People Who Will Not Be Governed
February 5, 2024
Good day! I am writing a series of short reviews of abbreviated COGR video clips. I am looking for input and comments. If it makes it easier, I will gladly supply a Word document so comments can be put in the document, and we can communicate directly. My email address is lattema@icloud.com. I hope you find these reviews helpful.
Transcript:
Peter, chapter two. Second Peter, chapter two. Verse ten. It just gives you more of a sense of the rebellion. But chiefly them verse ten, that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government, despised government. We’re talking about people, individuals, but also systems that refuse and despise to be governed. It’s not just a matter of people that don’t like brother Ray; they’re individuals that do not accept government. They refuse to be governed. They will not allow themselves to be governed by God. They will not allow themselves to be governed by who God has placed over them. They want to be their own governor.
It’s not a matter that they can’t see apostles in the Bible; it’s that they themselves want to be their own governor. Presumptuous. Are they? They presume or they are so audacious as to say that God’s structure is not for them, but they will be ruled by their own heart, their own mind. We live in an age now, pardon my voice.
We live in an age now where there’s a saying, “speak your own truth, speak your truth to power.” And it is a structure that’s designed to take you away from being governed by God. (Stephen Hargrave)
Commentary:
Text:
2 Pe 2:10 10 and especially those who go after the flesh in defiling lust and who despise authority. [W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012)]
Looking at the context what do we find? We see that verse is referring to the false teachers and false prophets that have been spreading error. It is a commentary on the nature of those false prophets and teachers and a warning to those who are in danger of listening to the false teachers. The false teachers and prophets have been disobedient because they have not followed God, they have refused to acknowledge the authority of Christ, and in the local church they are spreading bad doctrine and living an immoral lifestyle.
Ironically, Stephen is a leader in an authoritarian group demanding absolute subservience to leadership. The group itself, the COGR, has numerous false teachings, so it is surprising that Stephen chose this verse.
Before we can proceed it is necessary to ask if Stephen has any legitimate authority to insist that believers submit totally to him. We recognize that the New Testament does not mandate any form of church government, so how can Stephen insist that people surrender their lives and their will to the leaders of the COGR? Their leadership style, even if one were to endorse an Episcopalian polity, is outside the limit of anything suggested by the New Testament. Additionally, it is more likely that Stephen is like the false teachers and prophets mentioned than he is like a Christian leader. There are multiple examples of theological errors that exist in the group, many of which are heresies.
Stephen is using the verse to intimidate those who are not willing to give him (or the apostles) the power and deference they demand. His preaching is meant to compel people to yield their will to him. His comments close the door to dialogue or discussion and further propagate the total control demanded by the group.
Before going any further, we should stop and look at the claims that are being made. He says that the people being disobedient are having more than just a problem with Brother Ray and whether they like him. It is even more than whether they accept the apostles as apostles. It is that their hearts are evil and that they will not allow themselves to be governed by anybody. Is that true?
It does not seem to be. Most people who refuse to follow the apostles have significant theological doubts about their polity, the group’s mythology, and their leadership style. Most often, it is not a matter of despising God’s rule or Christ’s authority, but instead, it is a problem of seeing the toxicity of the COGR as it damages lives and propagates heresy.
Stephen is wrong to accuse those who fail to fall in line. It is those very dissenters who are showing discernment and, in many cases, recognizing that Stephen and the other self-proclaimed false apostles and prophets are as dangerous as those spoken of 2000 years ago.
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