Respect for Rightful Authority
Study Scripture: Mark 12: 17; Romans 13:1, 6 – 8; 1 Peter 2:13 – 17
Background Scripture: Mark 12: 17; Romans 13:1, 6 – 8;
1 Peter 2:13 – 17
Lesson 7 April 11, 2026
Key Verse
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
1 Peter 2:13 & 14
INTRODUCTION
The Apostle Paul has taught about the doctrine of justification by faith and now from Chapter 13 of the Epistle to the Romans he looks at at the ethical implications of this doctrine of justification by faith.
You should be very careful to note that this teaching applies to Christian citizens and their relationship to the government. But there is more to it than that and so it would be very useful if we read the Text of Romans 13:1-14 because so often people deal with this subject more lightly than they should.
Note the basis for this ethical instruction. The Lord Jesus Christ has told us after His death and resurrection in a final teaching to the disciples, that we believers were to occupy until He comes.
This of course means that we are to be busy doing our work of different sorts here on earth while at the same time we are to be doing the work of the Kingdom of God, keeping close to us all the time the bright hope of the Second Coming.
But there is a problem that we have to deal with for in chapter 12:1 the apostle Paul said plainly” Be not conformed to this age”..
So how do you square that with the saying” Let every soul be subject to the higher powers”.
This instruction is obviously very important for we know that we are the people of God and we have the hope of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and we are therefore responsible to occupy until He comes.
What do we do when the leaders of our country bring forward all kinds of strange and possibly ungodly laws and raise taxes in such a way that those along with the other rules they have introduced will make us go to ruin.
Are we supposed to march down to the parliament and demand that they make the changes that we want, pointing out that we did not vote for those changes?
Are we supposed to regard ourselves as citizens of this society because we live here and we vote and have some talk here?
Are we subject to the laws of the land or should we be selective in what we support and what we do not support, what we obey and what we do not obey?
Can we say to the sundry revenue agencies and tax collectors in our countries that we have come to Mount Zion the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem where all the saints fellowship together and so we belong there and we won’t therefore be able to do what you say and pay what money you owe?
Are you going to hold the point of view that believers live in a different sphere in which you alone live before God?
What are the daily burdens of life that we are to bear given our responsibility and the statement of the Apostle “ every man shall bear his own burdens” which to us might mean that we are going to stand alone before the judgment seat of Christ and accept that we are responsible for the daily burdens of life when it comes to responsibility for the life we live in the conscious shere in which we find ourselves?
This Study Lesson is more important than one would think for it touches on several matters including the issue of submission, which believe it or not covers every aspect of our lives. It calls foronsideration of who God is, His nature, and what He expects from His people.
It is hoped that we are well acquainted with the parable of the Vineyard and the Tenants found in the Book of Isaiah. We see a parable almost like Isaiah’s parable in the book of Mark.
When you consider what the Bible teaches you immediately recognize that that parable is the background of the things that are being taught in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul.
So let us look at this parable and then examine what it means about our responsibility for this parable is a parable of judgment and the Lord Jesus is going to make use of it when He tells His parable of the Householder and the tenants found in Mark 12:1-12. So let us look at Jesus’ teaching in Mark 12:1-12. It will be extremely helpful if we look at what Isaiah taught in Isaiah 5. But let us focus on the Mark passage:
“A certain man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.
And he leased it to vine dressers and went into a far country.
Now at vintage time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.
And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty handed.
Again, he sent them another servant and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.
And again he sent another and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.
Therefore still, having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last saying, “They will respect my son”.
But those vine dressers said unto themselves, “Tthis is the heir, Come,, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours”.
So they took him, and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.
Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine dressers, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not even read the scripture:
“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone:
This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvellous in our eyes”.
Now notice what happened when Jesus gave this parable about the Father, about Himself, His ministry, and what the spiritual leaders would do to Him.
The following verses tell us that the, Pharisees and scribes and the rulers of the people sought to lay hands on Jesus and kill Him but they feared the multitude for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So unable to do anything to hurt Jesus they went their way and left Him alone.
It is very interesting to notice that immediately after that Jesus gave an answer to the question of taxes and Jesus told the people to pay to Caesar what belonged to Caesar but unto God what belonged to God.
Now when you read both the parable in Isaiah and the parable in the book of Mark you see directly that the Lord Jesus Christ told the people that the owner of the vineyard is God and whether you look at the parable in Isaiah or in Mark, the teaching is that the vineyard is designed to represent the nation of Israel which was was of course a theocratic nation, meaning that it was a nation under God who is the ruler.
One lesson we get from this parable therefore is that you probably will never have a satisfactory government, whether from a so-called democratic government, or a socialist government, a monarchy, a republic, or a communist government, or another kind of government which is not ruled by God.
The owner of the vineyard is God and He is the proprietor of the Kingdom of God among men. Jesus therefore has taught the people of Israel in a final step the truth that God wanted to reveal.
So do not think that having a strange God or a man- devised form of government will get you anywhere. All you have to do is to read the story of the nation of Israel for it is a witness to you about God and what He has put in place. He gave Israel the divine revelation and so they are supposed to pass it on to others. In Isaiah 43:12-13 and other passages this is made clear. They failed.
Note therefore God is the owner of the vineyard. He put the vineyard in the control of the people of Israel and they were the husbandmen or the tenants for that is what the word tenants or husbandmen mean. But they did not do their job and in fact they killed the prophets that were sent, for they were the servants sent to the vine dressers; they killed the son and the heir which was our Lord Jesus Christ.
The leaders of Israel very well knew that Jesus was teaching that parable against them.
So, let us apply the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ to ourselves s it was applied to the people of Israel/ It is applicable to those that were grafted into the olive tree along with them.
You note immediately that there is a tragic side to this parable for Jesus when telling this parable is evaluating what the servants did against the son which was even of greater importance and significance than what was done to the servants.
The vine dressers were supposed to be people of God and obedient to God. Israel was of course the apple of god’s eyes, and of course you believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are being directed to your similar position.
You are supposed to produce fruit so that in the fullness of time when the Lord Jesus Christ returned for His possession, He will see that you have been preaching and teaching about the kingdom of God and the truth of God and you will therefore bear fruit because you had proclaimed everything that belonged to Him.
Are we therefore going to simply be disturbed at the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ or are you going to have knowledge about Him, give ascent to this knowledge, be convinced of the truthfulness of the message of the gospel that the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles and the prophets have given to you, and then live a life totally committed to the person concerning whom the gospel referred to and taught about?
But before we go to the Text let us remind ourselves briefly who the Lord, the owner of the vineyard was, and following that who the vinedressers are.
What is God like? \What kind of attributes or virtues does He have?
What do the many names of God teach us about Him?
Do you understand His character even though you know His many names which all teach about Him? Do you think that He holds you responsible for what you have been taught by revelation?
You know that He is a merciful, and gracious God and that He overlooks many of the frailties of men because of what Jesus Christ has done for them on the cross/
Are you prepared to look at His divine being, the essential permanent and distinguishing quality and characteristics of God?
Are you prepared to take a note of His divine nature His self-existence, His independence, His transcendence, His all- encompassing power, His omniscience, His eternity, and the other defined features that we know about?
You know that you are citizens of heaven and it is from there that you will look for the Saviour.
But you also know when you look at this Text that there are different spheres to life.
You have the family sphere where you have responsibilities in the family that you have. Christians have always believed that the husband is responsible for leadership in his family and he is to love his wife as Christ loved the church and that the wife has to be in submission to her husband as was said in the old days in the marriage ceremony. But in to this submission we know that the husband even though he is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church there is a proper way of life for that for the husband is to love her as Christ loved the church and that of course would get rid of a lot of the misapprehensions that exist today.
But there is also another sphere of life which we call the civil sphere and there we are considered to be responsible to obey the laws of the land. The apostle will deal with it under the Text, “ let every soul be subject unto the higher powers”.
The Apostle of course will tell us in detail about who the” higher powers are” that gave this instructions to the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then there is this sphere which relates to the life of the church and there we are told that there must be a certain level of obedience as well as concern and examination given to certain men and women who are workers in the local church.
Then we also have the responsibility in the sphere of the elders for Paul will tell us in verse 7 and 17 of our Text, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you”.
Then again we read in verse 24,
” Greet all them who have the rule over you and all the saints”.
Clearly then the apostles teaching that there are certain men appointed by the Holy Spirit to the office of elders that have the rule over you and there should be a certain amount of obedience in the Lord. But of course the apostle also makes it clear that accusation against elders and criticisms of them must be done in accordance with Scripture for it is they that bear the judgment of God. They will not get away with being abusive, domineering, demanding what they should not demand, teaching what they should not teach, and doing what is plainly stated in Scripture that they should not do. They are told that they should not be like pagan leaders.
So there are different spheres of life; personal,, family civil, responsibilities and of course church responsibilities.
In the book of Romans however the apostle is focusing on the civil sphere because the saints were living in the Roman Empire, and it was really difficult to live according to their autocratic form of government. These were not very nice rulers. In fact the prophet Daniel had told Israel what this particular government would be like. The people and the rulers would be terrible, worst than those in the preceding kingdoms.
So what the apostle is teaching has great relevance for us because we live in societies that are not very different from the kind of unspiritual society that existed at that time.
So we know that the apostle says “ Let every soul” so that we know that every believer is to listen to the instructions of the Lord Jesus Christ and follow them even though sometimes you have difficulty emotionally reacting the way that God wants you to react.
One by Bible scholars point out that even bad government is better than no government at all. God has instituted government or authorities so that there won’t be total chaos. But remember also that the apostle says that the powers that God gives are to approve the good and punish the evil.
We know of course that the pagan world violates these instructions. You will therefore have to look at what is being said carefully as you study this Text.
One scholar notes quite wryly that believers are not to forsake a sinking ship of state like rats. Rather they should be prepared to stay at their posts and they are to be obedient as long as they are not doing whatever is told them to do that is against the Word of God.
But It should be noted that an examination of the parable of the Vineyard and the tenants in Isaiah 5 should assist you mightily in understanding who God is who is a higher powers are, who you are and your ethical responsibility.
Remember that you are not your own, you have been bought with a price.
You will come to understand fully where you are going; you will very likely not think that the price being taught that you should pay is so great.
THE TEXT
Mark 12:17
Verse 17. It is very appropriate that we start with this particular verse to ensure that as Christians we recognize authority that God has set up in places, both in terms of the world and also in terms of establishing His kingdom (Romans 13:1)
.
First let me address this from a worldly view. From verses 14 to 17 of Mark 12, it clearly illustrates that Jesus will not put respect of any man above that of another. Jesus knew the hypocrisy that lay in their inquiry, the fact that they were trying to ensnare Him and the malice that was in their hearts against Him and His Father.
However, He still referred them to their national establishment as they were already made as the Apple of God’s eyes, and as such their position as the nation of God was still valid despite their disobedience and straying from the truth.
If we do not like chaos we should be prepared to take advantage of the benefits of the rule of government. We are obliged to submit to government, once again as long as it does not infringe on our service to God.
Jesus honours what His Father in heaven has set up as an earthly authority and to that end, will respect that order, as long as it does not act in a way to supplant His Fathers commands.
Jesus is acknowledging that the world may operate on very different principles than what His Father has set up, yet He instructs the people of God that they should still follow the rules instituted by government, and choose accordingly, meaning follow God always and then man, when their rules do not lead to sin (Daniel 3:10 – 18, Daniel 6:10 – 24)
Secondly, with respect to God’s people and showing respect to God Almighty understanding the promises of blessings given to the children of God, we all would be in a better position if or for parents Adam and Eve had not sinned. The people of God and, the children of Israel and children of God today would not be faced with instructions from God that we might consider to be burdensome.
But the frailties of human nature applied in full force when sin came into the world. Accordingly note, the curse under the Old Covenant applied to the Jews, because if they had not continued sinning, then they would only have had to render unto God His due, as God would have protected them from the dominating, oppressive rule of the Romans at the time. God, if they had been obedient as Moses had instructed them to be, would have protected them all the way as promised.
So, them submitting in part to Romans rule was due to them departing from the Lord.
Jesus in His response to the people stated that some things should be rendered to God alone. We are duty bound as children of God to given to Him before the State.
“This answer is full of consummate wisdom. It establishes the limits, regulates the rights, and distinguishes the jurisdiction of the two empires of heaven and earth.” [Clarke]
If we have learned anything from the children of Israel, and the behaviour of many in the early church which recorded in the New Testament, or even the entire Bible, it is that any departure from the Will of God will result in us having to ‘serve’ two masters due to the fact that we are living in this world.
This is due to sin on our part as well the tragedy men face because of the rulers of darkness that control the ways of the world.
Fortunately for the children of God we have a Redeemer and God who is faithful and longsuffering, who is there to help us in our journey to come back to Him.
The last part of the verse says that they marveled at Him, but it is clear that the rulers of the nation did not change in their opinion about Jesus and God. They had been described by Jesus as builders that rejected a stone established by God. In fact, the rulers were embittered:
“And they sought to lay hands on him but feared the multitude for they knew he had spoken the parable against them. So they left him and went away”.
Instead of considering Jesus’ words, they twisted, and outright lied and later tried to use them to slander Jesus.
The response does not matter when people are not interested in hearing the truth. Jesus experienced this and as followers of Christ so will we. We must as Jesus, wait on the Holy Spirit to give us the proper response and then move away from them continuing on to do the Will of God, as Jesus did.
Romans 13:1, 6 – 8
Verse 1.
This verse instructs us how to conduct ourselves towards “magistrates”, civil officials, and those that are in authority over us, in terms of the actual persons themselves like Kings/Queens or Prime Ministers or those who hold a Title of Authority. The title or position to those who are ruling is what must be considered, and not to the person themselves.
There is no way to know if that individual in a position of authority will serve God. They may be wicked, but due to the fact that they hold that position of authority we are instructed to obey, that is, if it does not violate any of God’s law, or His commands.
As Paul had counselled, we should not trade evil for evil for those in an office abuse their power but act in a just way to correct that error, as it may carry repercussions for the brethren later on.
By showing resistance, and disrespect to civil officials who have within their power the ability to execute harsh penalties like jail time, financial penalties or even death, to those that oppose them, as is their right in this world, there is little or no purpose to antagonize them.
We should consider how we should react to the evil that is dominant in the world. Sometimes it might make sense to speak one’s mind and sometimes it might make no sense, for it will harm us.
When one reads the Psalms, including those like Psalms 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and many others we begin to appreciate what evil is and why Jesus use those terms to picture what would happen to Him when he was on earth during His ministry. Many of these psalms were written by David the anointed man of God it is amazing how often he himself called on God to help His troubled people.
Jesus Himself used some of these words in the Psalms to picture what would happen to him as he did His ministry..
We know therefore that the events of life in this sinful world drove many godly people to write inspired Scripture. They suffered and were almost at the point of despair but we know that they were led by the revelations of God to trust in God and to depend on God for His leading..
That is why the scriptures constantly remind us that we must keep our eyes fixed on the heavenly city of which we are citizens. The task before us is to live in such a way that we are to present a Adley example so that many will be snatched as a brand from the burning and on their way to destruction might be turned around by the work of the Holy Spirit.
So we know that Jesus faced the work of sinners and he behaved most appropriately, setting an example for us.
God says it is our duty that we should regard as an honour to execute; that we serve those in leadership positions. But note that the Scripture is firm on the fact that we should in no way support evil, the deviations of men from the commandments of God.
The list of those in authority that children of God must honor includes positions, high or low that they may hold in society.
The birth of grievances in our minds is the beginning of disobedience and dishonour towards God and those that hold whatever position that troubles us.
We are not doing service to them to honour them, but to honour our God, so we must remain holy and just in body and in mind.
What we do as followers of God, would impact society as evil leaders are far too willing to enforce and execute judgment on the mass due to a small group of individuals showing any sort of rebellion or discontent.
The subjection of soul here required includes inward honour (1 Pt. 2:17) and outward reverence and respect, both in speaking to them and in speaking of them-obedience to their commands in things lawful and honest, and in other things a patient subjection to the penalty without resistance-a conformity in every thing to the place and duty of subjects, bringing our minds to the relation and condition, and the inferiority and subordination of it. [Matthew Henry]
Jesus showed followers of God that we should not give our enemies any justification for acting with any barbarous rage against us. Religion helps to make people good subjects, and taught through individuals like Jesus and Paul to leaders that it would be unjust to charge upon Christianity that faction and rebellion to which its principles and rules are do directly contrary.
Verse 6. Magistrates are God’s ministers, and so it is clear that the Bible is indicating to believers that these individuals are put in those positions of authority by God’s will.
Whether or not they themselves wish to acknowledge it, God is telling us that they are still His servants and He at His own discretion will elevate or punish them.
It is to be noted that in the book of Isaiah God had some harsh words to say for the people of Israel and Judah and He also had harsh words to say about the pagan nations that were doing terrible things to people all over the area. They both would be destroyed for their disobedience to God.
We must not however think that because they are appointed as leaders that they are fully servants of God. They might very well be very disobedient to God and might even hate God and show by their actions that they would like to destroy God Almighty if they could.
But nevertheless, God regards them as people that we should honour and respect because He had appointed them to restrain evil, a task that we know they were failing to accomplish..
Though these individuals might be lords/leaders to us, they are servants to God, as all are, both man, animals, plants and all creation.
“Good” leaders, even if they do not follow God’s will completely or at all, are administrators of public justice, they manage quarrels, are charged with protecting the innocent, righting any wrongs that are done in public to the extent of punishing offenders, and also charged to preserve national peace and order, to the extent that no man begins to believe that right is determined by their own thoughts.
In executing the order of their office, resisting any magistrate is in a sense, resisting the ordinances of God.
Verse 7. As these ministers have the ability to execute harsh judgments on people, they are in the position to send messages of better conduct on those who have terror in their hearts and who are workers of evil.
God has set them up so that Christians, followers of God would not have to act in these roles through out the world. They are there as heirs of restraint, to put offenders to shame. God has put them in place to corral sin and evil doers, to stave off corruption in all levels of human society. This fear or restraint only goes so far as it is only a temporal punishment, which the wilfulness and perverseness of a degenerate mankind have made necessary.
The worldly laws and penalties for lawlessness and disobedience must also have been a reflection of those constituted in the nations established at the very dawn of creation. The laws established by God were agreeable with, and not contradictory to, the gospel. In this work, the magistrate is the minister of God. He is God’s agent, and is such able to execute judgment on the ungodly and on God’s people to bring them back into a proper relationship with God.
One hopes that individual in these positions that God has placed them in will carry the office with the most judicial processes of the most vigilant faithful magistrates, though some faint and act like the unjust judge.
Christians trust God in that if they act as the unjust judge, that God would replace them, before our cries reach up to heaven, as a result of these people in office.
Protection draws allegiance, and so if we have protection from the government, we owe our subjection to it; by upholding the government, we keep up our own boundaries. This subjection is equivalent to tribute we pay!
In a “righteous” world we pay taxes because that would support the work of God by the governments that rule over us. For instance, it helps the government provide police officers to keep those who would attack religious places of worship at bay, not to make government officials rich.
We give to the state what is due to them to accomplish goals or restoration, protection and general assistance. But reserve the right to first give to God that which is His, that is, we should first honour God by tithing!
Note however that there were different tithes in the theocratic nation of Israel. Some of these tithes were used for the maintenance of the priests and the temple. God never instructed the people of Israel not to keep on paying their tithes and offerings to the priests and to the temple officials, whose behaviour over the many years in the history of Israel were abominable.
But we know that many of the priests were corrupt and desecrated the temple continually. But it seems clear that God regards that system as the best possible system given the sinful nature of men.
But note also that God destroyed the priests and religious rulers because of their sins. They did not escape the judgment of God.
Verse 8. Following the law of God and having an interest or concern for mankind is what we owe to others.
Love is a debt, the only debt that we owe, it is a perpetual obligation we carry both before God and each other.
1 Peter 2 :13 – 17
Verse 13 & 14.
As Christians we should be good citizens, as it has mentioned in the previous verses, submitting to government. The stress is that, God has put these authorities in place. All governments are still under His control, and believers are to show we are followers of God; God has put His trust in them and will call them to account. We therefore have to put some trust in the leaders that God has allowed to rule over us, even to the point where as their rules do not go against anything God has decreed, then we can follow them.
In the New Testament, we can see the writings of Paul and understand his relationship with the Roman Nation, and how it treated the Jews or Christians. He still submitted to them. Likewise, Peter wrote in the days of the Roman Empire, which was not a democracy and no special friend to Christians. Yet he still also recognized the legitimate authority of the Roman government.
As a matter of fact we know from history that Paul was eventually beheaded by Nero, that awful Roman emperor.
We obey, or even render unto that government for the Lord’s sake. Our actions are a reflection or window to the principles, conduct and Power and Authority of the God we serve.
We are still to witness to others as much as possible in this life and this is a form of witnessing, if we obey governments, as they are determined by our God, whether they admit this or not.
God, as their supreme governor, shows them that it is his will that they should act uprightly and obediently at all times, and thus confound the ignorance of foolish men, who were ready enough to assert that their religion made them bad subjects. [Clarke]
The general rule of a Christian conversation is this, it must be honest, which it cannot be if there is not a conscientious discharge of all relative duties.
Our duty in part is submission. In what sense? In the sense it is comprised of loyalty and reverence to their persons, obedience to their just laws and commands, and subjection to legal penalties.
The office of the magistrate is to punish evil-doers, and to praise and encourage all those that do well. For this reason among a few others, they are appointed for the good of societies, and to this end their position is held, the fault in them is in their practice, not the institution.
[1.] True religion is the best support of civil government; it requires submission for the Lord’s sake, and for conscience’ sake.
[2.] All the punishments, and all the magistrates in the world, cannot hinder but there will be evil-doers in it.
[3.] The best way the magistrate can take to discharge his own duty, and to amend the world, is to punish well and reward well. [Matthew Henry]
Verse 15.
Another reason why Christians should submit to the “evil magistrate” is because it is the will of God, and consequently their duty; and because it is a way to put to silence the malicious slanders of ignorant and foolish men, just as how Jesus has demonstrated in previous scriptures (Mark 12).
Our conduct has always been a way to defend the gospel. He knew that those who never read the Bible will read our lives, and in so doing, see how God deals with His children and the expectations He has for them. When we do good, even though certain evils might be done to us, it would put a silence upon the ignorance of foolish men.
[1.] The will of God is, to a good man, the strongest reason for any duty.
[2.] Obedience to magistrates is a considerable branch of a Christian’s duty: So is the will of God.
[3.] A Christian must endeavour, in all relations, to behave himself so as to put to silence the unreasonable reproaches of the most ignorant and foolish men.
[4.] Those who speak against religion and religious people are ignorant and foolish.
[Matthew Henry]
Verse 16.
We are reminded by Peter of the spiritual nature of Christian liberty. Christians are free. Now from what? It is not from duty or obedience to God’s law, which requires subjection to the civil magistrate. They are free spiritually from the bondage of sin and Satan, and the ceremonial law. We are also told that we should not make our Christian liberty a cloak or covering for any wickedness, or for the neglect of any duty towards God or towards their superiors, but must still remember they were the servants of God.
Verse 17.
It is best said by the apostles that this discourse tell Christians the how and why of acting the way we do.
(1.) Honour all men. A due respect is to be given to all men; the poor are not to be despised (Prov. 17:5); the wicked must be honoured, not for their wickedness, but for any other qualities, such as wit, prudence, courage, eminency of employment, or the hoary head. Abraham, Jacob, Samuel, the prophets, and the apostles, never scrupled to give due honour to bad men.
(2.) Love the brotherhood. All Christians are a fraternity, united to Christ the head, alike disposed and qualified, nearly related in the same interest, having communion one with another, and going to the same home; they should therefore love one another with an especial affection.
(3.) Fear God with the highest reverence, duty, and submission; if this be wanting, none of the other three duties can be performed as they ought.
(4.) Honour the king with that highest honour that is peculiarly due to him above other men.
[Matthew Henry]
CONCLUSION
How do we present our bodies as a living sacrifice Holy, acceptable to God which is our spiritual service?
How can we be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds?
Ho can we prove what is the good, well pleasing, and perfect will of God?
How can we be instructed in the book of Romans and in the books of Peter to love our enemies? Romans 12:9-21).
How can we be expected to subject ourselves to authorities? Romans 13:1-7.
How can we be expected to love one another? Romans 13:8-10.
We can do it, the Apostle says, by our faith, faith that gives rise to appropriate conduct. One writer comments as he examined what Paul is teaching us,
Christians must “ throw off the works of darkness, and let’s put on the armour of light”.
Sounds impossible, doesn’t it!
But we have the Holy Spirit in us.
Remember that we were all enemies of God at one stage in our lives. We were in a desperate condition, without hope. Look again in Scripture at the behaviour of the sons of Jacob and of Jacob himself. Those fathers of Israel had no hope. But remember that God was faithful to His promises to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15, and to Abraham. Mankind then, and Israel later on, was without hope.
But there was one man that God called and he obeyed and so they inherited the promises given to Abraham, just as we Gentiles inherit the promises given to Abraham.
So let us examine what love really means. Should God have looked at us and said we could not be saved and He should simply destroy us? Or should He be compassionate and merciful?
What does God mean when He told the people of Israel that it’s only because of His mercy and compassion that they were not consumed?
Read it for yourselves in Scripture.
The Apostle in Romans 13:11-12 calls on believers to listen carefully to what he had said before, and to commit themselves to obedience
“ Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed”.
Believers, difficult as it might seem must understand that they are at a fork in the road and their decisions will make all the difference. They have been given the potential by God under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to determine their destinies.
This therefore is a significant moment in time/
The time of salvation is coming near for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ will come as a thief in the night. (1 Thessalonians 5:2)’
So we can only encourage ourselves and encourage you to not only put off the works of darkness, but to put on the armour of light so that that will prevent the darkness from ever returning. One writer states:
“We must be armoured for battle, because we can expect frequent temptations—a constant probing of our defences—dangerous arising from unexpected quarters—a lifelong battle against evil”.
So let us lean heavily on the Holy Spirit and let us walk as Enoch and Noah walked with God. Let us ask the psalmist in Psalm 1:1 and 119:3 advises knowing:
“ Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners”,
It seems quite clear that sins are so poisonous and are so perilous that we have to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. If we do that we will like Him give honor to whom honor is due, paying the poll tax even though the sons of God should not be doing that, but one has to live in such a way as not to give them,the pagans and the natural men, an occasion to speak evil of you.
So we can only advise ourselves and advise you to make no provision for the flesh and its lusts, for sins have produced an ugly reality.
Because we are so accustomed to it, we have great difficulty in understanding the force of what God is calling us to do.
So please do not make space in your lives for the flesh but resolve to live a godly life. The Holy Spirit is here to help us in what seems to be and what is an impossible human task. But we are encouraged that you will take such a step to be led by the Spirit.