11/13/2024
One morning in 2016 I awoke to a single thought... to who do we owe our allegiance? Perhaps this message was in response to a recent election and its unsettling aftermath, but in any case I find that we owe our first allegiance to God and His son Jesus Christ. Paul conveyed this concern to the early Christians of Corinthians when he wrote these words:
“Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.”
1 Corinthians 1:13-15 KJV
Paul said this because he feared that those around him were straying from the Gospel of Christ and revering him instead; they were missing the message and steering away from the Word as it applied to the Messiah.
I have watched the furor being stirred up by people of discord who have challenged previous presidential elections through either violence or obstructionism. This occurred following both the 2016 and 2020 elections, and both political parties were guilty. The Democrats in 2016 through obstruction, and the Republicans in 2020 using violence. I watched as those who had an agenda beyond that which had been established by the constitution of the United States sought to undermine it... and as I did, I thought about our faith and the similarity to what was happening in churches across America, and around the world as we have strayed from the Word of God in various ways in order to get our own way… subverting the will of God to achieve the will of man.
None of this is new. Even in the time of Jesus there was dissatisfaction with government. Take for instance the apostle known as Simon the Zealot. Although not all scholars believe that Simon was a Zealot, and there is some disagreement about his belonging to the Zealot group, the majority do believe he was. That disagreement is probably because some Zealots carried a dagger under their cloaks and stabbed those who performed sacrilegious acts (sound familiar?). But regardless, the movement to remove Roman influence was prevalent among Israelites.
Some who followed Jesus had radical political beliefs... they saw Him as their worldly catalyst to change; the conqueror of Rome; the dagger of religious purity. We know now that this wasn't the Messiah that was sent; Jesus came for a purpose far greater than freeing Israel from Rome, or making life on earth easier... He came to free all of mankind from sin, and he came to solidify the faithful as children of God.
We live in a "me" society these days. There are so many that feel as though there should be no rules or laws that restrict them in any way; no right or wrong, just the satisfaction of their whims. What we saw on the streets in 2016 was an extension of what we often see in our churches. Have you heard phrases like "God never intended" or "If Jesus were alive today he would say"??? Phrases like these often become precursors to an attempted modification of scripture; the "me" is preparing to emerge and twist God's Word into something that best fits someone's personal desire or lifestyle. James said it well in this scripture:
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.”
James 1:22-24 KJV
And Jesus left no doubt when He said...
“But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”
Luke 11:28 KJV
I guess it all boils down to this... if one revolts against the constitution of the United States, how can they call themselves her citizen, and likewise if we don't believe the Word of God... how can we call ourselves His children. We don't live in a stagnant world, but there are rules and laws that govern us... those societal laws provide us with peace and tranquility, and those of faith provide us with forgiveness, salvation, and eternity. Where do we owe our allegiance?
Prayer:
Thank you Father for Father for establishing your commandments and governments as boundary stones to guide us in everyday life, and faith. Shine the light of your Word Lord, and the Gospel of your son Jesus Christ, that we will place our allegiance first and foremost in you, and not in principalities, ourselves, or worldly thoughts and desires. God, lift us up in our prayers and let your Holy Spirit lead us once again to you in a mighty way. Give us revival Lord, both personal, and as a Church. Let your peace bring calm to our troubled Church and world. God, in you we trust. Holy, Holy, Holy are you our one true God who rules eternal. Holy are you who set the boundary stones of our faith, and resets them when princes and principalities attempt to remove them. Help us Father to remember the holy position of your will in our lives and not attempt to reposition it according to our own liking. Guide us through Jesus Christ, the steadfast corner stone of our faith, as He shows us the way to you, and keeps us steadfast in our belief, faith, and your Holy Word. Wash us clean in His blood, and in Him pronounce us worthy of eternal life with you. You are merciful and full of grace Abba, and we give you all the glory forevermore.
Amen, and Amen
"Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set"
Proverbs 22:28 ESV
“Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you.”
Proverbs 23:10-11 ESV
“You shall not move your neighbor's landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.”
Deuteronomy 19:14 ESV
Rich Forbes