Authority

If you read my last post about revival, this post is somewhat related to the mindset that I mentioned last week. I find that we often target our nation’s leaders when it comes to talking about many of the problems America faces. However, this is very disrespectful to our leaders. Believe it or not, but the New Testament teaches us to respect human authority because it has all been established by God. There are several examples in both the Old and New Testaments that show that it doesn’t matter if those leaders are making bad decisions. We are still to submit to them.

In 1 Samuel, the nation of Israel asks for a king. By doing so, they rejected God as their King (1 Sam. 8:7). God made Saul king of Israel, but Saul turned into a bad king. God knew what kind of king Saul would be because He warned them through Samuel. There were still some faithful people left in Israel, such as Samuel, but the heart of Israel was away from God so God used Saul to teach them a lesson and to restore them to Him.

Let’s see what example we can find in the New Testament—how about Jesus? Yes, even Jesus submitted Himself to human authority. In Matthew 17, we see Jesus paying taxes! Of course, there is more. When Jesus was arrested, he could have called twelve legions of angels to rescue Him, but by allowing them to arrest and kill Him, Jesus submitted to the authority of the government.

As we can now see, we should be respectful toward our leaders, and the leaders are not the problem in the first place. Maybe God is trying to lead the nation back to Him as He did with Israel. In this case, the responsibility falls on the church. We are called to spread the word to everyone. Remember carefully that last week, I also added that we are not called to enforce the word. If we teach others about God’s love and forgiveness, the nation will experience a transformation that leads it back to God and, therefore, we will elect leaders who have the interests of God and the church in mind.  

“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 the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” Romans 13:1-4