We Should Obey God
We should obey God and follow the pattern of kindness to avoid danger and inherit the land.
Clement of Rome emphasizes the importance of obeying God rather than following prideful and divisive leaders who incite conflict. He warns against yielding to the harmful inclinations of those who seek to draw us away from goodness, highlighting the great danger it poses. Clement urges kindness towards one another, reflecting the tender mercy and benevolence of our Creator.
Text
It is right and holy therefore, men and brethren, to obey God rather than to follow those who, through pride and sedition, have become the leaders of a detestable emulation. For we shall incur no slight injury, but rather great danger, if we rashly yield ourselves to the inclinations of men who aim at exciting strife and tumults, so as to draw us away from what is good.
Let us be kind one to another after the pattern of the tender mercy and benignity of our Creator.
For it is written, "The kind-hearted shall inhabit the land, and the guiltless shall be left upon it, but transgressors shall be destroyed from off the face of it." And again [the Scripture] says, "I saw the ungodly highly exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon: I passed by, and, behold, he was not; and I diligently sought his place, and could not find it. Preserve innocence, and look on equity: for there shall be a remnant to the peaceful man."
Sermon Outline
- We Should Obey God
- Scriptural Support
- The Kind-Hearted Shall Inherit the Land
- The Fate of the Ungodly
Key Quotes
“The kind-hearted shall inhabit the land, and the guiltless shall be left upon it, but transgressors shall be destroyed from off the face of it.” — Clement of Rome
“I saw the ungodly highly exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon: I passed by, and, behold, he was not; and I diligently sought his place, and could not find it.” — Clement of Rome
Application Points
- We should be careful not to follow men who promote strife and tumults.
- We should preserve innocence and look on equity to benefit from God's remnant.
- We should strive to be kind and peaceful in our actions and attitudes.