What should I do?

[Kabowd]

I'm going to respond here rather than through a PM because I think it is pertinent to the topic. The responses I have are biblical and relevant to the original post.

felix,

John 1:12,13

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

You say "Obeying them[parents] is being led by the Spirit." If I am led by the Spirit to preach the gospel and my parents who are not christian tell me not to...should I obey? There are many people in this situation, especially in places where christian persecution is public.

First and foremost, in context, this verse has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand. The entire chapter is John the Baptist's account of the coming of Christ, His Diety, and the coming of salvation through Him. This verse in particular is in reference to salvation when we are "adopted" by God (also referenced in Romans 8:14; 1 John 3:1-2; Gal. 4:6). Using these Scriptures in this context (of disobedience to parents) is a misapplication.

Second, regarding the preaching of the gospel:

1. This is a command directly given in Scripture. While we should listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit concerning the right time and place to share the gospel, it is not necessary to wait for Him to tell us to do so. We know we are called to do this, as it is a mandate in God's Word. Thus, it does not apply to this situation.

2. Even in the event that unbelieving parents would tell a believing child not to preach the gospel, this does not mean the child cannot do so through other means. Preaching with words is only one way to share the gospel. There are many other ways that are effective. There is a way to obey the parents, while still being obedient to the mandate of God to share the gospel (i.e, living a life that is godly, gracious and obedient, befriending the downcast, standing up for what is right, respecting authority, etc.). However, at the same time, if the parents were adamantly opposed to any means of sharing the gospel, then yes, this would be in complete contradiction to the mandate of Christ, therefore....the child would be released from obeying them in this case. But there would need to be sufficient reasons before this takes place, and under extreme circumstances. The situation presented by KatieK in this topic does not constitute and extreme instance where disobedience would be necessary.

3. I have friends that live in Uzbekistan who share the gospel literally at the risk of their lives. They disobey their government in doing so, but again, this is a situation that is extreme and they are fulfilling their mandate to share the gospel to all nations. This is in no way similar to the situation presented in this topic. I also have a Chinese friend who has been a believer for several years while living under the authority of her unbelieving parents. They would not allow her to attend church for several years. Rather than disobey them (as attending "church" is not a mandate in Scripture), she has led an obedient life in order to reflect the heart of Christ to them in her respect and obedience. Her behavior and respect for them spoke volumes and they eventually allowed her to begin attending church. She did not use this situation as an opportunity to disobey them, but rather has sought to lead a life that would reflect her devotion to God. She understands that honoring her parents will be a much stronger testimony to them than breaking their rules to "serve" a God they do not understand.

Not just scripture but to the LEADING of the Holy Spirit. The point was not about disobeying parents...but being led by the Spirit. Katie's parents may not have commanded katie not to confront the pastor but it is their desire or wish that Katie does nothing. It is not in this negative connotation you are presenting "liberty to disobey". It is obediance to God first and living by the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will never lead us to do anything that is contrary to God's Word. Secondly, from what I understand, she hasn't even approached her parents about the situation. She has assumed that they would "only be encouraged to continue in their wrong beliefs". According to what we know, she has not even brought this before them. There hasn't even been an attempt to allow God to work through her parents first. God likes order and He designed the family to have a chain of authority. Before we can claim the Holy Spirit "led" us to do anything, we must first submit to the authority He has established for us. Whether the parents are believers or not is irrelevant (as I'll show later), God can use them and their wisdom whether they realize it or not.

You do not know that the parents are leading her contrary to God. You also do not know what the parents have instructed her to do. You therefore cannot make any conclusions on whether things are relevant or not. It will be between Katie and God.

Um, I can read...and from what she's told us (post #8) she has not even talked to them about this situation. Therefore, you are encouraging her to take matters into her own hands (under the guise of "being led by the Spirit") without first assessing whether or not she has attempted to discuss it with her parents. This is not biblical. It's not just between Katie and God. This kind of thinking is what led Andrea Yates to drown all five of her children, or David Koresh to lead 75 people to their firey deaths. We have to go by much more than being "led by the Spirit".

My advice for Katie is still the same: obey God first, obey parents second, obey your own desires last; follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and not that of your parents' or yourselves.

I agree that we should obey God first and everyone else follows. The problem is, in this situation you are encouraging her to bypass obedience to her parents, as she has not even sought their advice. Whether her parents are unbelievers are not has very little bearing on the situation. If we read 1 Peter 3:1-2 we see that wives are even instructed to obey unbelieving husbands, and we're told that this attitude of obedience can win them to the Lord. As I mentioned in another topic on this same subject (to Katie also), David respected and honored Saul even when he sought to murder David. David knew the significance of authority and that God had placed Saul in a position of authority that he should honor. Even when he had opportunity to kill Saul, he did not take it. He let God deal with Saul as He saw fit.

Tess, you said "this was terrible advice and a misapplication of scripture...geeze". This is an ad hominem, an attack particular against me.

Apparently you don't know what ad hominem means, as I did not attack your person. Again, I said your advice was terrible, not your character.