Free to Serve All–God teaches us to gain the promises of His blessings through obedience to properly-constituted authorities.
The fifth commandment
Exodus 20.12
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”
Deuteronomy 5.16
“‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.’”
God teaches us to gain the promises of His blessings through obedience to properly-constituted authorities. In this we see His great wisdom by making the home the training-ground for justice and mercy. Children who honor their parents will become adults who respect others, defer to God-ordained authorities, care for the Lord’s creation, and honor and obey the Lord Himself. In many ways, as the first commandment is to the first four – foundational in many ways – the fifth commandment is to the remaining six.
Hence, we must always seek ways of showing proper honor to those whom God has set in authority over us. Put another way, since, as Luther observed, the Christian is free in the Lord to be the servant of all men, we must nurture an attitude of deference and respect toward others if we would serve them faithfully, as Jesus taught (Mk. 10.42-45).
This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.
