A Bible, a guide to survival That's brought me to this place I still believe the Christian Old-time convictions Are the answer for this modern day Old saints are still praying Old sinners who are straying Are receiving God's saving grace Thank you for listening to another Everlasting Truth broadcast, where we give you everlasting truth in an ever-changing world. With Caleb Osteen, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Live Oak, Florida. And now, Brother Caleb. Alright everybody, thank you so much for joining us here yet again at the Everlasting Truth broadcast, where we give you everlasting truth in an ever-changing world. Now today, I want to build off of yesterday's broadcast, still dealing with the same subject. And as I said yesterday, I really wanted to deal with all of this stuff before the election, but it didn't work out. I believe God had other plans for that, but what I'm talking about today is still applicable even after the election, and it's how we respond to government powers, how we respond to the authorities that God has set in place. Because I saw some alarming things that before this election came through and before we knew that Donald Trump had won, there were a lot of people that were making comments and some of it was joking, but there were people making comments along the lines of anarchy and rebellion and stuff like that if Kamala Harris was to be elected. of having a civil war because our candidate didn't get elected and things of that nature. And I hear things like that from both sides. This idea of rebelling against the establishment, rebelling against the government, rebelling against authority because they're not what we would have them to be. And I do believe wholeheartedly that they're not what we would have them to be. I do not believe that either political candidate that we've been able to vote for in this election represents biblical values at their fullest. I believe one to be closer than the other and things of that nature, but I don't think any of them actually represent the Bible-believing Christian, and so we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. But if the candidate that's further away was to take office, You are not enabled as a believer to rebel against their authority, to mock them, belittle them, ridicule them, or to have some type of anarchist movement. That's not for believers. Christians don't do that. And I'm going to give you chapter and verse on that. So anyways, join me in Romans chapter number 13. Romans 13 in verse number 1. We started off in the first part of Romans 13 1 and we'll continue in the first part. I'm trying to be somewhat thorough with this, but at the same time I don't have time really in these broadcasts to deal with everything there is here for the subject. And so I hope you'll bear with me. If you've got any questions, reach out to us, correspond with us. We'd love to help you dive into this a little bit more if that would be a help to you. But anyways, Romans chapter 13 verse number 1. The Bible says, 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. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." Now, he makes a simple case here of first part of verse number one, submission. And the reason there should be submission is because of ordination, later in verse number one. You see, we submit to the government because the government is ordained by God. Even the rulers that we don't agree with, the Bible makes a clear case for the truth that God is the one who put them there. Even when wicked rulers come into play, and we don't understand why they would be there. The Bible still makes the case that God is the one who raises up kings, God is the one who sets kings down. There's a wicked king in your Old Testament by the name of Nebuchadnezzar, and guess who put him there? God put him in authority, even over his people. I want you to think about the magnitude of that. Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan king who was the king of Babylon, He worshipped false gods. He was not a godly man. He imprisoned, captured, enslaved God's people. pulled them out of Israel, took the land that God had given to Israel, made it his own, dispersed them, shipped them out of it, completely walked all over God's people. And who is the one that put them in office? If you read the book of Jeremiah and you read the pre-exile prophets, you find out God put Nebuchadnezzar in charge. As a matter of fact, God said that he was quote, my servant. God called Nebuchadnezzar his servant. Now, God used Nebuchadnezzar as a form of judgment upon the Jews, and God can use bad rulers in America as a form of judgment upon America. We're certainly worthy of judgment. God has been gracious to us, and we bless him. This election, God's been so gracious to allow us To have what we have and to see what happened what happened and so we praise God for that But we deserve judgment and if God would have put the opposite ruler in there it would have been the ruler of closer to what we truly deserve. And so while you may not understand why God puts rulers in charge, I'm sure the Jews didn't understand why Nebuchadnezzar was in charge. But the Bible still says God did it. So it builds the case in Romans 13, God ordains the power, so you better be submissive to him. because to resist the powers is to resist God, because God put them there. That's the argument of Romans 13, 1 through 3. It's very clearly laid out there, and so we have no argument against that. But we're talking about submission right now, not ordination. We'll talk some more about ordination in the broadcast to come, Lord willing, but right now we're talking about submission. And I gave you two reasons why we ought to be submissive to government. Number one, because of our Savior. And we talked in the last broadcast about the example that Jesus Christ sets as being submissive to the government. The Romans are over-imposing upon the Jews at the time of the opening of the New Testament, during the writing of the Gospels. The Romans have overtaken Jerusalem. They are charging taxes to the Jews to live in the land that is rightfully theirs. This is a wicked pagan nation that is ruling over the people of God. These are the people who will crucify Jesus. Roman centurions will shove a spear through his side, Romans will mock him, will scourge him, will take him to the whipping post, and will rip flesh from his back. And in the midst of such injustice, in the midst of such a crooked government, a civilization riddled with promiscuity and things of that nature, what did Jesus do when it came to his political obedience to government? Jesus submitted to the authorities. We talked about that yesterday. But not only do we have the example of submission to the government in our Savior, we have the clear command of submission to the government in our scriptures. And we don't have to look any further, we will, but we don't have to look any further than our text verse, Romans 13, 1. It makes it very clear there is no fine print here that we can weasel out of this. Romans 13, 1 says, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. Romans 13, 1 is scripture. And the scripture says, be subject unto the higher powers. It doesn't give a case for if you don't like them, The only time the Bible gives way for you to disobey the government, and we have talked about it, and maybe we will some more, but the only time that it gives case for you to disobey the government is when the government tells you to do something that is clearly opposed to what the Word of God already teaches on a subject. If the Word of God doesn't tell you to do something or not do it, and the government says to go against it. If that's not the case, you have to submit to your government. Because if you don't, you're out of line with the Word of God anyways. And so we are called to obey our government. Romans 13 1, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. Now, let's look at another passage really quickly. 1 Peter chapter number 2. Now, while you're flipping there, I gave some examples yesterday of times where the Bible gives an example of somebody who disobeys the government and God blesses them for it. Daniel is an example. Daniel was told he could not pray. I believe it's Daniel chapter number six and what Daniel do. The government said, Daniel, you can't pray no more. Daniel said, no, my God said I need to pray to him. Daniel opened up the windows three times a day and he prayed. Did God bring judgment and damnation on Daniel like Romans 13 talks about when you resist the government? No. God blessed Daniel. As a matter of fact, Daniel got thrown in the lion's den for it and God showed up in that den with Daniel and shut the lion's mouth and Daniel was spared. Now, why could God bless Daniel for his disobedience to the government? Because his disobedience to the government was only done because of obedience to God. So the only time you can disobey, not submit to the government is when they're telling you to do things that are contrary to the Word of God. Or earlier in the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter number three, the three Hebrew boys are about to be cast into the fire for not worshiping the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar set up. Now the government, Nebuchadnezzar, told them they had to bow to the image, but they said, we will not bow. They said, we're not careful to answer thee in this matter, O king. We're not going to bow. And God didn't judge them and punish them for that disobedience to the government. God blessed them by showing up in the fiery furnace with them. The son of God got in there and delivered them from the fire. Why? Because they had a clear command in scripture, Exodus chapter 20 said, thou shalt have no other gods before me. So no, they're not going to bow down to these things. But outside of that, what do you see Daniel doing when he is underneath the wicked pagan government of Babylon? He is submissive. He's promoted to ranks of honor because he is a good citizen. He's doing his civil duty. He's not starting a rebellion. As a matter of fact, when Jerusalem is going into captivity and Jeremiah is prophesying to them, Jeremiah says, do not resist the Babylonians. He says, if you resist this government, God is going to destroy you. So he says, just go into Babylon, get comfortable, you're going to be there for 70 years. Be a good citizen. Plant vineyards, build houses. Or Esther. When Esther got involved in the pagan government there with Persia after they overtook the Babylonians, what did Esther do? She was a good citizen, and God used her good citizenship to ultimately deliver the Jews out of the oppression that wicked Haman was trying to bring on Mordecai and the rest of the Jews. You see, God commands us to be good citizens and submissive to the government until and only when the government says disobey God. Now, let's read this very quickly in 1 Peter chapter number 2, because I got a main text I want to get to. 1 Peter chapter number 2 and verse number 12 says this, having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man. Now some of you, if Kamala Harris would have got office or if Joe Biden would have stayed in or something along those lines, you would feel justified in saying, well, I'm not obeying that man. I'm not obeying that woman. Do you know who they are? Do you know what they stand for? I'm not obeying them. Well, the Bible says, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man. He says, but you don't do it for man's sake. He says, you do it for the Lord's sake. Verse 13 says. Because remember, the government is put there by God. So when you obey the government, you're obeying the ordinance of God and the ordination of God. He says, Whether it be to the king as supreme, verse 14, 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. For so is the will of God that with well doing ye may put into silence the ignorance of foolish men. as free, and not using your liberty as a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king." And so he teaches this idea of submitting to the government, but I want to go to a text that I believe is a key text for this that I think many of us have missed, and I hope this will settle down in your soul, because if it does, I think it'll challenge you. Look at the book of Titus. I want you to visit Titus chapter three. I want to talk to you about Titus chapter number three, because I believe Titus chapter number three speaks to us in the context in which we live. You and I live in an age where anybody can get on social media and can mock, ridicule, belittle, and tear down members of the opposing political party and be supported with likes and comments and shares and retweets and all this kind of stuff and be supported in their belittlement of other people on the other side of the aisle. Social media will allow you to do that. Society will encourage you in doing that. The Word of God forbids you from doing that. And I want you to see what he says here. And this is a challenge because we live in a day and an age where we are told if something doesn't line up, with what you think, then you're to blast it, and you are to mock it, and you're to ridicule it, and you're to tell everybody how you feel. You get on Facebook, and there's a little line there that says, what's on your mind? And social media is geared at getting you to tell people how you feel. Social media might be wanting you to tell people how you feel. The Spirit of God, though, isn't always telling you to tell people how you feel. Titus chapter 3 verse number 1 says, put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work. And so he tells us to be subject, to be submissive, to be obedient to the principalities, to the powers, to the magistrates, to be ready to every good work. He goes on in verse number two, he says, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers. If there's anything the political climate has made us, it's made us brawlers. We fight to the death for our party. We fight to the death for our leaders. We fight to the death for these kinds of things. And if you're not on my army, then. We don't care about the casualties on the other side. People get excited, as a matter of fact, when people on the other side are degraded and made to look foolish and things of that nature. That's not the person Titus 3.2 is describing. Titus 3.2 is describing somebody who speaks evil of no man. They're not a brawler, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. Now I want you to notice that it says, showing all meekness unto all men, all of them, every one of them. Even those who you and I differ with politically, and I'm not telling you I'm on their side, I promise you I'm not. I'm against anything that's in favor of murdering children, and men and men being together, and women and women being together, and men becoming women supposedly, and women supposedly becoming men, and child mutilation. I am 110% against all of those things, just like my Savior was. The difference is, you didn't find Jesus fighting against that kind of stuff in a political party. You found him fighting against it at the soul level. fighting against it in prayer, fighting against it with the gospel, fighting against it with the Word of God, fighting against it in evangelism. You won't find him fighting these types of sin problems with political parties. And this is the problem. We have a sin issue in our country, and we're trying to fix it with political party Band-Aids. And they keep falling off, and they never fix the problem. And the government and the media keeps convincing you that if you support your party well enough, that all of these problems will be fixed. I'm telling you, your party isn't going to fix anything. Only Christ can. And for Christ to fix it, that other party that you're against needs to see Christ in you. Let's move on, verse number three. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we had done, but according to His mercy, He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Let's talk about this very quickly. In verse number one, he gives you some actions. This is what he tells you to do. He says, be subject to principalities. He says, obey magistrates. Those are actions. Those are things he's calling you to do. Be submissive to the government. Verse one deals with actions. Verse two deals with your attitude. He says, don't belittle other people. Verse two, to speak evil of no man. Now the context in verse number one was obeying government. So the context is those in authority, those in power. And he says in verse two, don't speak evil of no man. That means you're not at liberty to make degrading, belittling, mocking comments at anybody just because they're on the other side of the aisle of you doesn't mean you can talk down about them and talk down to them. I am certainly not a Joe Biden fan. But some of the jokes and the mocking and the belittling that has been made of this man is unbiblical, it's unscriptural, and it's sinful on the part of those that do it, because the Bible says you're not at liberty to do that. Because remember, God put him there. Whether you agree with him or not, God put him there. So there's to be no belittling. Now, that doesn't mean we don't speak out against issues and things that are wrong. There are many things that him and his party are dead wrong about, and it needs to be stood up to. But I want you to think about everywhere in the scriptures, when there's something wrong, the Bible, it speaks of the subject being wrong, but it doesn't tear down the people. And here's what I mean by that. When Demas was wrong in 2 Timothy, and Paul writes and he says, Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, Paul told the truth and said, Demas is wrong. He forsook me. But what Paul didn't do is make a bunch of jokes and call Demas a bunch of names and tear him down for an entire chapter. He said, Demas is wrong, that's not the way you do it, and he moved on. We're not doing that in our political climate. Today we're saying, well, so-and-so is wrong, and then we make jokes and memes and all this kind of stuff, and we mock and we degrade. That's not Bible. That's unchrist-like. not belittling. He goes on about your attitude in verse number two, and he says not fighting. Speak evil of no man, and he says to be no brawlers. Politics has turned out to be an all-out brawl, and according to verse number two, Christians aren't to have a part in brawling. We speak the truth, we don't brawl. We don't fight like that. Remember, we talked about it in the last broadcast. We fight in the spiritual realm. We fight in prayer. We fight with the word of God. We fight with preaching. We fight with the gospel. We fight with our lifestyle. We don't fight in political arenas. That's not the way we fix it. He says not fighting. He says to be mild. Verse number three says, uh, speak evil of no man, be no brawlers. He says, but gentle. Let me ask you this. When you have a political conversation with somebody on the other side of the aisle, does not being a brawler and being gentle, does that describe the way you handle those conversations? Are you a little bit aggressive about it? A little bit hard, a little kind of mocking. If so, we're approaching these things the wrong way. He says to be meek in the last part of verse number two, showing all meekness unto all men. And I want you to see this. Here's why. And the last part, verse number three, the, the approach. Here's why you approach them that way. Even though. People on the other side of the political aisle from you may be wrong, even though they may have sinful convictions, sinful activities, Yes, you stand against it. No, you don't have room to mock them, though, belittle them, and tear them down. You want to know why? Because you used to be hung up in the same sinful tendencies and the same sinful thinking that they are. And that's the case verse 3 makes. Look at what he says. Verse number 1, he gave you the actions. Be submissive. Verse number 2, he gave you the attitude. Be gentle. Verse number 3, he gives you the approach. He says, here's why. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after that the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." You see what he says there? You say, I can't get along with them because they're foolish. They're deceived. Their policies are foolish. Their policies are deceitful. And you know what he says in verse number three? He says, yeah, you used to be like that too, when you were lost. And he said, God was kind to you. Verse number four, the kindness and the love of God towards man appeared. He says, God was kind to you. God wasn't mocking, belittling you and tearing you down when you were wrong. And He says, so when you approach others who are wrong, approach them with grace, because that's how God approached you. I hope this challenges the way we handle things. Maybe if we'll handle these things right, maybe we can actually sway people into the truth. But so long as we're acting like they are and meeting them at their level, we're not going to be able to do it. Let's rise to the bar, the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, and let's be the light He called us to be. God bless you, friend. We'll see you soon. A guide to survival that's brought me to this place. I still believe the Christian old-time convictions are the answer for this modern day. Old saints are still praying, old sinners who are straying are receiving God's saving grace. ♪ Yes, the old rugged cross is still saving the lost ♪ ♪ Thank God some things never change ♪ Brother Caleb wants to thank you for listening today to Everlasting Truth. Please send all correspondence to Everlasting Truth, 10886 Florida 51, Live Oak, Florida, 32060. Until next broadcast time, may the Lord richly bless each of you.