HEART CHECK: Living Under God’s Authority

INTRODUCTION

[Greeting] Open up your Bibles to Ephesians 6.

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[OPENING ILL] My dad telling me i could go to the bathroom weather my teacher said it was ok or not. (Hook) we all desire to do what we want and tell everyone to get over it. This is our sinful desire to be the captain of our own ship and be our own God.

What’s interesting is we live in a world that doesn tllike authority and suubmitting to any type of authority and the ones that we do submit to - we do it either grudgingly or because we thing it benefits us. And yet at the same time submit ourselves to invisible authorities like the culture as we follow and do what we see online or submit ourselves to the authority of someone else opinion.

For example, how many of you have a phone and have an app on your phoen that you downloaded? Each app has a terms and conditions. By a show of hands how many of you read each terms and conditions?…. exactly. We are ok submitting our to trivial things but when it comes to what matters most we hesitate and pause.

SERMON

When we see Jesus as our ultimate authority, every relationships is transformed. Tonight I want us to look at How does the gospel transform our earthly relationships. Really what we’ll see is how the Gospel shapes every relationship. If we’ve come to believe the gospel as true then the gospel should change our whole life.

Here’s what I want us to see tonight - How we function under earthly authority exposes how we live under divine authority.

Read Ephesians 6.

What we see in our passage is Paul continuing the conversation on what it means to be in the household or family of God. Chapter 6 gives guidance on biblical roles and function in the family. You see, our homes are still under the rule and reign of the gospel

1. The Gospel Shapes Our Submission

Look a couple of verse that show us HOW we are called to submit. Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”. Ephesians 6:5 “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,”.

Paul first shows us WHO we are submitting to then shows us HOW we are to submit to them. Notice in verse 1 and 5 the relationships outlined.

First there is the mother and father. As a child (those who still live under the roof of your parents) God has called you to obey. The really isn’t a more simpler way to say this. Notice thought, that Paul places a moral claim on here - that obeying your parents is the right things to do. As it relates the biblica family order and function - being a morally good person, as a child, means to obey your parents.

However, you don’t live with your parents forever, which means the dynamic of the parent-child relation ship changes from obedience to honoring and again Paul add so that it may go well with you. The point Paul makes here is that you’d be more happy, useful, and virtuous if you obeyed your parents than if you disobeyed them.

The message to children is to obey and honor their parents as they would Christ and if they do it will go well with them.

Here’s the reality, many of you know this is true. You have experienced limited freedom in some way because you have not lived this out and I’m telling you, from God’s Word, that it would be better for you and things will go well if you would obey as God would have you.

The second area that Paul shares is for bondservants to obey their masters. This term could have various meanings for someone who is either forced into labor or someone who have sold themselves to pay a debt into servitude. But either way, Paul gives instructions for servants to obey their master.

Many of you don’t have a job that compensates you in money, however, all of you are in school. You have a teacher who is telling you what to do academically and the way that they pay you is in knowledge. A right appliucation for you here is that you would obey your obey teachers, coaches, and those placed in authority by delegated authroigty if your parents and God.

The command here is to Obey - Thats the WHO we should submit to. Now I want to show you where Paul also shares HOW we are to submit to them. Really the idea here is asking the question, What type of attitude should I submit and obey my parents, my boss, my teacher, my coach, and whoever God has placed over me.

Multiple times in one way or another Paul gives us the answer.

v. 1 “obey in the Lord”, v. 4 “in the instruction of the Lord”, v. 5 “as you would Christ”, v.6 “bondservants of Christ”, v.7 “giving service to the Lord”, v. 8 “You will will receive back from the Lord”, v. 9 - The Lord is their Master, v. 10 “There is no partiality with God”.

The answer is that you are called by God to obey your parents and thosw authority God has palced over you as you would obey Jesus Christ. Paul always makes it back tot he gospel and to Jesus because the gospel ought to shape every area of our life.

You are called to obey your parents, teachers, coaches, government, and other authorities—but never in a way that would require you to disobey God. What Paul is getting at here is that you ultimate authority is Jesus Christ and if we’ve submit to their highest authority than every other authority should fall in line as delegated authority by God.

Paul also says in Romans 13:1–3 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” When we disobey and resist delegated authority

Here’s the formula that Paul is getting across - It goes well when we obey Christ. It goes well when we obey our parents and other delegated authority. If you notice thought the tension occurs in our earthly relationships in the same place that the tension occurs in our heavenly relationship. The tension comes when we want to do things our way and believe we have the best way instead following the order that God has already placed. Both with our parents, teachers and with our heavenly father.

Here’s the point - Earthly submission is a result of our heavenly submission. How we submit to God is shown in how we submit to other relationships.

2. The Gospel Shapes Our Leadership

Relationships are a two way street and the gospel gives insight and direction on both sides. What Paul now shows us that the gospel shapes not only how we obey but in how we lead. No student in here is a father or mother and not many of us in here are masters in the sense that you can tell someone to do something as delegated authority but leadership little to do about you being able to tell someone what do than it is about being able to influence someone.

Leadership is not about flexing, clout, getting your way, or being the loudest or just explaining why you think your right. Leadership is about serving, protecting, building others up, and strengthening someone else to bless them.

This means that there are people who you’re around that God has placed a certain level of influence over that you may or may not aware of. Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger..” Ephesians 6:9 “Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.”

What Paul does is gospelizes these types of relationships. In a world where men could do whatever they want and masters and bosses had the right to do dehumanize and threaten their servants as they please, Paul applies gospel theology and transforms these types of relationships.

There are two way that the gospel shapes our leadership and influence. First, we are to lead and influence those around us without provoking. with special consideration to fathers in how they discipline their children Paul commands fathers to not disciple from a place of anger but in the heart of instructing you as their child in the ways of Christ ensuring that you understand Biblical living.

You may have felt the sting of a parent discipline. I need you to know that God does not endorse authroity that is fueled by uncontrolled anger. While we may feel this on a heart level we can sometimes be guilty of these in areas where may have leadership and influence. Where we correct a friend just to win, call someone out to demonstrate our power, discipline your younger siblings because you’re annoyed, you use sarcasm as a weapon, lead with intimidation, and use your strength to dominate others.

Theses are ways that we provoke people we lead and influence to anger. Instead of provoking to anger we’re called to influence through nurture. Now this would have gotten a hard side-eye in Paul’s day. Why? because men don’t nurture they demand! the idea is that instead of discipling and correcting from a place of anger instead do it from a place of teaching and educating.

Here is the heart check for you (Write this down) - If you can’t control your anger, you’re not ready to control anything else. Here is why, Jesus never corrected from insecurity, Jesus never disciplined from irritation, Jesus rebuked from righteousness, Jesus led with strength under control

The second way that the gospel transforms our leadership is non-threatning how we lead is how in Ephesians 6:9 “Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.” Where we’re called to lead and influence in a non-threatening manner. We see here that Paul levels the playing field in a way that the only the gospel can.

Both the servant and the master are equal in the sense that are serving God. Both the servant and the master are accountable to God for their obedience and their leadership. As you pastor, I’m accountable to God. Your teacher - accountable to God. Your mom and dad - accountable to God. Its not that we’re just accountable to God but that we’ve been handed god-given (Rom. 13) authority over you… insofar as it instructs, encourages, and raises you up in Christ.

But in the same way you too will give an account to God for how you obeyed and submitted yourself to the God-given leadership. leading in a non-threatening way is to not have the attitude of influencing by coercions, black-mail, and by force but with love.

at the of the day and your life you won’t just answer to your parents, your coach, or your teacher , you’ll answer to God for how you responded to them. That means when your mom and dad sets a boundary, when your coach corrects you, when your teacher calls you out…your attitude matters.

Rolling your eyes, muttering under your breath, obeying on the outside but rebelling on the inside - God sees all of it. And when you’re the one with influence with a younger sibling, a teammate, or in a relationship don’t lead by pressure, guilt, threats, or manipulation. Don’t say things like…

“If you were a real friend, you would…”

“If you loved me, you would…”

“Fine, I just won’t talk to you then.”

That’s not godly leadership or influence - That’s control. Gospel-shaped influence doesn’t use force, it uses love. It doesn’t pressure or threaten but it persuades and builds up.

Paul reminds us is that we’re to follow the example of our heavenly father and how we leads us and that gospel shaped leadership is one that looks our heavenly father - thats what Paul is trying to get at. The reality is that Some of you are frustrated with the authority over you. But before you say, “ I’d never lead like that,” ask yourself — how do you treat people when you’re the stronger one with power?

3. The Gospel Shapes Our Motivation

The last truth I want us to see is how the gospel shapes our motivation, which goes beyond what we do and what we say. Look at Ephesians 6:8–9 “knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.”

The first truth that should shape our motivation is that Christ will repay us back for the good that we’ve done in the tough times. The message here seems to indicate theta that good done, even when we’re mistreated by earthly people, will be rewarded from the Lord in the kingdom of God. Paul echoes Colossians 3:24 “knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

Luke in his gospel really helps us understand the power and gospel aspect of this in Luke 6:32–35 ““If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”

The motivation for Christians is to look to and be reminded that we have a reward in heaven in the middle of the hard times of living under the authroity of someone who isn’t leading well. Maybe that a parent who disciplines in anger or a parent, teacher, or even coach who blames you for everything wrong in their life or the team.

Secondly, we know that God doesn’t judge anyone different becasue one is the leaders or the authority and one is not - God doesn't show favoritism like I would, or maybe your coach, or teacher. The grading scale is fixed on the holiness and standard of Christ and his Word.

On the other end, too, those of us who influence others towards wrong and sin will be judged in the same way. The things we said, how we may have said things, or even how we handled different situations. We have to be careful what we says and what we do around others because we may not knowhow we are affecting them. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” We are all accountable to Go din how we live becasue we all have some sort of influence.

Here’s the point - The motivation for gospel-centered and faithful followers of Christ is to display the goodness and good news of the gospel to a watching world. By submitting to authority you show that you are submitted to the authority of God over your life. Jesus can’t be your savior if he isn’t your Lord and ruler. By leading others well, as Christ has commanded for believers, you’re displaying how God leads his people in love, grace, and truth.

CONCLUSION

As we close tonight and this series - the whole aim is not that you would have good relationships - that sa secondary issue and concern. It’s that your primary relationship with Jesus is right and from there all the other relationships is lived out from that perspective and truth of the scripture. Every other relationships points to the ultimate relationship in Jesus Christ.

The reason wy Paul would need to give instruction about godly authority is that we have the natural and sinful tendency to want to be self-suffient in every area o four life but hte truth is that we’re not. Paul exposes the need for us to live in community with one another and essentially in wrong this he’s saying that our physical need and desire to want to be our own person and do what we want shows us spiritually that when left to be ourselves we jeep wondering in sin but when we are connected to the body and submitted to one another, physically - it shows us what it’s like to be submitted and connected to Christ.

[HBEC]

Two ways you can respond tonight …

The first question for you tonight is not whether you have a good relationship with your parents, teachers, siblings, or even someone you’re dating but it’s do you have personal relationships with Jesus Christ and you’ve come to believe that you’re in need a savior in God that has sent His Son to die on the cross for the forgiveness of your sin.

As a way to respond, you should have gotten a notecard when you came in. On that notecard, write down what relationships have shaped you more than Jesus lately. Tonight if you want to symbolically give that Jesus, take that card and come lay it at the front as a sign of giving it to Jesus.

In just a second we’re going to sing a song of response and when I get to “0” i want you to respond. If want to give your life to Christ there will be leaders around the room to pray with you or if you need to give symbolically give a relationships to Jesus then place it at the front here.

G.O.S.P.E.L

[Pray.]