Respect the Law of the Land
ICS Daily Devotions
Matthew 2:3-4 (NKJV) When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
King Herod the Great was the ruling authority at the time of Jesus’ birth. Threatened by the news brought about by the wise men, about how they had followed a star, and the King of the Jews would be born, he tried to hinder the work of God because he thought that Jesus’ birth would overthrow his kingdom. Likewise, the ruling parties of today’s various nations are afraid that they will be overthrown by the opposition parties’ schemes.
Romans 13:1(NKJV) Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
It is God who established the different authorities and governments in this world. God has taught us to be submissive to the ruler of our nation and not to create trouble. In fact, Christians are a blessing to all nations because well-taught believers are law-abiding citizens.
God is a God of order and not chaos. Therefore God’s people should also be people who respect law and order. The above Scripture teaches us to respect the law of the land. Jesus also said to give to Caesar what is due to Caesar and to God what is due to God (Matthew 22:21). Therefore, Christians should not evade tax, disrespect the law of the land, or bring chaos to society. We ought to pay corporate and income taxes to the authorities and tithes to the Lord. We are to work within the system to practise our walk with the Lord, and to make Him known to the lost.
John 18:36 (NKJV) Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
All that we see and experience is temporal, and God is more interested in the eternal. Because many Jews at the time thought that Jesus would be the earthly king to deliver them from King Herod, Jesus clarified that His Kingdom was not of this world. When Jesus was arrested, He could have commanded six legions of angels to defend him (Matthew 26:53), but He never did because Jesus was not interested in the politics of this world. Therefore, as followers of Jesus, even though we might not understand why God has allowed certain people to be in power, we need to remember that it is the Lord who has placed them in positions of authority and pray for them because we have been taught to submit to authority and not to be troublemakers in the land.
Sermon Series: His Name is Jesus
