The Rebel on the Throne

Aug 11, 2025    Stanton Petersen

Have you ever received advice or correction, and your very first instinct was to push back? Not just to disagree, but to feel a deep, internal resistance, a feeling of, “You can’t tell me what to do.” It’s a near-universal human reaction. We often frame it as defending our independence, but what if it’s something deeper? What if that resistance is the first political act of a rebel king fighting to keep his throne? Today, we’re going to look at the very first sign that self, not Christ, is ruling our hearts.