Government

The Family: An Antidote to Tyranny

There are basically three options for a society. One option is tyranny. This option is not a pleasant one. In a tyranny, the people are oppressed by an overly powerful government.

A second option is anarchy. The word anarchy basically means “no ruler” or “no government.” The problem with anarchy is that it leads to tyranny. When everyone can do whatever they want, some people will want to oppress others. Those who are bigger, stronger, or smarter will begin to use and abuse others. So really, option one and two eventually lead to the same dark place.

The third option is a biblical society. God knows what the perfect balance of rules and liberty is. He knows human nature, and He knows how society functions best. Thankfully, He shared this knowledge with us in the Bible.

A well-ordered society is made up of individuals, families, local churches, and civil governments. God has given roles and responsibilities to each of these. All of these institutions are important, and all of them were ordained by God.

While we can’t say that the family is the only important institution, it is clear from Scripture that the family is foundational to society. The family goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 2 (even chapter 1 hints at it; see 1:26-28).

So it should not surprise us that the Bible teaches that the family is of extreme importance. But many may not realize that the antidote to both anarchy and tyranny is godly families.

Adam & Eve’s task was to “have dominion” (Gen. 1:28). Dominion isn’t oppression, but rather management and stewardship. They were to build a godly civilization. After sin came into the world, they were also engaged in a fight (Gen. 3:15). This fight was between the godly line and the ungodly line of humanity.

Soon, the ungodly line strikes out against the godly line as Cain kills Abel. Murder, a tool of tyrants, is introduced into the world (Gen. 4:8). Soon, other immorality is introduced (Gen. 4:19). Moral anarchy and tyranny go hand in hand.

After depicting the sorry state of society, the Bible then zooms in and focuses on a family. The picture shifts from the turmoil of the larger society to the smallest institution in society: the family (a man, his wife, and their children; Gen. 4:25).

A while later, society has grown even more corrupt (Gen. 6:5, 11). After depicting the corruption in the larger society, the Bible again zooms in and focuses on a family (Noah, his wife, and their children; Gen. 6:18).

After the flood, humanity again becomes corrupt. A tyrant named Nimrod begins to unite humanity against God and His people (Gen. 10:8-10; 11:1-6). The Lord puts a stop to their plan (Gen. 11:8-9), but that isn’t the end of the story. The Bible again focuses on a man, his wife, and their child (that they will have; Gen. 11:29-30; 12:7). Do you see a pattern?

Oh, but wait, there’s more!

In Exodus 1:8-16, a tyrant is oppressing the Hebrews. As tyrants love to do, he is attacking the family (Exo. 1:16). After describing this horrible tyranny, the story then focuses on a man who gets married and starts a family (Exo. 2:1-2).

During the time of the Judges, God’s people often went from being oppressed by tyrants (often foreign ones; Judg. 3:12-14; 4:1-3; etc.) to anarchy (Judg. 21:25). In the midst of all this societal turmoil, the Bible again zooms in to focus on a man, his wife, and their child (as in the story of Samson; Judg. 13:1-3).

The book of Ruth also takes place during the time of the Judges (Ruth 1:1). But the focus of the book isn’t on Israel’s judges, it’s on a marriage and the start of a family (Ruth 4:13).

The beginning of the book of 1 Samuel also takes place during the time of the Judges. Samuel was Israel’s last judge before they had a king (1 Sam. 7:15; 8:4-5). The book of 1 Samuel begins with a man, his wife, and their child (1 Sam. 1:1-20).

Some of you who are reading this may be thinking: “Those passages are meant to point us to Christ.” You are absolutely right! These passages do point us to another man (Joseph), his wife (Mary) and their child (Jesus)! These passages, just like all of Scripture, ultimately point to Christ.

But it isn’t a stretch to say that these passages also reinforce the idea that godly families are an important antidote against tyranny.

Do you see any tyranny in your society? If so, do what the Bible does: shift your focus from dysfunctional governments to the family. While we Christians should not abandon other aspects of the society we find ourselves in, we won’t be much of a force for good without building strong, godly families first.

2022-12-31T21:10:12+00:00December 30th, 2022|Categories: Family, Government|Tags: , , |

How to Attract the “Right” People to Your Nation

Every nation discriminates. Every nation has its idea of who they want as citizens. Every nation will therefore seek to discourage certain types of people from coming into its borders. So, how do we make sure the “right” people immigrate to America?

The answer is not to give the government more control. When governments become socialist (like ours), they will try to attract people who also want socialism. The more control the government has over immigration, the more effective they will be at ensuring that only socialism-loving people will be allowed in.

This is something that Conservatives don’t seem to understand. They want to give more and more power to our socialist government to enforce who comes into our country and who doesn’t. For example, most Conservatives are in favor of the Clinton-Obama border wall. I call it the Clinton-Obama border wall, because Hillary and Barack both voted to fund the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border when they were senators. Sure, they pretended to be against the wall when President Trump was building it, but they’re not as opposed to it as they let on. Like other Communists, they want to have tight control over who comes and goes. Karl Marx even included the idea of strict government control over emigration in his Ten Planks of Communism (“immigration” refers to those coming into your country, “emigration” refers to those leaving your country). It’s no wonder, then, that the communist East Germans built the Berlin Wall to keep people from leaving.

America’s Founders, on the other hand, didn’t give the national government a lot of power over immigration. They wanted limited government in all areas, including in relation to people’s migrations. The Kentucky Resolves of 1798 (drafted by Thomas Jefferson) warned that governments often pass laws directed at “the friendless alien” first, but will eventually use similar laws against its citizens (see Resolve IX). Heed his warning: the laws that pertain to immigrants will likely be used against you one day. Be very careful in giving governments power in any area, including immigration and emigration.

As I’m writing this, a Canadian pastor who was arrested for holding a church service was prevented from leaving his country to speak at a conference that I was attending. Why? The ultimate reason was that he didn’t bow down to their tyranny. Our government isn’t much friendlier to Christians than Canada’s is. Soon, we will be held hostage by our own country simply for not bowing down to our tyrants. At that point, there will be no escape.

All of this is to say that more government control is not a good way to make sure the right people come to America. I’m not saying that the government should have no laws concerning immigration, but there are others ways of encouraging the “right” people to come here. Here’s a couple of ideas for attracting the “right” people to our shores, while still maintaining some freedoms:

1. Get rid of socialism. People complain that immigrants who come to America mooch off of “the system” (getting free stuff from the government). This is a valid complaint. However, the solution isn’t giving more power to the government. The solution is getting rid of the “system” that many immigrants mooch off of. In the Bible, it’s not the government’s role to provide free stuff to the people (citizens or foreigners).

If Americans would stop voting for socialist politicians (which includes all Democrats and about 99% of Republicans), immigrants couldn’t mooch off of the system. If there is no system to mooch off of, the moochers wouldn’t want to come to America. The only immigrants who would want to come would be the ones who just wanted a chance to work hard to provide for their families. Those are the “right” kind of people. Having a more biblical government would solve the mooching problem.

2. Have Bible-based laws. While we do want to maintain freedoms, the freedom to do violence to others is not the kind of freedom I’m referring to. Another complaint I hear about immigrants is that there are murderers, rapists, and sex traffickers coming across the border. This is also true (though the majority aren’t violent criminals).

But again, the solution isn’t giving the government more power to control people’s migrations. The solution is to have a more biblical government. While there are some immigrants who are involved in murder, rape, and sex trafficking, so are some Americans! Even if no foreigner was allowed in our country, these crimes would still happen. The answer then is to adequately punish those who commit these crimes. It is true that some immigrants who commit these crimes are let go with little or no punishment. However, the same often happens to American citizens who do these evil things.

In the Bible, the main job of the government is to punish evildoers (Rom. 13:1-4). The punishment for murder and rape is the death penalty (Exo. 21:12; Deut. 22:25-26). Furthermore, anyone who kidnaps someone and sells them into slavery (including sex-slavery) would also get the death penalty (Exo. 21:16).

If God’s laws were enforced against these crimes, immigrants who want to commit them would stay as far away from America as they could! So again, the only people who would want to come to America would be those who wanted to behave, and those are the people we want to come to our shores.

I realize there’s more to the immigration debate than can be covered in this short article (like terrorists coming over the border, etc). But when it comes to many of our immigration problems, the main fault is that our nation doesn’t obey the Bible. If there was no socialist system to take advantage of, we wouldn’t have immigrants taking advantage it! If we had laws that were in line with the Bible, those guilty of heinous crimes would actually be punished!

In short, a country that disobeys the Bible will attract immigrants who disobey the Bible. A country that reveres and obeys God will attract immigrants that are willing to do the same.

2024-04-03T17:19:42+00:00March 9th, 2022|Categories: Government|Tags: , , |

Think There’s Any Hope in National Politics? Think Again.

Are you still hoping that maybe, just maybe, it’s possible to “save America” by voting for good politicians? I hate to burst your bubble, but there are no signs of political hope at the national level. How did I come to this conclusion? By looking at what politicians do, as opposed to what they say.

There is a handy website that ranks the votes of every U.S. Senator and Representative according to the Constitution (thenewamerican.com/freedom-index/). If all of a politician’s votes are in line with the Constitution, then they get a score of 100 (%). If half of their votes are Constitutional, then their score will be 50, and so on. After looking at the scores of every Senator and Representative, I have come to the conclusion that we are doomed. I actually came to that conclusion before I did this little survey that I’m going to tell you about, but this confirms it.

I looked at every state’s legislators and calculated the average score for that state. As would be expected, some of the lowest scores came from places like New Hampshire and Connecticut. These two states actually had the lowest scores; they both scored a 10. This means that their average legislator violated the Constitution with 90% of their votes!

Surely, the rest of the country was much higher, right? Nope. When I looked at the scores from the legislators of all fifty states, the average state scored a 32.75! That’s right, the score of the average legislator at the national level is 32.75. That means over 2/3 of the votes cast in the U.S. Congress are unconstitutional, which means they are illegal. Congress can only vote according to the power given to them by the Constitution. If they go beyond that, they’re acting illegally.

Were there any good states? Nope, not one. Some were better than others, of course, but none of them were good. The more conservative states like Texas and Oklahoma only scored a 39.5 and 45.8 respectively. In fact, there was only one state which had legislators that averaged over 50%. That state was Louisiana, which scored a 53.3. Think about that! Only one state out of fifty obeyed the Constitution more than half the time! And they scored just barely over 50%. The best state’s legislators violated the Constitution with almost half of their votes.

But the Republicans will save us!

Do you really think that? Well, let’s take a look. As I looked at the voting records of Republicans, I noticed an interesting phenomenon: Republicans in liberal states often had higher scores than the ones in more conservative states. For example, Colorado had an overall score of 35. But the Republicans in CO (all two of them) had an average score of 75. Virginia had a total score of 27.5, but their Republicans (all three of them) averaged a 70.

While those numbers look good, the rest of the Republicans didn’t do nearly as well. Remember, Republicans are generally considered “conservative” and conservatives claim to follow the Constitution (though that is debatable). So, you’d think that the average for America’s Republican legislators would be fairly high, say above 66% (2/3). You’d be mistaken however; the average for Republicans in all states was 46.8. Less than half! Again, these are the guys (and gals) that claim to love the Constitution. Their score was higher than the Democrats, of course, but still nothing to write home about. Sorry, but the Republicans aren’t giving us much hope either as far “saving America” is concerned.

The conservatives will save us!

I’ve written in the past about some of the failings of the conservative movement, so I won’t rehash them here. But when you look at the politicians that conservatives end up supporting, I’m not sure they have the wisdom to be of much help, at least as far as helping Americans know which politicians will obey the Constitution.

Of course, some of the legislators that are favorably spoken of by conservatives are not too horrible. Guys like Louie Gohmert (70), Mike Lee (75), and Rand Paul (80) are much better than the average, and most conservatives speak favorably of them. As a side note, the only one with a perfect score (100) is Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

But many of the legislators that conservatives champion are downright liberal! In my state (Florida), our two Senators are Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. They scored a 20 and a 40 respectively, and yet I’ve heard some conservatives speak favorably of these guys! It’s the same with Lindsey Graham, who also scored a 20. To be fair, not every conservative likes Rubio, Scott, and Graham. But there are other legislators that most conservatives support, which are almost as bad. For example, many have labeled Marsha Blackburn (TN) as “the most conservative” Senator, yet her score is a 40. Apparently, violating the Constitution 60% of the time makes you a great conservative! I could cite many more examples, but you get the picture.

So, do we just give up?

Yes, and no. I’m not saying that we Christians should stop working for a more biblical government (which the Constitution represents to some extent). But I do believe most efforts at the national level will be fruitless for the most part. It would be much better to focus on the state and local level. We need to vote for local officials who understand good government and have the courage to stand up to the national government. Local leaders have the right, in fact the duty, to defy any unconstitutional acts of the national government.

Of course, God can do anything, but as it looks right now, there isn’t much hope for the nation as a whole. It would be better to work to preserve (and regain) our liberties at the local level, rather than waste time and energy with what looks to be a hopeless national cause.

2021-04-05T18:53:26+00:00April 5th, 2021|Categories: Government|Tags: , , , |

Money “Printing” and the Bible

The phrase “money printing” is sometimes used as a nickname for the process of creating money out of a worthless material (or thin air). Even when money creation is done by typing digits into a computer, it’s still sometimes called money “printing.” This issue is especially important because, in the U. S. and around the world, a whole bunch of money printing is going on.

You won’t find the phrase “money printing” in the Bible, and you certainly won’t find talk of creating money with a computer, but the concept is right there in Scripture. This concept can be a bit complicated, but hang with me because this is super important.

God actually hates money printing! He hates it so bad, He calls it an abomination! Again, this issue can be a little hard to explain, but I’ll try to do it in three points.

Point #1: Dishonest scales. Deuteronomy 25:13-16 says that anyone who uses a dishonest (unjust) weight or measure –that person is an abomination.

What does that have to do with money printing? Well, in those days, money was measured by weight. It was made out of gold, silver, or copper, and each coin had a weight to it. Today, we use ounces (oz.), so that’s the term I’m going to use. So, if I wanted to buy some wheat, I would go to the store and ask for a pound of wheat. The cashier tells me that it will cost me one oz. of silver.

I agree that’s a fair price, so she measures out a pound of wheat and puts it on a scale (picture a balance scale). She would then put a one-pound weight on one side of the scale and the wheat on the other, in order to make sure it was really a pound of wheat.

Now, what if she wanted to cheat me? One of the ways she could do that was to make a weight that weighed 1/2 a pound and stamp the words “one pound” on it. So, when she measured out a 1/2 pound of wheat, it would look like it weighed a whole pound, because it weighed the same (on the scale) as the “one pound” weight (that really weighed 1/2 pound). And so, she could make me think I was buying onepound, when in reality, I was only buying a 1/2 pound.

Now, let’s say I wanted to cheat her. She has the wheat and the scale, so I can’t tamper with those, but I can cheat her by tampering with the money. After she weighs out the wheat, she’s going to weigh my coin to make sure I’m giving her a full oz. of silver. (remember, the price of a pound of wheat is one oz. of silver).

But, let’s say I took my one oz. silver coin, and melted it down. Then I added one oz. of a worthlessmetal to the melting pot. Now I can make two coins that weigh one oz. each. But each coin is only half silver and half worthless metal. So, each one oz. coin only has a 1/2 oz. of silver in it.

When I go to the store and give my coin to the cashier, she thinks it’s an oz. of silver. But it’s not. It’s only 1/2 an oz. So, I get a whole pound of wheat for 1/2 an oz. of silver, when I was supposed to give her a whole oz. of silver. By making money out of a worthless metal, I can cheat people.

Point #2: Making money worth less. When you make money out of a worthless metal, you are stealing from others. First, you are stealing by giving people the false impression that your one-oz. coins have one oz. of silver in them, when they only have 1/2 oz.

But you’re not just stealing from the wheat store. You’re stealing from everyone in your town, even if they don’t do business with you!

Here’s why: the more of something there is, the less that thing is worth. Why is paper so cheap? Because there’s a whole bunch of it. Why are big diamonds so expensive? Because they’re rare! If big diamonds grew on trees, no one would pay millions of dollars for a big diamond.

It’s the same with dollars. The more of them there are, the less those dollars are worth. So, if I’m printing lots of money (or making it out of worthless metal), the value of everyone else’s money goes down because there’s now more dollars in my town (or nation). So, money printing makes everyone’s money lose value.

But if I’m printing money, do I care if my money loses value? No! I’ll just print more money! But, of course, this will make other people’s money lose even more value.

Now it may seem like this isn’t a big deal. After all, if more money is being added to a community, won’t everyone be getting richer? The answer is, no.

Let’s say I print a bunch of money in the year 2021, when the price of a car is $30k. I basically get the car for free, because I’m the one making money out of a worthless material (paper). That $30k goes to the car dealer. He saves some of that money in his bank for 5 years because he wants to buy a boat. After he buys the boat, the boat dealer saves some of that money for 5 years because he wants to go on a month-long road trip. On that trip, he spends some of that money at a fancy hotel. The hotel uses some of that money to pay their workers. One of the hotel workers saves some of that money for about 5 years to buy a car.

Only now, the year is 2036, and a car doesn’t cost $30k. That same car now costs $40k. So, even though the money I printed eventually gets to the hotel worker, by the time it does, her money is worth less than when I first printed it in 2021 (because I keep printing money every year). So, she ends up having to use more dollars to buy a car. By printing money, I made her costs go up. But I don’t care about rising costs, because I can just print more money!

I’m getting rich, while everyone else gets poorer (because their money is worth less). This is why God hates money printing. The ones who print money are stealing from everyone else, and it happens in a way that the people being stolen from don’t know it’s happening.

Point #3: Destruction. When people do what God hates, He will always put a stop to it eventually. Isaiah 1:22-25 tells us what God will do to money printers. Some people in Israel were making coins with worthless metals (“dross”; v. 22). In that day, the government (the “princes”) had a deal with the “thieves” (the ones making money with worthless metal; v. 23). The government was protecting the thieves. But God wasn’t going to let this go on; He would soon take vengeance on those money printers (v. 24).

In the United States today, the ones who print money are at the Federal Reserve. They are not really “federal” in that they aren’t part of the government. It’s a private “bank,” and it’s stealing from us all. The government does help the thieves, however; they make sure the Federal Reserve can continue to print money with no accountability. This is very similar to the situation in Isaiah’s day! When will God take vengeance on the “princes and thieves” of America like He did to the ones in Israel? I don’t know. But every nation in history that has had this “abomination” money system has suffered economic calamity.

What you can do about it:

1. Stop voting for “princes” who help out the money printing thieves.

2. Get some money that isn’t “dross.” As more money gets printed, your fake money (dollars) will lose value. Real money (gold & silver) will hold their value better than printed money. It would be good to have some.

3. Prepare for hard times as God brings down this thieving economic system. And work with others in planning for hard times.

4. Learn more about how this evil money system works. And then, teach others in your family and church.

2021-02-16T02:45:58+00:00February 16th, 2021|Categories: Government, Money|Tags: , , , , , |

Running from the Police, Breaking Out of Jail, Lying to the Government, and Other Godly Activities.

So many Christians today see disobeying the government as a sin. To be sure, in many cases it is a sin. But, if the Bible teaches submission to the government in all or almost all situations, why do tyrant governments ban Bibles studies? You’d think that evil rulers would require Bible reading, if that’s what the Bible taught.

The reason bad governments don’t like the Bible is that it doesn’t teach unlimited submission to the government. In fact, it teaches us to defy tyranny. Here are some examples:

1. Running from the police.

The job of the police is to enforce the law. If the laws are good, that’s not a problem. But, if the laws are bad that can become a big problem. Sometimes, the police are used by tyrants to enforce, not the law, but the will of that tyrant. Either way, it is the job of the police to arrest those who defy the will of the government.

One day Paul got into some trouble. He made the government mad, and they sent the police to arrest him. Did Paul submit? Did he let them arrest him? Nope. He ran.

In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul is reluctantly “boasting” about some of his qualifications for being an apostle. After mentioning some of the things he suffered (vv. 23-28), he then goes on to “boast” about the time he escaped from the authorities that were sent to arrest him (vv. 32-33). He even enlisted the help of other disciples to escape the police (Acts 9:24-25).

2. Breaking out of jail.

Peter also made the government angry, and they sent the police after him. Peter, however, was unable to escape the police like Paul did. Peter was arrested and put in jail (Acts 12:4). While he was in jail, God sent an angel to break him out. (vv. 6-10). At first, Peter thought he was seeing a vision, but after realizing that he really had escaped the jail, he praised God for his deliverance (v. 11).

While it is rather unusual for an angel to break people out of jail, the point is that God doesn’t consider escaping from jail to be immoral (assuming one is jailed for unjust reasons, of course).

3. “Lying” to the government.

Generally speaking, God is opposed to taking another person’s life. However, there are exceptions (Exo. 22:2; Deut. 20:12-13; etc.). Generally speaking, God is opposed to saying things that aren’t true. But again, there are exceptions. There are many times in Scripture where God approves of people being deceitful, and in every such case (that I know of), that person is lying to the government.

In Exodus 1, the Hebrew midwives were told by the government to kill babies (vv. 15-16). The midwives defied the government. When asked why they weren’t obeying orders, the midwives lied, and said that the Hebrew mothers were giving birth before the midwives could get there (v. 19). However, this wasn’t true, it was merely an excuse. The real reason the midwives disobeyed was that they feared God, not because they couldn’t get there in time (v. 17). God approved of their disobeying and deceiving the government, and He blessed them for it (vv. 20-21).

In Joshua 2, Rahab hides the Israelite spies that the government is trying to arrest (vv. 1-4). When the government asks her to turn the spies over to them, she lies to the police and says that the spies escaped through the city gate (v. 5). This wasn’t true, and Rahab knew it. The spies were hiding on her roof and she was the one who put them there (v. 6)! Did God approve of Rahab’s deceit? You bet He did! In fact, Rahab’s lying is what God considers as proof of her faith (Heb. 11:31; Jam. 2:25)!

Some may say that God approved of hiding the spies, but not of the lying. However, the deception was part and parcel to the hiding of the spies. The government wanted her to give the spies over to them. If she had told the truth (or even just said nothing), the police would have known the spies were there, and would have searched Rahab’s house instead of leaving. Rahab sent the spies out “another way” (Jam. 2:25). She did that in order to deceive the authorities. In fact, the very act of hiding something is a form of deception.

There are many more examples of God blessing His people when they disobey, deceive, and run from ungodly governments. That being said, I need to remind you that these examples which I have cited are all dealing with life and death situations. In each case, someone’s life was in danger. I’m not saying that is the only time to disobey (see Acts 5:27-29), but we should do our best to live at peace with all men, including the government (Rom. 12:18). However, when governments are a threat to life, gospel proclamation, or a godly living, we don’t have to bow down to them. God is not only okay with disobeying the government in those cases, He actually blesses that disobedience.

I’ll leave you with a quote that represents what Christians from the past have thought about defying the government (“princes”) when they are behaving in an ungodly way:

“For earthly princes lay aside their power when they rise up against God, and are unworthy to be reckoned among the number of mankind. We ought, rather, to spit upon their heads than to obey them.” – John Calvin (1509-1564)

2020-08-26T19:19:06+00:00August 26th, 2020|Categories: Government|Tags: , , , , , |

24 Biblical Principles Applied to the Corona Crisis

The Bible applies to every situation you will ever face. There are several Bible verses and biblical concepts that need to be considered in light of the Covid-19 virus and the response to it. This would include the lockdowns, the effect on the economy, etc. There is actually quite a bit more that could be said, but here are some things for you to consider:

1. God causes bad things.

It is very common in modern churches to hear that God allows bad thing to happen. This isn’t true. The Bible is clear that God causes bad things to happen (Isa. 45:7; Amos 3:6). All viruses, economic hardships, etc., are ultimately from the hand of God.

2. Confusion and fear are God’s judgment.

Some have suggested that this virus is God’s judgment on America and other countries. This may be true (Deut. 28:21), but I think it’s more accurate to say that the response to the virus is God’s judgment. This virus isn’t all that severe. Of course, for some it is. In fact, for some, it can be deadly. But, all in all, this is by no means even close to the most deadly thing out there.

The Bible does say that confusion and fear are also part of God’s judgment (Deut. 28:20, 28; Lev. 26:36). This, I believe, is more of a judgment than the virus.

3. Fear God, not people or things.

Did you know that fear can be a sin? It indeed can be (Rev. 21:8). Fear leads us to obey the thing that we are afraid of. If we fear men more than we fear God, we will obey men rather than God. Jesus was clear: don’t fear those who can kill us, but rather, fear God (Matt. 10:28). This doesn’t mean that we should do foolish things, or tempt God (Matt. 4:5-7), but neither can our lives be marked by fear.

4. Science apart from the word of God is bad.

Science is the process of trying to learn things by observation. Science is a wonderful tool that God has given us to learn about our world. However, true science must be connected to the word of God. If science runs contrary to the Bible, then the science must be assumed to be wrong, not God’s word.

This current virus, and all viruses, were caused by placing science (observation) over the word of God. All sicknesses are the result of Adam & Eve’s sin. Their sin was rooted in the fact that they trusted their eyes (observation), and a self-proclaimed expert (Satan), over what God had said (Gen. 3:2-6).

We are getting so many different “scientific” opinions on the nature of this virus and what our response should be. How do you know which of these medical opinions to trust? The ones that are the most in line with the Bible are going to be the most accurate.

5. The real death rate for those with Covid-19.

There has been much talk about what the actual death rate of this virus is. Some say the numbers of deaths are being inflated. Though I expect this to be the case, I can’t prove it. However, even if we use the official numbers, the death rate is still far below other causes of death (heart disease comes to mind, or even higher still: abortion). We’ve never taken such drastic measures against heart disease, so why are we so terrified of this? Proverbs 28:1 comes to mind.

But in another sense, I do know exactly what the death rate is for those who contract Covid-19. It’s 100%! Everyone who gets this virus will die at some point. Everyone who doesn’t get this virus will also die at some point. Death is a part of life. You shouldn’t seek it, but neither should we act like we can avoid it. God can take you out at any time, whether or not you have Covid-19. You will die, and you will face your Maker (Heb. 9:27). Are you sure you’re going to heaven? You can be (John 3:16; Rom 6:23).

6. Quarantine laws.

The Bible actually does have something to say about quarantining the sick. These laws are in Leviticus, so many Christians don’t know about them, but they are there (Lev. 13-14). In the Bible, the sick are the ones to be quarantined, not the healthy. Some may say that because the current virus is contagious even when an infected person isn’t having any symptoms, everyone should be locked down. I would just note that we really don’t know for sure what the “leprosy” in Leviticus 13-14 was. It could be that this ancient disease was contagious before symptoms appeared. And yet, God would still only have us quarantine the sick. I would also note that the flu is contagious before a person has symptoms, and we don’t quarantine the whole population during flu season, even though many die from it as well.

7. You were made to live on planet earth.

God made you to live on this planet (Gen. 1). True, this earth is under the curse of sin, but we are designed to handle the viruses, bacteria, etc., that also inhabit this world. Most of the time (though not always) our bodies can fight diseases, if we give them what they need to do that.

8. Health comes from God (through your lifestyle).

All good gifts come from God (James 1:17). Ultimately, He is the source of health (3 John 2). The healthiness of a society is somewhat dependent on their obedience to God (Exo. 15:26; Deut. 28:21-22). One of the means through which God gives the gift of health is by us living a lifestyle that God prescribes (Prov. 3:7-8; 4:20-22).

9. We are told to work.

God made man, then He put him to work (Gen. 2:7, 15). We are commanded to work (Exo. 20:9). Any response to this virus should do all that it can to allow people to work. I realize that in some cases that may not be possible, but in most cases where people were forbidden to work, they could have continued working without endangering others. Our government officials could have done much better by being less restrictive.

10. We are told to provide for our families.

God has some harsh things to say to those who choose not to provide for their families (1 Tim. 5:8). Again, the lockdowns that were perpetrated by our government officials were way too severe, and needlessly (and I would add, callously) prohibited people from providing for their families. God forbids taking away a person’s livelihood (Deut. 24:6).

11. God commanded us to proclaim the gospel and disciple the nations.

This is our mission (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15). The lockdowns have been an impediment to this mission. Kudos to those who have found ways to obey the Great Commission in creative ways at this unusual time, but for the most part, the actions of our governments have been more of a hindrance than a help to the church’s mission.

12. We are commanded to assemble.

We are not to forsake the assembling of God’s people (Heb. 10:25). We are to “come together” (1 Cor. 11:33; 14:23). There may be some instances where assembling as a church may temporarily not be a good idea. But, closing church buildings for months over a sickness that for about 99% of people isn’t fatal, is not a good reason to forsake assembling. If someone is sick, or has a compromised immune system, they should stay away from the gathering of the saints for a time, not everyone else.

13. Facebook isn’t assembling.

I’m not opposed to technology because the Bible isn’t opposed to it. Facebook, Zoom, etc., can be useful tools. But, these tools should never be considered a replacement for actually meeting together. “Meeting” online is not the best way to “meet.” We can utilize communication technologies, but face to face meetings are best (2 John 12; 3 John 13-14).

14. Holy kiss.

There was a cultural practice in the early church to greet one another with a kiss (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20). While this practice may not have to be done today exactly the way it was in those days, the principle of being (appropriately) affectionate in our relationships with one another is, I believe, still something that God would have us do. And, it could actually be healthy for you. “We need closer interactions with other humans, because that exchange of microbes is important for your immune system,” says Kiran Krishnan, a microbiologist and chief scientific officer for Microbiome Labs.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should go around licking people who are sick. But to think, as the health experts and news media are suggesting, that even standing within 6ft. of a healthy person is going to lead to death is going a bit overboard.

15. Elderly dying from despair.

There is an interesting story out of Mexico. At a state run hospital, the patients in the Covid ward were not allowed visits from their family, and the nurses there weren’t supposed to have much contact with those patients either. One nurse said that most of the patients in that ward seem to “die of sadness.” This nurse began defying the rules and began actually caring for those patients, even letting these elderly patients communicate with their families over video. Conditions in that ward subsequently improved.

God made us in such a way that we need other people. We are built for relationships. At least in that hospital in Mexico, the “care” that the medical experts prescribed was actually doing more harm.

16. Can’t preach the gospel to the dying.

Everyone is going to die and face the judgment (Heb. 9:27). While everyone needs to hear the gospel, those who are nearest death have a more urgent need to hear the good news. There has been a longstanding tradition in Christendom to go to those who are dying and give them the gospel. How many people in history have been born spiritually even as they were dying physically? Yet, the way things are being handled with this virus, those with the good news are not allowed to be with those who need it the most.

17. The civil government is God’s minister.

The job of the government is to serve God. Romans 13 calls it God’s “minister” (v. 4). The civil government, like other ministers, must obey God. If the pastor of a church was demanding that his congregation rob banks to fund that church, or engage in communal fornication, would that minister be a good one? Should he be obeyed? Wouldn’t that church (hopefully) get a new pastor?

So it is with the government. If government officials command what God has forbidden, or forbid what God has commanded, they are no longer functioning as God’s minister, and therefore are not be obeyed and are to be replaced with government officials that will act as God’s minister.

18. Interposition.

The doctrine of interposition (and the “doctrine of the lesser magistrate”) teaches that tyrants can, and even should, be resisted. A lower magistrate (like a mayor, sheriff, etc.) can interpose himself between a higher magistrate (such as a king or governor) and the people the higher magistrate is trying to tyrannize. Also, an individual can interpose between a tyrant and the object of their tyranny. The church, likewise, can resist the civil government if they are trying to do things that are the church’s responsibility.

Examples in the Bible are numerous, including: Exo. 1:15-21; 1 Sam. 14:44-45; 2 Chron. 26:16-20; etc. It is interesting that some in California, of all places, have declared that they will not go along with the unlawful orders of their governor. Some sheriffs have said they won’t enforce those orders, and many pastors have stated they will disobey those orders if their churches aren’t allowed to open by a certain date. Who would have thought that some Californians would be more liberty minded than some of the more “conservative” states?

19. Snitching.

Many bad governments want their citizens to “snitch” on others who follow their (unlawful) orders. In the Bible, if someone is violating God’s law and committing a sin that is also a crime, then the people have the duty to report that person. However, when the government is acting unjustly, those who report others to the government are condemned. One such example is David and Doeg. David was being unjustly pursued by Saul. Doeg ratted him out to the government (1 Sam. 22:6-9). How does God view this “snitch”? Not very highly. In Psalm 52, this is what God says about Doeg’s snitching: “You love evil more than good…God shall destroy you forever…”

20. WHO and the UN.

Jesus was given authority over all the nations (Ps. 2; Matt. 28:18-20; Rev. 2:26-27). Any person, or group of people, who pretend to have authority over the nations are attempting to dethrone Christ. That is an obvious no-no. The United Nations is one such organization. It is the duty of every Christian to oppose the UN and any group connected with them, like the World Health Organization.

21. Fiat money.

In order to save our crashing economy, the Federal Reserve is creating more money out of thin air. God condemns those who increase the money supply by creating money out of worthless materials. “Nothing” isn’t worth very much. In Isaiah 1:22-23, people were making money out of “dross” (worthless metals). God calls this theft, and this is one of the reasons He destroyed His own people. America won’t fare any better, unless we repent.

22. You don’t define loving your neighbor.

In the Bible, loving God is defined, not as by having certain feelings for Him, but by obeying Him (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3). Likewise, loving our neighbor is defined as obeying God’s commands (2 John 5-6). In other words, if you are “loving” your neighbor in ways that are contrary to God’s commands, then you aren’t really loving them, no matter how you feel about them. “Love” that isn’t rooted in God’s word isn’t love.

23. You’re not receiving prophecies that Jesus is coming soon.

This crisis has sparked a new emphasis on Christ’s return, and many are claiming to receive dreams and prophecies that reveal the second coming is going to happen soon. These supposed revelations are in clear contradiction to Scripture.

Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father, ruling and reigning (Eph. 1:20-21). He is going to be on that heavenly throne until His enemies are made His footstool (1 Cor. 15:24-26; Heb. 10:12-13). In other words, He’s not leaving heaven to return to earth until His enemies are subdued. Those enemies include rebellious nations (Ps. 2). We have been given responsibilities in this nation-subduing mission as well (Matt. 28:18-20). Look around you. Are Christ’s enemies subdued? They’re not, so we’ve probably got a long way to go before His return.

24. God is building His kingdom through this.

Hebrews 12:27-28 gives us a principle: God shakes things up from time to time in order to bring down things that are opposed to His kingdom (Heb. 12:27). This “shaking” clears the ground for His unshakable kingdom to grow (Heb. 12:27-28). Clearly, this virus, or rather the response to it, has shaken things up. This shaking can be rough to live through, but with faith, we can rejoice that God is building His kingdom even as He’s bringing down the kingdoms of man.

How are you going to respond to this shaking (and the ones to come)? Will you be sad when the wicked institutions that the ungodly have built come crumbling down? Will you hunker down and wait for God to rescue you? Or, will you get busy doing what God has called you to do? Now’s the time for building and fighting, not retreating (Nehemiah 4:14, 17).

2020-06-01T20:49:19+00:00June 1st, 2020|Categories: Church, Eschatology, Family, Government, Money, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , |

Why Government Keeps Getting Bigger (part III)

In parts I and II of this series, we looked at a couple of reasons why the civil government in America keeps growing. We looked briefly at the failures of the Republican party to stop government growth, and we looked at how the main ideology of many Christians (Conservatism) can’t stop government growth either. Now I want to look at another reason: the fact that Christians don’t like what the Bible has to say about government. I don’t say this out of a spirit of rudeness, but because I know that the only antidote to big government is biblical government. And therefore, I want to challenge my fellow Christians to learn (and like) what the Bible says about the civil government. Because if Christians don’t promote biblical government, who will?

But don’t Christians want a biblical government? When it comes to things like abortion and homosexual marriage, they can have fairly biblical views. This is good. But most Christians rarely even attempt to find out the rest of what the Bible says about the civil government. In some cases, Christians simply don’t know what the Bible says. In other cases, Christians can get downright angry at what the Bible teaches. They would never say that they disagree with the Bible, of course, but I’ve seen many a conservative evangelical get upset when confronted with what the Bible says. Furthermore, many Christians are actually embarrassed of the Bible. This is why they appeal to science and history, not the Bible, when making a case for their views. They’ll say: “Abortion is bad because science has shown that a fetus can feel pain.” Or: “Homosexual marriage is wrong because it goes against thousands of years of history.”

Sorry, but God will not bless those who are ashamed of His word. We must get our views from the Bible, and we must openly declare that Scripture is the authority in all areas of life, including civil government. I’m not claiming to have it all figured out myself, but I do believe that the only infallible source of information about government is the Bible.

Any discussion of biblical government must include what the Old Testament has to say about the topic. This is where it can get tricky. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell which OT laws carry over into the New Testament. But, since most of the instruction about civil government is found in the OT, it cannot be ignored. Of course, if the NT teaches that a law is annulled, then that law is no longer binding on us.

So, do you believe what the Bible says about government? Let’s briefly examine a few topics.

Sometimes, when talking about a criminal, I’ve heard Christians say “They ought to lock them up, and throw away the key.” But the Bible never imposes a prison sentence for a crime. There are examples of prisons in Scripture, but these were run by ungodly nations. There are no crimes in Scripture that were to be punished with a prison sentence.

When it comes recreational drug use, the Bible does consider that to be a sin, but it isn’t a crime. The government cannot punish every sin, only those sins that also qualify as crimes. Furthermore, the government doesn’t have the right to regulate what people own (possess), so under biblical law, the government couldn’t prosecute anyone for possessing marijuana. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating drug use. I believe it is a sin. But I’ve also seen how the “war on drugs” has not only been a dismal failure, but has been one of the biggest destroyers of our Constitutional rights. Even if that were not the case, it is still a violation of God’s law.

The Bible gives the death penalty for several crimes. Again, it can be tough determining which laws carry over from the OT into the NT. But many Christians think of these penalties as being too barbaric. While it’s debatable if all of these laws are still in effect, it shouldn’t be debatable that these laws were not unjust. Remember, God is the one who gave these laws to Israel. To say that those laws were unjust, is to say that God is unjust. Many talk about how those who kidnap and sell children into sex slavery ought to be “locked up, and have key thrown away.” The Bible says that those who commit those crimes are to be put to death (Ex. 21:16). That’s one OT law I’ll gladly stand behind!

When you look at what the government is to do, you won’t find very many, if any, of the free stuff or services that our government gives us. In the Bible, the government isn’t to provide welfare to anyone, not even as a “safety net.” God prescribed other safety nets, like families, individuals, and churches. God doesn’t want the government providing retirement programs either (i.e., Social Security). And, believe it or not, He doesn’t want the government providing health insurance, medicine, education (college or otherwise), subsidies to farms or businesses, and a whole host of things that our government has been providing for generations.

I know we’ve only scratched the surface on this topic. But let me ask you: how do your views on government line up with Scripture? If you doubt that my views on government are actually biblical, I’ll gladly listen to your opinions, if you’re getting your opinions from the Bible. We are all sinners, and therefore, we all have errors in our thinking about government. But we cannot be lazy in finding out what God thinks about civil government. The Bible has something to say about the military, gun ownership, courtroom procedure, immigration, etc. And what the Bible teaches is far better than what talk radio does. His word is the only perfect source for a government that has the right balance of law and liberty.

2019-03-31T21:43:16+00:00March 31st, 2019|Categories: Government|

Why Government Keeps Getting Bigger (part II)

In part I, we looked at the difference between the Republican and Democratic parties. We noted that, while they appear to be vastly different, they’re actually quite similar. It’s been said that there isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the two. I agree. It’s more like a nickel’s worth. Because the two parties are so much alike, the government seems to grow no matter which party is in power. In this article I want to look at another reason why the U.S. government continues to grow. This time I want look at the two major political philosophies that dominate our land: Liberalism (or Progressivism) & Conservatism.

This article will look mainly at Conservatism because it is more vocal about being for smaller government. Indeed, Conservatism has been for smaller government for many generations now. And yet, government still grows. As we will see, Conservatism cannot stop Liberalism/Progressivism, even when it tries.

Let me give you a little background before I continue. My view of Conservatism comes mostly from listening to talk radio. I’ve been listening to guys like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Mark Levin, etc. for decades. In fact I still tune in to those shows a few times per week just to hear what’s going on in the world. So, I think I know mainstream Conservatism. But the more I read and study the Bible, the Constitution, and the founding of our nation, the more I see Conservatism as being much closer to Liberalism than most would like to admit. Don’t get me wrong, Conservatism is closer to the Bible and the Constitution than Liberalism, but that’s not saying much. So, here are some reasons why I made a break from Conservatism (at least political Conservatism). Please understand, I’m not breaking from Conservatism in order to become a Liberal. I’m breaking from Conservatism because it is too much like Liberalism!

So, here are some reasons:

1. Conservatives can’t stop the Liberals. This should be obvious to all. Over the decades, the country has gotten more and more liberal. Conservatives say that the USA is a “center-right” country, and yet, it keeps going more liberal. If there are so many Conservatives, and Conservatism is a stronger view then Liberalism, than Conservatives ought to be gaining ground, but they’re not.

2. Conservatives are Liberals, just slower. This may sound far-fetched, but it is true. Liberals want to run into socialism, cultural relativism, etc. Conservatives, on the other hand, want to walk into socialism, cultural relativism, etc. You might not be able to see this without studying history, but Conservatism is simply slower Progressivism. Whenever Liberals take two steps forward in their agenda, the Conservatives protest, and demand that we all take one step back. Study a little history, and you will see that today’s Conservatives would be considered Liberals/Progressives a few generations ago.

3. Conservatives don’t really like the Constitution. Liberals say that the Constitution was written so long ago that it can’t really be adhered to in our modern age. Conservatives say exactly the same thing, I mean exactly. When talking about government surveillance, foreign policy, the military etc., Conservatives say that our founders lived in a different age and didn’t face the same challenges we do. Therefore, they say, we shouldn’t obey the parts of the Constitution that pertain to those things.

4. Conservatism is based on the same foundation as Liberalism. Ideas either come from the word of God, or the depraved mind of man (with maybe a little help from Satan). Do Conservatives ever quote the Bible when it comes to monetary policy, economics, the public schools, crime & punishment, foreign policy, the police, the military, etc.? Conservatives don’t get their views from the Bible, they get them from human reason. That’s the same intellectual foundation as Liberalism.

5. Conservatives want smaller government, not small government. When it comes to certain areas of government, Conservatives do want a big government. When it comes to immigration, foreign policy, the military, the police, and things like that, Conservatives believe that the government needs to be stronger. But didn’t America’s founders believe this too? No. Our founding fathers wanted a far more limited government in these areas than today’s Conservatives.

6. Conservatives end up giving more power to Liberals. Many of the policies that Conservatives favor are used against them when Liberals get into office (like surveillance programs). And yet, Conservatives still foolishly want to give more power to some parts of the government when their guy is in power.

7. Conservatives tend to react, not think. Anytime a Liberal wants a Conservative to do something, all the Liberal has to do is pretend to oppose it. Conservatives usually just oppose the Liberals even when the Liberals accidentally do something Constitutional.

8. Conservatives are Liberal when it comes to culture. Conservatives often appeal to “traditional” values (they won’t say biblical values). But the music they listen to and the movies they love promote some very sinful things. Government grows because of a sinful population (Prov. 28:2). Many Conservatives promote movies and music that contain sinful ideologies, and thus, are unwittingly promoting more tyranny.

I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Again, let me be clear, Conservatism is a little closer to the Bible than Liberalism. I can agree with some of what is said by those on talk radio. But, I’ve come to understand that Conservatism is powerless to stop the decline of our nation and the growth of government. I know I’ve been somewhat vague on some of these points, but if you will tuck these points away in your mind, and study the Bible and Constitution for yourself, I believe you will see that Conservatism is not all that it pretends to be. The Bible has the answers to our problems, not Rush Limbaugh.

In Part III of this article, we will look at the only antidote to an overgrown government: the Bible.

2021-03-29T23:01:59+00:00March 31st, 2019|Categories: Government|

Why Government Keeps Getting Bigger (part I)

Most Bible-believing Christians believe that the government (particularly the federal government) has gotten way too big. They’re right. The civil government in the U.S. is too big, and it seems to be getting bigger. Of course, there are certain examples that we could look at concerning some aspects of government shrinking. But those examples are few and far between, and the overall trend over the years is that the government gets bigger. Unfortunately, there is no sign of it shrinking much anytime soon. Yes, I know our current president has done some things to cut the size of government, but he has also grown some aspects of the government as well (not just the military).

What then is the cause of our out-of-control government? Many causes could be cited, like God’s sovereign plan, a sinful population, an uninformed electorate, etc. All of these are causes of our problem, but for now I’d like to focus on the realm of politics.

First, it must be noted that our two-party system is one major cause of government growth. One Constitutional expert, Dr. Edwin Viera, Jr., once said that there is really only one political party in Washington. That political party just has two faces: a Republican face and a Democratic one. He’s right. It has also been said that there is not a dime’s worth of difference between the two parties. There may be a nickel’s worth of difference, but not a dime’s.

If you were to measure the voting records of our Senators and Representatives against the Constitution, the average Democrat violates the Constitution about 75% of the time. The average Republican violates the Constitution about 40% of the time. So, the Republicans are doing slightly better than the Democrats, but they still violate the Constitution nearly half the time! But the voting record only tells half of the story.

Politicians are not dumb (contrary to popular belief). They know that some people are watching how they vote. But that’s okay, there are other ways for Republicans to advance the Democrats’ agenda (remember: there’s only one party in Washington). Politicians have ways of getting around voting. One very popular way is to use the Supreme Court to make rulings that have the effect of creating laws that no politician wants to be on record voting for. This is how abortion & homosexual marriage became “law.” Of course, Supreme Court rulings are not really law, but everyone seems to go along with it, so why stop now?

Something you should always remember is that it was Republican-appointed Justices that gave us Roe vs. Wade. That’s right, it was Republicans who made abortion “legal.” But it doesn’t stop there. Three hundred Republicans sent a letter (an amicus brief) to the Supreme Court asking them to rule in favor of homosexual marriage! If you don’t believe me, look it up.

So, again, they are basically the same. They act like they hate each other, but behind closed doors, they are in basic agreement. The Democrats all voted to go into Iraq (and to stay there) and then acted like they were opposed to the war. Republicans acted outraged with Barack Obama’s immigration policies, but they voted to give him the ability to enforce those policies. They acted outraged with Obama’s TSA frisking airline passengers, but he was only doing what the Republican sponsored legislation allowed him to do. Democrats say they’re against a wall/fence on the Mexican border. What you may not know is that Obama and Hillary Clinton both voted for the border fence. Democrats are opposed to it now, but that’s only because they don’t want President Trump getting credit for it. Most of the time, they say one thing to their supporters, and then do the opposite in real life.

I used to wonder how some of my brothers & sisters in Christ could vote for Democrats who seemed to despise everything that those Christians stood for. Then I realized that I too had been duped. I was voting for Republicans who said one thing and then did another. Sure, they would throw me a bone now and then to keep me voting for them. But even when they were in power, nothing significant happened. The downward trend continued. It’s time we all woke up.

By now you may think that I have a defeatist attitude toward politics, or that I’m just out to point fingers. Not at all. I still vote, and I still believe we Christians should be involved in the political arena. I just believe that we should be dedicated to our Lord, and not to a corrupt political party (remember, there’s only one party).

Good, godly politicians are rare, but they do exist. When you find one, support them. Maybe they’ll have a “D” or an “R” after their name, or maybe they’ll be from a third party. You are accountable to God for how you vote. Don’t vote for a bad candidate just because they are a Republican or Democrat. When voters vote for bad candidates, the only winner is big government. Why does government keep getting bigger? One reason is because we ask (vote) for it.

In part II of this article, we will look at the two main political philosophies in America, commonly called liberalism & conservatism. While one is better than the other, neither is biblical, and both have a tendency to grow government.

2019-06-06T21:30:24+00:00February 28th, 2019|Categories: Government|

Thou Shall Not Kill, Unless…

One mistake that some Christians tend to make is not realizing that the Ten Commandments are a summary of all the other commands in Scripture. So in order to understand what any of the Ten Commandments mean, you have to look at every other passage that pertains to that command.

Many unbelievers, and even some professing Christians, believe that it is always wrong to take a human life. Is it always wrong? Not necessarily. The sixth commandment (Thou shall not kill) can be better translated as “You shall not murder.” To take an innocent life is always wrong. However, not all “lives” are “innocent.”

When then, is it okay to kill? We have no right to decide for ourselves when to take another life; we must let God’s word determine whether it is a time to kill or a time to heal.

So, according to the Bible, when is killing justifiable?

1. When defending yourself and your family. Exodus 22:2-3 tells us that if someone breaks into your home at night, you can assume that he means to do harm to either you or your family. If you kill the intruder, you are not guilty of murder. However, if it is daytime (meaning that you can see that the intruder is only after your stuff and not your life), you will be guilty if you kill him. Unless, of course, he attacks you.

Jesus told His disciples to carry swords (Luke 22:36-38). The number of swords they had (two) wouldn’t be enough to start a war, but could come in handy for defending themselves.

2. The civil government can impose the death penalty. God is the one who punishes sin, but He has delegated some of that responsibility to the family, the church, and the state (civil government). While God has not given the family or church the authority to impose the death penalty, He has given that authority to the state in certain cases, the most obvious being in the case of murder (Gen. 9:6; Ex. 21:12,14; etc.). Romans 13:4 says that “rulers” are equipped with “the sword.” This sword is not used to spank someone, but to put them to death in certain cases.

3. In a just war. When John the Baptist was approached by some soldiers about what they should do in response to his sermon, he didn’t tell them to quit their job. Rather, he simply told them to not oppress people (Luke 3:14). If a war is just (biblically speaking), soldiers who kill enemy combatants are not guilty of murder (Deut. 20:12-13; Neh. 4:14; etc.).

Other considerations:

4. Accidental killing. If someone is killed by accident, the person causing that accident would not be guilty (Deut. 19:4-6), unless the one causing the accident was being grossly negligent (like not restraining a dangerous animal, Ex. 21:29).

5. Martyrdom. One question that often gets asked in relation to self-defense, is: should we let someone martyr us or should we fight back? The answer to this may depend on the situation. For instance: if one individual is threatening to kill you for your faith, and you can’t run, do you have to let him kill you? I would answer “no” based on the fact that the Bible does allow self-defense. But I would also say, that in a situation where you are surrounded by a large number of persecutors, then your attitude shouldn’t be to “take as many out as I can before I die.” In that case, you can pray for deliverance, but if God doesn’t grant it, you’ll have the privilege of dying for your Lord (Acts 7:59-60; Heb. 11:35-38; Rev. 2:10,13; etc.).

6. Suicide. It is also often asked if suicide is a sin, or if those who commit suicide will go to heaven. First of all, a person’s eternal destiny is not based on how a person dies. Whether or not you were born again will determine whether or not you go to heaven. That being said, someone taking their own life may be evidence that that person wasn’t truly born again, though Christians can certainly be subject to seasons of despair too. As for whether or not suicide is a sin, I would argue that since God’s word regulates when it is acceptable to take a life, and the Bible doesn’t give a person the right to end their own life, suicide would be a sin. Of course, giving one’s life to save another would be acceptable (John 15:13), and ceasing to artificially prolong life wouldn’t necessarily be considered wrong in every case either.

While there are times when taking another life is acceptable, it is never something that should be done lightly. All human beings are made in the image of God; we have no right to destroy another human, unless their Maker has given us permission to do so. In most cases, our focus should be on protecting, preserving, and promoting life, not death.

2019-04-11T23:39:20+00:00September 25th, 2018|Categories: Government, Theology|

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