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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: Mark: Thanks for jumping in. You illustrate some of the confusing thoughts that may lead one to misinterpret the obvious meaning of Paul's counsel. Was this meant to be rhetorical: "If God's purposes were not served through the revolution, would it have succeeded?" The Assyrians were a world power for centuries, and even laid the 10-tribe kingdom of Israel to waste, but I dare say that all they succeeded in was God's purpose. Neither the US government nor any other, except Israel, was ever "established" by God, but rather, they only exists because he tolerates them. When the Israelites asked for a king like the surrounding nations, God said they had thus "rejected Him from being king." (1 Sam 8:8) How can any other nation thus claim to be established by God? As respects the saying about the lessons of history, I agree with you that the study of it appears to have only lead most to repeat it. However, my point was to study it in light of God's Word, just as we would study the good and bad examples in the Bible, emulating the former and rejecting the latter. Judging is a touchy word with many, as people in glass houses don't like throwing stones. But when someone claims to represent Christ, we are to judge those on the inside (of the Christian congregation." (1 Cor 5:12) It's also words and actions of others that need to be judged in order to avoid bad association. (1 Cor 15:33) So to answer your original 2 questions: 1) Yes, I already had the answer in mind. 2) We don't need to judge hearts to determine whether their words and actions are out of harmony with God's will. We do need to be aware of our inability to "direct our way" apart from God's guidance, as well as how "deitful the heart can be." (Jer 10:23; 17:9) I'm going to try to address a few of the others comments now. Later. |