The Higher Liberty

Order the book The Higher Liberty

The Higher Liberty

by Gregory HHC, d
Minister of His Holy Church

Go to the Table of Contents

Obey Magistrates

 

In the beginning we were free souls under God until we sinned and Cain created his city state, Nimrod his Babylon, Pharaoh his corvee system of statutory bondage,²¹² and of course all those other governments with men who promise liberty and benefits at the expense of your neighbor and bring you back into bondage again.

Of course if Titus stated “to obey magistrates” that would set the manner of the arrangement. Here is the interesting point, Titus does not say obey magistrates. The word “magistrate” is not in the original text. We see only the word “peitharcheo”²¹³ which simply means “obey”. It could mean obey magistrates, but it could mean obey God, since that is who we were to obey in the “beginning” if we would “remember”. The statement seems clear if you will believe.

In fact Peter and others use the same word in Acts 5:29:

“...and the [other] apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29

In Acts 5:32 the word is used to tell us to obey God and His Holy Spirit.²¹⁴ We also see it in Acts 27:21 when Paul stood forth and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me.

How can the word be translated obey magistrates in one place and listen to Paul in another? While archo can mean leader, the word peitho means to persuade. A problem of interpretation should not arise since the leaders of the Church led by persuasion while the leaders of the world often operated by force.

History is filled with the record of successful governments that did not exercise authority one over the other. The nations that neglected the responsibility of the individual by centralizing the power of choice in the hands of a few always declined into decadence and despotism.

 

Footnotes:

 

----------

Return to the Table of Contents, Alphabetical Index or purchase the book The Higher Liberty

Related Articles and Audio:

Romans 13 part 1
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/audio/rm/Romans131.ram

ROMANS 13 verse 1 the higher liberty
Does God want us to be subject or to be free?
http://www.hisholychurch.org/sermon/romans13.php

Romans 13 and I Peter 2,13-14
Is the Bible consistent about setting men free or does it contradict itself?
http://www.hisholychurch.org/sermon/romanspeter.php

Romans 13, NN Video Series:7-10 4:32
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SEMYx6affo

Footnotes: