Outdoor Service During Lockdowns

Or excuse me,. Acts chapter 4, verses 5 through 19.

On the morrow that the rulers and elders and scribes and Ananias the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest were gathered together at Jerusalem.

And when they had set them in the midst they asked by what power or by what name have ye done this? Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost said unto them, Ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deeds done to the important man by what means he is made whole, be ye known unto you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom ye crucified whom God raised from the dead even by him doth this man stand here before you all.

This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders which has become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men they marveled and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus and beholding a man which was healed standing with them they could say nothing against it.

But when they had commanded them to go outside of the council they conferred among themselves saying what shall we do to these men that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them as it manifests to all them that dwell in Jerusalem and we cannot deny it.

But that it spread no further among the people let us greatly threaten them that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John answered and said unto them whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God judge ye.

Go ahead and open in your Bibles to the book of Genesis. The book of Genesis chapter 9. Genesis chapter 9 and the title of this morning's message is God and Government. So among Baptists independent Bible churches and non-denominational churches Amoris Corner Church as I said earlier is independent and non-denominational.

You don't find any denominations in the pages of the New Testament. Each local church was independent so that's one of the reasons why we are that way. That's another sermon for another day though. But among churches like ours it's very common to hear preachers and evangelists talk about dispensations.

You've heard this word dispensation or dispensations and understand this is a biblical term. In Ephesians chapter 3 verse 2 the Apostle Paul talked about the dispensation of the grace of God that had been given to him.

So let me just define the term dispensation. It can be defined as a system of order or government or organization of a nation or community etc especially as existing at a particular time. And in the Bible we might say that God has worked in different ways during different time periods among different people groups.

I don't think anyone could really challenge that. For example God had a system of order with Israel under the old covenant and today even though God himself never changes he has a different order with Jew and Gentile under the new covenant and the two are not the same.

And you remember in the Old Testament Israel began as a theocracy. Okay so the government was being ruled by the the priests or the religious leaders. That's not the way it is today and in our nation we have what is called the separation of church and state which I will talk about a little later on.

Now before we read from Genesis chapter 9 the point that I want to make is this whether it's the dispensation of the law under the old covenant or the dispensation or the the new covenant throughout both human government has existed.

There was government under Israel and the Old Testament there's government today but there was a time on this earth where there was no government. There was only God and that time period spans from the garden of Eden all the way through the flood and that's where we pick up in Genesis chapter 9 so take a look at verse 1.

So God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth on every bird of the air on all that move on the earth and on all the fish of the sea they are given into your hand every moving thing that lives shall be food for you and I have given you all things even as the green herbs but you shall not eat flesh with its life that is its blood surely for your life blood I will demand a reckoning from the hand of every beast I will require it and from the hand of man from the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man.

Now I want you to pay attention to what the Lord says in verse six we'll read that in just a moment but remember up until this point there was no government and the the purpose we know that the purpose of government in the bible is to punish evildoers.

We see that in Romans 13 1st Peter chapter 2. So the government is there to restrain evil and to punish evildoers. You think of Cain when he killed his brother Abel. At that time there was no government.

Cain was not arrested was he he was not brought before a judge because there was no government. There was nobody to hold Cain accountable except God. So you have God and then you have government. The only other option is a form of vigilante justice which is never sanctioned by God.

Human government though is sanctioned. And the dispensation if you will of human government begins right here in Genesis 9 verse 6. Look at this verse. The Lord says whoever sheds man's blood by man his blood shall be shed.

For in the image of God he made man. So what is the Lord saying here. He's saying if anyone commits murder they are to be put to death and they are to be put to death by the hands of another human being.

So that is the institution of human government. Now turn to Romans chapter 13. This was basically the first act of of government and it was ordained and commanded by whom by the Lord. And again the title of the message is God and government.

We're going to talk about several different things and I think this is a timely subject because as Christians we need to know especially now the responsibilities of government the role and responsibilities of government and the church.

And we should be asking ourselves questions like does the government have full authority to do whatever they want. Does the church have any authority. Does the church have the right to make her own decisions.

Does the church have any authority at all. Because remember the church is the body of Christ on earth. And according to Jesus in Matthew 28 he has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. So this is the question some people ask who has authority over who.

Or maybe that's the wrong question. So it's important in this moment to understand that to both the church and the state have authority but they have different spheres of authority. Look at Romans 13 verse 1 let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.

For there is no authority except from God. And the authorities that exist are appointed by God. And you know some people get carried away with this verse. You know all Paul is saying is that God established human government.

And of course he did it after the flood to restrain evil. So government is from God. But that does not mean that God affirms everything done by government. It does not mean certainly for an example it does not mean that it was the Lord who elected Adolf Hitler.

Obviously it does not mean that it is the Lord who establishes communist regimes. If God allows that he probably did it as a judgment upon the people for rejecting him. So yes God is sovereign. But what does God do.

He will ordain and then set boundaries. And then he gives mankind the freedom to operate within those boundaries. So understand this. If a government gets messed up that's not God who did it. That's that's our fault.

So this is just the simple truth that God has ordained human government. Verse 2. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God. I find it interesting. There's a whole movement titled resist.

Resist the governing authorities. They need to read Romans 13. Verse 2. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God. And those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works but to evil.

Do you want to be unafraid of the authority. Do what is good and you will have praise from the same. Now I want you to understand that that is generally true. It's not always true. Let me prove that to you.

It's not always true because Jesus did that which was good and he did not get praise from the governing authorities. They crucified him. So it's generally true. It's not always true. Verse 4. The governing authority he is God's minister to you for good.

But if you do evil be afraid. For he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is God's minister an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject not only because of wrath but also for conscience sake.

For because of this you also pay taxes. For they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. Therefore render to all their due taxes. To whom taxes are due. Customs. To whom customs fear.

To whom fear honor. To whom honor. So what do we see here. Basically generally speaking we are to submit to the governing authorities. And I say generally because we know that the apostle Paul who wrote this spent a lot of time in prison.

Okay. So at least it was perceived by the authorities that Paul was not submitting. And of course he was told not to minister. Did he listen. We heard the scripture reading earlier the Jewish council told the disciples not to preach in the name of Jesus.

Did they submit. No they did not. And consider Paul is writing to the church at Rome. It was the Roman government that kept Paul in prison. It was the Roman government that eventually killed the apostle Paul.

And while the Roman government had the right and the authority to punish evildoers here's the thing the Roman government abused their power. And this is the whole problem with government. While it is a good thing it was ordained by God the threat is that they can abuse their power.

Honestly the church needs a prophetic voice. What does that mean in the old testament the prophets they loved their nation. Did they not. But they sure did preach against the nation they loved. Why. Because of the sins of the nation and the wicked kings that were from Israel and Judah.

The church doesn't want to do that. And now we are reaping the results. Now we had read Genesis chapter nine that God instituted human government through capital punishment or the death penalty. You might not like that.

But that's what it says. And lest anyone think that. Well that's just the old testament. Well we just read Romans 13. That's the new testament. And it says he does not bear the sword in vain. Jesus said he who lives by the sword.

And that's true. But again the role of government is to do what. What's the role of government. Punish you. Yeah. Punish evildoers. Not punish those who are doing good. And the government according to verses six and seven.

This is a verse. Some of you maybe you wish this wasn't in the bible. But it is you have to pay your taxes. Yes. So the government has the right to levy taxes. Do they not. What if. Okay. What if this would never happen.

Right. But what if the government imposed a 90 percent tax rate. They could do that. But that would be called what theft would be called theft. Listen to me communism and socialism is legalized theft.

Okay. So i'll just say it. Because that's that's the case. So that would be theft. But does the government have the right to execute criminals. To execute murderers. Of course they do. Of course we just saw that.

Did they have the right to execute dissenters. Did they have the right to execute protesters. And imprison and persecute and kill people who have a differing viewpoint. Does the government have the right to do that.

No. And americans understand that when a government does that they become what illegitimate. At least we used to understand that. So i guess all of that to say this. It's not always a black and white issue.

It's. It's not. It's not as if. Yeah. Submit no matter what. It's not that. It's not that simple. But i fear that's where some people are at today. And if you really think that is the case. And i don't think anyone here believes that.

But if somebody did think submit no matter what. Maybe somebody should have reminded john the baptist. John the baptist was preaching pretty hard against king herod. Of course jesus said something about king herod.

What did call herod. He said you tell that fox now i know fox in certain context that might be a compliment for some people depending. But it wasn't a.

Compliment.

But you know maybe someone should have reminded john the baptist hey don't don't don't preach against herod. You need to submit. Herod did not think john the baptist was submitting. That's for sure. You know.

Or maybe someone could have reminded the apostle paul or told paul hey dial it back a little bit. You're gonna get you're gonna get yourself into trouble. You're gonna get you're gonna be put in jail.

And paul if you're in jail you won't be able to minister. Of course that wasn't true. As we already have noted paul's imprisonment led to the furtherance of the gospel. Someone also could have said hey paul if you're in prison you'll get a bad testimony.

Or that is a bad testimony. Or paul your critics will use it against you. And that's exactly what happened. But here's the thing about critics no matter what you say no matter what you do you realize this there's if somebody doesn't like you you can't do anything.

Right. This is what critics do. They look for every little thing whatever you say do or don't do. They just want to criticize you. So that's that's the way it was with paul and he was persecuted. John the baptist was persecuted.

They served his head on a platter. Literally that's where the term comes from. So what are we dealing with today. Like i said a few weeks ago you know it could be a lot worse. What are we experiencing today.

Well nothing. Nothing too too serious. But i want to address something at this point. Uh this is something i've heard from a lot of people. I've heard it on radio and podcasts. And this is the idea that what's happening today what's happening right now is not persecution against christians.

And the mindset. Or the argument is this that the government with the things that are going on are not directed at christians and christians only. Therefore it is not persecution. Okay. Yes pastors are getting arrested.

Yes church members are being fined for worshiping. Yes. Uh yes governing authorities elected officials are threatening to close churches down permanently. But it's not really persecution. Because you know non-christians are being arrested.

So it's not really persecution. But i understand why someone thinks that. But just hear me out the problem with that is you. We don't really know the motivations behind all of this. You might think you do you really don't know the future hasn't happened yet.

We really don't know everything that's going on. And speaking of the apostle paul in 55 a .d you're writing to the church at rome. Uh rome wasn't only persecuting christians. You know that. Right. Actually rome at first they didn't even set out to persecute christians.

You remember pontius pilate. He did not want to crucify jesus the romans. If you read the book of acts they were trying to let paul go. But was there roman persecution in the 50s. In the 60s. And the first.

Yes. So just because they didn't set out to do it. Or just because they weren't persecuting christians only. It does not mean the persecution was any less real. Rome would have gone after anybody who they perceived as being a rabble rouser.

Okay it does not mean that the persecution was any less real. In islamic countries christians are persecuted. But so is every other religion. You don't do what the islamic authorities say. You're in big trouble.

And that's across the board. But we still recognize it as christian persecution. And here here's the thing that gets me. There are christians throughout this land that are glad when they hear about pastors being arrested when they hear about churches being threatened.

There are professing believers in christ who are glad about it and they're rejoicing in it. And my brothers and sisters we are living in strange times. So what's the title of the message. God and government.

For some people government is their god. They'll bend over backwards to the lordship of the state. Are they bending over backwards to the lordship of christ. We expect that from the communists and the atheists and the darwinists.

We don't expect that from god's people. So why would a professing believer side with the state over the church. One reason. F e a r. You know there's not a lot of fear of god in churches today. The bible says that the fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge.

People don't fear god. That's the bottom line. They do fear the state because they know the state will find them or worse. And to me one of the most inspiring things that you see in the pages of the new testament is how the apostles were men who were fearful and they had doubts.

But then they turned into bold and courageous men who would not back down for anybody or anything. And with help from the lord the disciples. What did they do. They turned the world upside down. Now the world is turned upside down now for a different reason.

And of course the world is upside down because the world calls good evil and evil good. So the disciples they spread christianity throughout the roman empire and it's continued to spread. And today listen the good news today is that christianity today is larger than it has ever been now.

There's a lot of false forms of christianity. But it's larger than it has ever been. And i said this a while back in a message that the kingdom of god never shrinks it only grows. We're only adding people.

So what about all the those who fell away. They were never really of us. To begin with 1 john chapter 2 verse 19. So with all of that said you know christians we are to be submissive to government. That's what the bible says.

And we are. This is a group of people. I mean the members of morris corner church are good law-abiding citizens. The evangelical church is around. We are submitting. This is why we're outside. We're submitting.

We're submitting to government. Okay. And we should pray for those in authority. You should pray. And it doesn't matter who's in authority if it's your supervisor you know if it's your pastor uh the selectmen the mayor congressmen senators president of the united states we are to submit to the governing authorities.

If the police showed up and told everyone leave or we're going to take you away. I would hope we would be kind and respectful to them wouldn't agree with what they were doing. But you know we we submit to the governing authorities.

It's the right thing to do. But again there are boundaries. Right. There's boundaries. I question whether or not i should do this. But this is an illustration. Okay. What if i i took the church constitution and suggested that we put in a provision that in case just in case a few years from now an emergency situation came up and if that came up the pastor would have absolute authority to do anything he wanted he couldn't be held responsible.

I would have full authority to do anything. Do you think that's a good idea. Put that provision in there would it be a lawful provision. But you can type it in the constitution. It doesn't make it right.

Hello. Are you listening to what i'm saying.

Okay don't worry that won't happen we know.

Hey put that in. That's what's happening. That's what's happening in every state in the union. So what authority does the government have. They have a great deal of authority and they can dictate what happens in their sphere of authority.

They do not have authority within the church of jesus christ. Yes we are to be law-abiding citizens and we are. But there is something called government overreach. A total submission to every decree of government has never been the christian way.

Our lord and savior jesus christ the author and finisher of our faith while he was obedient to the law of god he did not submit himself to every decree of the sanhedrin. Just think about if the disciples submitted to every decree the gospel would have never been spread missionaries would not have been sent out churches would not have been established souls would not have been saved and the whole world would have gone to hell.

And maybe the reason why the world is going to hell today is because christians lack the boldness. And we at times can be filled with fear. And you know what the scripture says about that. Right. 2nd timothy chapter 1 verse 7.

God has not given us a spirit of timidity. The lord has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. You say pastor you quoted that verse last week. That's right. And i quoted it again this week.

And i'll probably quote it again next week. I'll keep quoting it until all the fear is gone. And but here's the encouraging thing. I i think the fear is going away. I i am seeing the fear starting to dissipate.

And i really believe that the lord is doing a work here at morris corner church. And i just pray that that boldness would would spread and it would spread throughout the land. And every evangelical pastor and evangelical church we all talk about revival.

We we all pray for revival. But you know what revival has to start right here has to start in my heart. And it has to start in your heart. Don't worry about a revival sweeping the nation. Worry about revival right here at morris corner church.

Lord lord bring revival. But of course talking this way makes people upset. I just want to read this passage from uh jeremiah. Uh the lord said to the young prophet do not say i am a youth. We had a visitor last week.

I probably shouldn't bring this up. But he he wasn't very happy with me. And he said well you know you're kind of young to make decisions like this. You know you know what paul said to let no man despise you.

What does the lord say. Do not say jeremiah. I'm not even that young. All right. I'm gonna be 42 in a few days. I mean give me a break. Do not say i am a youth. For you shall go to all to whom i send you and whatever i command you you shall speak.

Do not be afraid of their faces. Christians do not be afraid of their faces for i am with you to deliver you says the lord. So as i bring this sermon to an end i just want to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the church in state.

And we brought up the separation of church and state. I am a big believer. This might surprise you. I am a big believer in the separation of church and state. The problem is people don't know what that means.

The separation of church and state means that the state needs to stay out of the affairs of the church. I fully agree. And all god's people said amen. And someone might ask you this morning oh so what.

What was the sermon about. What did the pastor preach on. Do not say i preached on rebelling against the government. That's not what i'm preaching. Submit to the governing authorities. But what are the the roles and responsibility of government.

Again genesis 9 6 romans 13 verse 4 the government. The role is to punish evil doers. That is the role of government. Government was ordained by god and some people call it a necessary evil. Well no it's necessary because of evil.

So the role of government is to punish evil doers. It is not to take care of us from cradle to grave. It is not the role of the government to tell us what to do and how to think. And to tell us what to do on our own property.

The government should by doing that which is right bring glory to god. Promoting darwinism does not bring glory to god. Promoting or laying the the groundwork for socialism does not bring glory to god.

So as christians we understand biblically what the role of government is. And as christians we understand what the role of the church is. The great commission given to the church is to preach the gospel to every creature and to baptize them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit.

And then to teach them all that christ commanded. And that happens within the local church. So you have two role. And by the way the local church is the assembly and you can't assemble on the internet.

I'm sorry that's not. It's it's a great thing to have. I love it. I think it's wonderful. But it's not church. So you have two roles two responsibilities. Two spheres of authority. God has established human government.

God has also established the church. Should we be concerned about what's happening in government. Say well see christians disagree on this. Some christians feel one way others feel another way. And that's fine.

But hopefully we should all agree that christians should be concerned with the church. And what is the church. It is the body of christ on earth. It is the congregation. It is the assembly of god's people.

And the lord has informed us in his word. I will close with this hebrews 10 starting in verse 23. Hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another.

And so much the more as you see the day approaching. I see the day approaching. Christ is coming and every day is one day closer. Maranatha where jesus comes. Let's close in prayer our father. How grateful we are that we live in the dispensation of the grace of god.

As paul said in ephesians 3 2. And how we are not under law. We are under grace and father. We do pray for those in authority. I pray that you would give them the wisdom that they so desperately need and give us wisdom give us mercy.

And father. I pray that you would give your church knowledge. And this time i ask it all in christ's name. Amen. Amen. Well let's uh stand. And we'll close with a hymn. So if you would open to hymn number 279.

Hymn number 279. Faith of our fathers and christ is their.

Lord and savior that they would do it now and confess that jesus is lord that we are sinners that god is holy and we are not and that we so desperately need the grace of god. Lord bring salvation. And if everyone here knows christ lord may you our faith father help us draw us closer to you use this situation to do that and i know that you are using this situation for your good for your glory but also for our good and may we glorify you in all that we say and do and we pray it in jesus name.

Amen.