Authority, Order and Motivation
(Principles & Examples)

Section I: Principles of Authority, Order and Motivation

1. Identifying Motivating Factors.

This section is intended to encourage thinking about the motivating factors behind the various decisions that every Christian makes in everyday life. We all have an old nature, the "old man" of Eph 4, that we have to deal with continually. This should cause us to realize that there will be some things that we do that are not pleasing to the LORD. Sometimes, we are not conscious of what is the motivating factor in our life at that moment. It is safe to say that the enemy of our souls and of our testimony for Jesus Christ is continuously looking for opportunities to ensnare us through the power of deception of which he is prince. Thus the Holy Spirit faithfully represents him to us in many ways, such as, the Deceiver, the worker of subtlety, and the beguiler of the simple. None of us is able, within his own might, to withstand Satan's wiles. Nor can we totally isolate ourselves from contact with the Deceiver's mechanisms that he uses to influence those he wishes to control.

We live in a world that has an ever increasing capability to influence us by the media bombardment. This is manifest by the contents of books, magazines, newspapers, radio, TV, video, movies, music, advertisements and the entertainment industry in all of its various forms. Much of this influence of the world is motivated by the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air, that rules over the children of disobedience. The essence of disobedience is the denial of the order imposed on us by just authority. The just authority is God Himself and those duly appointed by Him to order our life.

The only successful relationships that anyone experiences are those that implement the order that God ordained for that relationship. Without recognition of authority, problems will inevitably develop that destroy the harmony (the proper order) of the relationship. There are many reasons that can be given for lack of submission to authority in our life. But the only exceptions that would be acceptable to the Just Authority are those that He specifies. The exceptions that deceived or willful Christians put forth are to be rejected by those who are "acknowledging Him in all their ways". This is because their exceptions have not been ordained by the only just authority and thus are unauthorized. [These unauthorized exceptions will be addressed later in Section II.] It is only as we yield to the power of the Holy Spirit within us that we can keep ourselves. We need all of the provisions which the LORD has provided for us. We dare not despise any of His help. So this study intends to lay out the challenge, the trials and the help for our edification and warning.

The two basic motivations that Christians can yield to are as follows: 1) Self-denial in service to Christ or 2) Self-exaltation. Understanding the latter motivation is very important. This is where the deceiver has the advantage over us because we are not taking advantage of the protection that God, in Christ, has provided to us for our walk. This latter basic motivation consists of 2 distinct factors: a) self-righteousness (deception) and b) willfulness (conscious and deliberate disregard for the will of the LORD). So this section will address these 3 motivating factors:

1. Self-denial — acknowledging God in all our ways
2. Self-righteousness — serving God in ways that please us and not Him
3. Self-will — conscious rebellion against the ways of God.

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