Not Afraid

Living under a government can sometimes be tricky. Most of the time it's not. See most of the time when our government passes a law it is relatively easy for us to agree with. At least the basic laws. Even today if you were to visit the Supreme Court and look up at the likenesses carved into the top of the building he will find three people prominently located as the central figures of law and justice throughout the world. Confucius, Moses, and salon. With Moses being the central figure holding each tablet of the 10 Commandments in his hand and standing just in front of the other figures, giving him a place of prominence.

Even in the capital building were Congress meets if you were standing where the speaker stands and looks forward you will see a marble relief of Moses face on. Moses being one of 23 reliefs that are placed above the doors that surround the meeting place, but the other figures are shown in profile. They are turned facing Moses in the center.

This represents a reality, that the laws of our nation, as they were established were by and large compatible with the laws of God. Now we've had plenty of time since the establishment of our country to mess that up. And to build in injustices. But I am not talking about that, this morning.

And that's where it's tricky for us as a Christian. It wasn't that long ago that we were being forced to quarantine because of Covid. And I won't get into my political thoughts on that subject, because my political opinion doesn't matter from where I'm standing right now.

What I know is that Romans chapter 13 verse 1-6 says this:

Romans 13:1–6 KJV 1900

1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

This passage became very inconvenient for many Christians. It became inconvenient because for the first time every American citizen, regardless of whether they have ever had conflict with the laws of our nation or not had to make a decision as to whether they were going to obey the law or just do whatever they wanted. And the scriptural gymnastics that were employed in order to justify ignoring the wall were staggering. Romans 13 does not lend itself to much interpretation. Verse two says:

Romans 13:2 KJV 1900

2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

whosoever therefore resist the power resistance the ordinance of God they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. Those are the stakes we are talking about. — See — Anyone that tries to redefine that passage, or find some other meaning for what that passage clearly means is doing a service for those same folks to call themselves Christians that twist scripture in order to support immorality, injustice, and even the denial of Christ theory. — they cast doubt on the clear authority of Scripture when it's inconvenient.

I'm gonna jump ahead with the verse that we have been using to give us context for this series in Hebrews 11. It’s the first verse of the chapter, so it seems like a good place to start:

Hebrews 11:1 KJV 1900

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Or as Cockerill Paraphrases it:

Faith is living as if the things hoped for are real

I honestly wonder when I look at the state of Christianity. When I see how good times Christians can look at Romans 13 and make all of these decisions about how lion justice is good and ordained by God but when it comes inconvenient for them, well that's another story. See you when I look at Romans 13 I look at it as if it's a real truth. That this is justice in the eyes of God and I can't take lightly the willful disobedience of a civil government. And I frankly find a shameful that anyone calling themselves a Christian can. — It is no wonder that church attendance has remained down in this country since the pandemic — Christians stopped acting as if the things hoped for are real, the minute it got a little tough.

And now that I have aggravated everyone, I at least know that I have your attention, so let’s get to our passage today in Hebrews 11:23

Hebrews 11:23 KJV 1900

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.

Our message this morning is entitled Not Afraid

Let’s Pray

The King’s Commandment

Hebrews 11:23 starts in Exodus 1:8-10

Exodus 1:8–10 KJV 1900

8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

And so the Egyptians made the people of Israel work as slaves — but that wasn’t enough, if you look down to v16 we read the King of Egypts commandment

Exodus 1:16 KJV 1900

16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

But the Hebrew midwifes disobeyed this order — and so the order was given to all of the people of Egypt in v22:

Exodus 1:22 KJV 1900

22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Do you understand hear the pharaoh, the king of Egypt was giving a command that win any person. Any Egyptian saw a male baby that was born of the Hebrews that they were to take that child and toss that baby in the river Nile to die. This was nothing short of state mandated murder.

What a great work of the devil it s to work upon a government to no longer value the life of an innocent child. But, I digress.

We come then to the birth of Moses in Exodus 2:1-3

Exodus 2:1–3 KJV 1900

1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.

You are no doubt aware of what happened after the daughter of pharaoh came down to the river and discovered the baby and she raised Moses as her own. Eventually Moses would come of age and God would make him a man through which he would call Israel out of bondage. That’s not the act of faith we’re going to focus on this morning.

Christians, I tell you this morning if you were to sit down and have a conversation with Moses's parents you know nothing of hardship from the hands of the government. And I can give you example after example whether it's the persecuted church in China or India or an Africa of people that are truly being persecuted today for their faith and I am here to tell you that if you are a practicing Christian in the United States today you know nothing of persecution compared to those Christians who came before us.

What we are talking about this morning is the point where Romans 13 stops applying. Peter says it this way in Acts 5:27

Acts 5:29 (KJV 1900)

29 .... We ought to obey God rather than men.

And when God has his law written down, we read in Exodus 20:13

Exodus 20:13 ESV

13 “You shall not murder.

Listen, pharaoh had a law. But God had a different law.

Pharaoh said cast these babies into the river to die

But it is the the incarnate word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ who said:

Matthew 18:6 KJV 1900

6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Repeatedly throughout scripture we find that God seems to take great offense to injustices done to the week, into the innocent, especially children. And while I have no chapter and verse to support this it is my personal belief that anyone who performs abortions, anyone who supports performing abortions if they do not repent and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and their savior when they go to hell I believe that the fires of health will be stoked especially for them and it will be a torment of eternity that reminds them of the innocent blood they shed on the alter of expediency.

Be Not Afraid

Back in Exodus, pharaoh had commanded the midwives of the Hebrews to kill the Hebrew baby boys. And the midwives disobeyed this command in verse 21 tells us why, it was:

Exodus 1:21 (ESV)

21 ... because the midwives feared God ...

In Matthew 10:26-28 Jesus says this:

Matthew 10:26–28 KJV 1900

26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Hebrews were living in a miserable state of slavery. The Egyptians were intentionally working them to the bone. They were being treated awfully. I have no doubt that the punishments that they had were severe. Imagine a country that was ruled by a king who had such little care for human life that he would order babies to be tossed in a river and drowned. What would a king like that due to an adult who opposed him?

I don't know to what extent Egypt's cruelty to go, partially because I don't know that it had extent. Vamosi's parents didn't fear the king. Moses's parents feared God. They acted faithfully as if the things that had been promised to them were true. Mando inkling that Moses would grow to be a man and be the prophet who led their people out of captivity. All they knew was it they had a child and God valued that life and so they valued that life is it God had a promise. I promise happened in this lifetime with a lifetime to come it was better for them to fear God turn to fear man because man can't kill a turtle soul neither can man give me a promise is into eternity.

Our Government

Personally, there hasn't been a time where I have been compelled by law to break the law of God. It simply hasn't come up. That's not true for everyone in our country. We know that there are people who were compelled by law to not meet as a church. — but our Bible says that we are not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. — there are laws in some states that require you to affirm gender identity, regardless of your religious convictions. — that is not something that I've had to deal with, but there are some employers that require it even in Ohio— or you could work for the federal government, and you could lose your job by adhering your faith.

I hope that for you and I never really comes down to it we have to make this decision. But if you're really a person of faith you're going to stand with these heroes of the faith that we read about and he was 11 you're going to choose to obey God rather than man. — be warned though that you are not going to be supported by God if you are fighting just to fight. — You can’t just claim that something is a biblical stance, or stretch scripture to cover your political viewpoint. — But if the choice comes up, and scripture is clear — You know what to do, be like Moses’ parents

Let’s pray