No matter where we look we see order and authority. Even God's acts of creation reveal this order. The Bible says that the sun was given to rule the day and the moon to rule the night (Genesis 1:16). The Lord gave priests and prophets to the children of Israel in the Old Testament to lead them and show them His truths. Faithful to His nature, God has also given a level of authority within the church. According to our passage, we are to “obey them that have the rule” over us. On a couple of different occasions, the word rule is used in the job description of a pastor or elder (1 Timothy 3:5; 1 Timothy 5:17). Today's passage also reveals that the man of God watches for the souls of the people and must give an account to God for his watch care. No true God-called leader takes his position lightly.
Living the Christian life is not limited in time or place. In fact, the workplace serves as one of the most important places for a Christian to exemplify a testimony for the Lord Jesus. Yet, Christians can fail miserably by being lazy workers or disobedient to employers. According to scripture, servants are to obey their masters (Titus 2:9) from the heart (Colossians 3:22) with fear and trembling (Ephesians 6:5-6). Not only are Christians responsible to obey godly bosses, but the Bible commands the same respect to be given to those who are froward (1 Peter 2:18). Believers ought to behave beyond the norm in their service in the workplace. The Bible affirms this truth by saying that servants should “please” their masters well in all things (Titus 2:9). Many lost people have been led to Christ by Christians who live godly and display an impeccable testimony at work.
Today’s study begins by considering how the Bible defines words and specifically how it defines this week’s subject: endurance. Scriptural interpretation and Bible definitions are often found by dividing passages into their component parts. Today’s verse contains four parts: (1) “The hypocrite shall lean upon his house,” (2) “but it shall not stand:” (3) “he shall hold it fast,” (4) “but it shall not endure.” The next step begins by associating the various phrases together to gain insight into how the Bible interprets itself and defines words. Combining the first section with the third section and the second section with the fourth section reveals the intent of the passage along with the definitions and context of the word endure. In this passage, the hypocrite leaning upon his house is analogous to him holding it fast. Secondly, the fact that it does not stand means that it does not endure. Psalm 102:26 offers further confirmation by revealing that endure is the opposite of perish. Based upon the scripture, one can deduce that the word endure means to remain firmly in the present condition. This technique allows the Bible student to study scripture independent of dictionaries and commentaries that frequently contain man’s philosophies and wisdom.
