Submit to Authority

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you”

Submitting to authority is a divine instruction. God expects every Christian to submit to authority and especially in the Church. Hebrews 13:17 says “Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you”.

When you submit, you subject yourself to a particular process, training, and comply with every given instruction. Thus, when you find yourself in a local church, you don’t run your own show. You don’t do things in the “opposite” to what you are taught.

You comply with every instruction given to enhance your growth in the things of God.

See the instruction to the saints in the Church at Thessalonica on the subject of submission; “Dear brothers, honor the officers of your church who work hard among you and warn you against all that is wrong. Think highly of them and give them your wholehearted love because they are straining to help you…” (2Thessalonians 5:12-13). So, submitting to authority in the house of God is not a choice. It is a duty that must be discharge irrespective of what you think.

People who don’t submit to instructions in Church are in total rebellion. Such people make themselves vulnerable to evil schemes of the enemy. Not only that, some favours and divine guidance don’t come to them.

You must make living in submission to God’s authority your mandate in life. Never make your life contradict the teachings you receive from God’s house. In fact, never try to outsmart your pastor or behave like you are “wiser” than the Spirit of God that is leading the Church.

Read: 1 Peter 5:5 “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”

Prayer: Lord, I pray for a fresh baptism of the spirit of submission upon my life. I pray that my submission to the people you have placed over my life will be from a pure and sincere heart. Amen!