Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Romans 13:1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God [granted by His permission and sanction], and those which exist have been put in place by God. [Prov 8:15] |
Subject: Did American Revolution violate Rom 13:1 |
Bible Note: Hi Wilma, If I may jump in here :-) I want you to know that I agree with you 100 percent that if we claim that we are worshipping God, but we are willfully disobedient, then we are hypocrits, and we must repent. I love how succinctly you stated: "We may claim to love God, but how we react to what his inspired Word teaches will reveal our true thoughts, even the very intentions of the heart." I think this is a message the cannot be overemphasized. I have had two thoughts I'd like to add in here. One is that in asking your original question, that you already had the answer in mind. Is that true? The other is that you are asking us to comment on the actions of a great number of people, that lived some time ago. Do you think that we can actually know what was in their hearts, and whether or not their actions were in accord with the will of God? Remember the original issue for the colonists. It was freedom of worship. The European governments were oppressive in other ways as well, but the core issue was the right to worship our Lord Jesus Christ as His Word told them to, not according to the whims of the monarchy, or whatever factions were maneuvering for power. Perhaps God led a few good men to seek liberty, and perhaps some, for their own reasons, joined in. Did everyone involved act righteously? Probibly not. Should we judge the actions of individuals, whom we have never even met? I don't think that I should. "Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them." - Is this actually true? Is the success or failure of my life based on my knowledge of history, or my knowledge of and obedience to the Bible? Knowing my own history hasn't been enough to keep me from repeating it. Again, I totally agree with you that we should understand how the Bible relates to our lives within the context of our goverment. But, personally, I think we are better served by studying the Bible's commands in light of the issues that confront us today, than by second-guessing the actions of others in generations past. Its an interesting thing about that verse, Romans 13:1. We apply this to our current government, do we not? That it is the lawful authority, and has been established by God. But that came about through the Revolution. If God's purposes were not served through the revolution, would it have succeeded? Love in Christ, Mark |