Submission Submission is not a very popular word for most people.

Most people tend to avoid this idea because they refuse the thought of having been subject to authority figures. However, we must understand that Submission is important and that even the Holy Bible gives emphasis to it. Romans 13:1-2 says, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves (NKJV). And all the people shall say Amen! Before going into the details of this verse, we must first understand the basic definition of Submission. It is defined by the Websters Comprehensive Dictionary as the act of yielding to the power or authority of another. It is also defined as the state or quality of being submissive: the spirit of subjection and obedience. First it says the spirit of subjection. For subjection to happen there must be a governor and a governed. Second the definition says the spirit of obedience. Submission and Obedience are two different things. However, they must co-exist. Obedience deals with our actions towards the authority on the other hand, Submission deals with our attitude towards authority. To put it in simpler terms, Obedience is external and Submission is internal. The question still remains. Why is Submission important? Why do we need to submit anyway? Going back to our text, it says that there is no authority except from God and if there are other existing authorities then God was the one who appointed them. Clearly, if we resist any legitimate authority around us, we are resisting God Himself and that is sin. We are sinning if we resist any legitimate authority around us for sin is defined as rebellion towards the will of our Lord. The bible specifically warns us from rebellion. 1 Samuel 15:23 says, For rebellion is as sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. For rebellion to be compared to witchcraft, it must have been something grave before our God. Moreover, if we will go back to our text, we would see that if we do not submit, we would inflict judgment upon ourselves. We are under Gods protection as long as we submit but the moment we refused to submit, we forfeit ourselves from the privilege of being protected by God from the attacks of the enemy. Now, who do we need to submit to? We need to submit to all legitimate authorities around us. One of these authorities is our parents. Ephesians 6:1-2 says, Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. The bible stated it in such a way that it says Honor your father and mother. The bible did not say You should or You must. Should implies uncertainty. It is the same as saying shall. Must on the other hand implies obligation. For the bible to say Honor directly instead of using should or must implies that submission is not optional nor is it an obligation. Submission is far more than an obligation. It is a direct commandment by God given even before the Old Testament times. And in those times, the punishment for rebellion is death. It is only through the grace of our Lord that this punishment was

abolished already. We live under Gods grace already or else we would have seen children being stoned to death on a daily basis. Nonetheless, it doesnt mean that we should treat this commandment less. We must submit to our parents whether they are believers or unbelievers for even if our parents are still unbelievers, God can still use them for His instruction towards us. It is a sad fact that we see many young people today suffer because of wrong decisions brought about by their refusal to give ear to Gods instruction given through their parents. These young people live under a life of curse because they refuse to submit to their parents. Another authority which we must submit to is our church leaders. Hebrews 13:17 says, that we must obey and submit to those who rule over us. We must let them serve our God with joy and not with grief for it would be unprofitable for us. It will not be beneficial for us if we do not submit to our church leaders. Sometimes we refuse to submit to our leaders especially to our church leaders because we do not understand their plans and their vision. However we must understand that as God promoted them to that position, God allowed them also to see a wider perspective of the things we cannot see under. One quotation from the book Undercover says (this is what God said to John Bevere, the author of the book), John, if I intended for every believer to get all his information, wisdom, and direction only from communication with Me, then Id never have instituted authority in the church. I placed authorities in the church with the full intent that My children could not get all they needed just from their prayer life. They would never learn to recognize and hear My voice through their leaders as well. Many times God will reveal things to our leaders that He needs not to show us. God places His instruction through our leaders for Him to see how much we would submit to our leaders as our church leaders submit to God. It would be pointless to argue a thing to someone whom God has placed His instruction. Our parents and our church leaders are some of the people that we must submit to. Remember, we must submit to all legitimate appointed authorities. Most of all, we must submit to God above all else. How can we submit to the other authorities if we cant submit to the highest authority if them all? God is the highest and ultimate authority and the appointed leaders are only subject to Him. Now, how do we submit? First, we must submit to God above everything else. Second, we must deny ourselves. We must deny our own selfish ambitions, intentions, and will. Third, we must submit wholeheartedly. This wholehearted submission includes submission without complaining or whining, submission without questioning, and submission without reservation. What do we get from submitting anyway? First, we get protection. James 4:7 says, Therefore submit to God, Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Why do you think it was stated in the bible in that manner? It is because the author knows that the only way we can resist the devil successfully is when we submit first. Second, we get Gods provision. In Joshua 14:9, the promise land was Joshua and Calebs inheritance because they submitted wholeheartedly. Third, we get promotion. An example of this is David. David remained submissive to Saul even to Sauls death. Even if Saul sought after for his life and even if David already knew that he was to be next in line, still he remained submissive to Saul. Also, the best example for being submissive is Jesus, Himself. Jesus remained submissive even to

the point of death and because of that He was given the greatest honor. He was given the name which is above every other name. So we see Submission is indeed important. And we must remember that we must submit not because of protection, promotion nor provision but because God deserves to be honored. He is the Owner and Creator of all things. He is the God who gave us life and the unconditional love that we must be forever grateful of. Nonetheless I would still challenge everyone, would you want a life of blessing or curse? The choice is up to us.