Rebellion begins with an idea that leads to an attitude and if allowed to continue concludes with a stand against authority, and because God is the ultimate authority, to rebel against any authority is to rebel against God. The only exception that allows us to rebel against a governing authority and not rebel against God is when the governing authority (church or state) requires us to sin.
When the Christian rebels he not only rebels against God but against the knowledge of Christ. The Christian is one who has been enlightened to the suffering of Christ, which sufferings put away sin to make the recipient holy, separated from the world and to God and His purposes. Everything that comes into our lives is to make us holy, so to reject a circumstance is to reject God’s purpose in that circumstance. To reject the purpose of God in our lives is to reject our conformity to Christ, which is the ultimate purpose behind everything to the Christian. To reject our conformity to Christ is to reject the sufferings of Christ, by which we are saved and conformed to His likeness.
Why should Christians not rebel? Because when the Christian rebels he rebels against the sufferings of Christ while standing in the light of the Gospel. The Gospel is personified when a Christian denies a love for this present world by accepting the worst that it can impose. Rebellion denies a separation from the world and thereby denies a love for Christ. 1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
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