Authorities

The year 2010 seems so far away that I even feel embarrassed to realize the great need to revive a delicate subject discussed at that time, the conclusion of which seems to remain unknown to many.
How many people, now in 2022, still have the ability to read?
And among these, how few still have the ability to understand what has been read?!?
The growing functional illiteracy, the almost absolute functional deviation of ecclesiastical businesses The approach of another election presents opportune moments to introduce important arguments based on Scripture, which, in reality, has never changed and has become even more challenging and relevant than ever.

At that time I had not yet been affected by deafness, and after having escaped from apostate contamination that consumed my original ecclesiastical enterprise, I was anxiously searching for another church where there was biblical soundness and where I could become a member… having even suffered a great deal (psychologically and even physically) from the successive disappointments.
In fact, I hadn't yet reached the understanding I now possess, and I worried about absurd things like the so-called "spiritual covering" or the many threats and curses hurled by people who, claiming to be Christians, were incapable of simply seeking an understanding of the Truth through the Scriptures!

ANALYZING SERVITUDE

The accounts of my misfortunes ended up encouraging many readers to get in touch, including some who sent words whose ardent hearts were evident, but which lacked deeper biblical argumentation.
This was the case with the author of this well-intentioned message:

I sincerely saw pure intentions in those words and loved this young reader, and even though I was almost certain that my response would deeply displease him, I decided to present arguments truly based on Scripture in the expectation that the Holy Spirit would act and give... An understanding capable of changing this passionate and irrational discourse in defense of the authorities.

THE ROLE OF AUTHORITY

May the peace of the Lord be with you!
I don't mean to offend anyone, but I need to say what the Holy Spirit tells me to say, because God loves you and is using me to tell you this:

Everyone must submit to the governing authorities;
For there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Therefore, whoever refuses to submit to authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
Because rulers should not be a source of fear for those who do good, but for those who do evil.
Don't you want to feel threatened by authority?
Do good, and she will honor you. For she serves God for your good..
But if you do evil, be afraid, for it is not in vain that he bears the sword. She is a servant of God, an agent of justice to punish those who do evil..
Therefore, it is essential that we submit to the authorities, not only because of the possibility of punishment, but also because of our conscience.
For this reason, you also pay taxes;
Because the authorities are at God's service, and their job is to continually care for society.
Give to everyone what you owe them: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

(Romans 13:1-7 – KJA)

These words are from the apostle Paul, and I ask that you pay attention to the passage highlighted in capital letters, because authorities are used by God for our GOOD!
It was certainly the Lord God himself who established ORDER, KINGDOMS, and HIERARCHIES to be respected and followed in governments, in the Church, and everywhere else: even in the animal kingdom, it is clearly seen who is the leader of the herds, flocks, packs—or whatever collective—to whom all others submit.
Similarly, it is quite clear in the passage above that the minister—or power or authority…—only exercises such a role under the hand of the Lord God as long as he does so in the sense of doing good: from the moment he succumbs to his own “powers” and becomes subverted, going on to promote and practice anything that is not good… there are clear instructions about this in the Scriptures:

However, now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who,
claiming to be a brother, for immoral or greedy, idolatrous or slanderous, drunkard or swindler.
With people like that You shouldn't even sit down for a meal..

(1ˢᵗ Corinthians 5:11 – KJA)

SUBMISSION LIMITS

I found your quote from the Lord Jesus Christ perfect because in Him we find the most perfect and extreme example of submission, for even though He was God, He accepted to submit to the rudimentary and flawed human laws in order to fulfill in Himself the plan of eternal redemption.
However, there are certain moments in his life, duly recorded in the Scriptures, that we should observe:

CHRIST

1. At only twelve years old He already demonstrated enough wisdom to preach to the wise men of the temple, yet even though he was skilled enough to "outsmart" any human being... see what is written about his behavior after his mother found him:

However, He went with them to Nazareth, because he was obedient to them..
His mother, however, silently pondered all these events in her heart.

(Luke 2:51 – KJA)

Who holds authority (and assumes responsibility) over a child's life?
Although socialists and communists today are eager for the State to assume this role, it is natural, historical, and biblical that such responsibilities are linked to fathers and mothers, and there would simply be no purpose in breaking such an order: Christ, even aware that he was the son of God, simply obeyed, finished his preaching, and left!

2. Later, After his baptism (when his authority had already been directly confirmed by God), he was sent into the desert and tempted by the Devil himself for forty days. From this account we can transcribe the very important passage:

Then the Devil took him to a very high place and showed him, in a fraction of time, all the kingdoms of the world.
And he proposed to her:
“"I will give you all the power over them and all the glory of these kingdoms, because they were given to me and I have the authority to give them to whomever I see fit..
Therefore, if you will bow down and worship me, all of this will be yours!”
However, Jesus said to him:
“"It is written: 'You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.'".

(Luke 4:5-8 – KJA)

There is so much information to be observed in this passage that a complete analysis would even encompass geopolitics, but for now, let's limit ourselves to highlighting that Christ didn't even bother to refute or confront the Devil regarding the powers he claimed to possess: he simply DISOBEYED HIS AUTHORITY and resisted his proposal based on the Scriptures!

We can add the recurring episode in Luke 6:1-5 as another example of the most spontaneous “rebellion” against laws established by authorities while, in an apparent paradox, demonstrating absolute humility (and omniscience) in John 13…and the lesson to be learned from these episodes is extremely important:

PEDRO

The apostle Peter had to deal with this same type of conflict after Christ's departure and made it very clear how true Christians should proceed when the apostles, miraculously freed from prison—and instead of fleeing, decided to go and preach the Gospel in the courtyard of the church. The disused Temple—was brought to the authorities:

And after bringing them in, they presented them to the Sanhedrin.
And the high priest questioned them:
“Did we not expressly command you not to preach in that Name?
"Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood?"”
Peter and the other apostles replied:
“It is necessary that Let us obey God first, then human authorities..

(Acts 5:27-29 – KJA)

The context in which this passage occurred allows for even broader reflections, less perceptible to most Christians today, but—just as the men currently called "pastors" are not unquestionable—ecclesiastical enterprises are following a trajectory of open rupture against the true Church of Christ, and I invite the reader to reflect on this by reading another article entitled “Closing Cycles“"Because it is a topic that perfectly complements what is being discussed here.".

PAUL

Young Saul grew up among the Pharisees, was a follower and profound scholar of the law of the prophets and the Torah, and, in the utmost obedience to the authorities and perfectly within the law, It was devastating the Church.Acts 8:3 - KJATooltip content and threatened to kill all the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, including the disciples.

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples.
Going to the high priest, he asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women there who belonged to the Way, he would be authorized to bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

(Acts 9:1-4 – KJA)

Contrary to what it is necessary in our times, Saul's conversion was miraculous and, if we observe carefully, it occurred not only outside of, but completely against his will: he never planned to be among that rebellion of outlaws whom he longed to kill. The sovereign and supernatural operation of God not only subverted his convictions, but placed him, from his "Christian birth," precisely alongside those he so hated!

Immediately, something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again.
Then he got up and was baptized.
After eating, he regained his strength and spent several days with his disciples in Damascus.
Soon after, Saul began preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

(Acts 9:18-20 – KJA)

It was not Saul's initiative, but God himself arranged for him to absorb knowledge directly from the disciples who, not without reason, still feared him because of his former reputation.

As soon as he arrived in Jerusalem, he sought to join the disciples there.,
However, everyone was frightened and afraid of him, because they could not believe that Saul was a true disciple.
But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road, and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

(Acts 9:26-27 – KJA)

The passage above recounts exactly when Barnabas appears, who—using the words of his message—"paid the price" to "be the authority" over the life of the future last apostle, bringing him to himself, teaching him, and making him his disciple:

And it happened that Barnabas decided to travel to Tarsus to meet Saul.
And when he found it, he took it with him to Antioch.
So, for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with that church and taught a great many people.
In Antioch, the disciples were first called Christians.

(Acts 11:25-26 – KJA)

At the beginning of that Christian life, we can see mention of "Barnabas and Saul" in several passages (Acts 11:30 / 12:25 / 13:2This allows us to understand that Barnabas was ahead of Paul, meaning: wherever Barnabas went, his disciple was there!
It is interesting to note that in all these passages the reference mentions the name "Saul," that is, the old man, the man who still had a long way to go.
And, in fact, it is only from Acts 13:9 ...and from the bold rebuke delivered against Elymas the magician, his name came to be spelled "Paul" and, a detail little commented on but quite relevant to the topic we are addressing, from then on... Acts 13:43 we see the quotation from “Paul and Barnabas” (repeated in Acts 14:1In other words, the disciple not only received a diploma but, more than that, became a leader… an authority!

Unlike modern pastors who cultivate subservient individuals (as they do to secure a living for their entire lives), Barnabas was such a good and authoritative instructor that his disciple achieved such a capacity for expressing the Gospel that the crowd in the city of Lystra mistakenly came to consider him the incarnation of one of the gods of the Greek pantheon!

In light of what Paul had done, the crowd began to shout:
“"The gods have descended to us in the form of human beings!"”
And so, they gave Barnabas the name Zeus,
And they called Paul Hermes, because he was the one who spoke with power.

(Acts 14:11-12 – KJA)

Finally, once Paul had reached the maturity of his faith, we encounter another very important episode:

After a few days, Paul proposed to Barnabas:
“Let us now return and visit the believers in every city where we preached the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.”.
And Barnabas wanted John, also called Mark, to accompany them.
Paul, however, could see no reason to take with them the one who had decided to leave them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them to the end of the mission.
For this reason, they had such a heated disagreement that they decided to separate.
Barnabas left, taking Mark with him, and they sailed to Cyprus.
Paul, however, preferred the company of Silas, and departed entrusted to the Lord's care by the brothers.

(Acts 15:36-40 – KJA)

But when Peter arrived in Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles;
However, when they arrived, Peter began to withdraw and separate himself from the uncircumcised, solely because he was afraid of those who advocated circumcision.
And the other Jews likewise joined him in this hypocritical attitude.,
so that even Barnabas was influenced.

(Galatians 2:11-13 – KJA)

In this passage, Paul details his perfect understanding of the operation of error that had been presented in a generalized way in Acts 15:1-29, ...where, incidentally, this insecurity that afflicted Barnabas was not even mentioned: the complete and unomitted account is, far from any offensive intention, a legacy so that future generations of Christians will not be afraid to promote the Truth, without attributing false qualities of perfection or omitting the flaws and insecurities that can afflict any human being, regardless of their position.

UNITY IN FAITH

He who descended is the same one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill all that exists.
So, He appointed some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.,
with the purpose of equipping the saints for the work of ministry,
so that the Body of Christ may be built up, until all that we may attain unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God.,
e Let us reach maturity, attaining the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ..
The goal is that Let's not be like children anymore., carried from one side to the other by theological waves, nor tossed here and there all over the place wind of doctrine and by The malice of certain people who lead the unwary into error..

(Ephesians 4:10-14 – KJA)

This passage makes it clear that the objective of all the enumerated authorities is not to dominate people so that they remain submissive to them for the rest of their lives, but rather the improvement and formation of new authorities of exactly the same caliber as themselves; that is, a work where all Christians have access and the possibility of achieving the biblically desirable "unity in faith.".
Let us never confuse such unity with the manifold gifts distributed by God through His grace, nor should we attempt to establish a scale to glorify personal achievements: the brevity with which Rahab or Barnabas are mentioned in Scripture is in no way equivalent to the relevance of their actions!
So, the role God has determined for you to play in this life may have been to evangelize that person you don't even remember anymore: we never had the power to choose who will be saved, much less can we override that power. exclusive persuasive action of the Holy Spirit!

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him:
“"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.".
And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
(…)
Jesus assured them:
“I am the Way, The Truth and Life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.."”
(…)
Sanctify them by your truth; Your word is truth..

(John 8:31-32 / 14:6 / 17:17 – KJA)

KINGS AND PRIESTS

Your quotation from Samuel the priest and the use of the words "who wants to be king..." are also interesting, as they highlight a great confusion that ensnares you and practically 95% of those who claim to be Christians in our time, whose careful reading of two simple passages has the power to definitively clarify:

And from Jesus Christ,
who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loved us and freed us from our sins by his own blood,
E He has made us kings and priests to God and his Father.;
To Him be glory and power forever and ever.
Amen.

(Revelation 1:5-6 – ACF)

Indeed, in Old Testament times, several procedures were necessary before, through anointing with oil, priests and kings were established, distinct and essential functions for the existence of the Israelite theocratic government: there are many accounts of kings going to war against peoples led by priests whose gods were not the Lord, just as there were many rebukes from priests against kings of improper conduct, and, finally, one ministry ended up underpinning the activities of the other because, despite being eventually inspired by the Holy Spirit, all those men, without exception, were simply not inhabited by it.
Christians, in light of the passages cited, in addition to encompassing BOTH functions, simply do not have the option of "wanting to be king" or "wanting to be priest"... in fact, just as in the case of Paul, a Christian does not even have the option of wanting or not wanting to be a Christian or controlling other people's access to the gospel!

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them.;
And I will raise him up on the last day.
It is written in the Prophets: ‘'And they will all be taught by God'.
Therefore, Everyone who hears the Father and learns from him comes to me..
(…)
As a consequence, Faith comes from hearing the good news.,
And the good news comes through the Word of Christ..

(John 6:44-45 / Romans 10:17 (KJA)

Indeed, the principal characteristic of a genuine Christian is his faithfulness to the unity of faith—namely, the Scriptures—and only in this way can he be filled with the Holy Spirit and simultaneously exercise his dual role as king and priest, that is, be both willing to be exhorted and to take upon himself the responsibility of exhorting!

The greatest catastrophe among those who call themselves Christians today is that a large part of them have approached the community WITHOUT EVER TRULY HAVING KNOWN THE SCRIPTURES!
Church authorities have simply been filling their institutions with a crowd manipulated by emotions, eager for material benefits, healings, miracles, sensations, social interaction, tolerance, inclusion… people gathered around pretexts that appear to be many things, BUT NOT THE TRUE UNITY OF FAITH DEFINED STRICTLY THROUGH THE SOLIDITY OF THE WORD OF GOD!

…with an appearance of piety, yet denying its true power.
So stay away from those people too.

(2ⁿᵈ Timothy 3:5 – ACF)

Only this pernicious kindness can explain why, among a vast number of self-proclaimed "Christians," virtually no one is attentive and capable of recognizing when an authority loses its reason and taking upon itself the responsibility of acting according to the many biblical recommendations, of which I will cite only one:

This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to stress these things.,
so that those who believe in God may strive to devote themselves to good works;
These things are good and beneficial to men.
But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.
Avoid a heretical man after admonishing him once or twice.,
knowing that such a person is perverted and sins, being self-condemned..

(Titus 3:8-11 – ACF)

Only the Lord God is infallible: any human who claims to be such, or all who accept and submit to such insanity, are, to begin with, egomaniacs or idolaters!
Following an “authority” simply because you imagine it to be an authority—without full biblical justification—is simply revealing ignorance and, therefore, a fear of assuming one's responsibilities as king and priest before God, becoming an active element in… establishment of apostasy.
If your leadership is practicing any form of evil—from simple distortion to the most serious heresies—and yet you remain in submission and acquiescence, imagining that through this you will receive some honor or blessing from God… it is best to know something that has been established since the time of the Law and has not ceased to be valid:

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil;
who turn darkness into light and light into darkness;
They make bitter sweet and sweet bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mix strong drink;
Those who justify the wicked for a bribe, and deny justice to the righteous!
Therefore, just as a tongue of fire consumes straw, and chaff is consumed by the flame,
so its root will be like rottenness, and its blossom will wither like dust;
Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
(…)
All their watchmen are blind, they know nothing;
They are all mute dogs, they cannot bark;
They are asleep, they are lying down, and they enjoy sleeping.
And these dogs are greedy, they can never get enough;
e They are shepherds. who understand nothing;
all of them They turn to their own path, each to their own greed, each for their own part..
Come, they say, let us get wine and drink strong drink;
And tomorrow will be like today, only more abundant.

(Isaiah 5:20-24 / 56:10-12 – ACF)

Could the prophet Isaiah have been mistaken in recording "ALL OF THEM," and is this a passage of Scripture that negates "Sola Scriptura"?
Throughout my ministry—and through much suffering and disappointment—the Lord has increased my faith in Him, but has allowed me to see that the only role of many of these inept “pastoral authorities” is simply to instill fear in those who lack the courage to live by genuine faith, the kind obtained only through the study and knowledge of God's Word.

I never want to think that I already know everything, because when I was a child I read the Bible and didn't understand much, now I understand more and, further down the line, I will understand even more… but until then I want to be able to count on those who have already studied, who have already lived, on the “multitude of counselors” to find wise words: I sincerely hope that you can benefit from this study.

Well, this is how I live in Christ: a life with many struggles, occasional victories, but above all, always thanking Him for everything, because all things—even apparent defeats—work together for the good of those who love God. Amen?
May God bless you abundantly!

FOLLOW THE LEADER?

Along with this lucid and affectionate lesson from the Scriptures, I had amended the transcript of messages that, at the time, I had exchanged with Daniel Mastral and other members of his business support structure because I saw in him a reflection of the discourse on authority included in his lectures and books.
While rereading the original post for this revision, I came across that embarrassing episode and decided not to include it in this update, both because I recognize that my writing style has improved and become clearer over time, and because it ends up being more of a cause for regret than a valuable contribution: I chose to leave it available separately., at this link.

If Mastral was the first to reveal the bias of his preaching aimed at selling him as a kind of messiah, since then disappointments with leaders have only accumulated, and even those for whom I still have some respect have revealed themselves to be slaves to the doctrinal limitations imposed by the ecclesiastical franchises that pay their salaries or, in an even more dramatic situation, that they own.

And there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.,
who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them,
bringing sudden destruction upon themselves.
E many will follow their dissolutions, Because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed..
E Through greed they will exploit you with deceptive words.;
Regarding those for whom judgment will soon be passed,
and their destruction does not slumber.

(2ⁿᵈ Peter 2:1-3 – ACF)

Congratulations, Neil! You are among the great and revered evangelical Christian authorities of our time who are working hard to fulfill prophecy… but you can be sure that there is no shortage of small and irrelevant owners of “gospel kiosks” who are inspired by your example!

A current generation Those who are overly delicate and exclusive, living under the illusion that everything must bend to their will so that they don't feel traumatized or offended: people who don't accept themselves want to force society to accept their rebellions, from those against the sex they were born with to the insanity of wanting to alter the very essence of the Gospel to the point where their degenerate obscenities can no longer be called sin.

Most of the ecclesiastical enterprises that we now call "churches" are nothing more than corrals full of people without real knowledge of the Scriptures, without the courage to wield the Sword of Truth for themselves, and who, out of cowardice or convenience, choose to spend their entire lives depending on the reckless and limiting interpretation of greedy dogs who establish themselves as unquestionable authorities so that, commonly through perpetual nepotism, they can regularly extract the fat from their "sheep.".

For such false apostles are deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
It is not surprising, then, that his ministers masquerade as ministers of justice;
whose end will be according to their works.

(2ⁿᵈ Corinthians 11:13-15 – ACF)

HAPPY REUNION

Since the original article was published, on the penultimate day of 2010, I have never heard from the young man who sent me the letter again: time has taught me to be one of those who presents the Word without mixture and lets the Holy Spirit do its work… I learned that cultivating expectations generates… Anxiety, gastritis, and disappointments.
However, sometimes information comes along that makes all the time I dedicate to this work worthwhile… and that's what happened shortly before the start of the season where I stop writing to dedicate myself to income tax returns, with the arrival of an email at afternoon of February 23rd:

I jumped for joy and immediately replied, trusting that the Word does not return empty and assuring that I avoid exposing "ordinary people," citing only names that are already exposed in the media.
Later that same day I received the report:

Was it worth it?
Certainly much more than that!
I had living proof that my perspective, based strictly on Scripture, was enough to inspire the formation of, in his words, another Teóphilo!

CONCLUSION

If even when constantly exposed to the Truth, Christian authorities became corrupt, it is not difficult to understand that, throughout the world, secular authorities have begun to plot almost openly to hasten the establishment of Satan's coming kingdom.

When the righteous multiply, the people rejoice;
The people are distressed when the wicked rule.
(…)
Woe to those who enact unjust laws,
and all those who draft oppressive decrees,
in order to deprive the poor of their rights and prevent the oppressed of my people from having full access to justice,
Turning widows into prey for their ambitions and dispossessing orphans!
(…)
We are aware that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

(Proverbs 29:2 / Isaiah 10:1-2 / 1ˢᵗ John 5:19 – KJA)

This account, and everything I have written over the years, allows me to affirm that, while I do not disrespect civil authorities, I have learned to recognize the Lord Jesus Christ as the sole and supreme authority in my life, whose will is expressed only through His revealed Word in the Scriptures and commonly called the Bible: faced with reliable versions—and not the pestilent modern corruptions—I accept any exhortation.
Outside of it or against it, not even governmental laws will compel me to act.

If I had started my own business 12 years ago, I would probably be much more financially comfortable, but the truth is that I could only return to writing because the tax filing period ended and I once again needed any kind of help I could get. What you can offer me: comments, shares, and reactions help spread this content, which was produced with the intention of contributing to the edification of the Body of Christ in the world.
A shortened and easy-to-remember link to this post is:

https://cutt.ly/autoridades