Romans 13 seems to be an exceedingly popular scripture passage during these times. The opening words of this passage read, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities."
I do not deny that we are to follow the government, but what happens when what they are suggesting goes contrary to the word of God? The place we need to start is with God's ultimate authority over the whole earth. As the creator (Gen. 1:1), He is ruler over all things. Jesus would reaffirm this ultimate authority in Matthew 28:18, where he says, "ALL authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Notice he doesn't say, "will be given to me," but rather, "has been given to me." Ultimate authority is already His. And Paul would reaffirm this in Colossians 2:10 where we read, "And in Him you have been made complete, and He is head over ALL rule and authority." His authority is not only over the church but over all the earth. What's interesting is that at one time, our Canadian government understood this. In the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, we read, "Whereas Canada is founded upon principals that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law." They recognized what the Bible already taught. God is supreme over all the earth. And as supreme ruler, the world is therefore accountable to Him and must obey Him, including the government. Okay, so that's where we start. And now we can approach the passage. "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carried out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed." (Romans 13:1-7) Notice a few things here regarding civil government.
We are told to "be subject to the governing authorities." And we are to do this because by subjecting ourselves to the government, we are subjecting ourselves to God since he is the one who has delegated the authority to them. If we rebel against the government, we incur God's wrath and hurt our conscience (v. 5). As Christians, we should be the biggest supporters of the government when they do what God has dictated is right and good. We should applaud them and write letters to our MP and MLA when they help pass Godly laws. But, what happens when the civil government doesn't do that? What if they start to call what is good evil and what is evil good? Or, to put it another way, what do we do when the government tells us to do something that goes contrary to God's Word? In a free democratic country, we can do a few things. One thing we can do is write our MP and MLA to ask them to reverse the law, we can bring awareness through an open letter, we can vote, and we can even run for office ourselves. However, there is something else we can and should do. And that is peacefully refuse to follow that particular law or instruction. The Bible is filled with at least five examples of this.
I'm sure you can think of others. Let's take these examples and consider for a moment what they all have in common.
When we are instructed by governing authorities to do something against what is written in scripture, we must obey God and not follow the decree. Why? Because we have a higher obligation to God than to man. Therein lies the limit of government. This will help us navigate how we should respond to the restrictions and regulations imposed by the government and future laws that will be passed, such as bill C-6 and C-10. We need to take everything that the government legislates and compare it to what the Bible has to say on the issue. Then we need to ask, "Is it in line with God's Word, or does it go contrary to it?" Whatever veers from God's Word, we are not obligated to follow because we have a greater authority we are accountable to. There will be certain things where we must resist and stand against, even if that means imprisonment. In this season, take time to consider the regulations and restrictions imposed upon your province. Compare them to scripture and how God deals with similar situations. And see whether they are in line with His Word. Here are some suggested verses to help.
Often in life, what we have is a clash of allegiances. At home, at school, at work, and even in our community and province. What we need to remember in these times is that our first and primary allegiance is to God (Ex. 20:3). When we refuse to follow God and instead follow something or someone else, we have made that something or someone else our god. Don't get me wrong. It's good to subject yourself to the government. We are told to do so. However, if we choose to follow the government and obey specific laws, legislation and restrictions that go contrary to God's Word, then what we have done is made government god.
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Should churches be open to in-person gatherings despite what the government has dictated? We must wrestle with this question and understand that the actions we do now will lay a precedent during the next health crisis.
When you begin to think, "Yes, we should open," you will experience pushback from many people - both Christians and non-Christians. And you will hear various objections. Last time we looked at four of them.
This time we will look at another four. Are you ready? Let's go! Objection #5 - We are not being targeted. Everyone else is dealing with the same restrictions. On the surface, this objection seems to hold some weight. Businesses, schools, cultural exhibits, families and other places of worship are being impacted. But there are two things to consider. First, how do edicts work? They are usually placed upon all people regardless of socio-economic status, political leaning, racial identity, or religious beliefs There are two examples we can look at in the Bible. In Daniel 3, everyone was told to bow to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar regardless of the factors I mentioned above. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, just happened to be three Jewish men who refused to comply because they believed that God alone was worthy of worship. In Daniel 6, Darius passed a law forbidding everyone to pray to any god or person other than himself regardless of the factors I mentioned above. Daniel just happened to be one Jewish man who refused to comply because He believed that God alone dictates worship. A second thing to consider is this - is the church like anything else in this world? The church is the body of Jesus, who himself is its head (Col. 1:18). Why are we treating the church like it's just a business, school, cultural institute, or a secular place of worship? Objection #6 - We are not being persecuted. What exactly is persecution? I think that we have a pretty narrow view today in the church. Persecution is defined as any form of hostility and ill-treatment imposed upon a person or group due to race or political and religious beliefs. Biblically speaking, persecution comes from outside the church and is triggered by faithful obedience to God. Such examples of religious persecution would include: slander, fines, locking down churches, imprisonment and death. Another important thing to understand is that persecution isn't limited to the proclamation of the gospel. Jesus didn't say, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for sharing the gospel", but rather, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake" (Matthew 5:10). Yes this would include sharing the gospel, but it goes far beyond that. It includes any activity which Jesus has declared right and has commanded us to do. That includes gathering together. Now you may be thinking, "Sure, but we aren't experiencing that as a church." Something to grab hold of is this - persecution is the RESULT of being faithful to God (1 John 3:12). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't experience persecution until they resisted bowing to the statute. If we aren't faithful to God, we won't experience persecution. Just ask the government churches in China whether they are facing persecution. Then ask the underground church in China if they are experiencing persecution. And you will get two different answers. Why? Because one is faithful, while the other has compromised and sided with the government to stay open. Objection #7 - We need to love our neighbours. We are being told that to follow the government restrictions is to love our neighbour. But step back and ask yourself, "Is a person merely a physical being?" Or in other words, should I merely be concerned for their health? A person has a body, mind, spirit and soul. Therefore, there aren't merely physical needs but also mental, emotional, social and spiritual needs that have to be addressed. There are things like isolation, lack of employment, and business closures that cause more than physical issues. We can't simply care for one aspect of a person and neglect the other components. How is that loving your neighbour? As Christians, we are to be concerned about all aspects of an individual, especially that part which lasts forever - the soul. If we must choose between the physical and the spiritual, we must always choose the spiritual needs of man (1 Tim. 4:8). And the most significant way we meet these needs is through the corporate gathering of the church. We must not merely think horizontally (eg. loving our neighbour) but vertically (eg. loving God). Our love for God must be greater than our love for our neighbour. Jesus even said, " Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Mt. 10:37). If, in our attempts to love our neighbour, we neglect following certain instructions that Jesus has given to us (i.e. gathering in person, showing hospitality, etc.), then we have elevated our neighbour over Jesus. And Jesus says, such a person is not worthy of Him. Objection #8 - We need to be concerned about our witness. Should we be concerned about our witness? Yes. Jesus said, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Mt. 5:16). But here's the question we need to ask- "What is the Christian witness supposed to be?" Our Christian witness is not determined MERELY by what people think about us. If that were the case, then people like Daniel and his friends had a pretty lousy witness when they decided to obey God and not comply with the unjust edicts. In fact, if we base it simply on what people think of us, even Jesus had a poor witness because the Pharisees hated him. We shine as lights as we patiently and graciously hold fast to the word of God and walk in obedience to what God commands. Listen to what Paul writes, "Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." (Php. 2:14-16). There is a connection here between our witness and our obedience to God. I hope that these answers to the eight objections have either encouraged or challenged your thinking about opening the churches to in-person gatherings. If you have heard other objections, I'd love to hear from you. As I have been pretty upfront with you, I have recently been rethinking and relearning what the church is and the importance of gathering in person. For a while, I was one of the hundreds of pastors that went virtual, using zoom, and thinking it was okay. I'm sure as you have tried to encourage your pastors to open the churches, you have heard different objections. I want to walk through some common objections that I have either heard, or that I have used. I've divided eight objections into two posts. Under each objection I have given a biblical response. If you have heard other objections, I'd love for you to send them to me and I can perhaps make a third post. Okay, so here we go! Objection #1 – We need to obey our authorities This objection is tied to an overemphasis and sloppy interpretation of Romans 13 and Titus 3. There is a hierarchy of authority. God is the top tier, and all others are beneath him since they derive their authority from God (Rom. 13:1). When people veer from God’s instructions, we are not obligated to follow (Acts 4:19; 5:29). Here’s a scenario that may be helpful. A husband tells his wife that she is not permitted to go to church. Does she submit to that instruction? If not, why not? Now apply that to the instruction given by the government to the church. Objection #2 – We aren’t commanded to gather in person. God commands us to gather. Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” The expression “meet together” means “a gathering together in one place” or “a complete collection.” No Christian denies this truth. What they argue about is whether we are commanded to gather in person. However, a quick study through the Old and New Testament reveals that God’s people always met together in person. In the Old Testament, they went to the tabernacle and temple. The synagogues started during the Babylonian captivity. And people met in houses and the temple courtyard during the early church era. Objection #3 – We can do church virtually This objection is usually tied to a shallow understanding of the gathering’s role, purpose, and design. I have spent the last two blogs revealing these things. And hopefully, you have discovered that the moment a church goes virtual, they cut off a large portion of what God desires his church to be. The church is not a spectator event. It is a fellowship (ie. a partnering and participating together of a shared life and mission). It requires involvement such as 1) singing together, 2) serving together, 3) sharing communion together, 4) greeting one another physically, etc. Church also involves, to some degree, visibility. [Read my other posts regarding church for a more thorough answer] Objection #4 – This is only a temporary measure I pray that this is true and that the government lifts all the restrictions placed upon the church. This would be a glorious day for many as they resume gathering. However, this objection does not validate why we should stop meeting corporately in person. We need to be faithful to God and His Word in the circumstances we find ourselves in. Daniel gives us a great example of this. Under his officials’ influence, Darius signed an edict forbidding prayers to be made to any God or man except the king (Dan. 6:7). We then read, “When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open towards Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously” (Dan. 6:10). Daniel continues to do what he has always done. This action is a refusal to comply with Darius’ edict, which is quite daring since the penalty was being thrown into the lion's den. Now here’s the thing. It was only a temporary 30-day edict. Why didn’t Daniel choose to refrain from pray for 30 days? Surely, God would understand. Why didn’t he shut the windows and pray secretly? After all, it’s a temporary measure. All he had to do was wait 30 days. Daniel rightly understood that God alone dictates worship, and therefore we continued to do what he had always done. There are four more objections which I will share next post. Hopefully, these answers to the objections cause you to evaluate or strengthen your actions. In 2020 a new way of doing church began. Due to health protocols and governmental restrictions, many churches began to meet on Facebook, YouTube, and Zoom. And for many, this has become a satisfactory way of getting together with other believers.
I was one of them who thought this way. In fact, for a couple of months, we had zoom services. It was convenient, especially with snow on the ground and -40 weather. I could stay in my warm house and share a message with others in their warm houses. I'll be honest. Pragmatism influenced my decision, rather than what the Bible taught on this matter. I'm not proud of what I did. As we did "church" virtually, I began to notice things. Some seemed to like it, some who had difficulty with it, and some who never logged in. Some left encouraged, others left more devastated than when they first joined in. I chalked it up to "Well, you can't please everyone." Again, I'm not proud of this. As we met virtually, one common thing I would hear is the desire to once again meet in person. Deep down, we know that virtual ways of gathering aren't the ideal way. We know we are settling for something less when God has something more for us. What is God's design? This question is essential for us to wrestle with. Does God desire for the church to be virtual or incarnational ("in the flesh")? Or, in other words, does God want us to be online or in the flesh when we gather together? Is there any way of us knowing for sure the way he wants us to meet? Many believe that it's not fleshed out. No verse says, "Thou shall meet in person," but the totality of scripture implies that this is God's design. In the Old Testament, God established a place where His people could gather to worship (i.e. the tabernacle and later the temple). In the New Testament the church met together regularly in person (Acts 2:42,46; 5:42; 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:17-22,33-34). Now you may be thinking, "Yes, but this was before the invention of the internet." Yes, that is true. However, there are certain things which we are to do as we gather which we cannot do over the internet. Let me give you some examples:
Church is more than sitting in a chair and listening to a sermon; it involves participation and hands-on activity. This is God's design, and it is a beautiful thing to be part of. May we see the beauty and need for incarnational ("in the flesh") ministry. Some Christians say, "The church is not the building, it is the people". This is a true statement, however, it lacks something. The church is the gathering of the people. Remember, the definition of church is a "called-out assembly". When you think church, don't think building, but rather, think the gathering. And to be a gathering, we need a certain location where we come together.
Now, why are we to come together? This seems to be something that we have forgotten in our world today. I'm not sure how many times I have read comments on Facebook that went something like this, "You don't need to go to church to pray" or "You don't need to go to church to worship God". It's understandable when unbelievers leave these comments, but its really discouraging when they are written by Christians. So, it's time to reclaim the purpose of why we gather. As I see it, there are at least three good reasons. 1) To exalt Christ, 2) To equip one another, and 3) To encourage one another. To Exalt Christ This is to be our primary reason for gathering. God is zealous for His glory, and we should be as well (1 Corinthians 10:31). As Christians we have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus, and everything we do ought to be done for God and in accordance to His Word. And God instructs us to gather (Heb. 10:24-25). Jesus is exalted when we gather because we show him our obedience and allegiance. But not only that, He is exalted because we visibly demonstrate to a watching world the unity, commitment and love that we have for one another. Have you ever considered church involvement and service an act of evangelism? When people from various ethnicities, backgrounds, and perspectives come together and show faithful love and grace to each other, we are testifying of the saving power of Jesus. Ephesians 3:8-10 - “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places”. The mystery hidden for the ages in God is the bringing together of people from all walks of life (Jew and Gentile). And when we visibly gather, we show the wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places (ie. The angels). Not only that, we also show it to all who watch. This is what it means to be a city set on a hill. And by that, we exalt God. To Equip One Another Unlike what the government might think, the church is not a social club or cultural event. There is something that is offered here that you cannot find in a grocery store, shopping center, restaurant, museum, or any other place. The church is where we hear the gospel preached and are trained and equipped as believers to live for Jesus and reach others for Him. So, that’s the second reason why we gather. Ephesians 4:11-16 – “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” The church is where we are taught as we hear the public reading of scripture (1 Timothy 4:13), listen to the preaching of God's Word (2 Timothy 4:2), and sing together (Colossians 3:16). These are three means through which God rebukes sin, calls us to repentance, and encourages us to walk in obedience to Him. They are three instruments through which he shapes us and causes us to grow (1 Thess. 2:13; Eph. 5:26-27; 1 Pet. 2:2). The church is where we also learn and are encouraged to to use the gifts which we have been given by God. Church isn't for spectators, but for participants. Every believer has been given a gift and are to use it to exalt Christ and build up others (Eph. 4:15-16). Our gift is to be used first and foremost towards each other in the gathering for their edification, and then from there extended into our community. By gathering together we have opportunities to serve one another and use our gifts, which then encouraged us to use it even more. To Encourage One Another The author of Hebrews writes, "“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:23-25) Church is more than sitting and watching, we are to participate by encouraging one another. It's in the context of the gathering that we are able to "consider how to stir up one another to love and good works", because we are able to see and observe them. We can notice someone who needs to be cheered up or even stirred up. It is in the context of the gathering that we are able to encourage them, because we can go up to them and share a word with them, pray with them, maybe even give a little correction or a nudge. And it is in the context of the gathering that we are able to encourage others by displaying a real-life example of what it means to love and walk with God. What if what we thought about church mattered? One thing that the world health crisis has exposed is an inadequate understanding of the church. And I’ll be the first to say that as a seminary graduate, I should be ashamed of how malnourished my Ecclesiology has become. So I’m writing not as an expert, but as a pastor that is reexamining and relearning what God’s design is for His church.
So, where do we begin? The best place to start in any study or discussion is with defining terms. If we skip this step, we fail to proceed in having a coherent discussion, because we can’t logically talk about something if we are on different pages. The Greek word for Church (Gr. Ekklesia), which appears 118 times in the New Testament, means “A called out assembly”. So, here we begin to see our identity. The church consists of those who have been “called out”. Called out of what and by whom? Jesus tells us plainly. John 15:18-19 – “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you”. We have been called out of the world. Paul refers to it as “the domain of darkness”. A sphere in which sin and Satan rule. The world consists of anything that is antithetical to God and His law. And at one time, every Christian belonged in this domain. But by the grace of God we have been called out. We read: Colossians 1:13 – “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son”. Christians often say, and rightly so, “We are in the world, but we aren’t to be of the world”. This is 100% true. It’s a reiteration of what Jesus said. Yet, can it be that our perspective doesn’t go far enough? Perhaps our mind needs to shift to a more heavenly one. A more accurate understanding would be this, “We have been called out of the world, and now are citizens of the kingdom of heaven”. This is a game changer. A kingdom has a king. A king demands faithful allegiance. As Christians we are called out of a domain that is antithetical to God and His law, and placed in the kingdom of God’s Son, where now we are called to a life of faithful obedience to Jesus our King. Since that is the case, may I ask a question? Why do we worry about the approval of the world? Why do we elevate what our neighbor thinks over our obedience to God and His law? Let’s go back to the definition. The church is a “called out assembly”. The word was used in the Septuagint to refer to sacred Jewish assemblies that were called out of their homes and into some place, especially for the intent of worship. We are an assembly of called out people in both a universal and local sense. Maybe you have heard the terms, Universal and Local church? The universal church consists of all believers across the world, regardless of denominational ties, that have been called out by God and transferred to the kingdom of His Son. Every person who has trusted in Jesus alone for their salvation is part of this assembly. The local church is the visible representation of the universal church in microcosmic gatherings in geographical locations all throughout the world (Acts 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:2, etc.). These gatherings happen in a certain location that the local believers of a certain community have designated, such as a house (Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philemon 1:2) or a larger building (Acts 2:46). Now, not everyone who comes to the designated location is part of the universal church. Every Sunday there is a mixed crowd of those who are saved and unsaved. If there are 100 people, and 50 of them are believers, then the church in that geographical location is 50. Ever since the formation of the church, the gatherings have taken place in person (Acts 2:46; 1 Cor. 11:18,20,33). It hasn’t been until recently that there has been a move to virtual reality. This is something to be considered, especially as we embark on looking at the one another commands given to us by God. Can all the one another commands be fulfilled in a virtual setting? One final thing, inherent in the definition of church is the fact that we have been instructed to assemble. We are a “called out assembly”. This is not up to debate. The clearest instruction is found in Hebrews 10:23-25. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” So what is the church? It is an assembly of believers who have been called out of the world by God and placed into the kingdom of His Son. The visible representation of this assembly is the local church, a gathering of the redeemed in a designated location. Now why are we to gather? This is what I want us to look at next time. |
AuthorHello! I'm glad you found my blog. My name is David Hanson, and I am a concerned Christian who desires for the church of North America to become aware and begin to think biblically of what is happening around them in society. It's time for the church to awake and speak into the current events of the day. We alone have the truth to navigate life effectively. That truth is the Word of God. Archives
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