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Retaining or Surrendering Our Rights—What Would Jesus Do?

Retaining or Surrendering Our Rights—What Would Jesus Do?

If we are to live like Jesus in this world of sin, do we live by retaining our rights or by surrendering them? As those who are called to reveal God’s character, to glorify Him upon the earth, to let our light shine into the darkness of this world, are we to give up our rights or are we to stand firm for them?

Do we have any inalienable rights that we are never to surrender? When Jesus was on Earth, did He surrender His rights or retain them?

Some point to Philippians 2:5–9, which tells us that Jesus did not think equality with God was something to be grasped but humbled Himself by becoming humanity and surrendered Himself all the way to the cross, as evidence that we are likewise to surrender our rights.

There is no question that Jesus sacrificed Himself and surrendered His original position in heaven in order to take a lowly position on the earth. But in doing this, was Jesus surrendering His rights or exercising them? Was He giving up His rights, or was He solidifying them?

What is your answer? It will depend on what law lens you see the world through. If we use the human-law lens, the view that God’s law functions like human law—imposed rules that require imposed penalties—then, yes, Jesus gave up His rights.

However, if we use God’s design-law view, then we see something beautiful and incredible.

 

The Reality of Our Rights

When Adam and Eve sinned, did Jesus have the right to save them and their descendants from sin? Did Jesus give up His right to do so, or did He exercise His right to do so?

Who is the rightful ruler of planet Earth: Adam or Jesus? Did Adam rule Earth as creator and owner of Earth, or was his rule subordinate to God, functioning as a steward under the rightful authority of Jesus?

When Adam sinned and Satan claimed Adam’s position as ruler of Earth, did Jesus surrender His right to Earth and cede it to Satan, or did Jesus retain His right and exercise His power for the purpose of overthrowing Satan, destroying Satan’s power (Hebrews 2:14), and redeeming humanity and Earth from Satan’s clutches? (Romans 8:20).

When Jesus was on Earth two thousand years ago, did He surrender His right to heal, to save, to forgive sins, to set captives free? (Luke 4:18). Did Jesus surrender His right to teach and reveal the truth about His Father to the religious authorities and theology professors?

Did Jesus surrender His right to life? Or did Jesus say that He was laying down His life only to pick it up again?

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority [the right] to lay it down and authority [the right] to take it up again. This command I received from my Father (John 10:17, 18 NIV84).

Did Jesus surrender His right to carry out His Father’s command or retain it? And what was the Father’s command? It was the command to fulfill Their joint mission to overthrow Satan, destroy sin, destroy death, and save humanity. God was in the Son reconciling the world to Himself (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:19).

Did Jesus surrender His rights or retain them and exercise them?

What about His personal liberty—did Jesus surrender His freedom or retain it?

When Peter cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant, Jesus commanded the disciple, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:11 NIV84). Matthew also records Jesus saying:

Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way? (Matthew 26:53, 54 NIV84).

Did Jesus go to the cross against His will, or did He freely choose to walk that path—to fulfill His mission?

Did Jesus surrender His right to joy, or did He retain His right?

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2 NIV84, my emphasis).

Did Jesus surrender or retain His right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

Jesus retained and exercised His rights, but He did so only in harmony with reality, by living out God’s design laws of truth, love, and freedom.

The argument for Christians giving up our rights applies only when we view our rights through human law, because human law is about imposing our will on others, forcing others to submit to our ways; it is imperialism, demanding that others acknowledge us and treat us the way we insist is our right. But the truth is, we do not have the right to demand that others think, feel, believe, or act as we think they should. God has given us the right to control only ourselves (Romans 14:5; Galatians 5:23). Thus, to the degree that we think it is our right to force others to accept us or treat us the way we think we deserve, we need to surrender it—it is a false right, out of harmony with God’s design law.

However, we are never to surrender our God-given rights to live godly lives, because the kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:21). When we exercise the right God has given us, which is to govern ourselves by living out His methods and principles, we never seek to force others to do things our way; we also never surrender to them our right to live godly lives. So the righteous will live the truth, in love, while leaving others free, and will not collude with the beastly methods of coercion of consciences, even if we lose our government reimbursements, our jobs, or our freedom to travel.

Satan is a liar, and he deceives people by getting them to replace the laws of God for the methods and laws of humanity and then to seek to advance their rights through imperial methods of legislation, force, and coercion upon others, rather than advancing our rights through the living out of the truth and love of God in how we treat others.

So be like Jesus—never surrender your right to love others like He has loved us!

 

 

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I am blown away by the truth that you present. God’s Design Law makes so much sense! You have validated my impression that, if God is love, He would not kill those who don’t want to know him. If God gives us choice, then how can He destroy us if our choice is not to follow him. Thank you for opening my eyes and heart to the pure love of God seen through Jesus. The love I now have for Jesus is deeper and free from condemnation. My heart has been opened to love others as Jesus loves me. May God continue to bless your God-given insight into His word and your ministry. The truth has set me free!

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Your message of design law vs imperial law is so uplifting and makes so much sense- it is a game changer for me. The fact that Jesus’s death is not a big payment by an angry God is , quite frankly, a relief.

Laura G., London, Ontario, Canada

 

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Thank you for all of your work to correct misconceptions about God’s character. So many people that my husband and I have talked to seem to be against the natural law construct and view it as “errant” and “dangerous.” Having learned more about it through your blogs and lessons, I don’t really understand why they view it that way, except that it means they have to relearn theology they have known for their entire lives. But I’m so excited to relearn this. For the past few years I have been questioning how I could trust a God who punishes arbitrarily and is full of wrath for those who don’t obey His commands. That view made me afraid to “mess up” or “not be good enough,” even within my relationship with God. I really appreciated the point you bring out about God not wanting us to serve Him because we are afraid, but because we love Him.

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Testimony 40

I was brought up in a different faith and have been petrified my whole life of God. I believed that I would burn in hell for eternity. When I was 12 I started pursuing the things of this world, but for the next 45 years the Spirit was always calling me, as I knew there was a God through nature. I could see the vast sea of stars in the universe and knew there was something bigger out there. Five years ago, through a Revelation seminar, I was blessed to learn about God’s character and government.

Then I found Come and Reason Ministries and have come under some extreme pressure when I speak about the ministry. One time a member sent me an internet article titled “Whats wrong with Tim Jennings?” I asked her what she thought of it and she said “I don’t know, I didn’t read it.”

I have always wanted to find out for myself the truth about God, so I stayed with the Design Law construct and have been liberated to understand the big picture. Once we consider Design Law, all other Bible stories and prophecies seem to fit perfectly. It is truly beautiful to see people grasping how God operates this Universe of Love and the liberation it has provided in their lives. It blows my mind to see how consistent Design law is with what our founders believed. I hear statements like “This makes so much sense.”

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You have helped make sense of thirty two years of confusion. The material you freely provide reorganized so much of my life into such a beautiful pattern that has always been hinted at from within, but misguided with my training and what I was experiencing externally. My filipno parents, who were converted from Catholicism to SDA, were sincere and did their best to raise me the right way and I have deep respect for them. However, being immigrants and not understanding the language made for a difficult transition as I was growing up, which also applied to my spiritual growth as I learned the patterns of religion. I have been listening to as many bible study classes and reading blog posts as my time in a work truck will allow, searching for the practical applications of where spirituality and reality meet, and I thank you for helping me find that. You have helped me reach a point in which I can truly say that I love God, that I believe He loves me, and, like David, I delight in His law. God bless.

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Testimony 67

I was introduced to Come And Reason by a friend of my mother-in-law, who gave me several CD’s of Dr. Jennings. The clarity of the message and recognition that God’s is a God of love was so clear, advancing beyond Dr. Maxwell’s message. However, grappled with Maxwell saying God used emergency measures for the fallen world. Now after several years of being a regular listener of the Come And Reasoning bible study class and attending Jennings’ meetings in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX, things are becoming clearer for me. Design law versus imposed law has added so much to my personal understanding of theology. This message has really impacted my work in counseling so many people miserable because they are searching for and trusting human governments to create order and peace or believing in a God who says love Me or I will kill you. I am grateful that I have an alternative view to offer my clients that makes sense. I teach a bible study class on a semi-regular basis and I value the materials that Come And Reason so freely offers to aid me in presenting this vital message. Thank you for continuing to provide advancement in our very limited understanding of a Infinite God that is rational and believable.

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