THURSDAY October 15, 2020

Honoring Government

For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.
Romans 13:4

Paul knew that God had given authority to government agencies: the police department, military, even the CIA. They are established to protect us, our rights, and our country from communism. These people are described as God’s ministers, appointed by God to execute wrath. They are constantly patrolling. If you are not guilty of anything, then you have nothing to fear, but if you are doing evil––robbing a store or killing someone, then you are going to jail or you could even lose your life.

Paul had refuted the position of any person who felt they should not obey the government. He gave biblical reasons why Christians should be in subjection to the laws of the state, and government. We should obey the government so long as the government does not interfere with our Churches freedoms to worship God or hinder us in our personal relationship with Him.

Why did the Pilgrims leave England? They sought religious freedom as King James 1 had established laws to restrict people from all other independent congregations. They were to only attend the Anglican Church. All others were outlawed. On September 16, 1620 pilgrims set sail on the Mayflower and arrived in Plymouth harbor in December that same year.

Plymouth Rock marks the traditional site where William Bradford and other Pilgrims set foot on land and settled in Plymouth. From the very beginning, they brought us the living Word of God and established our faith in Christ. Think about our Constitution. It was written by our founding fathers who were God-fearing men. The Constitution was based upon Christian principles.

“We hold the truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
~Drafted by Thomas Jefferson~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!