The
first impulse of a sinner or an immature Christian is to retaliate when
wronged. In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus called attention to the Old Testament teaching of ''an eye for
an eye''- Matt. 5:38-40; Exo. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21. The purpose of
this old testament law is often misunderstood. It is often taken to mean that
God encouraged people to retaliate when wronged by repaying them in kind. But
the main purpose was to place limits upon punishment for crimes and offenses.
The punishment should fit the crime.
Jesus
taught that Christians should patiently endure persecution by unbelievers and
even when mistreated by other Christians. Base on Prov. 3:3-4; Christians are
advised to live uprightly before all men. God wants us to live our lives to
reflect the Spirit of Christ in our dealings with others. A Christian must not
only avoid being retaliatory but must also do positive things towards his enemy
or offender. God himself set examples for us by loving us while we were yet
sinners. Acts of kindness towards one enemy results in ''heaping coals of
fire'' on his head.
The
natural human tendency is to respond to others the way they respond to us. We
must not allow ourselves to be overcome by any evil act or person that comes our
way. We must not succumb to the temptation to fight back nor take a defeatist
attitude towards our persecutors. On the contrary, we are to fight back with
good and hopefully win our enemies for Christ.
The
Church has always struggled with the matter of its relationship to the human
government. In Rom. 13:1-7, everyone is to be subject to higher authorities. It
is true that governments at times can be influenced by satanic forces, we must
remember that God is in final control of the affairs of this world.
Consequently, the refusal to submit to civil authority is equivalent to
resisting God. Therefore, such refusal results in condemnation of those who
resist.
On
the basis of the Scripture, a Christian is not under obligation to obey a law
that is in clear contradiction to the will of God. The classic example is that
of Peter and John who were forbidden before the Jewish authorities to proclaim
publicly about Jesus. Peter responded ''we ought to obey God rather than men''.
Yet, Peter himself at a later time paralleled Paul's message that we should
submit ourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake; whether it be
king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the
punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well-1 Pet.
2:13-14.
Human
government is the means chosen by God for the maintenance of law and order in
the affairs of men. God entrusted man to be governed by man. Those in places of
authority are called His servants. Therefore such authorities should not use
their positions in ways that run counter to the will of God. The alternative to
government s anarchy. The law is for the lawless. The law-abiding citizens are
not terrified by the law nor by those responsible for upholding it.
There
are times when as Christians we may find it necessary to disobey a civil law
that we feel violates God's law. We have only alternatives: to obey an
objectionable human law or to obey God's higher law. When this happens, we must
be prepared to accept the consequences of our decision which is to take the
penalty meted out by the civil government. This does not mean that we cannot
work to change civil laws and make our views known to lawmakers. But civil
disobedience is not an option for a believer.
Christians
are not permitted to choose whether or not they will pay taxes. Taxes are a
legitimate means of financing government officials and program. Paying tax is
an obligation, not an option. Fear and honor are also rendered to civil authorities. The Christian's
obligation goes beyond respect for the state. He must also demonstrate love, which
is his obligation to all. Our influence to our society as Christians are
demonstrated in two ways; like salt- we are to have a preservative, cleansing, most
times positive effect on the world., like light, we are to shine out in the
dark world, reflecting the light and the love of the gospel of Christ.
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