Question of the Week: Obedience or Submission?

by Anne Lang Bundy

A biblical look at "Submission to Authority" was planned as one post but is being stretched into three:

February 4: Submit to Bad Government?
February 11: Obedience or Submission?
February 18: Balance in Marital Submission?

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"Duty does not have to be dull.
Love can make it beautiful and fill it with life."
~ Thomas Merton

Photo from "The Notebook"
© 2004 New Line Cinema
image source: rottentomatoes.com

The question planned for this week was How is submission in marriage different than submission to government? Before answering that, it might be helpful to correct an oversight in last week's answer, and distinguish subtle differences between obedience and submission.

The dictionary says that to obey is "to carry out or comply with command, authority, or instruction." To submit is "to surrender or yield oneself to the will or authority of another."

Obedience is more about action. Submission is more about attitude. It is possible to obey the letter of the law without submitting to the spirit of the law.

While God's grace is abundant in the Old Testament, emphasis is that obedience results in blessing, while disobedience leads to consequences. The New Testament in Jesus teaches that more important than strict compliance with the letter of God's law is the higher standard of submission to the spirit of His law, which is love.

The key New Testament passage about submission to governing authorities is Romans 13. The spirit of submission is described in the same chapter as follows:

Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
~ Romans 13:7-10 (NIV)

Last week's post made this statement:
There are three areas of authority mentioned in Scripture—government, church, and family. The same principle generally applies to all three—obey authorities unless they command what God forbids or they forbid what God commands.

The principle of love acts not according to mere duty, but according to what is in the best interest of both authority (neighbor) and myself, in light of eternity and God's truth. It is possible to be both disobedient in action and submissive in spirit.

Where marriage is concerned, the Bible teaches that balance comes not only in understanding the distinction between obedience and submission, but in understanding how both husband and wife submit to each other.

More on that next week.

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Submit to Bad Government?

by Anne Lang Bundy

A biblical look at "Submission to Authority" was planned as one post but is being stretched into three:

February 4: Submit to Bad Government?
February 11: Obedience or Submission?
February 18: Balance in Marital Submission?

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Since the Bible says submit to governing authorities, what do you do when government is bad?
~ M.V.

How much of government is truly good? All authority is comprised of sinful humans who err, and are sometimes downright bad.

There are three areas of authority mentioned in Scripture—government, church, and family. The same principle generally* applies to all three—obey authorities unless they command what God forbids or they forbid what God commands.

That principle harmonizes two contrasting Bible passages:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God... For he is God's minister to you for good.
~ Romans 13:1,4 (NKJV)

and:

Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!"
~ Acts 5:29 (NIV)

The three authorities are separate and independent, as long as they don't violate another realm of authority. For example, parents have authority to use corporal punishment on their children. But if they become abusive and violate criminal laws against assault, the government exercises authority over the parents. On the other hand, if one level of government violates parental rights, parents may appeal to a higher level of government.

Likewise, separation of church and state does not mean that religion may not influence government, but that church and government recognize the separate areas of authority that the other holds.

It may be helpful to remember that Paul wrote the above passage to the Romans—Christians living right under the nose of a pagan emperor. Paul well understood that he directed submission to bad government—but only when obedience was not sinful.

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh...
~ 1 Peter 2:18 (NKJV)

We hope for morality in the authorities over all three areas, and that they rule rightly because they are good, or at least because they have fear for their accountability to God. When authority asks something of us we don't want to do, we have several options:

– Submit quietly when a matter is not worthy of dissension, for the sake of peace and order. Regular contention over trivial matters reduces our credibility when we must speak up over a more serious matter.

– If a matter is worthy of the effort, wait for the right time, and then respectfully request dialogue and/or make an appeal, being prepared to provide additional information or perspective which gives an authority reason to reconsider.

– If such dialogue is unsuccessful, carefully and prayerfully consider if the matter rises to the level of justifying disobedience, with or without appeal to another authority—including God. Disobedience to authority always risks consequences, and we have no way of knowing how far suffering might ultimately extend.

... But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.
~ 1 Peter 2:20-21 (NKJV; full context: 1 Peter 2:13-21)

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: gospelmet.wordpress.com

Psychological First Aid

Last week I spent four days in Orlando training with first responders: police officers, fire fighters, emergency medical personnel, you know, the people you call when you are having a really bad day.

The purpose of the training was to help these practiced individuals learn techniques they can use to support each other when one or more of them have been exposed to an unusual incident that might lead to post traumatic stress.

First responders know something the rest of us sometimes have a hard time figuring out. In a crisis, life is hard, often lethal, when we try to go through it alone.

We are meant to rely on each other. That is how God created us. We are stronger when we support and look out for each other.

Scripture teaches us that, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

We are stronger when we band together. We are infinitely stronger when we invite God into our relationships. We experience God through each other. When we are in His will, He is manifest through our lives.

"Father, thank you for the people who are willing to put their lives at risk to keep us safe, be with them, give them courage and wisdom, and protect them, in Jesus name we pray."

Question of the Week: Aren't Rules of Forgiveness Unfair?

by Anne Lang Bundy

"We are most like men when we judge.
We are most like God when we forgive."
~ Anonymous

If God required a sacrifice to forgive, why should I be asked to forgive without receiving one?
~ Anonymous

In the parable of the unforgiving servant, how could the master put the servant in prison for a debt that had been forgiven?
~ J.F.

Since the master in the parable represents God, both questions imply that God unfairly applies the rules of forgiveness. There are innumerable responses that might offered for the first question. The answer offered here today will address the aspect of ownership, nicely illustrated by the parable in the second question.

Declaring bankruptcy was not an option in ancient times. Debts were paid by selling your possessions, by selling your family members or yourself as slaves, or by going to prison unless someone of means paid the debt on your behalf. Jesus tells a parable of a servant who owes millions of dollars. His master says the man, his family, and his possessions will be sold in payment. The man begs for mercy and patience to make good on his debt—as if he can. The master shows great mercy by simply forgiving the debt.

Take note that the servant is already a slave (Greek doulos). All he has belongs to the master anyway. Being sold would have separated him from his family and given him a different master, but forgiveness has not given him ownership of himself. The forgiven slave still serves at his master's pleasure, and he has incurred a new debt—the debt of gratitude.

The master owns the slave, the debt, all assets the slave considers his own, and all the slave's service. The master also owns a fellow slave whom the first slave assaults and imprisons for a minor debt. And since the master owns both slaves, he actually owns that minor debt, too. In forgiving the first debt and wiping the slate clean, the master has effectively wiped out the associated debt of the second slave.

If debtor's prison serves as punishment and deterrent for willfully acquiring debt without ability or intent to repay, then the first slave deserved prison in the first place. His refusal to extend a small measure of mercy not only proves him evil and unworthy of the mercy he received, but his ingratitude trivializes the master's goodness. The slave's actions say to the master: "What you gave me is insignificant compared to what this other slave should give me."

Jesus Christ is the payment for our sins, and not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world.
~ 1 John 2:2 (GW)

When Jesus was crucified, His sacrifice paid the death penalty every one of us owes God for our sins. Once I accept application of that payment to my account, it also wipes out whatever sin debt I think someone else owes me, and which is actually owed to our mutual Master.

Though we may ask for our offenders to be held accountable, we cannot ask for sacrifice. The sacrifice for all sin has already been made.

[POST SCRIPT: Please see the comments below for more discussion of Jesus' atonement and God's authority to require it.]

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For more on the reasons to forgive and the associated blessings, see Why Forgive?

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
image source: jshinn.wordpress.com

Question of the Week: What about the Jews?

by Anne Lang Bundy

Western Wall, Temple Mount, Jerusalem
Photo credit: Rafael Ben-Ari

Are the Jews of today heirs to the covenant made with Abraham? Are all Jews saved? Will the Lord ... allow resurrected Jews to accept Christ?
~ T. Anne Adams

God does not forget the people of His covenants or fail to provide for them.

When Jeremiah 31:31-37 prophesies of the New Covenant (the covenant established through Jesus's death), the Lord makes clear that not only is Israel heir to that covenant, but He gives the covenant specifically to Israel.

Jesus directed His Jewish followers to actively seek converts to the New Covenant. More Gentiles than Jews accepted it, and those New Covenant Jews assimilated with Gentiles and ceased practicing the Old Covenant. In time, New Covenant Jews were no longer distinguished as Jews, while Old Covenant Jews still are. This has resulted in a notion called Replacement Theology, which says the church of Jesus has replaced Israel as heir to the promises which God made to His chosen people.

Replacement Theology is not Scriptural. Although the covenant made with Moses was made obsolete by the New Covenant, covenants made with Noah, Abraham, and David are still in effect.

However, Jews are not heirs to God's covenants because of their human bloodline, but because of their faith:

Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
~ Galatians 3:6-7 (NKJV)

Righteousness has always come by faith in the Lord and calling upon His name (Romans 10:11-13). All Jews are not saved, because not all Jews have the faith of Abraham. But there are many Jews with the faith of Abraham who do not yet know Jesus is their Messiah. God has promised a day when they will accept Jesus as their Lord.

Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved.
~ Romans 11:25-26 (NKJV)

"All Israel" refers not to every Jew, but every Jew of faith. There are numerous interpretations of how Israel will be saved in connection with The Tribulation and end times. But the Bible indicates there is no second chance to come to faith after death.

The Lord has already begun to fulfill this last verse. He not only restored Israel as a nation just 63 years ago, after 1878 years with no country, but many Jews have come to faith in Jesus since that time. My own take on "until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" is that a day will come when the Lord reveals to all of faithful Israel that Jesus is Messiah, and that the Holy Spirit will not bring any more Gentiles to faith when that point is reached.

I personally believe the end is very near.

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: What does Sanctified Mean?

What did Jesus mean when He said He sanctified Himself?
~ Bud Ezekiel

This question comes from the following prayer of Jesus, immediately before His crucifixion:

"They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth."
~ John 17:16-19 (NKJV)

The word "sanctify" means to set apart as holy. Jesus was already absolutely holy before His crucifixion, so what could sanctify Him?

He appears to be referring to the sacrifice of Himself He is about to make, and how this affects us. When considering what the words may have meant to Jesus, these words can be applied to a Christian's day to day life.

In the Old Testament, some animals were set apart from the rest of the herd or flock for the purpose of being sacrificed to God. But if a priest rejected an animal as blemished, it would be used for other, non-sacred purposes. The set apart animal wasn't completely sacred, or sanctified, until the sacrifice was completed.

During Jesus' earthly ministry, He was completely set apart to do His Father's work. If He had healed and driven out demons, preached repentance, revealed the Father to us, set a good example for us, and then returned to Heaven without dying on the cross, we would have surely judged His ministry excellent.

But His ministry would have served us for only this world.

Jesus went further. He also set Himself apart as a sacrifice for sin, and then perfected that sanctification with the completion of sacrifice. Jesus didn't simply come to make our lives better in this world. He laid down His life in payment for our sin so we could have the eternal life that begins in this world, bypasses all spiritual death, and continues into the next world.

We receive eternal life when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and give ourselves to Him. Although salvation justifies us by changing our status before God from "sinner" to "righteous saint," the process of being set apart from the world—while at the same time being sent out into the world—continues with every choice we make. Even matters as simple as what to wear or eat provide opportunity to testify, "I live for this world," or, "I live for God."

Truth sanctifies us. Example: If I make lifestyle choices which indulge my desires, and I tell myself it doesn't matter, I believe a lie and live for this world. If I know the truth which says my body is set apart to God as His Holy Spirit's temple, and that knowledge prompts me to make healthy choices, then the truth sanctifies me.

Each sacrifice, however large or small, sanctifies us. The process of being increasingly set apart to God not only honors Him, but enables us to experience His presence and eternal life more fully.

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: worshipconcordjournal.wordpress.com

Question of the Week: Do Christians Sin?

"Good and Evil: The Devil Tempting a Young Woman"
Andre Jacques Victor Orsel 1832
Image source: art.com

Is it true that Christians "can't" sin?
~ Hannah Meyer

This question usually arises from 1 John 3:9-10. Here's the Analytical Literal Translation (ALT) text:

Every one having been begotten from God is not practicing sin, because His seed abides in him, and he is not able to be sinning, because he has been begotten from God. By this are revealed [who are] the children of God and the children of the devil: every one not practicing righteousness is not from God, and the one not loving his brother.

Here is why the child of God, born again in Jesus, does not sin.

God's Word reproduces spiritual life in His children, not sin.
To be "begotten from God," is to be born again through the seed of God. Whether seed is of a plant, human, or God Himself, "seed" implants and reproduces life. God's seed is His Word (logos, Greek for "word"), whether manifest as Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), or as the living sayings of God from the Bible (Hebrews 4:12). If the Word of God is implanted in a person and takes hold, the spiritual life of God is reproduced in His new child.

God's children gain the legal standing of Jesus—"righteous."
Those who receive God's seed—His Word, Jesus—and allow it to reproduce spiritual life are born as immortal, spiritual beings. God does not call us His children as only an affectionate metaphor. We receive a legal status of child and heir. We receive Jesus' life (sinless) in place of our life (sinful). Our standing before God is changed from "sinner" to "righteous." We are no longer guilty of any sin. No matter what we do, it is not counted against us as sin.

God's children grow in likeness to God, hating sin ...
Though we gain a new spiritual status, we continue to live in sinful flesh, which dies. As we grow in likeness to God, sin is something we will become increasingly aware of (see Romans 7:15-20), continue to repent of, and hate enough to not willfully practice. Paul describes the situation of sinning but hating it as "wretched," and comforts us with the words, "Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."

... while practicing righteousness and love.
Children of the King are royalty, who are not judged by the law, but are instead members of His court, outside the law. However, the King holds His royal children to a higher standard of character than mere duty to obey the law. We are to behave as royalty, like the King Himself, out of love for our Father. And though we are no longer subject to the death penalty of law, we are subject to the discipline of our Father, Who takes a dim view of His children defaming His name with bad behavior.

A shorter explanation might modify the cancer mantra and simply say, "I may have sin, but sin doesn't have me."

For further information on this topic, readers may be interested in
"Lie of Hell #2: No More Worry About Sin."

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.