Title

Godly Citizens

Scripture
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake.
(1 Peter 2:13)
Devotional
Rebels might be good for the movies' box office, but there is no room for them in God's kingdom. There are few if any ordinances' of man, especially in the United States, to which a believer cannot or should not submit. As a believer one may not like the call to tolerance that is in vogue. Nevertheless, instead of attempting to defeat those we are being called to tolerate, let us do all that we can to win them. True righteousness cannot be mandated. True righteousness comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, not a set of ordinances. As believers, we are to do our level best to submit ourselves to the governing authorities. When those authorities are in violation of the ordinances of God, we are to do all that we can under those godly ordinances to win the hearts and minds of those who would oppose them. Jesus furthermore instructed, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."[28]