Where lawful authorities are not submitted to nor honor shown to those to whom it is due, or when those in such positions abuse and misuse that which God has given, no blessing can be expected. In fact, the Bible and experience shows the disastrous consequences of unruly children, domineering husbands, rebelling citizens, wicked rulers, and selfish shepherds. But there is temporal blessing and prosperity promised to the household, church, and society where the fifth commandment is obeyed.

“Honor your father and your mother.” This command is part of that perfect law that is holy, righteous, and good because it is a reflection of the one who himself is those things. It was once engraved on the tablets of stone, was exemplified in the life of Jesus, and it is now written on the heart of believers by the ministry of the Holy Spirit and affirmed by Apostolic authority. This command convicts, restrains, and directs the Christian life.
The fifth commandment is the first of what is often called the second table of the law. When Jesus was asked which was the great commandment he answered: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:27-39). Love to God and love to neighbor are the two parts of God’s unchanging law. In the division of the Ten Commandments the first four teach us our duty to God and the last six our duty to neighbor. The priority is given to the first table as the greatest and out of a love and service to God we are to love one another. Love to neighbor consists, in part, in giving “honor to whom honor is owed” (Romans 13:7).
The fifth commandment establishes that by God’s design and order there are positions of honor and authority. After all, a part of what it means for children to honor their parents is obedience: “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord” (Colossians 3:20). But the authorities that God has established are not autonomous, boundless, or lawless. Rather, they are derived and contingent upon the authority of God: “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1).
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Worship is a response that comes when the Spirit gives our hearts an apprehension of the righteousness of Jesus provided in the gospel as we praise His glorious grace. This, according to the Apostle, characterizes a life of discipleship. To be a disciple of Jesus is to forgo all confidence in anything but Jesus and to glory in His person and work with the melody of heart and tongue.

If I can borrow (and slightly modify) a turn of phrase I once heard, I would say that discipleship exists because worship does not. The very reason Jesus has given His church the mandate to disciple the nations is because He desires a people from every tribe, language, and nation to join together in an unbroken harmonious symphony of praise to the triune God. That means, as we faithfully fulfill the mandate of discipleship, we need to endeavor to draw people to the vistas of worship.

In writing to the church at Philippi, the Apostle Paul draws a connection between discipleship and worship: “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3). The reason Paul appeals to circumcision is because of the context into which he is writing. As it was given by God, circumcision was intended to be a sign in the flesh that physically marked out the people of God—it was a sign of God’s covenant. Those who were circumcised according to the promise of Abraham were followers of Jehovah.

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How does a Christian living in an aggressive world please God? In part, Paul says, by aspiring “to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands” (1 Thess. 4:11). It’s hard to imagine an Apostolic command that is more mundanely practical than this.

We live in a society marked by unrest, controversy, and hostility. More and more the church is feeling the pressure that comes with that. The cultural table isn’t giving Christians a lot of elbow room, and soon we may find ourselves banished from the table altogether. In these times, we need to be careful to understand what God’s will is because there’s a dangerous tendency in our hearts to abandon ourselves to something other than the privileges that belong to us in Jesus Christ.

Paul knew that tendency in the Christian heart. The Thessalonians were a remarkable church. Their lives had been turned around by the ministry of the Word, and they were examples of faith, love, and hope. But their daily routines were also lived in a context of hostility and suffering for the sake of Jesus. That’s why in writing to them, Paul wanted them to know how to honor God. How does a Christian living in an aggressive world please God? In part, Paul says, by aspiring “to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands” (1 Thess. 4:11).
It’s hard to imagine an Apostolic command that is more mundanely practical than this. God’s will for our sanctification is lived out in the ordinary routines and habits of life. But this isn’t easily achieved. That’s why Paul says we should “aspire” to it—to desire very strongly and strive eagerly. One might rephrase Paul and say we are to make it our ambition to live life in this way.

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