Even though there are times when we don’t understand God, and even though there are times when we disagree with Him, we must submit to Him and to His laws in every matter life.

If you disagree with God, you might try to find ‘loopholes in the law’ to avoid obeying God… And you know what: that is NOT submitting to God in humbleness and in deep awe of Him….! No, if you do that you are DISRESPECTING God, and indeed trying to make God change His mind or disregard passages in the Bible.

By His very nature, God wants us to follow His principles no matter what, and God does not want us to be obstinate toward Him or to question His laws, rather He simply wants us to accept Him and His laws as they are – because He makes nothing but perfect decisions and rules. It is for us to think and act in naiveté like a child. This is also why Jesus says:

Matthew 18:3 (NIV)
And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

….and if we go further back to the Old Testament, God says:

Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

…and that is exactly, what has been happening in the New Testament all the way up to our time for EVERYONE who submits to Jesus: We receive the Holy Spirit as our guide.

But it’s not enough just to receive the Holy Spirit… we also have to change our mindset and our way of thinking in general.

Ephesians 4:20-25 (NIV)
That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

You know what? The Bible provides a certain set of authorities that we must obey. They have been divided into four groups and prioritized. They are:

1. Obey God, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (Jesus & the Bible).

God is Supreme! He has all power – and His Word is 100% true and cannot be compromised.

There are actually two places in the Bible that say pretty straightforwardly that God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14 & James 4:5). God IS the only God and He is THE ONE to obey – not as a slave, but of our own free will.

This is also why God gives us the commandment that Jesus later upholds in The New Testament.

Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other gods before me.”

 Isaiah 43:10-11 (NKJV)
“You are My witnesses,” says the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me,
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.
I, even I, am the Lord,
And besides Me there is no savior.

2. Obey the law of the country by which you are governed.

From the very beginning of creation, we were all created to have God as our one and only King, but God’s own people rejected Him in that position, so things are different today. If you read 1. Samuel 8 you will see that God was not “enough” for people – they wanted to replace Him with a human king. God allowed their wish, but He also told people that because of that choice, they would have to submit to the new king and the new laws. God even told people, that they could expect the human king to take the best and leave the worst for the rabble…. and still, people rebelled against God and had their own way.

We are still dealing with that choice today. God has given each government the authority and power they are due (John 19:10-11 & Romans 13:1-7).

John 19:10-11 (NKJV)
Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”
Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

In the new Testament, we read how Jesus submits to the government (Luke 20:20-25). Peter (1 Peter 2:17), and Paul state that we are under the “King / Country’s law” – we must still submit to the government as long as it does NOT conflict with the Word of God.

Romans 13:1-7 (NKJV)
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

The only exception when we SHOULD NOT follow the law of the country is if it contradicts the Word of God. In the New Testament, we also see examples of Paul defying judges etc. because they want to stop him from preaching about Jesus.

A modern-day example could be marriage for homosexual couples. In many countries, this is legal, but according to the Bible and the heart of God, it is wrong. So in this case, we should NOT follow the law.

You cannot pick and choose whom you want to obey, but rather you must remember that God’s law is fundamental – and NOTHING can ever change that. The way “laws” and “rules” are prioritized is from God – and not the other way around.

Let me give you another modern-day example… The Bible says that you can only have a sexual relationship as part of your own marriage. But the laws of the government are indifferent about this. Therefore, follow the Bible (only have a sexual relationship in your marriage)!

…Moving the scenario forward, there are times when you may meet Christians who might think they are married and can have a sexual relationship by ONLY receiving a blessing from God WITHOUT being legally married by a governmental institution. Since the government says that you need to sign a legal contract (certificate of marriage), you must follow the edicts of the government, since this does NOT contradict the Word of God. In other words, follow the Bible AND your government (you can have a sexual relationship in your own legal governmentally endorsed marriage).

Since the Bible tells us to be good role models in EVERYTHING, we cannot just skip the laws we don’t like…! Other people should be able to look up to us in every aspect of our lives, where Jesus is in control!

…and this is pretty simple, only for the sake of our own protection!

3. Obey your parents (only parents in the Lord).

Here I’ll just start by quoting Jesus:

Matthew 15:3-4 (NIV)
Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?  For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’  and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’

…and on to one of Paul’s letters:

Ephesians 6:1-3 (NIV)
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

First of all, it is very important that you actually READ what it says. Only your “parents in the Lord” are to be obeyed. Not just your father, not just your mother, but you “parents in the Lord”. This means that if your parents do not love Jesus AND submit to Him, you should not obey, but rather only honor them. It’s a very big difference…!

Before continuing, let me just “kill” your first question: I’m an adult, I’m not a child anymore… Then I don’t have to obey?

…you will ALWAYS be the child of your parent – just like you, after submitting your life to Jesus, will always be HIS child, regardless if you have grown up and are an adult now. Therefore, this is for anyone who has parents.

You see… no matter how old you are, your parents will always be older than you, and whether or not you want to admit it, they have more knowledge and wisdom than you do in certain areas. In fact, this is part of the reason Jesus adds a promise: “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” – because by listening to your parents you will be spared many wounds in life that you would regret later.

If your parents follow the Bible wholeheartedly (including Ephesians 6:4 & Colossians 3:21) AND “are in the Lord” AND speak wisdom in love and protection of their children – then you must actually obey them as their child. It’s not just a matter if you “feel like it”, it is an actual commandment.

And to all parents…: You should NOT live your children’s lives – live your own lives..! But guide your children to stay on the Path of our Lord.

Proverbs 5:12-14 (NIV)
You will say, “How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!
I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
And I was soon in serious trouble
in the assembly of God’s people.”

Proverbs 13:13 (NIV)
Whoever scorns instruction will pay for it, but whoever respects a command is rewarded.

Proverbs 13:18 (NIV)
Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.

4a. Your husband (if you are a married woman).

Again, let’s start with the Word of God:

Ephesians 5:22-24 (NIV)
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

….and this is the exact spot where many husbands stop reading. But this “submission” comes with a lot of commandments that the husband MUST obey in order for his wife to be able to submit to him.

Ephesians 5:25-33 (NIV)
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.  However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

So you see… the husband has the final word in the marriage – but this authority must ALWAYS be based in LOVE and in sacrifice for his wife. This is a very good thing for the wife, because it takes a lot of responsibility from the woman and places it on her husband. And since the husband is also subject to God and the laws of the government, this is intended as extra protection for the wives – and on the final day of judgment, the husband is the one being responsible for the decisions he made for his wife.

Also remember, the husband and wife are “one”…

4b. Your own opinion.

…and the last bullet point is you! Not that you are not important, but more than that, God really wants to protect you! Live your life according to what Jesus taught us in Romans 12. Also, remember that Satan is always trying to trip you up and get you down. He knows the scriptures word by word, and he will always try to make you manipulate the meaning of the words or find “loopholes” in God’s principles in order to justify temptations or other selfish wishes that go against the Bible. The law CANNOT be manipulated…!!! So when Satan tries to influence you, don’t let him…!

This “long list” of authorities…
1. Obey God, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (Jesus & the Bible).
2. Obey the law of the country by which you are governed.
3. Obey your parents (only parents in the Lord NOT contradicting the Bible or the law).
4a. Your husband (if you are a married woman and IF NOT contradicting the Bible or the law).
4b. Your own opinion.

…is NOT to harm you, but rather it is to guide you to having the best life where you are protected in the best possible way! It is a blessing that God actually DOES care for you. And remember… in EVERYTHING you must seek God’s guidance in your life and let HIM lead you in every possible way. But be aware also that if the “guidance” you get is NOT 100% biblical, it is not God speaking…! Don’t listen to the Devil, but let Jesus be your shepherd and listen to Him.

Long story short… do all of this in fear (awe) of God… obeying God… “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”… And finally, so you avoid getting into trouble and problems that could have been avoided by listening to the law (meant as a protection for us) and/or to elder parents “in the Lord” who love you. Don’t be obstinate, but rather fear God and his principles with all of your heart.

December 30, 2019
Andreas Slot-Henriksen