TO AK4
Yes; I agree with you for he is in charge.
I can compare him to the law; For the law is holy, is good and it is for our protection, but if you break that holy law it will became your merciless enemy.
I cannot see God creating evil as you say, but I can see God creating the law and what is outside of his law is evil.
The following article will share some light on the subject.
AUTHORITY AND THE LAW
It is universally understood that authority and the law go hand in hand, because authority given or received to be effective has to be based on law.
We all know that from the very beginning, humanity had to obey the law of God, Adam’s life was dependent on obeying that one law, and ever since, the law occupies first place in everything. It is as if God and the law are one. The law therefore is the will of God, the scripture of PSALM – 40 – 8, is a revelation of this important truth for it says, “I delight to do thy will, O my God; thy law is within my heart.”
The apostle Paul is specific in explaining the relationship between God, the rulers of our country and the law, for he wrote in Romans 13 – 3 to 6, “For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behaviour, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God (the law) to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God (justice,) an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil. Wherefore, it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God (the law) devoting themselves to this very thing”. We can confidently say then, that as much as it is humanly possible our rulers are also one with the law, and the highest office in the land is the embodiment of the law of the people he represents.
In Matthew 8 – 7 to 10, the Roman centurion recognised the power and authority of the law, for we read. “And Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him, but the centurion answered and said, Lord I am not worthy for you to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I, too, am a man under authority (of the law,) with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, go! And he goes, and to another, come! And he comes, and to my slave, do this! And he does it. Now when Jesus heard this he marvelled, and said to those who were following. Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel”.
In the above scripture the centurion draws a parallel between the authority invested in him through the law of the Roman Empire, and the authority of the law of the heavenly Kingdom, and through his great faith he is fully assured that Jesus has only to speak the word to be instantly obeyed in the spiritual realm.
Also the chief priests were aware that Jesus had to be working by a given authority, because his teaching had irrefutable wisdom and the miracles demonstrate his authority in the spiritual realm, but the chief priests (in contrast to the centurion) regarded the authority in Jesus as an adversary to their own authority, and therefore they were at enmity with him and so they questioned him, for we read in Matthew 21 – 23 to 27, “And when Jesus had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” And Jesus answered and said to them. “I will ask you one thing too, which if you tell me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, if we say, from heaven, he will say to us, then why did you not believe him? But if we say, from men, we fear the multitude; for they all hold John to be a prophet. And answering Jesus, they said, we do not know. He also said to them. Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Jesus in the above scriptures points to the only two possible source of spiritual authority, which are, the religious authority that man bestows on man, and the heavenly authority that God bestows on man. We have no doubt that believers and non-believers, anywhere in this world, recognise the structure of religious authority and the ranks of its administration members. We also know that those who make a career in their faith are required to prove their knowledge of that denomination’s doctrine, and pledge for the conservation of its traditions, and accept the authority of those with higher rank. Therefore career ministers or priests, with that earthly authority, will lord their denomination faith over the flock.
In contrast the heavenly authority is a gift of the grace of God, the greater the gift of his grace, the higher the rank, but; the higher the rank, the more the disciple will be a servant, serving the flock as the Lord did, through experiencing the sufferings of Christ on behalf of the flock of God. For we read in 2nd Corinthians 1 – 5 – 6, “For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ, for if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation.”
Obviously those two authorities described above are not compatible to one another, for we read in John 5 – 44, “How can you believe, when you receive glory (authority) from one another, and you do not seek the glory (authority) that is from the one and only God?”
Nevertheless religious denominations are the ones that we all as children become familiar with, and most of us were instructed by them to live and work within the framework of its moral laws and doctrines. These moral laws and doctrines, despite their imperfection will give the believing men and women the vision, however foggy, of the kingdom of God. For we read in Galatians 3 – 24, “Therefore the law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.” Evidently, among those that faithfully observe religious doctrines, there are many God-fearing men and women just waiting to hear the good news of God’s grace, and the salvation that comes by faith in him. For we read in John 4- 38, “I sent you to reap that for which you have not laboured; others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.”
This labour of others is seen in the work of John the Baptist, for he came to prepare a people to receive the Lord. In ACTS chapter 10 tells the story of Cornelius a devout, charitable and God fearing man, that was well prepared to receive the word, and to be baptised with the grace of the Holy Spirit. A clear example of the importance and the foundation work of the fleshly church is found in the gospel of Luke 16 – 27 to 31, “And he said, “then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house for I have five brothers that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.” But Abraham said: “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.” But he said, “no father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead they will repent!” But he said to him: “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.”
We know that there are those who believe the word and those that minister the word in John 10 – 9, Jesus said, “I am the door; if anyone enters through me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.” And in John 10 – 2 – 3, He said, “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, Continue next post
