Rise Up!

 

Psalms 94:16(NKJV)

16    Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?      Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?

Here is an interesting verse.  Well what if the evildoer is an authority figure who is over me such as an elected official?  Here is a verse from the New Testament. 
 

1 Peter 2:13-14(NKJV)

13Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 

14or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 

I've always found this NT verse to be strange.  Let's take it to the extreme.  It's telling us we should have supported Hitler, Stalin, Ghengas Khan, or any other number of evil rulers.  Knowing that we serve a just God, that just never made sense to me. 

Could it be that the OT verse above is a qualifier to the NT verse?  Or is that just a justification?  The OT verse clearly tells us that we should rise up against evildoers.  But wait, that would require a judgment wouldn't it?  Interesting questions aren't they?

This is why I continually say that the Bible is a book of balance.  It has to be taken in it's entirety.  And even then it isn't a slam dunk to understand.  God had a very specific reason for giving us the Holy Spirit.  To help provide discernment as we study and grow in God's word. 

How do you get the Holy Spirit?  By asking Jesus, God's son, to come into your life and lead you.  If you feel that little tug deep inside you than respond and have a conversation with Jesus.  "Dear Jesus…."

The questions that I asked above have answers.  The answers are in the Bible.  You just have to really want to find them.  Ever notice that people have different depths of understanding of the Bible?  I believe that is because those same people have different depths of study of God's word. 

God tells us in Scripture that we have to really dig to get to the truth.  A casual read will give you just that, a casual understanding.  So if you want to really have some fun, roll up your sleeves and dig.  I'm sure you will find that it was well worth it!