Breaking the law with Vadim Khurin

When was the last time you broke the rules while driving? I was recently stopped on the highway. I exceeded the speed limit. When the policeman approached me, I came to an understanding that I disrespected the law and prepared myself to face the consequences as a result. After a short conversation with the officer, I received a ticket and a lecture that breaking the rules is forbidden.

Undoubtedly, the law is to be respected. Furthermore, in Scripture we have a command from Jesus Christ to be obedient to the law, to give Caesar what it rightfully his and respect those who represent the law.

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. (Romans 13:1-2, NIV)

In the Gospels, we see Jesus fulfilling the established standards. He brings a monetary offering into the temple and attends the synagogue according to the regulations. But at a certain moment, Jesus says “No.” To say “no” to a law, rule, or tradition is always a challenge. I remember getting a job while attending the university. The job was not the best, but at that time I did not have many options. Then the day came to receive my first paycheck. Yet I was told that in this job, there was a special tradition that I had to buy alcoholic beverages for all my co-workers. Since I was already a Christian then, I told them that they could not count on anything other than a cup of juice. It was then that I experienced the pressure of the tradition. I did not have that job much longer. It is difficult to say no to a tradition. But it is far more difficult to say no to a law. When you say no to a law, you become a criminal. A criminal always faces the consequences.

In Judea, there was a law that prohibited work on a Sabbath, but Jesus healed a man. He said “no” to a law. According to another law, a woman caught in the act of adultery was to be put to death. Jesus protected her and said “no” to this law as well. “Yeah, but that’s Jesus,” someone might say. In the Bible there are many occasions when the law is broken. Rahab broke the law and hid men on an intelligence mission. When she was asked where they went, she pointed the chasers in the wrong direction. The mother of Moses broke the law and saved her son, and then she made her way into the palace in secret and became his nurse. Later Moses himself broke the law and came to the Pharaoh to request that he let the people of Israel go. Jonathan went against his father in order to save his friend David. The Magi, which came to worship Jesus, broke Herod’s law and never came back to his palace to inform him of the location of the newborn Jesus. Peter goes against the authorities in continuing to preach the gospel despite their efforts to stop him. Paul goes against the law of the system in which he was brought up and becomes a follower of Jesus. All of these people said “NO” to laws, rules, and traditions. They paid a big price for that, but they refused to change their opinions or behavior.

In Soviet times, prayer groups and gatherings were prohibited. But many people said “no” to this law. They gathered together to pray and to preach the gospel. For that they were thrown in jails and endured much suffering. Richard Vurmbrand, a pastor from Romania who founded the organization “Voice of the Martyrs,” spent 14 years in jail for his faith. He said NO to the law that prohibited him from having faith in Jesus Christ. Today, in many regions of the world, Christianity finds itself outside the government’s grace. But there are always those who say NO. Those who take the Bibles into such regions, those who go to these locations as missionaries, those who gather in underground churches knowing that it could be their last church experience ever.

So when are we to say NO? For too often, we simply adjust instead of choosing to oppose. We tolerate instead of fighting for the truth. Political correctness became the exemplary mode of conduct. Do we say NO when our faith is challenged? Are we prepared to continue to worship Jesus and to preach His Word even if it opposes someone’s interests? The Gospel always has and always will oppose the interests of those who choose to live in sin, rejecting the need for salvation. But Jesus came specifically for that. God needs people who can say NO to sin, temptations, and heresies. I know that there are still many questions with regard to the specific occasions when we are to say NO. One thing is certain. If we do not learn how to say NO when God wants us to, then we will hear a NO from Him once we find ourselves at the Gate of Heaven.

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3.15-16, NIV)

Indecisiveness to say NO in hopes to avoid problems-this is what makes one lukewarm. A compromise, which seems to be more advantageous than following the truth, leads us astray from Christ. Tolerance of sin and all its manifestations in our lives of the life of the church creates an illusion of false richness and complacency at the time when in reality we find ourselves to be blind and naked. This short, two-letter word can cost us very much. But silence and compromise will cost us much more.

Writer: Vadim is from a Russian circus family and came to The Salvation Army in 1995 as a university student to play in a heavy metal/worship band (”Third Cross”) in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. He stayed, became a believer, the leader of “Third Cross”, and joined the Army. He married his longtime girlfriend Inna in a Sunday morning service and eventually they entered training to become Salvation Army officers. They were ordained and commissioned in 2002. Vadim, Inna and their children are presently serving in their second appointment in “Velikiy Novgorod”. Vadim’s interests include music, sports and reading.

First printed in theRubicon.org. Reprinted with permission.