1 Pet 2:12-17
12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe {them,} glorify God in the day of visitation.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 bondslaves of God.17 Honor all men; love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.(NAS)
In order to have a good testimony for the Lord, we are to submit to earthly authorities. There is one and only one exception. That is when the government's authority defies God's authority. There are obviously other ways to show a good testimony, and the chapter goes on to explain others, but the focus in verses 13 and 14 is the government.
Even if we don't like those in authority, God still put them there, and we are told to submit to and pray for them (1 Tim. 2:1-2 & Rom 13:1). It can be difficult, but there are no rulers that God has not appointed, and we are commanded to honor them.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Insufficient
Isa 6:3-8
3 And one [seraphim] called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory."4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.5 Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs.7 And he touched my mouth {with it} and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven."8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"(NAS)
This is a great verse to look at when feeling insufficient. From my VERY limited understanding of what the Hebrew words in verse seven mean, the word translated "taken away" could mean "turn off,' and the word translated "forgiven" means "covered."* From the context, I think it would be fair to say this verse shows that our sin is not only covered, but we no longer have to sin. Our sin is "turned off." We are all sinners. We are incapable of doing anything worthy for God. But, the beauty of grace is that God makes us Holy. By the sacrifice of His Son, we can say to Him, "Here am I. Send me!"
*Strong's Greek/Hebrew Dictionary from PC Study Bible © 1993-1996
3 And one [seraphim] called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory."4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.5 Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs.7 And he touched my mouth {with it} and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven."8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"(NAS)
This is a great verse to look at when feeling insufficient. From my VERY limited understanding of what the Hebrew words in verse seven mean, the word translated "taken away" could mean "turn off,' and the word translated "forgiven" means "covered."* From the context, I think it would be fair to say this verse shows that our sin is not only covered, but we no longer have to sin. Our sin is "turned off." We are all sinners. We are incapable of doing anything worthy for God. But, the beauty of grace is that God makes us Holy. By the sacrifice of His Son, we can say to Him, "Here am I. Send me!"
*Strong's Greek/Hebrew Dictionary from PC Study Bible © 1993-1996
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