3/1/26 - WiFi Land / THE SOURCE OF INSURRECTION?

Good morning Wi-Fi land all over the world. Today we greet you in the name of he who hears not only the words of our mouths but even the thoughts of our hearts. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to whom be glory both now and forever more. Amen.

Well, unless you have been on an extended jungle vacation and had no TV or internet, you are well aware of the turmoil in some of our nation's cities. We have seen many adult-looking people behaving very juvenile and these are behaving very very disrespectfully toward the police and others in authority and sadly even riotist behavior is far too common. So we should ask ourselves how it has become acceptable to behave contemptuously toward authority.

And we don't have to go far to discover the root cause. The Bible says that mankind is sinful and therefore not willing to accept authority. We read in 1 John 3:4 that sin is lawlessness. In other words, since man is in rebellion against God and his throne, every unsaved man or woman live in a continual state of insurrection against all authority. And though men and women may submit to authority, they do not do so happily. It is only the threat of the consequence of punishment that men and women are moved to obey.

Before the flood, there was no government to restrict the evil of mankind. And so we read in Genesis 6:5, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." And in verse 13, "And God said unto Noah, the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth."

It was after the flood that God established government to restrain the evil of mankind. God said to Noah in Genesis 9:6, "Who so shedth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed. For in the image of God made him man." God established human government to protect the lives of men and women. Life is sacred to God because man was made in God's image. And to protect life, God placed the sword of capital punishment in the hands of men.

Now consider this. God placed the death penalty in the hands of sinful men so that they might protect life and maintain God's order on earth. Again, God placed the responsibility of executing the death penalty in the hands of sinful men so that they might protect life and maintain God's order on the earth. And therefore, by very definition, the government of men will always be faulty because men themselves are faulty. Nevertheless, God in his perfect wisdom determined that it is better for men to govern themselves than to leave man without government as before the flood. And scripture bears this truth out in the book of Judges where we read twice, "In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes." Judges 17:6 and 21:25.

The Bible teaches that all human government is from God. Romans 13:1, "Every soul be subject under the higher powers. For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves judgment."

But how is this respect for government to be communicated to the sons of men? And this is the point I would like to drive home. Respect for authority is to be communicated in the home. That's right. God gave a commandment that can only be taught in the home. And this commandment is to be taught to children while they are growing up. And the commandment is honor thy father and thy mother. Exodus 20:12. Fathers and mothers are to teach their children to respect and to obey their parents and their parents' word. If this commandment is not taught by parents to their children, their children will never respect authority. Therefore, it is the government of the home where respect for all authority begins, both respect for God's authority and for man's.

And God gave to parents the rod of correction that by tough love they might teach their child to be obedient and that their child might learn to respect authority. Proverbs 22:15. Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

So I submit to you that the disrespect for authority we see in our nation is the direct consequence of homes where fathers and mothers did not exercise godly discipline and training. Homes where children were not taught to honor their fathers and their mothers. And now those children are adults in Jesus' name. Amen.