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Date Posted: 17:01:02 10/19/04 Tue
Author: Chris
Subject: Re: Acts 5:29?
In reply to: Brian Karcher 's message, "Re: Acts 5:29?" on 08:15:32 10/19/04 Tue

You know very well that nobody here would deny the Biblical principles of obedience towards spiritual leaders (Heb 13:17) and government (Rom 1:5), and that everybody here is aware of the relevant verses.

The problem was the case where it is not possible to reconcile obedience towards God with obedience towards men. We are speaking about this case only here, and in this case, Bob is right by pointing out that it is a Biblical principle to obey God RATHER than men, and that men means "all mankind." His pointed statement that "Christians should obey God, and God alone" was OBVIOUSLY refering to that case that was in discussion, in order to emphasize that we shall not compromize here trying to obey a little bit God and a little bit men.

Did you ever notice that people make pointed statements? Even the Bible does and Jesus did. He said in Luke 4: "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" If he had said this to you, you would have probably answered: "Jesus, are you saying Christians should serve God only, and must never serve a man or other persons in need?"

Come on, I think everybody understood what Bob wanted to say, namely that "men" in Acts 5:29 is a general term refering to all mankind, and that this verse is universally valid, pointing out the limits of other principles such as Heb 13:17 and Rom 13:5.

In the Bible, we are confronted with "greater" and "smaller" commands. And whenever there is a conflict between a "greater" and a "smaller" command, we should of course obey the greater one and may neglect the smaller one. Acts 5:29 is only one formulation of this general ethical principle that every Christian is aware of. Obedience towards leaders and government is only a small command or principle derived from other principles. It is not even mentioned among the 10 commandments, and has never been emphasized by Jesus as a great command. It is a Biblical principle and we shall heed it, but to love and obey God is a much higher command.

Can you follow?

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