Tag: government

  • What does “obedience” and “submission” mean in 1 Peter? | Part 8: Summary

    What does “obedience” and “submission” mean in 1 Peter? | Part 8: Summary

    Part 8 (final summary) of a series of videos explaining the results of my research as detailed in an academic article: Lionel J. Windsor, “Obedience and Submission in 1 Peter,” The Global Anglican 136/2 (2022): 126–144. The original article is available at churchsociety.org Main headings for this final summary: * Obedience means “heeding”, which involves a holistic reorientation of life * Submission means voluntarily placing yourself in various ordered relationships * Obedience and submission do not imply grudgingly following orders or suppressing your will * Abuse is not OK. There is nothing commendable about tolerating abuse. * Questioning postcolonial interpretations * Applying 1 Peter today * 1 Peter doesn’t say everything

  • Jesus, Freedom and Authority in Lockdown Part 4: God’s Mediator

    Jesus, Freedom and Authority in Lockdown Part 4: God’s Mediator

    When you become a Christian, you don’t give up being a member of the human race. Your fellow human is very much like you: subject to sin, and in need of salvation. And your fellow human is also like Jesus.

  • Jesus, Freedom and Authority in Lockdown Part 3: God’s Salvation

    Jesus, Freedom and Authority in Lockdown Part 3: God’s Salvation

    When our physical horizons are narrowed down in lockdown, our gospel vision can also become narrowed to ourselves and our group.

  • Jesus, Freedom and Authority in Lockdown Part 2: God’s Rule

    Jesus, Freedom and Authority in Lockdown Part 2: God’s Rule

    God is not an alternative or enemy to human governments. Rather, he is the Lord over them. That’s why we are to pray to him.

  • Jesus, Freedom and Authority in Lockdown Part 1: Prayer

    Jesus, Freedom and Authority in Lockdown Part 1: Prayer

    How should Christians in lockdown respond to authorities? 1 Timothy 2:1–7 tells us to pray. But it’s not a bare command—it also tells us why.

  • God’s heart for all humanity (1 Timothy 2:1–7)

    God’s heart for all humanity (1 Timothy 2:1–7)

    Tensions are very high in our community at the moment. Take the illegal anti-lockdown protest on 23 July 2021 in Sydney. The protesters were expressing a fear and anger that’s clearly present amongst many. They were wrong to express it in this way. But you can feel it, can’t you? I know right now many of us are feeling the frustration. Some of us are in almost impossible situations: climbing the walls! And it’s hard. The catch-cry of the protest was freedom: freedom of movement, of work, of association. And while the protest itself was way out of line, freedom does matter, doesn’t it? It matters for us and our community. The Bible teaches us to live as humans among humans and human authorities, by helping us to see God’s heart for all humanity, as we pray.