2009-11-06
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I’m astonished at how much information to share the Holy Spirit is giving me on the subject of judgment. He wants us to know that the seemingly few words that Christ said to us in His Sermon on the Mount have a tremendous impact on our lives. And when we think of it, the issues of judgment are reaching to every aspect of our lives. Once again, I am led to compare MT 7: 12, the Golden Rule, to another passage, RO 13: 1-8. “Everyone must obey state authorities, because no authority exists without God’s permission, and the existing authorities have been put there by God. Whoever opposes the existing authority opposes what God has ordered; and anyone who does so will bring judgment on himself. For rulers are not to be feared by those who do good, but by those who do who do evil. Would you like to be unafraid of the man in authority? Then do what is good, and he will praise you, because he is God’s servant working for your own good. But if you do evil, then be afraid of him, because his power to punish is real. He is God’s servant and carries out God’s punishment on those who do evil. For this reason you must obey the authority-not just because of God’s punishment, but also as a matter of conscience. That is also why you pay taxes, because the authorities are working for God when they fulfill their duties. Pay, then, what you owe to them; pay them your personal and property taxes, and show respect and honor for them all.”
After meditating on this passage, it seemed obvious that Paul was speaking of responsible leaders in office or in some kind of position of authority here. This seems to be a direct reference to MT 22: 15-21, Christ’s lesson on paying taxes given to His disciples. “They brought him the coin, and He asked them, ‘Who face and name are these?’ ‘The Emperor’s,’ they answered. So Jesus said to them, ‘Well, then, pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay to God what belongs to God’” [MT 22: 20b-21; MK 12: 17; LK 20: 25]. The double meaning of this last sentence is clear. Paul’s elaboration on it above only serves to further clarify God’s will on the matter. It also brings into light His sovereignty and right to reverent obedience. When we get down to RO 13: 3-5, the issue of our attitudes is addressed with great clarity. Those who should be afraid of authority figures are those who do evil; those who have no such fright are those who had done good. Because of the way this is stated, we can assume that at the time the judgment on how to react or behave is in dealing with a righteous ruler or authority figure.
However, the question comes up about evil authority figures, e.g. an Adolph Hitler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, or the like. A person well-versed in God’s teaching, will truly know if the leader is within them or outside of them. I believe in that case, God would want us to conform to His teaching anyway. An example of someone who did this was Daniel, a captive in the court of Nebuchadnazzer and other Babylonian kings. As a lad with his friends, Daniel came up with a contest for chief official, Ashpenaz, to compare the other young men who ate the usual palace diet to him and his friends, who ate according to Jewish law in DN 1: 3-21. The net result, with God’s intervention, was for Daniel and his friends to be chosen to serve the king. Later, Daniel, in defiance of King Darius’ governor’s wishes, knelt down at an open window facing Jerusalem and prayed three times a day [DN 6: 10] to the one and only true God of Israel. Despite much temptation to do so, throughout his life Daniel never abandoned the practice of his faith or his obedience to the Father. The same could be said of many of the 6 million Jews ruthlessly slaughtered in the death camps of the Holocaust. Their lives were not lost in vain, because REV 6: 9-11 tells us that those martyred for their faith will be honored in heaven. As for Daniel, he spent most of his life in captivity, but though the wisdom God gave him, he, like Joseph in the court of the pharaohs before him, served to be useful to God and very obedient to Him [GN 41-47: 26]. God never abandoned either of those men or anyone who is reverent toward Him. As for Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his Seluid nation who tried to stamp out Judaism by assimilation, he failed miserably. Today there is a Jewish nation, but their enemies of antiquity- the Selucids, Ammonites, Edomites, and Moabites- have perished. Even today’s obediently faithful Jews surrounded by Arab enemies can rely on our loving and just God. PS 9: 9-10, “The Lord is a Refuge for the oppressed, a Place of Safety in times of trouble. Those who know You, Lord, will trust You; You do not abandon anyone who comes to You.”
Where taxes are concerned, no one enjoys paying them, but we must. I have my own opinions about the politics of our country, but this devotion is not about them so much as about living up to God’s teaching in the Scriptures. We may not like the way the money being collected is being used, but we must pay it anyway. I am of the opinion that God allows people that aren’t ideal to get into a position of authority for His own reasons. A personally painful example would be Hitler, because if the Holocaust hadn’t happened, the nation of Israel would not have been established. I must say this even through I lost a portion of my own family in that catastrophe. We must remember Paul’s discussion of the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit in RO 7: 14-25. The final reminder is (25) where Paul makes it plain that the only remedy for this is in faith in Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: O Lord, once again we approach Your mighty throne to confess our great need for You, our spiritual poverty. Without You, we are set adrift, open to Satan’s propensity for establishing His strongholds in us. With You, we have the power to fend off Satan’s attacks given to us by Your Son, Jesus Christ [EPH 1: 18-20]. By telling us to “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you” [MT 7:12], You have given us a plumb line, a way of measuring our responses to challenging situations and tough decisions we must make. It is not easy writing our monthly pledge checks and paying our taxes when jobs are disappearing and money is tight. Yet we must do these things in order to “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” [MT 22: 17]. If the roles were reversed, we must ask how we would feel, if we were cheated of the money we need to provide our services or do the Lord’s work. We thank You for bringing faith in Jesus Christ into our lives. He truly is the relief from total control over us by our natural desires. “I do not understand what I do; for I don’t do what I would like to do, but instead I do what I hate…So I am not really the one who does this thing; rather it is the sin that live in me…My inner being delights in the laws of God. But I see a different law at work in my body-a law that fights against the law of which my mind approves…Who will recue me from this body that is taking me to death? Thanks be to God, Who does this through our Lord Jesus Christ!” [RO 7: 15,17, 22, and 25]. Dearest Abba, You never abandon us, nor do You act without consistency. We truly can depend on You to intervene when Your help is needed-and that is often. It is up to us to listen for You, to pray first and then make decisions with Your help, and to always be obediently faithful-even when we are asked to do something we don’t enjoy. We are indeed to obey the authorities You allow to be in office, unless they are going against Your will and are trying to force us to do the same. By study, prayer, and looking at the circumstances of our lives, we can know Your will, which You have made clear. We thank and praise You for always being there for us and for loving us the way You do. In Christ’s holy and mighty name we pray. Amen.
Next week, I am led to continue with an analysis of MT 22: 34-40 and RO 13: 1-8, as compared to the Golden Rule, MT 7: 12. I’m convinced that our Lord is trying to emphasize how important these matters of judgment are in our lives. There is something that must be said about Him in the light of our present discussion. Our God is faithful, beyond what a human can measure. The words “always” and “never” should be use sparingly, as there aren’t many people of issues to which they apply. Our lives seem to be made up of shades in between these extremes. However, our God is always-righteous and faithful; He never abandons those who love and are committed to Him. IS 54: 5, “Your Creator will be like a husband to you-the Lord Almighty is His name; the Holy God is Israel will save you-He is the Ruler of all the world.” HE 13: 6, 8, “The Lord is my Helper; I will not be afraid. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” PS 94: 14, “The Lord will not abandon His people; He will not desert those who belong to Him.” Since we each have been adopted into His family [ROL 8: 14-16], this applies to us. PS 107: 43, “Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.” Yes, Dear Readers, God does reveal Himself in our daily lives. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn