Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,222
“Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: ‘The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.’” (Matthew 23:1-3 NASB1995)
Sometimes we may have good rulers, and other times we may have bad rulers. In fact, we may have a long string of bad rulers who, in truth, care nothing for the people but only for themselves and what they can get out of it. And it doesn’t matter if they are on the right or on the left politically, for it is all the same, i.e. they all work for the same people, for the ruling class of the world, i.e. for the global elite who are the ones running the world.
So, just because someone is in a position of rule and authority, either in the government, or in the church, that is no promise that the individual in charge has our best interest at heart, and that they are not working for themselves, for what they can gain from it, regardless of how it impacts us, the people. So this is why we are instructed in the Scriptures to test everyone to see what they are made out of, for not all are who they say.
And this was the case when Jesus lived on the earth. Many of the religious rulers within the temple and the synagogues were not godly and moral people looking out for the people underneath them. Even though they made an outward showing of “righteousness,” inwardly, and in practice, they were not good people, but they were bad people doing bad things. They were not working for the people but for themselves and for their own selfish gain.
Pharisees Character Traits
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were skilled at hypocrisy. Jesus described them in this way (based off Matthew 23:1-39):
• They do not practice what they preach
• They do their deeds to be seen by others
• They love places of honor; they love attention
• They lead people to hell on the promise of heaven
• They profess one thing but live the opposite
• They adhere to religious rituals but not to God’s righteousness
• They appear clean (righteous) outwardly but inwardly are evil
• They are full of wicked deeds, greed, hypocrisy and self-indulgence
• They persecute those who are truly righteous in God’s sight
So, even though we, as citizens of nations, must adhere to the laws of the land, and we must obey our governing authorities, God sets limits on what we must obey and not obey. We do not have to obey anything that is sinful and that is contrary to the will and purpose of God for our lives. We do not have to compromise faith and biblical convictions in order to obey governing authorities. Obedience to God has to be in first place always.
And if we have leaders who are professing faith in Jesus Christ, no matter if they are in the church, or in the government, but they are not setting good role models for us to follow, but the opposite of that, we need to be wise and discerning about that. And I see nothing in the Scriptures that demands that we remain in a church fellowship where the leaders are not following the Scriptures, but where they are teaching lies, and where they are immoral.
In fact, I believe the Scriptures teach the opposite of that, that we are to come out of “Babylon,” and we are not to be in fellowship with the ungodly and with those who are teaching that we can live however we want and still be saved from our sins, and still have eternal life with God, for those are lies. We should remove ourselves from such influences as that, and we should fellowship with those who are living godly lives in obedience to God.
[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5; Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
Be Careful Who You Follow
An Original Work / February 25, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Sometimes we may have good rulers, and other times we may have bad rulers. In fact, we may have a long string of bad rulers who, in truth, care nothing for the people but only for themselves and what they can get out of it. And it doesn’t matter if they are on the right or on the left politically, for it is all the same, i.e. they all work for the same people, for the ruling class of the world, i.e. for the global elite who are the ones running the world.
So, just because someone is in a position of rule and authority, either in the government, or in the church, that is no promise that the individual in charge has our best interest at heart, and that they are not working for themselves, for what they can gain from it, regardless of how it impacts us, the people. So this is why we are instructed in the Scriptures to test everyone to see what they are made out of, for not all are who they say.
And this was the case when Jesus lived on the earth. Many of the religious rulers within the temple and the synagogues were not godly and moral people looking out for the people underneath them. Even though they made an outward showing of “righteousness,” inwardly, and in practice, they were not good people, but they were bad people doing bad things. They were not working for the people but for themselves and for their own selfish gain.
Pharisees Character Traits
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were skilled at hypocrisy. Jesus described them in this way (based off Matthew 23:1-39):
• They do not practice what they preach
• They do their deeds to be seen by others
• They love places of honor; they love attention
• They lead people to hell on the promise of heaven
• They profess one thing but live the opposite
• They adhere to religious rituals but not to God’s righteousness
• They appear clean (righteous) outwardly but inwardly are evil
• They are full of wicked deeds, greed, hypocrisy and self-indulgence
• They persecute those who are truly righteous in God’s sight
So, even though we, as citizens of nations, must adhere to the laws of the land, and we must obey our governing authorities, God sets limits on what we must obey and not obey. We do not have to obey anything that is sinful and that is contrary to the will and purpose of God for our lives. We do not have to compromise faith and biblical convictions in order to obey governing authorities. Obedience to God has to be in first place always.
And if we have leaders who are professing faith in Jesus Christ, no matter if they are in the church, or in the government, but they are not setting good role models for us to follow, but the opposite of that, we need to be wise and discerning about that. And I see nothing in the Scriptures that demands that we remain in a church fellowship where the leaders are not following the Scriptures, but where they are teaching lies, and where they are immoral.
In fact, I believe the Scriptures teach the opposite of that, that we are to come out of “Babylon,” and we are not to be in fellowship with the ungodly and with those who are teaching that we can live however we want and still be saved from our sins, and still have eternal life with God, for those are lies. We should remove ourselves from such influences as that, and we should fellowship with those who are living godly lives in obedience to God.
[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5; Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
Be Careful Who You Follow
An Original Work / February 25, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
