“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:8-10 NASB1995)

In the verses prior to this we learn that we are to be in subjection to governing authorities and we are not to resist authority. But are there biblical exceptions to this rule? YES! We are not to obey any authority that tries to get us to disobey God or to believe them over God. We are not to give our support to any authority which is acting against God’s commands and which is doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. Jesus and his apostles did not obey governing authorities who tried to persuade them to do what is against God’s will and against his commands regarding how we are to live.

So, when the Scriptures teach us that we are to not commit adultery, not murder, not steal, and not covet, then we are to obey those commands. So if a government authority tries to persuade us that it is okay for us to do any of those things, we must disobey that governing authority. And if any governing authority tries to get us to support them in what they are doing, and if what they are doing is committing adultery, murdering, stealing, and coveting, we are not to give them our support at all, no matter who they are or say that they are or claim that their motives are in what they are doing.

In the USA, where I live, we are under a governing authority which is in the process of murdering people of other nations and even people in their own nation. They are coveting and stealing what is not theirs to have from other nations, and they are lying to the people of their own nation about what they are doing and about what the people of other nations are doing, too, always trying to make themselves appear as the “good guys” who are rescuing us from the “bad guys.” But in reality they are the bad guys coveting, stealing, and murdering whoever they want, to get whatever they want from them.

And the same scenario is taking place via another nation which is supported by our nation and by a vast majority of “the church” in the USA. They also have murdered many people out of coveting what those people had so that they could steal from them what they wanted to possess. And the two nations together, i.e. those who are in positions of authority, are in the process of murdering many people in order to take from them what they want to possess because that is what they covet. So we are to have no part in any of that. We are not to support them in any way at all.

For, who are our neighbors? They are not just the people who live next door to us, but they are all people who live on this earth. And how are we to treat all people in the world? We are to love them. And to love is to do what is morally pure, upright, godly, honest, kind, and considerate of them and their needs. It is to pray for them, and to do good to them and not evil. We are to treat them as we would treat our own selves. So we are not to be those who give our support to those who do evil, who covet, who steal, and who murder to get what they want. But we are to love everyone everywhere.

[Proverbs 24:17-20; Proverbs 25:21-22; Matthew 5:8-12,43-48; Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:27-36; Luke 10:27; John 13:33-35; John 15:12; Romans 12:9-11,14-21; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8; 1 Corinthians 16:14; 1 John 4:7]

When I Am Afraid

Based off Psalms 56-57
An Original Work / October 17, 2016
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

When I am afraid, Lord, I will trust in You.
Your Word, Lord, I praise. I yield my life to You.
Enemies pursue me, slandering Your Name.
Lord, have mercy. I trust in You. Hear my cry today.

Lord, I love Your Word. It comforts me today,
As I look to you, and bow my head and pray.
You are Christ, my Lord. You saved me from my sin,
That I may walk, Lord before You, purified within.

Steadfast is my heart, O God, I sing of You.
I will praise You, Lord. To You, I will be true.
Oh, how great Your love. Your faithfulness endue.
Be exalted, God of heaven. Glory be to You.

You Shall Not Murder!
An Original Work / April 16, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love