Respecting Authority?

Respect for God’s Authority in the First Commandments

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. The title of this morning's message is Lacking Respect for Authority. So if you would, turn to the book of Jude.

And in the passage that we're going to look at, it speaks of those who have turned their back on God, who of course is the highest of all authorities. And I think we're quite clearly living in a time where more and more people are turning their back on the knowledge of the Lord.

So that should come as no surprise that there is a lack of respect for authority in general. In the book of Jude, we're going to begin reading in verse 5. But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

And the angels who did not keep their proper domain but left their own abode, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, in similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Likewise, also, these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. And notice that last phrase. They do what? They reject authority and speak evil of those in positions of honor and authority.

And in Romans chapter 1, what did Paul speak about? How those who did not want to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind. And at the end of Romans 1, he says they are haters of God.

So, that's the world we're living in. We know this. You don't really need to be reminded of that. But what about God's people? The question I want to look at this morning, mainly, is are we upholding the standard?

Are we showing respect for authority? So, let's start at the beginning with God himself and our responsibility towards the Lord. So, turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 20. And we're going to look at several areas of authority this morning.

There are, of course, civil authorities. You have the police. You have ecclesiastical authority within the church. There are authority structures within the workplace, within the home. Basically, anywhere you go, there's going to be someone in some position of authority.

Are we recognizing those positions of authority? Do we lack respect for those positions of authority? Look at Exodus chapter 20, starting in verse 1. This is, of course, the giving of the Ten Commandments.

It says, And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And you shall have no other gods before me. And you shall not make for yourself a carved image of any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments.

Now, we don't have time to get into all of it, but the first four commandments deal with mankind's responsibility towards God. Worship the Lord, and him only is what we see. Do not bow, and this is important, do not bow to anybody or anything except God himself.

Why won't Christians bow? Because we only bow to the Lord. Period. End of discussion. And then the Lord goes on to talk about how his name is to be kept holy. Okay, so here's a good principle. If the name God, Jesus, Lord comes out of your mouth, you better be talking about God, Jesus, or the Lord.

And if you're talking about him, you talk about him in a respectful manner. For those of you who are a little younger, OMG, not acceptable. Some of the older folks, what does that mean?

You'll find out later.

So we need to honor his name. And then the Lord continues, and he speaks of the Sabbath, where a pattern is set that one day out of seven is to be set apart for God. And this same pattern is repeated in the New Testament, where Christians always would gather on the first day of the week.

Christians have been doing this for over 1 ,900 years, gathering on the first day of the week. You can make a note of this, Acts chapter 20, verse 7, 1 Corinthians 16, verse 2. Those passages recognize that.

And Sunday is what? The first day of the week is what? It is the Lord's day. In Revelation chapter 1, verse 10, the apostle John calls it that. He says, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day.

And you know what that means?

It means Jesus has a day. It's his day. See, it's not your day. It's his day. It is the Lord's day. And again, for 1 ,900 plus years, Christians across the board, Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, everyone understood this.

It is only in the last 50 years where this has changed. Some of you who are maybe 60, 70, 80 years old, you remember when Sunday was treated a lot different than it is now, don't you? I'm only 42 and I remember when Sunday was treated a lot different.

No kid ever threw a birthday party on Sunday. It just didn't happen. You never had soccer practice or cheerleading practice on Sunday. You never had a baseball game scheduled for Sunday. So things have changed in our lifetime.

And you know what this reveals? It reveals a fundamental lack of respect towards the Lord Jesus and his day. I know Christians will come up with all kinds of excuses and they'll take Bible verses out of context.

But the fact of the matter is Jesus has a day. This is Sunday. This is the Lord's day. It's not regarded as such by most. And you know what? As a nation, as a people, we are not better off for it. You cannot look at 2020 America and say we are better off now than we were then.

Honoring Parents and Respecting Elders

So the first half of the commandments deal with man's interaction and responsibility towards God. But starting with the fifth commandment, it now shifts to our responsibility toward one another. And here is one of the most basic ways of all that you can tell if a person is a person of respect.

You want to know if someone's a respectful person? Look at verse 12. Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You know, when I'm at home and if I'm quoting Bible verses at home, it's usually from the Ten Commandments.

And stop me if I'm lying. You can ask my children. I'm usually quoting this commandment.

I don't know.

I don't know why that is. How important is it to honor and show respect towards your parents? I remember there is one individual. Anytime they ever spoke of their parents, it was always in a disrespectful manner.

They would always run them down. And this was done publicly. And every time I would hear this, I would just cringe. Now, you might expect teenagers to talk about their parents to their friends in private.

That's not okay either. But to run down, for a grown adult, to run down their parents publicly shows a lack of respect. You say, well, maybe they had bad parents.

Maybe.

Then don't say anything. It shows a lack of respect. And you know, it's not just our parents. We are to respect our elders. The Bible says in Leviticus 19 .32,. You shall rise before the gray-headed and honor the presence of an old man.

And fear your God. I am the Lord. Which means, if you're not doing that, you don't fear God. So, we need to not only respect our parents. We need to respect our elders. And if you are disrespecting your parents or disrespecting your elders, you are disrespecting God because God told you to respect them.

Proverbs 20, verse 29. The glory of young men is their strength. And the splendor of old men is their gray head. I know that's not the way everyone thinks of it. But that's what the scripture says. Hey, listen to this.

Proverbs 16, verse 31. The gray head is a crown of glory. And all God's people said, Amen. But isn't this just so basic? Don't all good parents teach their children to respect them and to respect their elders?

And yet, we live in a society where this is most certainly lacking. I watched one clip on the news where it was in the city and an elderly woman was walking down the street and some young thug came up and she didn't even see him coming and he just clocked her and knocked her out cold.

Only in a wicked society would something like that happen. So, if you would, turn to Ephesians chapter 5. To continue on the subject of the family honoring father and mother because this is one of the most basic structures that exists where there are clearly defined roles according to God's word.

So, go ahead and turn there, Ephesians 5. So, we saw that children are to obey their parents. And again, all God's people said, Amen. Does anyone disagree with that?

Okay.

Ephesians 5, 22. Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. And all the ladies said, Yeah. Not hearing too many amens.

Maybe I read it wrong.

Let me just double check. Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. And someone will say, Yeah, but I don't agree with that. Right, that's the point. Who does he think he is? Well, he is of equal value to you.

He's certainly not better than you. But according to the Scripture, the father is the head of the home. Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife as also Christ is head of the church.

And let's not dismiss this. Christ is the head of the church. In this week's newsletter that Charlene sent out, I wrote a column about how Christ is head of the church. Did any of you read that?

Good, that's good.

But I gave some examples. What does that mean that Christ is the head of the church? Well, it means that he calls the shots, not us. He determines what is done, not us. So I gave a few examples. You know, years ago when the Supreme Court redefined marriage, did me and the deacons get together and say, Okay, guys, what are we going to do?

Let's take a vote. Are we going to stick with the Bible or are we going to change our view on marriage? You know, we didn't do that because that option is not on the table. You don't vote on whether or not you obey God.

Some churches do, though, and Christ is not the head of those churches. When the deacons or the elders or the pastors voting on whether or not we're going to stick with the Lord here, that just shows they're the head of the church because they're deciding.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Moores Corner Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, moorescornerchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, with the grace of God be with you.