Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:36 — 33.4MB)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Android | TuneIn | RSS
When we face problems in life we tend to try to fix them on our own. Living the way God wants us to may not be popular or comfortable or easy… but it is the best way.
As we look at the world around us we see that having a non resistant position isn’t a very popular position to have. We want to look at this carefully because it could be construed that we are being critical of country or rebellious to authority. Instead we want to look at where our primary allegiance should lie.
If you don’t have a security in God, it is illogical and impractical to attempt to practice the doctrine of nonresistance.
Mennonites aren’t the only denomination that holds to nonresistance. This doctrine affects us in times of war especially, the draft of the Vietnam war and the World Wars were the last time that this was really a big issue for peace churches.
The world needs the love of Christ to be taught and modeled by the people of God now more than ever.
We are blessed to live in America. Many of our forefathers came here looking for freedom to practice their faith.
God didn’t intend for us to just say a prayer and then we have “fire insurance” for eternity. We are called to live the way that Jesus taught us, we are to be living and walking with Christ.
So how are we to relate to others? Especially those who are our enemies?
Matthew 3 & 4 talk about the Kingdom of God being near, within us, not of this world.
If we have joined the Kingdom of God, Jesus is our King, He is our role model and he is our leader. We owe our first allegiance to Him. We are citizens of a country here on earth, we have responsibilities to be good citizens, not rebellious and obedient. However, first and foremost our allegiance must be to God and His Kingdom.
Matthew 5 – One of Jesus’ earliest sermons, where He told the people a lot of foundational things. There are lots of people who say that this was something for “way back then” and that “that doesn’t work now…”
1 Peter 2:21-2 – The flesh would like to just take things into its own hands and be “man enough” to handle our own problems. In the tenor of Christs teaching we are called to a life that will have suffering in it. Jesus our example suffered, God allowed it, He suffered for a reason. Can we trust God to direct affairs around us? To allow, or protect as He sees fit?
Romans 12 – There is diligence and discipline needed in the Christians warfare, but our weapons aren’t carnal, they are not guns and swords and shields, they are the weapons of prayer and surrender, etc. God is with us in this life, He understands what we are going through.
Jesus came to earth, He spoke our language and He showed us how to live and relate well. Christ came and suffered to lead us in the way of trusting God. Without the presence of Christ in our lives it is impossible to live a life of nonresistance.
