Romans 13 and Christians Praising Caesar For Arresting Pastors

Shelter -in -place quarantine day nine went out yesterday, and I did manage to get a bunch of chicken related products

But no baby chicks All right, well, let's just jump right to it today a bunch of conservative

Christians Conservative Christians applauding a pastor being arrested for having church on Sunday I Never thought

I'd see that I never thought I'd see that a pastor arrested for having church on Sunday now

It turns out if you read the stories that The stories that the the mainstream media has put out turns out that if you read this story

This guy seems to be a charlatan. He seems to be one of these word -of -faith just like lunatics

And if you know it listen if this is one of your first times seeing me or you just came to my channel recently

You should know that many of my family are charismatics that have been in the past I would say they're on the less crazy side of the spectrum

But they're involved in those circles, and so I don't take the position that all charismatics are unbelievers

But I have no love for charismatic theology whatsoever. I have no patience for it I have no love for it and all that kind of stuff so The reality is that that this man who seems to be one of these types

Was arrested not for preaching heresy not for being a charlatan not for lying not for for that kind of stuff

No, he was arrested because he dared Defy the order to shutter churches can't have church on Sunday because of the corona virus

You don't want to catch that Rona, so definitely don't have church He defied that order and was arrested for it

And I was not ready. I was not ready. I'll admit. I was not ready for conservative pastors and Christians to applaud that To be honest.

I'm a little bit speechless about it I'm not really even 100 % sure what to say about that right now

But it's not good. It's definitely not good, and I would say this that that Where where I need to go with this is to talk about Romans 13

First Peter has a passage. That's very similar to Romans 13 as well

And there's a few places that talk about submission to the governing authorities the civil governing authorities and the reality is that People that are on my side of this issue

When it said when it comes to you know pastors shouldn't be Arrested for having church on Sunday, which

I can't again I still can't believe that this is this is an issue with two sides within conservative

Christian circles But people on my side of this issue we of course believe that you should submit to the civil governing authorities we believe that those authorities were instituted by God himself and That they have a sphere of authority that God gives to them and we understand from Romans 13

What that sphere of authority is and so this is a legitimate authority?

This is a legitimate organization the civil government is legitimate. There's there's no question about this is why

I'm not an anarchist This is why I I don't Think that the civil government authority governing authority is illegitimate.

I don't think of those things because it's not true But the reality is and and I've talked about this on my youtube channel on my podcast on the

Reform Jellicle show many times That the civil governing authorities have limitations on their authority.

They can't do things that God says they can't do That's very clear and so you can believe both things at the same time you ought to submit to the civil governing authority because they're

There for your good But we all understand that Sometimes civil governing authorities don't do things for your good in fact sometimes

They do evil and they want you to go along with it They want you to go along with that evil And that's that's a problem that there's a conflict there, and we need to know how to navigate that conflict

Now one thing before we even get into this stuff about Romans 13 and the legitimacy of the government shutting down church services

Let's just talk about one thing real quick because I saw I saw two people that were applauding this pastor being arrested for holding church services

Let me just say that again two conservative Christians applauding a pastor being arrested for having church services

I Want you feel the weight of that that that's a pretty amazing statement anyway

The two people that I saw I first saw Kofi, I do Kofi, I don't know how to pronounce his last name so Kofi's a

Twitter famous Christian who I happen to like and then I saw Tim Bailey who's a blogger a pastor

Older than I am deserve worthy of respect worthy of of honor and all that kind of stuff

I was shocked when I saw what he said Absolutely shocked Appalled clutching pearls like the best of them that kind of thing he's dead wrong about this.

There's no question about it But the pastor is this is not a lightweight. We're not talking lightweights here You know

I mean, it's one thing for me to to to mock Russell Moore because of how stupid His words are so often.

It's one thing for that, but this is Tim Bailey's no lightweight No, okay, so this is this is this is someone that I was not expecting this from anyway

Before I get into the issues though They're reading an article put forward by the mainstream media the media that a few months ago

We all everybody knew that they twisted things and they omitted things and they were fake news and stuff like that But again,

I've mentioned this a number of times the last few weeks when it comes to this issue Everyone seems to be sucking at the teat of the mainstream media assuming that they've got our best interests in mind of course the government

Of course has our best interests in mind as well, and so Let's just face it the facts in the mainstream media article when the when the when the when the sheriff's department announced that there were issuing an arrest warrant for this pastor

They're probably not a hundred percent accurate and so there's a good chance that this pastor took necessary Precautions and things like that and this whole idea that he had a secret laser machine that would kill the viruses in the air

I'm willing to bet that that story is not a hundred percent accurate It's not really the way the mainstream media put it, but hey,

I could be I don't know and that's the point I really don't know what to believe and neither does anybody when it comes to the mainstream media and so to go online and to applaud and arrest for something that you know, the facts of that matter are

Very much in question. It's a very weird thing to do It's a very weird thing to applaud a

Christian pastor being arrested. Let me say it again for holding church services on Sunday Let's get into the

Romans 13 stuff because this is this is the meat of this thing So Romans 13, we all know the passage.

Let's go to it really quick One second here. I should have been prepared, but I'm just gonna I'm just gonna move forward here

Romans 13 Starts off like this. 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 judgment 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 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 carries 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 and honor to whom honor is owed That's the passage that's what's at debate here and and and everyone with a brain on their shoulders knows that this is a

Message to individuals and to Christians that they should be subject to the governing authorities But as I've often pointed out that this also kind of tangentially

Shows you what the government is for what the government ought to be doing. It says that the government is

God's avenger That's an interesting word it also says later in this passage that the government is

God's deacon his servant his his His what does it say here in this one the minister in this in this translation?

And it says that that taxes taxes are legitimate for these purposes so carries the sword

We understand that what that means is it can punish wrongdoers, right? It can punish wrongdoers

It says the government should be a terror to bad Conduct not to good conduct

But to bad conduct and so even though this is a passage dealing with the individual and what you should do as far as the

Government you should submit to the government because therefore you're good Even though this is for the individuals it kind of tangentially tells you what the government should be doing as well it should be promoting what is good and Punishing what is evil and of course if if you have any brain cells in your brain

This would have to be according to God's standard because clearly God is not giving the government the authority to decide what is good

And what is bad of which it so often does the government often will decide what is good and bad for itself

And that's how you end up with tyrannical Institutions is how you end up with evil spreading far and wide

Joseph Stalin decided. What was good and evil Adolf Hitler decided what is good and evil

Barack Obama decided what is good and evil Trump decided? What is good and evil and and that's not legitimate you see the government is a minister of God a deacon of God and therefore?

The only authority as this passage says the only authority that it has comes from God So clearly the government can't do something that the gut that God didn't give it authority to do.

This is a good a good example So let's just say the government came into your house and said you know your children aren't being trained the right way

You know you you taught them that the world is 6 ,000 years old, and you taught them that homosexuality is wrong

So therefore we're gonna take your children, and we're going to discipline them We're going to teach them the way things are if the government did that the government would be acting outside of its authority

God never gave the government that authority God never gave the government the authority to establish the Department of Education That's how

I know the government doesn't have that authority because God Didn't give it to them and the only authority as this passage says

Comes from God So anytime the government says it has authority in an area that God didn't give it authority

You know it's actually a false authority It doesn't have that authority that that's what this passage is very clearly saying even though This is a passage directed to me as a someone who's not in the civil government

It also kind of in a way tells you what the civil government has the only authority it has is

The authority that God gives it that's a very important passage But also you know if you're a smart person you understand that sometimes to understand a passage you really need to understand

The context of that passage and if you're reading Romans as it was intended to be read it was a letter

And so you start with how you read a letter at least how normal people do it is they Start they begin at the beginning and the end at the end.

That's how you read a letter from start to finish Here's what Romans chapter 12 says This is what

Romans chapter 12 says to start in verse 14 it says again

This is for the individual for the Christian. It says bless those who persecute you bless and do not curse them

Rejoice with those who rejoice weep with those who weep live in harmony with one another

Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly never be wise in your own sight Repay no one evil for evil

But give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all if possible so far as it depends on you live peaceably with All beloved this is important ready verse 19 beloved

Never avenge yourself, but leave it to the wrath of God for it is written

Vengeance is mine. I will repay says the Lord That's important because if you notice again an intuitive Interpreter would see you know that word avenge was used in Romans 13 as well

And so there's a very good chance that Paul who's a rational human being is Using that word intentionally here because he knows what he's about to write in Romans 13

It says beloved never avenge yourself But leave it to the wrath of God Because it says vengeance is mine says the

Lord and then in Romans 13 it says this about the government

He is God's servant for your good. He does not bear the sword in vain He is the servant of God an

Avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer

The civil government authority governing authority is an Avenger that carries out the wrath of God Right before that in Romans 12, it says to individuals don't avenge yourselves

Leave it to the wrath of God and then a few sentences later It says the civil governing governing authorities is an

Avenger that carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer

And so what this is saying is when somebody wrongs you when somebody actually wrongs you

I'm not talking when someone gives you the stink eye I'm not talking when somebody makes more money than you in a very fair competition or something like that No When somebody actually sins against you the

Bible is telling you as an individual do not avenge yourself because that's what the government is for It's the wrath that let leave it to the wrath of God for your vengeance

It's that's what the government is for it carries out the wrath of God on who on the wrongdoer on the wrongdoer

And so I I have to ask the question I Have to ask the question

When the pastor and this is not the only pastor who's gonna be arrested for having church services Let's just get that straight

So whether or not this guy's a charlatan Has nothing to do with it because he wasn't arrested for being a charlatan what

I want to know though is Is holding church

Regardless of the circumstances is holding church Wrongdoing according to Scripture That's the question that must be asked because when the state comes in and jails you and finds you

That's the state exercising its ministerial duties to avenge wrongdoers or Avenge and and and and pour the wrath of God out on wrongdoers

And so when it arrests a pastor for having church on Sunday Is that wrongdoing is that the wrath of God It's an important question to ask

I'd like to see the the evidence that Somehow having church in certain circumstances and having a worship service where you gather you probably pray for people

You probably lay hands on people and stuff like that hit the sick and all that kind of stuff that's a legitimate area for the civil government to come in and Execute justice avenge the wrath of God on the wrongdoer

That's an important question Some people say well the government has the authority to protect life and that is true.

But even that is limited even that is limited You imagine if the government and this is something that I could very easily imagine

Finding out that you spank your children and saying, you know, we need to protect life here We need to protect life and we've all the research all the experts they all say that spanking of children is detrimental to their mental health and their health in general

And so if you spank your kids and we find out we're gonna come into your churches and we're going to arrest the people that have taught that that disappointing your kids is biblical and we're going to take your kids as well a lot of these same men

Who are saying? Good job government. You arrested a pastor for having church on Sunday would be

I Assume I'm trying to assume the best year would be kicking up dust and and freaking out over that ridiculous

That ridiculous act by the civil governing authorities Yet on what grounds

Because they're just trying to protect life, right? They're just trying to protect well It's it's it's if the government could do anything except for cause you to sin

What about the people that say if I can't meet for church if I don't open my doors For the sick to lay hands on them to pray for them and all of these things if I don't do that I'm sinning.

What about those people who think that you might disagree with them on that? What about those people the government is currently asking them to sin in those situations?

And you're getting on Twitter and Facebook applauding their arrest Let me just say this again pastors conservative pastors and conservative

Christians are applauding the fact that Christian pastors at least professed

Christian pastors had church on Sunday and They're being arrested for that Because apparently

I guess that's an example of of the civil governing authority Carrying out

God's wrath on the wrongdoer those who had church on Sunday those that's that's worthy of God's wrath

I suppose Listen, but before I continue here, and I'm almost done.

I don't want this to be too long I am NOT a hardliner here I I've said this for the last two weeks and I will continue to say this

I think that it's a smart idea for some churches to close. It's a smart idea for some churches to close My church has closed and I supported my pastor's decision to do that.

I supported my pastor's decision to do that That so I'm not a hardliner here. I'm not trying to make you feel guilty if you're not having church, right?

I've heard some really convincing sounding arguments that it is a sin to close church I'm not

I'm not there. But but but but I've heard the arguments. I don't think this qualifies me as being a hardliner

But I'm absolutely not applauding the civil governing authorities arresting a pastor for having church on Sunday I Mean take take a good look in the mirror

What have you become What what have you become These are unprecedented times for many of us.

And so I'm very much willing to have a lot of Flexibility and leeway for people that are making the wrong decisions right now

But you know, honestly, there's one thing Between it's one thing to to privately feel

Happy support I Don't know like I don't know if happy is the right word, but but support applaud

For for for pastors being arrested by the civil governing authorities for having church on Sunday It's one thing to do that privately

It's another thing to proudly proclaim it from your social media when many

Christians right now Feel the weight of their of their responsibility for their congregations and they're taking the proper precautions

They're doing what they should be doing. They've got hand sanitizer. They've got distancing measures in place.

They've got You know masks that they can hand out to their congregations, whatever there and they're still holding church and They know that they are risking

Imprisonment for that and you're on social media applauding the government for being an avenger of God Carrying out

God's wrath against pastors who are opening their churches on Sunday on real unreal

This video as I mean you guys know my personality. I mean I joke around a lot, right? I'm not joking right now

I'm honestly a little shook. I'm honestly a little shook Romans 13 says that the government is a servant of God an avenger who carries out

God's wrath on the wrongdoer and so many of you Have now put pastors who are opening their churches pastors who are defying the order to shut down in the category of the wrongdoer

Those deserving the wrath of God brave pastors who are doing their duty before the

Lord who Understand that the government does not have the authority to shut down their churches That's an overstepping of the

God -given authority and they think to shut down their churches They would personally be in sin

A lot of these churches aren't even going so far as to say you're in sin if you shut down They're just saying no, we're

I'm not saying anything about you. We're staying open We're staying open

They're not trying to put you under any kind of a yoke. They're saying I'm open for business I will pray for the sick.

I will lay hands on the sick The way God has commanded me to a lot of people say well the government can do anything except for command you said

They're already commanding you to sin in many cases in any case

I'm gonna end this video right here because I think I need a break Hope you found this video helpful

And I hope that for some of you you take a good look in the mirror and you read Romans 13 in such a way

Where you put pastors? Who are forget this charlatan? At the end of day,

I really don't care about that particular man What I care about is the pastors that are doing their

God -given duty. I know some of these guys personally And I'm proud of you guys. I'm proud of you guys Doing their

God -given duty and staying open for business Because God has commanded them as elders

To lay hands on the sick to pray for the sick Administer the sacraments which

I thought were means of grace like actual grace like actual means of actual grace To people who desperately at this time need grace

Read Romans 13 and put those men those courageous old saints in the category of the wrongdoer that are deserving of God's wrath for the sin of Keeping their church open

And if in defiance of a government who has no authority over these matters In the middle of a pandemic where people need the church to be open

Those people are the ones deserving the wrath of God for that action Take a good look in the mirror folks