Submission to God

1 Peter 2:13-17 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

Today's devotion will likely make some of us cringe. So often people have asked, "How do I know God's will for my life?" Well, that is really an easy question to answer. God's will is found in God's Word. The truths and principles found in the Bible is God's will. Whatever He commands us to do is His will. As a matter of fact, there are even verses, like today's, where God specifically states, "For this is the will of God." So what is God's will in today's verses? In one word, it is "submission". Some of us would say, "No problem. I can submit to God." Well, in these verses God points out that submission to His Word means we are to submit to those in authority in our society. Yes, we are to submit to the ordinances of man. Note that God did not say to the ordinances that we agree with. He did not say to submit only to rulers we agree with or like. He tells us to submit to EVERY ordinance of man. The only exception to this is if we are told to do something that violates the Word of God. As His ambassadors here on earth, He commands us to represent Him in a way that stands apart from the unbeliever and how they respond to the ordinances of kings, rulers, governors, and others in authority. We are to honor people for the office they hold, not necessarily for who they are as a person or ruler. Far too many followers of Jesus become followers of the world when it comes to criticizing our leaders. We join them in name calling, judging, and criticizing, when God tells us that we are supposed to pray for our leaders. Jesus Himself submitted to Caesar by paying taxes; and when challenged, responded that we should render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's. Do we consider ourselves better than our Master? Are we above doing that which Jesus Himself did? Peter summed it up by these simple words, "Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king." In other words, "Do these things in submission to God."

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).