Anarchy & Rebellion

    One of the major cultural beliefs in American society is the importance of individualism. No one tells me (or anyone) what to do. We are the captain of our ship, the master of our fate. We are against any kind of authority. When we come to Christ we bring this mindset with us. A wise mature brother who served as a life long missionary said to me many years ago that the last thing that Christians accepted was the Lordship of Christ. At the time I thought he was nuts. Everyone knows that. But how many actually practice it? How many truly submit to His Lordship? As Jesus asked, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord but you don't do what I say?" (Luke 6:46) How many times can we as Christians rationalize or justify not doing what the Bible says before Jesus is no longer Lord of our lives? And if He is not Lord how can we truly be His followers? "That if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved." (Romans 10:9)
     I have come to believe that the origin (naturally speaking) of this anarchy and rebellion in American culture and much of the American church lies in the founding of the country. Romans 13 makes clear that "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except what God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." (Verses 1,2)
    The colonists rebelled against the authority of England which God had established. Their independence was won through a bloody war. The government subsequently established which allowed slavery led to a far greater and bloodier war. In contrast Canada did not rebel against Great Britain. They were spared the punishment for rebellion and won their independence peacefully in 1867. Slavery was outlawed there along with the rest of the British Empire in a peaceful manner in 1838, in large part due to the efforts of a British Christian Parliamentarian named William Wilberforce. And six trips to Canada in 2012 persuades me that they are a much more irenic culture than that south of the border. The difference is palpable.