Jesus answered by saying that the hypocrites "worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions" (verses 7-8). Christians are to obey the commands of God. These not only include the Ten Commandments, but everything Jesus taught as the ways in which to be one of his true followers. He told us "If you love me, keep my commands" (John 14:15). Any law based on the emotions or ideologies of man are based on what's established as a "tradition" of man. The easiest way to make the determination of whether or not a law is based on tradition is to compare it to God's commands in the Bible. If it opposes one or more of God's commands, it's based on tradition and not what God has ordained. In cases such as this, we're to place God's law above man's. In so doing, we may be breaking man's law, but we're obeying God's.
One example of disobeying man's laws is shown in chapter five of the book of Acts. The apostles traveled and preached the Gospel in Jesus' name although the authorities repeatedly warned them not to do so. In this case, they were arrested and brought before the authorities - those which we're told in the book of Romans to obey. When asked why they continued to break the law, Peter and the other apostles responded by saying, "We must obey God rather than human beings" (verse 29). For this, they were flogged and released with the warning to stop preaching in the name of Jesus. Did they stop? No. Many of them were eventually killed for continuously breaking the law established by man. Today, we're to do the same. Jesus left the disciples with the command to "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15). That command applies to every Christian. Just because the new traditions of man say we shouldn't do this because the Gospel is offensive to some people, doesn't mean we should stop spreading the Gospel - even in countries that have laws against anything and everything related to Christianity.
The news has covered many stories about Christians being punished by the government or their representatives for obeying God instead of them. Students have been suspended from school for wearing religious themed t-shirts and reading their Bibles in the library. Teachers and coaches have been fired because they pray with their students and athletes. People have been sued for simply answering someone else's question with an answer representing God's law. The government will state these punishments were meted out because the Christian was breaking a law. However, new laws are based on nothing more than the perceived offensiveness of the "crime" or to support some ideology which they're trying to enforce on everyone. When older laws are brought into play, those laws are twisted by interpretation or outright ignorance of their meanings to support the ideology.
The government and other officials who state there should be a separation of church and that God and the Bible should never be mentioned in public and/or politics seem to enjoy quoting the Bible when it fits their agenda. Although we may not have heard it used in such a way, it probably won't be long before those people continuously quote verses such as Romans 13:1-2 as "proof" we must obey their every decree. It's time we take a stand against some of man's laws. If what we're doing is spreading God's message and/or used to combat actions that go against his commands, we should always take the side of God whether or not doing so breaks man's law. God's laws still reign supreme. We'll be rewarded in the end even if that end is met at the end of a life in prison or the death penalty because we broke a law created by man and continued to obey God.
* All quotes are from the New International Version of the Bible.
Copyright © 2024 by Sheila Rae Myers