When Scripture Confronts Power: What Do We Owe God And Government

What if the light you carry was never meant to be hidden? We start with Jesus’ lamp-on-a-stand challenge and follow its beam through the places that most test courage: marriage, hardship, and the public square. Along the way, we pair parables with practice, letting scripture press on our preferences and recalibrate the way we hear, love, and act.

We sit with Ephesians 5 and its demanding vision of marriage shaped by Christ’s self-giving love. Rather than softening hard verses, we ask how sacrificial love and respectful trust can turn a home into a living parable of the gospel. From there, we walk through the parable of the sower and examine our own soil. Are worries and wealth choking the Word? Are our roots deep enough to endure heat? Jesus’ promise rings out: the closer we listen, the more understanding we receive—and sustained listening becomes the pathway to real fruit.

Hope and justice take center stage as Psalm 37 steadies our nerves in a turbulent age. Evil makes noise, but God directs the steps of the faithful and does not abandon them. We then widen the lens with Jonathan Mayhew’s 1750 sermon on obedience and resistance, weighing how Christians honor authority without surrendering conscience. When rulers command what God forbids or forbid what God commands, allegiance to Christ sets clear limits. Through it all, one truth anchors us: everything revolves around Jesus Christ, not cultural heroes or political saviors.

If this conversation helps you hear the Word more clearly and live it more openly, share it with a friend, leave a quick review, and consider supporting the show so we can keep the light on. What part challenged you most today—marriage, the soils, or the line between submission and resistance?

Transcript

Lamp On A Stand, Not Hidden

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Then Jesus asked them, Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not. A lamp is placed on a stand where its light will shine. For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. Katie Abraham, January 19th, 2025, Illinois. Twenty-year-old woman who was killed in a high-speed drunk driving crash by Julio Cakul Bull, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, previously deported, who fled the scene after rear-ending her vehicle at nearly 80 miles an hour. Appreciate you joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and attention. Little piece of your day, I will try and use it wisely. Hopefully, y'all are getting to listen to it with somebody else. For those of y'all who continue to share the podcast with others and tell others about it, thank you. For those of y'all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast, thank you very much. Very grateful for your prayers. Father, thank you for today. Thank you for you, Father, and your son, Jesus Christ, and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love, your mercy, your grace, your forgiveness, your faithfulness.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

Even when we go astray, Father. Forgive us when we do. Forgive us when we stray from the narrow path. When we try and go our own way. When we try and force things to happen in our time in the way we want, instead of being concerned about what you want.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Be with those who are sick, injured, ill, brokenhearted, alone, abandoned.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

Comfort them. Be with those who are scared. Comfort them. Be with our military, law enforcement, firefighters, EMS. Give them wisdom and courage and a strong faith.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

Be with our leaders, both in the pulpit and in the state. Help them to rule in fear of you. Bless our marriages across the land. Father, help us to live out to exemplify the relationship between Christ and the church.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Help us to care for the poor and the needy, the widow and the orphaned. Help us to trust you above all else, Father. Watch over those listening.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Be with them, be with their families, Father. Guide us home to you in your timing. And God, my words here, please. In your Son's name we pray.

unknown 3:12

Amen.

Marriage And Ephesians Five

Wrestling With Hard Scriptures

Christ Above All Allegiances

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Marriage verse for today, Ephesians 5, 22 through 33. For example, wives should submit to their husbands as if to the Lord. A husband is the head of his wife, like Christ is head of the church, that is, the Savior of the body. So wives submit to their husbands in everything like the church submits to Christ. As for husbands, love your wives just like Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. He did this to make her holy by washing her in a bath of water with the word. He did this to present himself with a splendid church, one without any sort of stain or wrinkle on her clothes, but rather one that is holy and blameless. That's how husbands ought to love their wives, in the same way as they do their own bodies. Anyone who loves his wife loves himself. No one ever hates his own body but feeds it and takes care of it just like Christ does for the church, because we are all parts of his body. This is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two of them will be one body. Marriage is a significant allegory, and I'm applying it to Christ and the church. In any case, as for you individually, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and wives should respect their husbands. Definitely not politically correct today. The sad part, the really sad part when you get into this is the fact that we're not supposed to be like the world, right? Christian. And yet there's so many today, and for a while, for decades really, that claim to be Christians, but they and they're married, but then they start to make caveats and excuses for why this no longer applies today. And we all do it, folks, to some extent. But the problem is when we pretend that it's okay to do it instead of acknowledging, yeah, I really don't like that scripture, and I've tried to find a way around it, and I shouldn't. Right? Mark 331 through 425. Then Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them. There was a crowd sitting around Jesus, and someone said, Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you. Jesus replied, Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? Then he looked at those around him and said, Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God's will is my brother and sister and mother. When someone tries to tell you folks that there's somebody else out there through all of history that's even remotely close to Christ and importance to us as individuals, there's just no support for it. It doesn't matter whether they're talking about Mary or Joseph or the apostles, the thief on the cross, some pope or bishop, or cardinal, or pastor, or priest, or superstar from the culture or entertainment or anything else.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

Everything revolves around Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone.

The Sower And Four Soils

Hear Well To Grow Deep

Justice And Hope In Psalm Thirty-Seven

Book Plugs And Listener Support

Remembering The London Bombings

Honoring Unsung Heroes

Mayhew On Obedience And Resistance

Prayer And Closing Blessing

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Once again, Jesus began teaching by the lake shore. A very very large crowd soon gathered around him. So he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one. Going back to that point for just a second, folks. If there was somebody else in all of history that was even remotely on the same footing as Christ, you would expect to hear immensely more in the Bible about them. You would expect there to almost be parody between Jesus and this person as far as time mentioned in the Bible, if they were that important to us for our salvation and eternal life, but you don't see that anywhere. Listen, a farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on the footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was soil was shallow, but the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn't have deep roots it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants, so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted. Then he said, Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples, and with the others who were gathered around him, they asked what the parables meant. He replied, You are permitted to understand the secret of the kingdom of God, but I use parables for everything I say to outsiders, so that the scriptures might be fulfilled. When they see what I do, they will learn nothing. When they hear what I say, they will not understand. Otherwise they will turn to me and be forgiven. I like the way that this translation says that otherwise they will turn to me and be forgiven. That those who do learn something from Jesus' actions, those who do try to understand and hear what he says, they will turn to me and be forgiven. Then Jesus said to them, If you can't understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables? The farmer plants seed by taking God's word to others. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word. Oh, Father, help me not to fall into that category. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God's word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. That one too, right? Really, you don't want to fall in any category but the one good one. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God's word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as has been planted. Then Jesus asked them, Would anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not. A lamp is placed on a stand where its light will shine. For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. Then he added, Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given, and you will receive even more. I'm going to read that one again. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given, and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. Psalm thirty-seven, twelve through twenty-nine. The wicked plot against the godly, they snarl at them in defiance, but the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming. The wicked draw their swords and string their bows, to kill the poor and the oppressed, to slaughter those who do right. But their swords will stab their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich. For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the Lord takes care of the godly. Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent, and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever. They will not be disgraced in hard times, even in famine they will have more than enough. But the wicked will die, the Lord's enemies are like flowers in a field. They will disappear like smoke. The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers. Those the Lord blesses will possess the land, but those he curses will die. The Lord directs the steps of the godly, he delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. Once I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread. The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing. Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever, for the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will die. The godly will possess the land and will live there forever. Proverbs ten five. A wise youth harvests in the summer, but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace. I think I mentioned this on the previous podcast, but Psalm 37 has become one of my favorites over recent years. So if you're ever kind of feeling down or struggling, I would recommend it as a great place to go and read and get a little comforting and to remember that a lot of these Psalms, I'm not sure if that one was or not, but a lot of these, you know, written by David, he knew even as wealthy as he was, as powerful, he knew heartache and pain and just soul-crushing, I don't know, not abandonment, but sadness. Ah, I didn't move the books close enough today. Uh, if you're looking for a family-friendly middle-grade read, if you would check out Countryside, that's the first book in the series. And this is the second. And if you get a chance, if you could leave a review if you enjoy them, I would appreciate that greatly. Those reviews help. Um and on the podcast, if you feel like you're getting something out of it every once in a while, if you could leave a review for the podcast, and if you have five or ten dollars a month, you can donate. There's a link in the show notes where you can set up that monthly donation, and I would be very grateful for either of those. July 7th, 2005. You know, I didn't know about this particular incident until just recently in London, United Kingdom. For this is this is important, folks, for British Muslim men. And the reason it's important is because the Muslim part, it doesn't matter what the ethnicity is, it doesn't matter what the nationality is, it's the ideology: leftism, communism, socialism, Nazism, fascism, Islam. It's the ideology, right? The Somali fraud that we see up in Minnesota and other places. It doesn't, the important factor is not that they're from Somali, it's not the skin color, it's not any of that stuff. It is the ideology that produces those results. Yeah, I'm not going to try and say their names. For should it should go Muslim British men carried out coordinated suicide bombings on three London underground trains and one double decker bus during rush hour. The attacks killed 52 civilians of various nationalities, injured more than 700 others. Obviously, if you know anything about IEDs or blasts, a lot of those injuries completely alter that person's life. Scar them, maim them, disfigure them, right? So the toll here is a lot higher than just the 52 civilians that died. As cruel as it sounds, folks, in a lot of ways, those people are the lucky ones. That was the deadliest terrorist incident in the UK since the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, who, again, was pushed by Muslims. Uh Muslims claimed responsibility quickly and a video message praising the bombers as martyrs. And the reason it's mainstream, folks, is when you see these supposed extremist terrorist groups claiming responsibility, you don't see any pushback from the quote-unquote moderate or centrist Muslims. If you do, it's very, very limited. The overwhelming response from the majority of the Muslim community is either overt support, explicit support, or implicit, complicit support just by being quiet and they're still supporting those actions. I just at any rate. Presented July 3rd, 1865, born 1841, Buffalo, Erie County, New York. Doesn't say where he died. Location of Metal National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. Andrew Bringle. Just another name, folks, to add to our little list worth talking about more than a huge chunk of our pop singers, actors, actresses, college and professional athletes and politicians, and teaching our children about those men. We're going to go back to Jonathan Mayhew, his sermon from 1750, talking about whether we have a responsibility as Christians to submit unlimitedly, if that's a word, to higher authority, to civil authority, or if we have a responsibility to resist that authority, a duty to resist that authority when it goes directly against God. It is worth remarking also that patience and submission under private injuries are enjoined in much more prematory and absolute terms than any that are used with regard to submission to the injustice and oppression of civil rulers. Thus I say unto you that ye resist not evil, but whoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whoever shall compel thee to go a mile with him, go with him twain too. Any man may be defied to produce such strong expressions in favor of a passive and tame submission to unjust tyrannical rulers as are here used to enforce submission to private injuries. But how few are there that understand those expressions literally? And the reason why they do not is because, with submission to the Quakers, common sense shows that they were not intended to be so understood. But to instance, in some scripture precepts, which are more directly to the point at hand, children are commanded to obey their parents and servants their masters, in as absolute and unlimited terms as subjects are here commanded to obey their civil rulers. Thus the same apostle, children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise. Servants be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling, with singleness of your heart as unto Christ. Thus also wives are commanded to be obedient to their husbands. Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands, your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, even as Christ is head of the church. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. In all these cases, submission is required in terms at least as absolute and universal as are ever used with respect to rulers and subjects. But who supposes that the apostle ever intended to teach that children, servants, and wives should, in all cases, whatever, obey their parents, masters, and husbands respectively, never making any opposition to their will, even although they should require them to break the commandments of God or should causelessly make an attempt upon their lives. No one puts such a sense upon these expressions, however absolute and unlimited. Why then should it be supposed that the apostle designed to teach universal obedience, whether active or passive, to the higher powers, merely because his precepts are delivered in absolute and unlimited terms? And if this be a good argument in one case, why is it not in others also? If it be said that resistance and disobedience to the higher powers is here said positively to be a sin, so also is the disobedience of children to parents, servants to masters, and wives to husbands. In other places of Scripture. But the question still remains whether in all these cases there be not some exceptions. In the three latter it is allowed there are. And from hence it follows that barely the use of absolute expressions is no proof that obedience to civil rulers is in all cases a duty, or resistance in all cases a sin. I should not have thought it worthwhile to take any notice at all of this argument had it not been much insisted upon by some of the advocates for passive obedience and non-resistance. For it is in itself perfectly trifling, and rendered considerable only by the stress that has been laid upon it for want of butter. So children have a responsibility to obey their parents, slaves to their masters, wives to their husbands, and everything. We just read that. But we would never apply that to those three categories if the one in authority, whether you're talking about parents or master or husband, right, was forcing children's or servants or wife to go against God or endangering their lives, right? Abusing them, whatever it is. The terminology for civil authority is at least that, is what Mayhew's saying here. It's at least that strong. So if if we don't expect it for those categories, right, we we expect children to obey their parents in all things, servants, their masters, wives, their husbands, right up until the point where they start to go against God or start to needlessly abuse or endanger the lives of, is what he says, I think here, uh, the children or servants or wives. And so the same should be true of civil authority. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen. God bless y'all. God bless your families, God bless your marriages if you're married. God bless America. God bless your nation, wherever you are around the world. Listen, we'll talk to y'all again real soon, folks. Looking forward to that.