Most Christians know we’re supposed to respect authority.
The Bible tells us to honor government leaders, submit to those in authority, respect our employers, support church leadership, and honor God’s design within the family.
But what happens when those authorities ask us to do something God forbids—or forbid something God commands?
Where is the line?
Would you know what to do if obeying God put your job at risk? If following Christ created tension in your family? If speaking the truth cost you friendships, opportunities, or even your reputation?
In today’s reading, Peter and John find themselves facing that very dilemma. Their response reveals a principle every believer needs to understand, especially as our culture becomes increasingly hostile to biblical truth.
The answer may be more challenging—and more encouraging—than you expect.
Music has the power to do good and evil. The songs we sing can be powerful tools for teaching, persuading, and helping us remember things. They can trigger the imagination and stir our hearts.
Have you ever heard a song and been quickly taken back to a different time? And how many childhood songs do you remember 20, 30, or 40 years later? Why is music so powerful?
What kind of music do you listen to? Does it help you walk closer to God? Or does it draw you into the world? What kind of worship music do you sing? Does it make much of God or much of man? Why are the songs we sing so important?
A few years ago, as I was reading about the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Booths, and all the animal sacrifices required, I thought about a funny thing that happened years before and how a sarcastic teenager reminded me about the cost of our redemption.
Also, what does a law about keeping our word have to say about God’s view of authority, and how do we demonstrate our obedience in this area to our children and others?
While we’re not of this world, we are to live in it. But are there times when we need to remove ourselves and our families from certain environments, whether that is a workplace, a school system, a circle of friends, or a city? If so, how do we stay strong enough in the Lord to be salt and light, yet discerning enough to know when it’s time to go?
Also, read about what Jesus said about respect for authority, His Mercy in our weakness, and the importance of allowing God’s Word to control our inner attitudes, as well as, our outward actions.
What is God’s “umbrella of protection,” and how do we stay under it in the home, in the workplace, and in other areas of life? How, also, do we put ourselves outside of His protective authority? And how does the Church itself act as an umbrella of protection for its members?
Authority. Most of us bristle at the thought of someone telling us what to do. Add to that the culture’s attitude toward our perceived rights and feminism’s influence on marriage and you have a cocktail of silent, when not outward, rebellion.
While it’s true that authority has been abused, rejected, and reversed, God is a God of order and He has ordained authority as part of that order. No matter what we think, we are not living obediently before God if we aren’t fully submitted to the authority He has placed in our lives. But human authority is not unlimited.
So, what does submission to authority look like? And what are the limits on authority?
Also, true worship is more than a time of music and singing. True worship involves how we live our lives. Whether we obey God (including our submission to authority) or harden our hearts to His commands are both a demonstration of who we worship … ourselves and our autonomy or God.
