Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to ask you a little question.
How many of you have been punished by your dad? Perhaps you had to sit in your room for the night, or maybe you were grounded for a month because of the poor behavior that you exhibited in public. Maybe at school, you had to sit quietly in a separate part of the classroom, or even serve detention because you were not getting along with your fellow students in class. Sometimes others will even have to spend a period of time in prison, going through a process of correction. In all of these places, someone had authority over you, whether it’s your dad, a teacher, or temporal places of Justice in this world, but when we listen and obey them, sometimes we can find favor in their sight, and be granted a gift of grace, and an early release from the debt that we owe.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
We can obtain an early release from our sin debts by being baptized into the name of Jesus Christ. When we are baptized, it’s very similar to parole, because God forgives us of all of our past sins so that we can have a new chance at the life that we have so miserably failed. We are all going through a period of correction in this world in preparation for the great day of God’s judgment, but like a parole officer watches over ex-cons, men of God watch over people in the church, so they stay on the straight and narrow, and continue to walk in the perfect will of God. A church elder is a man who has preached God’s Word toward you, and watches over your eternal soul. Just like a parole officer, you must completely submit yourselves unto them, with a grateful heart for the grace that has been granted to you by God.
1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
As I was talking about recently, I have dealt with some very tough and stern authority figures in my life, whether they were teachers, or employers. But to be successful in this life requires humility and submission in all things. No matter how tough they were on me, in the end, I found favor in their sight and excelled. It is only through humility that one can bring themselves into subjection to the authority of others, whether it’s your dad, your husband, or other temporal authorities. I have always felt that the church is a Spiritual correctional facility, being led by men of God such as Timothy who would rebuke, reprove and correct as needed. Hopefully they don’t have to do that, because you are living your life in the right manner. But if you aren’t, you must never resist them or the authority that has been granted to them by the grace of God.
Romans 13:1-6 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
When you refuse to listen to a parole officer, you are then referred back to a higher power for correction, but when you refuse to submit yourself to a man of God,…. then you come under the correction of God Himself!
Hebrews 12:5-11 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
The church is a place where we are all going through rehabilitation, I mean that’s really what it is. It’s a place where we are becoming transformed and conformed into the person that God wants us to become. This is so that we can escape the bonds of death, and eventually enter into eternal life forever.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
This is why we need the fear of God, something that many people who profess Christianity don’t even possess.Some people claim that they are saved and nothing can change that fact, but the Apostle Paul taught quite differently. He taught that we are given a promise of salvation, but you must do what is required on your part to obtain it! If you are going to live like a disobedient wretch, then you will be treated like a disobedient wretch!
Hebrews 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Remember that God gives us Grace for a reason. Whether it’s being paroled from a correctional facility or entering into a new Spiritual life with Christ, don’t ever take forgiveness lightly. It is a HUGE gift, and it is given to us by God for the purpose of transforming into what He wants us to become.
2 Corinthians 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
Some people will require more correction than others, but you always want to humbly submit to a man of God, because in the end, he desires that you obtain eternal life. Listen and obey; submit to the elder, because when it comes to Spiritual correction, He is….…
……..God’s Parole Officer
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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