by Mr. Francis D'Souza
Teachings can be classified into two heads – inspirational and instructional. Both of them are equally important for growth and maturity. There is something called "ACTS" for the Christian life :
A Admit (that I am a sinner)
C Commit (the Lord is looking not for aimless wanderers but for people who will serve Him no matter what.
T Transmit (to share with others the goodness of the Lord)
S Submit (submission is on two axis – the vertical and horizontal).
Vertical submission is submission to God, and the term that is synonymous with this submission is 'obedience' which is the true test of our discipleship (refer Jn 14). Whereas we have no problem with vertical submission, we have plenty of problems with the horizontal submission and hence a close look at this subject will be very helpful.
To submit, is to place ourselves under the control of another. For a better understanding, we also look at the other words used for submission i.e. obey, accept, respect, honour, subordinate and yield.
Why must I submit?
A study of Romans 13:1&2 gives four answers.
- Because God's Word requires us to submit
- All authorities that are in the world are instituted by God
- Those who resist God instituted authorities, disobey God.
- Those who disobey God, incur punishment.
Whom do we submit to?
Wives to the husband : Ephesians 5:24. As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Children to parents : Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1 - Children, obey your parents (in the Lord), for this is right.
Followers to leaders : Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and yield to them, for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account, that they may fulfill their task with joy and not with sorrow, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Slaves to Masters (Employees to Employers) 1 Peter 2:18 Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and equitable but also to those who are perverse.
Citizens to rulers : 1 Peter 2:13-14 Be subject to every human institution for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the approval of those who do good.
To each other : Ephesians 5: 21 Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. 6
Examples of submission
- Jesus was obedient to his parents (Luke 2:51).
- In the garden of Gethsamane, Jesus said to his father "not my will, but Thy will be done", thereby subjecting himself to the Father's authority.
- Mary did it when she said "be it done to me according to Thy will"
In what way do we resist, reject and disobey authority?
By talking against the authorities, even if it is the truth. Numbers 12: 8 "…How dare you speak against my servant Moses?" Because she grumbled against authority, the Lord inflicted Miriam with leprosy. How much worse will it be if we speak something untrue against the one in authority. These issues are excuses to speak against the authorities, under the garb of "concern".
By breaking off
Due to excessive focus on gifts, we see ourselves as superior and indispensable, and so we declare ourselves independent. Let us be aware that when it comes to the awards presentation, the criteria will not be "gifts" but "fruit". Jesus says "a tree is known by its fruit". By breaking off, we always tend to carry our so called "faithful disciples". This work of division is not of the Lord, because the Lord's prayer for eternity is John 17:21 "Father make them one just like You and I are one".
By supporting breakaway leaders
The breakaway leaders are saying the following :
- "If I join that group, I will lose my leadership".
- "They are not giving me teachings over there".
- "That group has too many problems within itself".
- "My independence will be curbed".
- "My kingdom come" instead of "Thy kingdom come".
The whole problem is that these kind of leaders are insisting on the' "my way" approach. There is a great danger for lone ranger ministries or one-man army ministries because they are vulnerable to attack from the evil one whose strategy is "go for the top man". Hence there is no guarantee that this breakaway group will not further divide. The greatest scandal in the Christian Church is the number of churches that are operating. It is said that there are three things that even God does not know : 1. How many congregations of nuns there are. 2. How much money the Salasians have. 3. What the Jesuit will do next. We could add a fourth one, which is : How many churches are there in His kingdom.
Make the breakaways aware of Romans 13:1-2 - Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God.
Therefore, whoever resists authority, opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it, will bring judgment upon themselves.
Advantages of submission :
1. Submission begets submission. The Roman centurion in Mathew 8 told Jesus that the servants under him obey his every command. They submit to him because he himself is under a long line of authority and he submits to each of them. The best example of submission is the Catholic Church. We respect the priest because he yields to the bishop, who in turn submits to the Archbishop and the Archbishop accepts the authority of the Holy Father as the Holy Father is in total submission to the authority of God.
2. We are most useful to God when we are submissive. eg. the horse which is eight times stronger and much bigger than a human being, is only useful to man when he is submissive. Only then can he be used for farming, for transport and for sport. Otherwise the horse becomes a case of "able but not available".
3. Submission is the secret of unity. If all the people submit to one leader, there will be one body and one mission.
Difficulty
Do we submit to authorities who are hypocritical, insincere, corrupt, cruel, harsh? The answer is found in Mathew 23:3 where Jesus says "listen to what they teach you but don't imitate them."
Paul in Acts 23:5 apologised for speaking against the High Priest (even though the High Priest was not being just).
David was being sought after by King Saul and wanted to kill him. And yet David had two occasions when he could have killed Saul and he was being encouraged by his men to do so. But what David did is given in the following scriptures : 1 Samuel 24:6 and
1 Samuel 26:9. "How dare anyone lay his hands on the Lord's anointed?"
Let us remember that we are not called to evaluate the authorities placed above us but to submit to them