Week 56 - Free Weekend Program for Street & Vulnerable Children

Text : Romans 13:1-5

Theme : Submission to human Authority

1. Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.

4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience

Leaders and authorities are appointed by God for our good. They set rules that govern, guide, and direct us towards a common goal for orderliness. Without these set rules, there would be chaos and confusion. Just like the head of a body directs the rest of the body, leaders provide order and direction for us to follow and God wants us to obey them. However, being subject to authority doesn’t mean being subservient (less important); it means being obedient to set rules in honor of God who has appointed them not because they are superior to others, they are NOT! but because God in His wisdom chose them.

In the family, God has placed the man (husband, father) as the head. Although husband and wife are equal in the eyes of God, God has designated the man as the leader and authority over the woman. Her duty is to submit to her husband in a manner that is respectful and honourable as unto the LORD. Sin dishonours God, and a woman in rebellion against her head, her husband, dishonours God. This is why you must marry a believer, because an unbeliever will bring you into strains of difficulties, and your soul will find no pleasure in that (Psalm 139:21). We are warned against marrying unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14).

At home, your parent or guardian is the authority figure who establishes rules and guidelines for you to follow. It is important to obey them as God has placed them in a position of authority over you. As a child, you honour God by obeying your parents until you reach an age where you can make independent decisions and live on your own. For example, as a child, my dad had a rule that we had to go to bed at 9 pm, but now that I am an independent adult, I can choose my bedtime according to my own discretion.

This principle applies at home, at work, and in society at large. God has placed governing authorities over us to rule and govern us for good. You may say, "No! God didn’t appoint them, they rigged the election, they cheated, or they are there because we voted for them." However, regardless of the means used, it is God who decides who rules, where, when, and how far they can go. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33). Psalm 75:6-7 says, “For promotion comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall.”

God is sovereign over all; He alone decides every outcome. He chose our leaders, and He is telling us to obey them for our own good. Remember, you didn’t choose your own parents; God did. We may organize elections, vote, maneuver, scheme, campaign, persuade, etc., which is good because God hates slothfulness. But ultimately, it is God who decides. He made a decision before one vote was cast, and everything else will align with His purpose. He is the Almighty, the supreme ruler of all things.

Obeying our leaders by doing what is right honors God, who in His wisdom has placed them above us. Anything contrary is sin, a rebellion against God, and it comes with consequences—punishment. Don’t forget, God is specifically saying that this obedience is according to what is right, not what is wrong before God. God’s written word specifically instructs us on rights and wrongs, and our conscience bears us witness, so there is no excuse.

We are not in a position to make it up or second guess anything because the Bible is the written word of God; everything is clearly stated in chapters and verses. For clarity, what is right in the eyes of God is not based on dreams, visions, revelations, or folktales; it is based solely on the written word of God. Today, we see many women in false churches having visions, inspirations, and revelations contrary to their husbands' plans for the family and wrongly aligning with fake pastors “as spiritual authority” to walk in rebellion and witchcraft against their husbands. This is a grievous sin against God, who has made the husband her head.

In addition, God has also given tools to leaders so they can inflict punishment on those who disobey them. This is very serious and a good reason why we must pray for our leaders regularly. We all fear punishment on way or another —some of us fear whipping, grounding, forced labour - forced exercise, taking away of privileges, withholding of rewards, withholding of affirmation, fines, imprisonment, and even the death sentence. These are tools used to punish those who are disobedient to authority. It is God who has instituted these authorities and provided these means of punishment; being a Christian doesn’t exempt us if we walk in disobedience.

You can’t steal, then pay tithe and run into a night vigil “prayer” hoping God will magically close the eyes of the police or cause them to change their mind because “the heart of the king is in His hand” (Proverbs 21:1-3). This is an illusion; of course, the verse is true, but God Himself, will cause them to bring punishment. We can’t bribe Him into playing cover-up. He brings discipline (Hebrews 12:5-8). Now, we don’t need to fear if by God’s grace we learn to do what is right. It is in our nature to walk in disobedience and to avoid the consequences at the same time, but that is also an illusion because if you touch water, you must get wet; if you touch fire, you must get burnt. They both work hand in hand, one with the other.

However, God has given us a new nature. His Spirit lives in us. We are no longer sons of disobedience. We live to honour God as our Father, and He is commanding us to obey the leaders He has placed over us. As always and with all things, we can’t do these things on our own. Self-effort will always fail miserably. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; without Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We can do NOTHING without Him. Obedience is a fruit. It comes through faith in Christ. Faith comes through the gospel preached to you, and it leans upon Christ for strength and enablement through constant meditation and prayer, touching all things one day at a time. We need the grace of God to live the Christian life; this life is impossible without the Spirit of Christ enabling us.

further more, we must obey our leaders and those in authority, not necessarily because we fear punishment, but much more because we want to honour God. We want to obey Him. Our conscience is hardly at peace if we live in disobedience. No Christian can enjoy peace in the midst of known sin. Jonah may choose to fall into a deep sleep amidst disobedience, but God won’t leave him in that condition. Trouble will wake him up, and intense trouble will lead him to obedience for the good of his eternal soul. so, rejoice when you see discipline because it means God loves you. He is treating you as His child and doesn’t want you to fail. Hebrews 12:5-8 explains this clearly: “If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and not really his children at all.”

Finally, let me close with this: we are to obey our leaders and authorities in what is right, not in what is wrong and contrary to God’s word. For example, in Acts 5:28-29, Peter and the Apostles were given strict orders not to preach in Jesus’ name. They disobeyed the leaders because the order negated the word of God written in Matthew 28:19: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” They chose to obey God instead, and we must do the same if any human leader’s order or rules violate the word of God. We must discard any tradition or instruction that is contrary to scripture.

Here are a few common examples: you don’t have to lie on behalf of your mom by saying “she is not at home, has gone to the market,” when she is inside the room and you know it but she has instructed you to lie and be deceitful on her behalf. You can say “ My mom told me to tell you that she is not at home. Better still, explain respectfully to your parents “I don’t want to lie” and if they choose to punish you with lack of food, withdrawal of privilege, affirmation, or spanking, so be it. The same goes for everyone whose care you are under.

If you suffer, then rejoice according to 1 Peter 3:14-17, but also be respectful, honouring your parent, doing your assigned chores diligently and invite them to attend the meeting with us on Thursdays and Sundays from 5 pm-6:15 pm; it will be helpful for their soul.

The same applies to your boss at work. Don’t obey instructions to steal, lie, or cheat on his behalf; honour God instead. Many women have been sacked for refusing to sleep with their boss, and many young men have lost opportunities for refusing to circumvent, subvert, and deal dubiously as assigned by their boss or supposed “godfathers.”

Our Father in heaven has more opportunities and connections than the sand on the seashore; everything belongs to Him, and in all things, He has preeminence - supremacy and dominance. He doesn’t need to lift a finger to provide you with all the opportunities and privileges you need if it pleases Him. I love a quote I read a few days ago by C. H. Spurgeon, it says "God is both the rewarder and the reward of his people." He gives us Himself, and with Him, all things (Matthew 6:33).

So, let’s seek to honour God by obeying the leaders He has placed over us in all that is good. Depend on Him prayerfully to do this because the flesh cannot do it. The fear of punishment is not enough; we must honour God from the heart. Our conscience is at peace when God is honoured. We must obey the leaders over us in all that is good (in everything not contrary to Scripture) not because they deserve it or only when they deserve it, but because God has commanded it and our obedience honours Him.

No doubt, some of us have obvious areas of weakness and sin in this regard, such as traffic rules, disposing of trash on the street, open defecation in prohibited places, taxes, customs duties, bribing police, local business tickets, and cover-ups. We will study these more prayerfully next weekend. We need grace to overcome and to live honourably before God. We must ask Him for help and keep asking Him, and He will give us the grace to bear fruit effortlessly in this regard to the glory of His name. Loving God means keeping His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome, He said. (1 John 5:3). Obedience is possible, it is not burdensome according to scripture and we know that God cannot lie.