(Further reflections on “An Avenger”—Sunday 8-Aug-2021)
Anyone who becomes an enemy of God, they are doomed. It seems like they are setup for punishment. Whatever plan/strategy they try to devise fall flat on their face. We saw in the Old Testament that all powerful nations who oppressed or attacked God’s people were faced with God’s judgment. For example, just in the Book of Isiah, we see God's Oracles Against Nations, i.e. Arabia (21:13-17); Assyria (10:5-19; 14:24-27); Babylon (13:1-14:23; 21:1-10; 46:1-47:15; Egypt (18:1-20:6), etc. What is interesting is that in order to have reasons for punishing those evil doers, God seemed to allow them to carry out their plan/scheme, He then collected the evidences and even allowed His people to go through the process of repentance, suffering, lamentation, trust, and total dependence/reliance on Him alone. What is equally perplexing is that God used the “bad guys” (wicked rulers/nations) to teach/train/chastise His sons/daughters for life lessons, too! So obviously, God’s people have always found it hard to understand why the earthly [wicked/ungodly] Oppressors/Rulers can be God’s appointed to carry His plan of making salvation available the world. , e.g. King Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1); King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3-4); Roman Empire, e.g. governor Pilate as well as God’s own wicked people, the reverent religious (ungodly) Jewish leaders at the time.
It was unthinkable for Christians then (especially the Jews who were oppressed by the Romans) as well as believers now who face a certain degree of oppression/persecution by any earthly governing authorities to hear and take God’s word in Romans 13:1-7 seriously, that is, we must submit/obey to the governing authorities. And the given reasons were/are hard to chew/swallow. They were/are instituted and appointed by God. They were/are servants of God and avengers who carry out God’s wrath on wrong doers. And not only that Christians need to agree with God’s word, they need to live it out in practical manner, that is, paying taxes, duties/revenues, respect, honor, and whatever is owed to the current ruling parties or governing authorities regardless of how good or bad/corrupted/wicked/oppressive they were/are.
“This is not fair,” some of us still cry out. There must be a retribution for the wicked/evil people. Yes, of course! But it will be in God’s terms and timing. He will be the just Judge who says the last word to wickedness and ends injustices in the world. Meanwhile, all governing authorities (wicked or righteous) are being used by Him for His "endgame."
If the above is still unacceptable to some of us, then it would also be equally unreasonable to accept the fact that we were once enemies of God, but now friends of God. Is it because of our good works or self-righteousness? Or is it because of God’s grace, love, and mercy in God’s Son, Jesus Christ who died for us while we were still sinners, His enemies. Is this fair? Humanly speaking, it is not fair to let the sinless (fully God and fully man) person die for the wicked/sinful people, isn’t it?
Now when (not if) we find it difficult to obey the governing authorities, think of God’s grace, love, and mercy that we received from God through Jesus (who obeyed God's will by being tried in the Jewish court and executed under Roman laws) and then ‘pay’ it toward those who rule over us, regardless of how good or bad they are. If we believe our God is the living God who sees and judges, then we must learn to trust and obey His word. God is ultimately responsible to handle the good, the bad, and the ugly. In obeying the governing authorities, we do not only avoid God’s wrath, but also for the sake of our conscience (cf. Romans 13:5-6). One question may still linger, “Is suffering inevitable?” Since crucifixion was part of God’s plan for Jesus, persecution is inevitable and suffering inescapable to those who follow the way of Jesus Christ and obey His word. Yes, life on earth will continue to be unfair, but our God is always just! Therefore, we are called to obediently live out the Good News of Jesus in any given situation under any given governing authorities and embrace the inevitability of suffering and the unthinkable acts of God’s grace, love, and mercy toward us and others through the One who has the ultimate power to save and judge the world at the end.
In Him,
—
Pastor Lap
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