Repeat After Me

In our study of 1 Peter, we came to 1 Peter 2.21 in our latest message. The verse contains one “big word” that dominates it and the next few verses in the epistle. That word is “example” — translated that way in almost all the English versions I checked. A couple of versions give us…

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4 Ways to Use Your Authority like Jesus

I was sitting at lunch not too long ago with a young, successful commercial realtor in our community. He has yet to find Jesus, and I am trying to help him on His journey. During our conversation, he made a very revealing statement. He said, “Money destroys people.” He was right. Money destroys people and…

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Thinking About a Pastor in a Canadian Jail

A story out of my old home town appeared on many media outlets reported last week, including this one: Canadian Pastor Jailed Over COVID-19 Violations | Christianity Today. Of course, such stories arrest the attention of most Christians and cause immediate concern. We are sensitive to stories of persecution. Persecution is a reality in recent…

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When Should Christians Obey the Government?

As I sit down to write this article, our world is in chaos. A pandemic rocks the globe, not only taking hundreds of thousands of lives and infecting millions more but also impacting the government, economy, and social structure of every nation on earth. In such a time, we must encourage one another in the…

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The Christian and Authority

One of the most difficult subjects for Christians to be honest about is the subject of authority. The reason for this struggle is because of our innate sin nature that desires no authority but our own. We do not want anyone or anything else telling us what we can and cannot do, what we should…

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Justice vs. Authority?

One of the most frustrating aspects of the current political moment is its efforts to push us into false dichotomies. Either you support people of color, or you support law enforcement. Either you defend the President no matter what he says or does, or you like the destruction of private property and attacks on religious…

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Police (and Government Officials) as Ministers of God

Believers living in America need to give serious attention to what Paul teaches in Romans 13:1-7. He teaches that followers of Christ must conscientiously refuse to participate in any form of disrespect or disobedience to civil law and government officials. The only exception allowed by God is disobeying a law which requires disobedience to him…

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Authority: Right or Wrong?

Reynold Lemp FrontLine • September/October 2007 Authority and chain of command are terms we use when we are referring to “who is in charge.” It may be a grocery store owner, a Little League ball team manager, or a big manufacturing executive. God Himself, and only God, established authority. Even in the heavens the law…

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The Ordinances and Pastoral Authority

Thomas Overmiller A Command and a Qualification Churches need leaders, but they also need a biblical understanding of leadership. We too easily fall into the trap of the leadership craze, chasing after leadership books, flocking to leadership conferences and experimenting with all kinds of creative leadership strategies, whether secular or Christian. But biblical leadership is…

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Principles of Authority in Romans 13:1–4

Bud Steadman The story is told of a young man who was living a rebellious life and longed for his personal freedom from authority. One day in great anger he cried out, “I’m tired of my parents telling me what to do. I want to run my own life.” So, he joined the Marines. We…

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