Michael-Grams: M-G: 12.14.18 // Am I Subject to the Right Rule of Life, Part 2 of 2

To be under theonomous authority, he or she must be born again to see the kingdom of God (Jn 3:3). If any individual has not accepted God’s offer of salvation (Jn 3:16; Eph 2:8-9), he or she is not a true believer.

The natural or sensual man does not have the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:14; Jude 1:19; cf. Rom 5:5). Receiving the Holy Spirit only happens through saving faith in Jesus Christ. There is only one race, the human race, but within humanity, there are only two subsets: one who has the Holy Spirit and one who does not. This is the great spiritual divide of humankind. We can use words like found and lost, believer or unbeliever, regenerated or unregenerated, saved or unsaved, Christian or pagan, et al., but theologically, the litmus test of being a true believer is having the Holy Spirit living within the heart (Rom 8:9b, 11) which leads to fruit-bearing (cf. Mt 12:33; Gal 5:22-23; Jas 2:17-18).

We cannot make the claim that the Scriptures are the rule of our life if it is occasionally, rarely, or never read or hidden within our hearts and applied in our lives. Such faith is not sustained in the OMG moments of life that inevitably bail out on God. Reading contextually, applying correctly, treasuring verses to memory, living responsibly before God, and enjoying His presence are not the behaviors of a legalistic mindset but part of an overall reflection of a genuine love (agape) that subjects itself to theonomous authority (Jn 14:15).

But how can we obey what we don’t know? We all know that ignorance of the law is not an excuse, particularly when we have unlimited access to the whole canon of Scripture in written form in our own language! Here is what willful ignorance does. It prevents us from thinking in the way God wants us to think. It prevents us from speaking what God wants us to say. It prevents us from acting upon what God wants us to do. Truly, what we don’t know has negative consequences.

The person who is willingly subject to theonomous authority is living a Word-driven life. We need to learn the Word, love the Word, and live the Word, for we cannot serve God apart from the Scriptures because His will for our lives is always in accordance with the Bible!

Furthermore, a spiritual mindset of delighting in God’s Word and meditating on it day and night helps us to avoid walking in the counsel of the ungodly, standing in the way of sinners, and sitting in the seat of the scornful (Psa 1:1-2). We cannot be successful in the eyes of God in knowing and doing His will apart from the Scriptures. Lip service, cherry-picking, or ignoring the Scriptures cannot and will not lead to biblical success (cf. Josh 1:8, 9).

(2) Heteronomous authority

Heteronomous is a compound word made up of (heteros, cf. Gal 1:6) different or another and (nomos) law, meaning subject to a different (another kind) of law.

This would include a wide array of things, such as observing the Jewish calendar (Gal 4:10) with its days (weekly sabbath), months (new moon), seasons (festivals such as Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles), and years (sabbatical and jubilee) to gain merit with God or as if required of God. This also includes keeping traditions that conflict with the teaching of Scripture, following dietary laws, speaking in tongues as proof of spirituality and salvation, Sharia or Islamic law, any ideologically anti-Judeo/Christian-based religions, and any form of legalism imposing on the biblical salvation of grace through faith. If any of the above or anything similar to it is necessary for salvation, it is a different salvation or another law of salvation than what is presented in Scripture. Therefore, the proponents of another or different way are accursed or anathema (cf. Gal 1:8, 9; Jn 14:6; Eph 2:8-9; Titus 3:15).

(3) Autonomous authority, a compound word made up of (autos) self (nomos) law, meaning subject to self, a law unto self, self-governing or controlling of one’s own affairs, characterized as more cultural-like than Christ-like. There is an array of ideologies batched in a Jdg 21:25 mindset (cont. Prov 3:5-6), including these:

pragmatism: an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, practical value over principle, rejects paradoxes of Scripture as absurd and impractical,

experientialism: man’s experiences trump biblical truth,

existentialism: self-perception of truth, personal interpretation,

rationalism: man’s reason, not divine truth determines truth,

materialism: matter is the only reality, the only thing that matters,

secular humanism: the idea that humanity doesn’t need a belief in God to achieve morality and self-fulfillment; self-realization comes through human reasoning, not by means of religion or supernaturalism; it is a belief system that promotes man and demotes God; it is anti-theistic in nature,

religious humanism: a religious approach of non-theistic moral and ethical philosophies that focuses on the greater good of humanity; man is seen as the answer to life’s questions,

agnosticism: man can neither prove nor disprove God’s existence,

atheism: flat denial of God’s existence,

secularism: set apart to ignore God,

relativism: there are no absolutes, only grey areas; relativists are absolutely certain that everything is relative,

tolerance: don’t judge me, but I am going to judge you,

universalism: all faiths lead to heaven, et al.

The words (Mt 12:34) and behavior (Lk 6:44), fruit indicators, of an individual will reveal his or her rule of life. We may fool others in some regard, but never the all-knowing God (Jer 17:10); He knows if we are genuine or not. Again, everyone goes by some authority as a rule of life. This rule of life is a matter of an unforced choice. Unbelief makes one vulnerable but not a victim (2 Cor 4:4).

Both heteronomous and autonomous authorities pose a threat to Christianity for they are not subject to the authority of the Creator God. They both share the dislike of the uncomfortable truth of accountability to God for every thought, word, or deed. They are adversarial to biblical truth, ditching absolute, objective, and eternal truth for relative, subjective, and temporal truth.

Which poses a greater threat to believers is difficult to say given they are both Satanic in nature. Usually, heteronomous authority is like a hurricane, big, bulky, slow, and yet potentially dangerous, but you can see the threat telegraphing its direction and speed, as the spread of Islam, for instance. You don’t get blindsided by a hurricane, but one who has an autonomous rule of life is like a tornado that forms with little warning, appearing out of nowhere and doing its damage and then disappearing, like a terrorist.

A Jdg 21:25 mindset can come out of nowhere. One minute everything is fine then the twister appears. It just takes a look, a word, a tone, or an idea sometimes to set things in motion with autonomous people because they are always on the defensive and highly opinionated on everything.

They take criticism of their worldview personally because they are their own authority! It is tailored specifically by them and for them, “How dare you force your values on me!” Sound familiar? But this mentality has no problem inflicting its values on others. These people have all the answers but no questions, except for those who do not believe in the way that they do, which is why they feel smug in their arrogance and autonomy and patronize and ridicule those who do not subscribe to their false narrative.

Are you subject to the right rule of life? Are you submitting to the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and practice, the Word of God, or are you bowing to a different kind of law that serves another authority as the rule of life that does not glorify God?

Or perhaps you are one of those having an independent spirit, sporting a self-sufficient attitude and outlook on life; you only recognize your own authority, a rule of life of your own making, being self-governed, refusing to bow, bend, or break to either God’s authority or some other authority? The only authority you recognize and give legitimacy to is yourself. You consider yourself a free spirit, a free thinker, unshackled by other worldview constructs! What if I suggested that your freedom is illusionary, and in reality, you are a pawn of Satan?

The autonomous spirit believes to have an unconquerable soul and the master of his or her own fate. Who is going to tell the captain of his or her soul what is right or wrong! It is insufferable for an independent spirit to be told what to think, say, or do, particularly from God or any of His followers! All of this resonates with an Invictus mentality of a secular humanist.

The reality is that everybody goes by some authority as a rule of life. Again, this rule of life is not something we are forced into obeying; it is a choice of the heart. What authority is guiding your life? Are you living for God according to Scripture, living for another, or living for yourself?

There is only one absolute authority according to the Scriptures – Yahweh (cf. Deut 3:24; 1 Kgs 8:23; 1 Chron 17:20; Jer 10:6). All other “authorities” lead to the sum of all fears: eternal destruction without obliteration in the lake of fire, according to the teaching of Scripture. Ask yourself, “Am I subject to the right rule of life?” Given the consequences of being under the wrong authority, it would be prudent to seriously consider the answer to this question now, rather than later!

You have the choice to bend the knee willingly to Jesus, the name which is above every name, in the day of His grace or compelled to bow in the day of His judgment. Either way, … at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Php 2:10-11; cf. Isa 45:23).

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven [that is, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Acts 4:10] given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

For WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED (Rom 10:13).

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth (Mt 28:18, emphasis mine). <><