“Why is Submission a Cuss Word in the Church Today?”

September 28 2011

“I missed it”... “You were right Pastor, I should have heeded your Godly council”... “I have to confess, I was following MY voice and not the voice of God”. 

 I have to admit, these statements seem to be the exception nowadays instead of the rule.  More and more as a Pastor I am seeing a very disturbing trend in people’s lives.  And I’ll get straight to the point here…it’s a lack of listening to Godly and scriptural council!  And although the whole book of Proverbs practically deals with listening to Godly instruction and council, and Paul addresses this subject in length in the New Testament, there’s seems to be a lot of deaf ears to this subject nowadays and it’s causing a lot of problems in people’s lives.  Let this verse sink in for a moment; “Take fast hold of instruction and do not let go!  Keep her!  For she is your life!” ~Proverbs 4:13.

 So then why is a rejection of Godly council from Godly appointed leaders so widespread in today’s church?  Yes, the church!  Well, I believe that there’s no one answer to this dilemma.  I believe that it is a combination of factors that have worked together to get many people to this point.  But, I will try to tackle this subject the best I can. And I’ll start with an unlikely culprit.

1.  Misguided Leadership.  Wow!  There…I said it!  Unfortunately, there are some good leaders who I believe love the Lord and are called to the ministry BUT are misguided by a selfish and controlling attitude.  There are a lot of leaders that deal with self esteem issues and as a result become very domineering and controlling over people’s lives.  As a result any council they bring is shadowed by these weaknesses.  And what happens is people become very wounded or” brow beat” by this style of leadership.  And even though these leaders are still Godly appointed and need to be submitted to their style of leadership has left a bad taste in people’s lives and as a result ALL spiritual authority is being rejected.  I believe that the council and guidance given by these leaders are scriptural and many times led by the Holy Spirit, but because of these weaknesses they have a hard time in effectively communicating their guidance or instruction to people.  As a result, people reject it.  This is where us leaders need to be honest about our own weaknesses before God and ask Him to give us the ability to effectively give Godly council and instruction.  Even discipline!  There is a way of confronting without repelling people.  Does it always work?  No.  But in my years as a Pastor I have noticed this as being one of the reasons why Godly council is rejected.

Unfortunately too, you have situations where some leaders were "self appointed" and NOT God anointed.  These are those who rebel against spiritual authority and decide to start their own ministry or church WITHOUT the covering or blessing of an established ministry.  And because the root of their ministry is control and rebellion the fruit of their ministry will reflect this too.  These are people who control others because their ministry was birthed by a controlling spirit that they couldn't get the victory over.  And when people become wounded by this then they have a hard time in submitting to true Godly council because of these bad experiences.  I have NEVER seen situations like this end well by the way!

2.  It’s ALL About Me.  You can see it all around us.  From the entertainment industry, to sports, to the corporate world, to today’s children to even the church…there’s an “it’s all about me” spirit that has been unleashed.  By simple definition it’s called selfishness.  And boy has it caused a generation of people to reject truthful, Godly and scriptural council!  And because it is so prevalent in the world today it causes people who get saved and come into The Body of Christ to keep this mindset into their walk with God.  Scripture says that as new believer’s we have to “not be conformed to the world but transformed by the renewing of our minds, so we can prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”-ROMANS 12:2.  It’s allowing the mind of Christ to dominate our life NOT our old carnal nature which is selfish by default! 

3.  It’s Human Nature To Rebel Against Authority.  Like it or not our old carnal nature does NOT like to submit to authority. You can see it in the story of the first humans ever created, Adam and Eve, and you can see it in the life of every newborn child.  Just watch the reaction of a baby with the word “NO”!  This rebellious attitude was part of us when we were born, so to overcome this takes a lot of humility and a lot of dying to self.  As a matter of fact, before the verse I stated earlier in ROMANS 12:2, it says in verse 1, “I implore of you brothers, by the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”  So to humble ourselves and submit to spiritual authority it’s going to take a lot of discipline and a lot of humility!  And it’s not easy, either!  GALATIANS 5:17 states, “The flesh fights against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh; and these two are contrary one to another, so you cannot do the things that your flesh wants to.”  WOW!  There it is again!  The “default” setting of our flesh is contrary to the ways of God. 

And right after ROMANS 12 in verse 1 of Chapter 13, it states that “every soul must be subject (under the authority) of ALL higher authorities, because ALL authorities have been ordained by God.”  God knew what He was doing when He established authorities over us.  And to rebel against them is to rebel against God Himself according to scripture.

4.  Going Before God With a Neutral Heart.   I have to admit that this one is tough for a lot of us!  This is when we lay aside all predetermined agendas and ideas and come before God with such an open and neutral heart that if what He reveals is different than what we want we will accept God’s will instead of our own!  I think that most of us determine ahead of time what we “think” is God’s will and unless God stops us we continue to move forward anyway!  We believe the lie that unless God shuts the door it “had to be of God”.  Not if we were determined to do it anyway!  You see, God will never force His will on ours.  And if we do NOT submit with humility our will to His and approach His presence with a neutral attitude than God can’t force His will on us.  It’s all about willful submission.  If that was the case then God would have knocked the fruit out of Eve’s hand in the Garden of Eden right before she took a bite and offered it to Adam!  That’s why He gave us His word and surrounded us with spiritual authority.  God did it to help guide us and reveal truth to us as to how to make Godly choices.  There is safety in the presence of a multitude of counselors!  But acting on what we know is right is up to us.  We are accountable for our actions.  And we will reap what we sow if those actions are selfish and are a result of rejecting spiritual authority in our decisions.

CONCLUSION:  We CAN walk this walk of faith and do what’s right!  We can obey God and submit to spiritual authority!  We can respond to life with a transformed and renewed mind!  It IS possible!  But in order to do it we need to learn some of these lessons that I have just stated.  We have to learn to crucify our flesh and desires and be willing to submit to God’s word and will no matter what.  AND we have to be willing to accept Godly council from those whom God has placed over us as our spiritual covering and authority.  If we can do these things, then I believe that we can live a life of victory and destiny.  BUT, the choice is up to YOU!

Blessings!   Bishop Dennis Sanders