Saturday Soldier’s Devotional – “Obliged” – 05/18/2024 – Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach

Onward, then, ye people,
join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices
in the triumph song;
Glory, laud, and honor,
unto Christ the King;
This thro’ countless ages
men and angels sing.
Onward, Christian Soldiers v.4

It may seem unusual to begin with these lyrics for a post entitled “Obliged”. Yet Christians know they are in a fight every day against evil and are obliged to defend the faith (Apologetics) to the best of their ability.

ROMANS 13

ROMANS 13:1-7

Back in the day, a long time ago when I was a young man 😉, it was common for folks to use the word obliged. We used it as a matter of moral principle, we appreciated things that others did for us, the community, and the nation. That carried over to my military service. I felt obligated to do my best, to uphold the oath I took to defend the nation. Today many in Civilian life, Government, and even the military have forgotten that the obligation (someone’s duty to comply with the law) has never been eliminated from the U.S. Constitution.

The Biblical “command” (call to duty or obligation) found here written by the Apostle Paul applies to all citizens, especially anyone claiming to be a “Christian.” With corruption widespread, the courts ignoring the Constitution, and “Christians” seemingly content to just let things happen it is no wonder public trust in our system of government is failing quickly.

We need to pray for our nation, our elected officials, the election process, and for more “True Christians” to get off the couch and get involved.

Below are some featured articles and previous blog posts on the State of the Nation, our Obligation to this Nation, and our Service Members.

A Christian’s Duties to the State

Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. ²So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. ³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. ⁴For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. ⁵Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath but also because of your conscience. ⁶And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s servants, continually attending to these tasks.^[a] ⁷Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.
Romans 13:1-7 CSB

CONTEXT

oblige

[ uh-blahyj ]SHOW IPA

See synonyms for: obl ige obliged obliging on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),o·bliged, o·blig·ing.

to require or constrain, as by law, command, conscience, or force of necessity.
to bind morally or legally, as by a promise or contract.

to place under a debt of gratitude for some benefit, favor, or service: I’m much obliged for the ride.
to put (one) in a debt of gratitude, as by a favor or accommodation: Mr. Weems will oblige us with a song.
to make (an action, policy, etc.) necessary or obligatory: Your carelessness obliges firmness on my part.

verb (used without object),o·bliged, o·blig·ing.

to be kindly accommodating: I’ll do anything within reason to oblige.

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13:1 Paul urged Christians to be submissive and model citizens because God has installed the governing authorities to keep the civil order and punish wrongdoers. Peter gave similar instructions about submission (1Pt 2:13–14, 17). However, submission to authorities is not absolute. Both Jesus and the writer of Acts established this central Christian principle. Jesus said, “Give, then, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mt 22:21). Peter and the apostles declared that they must obey God rather than humans (Ac 5:29). Any submission to the authorities must pass through the filter of God’s will and call on a believer’s life.

The difficulty here involves discerning God’s will and call in those areas to which Scripture does not speak, which requires determining and applying biblical principles rather than explicit biblical statements. This is the Christian’s crucial duty, for a failure to discern God’s will risks disobeying God and incurring his displeasure. Of course, obeying God against the government may result in incurring the government’s anger—as the NT and subsequent church history well attest—but this puts a Christian in good company (Mt 5:10–12).
William W. Klein, “Romans,” in CSB Apologetics Study Bible, ed. Ted Cabal (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1417.

reformation-commentary-romans-13-1-7 Download

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