Not many principles today are attacked as much as the principle of authority. We have to understand that authority is a system set up by God for our benefit. It allows us to function with freedom in our spiritual life.
What does God want from us in life? I believe one of the most important principles for us to live in is obedience. Look at this passage:
Romans 6:16-18
16 Do you not know
that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are
slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of
obedience resulting in righteousness?
17 But
thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from
the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
18 and having been
freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Remember that God has set up systems of authority to give us the freedom to grow spiritually. Why do we have such a hard time obeying they authority that God has set up?
Romans 13:1b
1 For
there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by
God.
The Bible is crystal clear about the authorities that He has set up:
Ephesians 5:22-24
22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as
Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.
24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so
also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
Don’t let the viewpoint of the world fool you – marriage is NOT a 50/50 relationship!
Ephesians 6:1-3
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER(which is the
first commandment with a promise),
3 SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE
EARTH.
We could go on and on about children, but realize especially that the family relationship is the context in which children learn about authority. They must learn to obey and respect the parents, so that they can function with character in other systems of authority in life.
Romans 13:1-3
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.
2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of
God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
3 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;
No matter what you think of the president, he is still the president! There is no authority except from God!
Why do we have such a problem with God’s systems of authority today? Do you obey your husband, as long as he agrees with your viewpoint? Do you respect and obey your parents, unless they don’t give you what you want? Do you obey the government, unless you disagree with the policies? Do you obey the police officer when he stops you, or do you give him attitude? If so, then you don’t really understand obedience!
Look at it this way – you obey the traffic light when it turns red, why do you have such a problem obeying God?
It is our responsibility as Christians to become obedient to
the teachings that we believe (Romans