This respect for authority is to transcend to all levels. This immediately raises questions in us about what to do about evil governments. Verse 15 has the answer, God wants us to silence the foolish by doing good. God's response is not to fight evil with evil, but to overcome evil with good.
Verses 16 then takes things further. We are not use our freedom to cover up evil in our own lives. It is so easy when we claim to be acting on someone else's behalf, that we are looking only to our own interests. The devil can appear as an angle of light. The freedom Christ has given us is the freedom to live as God intended us to. Verse 17 sums up what this means. We are to respect everyone, love fellow believers, fear God and honour the earthly leader. The order is interesting, for love for other comes before fearing God. In practice how we react to and treat other people is a very good indicator of whether or not we truly love God. As John says, how can we say we love God who we cannot see if we do not love our brothers who we can see?.
Verses 16 then takes things further. We are not use our freedom to cover up evil in our own lives. It is so easy when we claim to be acting on someone else's behalf, that we are looking only to our own interests. The devil can appear as an angle of light. The freedom Christ has given us is the freedom to live as God intended us to. Verse 17 sums up what this means. We are to respect everyone, love fellow believers, fear God and honour the earthly leader. The order is interesting, for love for other comes before fearing God. In practice how we react to and treat other people is a very good indicator of whether or not we truly love God. As John says, how can we say we love God who we cannot see if we do not love our brothers who we can see?.
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