12:13 ¶ And one of the
company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the
inheritance with me. 14 And he said unto
him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? 15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware
of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things
which he possesseth. 16 And he spake a
parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth
plentifully: 17 And he thought within
himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my
fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do:
I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my
fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say
to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease,
eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But
God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of
thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for
himself, and is not rich toward God.
I thought this was
interesting on one part because here Christ denies any involvement in civil
law. This brought to mind another important statement of His.
John 18:36 Jesus answered,
My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then
would my servants fight, that I should not
be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
Again, when you
consider other passages like the one where Peter asks about paying taxes…
Matthew 17:24 ¶ And when
they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?
25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come
into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom
do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of
strangers? 26 Peter saith unto him, Of
strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. 27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them,
go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh
up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that
take, and give unto them for me and thee.
…Jesus even pays them
in a supernatural act, miraculously. Indeed, it appears that there is no
warrant to justify being rebellious against the laws of the land in which you
live for the fruits or proof of your being a Christian outwardly cannot be
legislated against.
Galatians 5:22 But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against
such there is no law.
James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit
the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
See what Paul and Peter
also said;
Romans 13:1 ¶ Let every
soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the
powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power,
resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to
themselves damnation. 3 For rulers are
not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of
the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for
good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the
sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth
evil. 5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only
for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for
they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
1Peter 4:15 But let none of
you suffer as a murderer, or as
a thief, or as an evildoer, or
as a busybody in other men’s matters.16 Yet if any
man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify
God on this behalf.
The exception appears
only to be when the secular rulers demand that you disobey what God has called
you to do in proclaiming Christ and His gospel to the world.
Acts
5:26 ¶ Then went the captain with the
officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest
they should have been stoned. 27 And
when they had brought them, they set them
before the council: and the high priest asked them, 28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that
ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with
your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. 29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather
than men.
Don’t use Christ as a
justification for your seditious, rebellious heart. If you want to make a case
for resistance against everything from a local zoning ordinance to the federal
tax code then make it based on sound political arguments, moral arguments, or
personal opinion or self-interest but don’t use the name of God to justify your
unwillingness to do what lawful authority tells you to do.
This doesn’t mean we
don’t fight and try to change unjust laws like the ones that permit and even
encourage infanticide or encourage depraved behavior or try to limit the power
and scope of government over our lives as citizens. It just means to be careful
how you bring your Saviour into the argument. In the end all of the laws,
institutions, and structures of your country will be burned up and in eternity
be totally meaningless. Keep in mind that the government is not a fit
substitute for God though Christians have made it so. The three branches of
proper government are not found in Washington, D.C. but under God’s righteous
authority.
Isaiah 33:22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is
our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.
Notice Isaiah said the
LORD, not the Supreme Court, Congress, or the President.
One of the great and
profound statements of the Bible is found in verse 15 and it goes against
American ideals completely. We’ve always been taught that more is good and that
we should stay hungry, so to speak, and never be satisfied or content. But, as
Paul said;
1Timothy 6:6 ¶ But
godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be
therewith content. 9 But they that will
be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in
destruction and perdition. 10 For the
love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they
have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11
But thou, O man of God, flee these
things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience,
meekness. 12 Fight the good fight of
faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast
professed a good profession before many witnesses.
You who are proud of
your possessions, have worked hard to get them and work even harder to keep and
maintain them, must understand that God is the possessor of all and they will
be taken from you, or you from them, in an instant. Someone else will enjoy
them if they do not perish.
Verse 21 shows that
your passion for your temporary possessions does not reflect a passion for God.
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