A rebel is one who acts against authority. Such action can be good when those who are in authority are corrupt and oppose God (Acts 5:29). But those who refuse to submit to such authorities are not simply being rebellious. They are acting in submission to the higher authority – God. But there are some who simply refuse to submit to anyone in authority – parent, teacher, employer, police officer, government official, even God. They want to be free to do as they please without restrictions placed upon them by others.
Sin occurs when we fail to submit to God. If we want to overcome sin, we must obey God, for sin is a transgression of His law.
“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
To resist the devil is to submit to God. The Bible is clear that we have two choices: follow God or follow the devil. Any third option that one may come up with, if it cannot be classified as following God, then by default it falls into the second category. Satan does not need to get people to actively and consciously worship and follow him. All he needs to do is get them to rebel against God, and he has won.
Shortly before ascending into heaven, Jesus told His apostles who it was that possessed all authority.
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).
The latter verses describe the commission Jesus gave His apostles: make disciples and teach them to observe all that He commanded. Because Jesus possesses “all authority,” He has the right to give us commands and expect us to obey them. The apostles’ duty was to spread this message so that others could learn of the authority of Christ and what was required of them.
“We are destroying speculation and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
The preaching of the gospel, which includes making a clear distinction between Christ’s message and all others, is meant to be obeyed. It is designed to take “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17).
All that we say and do must be authorized by Christ. Those who will say that God is not concerned with our obedience are misrepresenting the Scriptures. God demands obedience. Christ has all authority so the things we say and do must be according to what He has left for us in His word. If we do not submit to Him in this way, Jesus clearly teaches that we will ultimately be condemned.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).
Notice that these people claimed to do things in the name of Christ. Yet claiming to do something in the name of Christ is not the same thing as actually doing something in His name (by His authority). It does not matter if we are religious or if we are doing things that are classified by the world as “good works.” If we are not doing the Father’s will, we are practicing lawlessness – that for which we have no law (authority).
Submission to God is For Our Good
But why should we submit to God? Satan and his ministers will try to convince us that submitting to God is unreasonable or unnecessary. They will say we can choose another path. Yet the Bible explains to us why we are to submit to God.
“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25).
We often arrogantly or stubbornly hold onto our own opinions about things, thinking that our way is best. Actually, the way that is always best is the way that God has shown to us. His thoughts are infinitely higher than our thoughts. If you could even imagine any foolishness on the part of God, even that would be wiser than the wisdom of men. We submit to God because His way is best.
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time” (1 Peter 5:6).
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).
God is also able to reward us for our faithful service to Him. Peter tells us that He will exalt us at the proper time – the end when He returns to deliver His reward. If we consider what He offers us, it is truly foolish to rebel against Him and stubbornly follow after our own will.
Satan tries to convince us to reject the rule of Christ. He makes his appeal to one’s rebellious and independent spirit, trying to make us believe that the way of Christ is too restrictive and that there is not enough liberty. After all, we should be free to live as we please, right? We certainly are free to live as we please. But this does not mean that we live without a master. If we do not wish to be slaves of Christ, and therefore refuse to submit to Him, we are still not truly free – we are slaves of sin.
“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness” (Romans 6:20).
When we seek to free ourselves from practicing righteousness in the service of Christ, we make ourselves the slaves of sin. Why do we choose to rebel against Christ rather than rejecting the other master – sin? Christ, through our service to Him, gives us liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17). The path of sin is one of bondage that ultimately leads to death (Romans 6:12-13, 23).
Summary
Sin is a rebellion against God and His ways. Therefore, if you hope to remove sin from your life, remember the benefits of service to God: the assurance that His way is best and that He will reward us in the end. Also remember the consequences of rebelling against Him: slavery to sin and, ultimately, spiritual death.
This material is taken from the book, The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can Overcome, published by Gospel Armory, © 2010.
