Monday, April 4, 2011

Toms Biblical worldview of Government and church

Throughout history it has ALWAYS been dictators, not the church that have tried to take control by denying God from its citizens, teaching them that Christians should not be involved in the affairs of society. Ironically some like, Stalin and Hitler, even today’s congress that use scripture against us quoting Romans 13 that it is the duty of Christians to submit to Satan’s authority to pass the devil’s legislation like abortion and homosexuality while the pulpits of America sit in continual deafening silence at the violation of Gods laws.
Who’s will are we really doing? God has blessed us but not without reason, the blessing of history, for example, is so that we would learn from our mistakes, so our refusal to know history is denying the very blessing He has given us. How much longer will mankind guide his own way, denying his own history constantly trying to do things without God? How long will we continue to do so?
In the past few years I have read more than all of my years combined, about American history, law, philosophy, apologetics, about a multitude of worldviews, the rise and fall of people, judges and nations and have learned many things. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we are reminded to turn from our wicked ways and he will heal our land. God has left us a way out if we would just follow Him.
In reading about the fall of societies I am reminded about the consequences in not following Gods laws, becoming a law unto ourselves and returning ourselves to bondage and IN my reading of scripture, the book “LEX-REX” , and many others, I am also reminded and affirmed that God does offer a way out, in scripture it was freedom from captivity, for Europe it was through the Black Robe regiment pastors, who called their government accountable and if it never happened, the people of Israel and those in Europe, may still have been left in bondage and the Dark Ages.
Is the promise to God’s people that He loves us and will never leave us or forsake us? Is not love a reciprocal voluntary action to do his will for those who love Him? In Romans 13:1-4. God's word states, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.
For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resists the power, resists the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. Wilt you then not be afraid of the power that which is good, and you shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid; for he bears not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that does evil."
First, this passage of Scripture outlines Gods government, the Bible teaches the Church is to obey God rather than men when the laws of men in conflict with the law of God. This truth is revealed throughout the Old and New Testaments. One can recall Daniel in the lion’s den and thrill to the miracle of the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. This Biblical theme is vitally important as it relates not only the modern-day church that falsely believes we are to obey tyrannical civil government, but that somehow civil government was given the authority, by GOD, to usurp the laws of God.
The Bible calls this not only heresy but idolatry as it violates the first commandment, “Thou shalt have no others gods before Me.” Is this failure to engage by “doing nothing” not serving Satan or is it, in fact, serving two masters, one on Sunday and the other, the other six days of the week? Secondly, godly government recognizes that God is the supreme authority. Since He created and established civil government, they are duty bound to uphold His will as it applies to the entire civil sphere.
Again, they are His ministers. Good civil government must recognize like the tyrant Kings of old that God rules and reigns in the affairs of men. He sets up kingdoms and knocks them down. He possesses and dispossesses nations according to the dictates of His good will. This is one of the fundamental truths that blessed America since its inception. We believed we were One Nation under God, that it was with Gods providence that we broke the chains of tyranny from Great Britain to form a “free nation”, were we violating God’s will and should we have stayed under the tyranny of the king?
It is most simply this…When mankind rejects this Biblical truth of God’s sovereignty, man has only two options. First, the state (Government) is sovereign and the ultimate authority, which historically has led to some form of totalitarianism (Socialism, communism, Fascism). In the 20th century alone, more than any other time in history, hundreds of millions of innocent people were massacred by this monstrous lie that “the government has the best interests of the people.”
The second option is man is sovereign, which has led man only to anarchy, chaos, and confusion. Only One Nation under God can secure the delicate tension between social order on the one hand and individual freedom on the other. All else is sinking sand and cisterns that can’t hold water. 2Peter 2:19 states: While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. Gods created civil government acknowledges ONLY God’s law as the standard for good and evil, right and wrong.
Therefore, civil government is called to punish evildoers as God defines evil and protect those who are good in God’s sight. Isaiah 5:20 states “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! are we not seeing this today?
Throughout Scripture, however, God warns rulers that it is an abomination to punish the righteous and pardon the wicked (Proverbs 17:15). Psalms 2 extends this warning to kings and judges, "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." Isaiah 10:1 states,

“Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed.” Rulers descend to this deplorable condition when they refuse to acknowledged God’s law and their duty to uphold it in the civil sphere. “It was Thomas Jefferson who stated, “The legislative powers of government reach to actions only, not to opinions.” Civil government is due our prayers, Constitutional taxes, tribute, and submission to lawful authority but not without clear understanding. And are not due, however, our faith, consciences, or thoughts. No government official has the authority to determine our beliefs, regulate our faith, or punish our thoughts. "
Today, after hundreds of years, the traditional Christian doctrine has been subtly and effectively replaced with the human autonomic dogma of Humanism and that Christians cannot and should not legislate morality. The truth is every, supposed, secular law and public policy is based upon Biblical fundamentals of morality, of good and evil, and the clear boundaries of right and wrong and is impossible to escape this reality.
The only question that remains is it God’s consistent law of morality and objective truth or that “relative and changing” law of man that will be upheld? There are, in fact, both similarities and differences regarding the church and the state and Both very important. Similarities between the church and state:

Both from God Both His ministers Both shall give an account of their administrations before God They must observe the commandments of God related to their sphere of authority Both are granted specific directions and principles from Scripture to guide them and are appointed for the glory of God and the benefit of mankind. Differences between the church and the state:

The church and state should each compliment the other rather than being in competition as they are both, when exercised properly, extensions of His will in the earth. The Church’s role is the eternal salvation and welfare of the souls of men. The civil ruler’s role is on the physical safety and temporal general welfare. The Church is to be a minister of grace The civil government is the minister of justice. The Church has the authority to punish evildoers by excommunication The civil rulers have the authority to execute capital offenders. The church is to expose evil The civil government is to punish and restrain evil. The Church should teach God’s law Civil government should enforce God’s law. The church is supported by God’s social tax, the tithe. The civil government is supported by God’s civil tax-the head tax. The church is to concentrate on the welfare of mankind, while The civil government is concentrate on the warfare to protect and serve its citizens. Both the Apostle Paul and Peter called the church to obey civil authorities and interestingly enough both died at the hands of civil authorities. Were they hypocrites that contradicted the will of God or simply understood that civil government was to be a “minister of God” who punished evil doers as God defined evil and protected those who were good in God’s sight, as God defined good.

When civil government denies and reverses this divine calling, and punishes the righteous and pardons the wicked, Christians are duty bound to obey God rather than men. When the laws of men are against the laws of God, we must trust God and continue to do good, even though we may suffer persecution for our faith. This is God’s directive to His people in times of tyranny and is also His living rebuke to a civil government that is in defiance against its divine calling.

To me it is unconscionable for Christians to absent themselves from the realm of activism and politics when the Bible they profess to believe in tells them that all power comes from the God they worship, that judgment comes on those who fail to do his will and punishment will come to those who are willing to subject His children to harm by doing nothing.

Is it logical or even possible to be the “salt and light” that scripture speaks of while simultaneously abandoning that accountability, supervision and “conscience” that Christians inherently bring through scripture to those in leadership?

How can a “Good Christian “ in “good conscience” think it is Gods will to abandon our children to the rotting corpse of societal decay, for them to be left at the feet of Satan only to suffer eternal damnation?

Why would God tell us to fill our quiver with arrows, to build Satan’s army only to become Satan’s minions or for us to teach our children in the way that they should go, that they may be the salt and light to others, using God’s word to penetrate, preserve and occupy all of society, to drive out the darkness, to preserve God’s blessings of freedom and liberty, leading by example?

In America, we have a rule of law, the Constitution and the spirit of the law, the Declaration of Independence that clearly define that we are endowed by our Creator with certain Inalienable Rights, Rights that cannot be taken away without the authority it was never given. These documents were not only what kept this nation the most free but what has allowed us to be the “beacon of light” to other nations, to spread our faith in the fulfillment of Matthew 28 and “Go into all nations”.


When our government finally disallows God to be present anywhere in society (an authority they were never given) how will preachers preach, how will Matthew 28 be fulfilled and how will we continue to be the “salt and light” to the earth as we have been for so long? Is this really Gods will for His people to squelch His word, I doubt it. Separation of Church and state, not so fast As we profess our faith in Christ, we must believe all things were created by God and He alone is the giver of Rights, He has bestowed the blessings, of Liberty, by His authority alone, for us to be good stewards of these blessings, to remain vigilant, educated and to pass these blessings down to future generations as his legacy while failure to do so is not “of God” but, in fact, selfish as well as criminal to our children and those generations that survive us whom will apparently be left with only what is still “intact” when we are gone. Can we as parents find this acceptable when we say we want better for our children than what we had? Can we as Christians find this as an acceptable legacy fit for the future descendants of children of Israel?

What will you leave for your children, this secular cesspool of immorality, tremendous burdensome debt, and fragments of a once just society where now there is no right from wrong, that man is autonomous and the soul giver ( and taker) of your rights and freedoms and that you must subject yourself to them because you feel its Gods will? Why then does God offer grace and way out, a choice, through repentance, to turn from our ways, to give us that way out when he could just subject us to bondage and let us go when he feels we have learned from our mistakes?


If that is the case, as sinners, would He or should He ever let us go free?

Finally, if you happen to be someone that believes it is Gods will to “do nothing” then you have forfeited all rights to complain about the world’s problems. If you refuse to get involved in politics because you feel it is so dirty, should you then consider abandoning your attendance at church fellowshipping among the “dirt” and filth of sinners?

Or Is our failure to engage a paralysis created by fear?

Shall we watch and do nothing when we see a car accident, a murder, robbery, rape, when we see wrongful convictions, abuse and what we know is wrong? If we, as Christians believe that our conscience is the conviction of the Holy Spirit, that “wee small voice” telling us we need to do something, would it be “like Christ” and consistent with His word to just ignore it? Is there any time in scripture where Gods wants us to “do nothing?” Even when he tells us “to be still”, it isn’t necessarily to do nothing but rather to stand in awe, in praise or pray, and do it without ceasing. Will we suffer persecution as Christians and should we?

2 TIM 3:12,

“And all that would live Godly would suffer persecution.”

Romans 8:13,

…Who shall separate us from the love of Christ, shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness or the sword?

There are at least 10 instances in scripture where the word “persecution” is used. My first thought is if we are to be “LIKE CHRIST” then we must be willing to subject ourselves to persecution “LIKE CHRIST”, for John 15:13 says there is no greater love than to lay down your live for another, did He not suffer for another?

1 Peter 4:1 states


Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; Is not then persecution and chastisement a form of discipline, a process, that refiners fire that transforms us from that dirty rough nugget into the shining pure medallion? Many times the Lord may give us a pass that may aviod persecution, but to me it isn’t whether we get persecuted as much as are we willing to, in other words are we willing to say “Yes Lord, I will GO!?” or sit back and do nothing in fear of retribution of what others may think?

Rev 3:5 states:

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. It may be crucial to ask what is referred to when he uses the word Overcometh? If one must overcome, must one perform an action? Logically speaking are we to understand then that those who do not perform this action that are not overcomers shall not be subject to the blessings of overcomers?

It is my thought that God rarely acts directly in human affairs but works indirectly through men and women in whom He delegates this authority. Is God not always looking for bold, fearless, willing servants with humble awareness that can be held accountable and trust in him for His direction to be used in ways that can only, according to man, be considered miracles? I am a Husband to a wonderful wife, married into an unbelievable family. I am the most blessed father to have such wonderful children. As you all know I am far from perfect and not without issues. I have made my share of mistakes and fear to no end the sins of the father upon my children. I have repented and asked God for forgiveness of those sins but shall I wonder if one of those sins should be my inaction at the time I am called?

To me, it is crystal clear, I have any other choice as a soldier for Christ, husband and a father but to step out of the boat in faith, to trust in Him, be accountable to Him while I hold other’s accountable in the navigation of our future? I could surely not just stand by, dressed in the full armor of God (Galatians 6) and do nothing as our future and that of our children is being destroyed at the hand of the giant, what did David do?

Hebrews 13:8 If Jesus was a “Doer of the word” and we are to be like Him and If Jesus Christ is the same today, tomorrow and forever, Is “doing nothing” really consistent with fulfillment of God’s word and His will for His people?

Perhaps the famous Dutch statesman, Abraham Kuyper’s quote describes me best when he suggested that we not only have a reason to be involved but a moral duty, he said:

“When principles that run against our deepest convictions begin to win the day, the battle is your calling, and peace has become a sin; you MUST, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your youth.”

And I may add “especially if you have children.”

So, today, I ask you to do as I do every day, say “YES Lord”, I am willing, I am able and continue to wait for your preparation and instruction.


( I would like to thank God for the opportunity to speak this message at church and thank Coach Dave Daubenmire for being my mentor. I would also like to thank American Vision, Rusty Thomas and Chuck Baldwin for the various pieces and parrts used that, in my opinion couldn't havew been said any better than I could have.)