Paul: A Servant of the Gospel - Colossians 1:24-29. Though Paul was an apostle, he saw himself as a servant of the gospel and the church in a stewardship entrusted to him by God. Because of that he was able to rejoice even in the midst of suffering. God has revealed the mystery of salvation by faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though the gospel is openly proclaimed, only the saints will respond because the unrighteous refuse to believe it.

The Preeminence of Christ Over the Church - Colossians 1:18-23.   In this sermon Pastor Harris examines the Jesus' supremacy in the church by virtue of His person, nature and work of reconciliation. He also discusses the ramifications of Jesus being the head of the church and not any man or group of men.

The Preeminence of Jesus Over Creation - Colossians 1:15-17.  This passage demonstrates the deity of Jesus as the image of God and the architect, builder and possessor of all Creation. In examining this passage Pastor Harris will also point out the specific reasons the Jehovah Witnesses are absolutely wrong to continue to teach the ancient Arian heresy that Jesus was a created being.

The Prayer for the Colossians, Pt. 2 - Colossians 1:12-14.  In this sermon Pastor Harris finishes his examination of the prayer for the Colossian believers with emphasis on the four reasons they should give thanks to God. All of these reasons are related to God's saving them from their sin and its consequences. God qualified them, delivered them, transferred them and redeemed them so they could be forgiven and receive an inheritance as part of His kingdom. 

The Prayer for the Colossians, Pt. 2 - Colossians 1:12-14.  In this sermon Pastor Harris finishes his examination of the prayer for the Colossian believers with emphasis on the four reasons they should give thanks to God. All of these reasons are related to God's saving them from their sin and its consequences. God qualified them, delivered them, transferred them and redeemed them so they could be forgiven and receive an inheritance as part of His kingdom. 

The Prayer for the Colossians, Pt. 1 Colossians 1:9-12. In this sermon Pastor Harris examines Paul's prayer as a model for how we can and should pray for other Christians. He looks at the reason for the prayer, the nature of the prayer, its request, means of fulfillment, the desired outcome and the four characteristics of walking worthy of the Lord.

Paul’s Thankfulness
- Colossians 1:3-8. In this sermon Pastor Harris examines the thanksgiving Paul gives for the Colossian believes. They had responded properly to the word of truth, the gospel resulting in their hope of heaven and love for all the saints.

Introduction to Colossians - In this sermon Pastor Harris gives the background and theme of Paul's letter to the Colossians. It includes a brief biography of Paul and Timothy and discussion of the heresies the ascetic and mystical heresies that had arisen in Colossae.

Jesus' Warnings About False Teachers - Matthew 7:13-27.  As a conclusion to the series warning about false religions, philosophies, cults and aberrant Christianity, Pastor Harris examines Jesus' stern warnings at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. Your righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees in order to enter heaven, but false teachers only offer the same self-righteousness which God condemns. There is hope in Jesus Christ and Him alone.

Philosophical Foolishiness - The Errors of Philosophical Based Theology.   In this sermon Pastor Harris explains some of Scriptures warnings about vain philosophies and the fool as described in Psalm 14. Topics he addresses includes the types of atheists and agnostics, empiricism, rationalism and theological liberalism. He concludes with our hope in teh rock of God's word. 

What’s Emerging? The Errors of Post-Modern Theology.  In this sermon Pastor Harris discusses the Emerging Church Movement, Modernism, Postmodernism and the Biblical incompatibility of the gospel and postmodernism. While commendable in its desire to reach the postmodern, the emerging church movement fails because the gospel and a postmodern mindset are contradictory. Either the postmodern changes to believe in the Bible's absolute propositional truths, or the gospel must be distorted and will become heretical

Tickets to Heaven: The Errors of Market Based Theology    As long as the purpose of the church remains making disciples of Jesus Christ and its focus with unbelievers is proclaiming the gospel, there are many things that can be very helpful that have come from the Church Growth Movement. However, when attracting numbers crowds becomes the purpose and the gospel is toned down to avoid offense of the unbeliever, those same principles are detrimental. The change from being God centered to man centered changes the church into just a religious social organization.

The Importance of Memorials - in this sermon Pastor Harris explains the history of Memorial Day in the United States, some of the various memorials established in the Old Testament, and concludes with the most important memorial rite every instituted by God - Communion. 

A Godly Mother, Grace Bible Church, 5/9/2010   A Mother's Day sermon describing four criteria by which to evaluate being a godly mother. This sermon also traces the decline of godly mothers in America since the mid twentieth century. 

Spiritual Confusion: The Errors of Experience Based Theology - May 2, 2010.  In this sermon Pastor Harris seeks to expose the theological problems that have their root in allowing experience to determine truth instead of the Scriptures. This foundational error not only results in heresies in false religions and cults, but it also causes problems in aberrant Christian sects and even among the conservative orthodox.

Cultic Oppression - The Errors of Man Based Theology. In this sermon Pastor Harris defines cults and exposes their foundational error in putting supreme authority in something other that the Scriptures. He also explains practical ways in which to protect yourself and others from the various cults

Experts in Enigmas - The Errors of Mystical Religions / The New Age Movement.  In this sermon Jonathan Harris gives an overview of the origin and basic beliefs in the New Age Movement and how its ideas have become mainstreamed into American society. He contrasts it to the teachings of the Bible to expose its lies and dangers.

Demonic Deception: The Errors of Angelic Based Theology  Grace Bible Church, April 11, 2010  In this sermon Pastor Harris warns of the danger of demonic deception and explains how to defend against it including how to discern between revelation that comes from God through Angels and that which comes from demons.

The Resurrection of Jesus - Matthew 28:1-20. Pastor Harris examines the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from Matthew's account. The resurrection is the focal point of the Christian's hope and the even that makes Christianity different from every other religion.

The Triumphal Entry - Matthew 21:1-11  Grace Bible Church, March 28, 2010.  In this Sermon Pastor Harris examines the story of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the precise day and manner prophesied. The people shouted "Hosanna" and acclaimed Him to be the Son of David - but they did not necessarily believe what they were saying. Even so, Jesus is Lord and King and the clear hand of God in this story makes it an encouragement to believers though we live in the midst of a world filled with evil and with immoral leaders that lack integrity. God's plans are fulfilled regardless of man.

Faith Worth Believing: The Necessity of Biblically Based Theology.  In this sermon Pastor Harris follows up on the warnings in 2 Peter 3:17 and begins a new series of sermons designed to expose the foundational errors of false religions, cults and worldly philosophies. This sermon examines the importance of truth as the foundation for theology.

Motivation for Maturity  - 2 Peter 3:10-18. In this sermon Pastor Harris examines the coming Day of the Lord and the motivation it gives to pursue Christian maturity and walk with the Lord in holiness. From the negative side, since the things of this present world will be destroyed, it is ultimately futile to pursue them. From the positive side, the Lord's return will bring His righteous reign for which we prepare for now by striving to be holy in conduct and godliness in the present.

The Day of the Lord - 2 Peter 3:10  In this sermon Pastor Harris examines the concept of  the day of the Lord in 2 Peter 3 and how it is used in its other references in the scripture. Peter jumps from its beginning at the Lord's return and then jumps to its culmination with the coming of the new heavens and the new earth. Other Bible passages tell us about what occurs in between. 

The Patience of God - 2 Peter 3:7-9.  In this sermon Pastor Harris explains that God's relationship with time is not the same as our own, and that His longsuffering of man's sin against Him is for our benefit. If man was not patient, all men would have been judged long ago. God's forbearance, kindness and patience should lead men to repent. 

Mockery in the Last Days, Part 2  Pastor Harris continues in his explanation of 2 Peter 3:3-7 expanding on the error their premise “all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation”  which is the basis of uniformitarian geology. The earth is radically changed since the beginning - and the physical evidence for the Genesis Flood is overwhelming. Five lines of physical evidence for the flood are given along with links for further study.

Mockery in the Last Days, Pt. 1 - 2 Peter 3:1-7. In this sermon Pastor Harris warns of the dangers of those who mock God, His revelation, and willfully ignore the evidence around us of His past judgment of the earth in the Genesis Flood. In this sermon Pastor Harris explains the text and cites some of the flood mythologies around the world that parallel the Genesis account.

Grace Bible Church

Defense Against False Teachers - Selected Scriptures

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Pastor Scott L. Harris

Grace Bible Church, NY

October 18, 2009

Defense Against False Teachers

Description of False Teachers - 2 Peter 2:10-22  In this sermon Pastor Harris continues his exposition of 2 Peter and its description of false teachers. Such false teachers are still around, even prevalent, and we must be able to identify them in order to protect ourselves and others from their evil influence, even if they are self-deceived.

Resolutions Worth Keeping  In this sermon Pastor Harris examines the difference between worldliness and godliness and how to discern between them. He then gives suggestions for some resolutions from the Scriptures that are worth keeping for the New Year - and anytime. 

Our Lord, Immanuel. December 20, 2009. Grace Bible Church. Pastor Harris examines two crucial aspects of the miracle of Christmas - Jesus' humanity and His deity . 

Encourage Me - Psalm 42 & 43, Pastor Scott L. Harris, Grace Bible Church, NY. In this sermon Pastor Harris explains the meaning of encouragement and how to encourage yourself and others by following the example of David in Psalm 42 & 43. He also looks briefly at a few New Testament passages that command us to encourage one another and concludes with practical tips on how to do it.

This morning's sermon is on Romans 13:1-7 and it talks about what our obligations to human authority and government are. I actually got to preach this a few weeks ago at the Avalon Assisted Living Facility, but I wound up having to cut it down a bit as I had a lot of stuff that I couldn't get into it because of time, so I'm pleased to be able to hopefully do the justice to this text that I was not able to do there.

So, before we get to this morning's text, it is necessary to back up a tad to set the context in order first.

This section in Romans starts back in chapter 12, verses 1-2, which really are the introduction for chapter 12 all the way through to the beginning of chapter 15, and it is this – open your bibles if you have them to Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2:

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

So what does it mean to present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God? How are we to be so that we do not conform ourselves to this world? The short answer is: submitting your own will to that of God. The Bible will often use the illustration of a slave to their master to make the point of what it means when it speaks of this total submission to the will of another. What follows in the text are some nice pithy examples of what it means to be a living sacrifice and how we are to be conformed to the will of God rather than the world. That's what God writes here by the hand of Paul to us.

To summarize the remainder of chapter 12 a bit, verses 3-8 tell us we should not be puffed up, and we've been given gifts by the Holy Spirit, and we ought to use those gifts that God has given us. Verses 9-13 say: love should be genuine, we should hate evil and love good. We should like the brethren, and be diligent in serving the Lord. We should rejoice in hope, patient in adversity, continuing in prayer. We should give to the needs of the Christian brethren, and be given to hospitality. Verses 14-21 mostly tells us how to deal with difficult people.

Now, this morning's sermon covers what our obligations are to the government. Romans chapter 13, verses 1-7.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority, except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities, resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur punishment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to evil. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on he who does evil. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only for the sake of wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending continually to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

So let's work our way through the text. Verse 1:

1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.

Or put in layman's terms: obey the law of the land. Play by the rules.

1 Peter 2:13-14 states it this way:
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.

You might say “the government makes some really stupid laws, and laws I don't like.” Well, as it says in the rest of the verse:

For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed,

I dunno about you, but do you want to resist something that God has appointed? Isn't that one of the definitions of sin?

So, we ought to submit ourselves to the ordinances and regulations of the laws of the land, local, state and federal. Whether we like them or not. Because God put the leaders there that made the laws and said we are to obey them.

But, what if the governmental law allows you to do things contrary to God's law? Can we then do things which God has disallowed because the government permits it? Nope. If God's law says no, then we cannot do that thing, even if the human government allows it. Or conversely, if God's law says we must do something and human government says we cannot, we still must do what God says anyway. If we are punished for doing what God says in His word that we are to do, then so be it. We would then be in good company with many saints before us who have suffered in like manner.

But in that God's law overriding man's law can be seen in that God's law is over man's law. Much like state law is over local law. If the local law allows something (or is even silent on the matter), but the state laws do not allow it, you cannot do it without running afoul of the law.

For example, many of you will remember at least part of the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego from Daniel chapter 3. Nebuchadnezzar had set up a huge golden idol and whenever certain music was played, all were to fall down and worship the idol, or be cast into a fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, being proper Jews, when confronted with this, would not worship the idol, because it's prohibited by the second commandment and they responded in verse 18 of Daniel 3:
O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.

And you know the rest of the story how they were delivered from punishment. But the key thing being here is that they knew that when push came to shove, you obey God, even when it means disobeying the government. No matter what it costs you personally.

Also in Acts 4 Peter and John were before the Sanhedrin, having been brought in for preaching Christ in the temple, and the Sanhedrin told them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John answered them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.

On the other hand, when man's law does not conflict with God's law, which is probably just about every instance you will run into (for now), you follow man's law. Whether it be that you need a permit for this or that, or regulations or taxes or fees, or licenses, or even [grimace] an absurdly low speed limit, on a steep hill, with no obstructions and a wide road where you could [emphatic annoyance] clearly safely do 45 instead of the posted 25 mph, you do what the law says. Even though some seemingly stupid laws are on the books, many times there are truly some good reasons behind the laws that are there, you just may not be privy to the details, [pause] just the inconvenience. Either way, you obey the law of the land.

But what about despotic rulers like in dictatorships? Or... how about leaders we really don't like that are closer to home? For a random example I'll just pull out of the air here, perhaps you really disagree with the president. He was still instituted or ordained by God to be there. Consider for a moment, when the book of Romans was written, it was during the reign of the notorious Emperor Nero, you know, the fiddling while Rome burned guy? Nero, who would be persecuting Christians in the not too distant future from the time of this writing? Yeah him. Since he was in power when the book of Romans was written, You can assume Paul meant to include even him. So even if the ruler is downright evil, you obey them. Why? Primarily, the Bible says so which in itself is enough. But even if you take a look at it pragmatically, it makes sense. For example, we can look at the time in Iraq after Saddam's regime was toppled. For a while there was anarchy and warlords until a government was properly established. So while Saddam's regime was clearly evil, a leadership vacuum can be worse than even evil leadership.

For another example here, Jesus, while on Earth, obeyed the authorities, even when they were unjust to Him. In John 19:10-11 hear how He speaks with Pilate who Jesus knows is about to sentence Him to be crucified.

So Pilate said to him, You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? Jesus answered him, You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.

So here, Jesus who Himself is God, is submitting Himself to the government, which was instituted by God. Given God's sovereignty, looking at it this way, it really only makes sense that he would submit.

So even an unjust or evil ruler or an unjust situation or a leader you reeeealy dislike, is still no excuse to not submit to the governing authorities. You obey the law. Going back to the verse at hand, verse 2:

Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur punishment.

In order to maintain order, any government must punish those that break the law, or anarchy will eventually result, as people will eventually figure out that the law has no teeth, and that they don't have to pay attention to it. Government, ultimately has the power to take the money, the stuff, the freedom or the lives of those over whom it governs as punishment in order to bring about obedience. So, firstly, resisting a human law risks incurring that punishment that the human law requires for breaking it. But even if you manage to avoid the consequences of breaking man's law, you must remember who instituted the government that you are disobeying. When it comes to God, He sees everything, and while you may be able to avoid punishment here because perhaps the law didn't catch you doing it, God will make sure that justice is done in the end. So even though the cop probably won't pull you over for doing 5 miles over the speed limit, it's still breaking the law.

3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to evil. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good.

Some people are afraid of the police. So, if you don't want to be afraid of the police, don't be doing the wrong thing and there will be no problem. As a driver, do want to not have your pulse quicken when you see a cop on the side of the road? Then don't exceed the posted speed limit. Or be talking on your non-hand-free cellphone. Don't want to be afraid of an IRS audit? Make sure to fully and promptly pay your taxes.

But sometimes, the law isn't something we're supposed not to do, but something you are supposed to do. An example: I've been convinced, that as annoying as the building code and inspection requirements of the town of Wappingers are, I should follow them. As a result, I have no fear of the building inspector, or my insurance company who could refuse a claim for an improper installation, or running into trouble getting a CO when I eventually go to sell my house, as the previous owner of my house did. So, I don't see the building department or the inspector as an adversary as some do. It does prevent me, for example, from putting in an electrical socket in my bathroom because I don't want to have to pay the permit and inspection fees that will run me much more than the parts cost to put in the outlet. And while it's still frustrating and annoying and [twitch]rrrrrr!, I wait until I can piggy back the addition on some other permit I'll eventually need, instead of doing it illegally now.

Obeying the law also is a way to not bring shame upon the savior, while in 1 Peter 2 he speaks about submitting to human authority, he continues in verses 15 with:

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

The context surrounding the verse is that the “doing good” here is the submitting to the ordinances of man. We should obey they law because, among other reasons, we don't want to give people excuses to blaspheme Christ because we got busted breaking the law. How much shame is brought on Christ because preachers and other Christians got caught up in some legal thing or another, whether they didn't pay their taxes, or defrauded in some business dealings, or other such things. We do not want to bring shame on Christ. So we ought to obey the law.

4 But if you do evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on he who does evil.

This is why, if do things that are illegal, in whatever form, you should be afraid, because if and when the law finds you out, you can be in serious hot water. The government doesn't have the authority to punish it's citizens for nothing. It has that authority to exercise it against those who would break it's laws, much as God has authority to punish those who break His laws. God has given them that authority, believe it or not, as a gift to His creation, to the people He created, so it would help to constrain evil in a world of sinful human beings.

Now, if the government is unjust, on that great day, they will be called to account for the way they have governed, and for their stewardship of the resources entrusted to them. We therefore ought pray for them that they might govern rightly.

5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only for the sake of wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

The word conscience here is a kind of compound word, con means with, science means knowledge. So with-knowledge. Sorta like in Spanish, con-queso, con is with, queso is cheese – or “with cheese.” So when we do wrong, we do it “with-knowledge” that it was wrong. The conscience is the impartial judge in the mind. It really only speaks to what is right and wrong. It'll never say things like “you can't wear those shoes, they don't match your belt!”, or “you should put mayonnaise on that ham sandwich.” It only speaks to morality. When faced with a moral choice, it will tend to guide you to what is right. Or if you've already done wrong, it will let you know it. For one who is trying to live a life pleasing to God, it is a wonderful asset. For those who aren't, it is a frustrating source of guilt.

So while we obey the law because, let's face it, we don't want to pay the worldly consequences of breaking the law, we should also obey because we don't want to offend our consciences. Why is that? Well, we want our consciences to do the work they were originally designed by God to fulfill, which is to correctly tell us what is right or wrong. The conscience is, as Romans 2:15 explains – the law of the Lord written on our hearts. If we tell our consciences to shut up long enough about something, it will stop speaking to us about it, and that's not a good thing. We want to obey God, and a malfunctioning conscience is not as helpful as it could be.

God went to the trouble to put consciences in us so we would understand and be reminded of something really important. We are not good people! We're not mostly good, or more good than bad, we're bad people. Jesus when speaking that we should ask God for what we need, Jesus responds starting with “if you then who are evil...” He was speaking to His disciples! He called them evil! And you know what? So are we! We deceive people, and that makes us liars. We lust and it makes us adulterers. We hate and it makes us murderers. We swear and it makes us blasphemers. We [air quotes] borrow/liberate things and it makes us thieves. We don't help people that God puts in our way and more generally, we fail to love our neighbor as ourselves. We do evil and break God's law. Even if we are saved, we still do things we know are wrong. We still sin. Evil still remains with us.

Now it's one thing to know that, but it's another to understand the consequences. Must as an Earthly ruler bears the responsibility to punish those who break Earthly laws, God also is the one to punish those who violate His laws. His laws are that we shall not lie, murder, blaspheme, adulterate or steal. We should love our neighbors as ourselves. We should love God with all of our being. So the bad news is not only have we done those things God told us not to do, but we also have not done the things He told us to do, and so God is properly in line to punish us for those things that we've done, or not done as the case might be.

The Bible says His punishment is an eternity of absolute, total and utter misery and despair. You think it's bad here? You ain't seen nuthin' yet. It's hot. Really hot. There's fire, lots of fire and it never goes out. No cool water to give relief. There's pain – you think your aches and pains are bad? How about incredible pain, and no morphine, Percocet, Vicodin, aspirin, ibuprofen or even children's Tylenol there. It's dark, no light at all. And there's incredible despair – because as unbearable as it's been for as long as you have been there [pause], there's yet an unending supply of more. No hope for relief for the loooong ages of eternity yet to come. Sound like Hell? I hope so, but the thing is: it's worse than I've just described by a country mile. And every last one of us here deserve it because we've broken God's laws. And let's face it, depending on how long we've been saved, for many of the times, we didn't care, we did it because we wanted to and we. didn't. care. God rightly has us as guilty lawbreakers in His court. He has plenty of evidence, He saw it all. We have no excuse – what could we even attempt to reply at the stack of things He's seen us do? The verdict is guilty and all that would await us at sentencing is the gaping maw of Hell waiting to swallow us up.

See, but this is where what God did still blows my mind even though I've been saved now, oh, about six years. Though we have offended Him, and figuratively spit in His face in rebellion against Him, He loved us in that He's provided a way that we can escape this judgment we deserve. In our court case, we're guilty dead to rights, and we need someone to take the punishment for us; to pay our fine for our crimes against God, because we cannot. Not even a little. What God did, was to send His son, Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, to be born into this world of the Virgin Mary. And unlike what we've done, He followed every law of God to the T. He then suffered and died on the cross for us, to take our place, a substitute acceptable to God on our behalf, and rose again on the third day. So on the day of judgment, we can, instead of being thrown into Hell, we can go free and enjoy paradise with God for eternity. So not only do we not get the punishment we deserve, we get an incalculable gift of eternal bliss with God. He could have just said, “you don't have to go to hell”, and annihilated us, but He's given us the gift of eternal life with Him! And while we're still here, He gives us His Holy Spirit, to work in us. To help us be conformed to the image of Christ, and to live a life pleasing to Him.

He has put two conditions on the forgiveness He offers – which are sorta two sides of the same coin really, but it's easier to describe as two. First, you must understand that God is right and you are wrong: you've done wrong and offended God, and that that's a bad thing, and you are sorry for doing so. Not sorry because you'd be going to Hell, as criminals are when they are found guilty, but real contrition – sorry as you would be to a spouse or loved one for doing a bad thing to them. Sorry in a way which will cause you to strive to do the right thing going forward. This is repentance. Second, you must believe in what Christ has done, and who He is. Believing here means trusting in that Christ's sacrifice for you is sufficient to make you right with God. It means believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and as such He has the authority to command us to do things, and as a result we ought to obey. It means trusting His promises to us – that He is able to do as He has promised to us – as to do otherwise would be calling Him a liar. This is the good news. While we were yet God's enemies, He rescued us and gave us an out; and we get to spend eternity with Him, and have the Holy Spirit in this life.

So God has given us a conscience so that we can understand our own nature – and so we want to keep the conscience working properly, so we should obey the law to keep it working properly.

5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes [phoron], for the authorities are ministers of God, attending continually to this very thing.

In this and the verse that follows, there are two different words and they're translated rather inconsistently from translation to translation, and I had to struggle a bit to figure out what was what. I wound up going to the Greek a bit and I apologize in advance if I pronounce these wrong. The Greek word (phor-os) that underlies the word taxes here could also be translated as tribute – the kind of taxes you'd pay to a foreign leader who had conquered your country. It can also be more of an individual assessment on person or property. It would be comparable to property or income taxes.

In the days when this was written, the Romans were ruling over Judea, and people hated paying a foreign government taxes to keep them under their rule. But, even foreign rulers are due their taxes, and they are the sometimes the hardest to swallow. The US has never had to pay tribute, as our policy has generally been one of Billions for defense, but not a penny for tribute. Anyway, the Pharisees knew that everyone hated paying the taxes to Rome and tried to use this to entrap Jesus over the payment of taxes to Caesar. Luke 20:20-26 says:

So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.
The idea here is if Jesus said not to pay the taxes, they could haul Him in before to judge.
So they asked him, Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not? But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have? They said, Caesar's. He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent. So they tried to trip Him up, and they were made to look foolish.

But the relevant part here is that Jesus said: pay your taxes! It doesn't matter whether you like the government to which you pay them. Although frankly, I don't think it really matters, as I don't think I've run into one person who likes to pay taxes. If you do, let me know. I know how I can increase your joy; you can pay mine. But we are to pay our taxes to support the authorities that God has put into place over us. They are God's ministers to keep things civil.

An application of this is that we shouldn't be paid under the table, nor should we pay others under the table, because proper taxes would not be paid. Likewise, if we make improvements to our property that affect our taxes, we should report them.

7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes [phoros] to whom taxes are owed, revenue [tel-os] to whom revenue is owed,

Let me clear this up a little, the word taxes here is the same as the one I just described. Revenue, or the greek word that underlies it – telos, is a general toll on goods or travel – like sales taxes or import tariffs or tolls. These are the kind of taxes that the apostle Matthew was charged with collecting before Jesus called him.

Like the phoros taxes, we are to pay the telos taxes as well. Jesus did, as an example to us in Matthew 17:24. There, they ask Peter if Jesus paid the half-shekel temple tax, and Peter says “yes.” And later, Peter speaks with Jesus about the tax, at which point Jesus explains in the text that He shouldn't really have to pay the tax because of who He is. However, as to not cause offense, Jesus has Peter catch a fish in which Jesus told him to pay the tax for the both of them with the coin that would be in the mouth of the fish.

An application of this tax would be to be wary of discounts for paying in cash that you can sometimes get, as it's usually because they're not going to report the income, nor pay the proper sales tax. While in that case we might not be directly responsible for the taxes, we might be participating in someone else's sin, so be careful there.

So really, if there's a tax or fee or toll, our job as Christians is to pay it if it is required by law.

7b respect [fear - phobos] to whom respect [fear] is owed, honor [timane] to whom honor is owed.

We also give honor and respect to those to whom it is due. Much like I've heard about the military, you may not respect the man, but you respect the rank. So if you're in the military, no matter what the person is like, if rank requires it, it's “yes, sir” and “no, sir”. Or in court, even if the judge is corrupt, you say “yes, your honor” and “no, your honor”. Talking to a cop it's “yes officer” and “no officer”. We give proper respect to the office of those we deal with.

In Acts, chapter 23, Paul ran into the wrong end of this before the council to testify of the events when he was almost killed by an angry mob of Jews. Paul had just started his testimony when the high priest commanded one who stood by to strike him on the mouth, to which Paul responds

God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck? Those who stood by said, Would you revile God's high priest? And Paul said, I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.

So even though Paul initially gets it wrong here (even though he is right about the part about being struck contrary to the law), once he realized who he's dealing with where he quotes Exodus 22:28, he agrees that he has spoke improperly to the high priest.

So we ought not to speak evil of our leaders either. In fact, 1 Peter 2:17 says we should honor the emperor, or in our case, that would be the President. So again, the quality of the person filling the role here is not the issue – it's the position they hold. If they have a position to which they are do honor or fear, we ought to give it to them – especially if we don't like them, or vehemently disagree with them.

Not only should we not curse our leaders, we are instead supposed to pray for our leaders too. Even the ones we don't like. 1 Tim 2:1-2 says:

I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

However, we are allowed, inasmuch as the law allows it [pause], to question, appeal, protest, or beseech the government for things.

In Acts 25, Paul realizing that the system as it was would not afford him a fair trial in Jerusalem because of the Jews, he appealed to Caesar. Likewise in Daniel chapter 1, Daniel, Hananaiah (aka Shardrach), Mishael (aka Meshach) and Azariah (aka Abed-nego), did not want to eat the Kings food and defile themselves with it, and as such the appealed to the chiefs to allow them to eat vegetables instead.

We should take advantage of the freedoms we do have, town meetings, voting, legal forms of protest, letter writing, communicating with our leaders, and generally whatever legal means we have to participate in government.

People may blaspheme Christ because they don't like the things you do, but if you are doing what is right according to the man's law, and more importantly God's law, if they blaspheme God, that's on them. If it's because you aren't behaving properly, then it's also on you.

Another way to think of it: at any point in your day, we should be able to credibly witness to whoever it is we're around (assuming the circumstances permit it). You can't credibly witness through a car window to a cop who has just pulled you over, nor to your defense attorney or to the jailer or IRS auditor if you are there because you have done wrong.

If we are imprisoned because of our obedience to Christ, then so be it, we are in good company with many saints. But at least in this country, that's not happening.... yet, and praise God for that for as long as it lasts. But if we are imprisoned due to disobedience, we bring shame upon His name.

Before I finish – I've spoken a lot about the law today and I realize I might have opened up the question in your mind of: aren't you being just a tad legalistic here? Am I saying that if you're a criminal you can't be a Christian? No. Am I saying that Christians who commit crimes cannot possibly be saved? No. These people might want to examine themselves to see if they are in the faith, yes. But committing a crime doesn't necessarily mean you aren't saved. So from the aspect of salvation, no, I don't believe I'm being legalistic at all. However, if God's word clearly states: we are to obey human law, I think I can proclaim with authority: we are to obey human law.

So to summarize: We ought to, as our reasonable service to God, obey the law of the land, pay our taxes, and give the honor to the persons filling the positions of authority. This way, we don't have to worry about getting in trouble with the government, we'll help keep our consciences working properly and by behaving properly, people will have no means to blaspheme Christ because of our behavior with respect to the law of the land.

Grace Bible Church

There Shall Be False Teachers - 2 Peter 2:1-10

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Pastor Scott L. Harris

Grace Bible Church, NY

October 18, 2009

There Shall Be False Teachers

Basic Bible Interpretation, Grace Bible Church, October 4, 2009.  In this sermon Pastor Harris explains the proper method to be able to interpret the Bible to understand what God was communicating to those to who first received His revelation. This is the basis for any proper application of Biblical truth in one's own life. The basis for most of the errors of false teachers is interpreting the Scriptures according to their own opinions. Proper Bible interpretation protects against their falsehoods.

Developing a Biblical Mindset - 2 Peter 1:20-21 & Selected Scripture.  September 27, 2009  Grace Bible Church. In this sermon Pastor Harris looks at how God uses the Bible to enable us to withstand the pressure of the world to conform us to its sinfulness and make us adequate and equipped for every good work in godliness.

The Basis for Belief - 2 Peter 1:16-21.  Grace Bible Church, 9/20/09.  In this sermon Pastor Harris contrasts the mythology of the Greek and Romans (and the modern myth of evolution) with the eyewitness account of Peter and the other apostles as the basis for belief in the Bible as the word of God and truth. 

Remembering What You Know - 2 Peter 1:12-15.   Grace Bible Church, September 6, 2009. It is easy to take for granted what is common and normally available which can lead to complacency and apathy. This can occur with machines and gadgets we use daily, but it can also affect our relationships including our  spiritual walk with God. In this sermon Pastor Harris explains Peter's solution to this problem, a solution Peter was very diligent to strive to prevent.

The Assurance of Salvation - 2 Peter 1:10-11,  Grace Bible Church, August 30, 2009.  In this sermon Pastor Harris deals directly with the claim based on this passage that a believer can lose their salvation. He traces the basis of our salvation in God's work upon which eternal security rests, and concludes with a discussion of the three means by which the believer gains a sense assurance of being saved.

Steps to Maturity - 2 Peter 1:5-11  Grace Bible Church August 23, 2009   Many professing Christians are religious schizophrenics. They profess faith in one thing, but their actions show they believe something quite opposite. Believers should not live defeated by sin. The Apostle Peter points the way to spiritual victory - God has already done His part for He divine power has already granted us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness and His precious and magnificent promises by which we become like Christ. We must also do our part in supply along side our faith certain qualities that lead us to spiritual maturity.

Power for Living - 2 Peter 1:1-4  Grace Bible Church. Pastor Scott L. Harris.   In this sermon Pastor Harris examines the change in Peter's life after started living by God's power and how we can do the same. Divine power to live in godliness is already given to those who share in the same faith as Peter, and in these verses Peter tells us how to plug into that power which will radically change our lives.