Roles of Government and Church

The Roles of Government and Church

• Government comes from God

Psalm 22:28 (ESV) For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.

Daniel 2:20–21a (NIV84) ²⁰ [Daniel] said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. ²¹ He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them.”

• King Nebuchadnezzar had to learn

Daniel 4:25 (NIV84) …the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.

• God is in charge of ALL leaders at all levels (for ex:)

Presidents, Teachers,______________________________

John 19:10b–11a (NIV84) [Pilate said,]“Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.”

• Therefore, since the authority and power of our governments and leaders come from God, we are told:

Romans 13:1–7 (NIV84) ¹ Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ³ For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. ⁴ For he is God’s servant to do you good.

• “To do you good” means to govern as God wants
  • When God called each part of Creation “good,” He meant that each part had a purpose, and it was fulfilling that purpose and functioning as it was meant to.
  • So governmental authorities are there so people can be about the business of serving God and fulfilling His purposes as He intends for us.

But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

• “Punish the wrongdoers” on God’s behalf – a means of His ___________

⁵ Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.

• We have a moral obligation to submit to God’s authorities and to just laws

“One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws…”

– Martin Luther King Jr.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

1963

⁶ This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷ Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. ² Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

*Underline the obligations that government and its leaders have:

1 Peter 2:13–17 (NLT) ¹³ For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, ¹⁴ or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. ¹⁵ It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. ¹⁶ For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. ¹⁷ Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.

• Even if the person in authority is not worthy of honor and respect, the office is.
• Our further responsibility to the Government?
  • Pray for them

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NLT2) ¹  I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. ²  Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. ³  This is good and pleases God our Savior, ⁴  who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

• Pray for them because God wants the _______ to _____________
  • A peaceful and quiet culture helps in that

Titus 3:1-2 (NLT2) ¹  Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. ²  They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.

• Earthly rulers have authority only to the extent their rule follows God’s will
• Earthly governments don’t hold total authority over our lives, only partial jurisdiction

Matthew 22:17–21 (NLT) “Well, then,” [Jesus] said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

We are NOT called to submit to government

if it means disobedience to God

Disobedience to civil authorities,

except to be obedient to God, is anarchy.

• Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to follow the king’s command to bow down to worship a golden image

Daniel 3:16–18 (NIV84) ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

• Where the laws of our nation, state, city, or school board conflict with what the Lord has established, we are obligated to follow the Lord and not the bad laws.
• Daniel was thrown into the Lion’s Den because of a bad law.

Daniel 6:1–22 (NLT) ¹⁹ Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. ²⁰ When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?”

²¹ Daniel answered, “Long live the king! ²² My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”

• “I have been found innocent in his sight” because he did not break God’s law to follow the king’s bad law.
• “I have not wronged you, Your Majesty” because he didn’t fail to obey any righteous laws or fail to honor the king where it could be done righteously.
• Peter and John were commanded by Jewish leaders to quit talking about Jesus, but they refused. Twice.

1. Acts 4:19-20 (NIV) ¹⁹  But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. ²⁰  For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
2. Acts 5:29 (NIV) ²⁹  Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!

Exodus 1:15–21 (NLT) ¹⁵ Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: ¹⁶ “When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.” ¹⁷ But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.

¹⁸ So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. “Why have you done this?” he demanded. “Why have you allowed the boys to live?”

¹⁹ “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,” the midwives replied. “They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.”

²⁰ So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful. ²¹ And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

• Other examples:
  • Obadiah hid the prophets of God from Jezebel (1 Kings 18:4).
  • Daniel refused to eat the king’s meat (Daniel 1).
  • In Revelation, Christians in the End Times must refuse to worship the antichrist or to receive the mark of the beast (Rev. 13:14).

“One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”

– Martin Luther King Jr.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

1963

Romans 13:1–7 (NIV84) ⁴ For he [the ruler] is God’s servant to do you good.

• Where he is NOT doing what’s right and good, he is no longer God’s servant, and does not have to be obeyed.
• Our founders realized these biblical truths

From The Declaration of Independence

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

• FYI – The “pursuit of happiness” doesn’t mean momentary pleasurable emotion. It refers to the pursuit of those principles of goodness and virtue which will result in deep satisfaction and meaning to life.

–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…

• The _____ reasons the 13 United States declared independence from Britain were all rooted in protesting ungodly laws and ungodly leadership:

“He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

Ezekiel 34:2-10 (NLT2) ²  …prophesy against… the leaders of Israel. ³  You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve…you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty. ¹⁰  This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies..

“He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

Deuteronomy 16:19–20 (NIV84) ¹⁹ Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. ²⁰ Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.

“For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

Numbers 35:24b (NLT2) ²⁴  …The community must follow these regulations in making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim’s nearest relative.

• What about “the Separation of Church & State?”
  • The famous separation phrase appears nowhere in the Constitution or in the 1^st Amendment, which begins

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

• The First Amendment says Congress is limited from setting up a national denomination
• and Congress is limited from prohibiting the free exercise of religion to any person or group.
  • They cannot make any law restricting any person or group from adhering to or expressing their faith
  • Even while serving in official government capacities
• The phrase comes from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote in reply to a group of Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut
  • Who were worried that one day the government might take away their freedom to worship in the denomination of their choosing
  • Jefferson’s response affirmed to them that the free exercise of religion was their inalienable God-given right and therefore was protected from federal regulation or interference.
  • Because there was a “wall of separation between Church and State”
• It wasn’t until 1947 that a court used that phrase to limit the practice of faith, and they took it so out of context it is doubtful they ever even read the private letter the phrase came from.
  • Jefferson’s own explanation of the phrase shows it is almost exactly the opposite of the way courts interpret it today.
• It should be noted that Jefferson penned the letter to the Danbury Baptists on January 1, 1802. Two days later, on Sunday, Jan 3^rd, went to church (as he always did) in the Capital building, in the room the House of Representatives occupies! This was something Jefferson had given approval for a year earlier on December 4, 1800 as the President of the Senate and Vice-President of the Country, and having just been elected the next President.
  • Jefferson also requested in 1803 the Congress allocate federal funds for the salary of a preacher and the construction of his church.
  • That same year, Jefferson signed a treaty with the Kaskaskia tribe to provide them Christian ministry and teaching – $100.00 a year for seven years for the support of a priest so that he could “instruct as many … children as possible.”^[1]
  • Jefferson was known for printing and distributing, while President, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, a collection of Jesus’ teachings, which he called “an abridgment of the New Testament for the use of the Indians.”
• The Separation of Church and State, as shown by the actions of the man who penned the phrase, certainly did NOT mean that matters of faith are to be kept separate from matters of State.
• Again: Congress is limited from prohibiting the free exercise of religion.
  • The First Amendment does not limit the faith or practice of ANY people, even people serving in government, though it does limit the government from making an official state denomination.
• We are the ones that are to hold the government accountable

Luke 17:3 (ESV) ³ Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

• We have to be involved in the political process. God told the exiles in Babylon

Jeremiah 29:7 (NLT2) ⁷  “And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you… Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”

All laws and policies are based on somebody’s values and worldview.

There are no better values and worldview than what we find in Scripture.

• We have to elect godly men and women

Proverbs 29:2, 16 (NLT) When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan. ¹⁶  When the wicked are in authority, sin flourishes, but the godly will live to see their downfall.

• Where we don’t have godly candidates to elect, we need to FIND godly people who will serve as candidates

Ephesians 6:10–12 (NLT) ¹⁰ A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹² For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

1. https://wallbuilders.com/jefferson-lies-taking-critics/# ; This is a good article to read. ↑