Another
critical choice all men have to make is that of choosing their citizenship.
Naturally, we were all born as citizens of this world, the kingdom of darkness,
whose ruler is Satan the devil and until we make the choice of having Jesus
Christ as our King we remain citizens of the kingdom of darkness as illustrated
by the apostle Paul who wrote; “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled
to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do
not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine on them” (1Corinthians 4:3-4).
It
is when one accepts Jesus Christ as their sovereign King then God the Father
transfers the individual from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of His
Son, as we have received the consolation saying; “giving thanks to the Father
who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the
light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom
of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14).
The
sad reality however is that, the majority of us who profess to have accepted
Jesus Christ as our King and supposed to be citizens of the kingdom of light
are unable to grasp the reality and practicality of being in the world but not
of the world as stated by Jesus Christ in His prayer to the Father stating; “I
have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of
the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take
them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They
are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John
17:14-16).
Yes,
to be in the world and not be of the world is something many people have not been
able to fathom and incidentally are repeating the same mistake made by the
children of Israel when they rejected God as their King when they said to
Samuel; “Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." But the
thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us."
So Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed the voice
of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but
they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1
Samuel 8:5-7).
But
the irony of truth is, the Lord has never relinquished His power and authority
as Sovereign King and Lord over His subjects it is the people that are
rejecting Him for this is what Samuel said to the people; “But you have today
rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your
tribulations; and you have said to Him, 'No, set a king over us!' Now
therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans”
(1Samuel
10:19).
Rejecting
God as our King is not pleasing to Him, although He allows it, but it is not what
He requires of us. This action is termed the lesser of two evils meaning that,
instead of destroying us in His anger He allows us to choose our own king and
pay the consequences of our actions as the Lord explained to the children of
Israel saying; “O Israel, you are destroyed, but your help is from Me. I will
be your King; where is any other that he may save you in all your cities? And
your judges, to whom you said, ' Give me a king and princes'? I gave you a king
in My anger, and took him away in My wrath” (Hosea 13:-11).
Rejecting
the Lord as our King and electing others to rule over us is as evil as when the
children of Israel made that first mistake and our response should be exactly
as the children of Israel who after realizing their error said to Samuel; “Pray
for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die; for we have added
to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves."
Then
Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear. You have done all this
wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD
with all your heart. And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty
things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. For the LORD will
not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the
LORD to make you His people” (1 Samuel 12:1-22).
So
the way we as believers can be in the world and not be of the world is by,
submitting ourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to
the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the
punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is
the will of God, that by doing good we may put to silence the ignorance of
foolish men ---as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as
bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor
the king” (1 Peter 2:13-17).
On
the other hand, we are to consider ourselves as being not of the world since we
are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us, to implore
others on Christ's behalf, to be reconciled to God. We therefore, are
representatives of the kingdom of God signifying that, our lives are being
regulated by the laws and principles that govern the kingdom of God and appealing
to others to get back in harmony with the government of God which will include surrendering
ourselves back to God as our King.
To
be in the world but not of the world also entails that we priorities our submission
because, although we are required to submit ourselves to every ordinance of man
for the Lord's sake, if however, man’s ordinance contradicts or violates the
principles of God as was the case of Peter and the other disciples who were
commanded not to teach in Jesus’ name and they response was; "We ought to
obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
In
like manner, whatever the authorities of this world commands which are in
violation or contrary to the word of God should not be given precedence over
the word of God neither should we approve of them because, knowing the
righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of
death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
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With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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