The
SUSQUEHANNA SENTINEL
October 31, 1999
Vol. II, No. 27

In This Issue

RESPECT:  "HONOR ALL... FEAR GOD, HONOR THE KING" (1 Peter 2:17)

I want to address the subject of respect -- respect for God, for government, for parents, for elders, for neighbors, and for self.  Though there are several Bible passages that use the word "respect," there is only one, so far as I can tell, that use it in the sense in which we usually use that term.  In Isaiah 17:7-8, God declares that by the Babylonian exile, He is going to teach the Jews to respect Him, and to not respect the idols made with men's hands.

For the idea we usually describe as respect, the Bible usually uses the term "honor."  Honor your father and mother.  Render honor to whom honor is due.  Honor the king.  When the object of our honor or respect is God, the Scriptures usually use a word that means the same as honor, only more so.  We are to fear, reverence, and worship God.  "Honor all...  Fear God, Honor the king."

NO ONE ELSE IS TO BE HONORED OR RESPECTED AS MUCH AS GOD.

"And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve"'" (Luke 4:8).  God is worthy of all the honor, all the respect, all the reverence, all the obedience we can muster.

WE ARE CALLED UPON TO HONOR, RESPECT,
BE IN SUBJECTION TO GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES.

"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves" (Rom. 13:1-2).

Not every politician is PERSONALLY worthy of great respect.  The Herods weren't, the Caesars weren't, Pontius Pilate wasn't.  But God allowed them to rise to power, and they governed with a power delegated to them by God.  The person God allows to wield that power is to be treated with respect and honor.

CHILDREN ARE TO HONOR AND OBEY THEIR PARENTS.

Paul quotes from Exodus 20:12, which commands children to honor their parents.  Paul calls it the "first commandment with promise" (Eph. 6:2).

THE BIBLE RECOGNIZES THE PRINCIPLE OF GIVING HONOR OR RESPECT
TO THOSE WHO HAVE LIVED AND LEARNED LONGER THAN OURSELVES.

Some of us are old enough to remember when young folks were taught to rise from their seat as a sign of respect when an older person entered the room.  This act of courtesy was brought about by Moses' admonition in the Old Testament, "You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord" (Lev. 19:32).

The New Testament recognizes the same principle.  "Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father... " (1 Tim. 5:1-2).   And again, "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders.  Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5).  As an example of the principle that is involved, the kingdom of Israel might have been passed on from Solomon to Rehoboam intact, except for this one mistake on the part of Rehoboam:  He rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who were his own peers, 1 Kings 12:8.

WE ARE TO HONOR AND RESPECT THE RIGHTS AND PROPERTY
OF OUR NEIGHBORS -- OUR FELLOW MEN, 1 Peter 2:17.

"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous" (1 Peter 3:8).  "Owe no on anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.  For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,' ‘You shall not murder,' ‘You shall not steal,' ‘You shall not bear false witness.' ‘You shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:8-10).

THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT WE MUST MAINTAIN SELF-RESPECT.

"If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body?  And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body?   If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing?  If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?  But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased"  (1 Cor. 12:15-18).

I cannot do everything, but I can do something.  I must not despise the talents, abilities, and opportunities God has given to me.  And I must maintain self respect.

"...Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves" (Rom. 14:22).  "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example of the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (1 Tim. 4:12).

In Moses' time, the ten spies failed because the had no self respect, Num. 13:33.  In Jesus' parable, the one-talent man failed for the same basic reason.  They despised their own smallness, and forgot what great things God can do with a little.  Paul was one of the most humble servants God ever had.  He referred to himself as "chief of sinners" and "least of the apostles," but he also noted:  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).

--CRJ

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMB OF GOD

Being God, Jesus could have easily called down 12 legions of angels to save Him from the terrible cross He faced, Matt. 26:53.  Being God, the Lord had the power to simply say the word and His enemies could have been utterly destroyed; but He did not use His power in this way -- nor did He allow His apostles to resort to physical violence for the sake of His defense.

When being harshly accused by those who railed at Him, Jesus remained reserved and did not retaliate, 1 Peter 2:23.  Even when He stood before Pilate, while being falsely and maliciously charged, He did not try to defend His own innocence, Matt. 27:12.

Seven hundred years before the incarnation of Christ, Isaiah wrote about this reticence by depicting the Lord as a "lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth" (Isa. 53:7).  Though a lamb led to slaughter is probably oblivious to where it is going, this was not so in the case of Jesus.  He knew He had the suffering of the cross to face, and this He did, not only willingly but also joyfully, John 10:17-18; Heb. 12:21.

Christ's silence before His accusers is a testimony toward His love for humanity, His love for His Father, and His determination to carry out the will of God -- even to the point of death on the cross.

Sometimes quietness has much to say.  Let us not forget this noble greatness that calls out to us from the silence of the Lamb of God. 

--Tom Edwards via The Observer.

BY YOUR WORDS:  JUSTIFIED OR CONDEMNED

In Matt. 12:36-37, Jesus said, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned.”

This is in the context where Jesus had been accused by the scribes and Pharisees of casting out demons by the power of Satan.  The seriousness of that accusation could hardly be overemphasized.  They had already committed, or else were on the verge of committing a sin which would never be forgiven.  They could not deny Jesus’ mighty power, but they impugned its source.

In defending Himself against their false accusations, Jesus showed that the devil would not cast out demons.  That would be working against himself.  Further, some of the Pharisees’ own associates also cast out demons or claimed to, and so the accusation they made against Jesus was turned back on their own company.

Then Jesus showed in verses 33-35 that evil words and deeds proceed from evil hearts.  A tree is known by its fruit.  No matter how we might like to have others believe our hearts are filled with goodness and godliness, if that is not the case, our words and deeds will eventually give us away.

Then Jesus comes to the statement we quoted in the beginning of this lesson.  The words men speak will be taken into account on the day of judgment.  The scribes and Pharisees needed this warning.  They were accustomed to taking very lightly the words that proceeded from their mouths.  It had become quite customary, and quite acceptable in their society to tell things that were untrue.  It was quite commonplace to make promises that were never intended to be kept.  It had even reached the point that they did not feel obligated to keep their word even under oath unless that oath were founded upon certain extra serious foundations.  In Matt. 23:16 and following, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing: but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated to perform it...  Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing: but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated to perform it.’  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?  Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.  He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it...”  He had earlier indicated in the sermon on the mount that a man should live honestly, so that in his every day conversation, he will not find it necessary to back up his word with oaths.  See Matt. 5:33-37.

Do not take your words lightly.  God won’t.  Do not make accusations or promises without a realization of the seriousness of your words, for “every idle word that men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”

--CRJ