Now remember that she also sits at the feet of another antichrist, Ekhart Tolle. It is clear that she has an ear for anyone other than a true Christian. And the bible speaks of those who won’t endure sound doctrine but will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.

As for Osteen, the scriptures are plain enough. Paul, speaking in 1Corithinians 6:9-11 gives a list of sinners who will not make it to heaven. The list includes fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, the covetous, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers. These will be excluded from heaven. The reason…SIN!

Revelation 22:15 declares that Outside (of the kingdom of heaven) are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

1Timothy 1:8-11 gives another list of sins which are judged by the law of God. Included in this list is homosexuality. Then we can turn back to Genesis and see how God views the sin of Sodomy, homosexuality in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. At one time the plain was like the garden of eden. But when the sin of the cities of the plains reached its zenith, God wiped out the entire area and today no one lives there. Sodom and Gomorrah are used as examples of the judgment of God against this sin which is the lowest that men can go.

God hates sin, is of purer eyes than to behold evil and has created hell as the final depository for those who will not repent of their sin.

But lest you think I am leaving sinners with no hope, I conclude with 1Cor 6:11 which says, Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. You see, there were former homosexuals in the Church at Corinth. They had repented of their sin and had been cleansed by the Blood of Jesus.

Turn ye, Turn ye for why will you die when there is forgiveness and salvation to be found in the person of Jesus Christ.

This is a day of mourning. In Ezekiel 18:23 God says: “Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord GOD, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live? He repeats this in chapter 33:11 saying “”Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?‘ If God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, how can we?

I’m sure that some are probably rejoicing over the death of Mr. Hitchens but I cannot. I know the truth; an unrepentant sinner has passed from this life as it is appointed unto man to die once…but now, having passed from this life in rebellion against God, being condemned already for not having believed, trusted in Christ for the salvation of His never dying soul, now comes the judgment and this man is now in torment for all eternity.

Mourn over the death of this man who died a rebel before God. And mourn over those who believe as he did…for unless they repent they will likewise perish.

http://www.chicagonewsreport.com/2011/04/maryland-mcdonalds-black-girls-beat.html In this story a  group of black girls decided it was alright to beat a transgendered person into a seisure.

http://nation.foxnews.com/must-see-video/2011/12/07/video-brutal-beatdown-college-campus-200-nike-shoes  Our next item features a group of black kids beating a white kid for his shoes.

http://nation.foxnews.com/local-news/2011/12/07/chaotic-mob-overruns-police-firefighters-rescue-deluge-water-cannon Here we have a  group of 50 black girls who thought that it would be cool to murder a girl with a heart condition.

Next up is the account from the Wisconson State fair where black men were targeting whites. http://www.realnewsreporter.com/?p=6921

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/naacp-warns-of-massive-state-sponsored-voter-suppression-against-blacks-hispanics/ Not to be outdone, the NAACP has decided to appeal to the United Nations with the charge of voter suppression. Now lets see; the last time I saw voter suppression was when Barack Obama was being elected President and the Black Panthers were intimidating Republican voters outsided polling places.

It is just my opinion but to me it seems as if these people are acting like animals, not human beings!

And finally we have this from the inimitable Jesse Jackson. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/jesse-jacksons-odd-christmas-coments-christmas-should-be-a-poor-peoples-holy-day/ Since when did Christmas become a holiday about people? Christmas is a celebration of the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth to save people from their sins. This includes the hate filled black kids in the afor mentioned news accounts. 

This is all just an example of what Jesus said 2000 years ago…the love of many would grow cold. Paul spoke of those who were without natural affection and the above accounts exemplify the truth of scripture.

Turn ye, turn ye, for why will you die.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_DaMKUP3Og

Pray for grace and deliverance from the wrath to come!

 http://www.theblaze.com/stories/senior-eij-official-calls-for-worldwide-sharia-threatens-christian-extermination/

As you read this link you will see that what is being proposed is nothing less than another totalitarian regime. There is nothing new under the sun. In fact I almost want to say, Get In Line. I mean we have the muslims, the communists, and the environazi’s all vying for position…all wanting to rule the world. And this is nothing new. Men have always wanted to rule other men. Since Nimrod there have been those who wanted to rule the world

I don’t care how you slice it, the motif is the same. Whether it is a Nazi, a Communist, or a Muslim system, the idea is the same; we take power, we kill everyone in opposition and then we keep on killing for the fun of it.

This latest threat coming from Sheikh ‘Adel Shehato is also nothing new to Christians who have been the target of numerous regimes from the Roman Empire to the Muslim/Communist/Nazi type threats from the world as well as from those in the United States. Even the President is in on it…he is not a Christian, hates Jesus and the Bible, and would like nothing more than to eradicate the Christian opposition to his communist/muslim plans.

And the only thing that has held all these groups back is the restraining hand of God!

This is a time when men’s hearts will be failing them for fear. I mean, we are being threatened with worldwide extermination! But what did Jesus say? He said, “In this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” When the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him.

To those who threaten us with extermination I have two things to say;

1. He who lives by the sword will die by the sword ( the two edged sword that proceeds from the mouth of the Son of God) We don’t have to defend ourselves for our Maker is strong and if He chooses, He can deliver us from your threats. But even if He doesn’t, know this, we will not bow to your false god.

2. You can only kill my body, you can’t touch my soul. Therefore I will not fear the one who can kill the body and after than can do nothing…I will however fear, reverence, worship the one who after killing the body, has power to cast into hell!

You may spout for the moment, but like all antichrist’s you too will perish…unless you repent!

Today we are continuing our examination of Paul’s application of all that he has written in chapters 1-11 and today as we stand on holy ground before our glorious Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ we must understand that it is time to wake up…the day of our salvation, the day of our deliverance from this world of sin is drawing near and it is my prayer that as we listen to the voice of God today, that we will have ears to hear and eyes to see the truth! In this letter that God moved Paul to write, we have seen the marvelous grace that God our Father has lavished upon us in the person of His Son and in the Sacrifice of the Cross and in the blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus. He has laid out before us
the entire human race in all of its sinfulness and Christ in all of His eternal glory. We have seen the sinfulness of sin and the graciousness of almighty God and Paul begins
chapter 12 by saying; “Therefore” meaning, because of all that God has done on our behalf, because of the marvelous merciful grace that He has lavished upon us, because He sent His Son to die in our place and be raised for our justification, because we have been given new life in Christ Jesus, we are to die to ourselves and live for Him.

We are to lie down as living sacrifices before almighty God and die to ourselves and our self-seeking-ness and our dreams and desires and live entirely for Him, His will and His glory! And is this too much to ask? I mean, Jesus gave His life for us…He was beaten, and crucified and He died upon a Cross. And more importantly, He died in our place…He took upon Himself our sins and paid the penalty for our crimes against a holy God. What crimes you ask? God laid out His Holy Law in Exodus 20…The Ten Commandments.
And He said “Thou Shalt!”…

1. Not have any other Gods before Him
2. Not make any image for the purpose of worship
3. Not take His name in vain
4. You shall remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy
5. You shall honor our father and mother
6. Not murder
7. Not commit adultery
8. Not steal
9. Not lie
10. Not covet!

I can tell you right now that I have broken every one of those laws! I am guilty and I am worthy of death. But God has made a provision for me, undeserving though I am, and has granted me mercy… a pardon, for Jesus rose from the dead for my justification. God the Father has satisfied His justice in the sacrifice of His Son and I am covered in His
blood. Rom 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but and here is the mercy of God, the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Now in light of all that God has done on our behalf I would like us to consider the words of Paul who said, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, your spiritual service of worship.” We are being called by God to leave our old life…die to it and live wholly for Him, His glory and His service! And really, when you think of your old life, do you really want to go back there. Do you find anything beautiful about the sins that you once wallowed in? Jesus died to set us free from the tyranny of the devil, give us new lives and a real purpose for living…that being to serve the living God! He
purchased us from the slave market of sin and set us free from our old existence which would have ended in an eternity of misery in the fires of hell. He has delivered us from the power and the penalty of sin and has called us to new life in Himself.

But note what we are being called to do…what type of sacrifice we are being called to bring. We are being called to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, your spiritual service of worship.” This is not some 1,2,3, and everything is wonderful type of thing. We are being called to separation from this world and to entire consecration to the God who saved us and called us with a holy calling. This is serious business and Jesus spoke of counting the cost of discipleship in Luke 14:35 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 “Whoever does not carry his own
cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit
down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 “Or else,
while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up
all his own possessions. 34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35 “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Can you see how serious this is?

Let me give you an illustration of just how heavy it is to flippantly approach the Lord God. Aaron had two sons, Nadab and Abihu. These two men had been granted to serve as priests in the Tabernacle in the wilderness. And they had been granted to see a vision of the Lord God. God told Moses to bring Aaron and his sons Nadab and Abihu along
with seventy elders of Israel to worship God! And we read these words in Exodus 24:10: “and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to
be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw
God, and they ate and drank.”

What an incredible blessing, what a privilege they were granted…along with the blessing of being called to be priests to the living God. But then we come to Le 10:1 and we understand that God had given strict instructions concerning how He was to be served…how the offering of sacrifices before Him was to be carried out. But this seemed to go unnoticed by Aaron’s sons for we read “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. 2  And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. 3 ¶  Then just after God had slain Nadab and Abihu, Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the LORD spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.’” So Aaron, therefore, kept silent. 

How we approach the living God is very important isn’t it. ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy… We are His workmanship, created for good works in Christ and we are called to offer up ourselves as living, holy sacrifices before Him which is our spiritual service of worship. And in keeping with that offering we are to turn away from the world and immerse ourselves in the word of God, bathing ourselves in prayer and walking in the Spirit of God so that we may bring glory to God!

As we walk in the Spirit we will be humble like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we will seek to lift people up and show them that there is hope in a hopeless world for there is a real God and real deliverance to be found in Christ Jesus. We are to demonstrate real love and speak real truth to a world that has no concept of real love or real truth. We are to seek to serve God in whatever capacity we can, examining the scriptures to find out what He would have us do, whether it be prophesying, serving, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading or showing mercy. We are to seek to be conformed to the image of Christ so that we will be living witnesses of His glory and grace. We are to love without hypocrisy, hate evil and cling to what is good. We are to be devoted to our Christian brothers, seeking to outdo one another in trying to honor one another. We are to learn the lesson of the ant, turn away from our natural desire to be lazy and will burn with fervency of spirit, serving the Lord.

Since we know that in this world we can expect tribulation, we are to seek to be prepared for it so that we can rejoice, count it all joy when we encounter various trials and
tribulations because we know the purpose of trials is to bring us to maturity, so that we will be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Because of this we will be able to rejoice in hope and we will be devoted to prayer, knowing that apart from Christ we can do nothing but that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We are commanded to contribute to the needs of the saints and practice hospitality, knowing that there is a very real possibility that we may be entertaining angels.

Knowing that there are enemies of the cross of Christ, we can expect persecution and we are called to bless those who curse us. We are to rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, seek to be of the same mind, that is to see all men on level ground before the One who created us and gives us life and breath and all things. We know that the whole world lies in the evil one. Those who are dead in trespasses and sins are in desperate need of a deliverer. And we know such a person in Jesus Christ who can set them free from bondage to sin, self and the devil. Therefore we are to do all we can to set Jesus Christ forth before men in all of His glory. and just as Christ, being reviled, didn’t revile in return we are to follow in His steps.

We will be ridiculed and scoffed at but we are to speak the truth in love, knowing that the Lord knows those who are His and will call His sheep to Himself. The instruction of the concluding words of chapter 12 are very clear and need no interpretation; 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. 20 “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Then concerning the government we have seen that all governments that have ever existed have been established by God as such we are to be in subjection to the governing authorities knowing that God has raised them up to bring glory to His Name. Indeed, if we resist the governing authorities, if we break the laws that have been established by the civil governments we are opposing the ordinance of God; we are rebels against God…we have taken our stand against the God who has established it and we will be judged accordingly and remember that our God sees hatred as murder, lust as adultery and rebellion as the sin of witchcraft.

The purpose of civil law is to keep order and protect citizens from harm. The Law is good. Paul says in Ro 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” Now we know that whatever the Law of God says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and the whole world may become accountable to God and the purpose of the law of God is to draw men to himself.
Indulge me and listen once again to the words of Ray Comfort from Hells Best Kept Secret as he uses the civil law to illustrate divine Law. “We can often see the work of God’s Law illustrated in civil law. Watch what often happens on a freeway when you are traveling. When there is no visible sign of the law, see how motorists transgress the speed limit. Everyone knows the maximum is 55 mph, but watch how they all naturally flow together at an unlawful 70 mph. It seems that the law has forgotten to patrol this part of the freeway. You are just “going with the flow.” Besides, you are only transgressing the law by 15 mph, and you are not the only one who is over the speed limit. Now, notice what happens when the law enters. He comes through on the fast lane with his lights flashing. Your heart misses a beat. You no longer feel secure in the fact that other
motorists are also speeding; you know that you are personally as guilty as the next guy, and you could be the one the law pulls over. Suddenly, your “mere” 15 mph transgression doesn’t seem such a small thing after all. It seems to abound.

Look at the freeway of sin. The whole world naturally goes with the flow. Who hasn’t had an “affair” (or desired to) at some time or other? Who in today’s society doesn’t tell the occasional “white” lie now and then, or take something that belongs to someone else, even if it’s just “white collar” crime? They know they are “over the limit,” but their security is in the fact that so many others are just as guilty. It seems God has forgotten all about sin and the Ten Commandments – “He has said in his heart, ‘God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see”‘ (Ps. 10:11 NKJV)

Now watch the Law enter with lights flashing. The sinner’s heart is stopped. He lays his hand upon his mouth. He examines the speedometer of his conscience; suddenly it shows him the measure of his guilt in a new light, the light of the Law. His sense of security in the fact that there are multitudes doing the same thing becomes irrelevant, because he knows he is as guilty as the next person. Sin not only becomes personal, it seems to “abound.” His mere lust becomes adultery of the heart (Matt. 5:27-28); his white lie becomes false witness; his own way becomes rebellion; his hatred becomes murder (1 John 3:15); his “light” fingers make him a thief -“Moreover the Law entered, that the offence might abound…” (Rom. 5:20).

Without the Law entering, sin is neither personal, nor is it severe – “For without the Law sin is dead - the sense of it is inactive and a lifeless thing” (Rom. 7:8b, Amp. Bible). It is the “Commandment” that shows sin in its true light, that it is “exceedingly sinful” (Rom. 7:13).

Continuing in verse 5 we read,Therefore because God is the one who establishes all governments, because rebellion against the governing authorities is sinning against God,
because the governing authorities have been established for the safety and welfare of law abiding citizens and the punishment of evil-doers, it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. The Christian does not merely obey because of fear of punishment but because of knowledge; we know the origin of government and understand that obedience to the government is obedience toward God. Therefore, for His sake we do what is right whether or not we have praise from earthly establishments for we seek only Gods glory. If we receive praise of men well and good, but we are to seek only the glory and praise of God in our obedience to Him! If we have His smile we need nothing else!

Concerning the paying of taxes we understand that all governments have been established by God and all governments impose taxes. We have been taught that taxation is evil but according to the word of God it is necessary. We read in verse 6 For because of this because God has ordained all governments for the purpose of protecting the law abiding citizens and the punishment of evil doers you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Did you ever consider that paying taxes is serving God? God has set up everything in this world to serve and glorify Him. So when we honor the king, when we obey the civil law, when we pay our taxes, when we do all these things in an attitude of worship to God, we are bringing glory to His name.

Jesus commanded us to love one another as He loved us and Paul says in 8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor
has fulfilled the law.  We love our neighbor by doing good to him and refraining from evil. 9 For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.  

And then Paul says “Do this… Note that he does not say, ‘you might want to do this.’ Christians are not given an option to be godly or worldly. If we have been born again then we belong to Christ, we are His slaves and a slave has no option in his service. In fact, if we continue to rebel against God after we have made a profession of faith in Christ, we are lying and do not practice the truth.

I don’t care how vehemently you claim to be a Christian; if your life is characterized by the practice of sin then you are children of the devil plain and simple. And Christ came to free us from slavery to sin; not to continue in it so that grace may abound. Consider the following passages of scripture.

2Co 4:6 “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

1Pe 2:9 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light… This is our purpose in life!

Therefore we are to Do this…that is, we are to walk in the commands we have been given and we are to do so NOW! There is no time to lose. Paul says that we are to do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.

Do you know what time it is?  Your salvation is closer than when you first believed; that is, the day of your deliverance from this life into the next is drawing closer every moment. The end of the world happens every day for people all over the world. Jesus is coming back to receive us unto Himself and whether we are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord or we pass away from this life, the end of this existence and the beginning of the next is just around the corner.

Are we walking in the light as He is in the light, or are we merely playing games with God? Peter asks this question of us in 2Pet3:11-10 “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

And we read in 1Jo 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his
coming.

You see 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. The night of this sinful existence which began when Eve ate the forbidden fruit: this evil existence is almost over, time is drawing to a close and the glorious day of Christ’s return is drawing near. Eternity is drawing near and those who live in rebellion against God will go out into everlasting misery and horror.

Since we have been granted the gracious gift of salvation and new life in Christ Jesus Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor
of light. We are talking about sin here! The writer of Hebrews calls us to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets. I found it interesting that the Greek word for weights literally speaks of a tumor or a swelling. This is graphic language concerning the deadliness of sin. And we are called to cast these things from us.

Listen to some comments by Arthur Pink on this subject:

“This is a call to the diligent and daily mortification of our hearts to all that would mar communion with Christ: it is parallel with “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts” Tit 2:12. Everything which requires us to take time and strength away from God-appointed duties, everything which tends to bind the mind to earthly things and hinders our affections from being set upon things above, is to be cheerfully relinquished for Christ’s sake. Everything which impedes my progress in running the race which God has set before me is to be dropped. But let it be carefully recognized that our text makes no reference to the dropping of duties which we have no right to lay aside. The performing of real and legitimate duty is never a hindrance to the spiritual life, though from a wrong attitude of mind and the allowance of the spirit of discontent, they often become so.

Many make a great mistake in entertaining the thought that their spiritual life is being much hindered by the very things which should, by Divine grace, be a real help to them.
Opposition in the home from ungodly relatives, trials in connection with their daily work, the immediate presence of the wicked in the shop or office, are a real trial (and God intends they should be—to remind us we are still in a world which lieth in the Wicked one, to exercise our graces, to prove the sufficiency of His strength), but they need not be hindrances or “weights.” Many erroneously suppose they would make much more progress spiritually if only their “circumstances” were altered. This is a serious mistake, and a
murmuring against God’s providential dealings with us. He shapes our “circumstances” as a helpful discipline to the soul, and only as we learn to rise above “circumstances,” and walk with God in them, are we “running the race that is set before us.” The person is the same no matter what “circumstances” he may be in!

While the “weights” in our text have no reference to those duties which God requires us to discharge—for He never calls us to anything which would draw us away from communion with Himself; yet they do apply in a very real sense unto a multitude of cares which many of God’s people impose upon themselves—cares which are a grievous drag upon the soul. The artificial state in which many people now live, which custom, society, the world, imposes, does indeed bind many heavy burdens on the backs of their silly victims. If we accept that scale of “duties” which the fashion of this world imposes, we shall find them “weights” which seriously impede our spiritual progress: spending
valuable time in reading newspapers and other secular literature in order to “keep up with the times,” exchanging “social calls” with worldlings, spending money on all sorts of unnecessary things so as to be abreast of our neighbors, are “weights” burdening many, and those “weights” are sins.

By “weights,” then, may be understood every form of intemperance or the immoderate and hurtful use made of any of those things which God has given us “richly to enjoy” 1Ti 6:17. Yes, to “enjoy” be it noted, and not only to use. The Creator has placed many things in this world—like the beautiful flowers and the singing birds—for our pleasure, as well as for the bare supply of our bodily needs.

This should be borne in mind, for there is a danger here, as everywhere, of lop-sidedness. We are well aware that in this age of fleshly indulgence the majority are greatly in danger of erring on the side of laxity, yet in avoiding this sin, others are in danger of swinging to the other extreme and being “righteous over much” Ecc 7:16, adopting a form of monastic strictness, totally abstaining from things which Scripture in nowise prohibits.

Each Christian has to decide for himself, by an honest searching of Scripture and an earnest seeking of wisdom from God, what are “weights” which hinder him. While on the
one hand it is wrong to assume an haughty and independent attitude, refusing to weigh in the balances of the sanctuary the conscientious scruples and prejudices of fellow-Christians; on the other hand it is equally wrong to suffer any to lord it over our consciences, and deprive us of our Christian liberty. “Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” It is not the lawful use of God’s creatures, but the intemperate abuse of them which Scripture condemns. More die from over eating than over drinking. Some constitutions are injured as much by coffee as by whiskey. Some are undermining their health by a constant round of exertions; others enervate themselves by spending too
much time in bed.”

13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. The contrast between deeds of light and deeds of darkness is interesting.  While the restraining hand of God has been loosened and wicked men wax worse and worse, most people still commit their sins under the cover of darkness. But the Christian is one who has been delivered from his old life and the power of his old nature and slavery to the devil. And while we still sin, it is not the practice of our lives. Paul is calling us to nothing less than holiness of life. That is what he has been saying all along and especially since he began to apply his letter to the hearts of his readers. We are to flee sin in all of its forms; abhor what is evil and cling to what is good. Our lives are to be characterized by
Christ-likeness.

And he concludes this section by saying that there must be a stark contrast between the unredeemed and the believer. Listen to these words; 14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” The Philips translation reads thus; “Let us be Christ’s men from head to foot, and give no chances to the flesh to have its fling.” 

How, I ask do we do this? Does this not call to mind the putting on of the full armor of God? Remember that only clothed in Christ can we stand firm before the onslaught of sin that attacks us from every quarter in this dark and sinful world. It’s past time to wake up! The Day of the Lord is drawing near. The question is, will we run to meet him or will we be ashamed at His coming? Those who long for His appearing will run to meet Him and rejoice at His coming while those who have been unfaithful will hang their heads in shame. And worse, there are those who will run and hide, calling for the rocks and the mountains to cover them and hide them from the face of Him who sits upon the Throne.

Which one are you?

We are continuing in our study of the government and the Christian’s responsibility to the governing authority and we come today to the subject of taxes. This is a real nasty point of contention among not only worldlings but Christians as well. The question of whether Christians should pay taxes to a pagan government arises many times in churches and among Christians in general. And so today we are going to answer that question and more as we deal with our text. We already have learned that we are to be in
subjection to the governing authorities simply because God has raised them up for His own purposes. They are literally ordained, put in place, appointed by God. Therefore, since the governing authorities stand ordained by God almighty and since we claim to be His citizens, His children, it really isn’t a matter of choice is it? God has raised up the governments of the world and the citizens of those nations are to obey them. And whether or not the worldlings do or don’t is not an issue for the Christian because we know better. I’m not saying we are better but that we have been given inside information about the government in general and so we have no choice. We are to be in subjection to
the governing authorities because God has established them.

And Paul has told us that if we resist we are opposing the ordinance of God. The logical ramification is simple. Because civil government is an institution of God, to rebel against government is to rebel, to take one’s stand against the God who has established it. As I said last week, those who have taken it upon themselves to fight God already lost even before the notion came into their minds. In his commentary on Romans, the nineteenth-century Scottish evangelist Robert Haldane wrote, “The people of God then ought to consider resistance to the government under which they live as a very awful crime, even as resistance to God Himself.”  And the people of God ought to know better simply
because we have this inside information. In all things we are to serve the living God simply because we love Him and want to honor Him in all things.

Now what is the purpose of law? Is it not to keep order and protect citizens from harm? Yes there are weird laws on books; in California it is illegal to shoot any kind of game from a moving vehicle unless the target is a whale, it is illegal to have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time, in Fairbanks it’s illegal to feed alcoholic beverages to a Moose. In Arkansas a man can beat his wife only once per month. So there are many strange laws on the books in many states. But the majority of laws are in place to protect citizens from harm. Why is this so? Because God put it into the hearts of men to set such protective laws down. The men who gave us the constitution and the bill of rights were men who for the most part loved God and understood the glorious wisdom from His word and sought to establish His Word as Law. You can see their deep devotion to God and His truth in their various writings. And you can see it in the founding documents of our Nation. This is why John Adams said; We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other. This is also why immoral men in government hate these documents so!

But we are not responsible for the actions of other men…we are responsible to God for our own actions. The seriousness with which God takes rebellion is illustrated vividly in the book of Numbers. God had chosen Moses not only to be the human lawgiver but to be the human leader of Israel as He delivered her from Egypt and led her through the wilderness to the Promised Land. The Lord also had appointed Moses’ brother Aaron to be high priest. Turn to Num.16:3 During that journey, a group of some 250 rebels, led by Korah, Dathan, Abiram, got together to rail against them. We read in Num.16:3, that they “assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ‘You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?… 13Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us?’.

The Lord was so angered by their insolence “that the ground that was under them split open;… Fire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense”. Incredibly, the people learned nothing from that awful judgment. Instead of drawing them back to God, it merely escalated their hatred of His chosen leaders. Picking up in verse 41 we read “On the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people.’ In response to that defiant accusation, the Lord sent a deadly plague that instantly killed “14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah” Had not Aaron intervened by making atonement for the people, the entire congregation would have been annihilated.  So you see the truth of Paul’s statement, 2 “Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

Our God sees hatred as murder, lust as adultery and rebellion as the sin of witchcraft. Is it any wonder that David prayed; “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” Ps 19:14 Christianity is so much more than what most people think. It is more than outward actions or ‘good deeds’ but goes clear into the attitude of the heart. God can see through lip service to the real motivations of your heart. The Psalmist declares in Ps 139:4 “Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it all.” And in 1Sa 16:7 we read “For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Where is your heart before almighty God who sees through the facades of men? Do you love Him with unswerving devotion? Do you have a single purpose in your life…the Glory of God? Or do you have a divided heart. Remember what James says: that the double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. The Christian is to be different…he is to be fixated on the Lord Jesus Christ and all he does is to be done for the Glory of God!

When we obey the laws of the land, when we are in subjection to the governing authorities we are to do so with this singleness of purpose. Some people give the law lip service. This can be seen when you are driving down the road. The people are all speeding…unless they see a police car or one of those speed cameras…then suddenly they all become law abiding citizens. That is lip service.

I want to share with you this illustration from a sermon by Ray Comfort titled “Hells Best Kept Secret. Consider what this man says about the law and the purpose of the law and keep in mind that God has established all the governments that make laws.

“We can often see the work of God’s Law
illustrated in civil law. Watch what often happens on a freeway when you are
traveling. When there is no visible sign of the law, see how motorists
transgress the speed limit. Everyone knows the maximum is 55 mph, but watch how
they all naturally flow together at an unlawful 70 mph. It seems that the law
has forgotten to patrol this part of the freeway. You are just “going with
the flow.” Besides, you are only transgressing the law by 15 mph, and you
are not the only one who is over the speed limit.
Now, notice what happens when the law enters. He comes through on the fast lane
with his lights flashing. Your heart misses a beat. You no longer feel secure
in the fact that other motorists are also speeding; you know that you are
personally as guilty as the next guy, and you could be the one the law pulls
over. Suddenly, your “mere” 15 mph transgression doesn’t seem such a
small thing after all. It seems to abound.
Look at the freeway of sin. The whole world naturally goes with the flow. Who
hasn’t had an “affair” (or desired to) at some time or other? Who in
today’s society doesn’t tell the occasional “white” lie now and then,
or take something that belongs to someone else, even if it’s just “white
collar” crime? They know they are “over the limit,” but their
security is in the fact that so many others are just as guilty. It seems God
has forgotten all about sin and the Ten Commandments – “He has said in his heart, ‘God has forgotten; He hides His
face; He will never see”‘ (Ps. 10:11 NKJV)
Now watch the Law enter with lights flashing. The sinner’s heart is stopped. He
lays his hand upon his mouth. He examines the speedometer of his conscience;
suddenly it shows him the measure of his guilt in a new light, the light of the
Law. His sense of security in the fact that there are multitudes doing the same
thing becomes irrelevant, because he knows he is as guilty as the next person.
Sin not only becomes personal, it seems to “abound.” His mere lust
becomes adultery of the heart (Matt. 5:27-28); his white lie becomes
false witness; his own way becomes rebellion; his hatred becomes murder (1
John 3:15); his “light” fingers make him a thief -“Moreover
the Law entered, that the offence might abound…” (Rom. 5:20).

Without the Law entering, sin is neither
personal, nor is it severe – “For without the Law sin is dead -
the sense of it is inactive and a lifeless thing” (Rom. 7:8b, Amp. Bible).
It is the “Commandment” that shows sin in its true light, that it
is “exceedingly sinful” (Rom. 7:13). Paul sat at the feet of
Gamaliel, the great “teacher of the Law,” and therefore saw sin in
its true colors. The “offense” and the “foolishness” of the cross.

According to Romans
3:20, “…the real function of
the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin (not mere perception,
but an acquaintance with sin which works towards repentance…)” (Amp.
Bible).”

Note how verses 3-4 of our text come to life in light of this illustration!   For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore
because God is the one who establishes all governments, because rebellion against the governing authorities is sinning against God, because the governing authorities have been
established for the safety and welfare of law abiding citizens and the punishment of evil-doers, it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 

The Christian does not merely obey because of fear of punishment but because of knowledge; we know the origin of government and understand that obedience to the government is obedience toward God. Therefore, for His sake we do what is right whether or not we have praise from earthly establishments for we seek only Gods glory. If we receive praise of men well and good, but we seek only the glory and praise of God in our obedience to Him! If we have His smile we need nothing else!

Now we come to the subject of taxes.

Again, all governments have been established by God and all governments impose taxes. We have been taught that taxation is evil but is it? Not according to the word of God. We read in verse 6 For because of this because God has ordained all governments for the purpose of protecting the law abiding citizens and the punishment of evil doers you
also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Did you ever think of taxes in this way? How do you think they get paid? It is through taxes.

Think of the office of the pastor. Many people consider the job of pastor as one of a freeloader who gets paid for doing nothing. I mean, how hard is it to just get up and talk for a few hours…anybody can do that. I heard a story from a pastor who said that a man asked him what he did for a living. When he said he was a pastor the man retorted, “No, I mean what is your real job?” But the scriptures teach that “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. 18  For the Scripture says, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” 1Ti 5:18 17

In the same way the government officials are worthy of honor simply because they have been called and established by God for this service…this is what they do for a living and we are to understand that this is their livelihood. Again, it doesn’t matter what we may think of them personally…they are servants of God and that is the end of the matter. In fact listen to the Word of God; 7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. We have an obligation to those in authority in the government to pay taxes, to literally pay back what we owe. The governing officials provide a God ordained service and we are under obligation to pay them for services rendered.

Now the world thinks completely opposite of this which is what we learned in the Truth Project. The world thinks that everyone owes them. We are bombarded with this message in commercials all the time… “you deserve this.” This is the message that Barack Obama delivered in his campaign. And Peggy Joseph heard it clearly…so clearly that she came out of one of his speeches and said; ““It was the most memorable time of my life, I…it was a touching moment because I never thought this day would ever
happen. I won’t have to work … It was the most memorable time of my life, I…it was a touching moment because I never thought this day would ever happen. I won’t have to work out how to put gas in my car, I won’t have work out how to pay my mortgage. If I help him, he’s gonna help me.” In other words I won’t have to work anymore…the government is going to take care of me.

This is exactly opposite of what the word of God says. We are commanded to work…to pay our debts…to fulfil our obligations…to be honourable people…productive members of society. Paul said in 2Th 3:10 “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.  And in 1Ti 5:8 we read “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Indeed do you remember this passage from Genesis 3:19 “By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” So while work may be a curse word to many, it is a reality that will continue until the return of Jesus Christ who
will deliver us from the curse forever and give us what we don’t deserve, rest. There remains a rest for the people of God.

“One day our journey will be over…one day
we’ll hear our Father calling out our name. The bonds of earthlife will be
broken…and this mortal will have put on immortality. On that blessed day of
grace, when we see Him face to face, we’ll stand before His throne, He’ll
welcome us home and we’ll be with Jesus.”

But until that day we are to work for the glory of God. And we are to 8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has
fulfilled the law. How, you ask, do you love your neighbor? You already know who your neighbor is. Jesus taught us that our neighbor is someone in need. And we know from
James that if we see someone in need and give them nothing but lip service we have no love. And John says that if we don’t love we don’t know God for God is love!

So how do we love? Paul tells us using the Ten Commandments.  9 For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.  Godly love does not commit adultery, because such sinful defilement of a person shows disregard for another’s purity. Love highly values the virtue of others and will do nothing that is morally defiling. Like every other form of sexual immorality, adultery comes from impure, sinful lust, never from pure love.

Remember Amnon. The scriptures say that Amnon ‘loved’ his sister. And we know from the account in 2Samuel 13 that it was lust! He was consumed with it. In Matt. 15:19 Jesus declared “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders” Amnon’s sin burned in his heart until he raped his sister. And we understand that he had already done the deed in his heart and that his physical rape was merely the outworking of the plan of his heart. This is an illustration of the result of what Jesus said in v. 27–28, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman  to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart”. You are guilty.

Concerning murder He said in Matt. 5:21–22 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court.” You are guilty.

And true biblical love does not rob others of their lives or their property.  

Covetousness is idolatry and idolatry has to be the furthest thing possible from Christianity for the Christian is one who has turned away from idols to serve the living God. Covetousness lusts after things that other people have because we think that they will make us happy. But if we are longing after things then we are outside of Christ for the Christian is one who is content with what the Lord provides and what He has not provided, we don’t need! The scriptures tell us that “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” 1Ti 6:8 

So the Christian is one who submits to the governing authorities because they have been established by God. He seeks to obey the laws of the land for the glory of God because he realizes that obeying the law equals obeying God just as resisting the law is opposing God. He pays his taxes to the government for he knows that these are their wages. The Christian is one who loves God, trusts in God and rests in His sovereign will, knowing that God knows best what we need. He trusts in the Lord to provide for his needs and
bows before his Father in praise and contented worship for all that God brings his way!

The Christian is one who has learned the lesson of the Good Samaritan and when Paul says that 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. He says AMEN and seeks to do just that. He seeks to love with no strings attached. He loves for God’s sake!  

Christians reject evil and do good because those are the only things the indwelling love of their indwelling Lord will lead them to do. What God wants will be what we want. As
someone has said, if we love God with all our heart and other people with all our heart, we can do as we please, because we will only want to do that which pleases God and benefits others. And the Christian does all of this for the glory of God alone!

Paul commended the Thessalonian Christians for
this very thing. Listen to what he says to them. 1Th
2:13 ¶  For
this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God
which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men,
but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work
in you who believe. The
Testimony of the Church in Roma is found in Romans
1:8 where we read “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your
faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.” We would do well to
learn from God’s servant Job for there is no one like him on the earth, a
blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.

Have we received the words of Scripture as the
very words of GOD? And if so do we believe that we are to actually obey the
commands of GOD? Are we living as Jesus lived? Do we come close to the
testimony of Job? You see, there are many people who claim to know God but
believe that they don’t have to do anything but read the bible every once in a
while and go to church when it is convenient. When they do go they may be
hearing the Pastor preach but they cannot understand his words because they
don’t have the Spirit of God to teach them and lead them into all truth. They
think that what they do hear is optional and so there is never any change in
their lives.  This illustrates what Paul
meant in Romans 1 when he speaks of those who suppress
the truth in unrighteousness. They are holding to a form of godliness but deny
the power thereof.

We understand that if we claim to be Christians
we had better be living as Jesus lived, that we had better be obeying Jesus
with our whole heart, otherwise we are merely deluding ourselves and the truth
is not in us. Either there has been a real, radical transformation of our lives
or we are lying to ourselves and believing that lie. The condemnation of our
Lord is frightening when He says in Lu 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do
not do what I say?” If
these don’t repent they will die in their sins
and we read in Mt 7:23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I
never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

There is a Grand Canyon of a difference between a real
Christian and a hypocrite. We have
seen from our study of Chapter 12 that the real Christian has died to
himself…he has offered himself up as a living, holy sacrifice which is
acceptable to God and our reasonable service. The real Christian has been
radically transformed by the renewing of his mind so that he lives, eats,
drinks and breathes Christ. His soul pants after God as the dear for the
water-brook. He hungers and thirsts for righteousness and is crushed in spirit
when he sins against God for he truly loves God!

The true believer is humble, for he knows that he
is nothing, that he is worthy of and deserves hell, but God had mercy and snatched
him off of the broad road that leads to hell and granted him new life in
Christ. And now the true believer longs to honor God with every fiber of his
being. And so he sets about to seek the will of God for his life. He sits at
the feet of his beloved Savior and searches the scriptures to see what God
would have him do.

He learns that there are several avenues of
service to God. There is the gift of prophesy whereby one may preach, literally
forth-tell the word of God. There is the gift of service, of teaching,
exhorting, giving, leading, and showing mercy. He learns also that the real
Christian is to be real, there is to be no phoniness about him since there is
no phoniness in God.  He learns further
that the real CHristain is to lovewithout
hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.  We are to be devoted to one another in
brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in
diligence, but fervent in spirit,
serving the Lord. We are called to be rejoicing in hope, persevering in
tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, and practicing hospitality.  We
are called to bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse… to rejoice with those who rejoice, and
weep with those who weep.

Further we are called to be of the same
mind toward one another. We are to be humble toward others, or as Paul states
it, “do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. He says “Do not
be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect
what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on
you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave
room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I
WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM,
AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING
COALS ON HIS HEAD.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good.

It is clear that the Christian is to be
very different from the worldling. Every area of his life is to be brought into
conformity to the Word of God and that includes how we view the government.
This too is radically different from the worldly view. Indeed, in the past two
weeks we have learned that all governments have been established by God…that even
the kingdom of antichrist will be established by God for it is God who raises
up kings and dethrones them and they are all put in place by God to bring Him
glory.

The Christian, like no one else on earth
understands this truth.

How many times have you heard
conversations where people are slandering the government? It is commonplace.
And why is this so? Because they do not know, they have not heard that it is
the Lord God who has established earthly thrones so that He may be glorified.
And so they slander their governing authorities, as if they could do a better
job. There are too many armchair quarterbacks who think ‘they can do it better.’

Did you ever ponder what goes into being a
governing official? We call these people ignorant but in reality they are very
intelligent people who have to remember an incredible amount of facts and
figures in order to do their job competently. And as we saw from our study of
Romans 12 there are those who have been gifted by God with the ability to serve
and lead. So we may not personally like those in authority, we
may not like their choices or their lifestyles, but as long as they aren’t
commanding us to disobey God we are commanded in the scriptures to obey the
laws of the land.

So lets
go back to our text which is found in Romans 13:1 and review our material up to
now.

1 “Every soul is to be
in subjection to the governing authorities. Note that there are no exceptions.  This is not optional. No one is excluded, no
one is given a special dispensation. God’s law is universal. When He says,
“Thou Shalt Not” we, all of mankind, Christian and rebel are the “Thou’s”. God
has laid out His law and expects it to be obeyed. Sinful man has rebelled
against God and suppressed the truth in unrighteousness. But they are without
excuse before a Holy God who has revealed Himself, Who is there and who is not
silent, who has spoken clearly so men have to go out of their way to deny Him!
And the command in verse one is clear…all men are to be in subjection, we are
to be absolutely obedient to the governing authorities. The language used here
is military language which speaks of submission to superior officers.

Now why are we to obey the governing
authorities? Paul gives us the reason. For
there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by
God. That means that the government we have today has been established by
God! Now God has instituted 4 types of authorities
on earth:

1.
the government over all citizens;

2.
the church over all believers;

3.
the parents over all children; and

4.
the masters over all employees.

All
these human authorities derive their power from God. He has instituted human
government to reward good and to restrain sin in an evil, fallen world.

Are
these human authorities perfect? Far from it! They are made up of men and that
is as imperfect as you can get. These men have been, knowingly or unknowingly,
appointed by God to serve Him. And they suffer from the same human frailties of
all men. Some are good, some are godly; some are incompetent and some are
greedy tyrants. And yet they have all been established by God to glorify His
name. If you read the letters and documents of our founding fathers you will
see that they understood this. They saw themselves as God’s servants, appointed
by God Himself to serve Him by serving His people.

But
today we are like Egypt in the days of Moses for rulers and authorities have
arisen who know not the God of the founders. And yet…like Pharaoh of Egypt these
too have been appointed by God to bring glory to His name. Perhaps Barack Obama
was appointed by God to be a hammer of judgment upon our nation in the same way
that Nebuchadnezzar was used as a hammer of judgment on Israel.

So, having established the fact that God is the
ruler of mankind and sets over it the lowliest of men, that He establishes all governments
and does so for His own purposes, and having established the fact that we are
to be in subjection to the governing authorities that God has established, what
are we to think of those who resist the governing authorities, who disobey, who
shake their fists at the laws enacted by the God ordained governing
authorities?

Paul declares in no uncertain terms that those
who flaunt the laws of the land, who slander the governing authorities, ARE
FIGHTING AGAINST GOD! We read in verse 2 Therefore
whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who
resist will bring judgment on themselves. It
never ends well for those who live lawless lives…who treat the law of God as
optional or disregard it all together because those who are in rebellion are
fighting against God and those who engage in such activity lost before they
even began.

Consider 1Cor
10:7-10 Here Paul speaks of the Children of Israel
who were camped before Mount Sinai. Listen to the description of the scene from
Ex 19:18 “Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the
LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a
furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.” Then in chapter 24:16 we read
that “The glory of the LORD rested on
Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He
called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. 17 And to
the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like
a consuming fire on the mountain top. 18 Moses
entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on
the mountain forty days and forty nights.”

Against this backdrop the people had Aaron
make an idol. And Paul says “Do not be
idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO
EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.” Worse still, they sinned against
knowledge. They had just heard God Himself say, “You shall not make for
yourselves any graven image, you shall not bow down to them or worship them…and
yet they still made an idol.

And they reaped the wages of their sins. Paul
continues saying 8 Nor
let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in
one day. 9 Nor let
us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. 10
Nor
grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.” They knew what they were doing was wrong
and they still did it.

The sons of Korah, Nadab and Abihu, Dathan
and Abiram: all these men were part of the children of Israel who were
delivered from Egypt; saw the pillar of cloud and of fire, saw God destroy
Egypt, and heard His audible voice on Mount Sinai. They were among the
multitudes who declared their allegiance to God that day! And yet, though they
had sworn to be obedient, though they had all this evidence before them, they
still sinned. They cast an idol and called it God. They railed against God’s
governing authorities, Moses and Aaron. They worshiped the host of heaven in
the face of God whose presence they could see!

And they paid the price. Korah, Dathan and
Abiram and all they had were swallowed up alive because they tried to overthrow
God’s appointed leaders. Nadab and Abihu were burned alive for offering strange
fire. 3000 men died because of the golden calf. Untold numbers died when the
mixed multitude demanded meat from God, got it and demonstrated unbelief by
gathering bodacious amounts of meat for themselves. 23,000 died because of
immorality with Moab. Those who resist (the
ordinance of God) will bring judgment on
themselves. What is another word for ordinance? How about LAW! And we are
talking here about the Law of the Lord. How does the Bible describe the Law of
the Lord?

James tells us that there is one Lawgiver and Judge. This Judge and Lawgiver
has established all earthly governing authorities and has allowed them to make
laws. Consider this from Ps 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring
the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The
precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the
LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The
fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are
true; they are righteous altogether. 10 They
are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey
and the drippings of the honeycomb. 11
Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great
reward.

The law, the ordinances of God are good
and those who walk in them are blessed. From Psalm 1 we have these words of
truth concerning those who love God and those who hate Him. We read, 1 How
blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in
the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2
But
his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and
night. 3 He will
be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its
fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he
prospers.

4The
wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the
assembly of the righteous. 6 For the
LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

And this is one of the stated purposes of
the governing authorities: to punish evil and protect the good. The blessed man
lives according to the commandments of God and is blessed by God Himself. The
wicked man has rebelled against the knowledge of the truth and his life is
characterized by wickedness. De 32:35 ‘Vengeance
is Mine, and retribution, in due time their foot will slip; For the day of
their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.’ Ps
73:18-20  “Surely
You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. 19 How
they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! 20
Like
a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.”

The scriptures are clear…those who live
for God will prosper while those who live for the world, the flesh and the
devil will perish.

Continuing in our text we read in verse 3
For
rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Interesting isn’t it. We see the truth of
this borne out every day. Those who live law abiding lives, at least in
America, have some semblance of peace from the authorities. They may be
ridiculed and hated by the world but they have the peace of knowing that they
are obeying the law. Christians are blessed with the knowledge that they are
being obedient to their heavenly Father. Some of these law abiding citizens
make “Citizen of the Year” for their actions.

But the wicked are always looking over
their shoulders wondering if they are going to be caught. They may be hiding
out because they owe money or they may have murdered someone and they know that
the police are looking for them. This is exacerbated by the burning of their
conscience as they know they have sinned, they have broken Gods Law! There is
no peace for the wicked.

So what are we to do? Paul answers that
question saying; Do you want to have no
fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4
for
it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid;
for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an
avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

We are to be obedient to God and obey the
law and so honor Him. It is easy to go with the flow of the world and walk in
the counsel of the wicked, stand in the path of sinners, and sit in the seat of
scoffers. It is so easy to get caught up in the fervour of fleshly emotions.
Asaph was caught up in this mind-set for a short time and we can read his
testimony of that time in 1 Surely God is good to Israel, to those
who are pure in heart! 2 But as for me, my feet came close to
stumbling, my steps had almost slipped. 3 For I was envious
of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no
pains in their death, and their body is fat. 5 They are not in
trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like mankind. 6 Therefore pride is
their necklace; the garment of violence covers them. 7 Their eye bulges
from fatness; the imaginations of their heart run riot. 8 They mock and
wickedly speak of oppression; they speak from on high. 9 They have set their
mouth against the heavens, and their tongue parades through the earth. 10 Therefore his people
return to this place, and waters of abundance are drunk by them. 11 They say,
“How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?” 12 Behold, these are
the wicked; and always at ease, they have increased in wealth. 13 Surely in vain I
have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence; 14 for I have been
stricken all day long and chastened every morning. 15 If I had said,
“I will speak thus,” behold, I would have betrayed the generation of
Your children. 16 When I pondered to understand this, it was
troublesome in my sight 17 until I came into the sanctuary of God; then
I perceived their end. 18 Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction. 19 How they are
destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! 20 Like a dream when
one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form. 21 When my heart was
embittered and I was pierced within, 22 then I was
senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. 23 Nevertheless I am
continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. 24 With Your counsel
You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in
heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. 26 My flesh and my
heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 For, behold, those
who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are
unfaithful to You. 28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my
good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.

We
know that the way of the wicked will not prosper…in due time their foot shall
slide and they will be judged, either by the governing authorities or by God
Himself or both, for whether to heaven or hell you bend God will have glory in
the end! We are called to glorify God by being obedient to the governing
authorities, by obeying the laws of the land. And we know that the only time we
can stand up and disobey is when we ought to obey God rather than men.

If the government establishes a law that
commands us to disobey God or decrees that we must not serve God, then and only
then do we have the mandate of scripture to disobey!

But this is not a license to sin! We are
to do all we can to live peaceably with all men. We are to pray for our leaders
so we can live a quiet life. Let me close with the mandate of holy Scripture in
1Pet 2:13-25 which
declares; 13 Submit yourselves
for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in
authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the
punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15 For such is the
will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free
men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as slaves
of God. 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood,
fear God, honor the king. 18 Servants, be submissive to your masters
with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those
who are unreasonable. 19 For this finds favor, if for the
sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering
unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if, when you sin
and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is
right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor
with God. 21 For you have been called for this
purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to
follow in His steps, 22 WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT
FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile
in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself
to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body
on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His
wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like
sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Let us walk as children of light, living
as Jesus lived. Let us obey the laws of the land, submitting to the God
established governing authorities, and in doing so our lives will be blazing
beacons of truth and holiness in this dark and sinful world. And let us do all
for the glory of God, that we may please our heavenly Father.

 Now there are three phases of instruction in a sermon:

1. Reading the Text.
2. Explaining the Text.
3. Applying the Text.

Paul has done the first two from chapters 1-11. He has laid out the case for sinful man and the grace that has been revealed to this lost and dying world. He has described human nature and the emptiness that comes from ‘following your heart.’ He has shown that sinful man is void of goodness in himself and is unable to change himself. And he has shown us that, what man could not do (he could not keep the law perfectly which is God’s standard), God did for God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. He has made us new creatures in Christ Jesus. He has given us a new heart and a new spirit and a new life!

 And Paul calls upon everyone who names the Name of Christ to turn aside from evil and obey God from the new heart He has given us. We are commanded to walk in the Spirit so we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. And we are not left to guess what the will of God is for our lives for Paul lays it all out for us, line upon line; precept upon precept, showing us what the Christian life looks like and calling us to conform our lives to the dictates of Holy Scripture.

 Here is life application.  Because it isn’t enough to just read the bible. It isn’t enough to just go to church and listen to sermons. There must be a point in which we realize that God is speaking to us and telling us what He wants us to do. We must come to the place where we understand that “Oh, this is God’s will. I see it now, I understand it. This means me!” and having come to that place we are now responsible to obey. We have been given light and we must live up to the light that we have. The secret things belong to God but the things revealed belong to us…and we are to obey them.

 Let me give you an example which will illustrate my point. You remember the account of the man who was born blind? Jesus had healed the man and because of this, he was taken to the Jewish Supreme Court and basically put on trial…and the charge was that he was healed. How nonsensical is that. Instead of rejoicing before God for divine healing, the religious leaders who should have been leading the praises, grilled the man to find out ‘who did it.” The Pharisees finally cast him out of the synagogue because they could not refute what he was saying to them.

 Jesus then came to him and let’s listen in on the conversation which is found in John 9 and beginning with verse 35. “Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” 38 And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. 39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” Now listen carefully to this part. 40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

You see, the Pharisees claimed to see, to understand. And yet they did not obey. They searched the scriptures daily but it made no difference in their lives. They were still full of evil. Many people who would call themselves Christians are just like the Pharisees. They may look beautiful on the outside but inside, they too are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

 So you see, it is not enough to say you are a Christian…you must demonstrate your faith by your deeds. And the subject matter before us today is obedience to the government. We may not like the leaders but as long as they aren’t commanding us to disobey God we are to obey the laws of the land. So let’s read our text once again.

 1 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. First note that by every person we must understand that all men are required to be in subjection to the governing authorities. Some would differentiate between Christians and sinners but didn’t Paul deal with that back in Chapter 1. He spoke of all men knowing the truth about God and yet suppressing that truth in unrighteousness which has led to ever ill that society has ever known. Throw off the laws of God and reap the consequences. So this is a universal command to all men.

 Next we understand from this passage that all governments that have ever existed were raised up by the divine command and will of God…“that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men.” Of Pharaoh God said “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.” Ex 9:16

 In 1Sa 2:8, a section called “the Song of Hannah” we read this; “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and He hath set the world upon them.” God establishes governments and He does so for His glory. Pharaoh was an evil man but he had been raised up to do God’s will.

Hazael was another such king. Look with me at 1Ki 19:15 “The LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram;” that is Syria. God sent Elijah the Prophet to anoint this man to be king of Syria. And I want you to look with me at the kind of man he was. You will find it beginning in 2Ki 8:7-157 “Then Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.” 8 The king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 9 So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ loads; and he came and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 10 Then Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You will surely recover,’ but the LORD has shown me that he will certainly die.” 11 He fixed his gaze steadily on him until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept. 12 Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” Then he answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their little ones you will dash in pieces, and their women with child you will rip up.” 13 Then Hazael said, “But what is your servant, a dog, (to call someone a dog was the worst thing you could do during Hazael’s day) that he should do this great (monstrous) thing?”  And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” 14 So he departed from Elisha and returned to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would surely recover.” 15 On the following day, he took the cover and dipped it in water and spread it on his face, so that he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

God indeed is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomever He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men. Hazael was appointed by God himself to rule in Syria. He was put in place to accomplish the will of God! We may not like Barack Obama but we must understand that he too has been appointed by God to serve God’s purposes and we are commanded to be in subjection to him as the God ordained governing authority in our land today.  We are to give him the respect that his office deserves and as long as he doesn’t demand that we blaspheme God we are to respect him for the offices sake.

Having established the fact that God sets up all governments and does so for His purposes, and having established the fact that we are to be in subjection to the governing authorities that God has established what are we to think of those who resist the governing authorities, who disobey, who shake their fists at the laws enacted by the God ordained governing authorities?

I mean all you have to do is turn on the television or listen to the radio and you can find examples of anarchy in the streets. Lawlessness abounds. Rebellion is in the air as men and women everywhere shake their fists at God and His Law! In the recent scandal involving Anthony Weiner one MSNBC host blamed Christians for all of his troubles. ‘Somehow those pesky Christians have fabricated this whole thing, never mind the nude photos and the sleazy messages…it’s those Christians and their backward thinking that’s at fault here. Weiner did nothing wrong!’

 Doesn’t this take you back to Psalm 2? I mean, the whole thing is laid out in that chapter. 1 “Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. The scriptures are plain you see. Men want to be lawless. They really do want to be Charles Manson and Hitler and Joseph Stalin and Jim Jones. They want to do evil. They love evil. It is in our very nature to do evil for we are born separated from God and under the dominion of the devil. Sinful man is demon possessed and it is only the restraining hand of God that holds sinful men back from being as wicked as they can be. It is only the common grace of God that keeps wicked men from achieving their destructive dreams.

Thirdly we see that God has set up order in society. In 1Co 14:33 Paul, teaching us about the nature of the Church declares that all things are to be done decently and in order. “For, he says, God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” This carries over into society. When God created the world, He created an orderly world. When He created man and placed him in the garden, it was organized.

The devil is the author of confusion and every perversion and when he tempted Eve it was at the very order God had created. God had laid down the law. The devil put a question of that law before Eve and she responded in lawlessness. And it has been that way ever since.

Any rebellion against authority, from the fall of the devil, the sin of Eve, the rebellion of Nimrod all the way to the riots in Greece today; all these are examples of rebellion against God, the ultimate Authority. Which is exactly what we read in verse 2 of our text. “Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God… John spells this out for us in his epistle. 1Jo 3:4-8 “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. 7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

 Turn to the epistle of James and let’s look at chapter 4 beginning with verse 1 “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.  Note the pattern of rebellion.

 Sinful man is not satisfied with the grace lavished upon him…he wants more; indeed he wants what someone else has and so he covets. Covetousness is idolatry which means he literally worships that which he wants. There is a lust for things that burns within him to the point that he is willing to murder so he can have what he things he needs. But this does not satisfy because once that thing is possessed it loses its lustre.

 It doesn’t satisfy. Let me give you a biblical example of how sin does not satisfy. There was a man named Amnon. He was one of the sons of David. He had a sister whom he ‘loved’ and he wanted her so badly that he actually stopped eating. The burning lust in his heart was making him sick. But he had a friend who cooked up a scheme whereby he could get here where he wanted her. And he raped her, which illustrates the truth of the passage in James. After he had gotten what he wanted, he threw her out in the street because his evil nature had not been satisfied. The rebellious evil that dwells within man rages to get out, but once it does it always ends in devastation.

 The wicked rebels rioting in the streets of Egypt and elsewhere; who are burning buildings and cars and raping men and women, these will not be satisfied by their lawless deeds for they are like the daughters of the leech whose names are “Give, Give!” their lust has no end. Like a bottomless pit, they can never fill the lustful desires that burn in their hearts.

 And it never ends well for rebels. Ga 6:7 tells us; “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Ho 8:7 says, “For they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it yields no grain. Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.”

There is no satisfaction in sin and those who pursue it feed on ashes. They think that gaining the whole world will bring fulfilment and contentment and happiness. Men think that if they just gain the power they seek they will be at peace. But Stalin, though he reigned over the entire Soviet Union feared for his life. He had someone taste his food and he slept in 17 different bedrooms so that no one would know where he was. Hitler sought the whole world yet in the end he committed suicide in an underground bunker. Jim Jones gained the power he wanted and then when that didn’t satisfy he convinced 918 of  his followers to commit suicide and then killed himself.

Consider one more example of lawlessness; Bonnie and Clyde. Here were two miserable individuals whose lives could not have been more wicked if they had tried. They were celebrated by many as heroes but they were just thieves and robbers. Their lives ended in a hail of bullets when they were ambushed by federal agents. Here is where lawlessness ends. They sowed the wind and reaped the whirlwind.

All these had resisted the authority either of God or of man or both and all died horribly. And the truth of scripture was validated when it says, “Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

The consequence of rebellion is judgment. You cannot break the law without being punished. Government has the power to punish, it is given by God. You can go through the Old Testament, through the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers, and see all of this.

The Law called eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, that is equal punishment for the crime and it was the responsibility of those in authority to execute justice. An eye for an eye is not a licence for vigilantism. The government bears the sword by the decree of God it alone is to deal with criminals.

And punishment had several purposes. Number one, it demonstrated the justice of God; it declared what was right and what was wrong. Two, it acted as a deterrent which is why punishment was to be swift and immediate. There were no long years of appeals. When the guilty party was discovered he was dealt with swiftly. Three, punishment was to hold a threat that restrained evil. Four, punishment was seen as a means of rehabilitation. And five, punishment by the government was to prevent private vengeance.

By the way, did you know that there were no prisons in Old Testament Judaism? Even in the New Testament, the Jews operated no prisons. The Gentiles had prisons, as we know. They were a part of the Roman social order and Paul was in a lot of them. But the Jews operated no prisons.

The Puritans in early America used the biblical model of physical punishment followed by restitution for the crime through labour for lesser offenses and banishment or execution for the more severe ones. They had some places that we would call jails but they were only for temporarily holding the offender until he could be punished for his crime and perform some form of labour to bring restitution which was a way he could gain back his dignity…or as I said, in severe cases, he was either banished or executed.

It was the Quakers who changed all of that. It was the Quakers who introduced prisons in Pennsylvania. And the first prison in America was the Walnut Street Jail, and by 1790 the law established imprisonment. They called them penitentiaries because they thought if you locked them up there, they would become penitent.

Today we’ve learned that imprisoning people for long periods of time doesn’t do anything except keep people off the streets long enough for them to plan their next crime. We have the most prisoners in the world and the highest crime rate. Prisons are effective in creating more crime, more immorality. As one writer says, “The American prison system is unbiblical, inhumane, ineffective, inefficient and idiotic. In the Old Testament form of justice established by God, a thief could work to give back what he had stolen. God ordained government to punish, but also to provide a path of restitution. And this brings glory to God!

The governing authorities have a duty and a right to punish lawlessness. When they punish violators of law, God approves of that punishment, and God Himself will also deal with a violator if he remains unrepentant. The instruments then of punishment are human authorities and the source of punishment is divine. Government is from God. Therefore to rebel against the divinely instituted authority is to resist God and rebellion which is as the sin of witchcraft, will bring punishment. Even if the governmental authorities shirk their duties and allow criminals to go free, God is no such person. He will deal with sin and will do so promptly. Sinners will not get away with their crimes no matter how ‘perfect’ they may seem.

Jack the Ripper may never have been caught by Scotland Yard but he did stand before the Heavenly court. Ga 6:7 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Heb 10:28-31  Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29  How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30  For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” 31  It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

You can see his obituary here; http://www.silverbelt.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=75&story_id=2656