Post by Cindy on May 2, 2015 9:25:24 GMT -5
As I've been studying,I found it interesting that the Lord would have me studying about the obedience of His prophets at the very time when here and now we're being told that it may be time for us to disobey our government. Let me share with you what the Lord has shown me about this.
In Jeremiah, the prophet had been telling the people that the Lord was going to destroy the city and they would all be killed for their disobedience if they didn't repent. The King didn't like this at all, so he told Jeremiah that he could no longer go to the temple, figuring that at least the prophet wouldn't have such large crowds to speak to that way. What did Jeremiah do? Well, he didn't go to the temple. He waited to see what the Lord would tell him to do. The Lord told him to dictate everything He said to his scribe and have the scribe go to the temple and read the scroll to the people. The Lord had arranged it so that it was a special day of fasting and the temple would be crowded with people then. The people still didn't listen, but the Lord is always faithful to try and get us to repent and be saved. (Jeremiah 36:5–6)
So in this case at least, the prophet obeyed the government and didn't go to the temple. How many of us would have insisted that keeping us away from the temple was breaking God's law though? Remember, back then, the only proper place to worship and the only place where sacrifices were accepted was at the temple. The Jew's didn't have the convenience of being allowed to go somewhere local or close by to worship God like we do. So basically, Jeremiah was being cut off from worship as well as his preaching there. I think if a policeman or the president were to tell us that we couldn't attend church, we'd all jump up and insist that we HAD to and do it anyway, thinking we were obeying God instead of men. What do you think? But would we really be obeying God by doing that? I don't think so. For one thing, God doesn't dwell in buildings like He did the Temple for awhile, instead, He dwells within each one of us. That's something no one can take away from us. Nowhere does He tell us not to stop going to church. Instead we're told not to stop meeting together to encourage one another, and that can be done anywhere. (Hebrews 10:25; besides which, at the time that was written, there were no formal church buildings anyway)
Generally, we're quick to jump to the conclusion that we have to obey God rather then men, because it allows us to do what we want to do anyway, not necessarily what God wants us to do. We really have to keep a close watch on ourselves to make sure we're not simply giving in to our sin nature to do what we want and to protect "our rights" which is the last thing that God is concerned about.
So let's look at the time when the apostles said they had to obey God rather then men. How was it different? Let me quote exactly what was said to them: “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!” (Acts 5:28–29) Let me set this up for us though. The apostles had been told not to preach about Jesus or what He taught, but they did so anyway, and great crowds were converted because of it. The Sanhedrin saw that they were continuing to do this so they had them all arrested. Note that when they were arrested, the apostles didn't protest, or make a scene in anyway, but went quietly and spent time in jail. That night an angel came and let them out of the jail, and told them to go stand in the temple and tell the people the Truth about Jesus, which is why they were found once again preaching and teaching the people about Jesus.
They were preaching the Word of God as they were told to by Jesus before and then by His angel and therefore respectfully they told the priests that they had to obey God rather then men. They were not flouting the authority of the priests because they wanted their rights but were simply doing as they'd been ordered to do. As far as they knew, they could well lose their lives for continuing to teach what Jesus said. In fact, they wanted to have them killed and would have done so if Gamaliel hadn't advised them not to. So instead they had them flogged which was no light sentence! The apostles suffered for obeying the Lord, as He'd warned them would happen. The chapter ends by saying they rejoiced they'd been counted worthy to suffer for Him and that they continued teaching in the temple courts and going from house to house after that.
So what do we do in our day when we're told that we must disobey our government? We each need to pray about it and seek the Lord through His Word to determine that on each individual case. As far as the supreme courts decision about marriage goes, I agree that those who are in positions where they're being ordered by the government to acknowledge and participate in homosexual marriages, should obey God, not the government. Whether it's a photographer, a bakery, or a pastor, they should not validate homosexual marriage because it is against God's law and would require them to sin by participating. It would be spitting in God's face. However, that doesn't mean that anyone should be nasty, loud, or break any other laws. It means they should be humble, submit to God completely, carefully doing only what He says, and like the apostles know they may very well be hurt by the stand they take, but that God will eventually vindicate them for their obedience. I would strongly urge each person to ask the Lord themselves and search His Word and their own hearts with His help to get their answer about this though, as I will continue to do. This is my answer for now, but then the Lord may still have more to teach me about this too.
Civil disobedience is no light matter in God's eyes. His main instructions to us are to live at peace with everyone as far as it depends on us if it's at all possible (Romans 12:18). As far as disobeying the government goes, He tells us “Everyone must submit himself 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, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” (Romans 13:1–2) Therefore we must be very careful to be absolutely sure that we're really obeying God and not our own feelings and desires, if or when we are put in a position where we have to choose.
In Jeremiah, the prophet had been telling the people that the Lord was going to destroy the city and they would all be killed for their disobedience if they didn't repent. The King didn't like this at all, so he told Jeremiah that he could no longer go to the temple, figuring that at least the prophet wouldn't have such large crowds to speak to that way. What did Jeremiah do? Well, he didn't go to the temple. He waited to see what the Lord would tell him to do. The Lord told him to dictate everything He said to his scribe and have the scribe go to the temple and read the scroll to the people. The Lord had arranged it so that it was a special day of fasting and the temple would be crowded with people then. The people still didn't listen, but the Lord is always faithful to try and get us to repent and be saved. (Jeremiah 36:5–6)
So in this case at least, the prophet obeyed the government and didn't go to the temple. How many of us would have insisted that keeping us away from the temple was breaking God's law though? Remember, back then, the only proper place to worship and the only place where sacrifices were accepted was at the temple. The Jew's didn't have the convenience of being allowed to go somewhere local or close by to worship God like we do. So basically, Jeremiah was being cut off from worship as well as his preaching there. I think if a policeman or the president were to tell us that we couldn't attend church, we'd all jump up and insist that we HAD to and do it anyway, thinking we were obeying God instead of men. What do you think? But would we really be obeying God by doing that? I don't think so. For one thing, God doesn't dwell in buildings like He did the Temple for awhile, instead, He dwells within each one of us. That's something no one can take away from us. Nowhere does He tell us not to stop going to church. Instead we're told not to stop meeting together to encourage one another, and that can be done anywhere. (Hebrews 10:25; besides which, at the time that was written, there were no formal church buildings anyway)
Generally, we're quick to jump to the conclusion that we have to obey God rather then men, because it allows us to do what we want to do anyway, not necessarily what God wants us to do. We really have to keep a close watch on ourselves to make sure we're not simply giving in to our sin nature to do what we want and to protect "our rights" which is the last thing that God is concerned about.
So let's look at the time when the apostles said they had to obey God rather then men. How was it different? Let me quote exactly what was said to them: “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!” (Acts 5:28–29) Let me set this up for us though. The apostles had been told not to preach about Jesus or what He taught, but they did so anyway, and great crowds were converted because of it. The Sanhedrin saw that they were continuing to do this so they had them all arrested. Note that when they were arrested, the apostles didn't protest, or make a scene in anyway, but went quietly and spent time in jail. That night an angel came and let them out of the jail, and told them to go stand in the temple and tell the people the Truth about Jesus, which is why they were found once again preaching and teaching the people about Jesus.
They were preaching the Word of God as they were told to by Jesus before and then by His angel and therefore respectfully they told the priests that they had to obey God rather then men. They were not flouting the authority of the priests because they wanted their rights but were simply doing as they'd been ordered to do. As far as they knew, they could well lose their lives for continuing to teach what Jesus said. In fact, they wanted to have them killed and would have done so if Gamaliel hadn't advised them not to. So instead they had them flogged which was no light sentence! The apostles suffered for obeying the Lord, as He'd warned them would happen. The chapter ends by saying they rejoiced they'd been counted worthy to suffer for Him and that they continued teaching in the temple courts and going from house to house after that.
So what do we do in our day when we're told that we must disobey our government? We each need to pray about it and seek the Lord through His Word to determine that on each individual case. As far as the supreme courts decision about marriage goes, I agree that those who are in positions where they're being ordered by the government to acknowledge and participate in homosexual marriages, should obey God, not the government. Whether it's a photographer, a bakery, or a pastor, they should not validate homosexual marriage because it is against God's law and would require them to sin by participating. It would be spitting in God's face. However, that doesn't mean that anyone should be nasty, loud, or break any other laws. It means they should be humble, submit to God completely, carefully doing only what He says, and like the apostles know they may very well be hurt by the stand they take, but that God will eventually vindicate them for their obedience. I would strongly urge each person to ask the Lord themselves and search His Word and their own hearts with His help to get their answer about this though, as I will continue to do. This is my answer for now, but then the Lord may still have more to teach me about this too.
Civil disobedience is no light matter in God's eyes. His main instructions to us are to live at peace with everyone as far as it depends on us if it's at all possible (Romans 12:18). As far as disobeying the government goes, He tells us “Everyone must submit himself 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, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” (Romans 13:1–2) Therefore we must be very careful to be absolutely sure that we're really obeying God and not our own feelings and desires, if or when we are put in a position where we have to choose.