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Ask Pastor John

When Obedience Is Evil

Ask Pastor John

Desiring God

Christianity, Pastor, John Piper, Theology, Ask, Religion & Spirituality/christianity, Desiring God, 163859, Religion & Spirituality, Questions

4.94.1K Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2026

⏱️ 12 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How should Christians respond when an authority asks them to sin? Pastor John encourages believers to respect earthly institutions without compromising God’s word.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Have you ever wondered when obedience becomes compromise?

0:10.3

There's a line here, a line in the sand, and we all meet that line at some point in life,

0:16.2

and the Bible's teaching on authority and freedom explains to us where that line is at. How do you

0:22.4

honor people without betraying God? Today on Ask Pastor John, when obedience becomes evil.

0:31.6

The question is from a young man looking at 2 Corinthians, which is in our recent readings

0:35.9

in the Navigator's Bible reading plan.

0:37.7

Join along if you haven't.

0:39.5

We're reading May 11th readings today.

0:42.2

That's month 5, day 11 on the chart.

0:45.7

And that has us in 2 Corinthians 10 today.

0:49.3

Our question is about chapter 6, which we read last week.

0:52.9

Our young man writes to us. Pastor John, I live in India

0:55.7

with my parents who strongly insist I marry a non-Christian woman for cultural reasons,

1:02.0

but I am a committed Christian. 2 Corinthians 614 says, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. How can I honor my parents without compromising my

1:15.6

faith? If I refuse, they threaten to disown me. Is there ever a point when obedience to parents

1:23.0

becomes partnership in their idolatry? What should I do if God's will conflicts with my culture's traditions?

1:30.8

I presume there are examples of this happening in the Bible. How do I know when obedience would be

1:36.8

a sin? Yes, there are examples in the Bible where honoring proper authority and honoring God come into conflict.

1:48.7

But before I mentioned any of those, it's really important that we remind ourselves of the

1:54.6

biblical framework of who we are as Christians in this fallen world and how we relate to the world's social structures

2:05.6

like family or parenting or state. So first, we are fundamentally new creatures, a new creation,

2:15.9

Galatian 615. We have been delivered from the domain of darkness

...

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