“Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” (Romans 13:7)
What if they do not deserve honor, what if those leaders are vile, wicked people whose sole purpose is power and the pride that comes with it?
Those of you who say you obey the first few verses in that chapter, do you do so because you have been commanded to, because those people, no matter how evil, have been placed there by the Almighty and no matter what they do, what they set as laws, you are to obey? Where is the line for you, what would need to happen for you to disobey them, what law set by them would you say “No” to?
“Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)
Seems like direct opposition to what Paul was led to write, doesn’t it?
I could speak here of those born again who watched as the children of Israel were marched to the death camps by Nazi Germany, all the way to those who stand idly by today and watch as those who pray silently in some nations are imprisoned, and a thousand other instances, and some of you would still say, “We are supposed to obey no matter what we are commanded by those in authority over us, because that is what it says in Romans chapter thirteen.”
That’s why so many put the mask on, why they rolled up their sleeves, why they locked the church doors and hid from each other.
All those instances, were they done by those I speak of here because of their obedience to those verses, or because of personal fear, fear of not obeying those magistrates who wield power from the Almighty?
How do you know whether you should obey God as Peter said, or the rules of law and man as Paul said?
Some of you, if you were told by the authorities that you could not pray in a certain place would still do so, and suffer willingly the consequences of your actions, would you not? Have you just gone against the will of God, His commandments from Romans thirteen, will you now suffer not only the consequences from man as well as Him?
Should have Daniel’s three friends obeyed Nebuchadnezzar? Should have all the apostles obeyed and kept quiet? Should the Lord Jesus Christ have obeyed the commandments of those that day and answered them?
When you decide to stand for the Almighty, by default you must stand against and disobey those He has placed in authority over us at times. They do not deserve any honor and so we do not honor their commandments.
If you think it was a difficult decision to place that mask over your face, just wait until you see what is approaching next.
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)
I will offer you only this truth, when you decide to disobey the laws of those in authority over us, those who have been placed in those positions by the Most High, you had better be sure that you are doing so for the glory of God. And I can almost guarantee you this, that you will suffer the consequences for your disobedience.
But I am in no position to tell you when you should do this, that is and will be always your decision to make.
Every single person during the days of Jacob’s Troubles who serves the Lord Jesus Christ will pay the ultimate price for disobeying the authority of those days. Those who have yet to do so, but will in that time, should be your example today.
