Who is your authority?

Choices…. decisions… we are regularly faced with decisions to make, both small and big. Each decision might have a particular consequence. For example, a decision about whether to accept a marriage proposal, or a decision to resist a temptation of the flesh that would lead us down a road of regret if we decide to follow the desire. Or a decision about whether to leave a job. How do you go about making important decisions? Do you weigh up the pros and cons? Do you pray about it, seek wise counsel about it? Or rely on your own reasoning and make an autonomous decision?

And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15

The ultimate decision any human can ever make is whether to follow Christ the Lord, or not. Perhaps you may have been a believer for several years, or just several months… or maybe struggling with doubts. Wherever you are in your faith journey, we each face ongoing choices to make which will either enhance or inhibit our spiritual lives. This is where the matter of authority comes in.

At school, we learned under authority figures called teachers. We entered into a school building which had rules and regulations. At college or university, same thing. Entering the workforce, we work under managers and supervisors. There are hierarchies of management structures. We sign an employment contract. We conform to the job expectations. On a much higher level, we find the Creator – the Lord of the heavens and the earth. He is the Ultimate Authority. So how do we submit to Him in our daily lives? Do we work as though Christ is our authority? Do we conduct our relationships as though Christ is our authority? How do we start our day? How do we respond to situations? Is Christ’s authority compartmentalised? Are we part-time believers? Even if you have been a follower of Christ for many years, be aware that it is still possible to slip into self-autonomy… it may start with complacency, a bit of spiritual laziness with a bit of compromise thrown in. Then it grows like yeast in the bread mix. It could be a TV series on Netflix that starts the slippery slope – getting ‘hooked’ onto an edgy drama series which is subtly promoting immorality. Then we find our prayer lives slipping… our Bibles not being opened as much, or perhaps opened briefly for a one verse top up so we don’t feel guilty.

The enemy of our souls known as the devil and satan – the adversary, seeks to supplant the authority of Christ in our lives with all sorts of things. He uses disappointments, illness, betrayal of a friend, temptations of pleasure, and so on to get us into rebellion or disillusionment. When our Lord Jesus came into this world in human flesh as our Saviour, satan even misused the holy scriptures, God’s word the Bible, in a manipulative way to try to get Him to sin! How foolish that was! The perfect, sinless Son of God would not step outside of His holy assignment. He would not disobey His Father’s orders. He expects no less from His followers, but He gives us empowerment through the Holy Spirit and the Bible as our sword, so that we can stand against the schemes of the devil and stay under the covering of God’s authority.

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong

1 Corinthians 16:13

We only have to switch on the news to know that we are in the ‘perilous times’ the Bible speaks of… strange viruses, terrorist acts, increase of persecution against Christianity. It’s important that we take heed to these words:-

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 91:1

This is about living under God’s covering, His shelter, His protective authority.

Let’s daily choose to stay under God’s authority.