Articles
God First - Country Second
I'm not here to say whether or not I wanted Joe Biden as my president, or whether or not the election was ridden with fraud or any of those other things that are topics of the day. My goal is to remind us of what God said centuries before Joe Biden was born. Christians have had this charge since Christ left the earth and left His Apostles to teach His followers how to live.
“First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior” (1 Tim. 2:1-3) "Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished." (Rom 13:1-2) “Render, therefore, unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God, the things that are God’s.” (Rom 12:17)
Our job is to submit ourselves to the government, and to pray for them. They will do things we don't agree with, and there will be times we can't support what they do if they transgresses the laws of God. But we are obligated as Christians to respond as we are directed in scripture because we are Christians first, and citizens of this great country second.
We should pray for wisdom for our President and his cabinet, and for every elected and appointed leader. Yes, they work for us and they won't be perfect, hence the need for much prayer. We likewise need to pray for our country, as God tells us to submit. Working together and with God's answer to our prayers, we can help in the direction the country goes. We should pray for the church and every member in it, and for these outside the church who are our fellow citizens. Our prayers should include a plea for God's will to be done by both leaders and citizens.
There is a time and a place to reject the rule of those in power. Our best example is in Acts ch-5, when Peter and others had been told repeatedly to stop preaching "in this name" or in the name of Christ Jesus. Peter, in front of the ruling authorities says, "We must obey God rather than human beings!" (5:29) God expects us to obey Him first and foremost and when and if our leaders command us to violate our commitment to God, then we choose God. We are not directed to organize or participate in violence toward a corrupt government. We are commanded to be peaceable citizens. So we need to be prepared for these times, because they may well come our way.
Let us all increase our prayer time concerning our country, its citizens and particularly our new leaders. May His will be done in all things.
