The proper and timely use and display of authority inspires the fear of the Lord in people whose hearts are open to God. It has the opposite effect on those whose hearts are hardened. The following passage illustrates this.
And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? 6 “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he got up and went home. 8 But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men. Matthew 9:2–8 (NASB95) —
The Jewish leaders for the most part were never convinced by the miracles Jesus performed. When he raised Lazarus from the dead, they determined to put both Jesus and Lazarus to death! (John 12:10)
How we react to and relate to authority often reveals a lot about the condition of our hearts and our openness to God.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and a cornerstone of character which assists people in turning away from evil. It enables us to properly assess God’s words and actions. The opposite of the fear of the Lord is a hardened heart, which is closed to God and his truth.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 (NASB95) — By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil. Proverbs 16:6 (NASB95) —
Those who properly fear the Lord will not only recognize and submit to authority in their lives, but they will also use it in the right way.
The proper use of authority is always meant to bless those it governs.
In the home, the husband and father’s God-given authority and responsibility to lead is meant to provide loving guidance, protection, and provision for the wife and children. In the church, authority properly used functions in the same manner. At work and in the government, authority is meant to provide guidance, order, reward for those who do well, and punishment for rebels.
Where authority is absent or is rejected because it is administered corruptly, people tend to become independent and unrestrained, the fear of the Lord can diminish.
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25 (NASB)
When a government properly represents God’s intention for it, whether the state, a church, at work, or in the home, it helps the fear of the Lord to take root, influencing behavior for the good.
For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Romans 13:3-4 (NASB)
Authority figures have a tremendous power of influence for good or evil. Those authorities who properly represent God influence people toward good. Those who misrepresent God can damage people spiritually.
Countless individuals and even entire families have given up on the church because of the failure of those in authority. Fathers who mistreat their children often damage their view of God the Father, whom they are meant to represent. If we have been damaged by the improper use of authority, Jesus wants to reveal to us the Father heart of God. He wants to lead us to churches where God’s authority is used benevolently.
On the opposite side of things, sometimes people try to diminish God’s intention for government by applying to the government commandments given to individuals. For example, I have talked with those who understand God’s commandment against killing (murder) to mean governments should not use capital punishment. The Bible makes it clear that governments are supposed to punish evil doers, even to the point of capital punishment, to maintain order, protect the innocent, and inspire obedience. This is why Paul referred to the “sword” of the government in the above passage.
In another place, Paul acknowledged this function of government in reference to his own legal predicament.
"If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar." Acts 25:11 (NASB)
The Bible asserts that there are crimes worthy of death, which are listed in the Law of Moses and include such things as rape, murder, and kidnapping. These are moral crimes against individuals and society. Individuals are not supposed to seek personal vengeance for such crimes today, even though revenge killings were allowed under the Old Covenant.
As individuals, we are to forgive those who commit crimes against us, but this does not relieve the government of its responsibility to represent God though the application of justice.
Governments which fail to do so violate God’s law going all the way back to the flood.
Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man. Genesis 9:6 (NASB)
When there is no justice, evil becomes even bolder and often gets the opportunity to commit similar crimes again.
Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. Ecclesiastes 8:11 (NASB)
Those who reject the government’s responsibility to carry out God’s justice are in rebellion against God’s authority.
Without Christ, there is no real wisdom, and when well-intentioned governments refuse to use capital punishment in proper cases, out of supposed enlightenment, it is a rebellion against God’s order and will always have disastrous consequences. Sadly, governments sometimes misuse capital punishment, and there is the possibility of human error in judgment. Nevertheless, we should not “throw out the baby with the bath water” and eliminate capital punishment because of the possibility of our making a mistake. Using that line of reasoning, we would have to stop doing all manner of things.
Those in authority have a moral responsibility before God to use their authority to inspire the fear of the Lord in those they govern. If authorities, and this includes parents of small children, do not use their authority properly, they sin against God and those they oversee.
There is perhaps no quicker way to unleash unrestrained evil upon the earth than for authority to recede or collapse.
Parents who fail to properly discipline their children often sentence them to a very difficult school of hard knocks and demonstrate that they do not truly love their kids.
If you refuse to discipline your children, it proves you don't love them; if you love your children, you will be prompt to discipline them. Proverbs 13:24 (NLT)
Those who have been given authority should challenge themselves to fully accept this responsibility in the fear of the Lord.
We parents should not recoil from applying the “board of education to the seat of learning” because we have a thinly veiled rebellion against authority in our own lives. If we were mistreated by someone who had authority over us, we may have vowed never to do that to someone we love. However, we should not fail to use our authority the way God intends.
Our culture works to condition us to detest authority and its proper use.
We should be careful not to buy into Satan’s lie that corporal and capital punishment are morally repugnant.
If we are going to live under the authority of Christ and His Word, we should strive to be under authority and properly use authority, just as the Roman centurion did.
But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 “For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. Matthew 8:8–10 (NASB95) —
It take faith to submit to Christ’s delegated authority in others and faith to use that authority when and how we should. This responsibility should inspire the fear of the Lord in all of us.
Click here to see the other articles in this series.
Questions for Further Study and Discussion
- Why does a failure to apply God’s justice to evil doers usually release more evil upon the earth?
- How can parents lovingly use their authority to inspire the fear of the Lord in their young children?
- What will be the likely outcome for children whose parents are too harsh in applying discipline? When parents fail to discipline them?
