God and Government (Part 2)

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September 15, 2024

In today's sermon, we explore the biblical foundation for understanding the relationship between church and state, diving into the God-given roles of both institutions. We will see how Scripture guides us in applying Christian principles to government and society, reminding us that Christ's rule touches every sphere of life.

00:09: Thank you for subscribing to the Shepherds Church podcast. This is our Lord's Day Sermon We pray that as we declare the
00:16: Word of God that you would be encouraged Strengthened in your faith and that you would catch a greater vision of who
00:22: Christ is May you be blessed in the hearing of God's Word and may the Lord be with you
00:35: Well this morning We're gonna be picking up in a very short very brief
00:42: Sermon series if you will in a periodic exploration of a biblical overview of government It's really only the second of maybe three messages that I'll even do on this topic
00:51: But it one that I think is important and or that we as a session really think is important and one that we want To be encouraged in and built up in to remind you again.
01:00: We're doing this because we want to equip The church we want to be equipped for this to help us all to have the biblical categories in mind
01:07: So that we can give a defense for the hope that we have in Christ I hope that's not merely an emphasis on the private exercises of the faith like prayer and Bible reading and personal holiness all very important things
01:19: We want to have a defense for the hope that we have that this gospel Hope that reaches into every sphere of our lives and declares the good news over it that Jesus Christ is
01:29: Lord We want to be equipped to contend against those who would dismiss our Christianity in the political realm
01:36: That's why we're doing this this God and government exploration We want to be equipped to defend against those who would dismiss us
01:43: Based on their contention that we need to keep this area of our lives to ourselves. We need to keep our faith to ourselves
01:49: We want you to know why biblically we believe the things that we believe about the government its role in our lives and how we as Individuals and as the church are to relate to it
02:00: You see Republican talking points right this kind of Christless conservatism of our day are not enough and sadly are often just as mistaken as The libs right as the
02:12: Democrats on these things and we need to understand what the scriptures say More than what Donald Trump says or any other?
02:20: Leading Republican of our time. We need to know what the scriptures say We need to learn how to defend that message not the talking points that we get from Fox News And so hopefully this will be a help to us and thinking through the government biblically
02:33: Right and help to us in informing and shaping our views on the form of government that we as Christians should desire and work towards excuse me in the coming generations when
02:46: Jackson If you'll remember a few months ago we looked at Primarily at Romans 13 verses 1 through 7 and the role of government as a minister of God It's funny.
02:57: This was a few months ago this last message. It was the week the Sunday before When the first debate when
03:03: Donald Trump debated Joe Biden feels like that was like four years ago I didn't even know that he was running for president.
03:09: But anyways, it's not in my notes I gotta get back to this. Alright, so a government as much as it might chafe us, right?
03:15: This is what we talked about last time as much as it might chafe some of our political inclinations Right, especially in our age of big government.
03:21: The government is part of God's created order and he uses it For his purposes in the world
03:27: We should embrace that for what God has created the government for God has given the government or the state or the civil magistrate
03:35: All interchangeable terms that I'll use throughout time this morning. He's given the government authority in the world and over its constituents
03:43: So we highlighted last time that the critical aspect of that authorities of the state is not its own ultimate authority
03:50: Right, but rather it is an authority that must submit itself Even not to the will of the people but to God He is the one from whom they derive their authority all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Jesus Christ And he's established the magistrate to be a steward of his authority on earth in the civil realm
04:12: However, we also noted that the state is bound in the extent of that authority, right? Just because they wield the sword as God's ministers for justice and vengeance
04:20: Does not mean that they have the authority to raise your children for example in God's design he's established different spheres of life and he's established different authorities within each of those spheres and Finally, we considered last time how in God's design government is supposed to function and how we as citizens are supposed to interact
04:41: With our government the state has obligations to its citizens Namely to reward good and punish evil and the citizen has obligations to the state
04:50: Right to honor them to submit to them in the Lord and to pray for them to be good citizens, right?
04:57: and today While obviously we still have government in view We're gonna shift our attention away from a justification for government that hopefully is already established through Romans 13
05:07: It's very clear biblically I think and in a way from how as in how we as individuals and as families interact with the government and this morning instead
05:16: We're going to focus on the nature of the relationship between the institutional church and the state
05:23: And we'll do that with less of a focus on a specific text from the Bible this morning But in a more thematic systematic approach
05:29: Canvassing really all of the scripture to get a fuller view of this particular doctrine as well as consider
05:36: Potentially hopefully some of the rebuttals that we may hear from those who would disagree with our contentions and how we should look to respond
05:44: So interestingly enough when we consider church and state right the the separation of church and state how we come to our doctrine here again
05:50: We want it to be from the scripture and we'll notice today that much of the
05:56: New Testament We see very little in regards to this topic, but I think that's for a good reason
06:01: Charles Hodge was theologian who wrote in the 19th century wrote an essay on the relationship of church and state
06:07: That the doctrine of the separation of church and state is of very recent origin
06:12: It was unknown to the ancients before the advent speaking of Christ's birth of course in no country was religion disconnected with the state particularly he notes the idea of a disconnection between religion and the state was unknown to the
06:28: Jews of the first speaking of the First century right the context in which Christ was born into and that the disciples were raised up And this is again the time when the
06:38: Church of Christ was established And so as we consider the topic this morning We'll bear that in mind that we're going to be gleaning much from the
06:45: Old Testament Here in our understanding of God's design for the church's relationship with a state
06:51: We want to understand God's intention for us both as members in Christ Church and as citizens and our
06:57: Commonwealth And so we're going to rely much on his Old Testament revelation Some on the New Testament as well, but much will be in the
07:05: Old Testament today So with that in mind we're going to read from what will be a kind of our base text this morning But really it's again just a jumping -off point for us more than anything else into a more systematic exploration
07:15: We're going to read from 2nd Chronicles chapter 26 And I'm going to read most of the most of the chapter starting verse 1, but 2nd
07:24: Chronicles 26 And all the people of Judah took
07:29: Uzziah who was 16 years old and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah He built
07:36: Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his father's Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem And his mother's name was
07:48: Jechaliah of Jerusalem He did right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father
07:53: Amaziah had done He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah who had understanding through the vision of God and as long as he sought the
08:00: Lord God prospered him Now he went out and warred against the Philistines and broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabnah and the wall of Ashdod and he built cities in the area of Ashdod and among the
08:12: Philistines God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gerbeel and the
08:19: Maianites The Ammonites also gave tribute to Uzziah and his fame extended to the border of Egypt for he became very strong Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate and at the valley gate and at the corner buttress and fortified them
08:34: He built towers in the wilderness and hewed many cisterns for he had much livestock both in the lowland and in the plain
08:42: He also had plowmen and vine dressers in the hill country in the fertile fields for he loved the soil
08:49: Moreover Uzziah had an army ready for battle which entered combat by divisions according to the number of their muster
08:55: Prepared by Jael the scribe and Maaseah the official under the direction of Hananiah one of the king's officers
09:03: The total number of the heads of the households of valiant warriors was 2 ,600
09:09: Under their direction was an elite army of 307 ,500 who could wage war with great power to help the king against the enemy
09:18: Moreover Uzziah prepared for all the army Shields spears helmets body armor bows and sling stones in Jerusalem he made engines of war invented by skillful men to be on the towers and on the corners for the purpose of shooting arrows
09:34: And great stones hence his fame spread afar for he was marvelously helped until he was strong verse 16
09:42: But when he became strong His heart was so proud that he acted corruptly and he was unfaithful to the
09:49: Lord his God For he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him 80 priests of the
09:58: Lord valiant men They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him it is not for you
10:04: Uzziah to burn incense to the Lord But for the priests the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense
10:10: Get out of the sanctuary for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the Lord God But Uzziah with a censer in his hand for burning incense was enraged and while he was enraged with the priests the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the
10:26: Lord beside the altar of incense as Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him and behold
10:33: He was leprous on his forehead and they hurried him out of there and he himself also Hastened to get out because the
10:39: Lord had smitten him King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death And he lived in a separate house being a leper for he was cut off From the house of the
10:47: Lord and Jotham his son was over the king's house judging the people of the land Let's pray
10:53: Father this morning. We do ask your help now we ask that you give Wisdom and understanding
10:59: Lord to us as we hear your word or that you would grant us this morning through your spirit
11:06: Again an understanding that not only receives your word, but learns even how to apply it in our lives
11:12: That we would be a people who love your scripture that we be a people who love your wisdom not the wisdom of men
11:19: We ask your help in Jesus name Amen Now this passage in 2nd
11:24: Chronicles 26 is I think perhaps the most glaring example We have in the scripture on the importance of our understanding of the distinctiveness of the institutions that God has created
11:34: In the world and for us to function under this is where we see our Kuyperianism that's that's the sphere sovereignty right these three spheres of family church and state
11:45: It really comes out right in our sphere sovereignty right the church is not the state The state is not the church
11:52: Uzziah is a great king in Judah, right? But he becomes puffed up with pride and he's unfaithful to God And what does he do?
12:00: What is it that he did that? Demonstrates his unfaithfulness to God well verse 16 says that he entered the temple of the
12:06: Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense Doesn't really sound that bad at first blush right he went to church basically right he wanted to worship
12:16: God And surely God would want the king over his people to want to worship him though Well of course right
12:23: God of course wants the king to believe in him He wants the king to worship him, but God will not have the king
12:29: Nor anyone else worship him in a way that he has not prescribed Right verse verse 18 the priests come in to oppose
12:36: Uzziah from that from doing this and they say it's not for you Uzziah to burn incense to the
12:42: Lord, but for the priests the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense So get out of the sanctuary for you have been unfaithful
12:49: And we'll have no honor from the Lord God God had prescribed for Israel the way in which he would be worshiped and even prescribed for them who would lead them in The right worship of God would be the
12:58: Levites the sons of Aaron and the king though He was had no right before God to step in to lead
13:04: God's people in this way God had called Uzziah to lead the people as king But he had not called him to lead the people as priest and in the same way the
13:14: Lord Jesus has called Elders and pastors to lead his church today, but he's not called them those men to lead our governments
13:21: Right nor has he called the kings and the rulers whom he's established and we know that he has established them to lead his church
13:28: And so the principle really that's critically important for us to understand as a foundational thing here that the relationship that we should look for between church and state biblically speaking does have and should have a
13:41: Separation right there. We should desire a separation of church and state in our time
13:48: We should not desire an ecclesiocracy Right where the church is the head of the government. That's that's
13:53: Romish. That's potpourri. That's not like a nice -smelling thing I'm talking about in time mode You know,
13:59: I didn't even know what potpourri was. I don't look it up I was like, I said the word potpourri and I was like, that's that's something else. I looked it up I was like, oh, yeah, that's the thing that smells really good usually but that's that's
14:09: Romish right an ecclesiocracy Right this ecclesiocentrism. That's where the church is the head of the state, but that's not what we believe.
14:16: That's all the Bible teaches We should not desire either to see an arrangement that would put the state as the head of the church like in the
14:22: Church of England where the king is the head of the church. That's that's a form. That's a
14:28: Rastianism, right? It's it's a it's arrangement that we don't see a warrant for biblically where the church Reports up into as it were
14:35: The state has an authority over it Rather as Christians thinking biblically on these matters
14:40: We should desire that separation of these institutions of church and state but to an extent is what we to the extent to which that Is we have to determine based on the scripture because God has established both of these institutions both of these spheres as separate
14:56: Not one reporting into as it were another Now to be clear on terms here.
15:01: We're not talking about individual Christians this morning Individual Christians as we talked about last time they should pursue
15:06: I believe Political office and civil authority when appropriate right when they have the skills that would bless their neighbors
15:13: It's a good thing even when we have strong and good Christian men leading our local state and national governments
15:20: And when especially when they're gifted for the work that they're they would be doing right? They should pursue it if possible and when in those offices those
15:28: Christian men should obviously look to apply Christian principles they should look to apply their Christian faith Although God did not want the king to be leading the worship in the temple
15:36: That does not mean that he wanted the king to rule in an ungodly way Right rather it's it's impossible to separate one's morality from the way that they govern
15:45: So Christians more than anyone else Should be working to apply their Christian morals in the ways that they govern
15:50: No legislation that they were to pass if they're in those positions King David actually says this really well in his last words his final song in 2nd
15:58: Samuel 23 Says the God of Israel said the rock of Israel spoke to me He who rules over men righteously who rules in the fear of God is as the light of the morning the
16:08: Sun rises a Morning without clouds when the tender grass springs out of the earth through sunshine after rain
16:14: The Christian Prince rules according to God's ordinances glorifying God Blessing his neighbor he rules in the fear of the
16:22: Lord But again that Individual Christian participating in government is not what we have in view this morning
16:29: So I want to make sure that we define Define that define our terms at the outset what we have in view again is the church as an institution that institution
16:36: That's created by God in Christ Jesus That is his people on earth and to whom he has given the keys of the kingdom heaven
16:44: And on the other side we're not talking about individual politicians in the state, right? We're not talking about their personal professions of faith
16:50: But rather the civil magistrate as a whole as an institution how it's organized the structures that undergird it so the question that we're wrestling with today is
17:00: How are these institutions the church institution the church structure meant to relate to one another?
17:06: How does the church and state the structures that undergird them and establish them? How are they to relate with one another they are separate?
17:12: We've established that as I get it was a great example of this to at least some degree they are separate But the question is where if anywhere should there be cooperation between the two and if anywhere
17:24: How should they interact? I think those are questions that we need to be able to answer. We need to be able to explore
17:29: From the biblical record to establish what our political political philosophy would be now some
17:37: Christians and non -christians would say even before we answer these questions that by having any overlap between the two between church and state you're just Asking for trouble right historically it's not worked out.
17:47: Well, so we might as well never try it Right, they can't have cooperation. They have to remain totally separate because any commingling right?
17:54: This is the contention of some is going to create either a corrupted church or a corrupted government But I'll say that I think that that type of dismissal of this conversation is exactly the wrong thing to do
18:06: It's exactly what the enemies of God's church would want us to do right? They'd want us to not even consider these questions from a biblical perspective not even ask
18:14: Scriptures ask God to reveal to us how he would have us organize us They want us to we want to convince us to avoid the conversation altogether and they what's more they want to convince us that that's actually
18:24: Somehow for our good They want us to think like you'll have nothing you'll be happy, right?
18:30: frankly, this is the only area where most people I Personally think that are comfortable with that type of avoidance of even asking the question of how do these different spheres?
18:40: Interact with each other. How do they cooperate? We have no issue for example With overlap in the spheres of the family and or the state in the family, right?
18:48: The state's more than happy to overlap into our families and sometimes that's a good thing, right? It's a when there's abuse happening in families
18:55: It's good and right that the state would interject to take care of those those matters, right?
19:01: There is overlap there and that's good and right the church overlaps into families Obviously through the ministry of the gospel that should be a means to grace to us not only on Sundays But every day in the week and and through providing counseling right families obviously overlap into the church through participation and the raising up of Leaders and future generations families cooperate with the state especially in our context through elections through protests and so forth
19:24: And in most countries historically and even in places like Canada Today that the state overlaps into the church setting restrictions on on what can be said from a pulpit or in counseling, right?
19:34: Can't do the conversion therapy all that sort of stuff, right? These things are we're very comfortable as a society with overlap of Institutions, but I think when it comes to questions of the church
19:48: Overlapping into the state we start to get pretty we start to get pretty uncomfortable, right? It seems to me that this is really the only time that you get kind of called names
19:57: You know You're a fascist or things like that for even asking the questions for exploring the topic when it involves the church in the state so At the outset will reject that that retort
20:09: From someone trying to stifle this conversation and say that doesn't doesn't make sense that it is something that's worthy to be explored that we need
20:15: To explore again. What is where if anywhere should there be a cooperation between these two institutions and if anywhere
20:22: What does that look like? How do they interact? So we have to examine these things and so we will right and this morning as we do that I'm going to submit to you what my theses are
20:34: That the Bible teaches a necessity teaches the necessity of a separation of church and state
20:42: While it does that it does not give us license to believe in a total and complete separation
20:48: Meaning there should be cooperation between church and state and That that cooperation is actually incredibly important By the design of God for both institutions to carry out their
21:01: God -given duties specifically in regards to the two main areas law and order and word and sacrament so again
21:09: The Bible teaches us that we should believe in an overlap of church and state to an extent.
21:16: There's a separation There's also an overlap and we have to explore what that Overlap looks like so that we can as Christians be working in the world towards this end
21:25: Not maybe not in our lifetime, but in future generations So discipling and moving towards the into this direction of overlap between church and state so first on law and order
21:36: You know law and order obviously dun -dun -dun Just came into my mind just now but now law and order is obviously in the purview of the magistrate right magistrate is
21:48: Responsible before God to rule righteously as we saw in Romans 13 a Society that seeks to function in a biblical manner though must look
21:57: To the institutional church to inform the civil magistrate on a proper view of righteousness this is critical so that the magistrate may enact legislation that promotes righteousness and Suppresses evil and again this position as we'll see is deeply rooted in the scriptures.
22:14: It's not this isn't a novel thing this is biblical teaching that where we see a framework for the civil government to be grounded in the moral law of God and that's
22:23: Mediated to us through his word in the church as the appointed steward of biblical truth in the world Has a critical role in guiding that right and guiding the civil authorities to fulfill their
22:33: God -given mandate So again, the Bible teaches that all authority including civil authority comes from God It's Romans 13
22:39: 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 This means that civil rulers are not autonomous
22:50: Right, they are accountable to God for how they govern verse 4 of the same chapter goes further to describe the magistrate as God's Servant for your good whose role is to punish wrongdoers and reward those who do good
23:03: However for the magistrate to fulfill this role. It must have a clear understanding of what is good and what is evil
23:09: All right, this understanding can't come from shifting societal norms or human reasoning alone It has to be rooted in God's eternal and unchanging law
23:18: The Bible repeatedly affirms that God's law is the true standard of justice and righteousness Psalm 19 7 says that the law of the
23:25: Lord is perfect reviving the soul The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple and so civil laws that align with this perfect law
23:34: Bring about justice in order while laws that contradict God's law lead to chaos and moral decline and the church is
23:42: Uniquely positioned to guide civil authorities in understanding and applying God's moral law
23:48: We shouldn't be leaving it to think tanks and other organizations to do this Right, the church should be should be the voice in these matters to the magistrate helping them to understand and first Timothy 3 15
23:59: The church is called the pillar and foundation of the truth Indicating that it holds and preserves the truth of God's Word for the society for culture as a whole
24:09: The church is tasked with teaching biblical principles not only to individuals and families, but to the broader society including its leaders
24:17: We obviously see in the Great Commission that Jesus commands his disciples to go into all the nations
24:22: Teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you All right, this includes the teaching of biblical justice and righteousness to nations which encompasses their civil leaders and Furthermore the prophets in the
24:35: Old Testament again. We see a lot of examples of this in the Old Testament Where they served as advisors to kings and rulers reminding them of their responsibility to uphold
24:44: God's standards We have obviously the Nate when Nathan confronts David over his sin with Bathsheba Demonstrating again the role of God's messengers and holding civil authorities accountable
24:54: Similar we have the prophet Amos. He rebukes Israel's rulers for their injustice and Oppression he calls them to let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever -flowing stream and in the
25:06: New Testament even we do have example where we see John the Baptist rebuking Herod for his adulteries and Ultimately that leads to his death, but there is a role for the church for the people of God to speak
25:18: Into our government to speak God's truth to those who are in power For a society to enact just laws it has to be grounded in the moral law of God So the
25:30: Ten Commandments obviously, you know They are they provide the clearest foundation for civil justice in the history of the world and our our justice system really is based
25:38: Upon the Ten Commandments and some of the outflow from it but Deuteronomy 4 5 through 8 highlights how
25:44: God's laws were meant to set Israel apart as a wise and understanding nation serving as a model for justice
25:52: God says to keep them Talking about the law and do them For that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who when they hear all these statutes
26:01: Will say surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people It's not just that God wants us to be a bunch of obedient individuals
26:10: So that when people look at a bunch of obedient individuals they say surely all those obedient all those individuals in there are wise and understanding he wants us to be a people a corporate people a
26:20: Church that is like this but also a nation that is like this that is grounded upon his law that the nations would see
26:27: Obedient nations and say these are wise understanding people The magistrates role is to be a servant of God an avenger who carries out
26:36: God's wrath on the wrongdoer And so civil authorities are meant to enforce laws that reflect God's standard of justice
26:43: He is the standard when it comes to these laws of good and evil He he and his law are the standards for justice
26:52: Punishing evil promoting what is good and when society's laws are disconnected from biblical morality and justice
26:58: Inevitably will follow Proverbs 14 12 warns us that there's a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death
27:06: Right societies that are based or that base their laws on human wisdom rather than divine revelation are only cultures of death by definition
27:17: When civil governments reject God's laws that are prone to enact unjust and oppressive laws that promote evil rather than suppress it in our time
27:25: The nation we don't have to look very far for extreme Injustices that violate the Word of God when abortion and gay mirage are celebrated in the ways that they are today
27:33: But when in the areas where there's even some maybe ambiguity where it seems like there's well -meaning people who want to do good for other
27:39: People they also need biblical instruction. It's easy to rebuke abortion. It's easy to rebuke gay mirage
27:46: Those are those are easy to speak against right? But when it comes to things like mass immigration the church needs to be able to speak into these things to advise our leaders who?
27:55: Don't know because especially in our time. It's easy to see they don't have a biblical foundation They don't have the moral underpinnings that are necessary to enact righteous laws that promote the common good
28:07: They can think that they're doing well because they're thinking humanistically, but they need to be advised on what is righteous before God And so I think the scriptures and I think
28:17: Common -sense would tell us that it's good for our government for the state to be advised informed by the church on matters of law in order
28:27: Again the Bible shows that when rulers neglect God's law that chaos ensues judges book of Judges is a great example
28:34: This is especially at the towards the end of the book where everyone does what's right in their own eyes because there's no king in Israel Everyone does what they think is right in their own eyes when they and when they do this you get moral corruption and societal breakdown
28:47: But in contrast when rulers submit to God's law the nation prospers and justice prevails just like we see the rule of the reigns of godly kings in Israel and Judea and So again when it comes to matters of law and order which are the responsibility of the state
29:03: I don't think that the church should be making laws For society it is the state's responsibility to do this
29:09: But we see that they are most effective in carrying out their responsibility When the laws that they enact and the justice they carry out are informed by the
29:18: Christian Church Ensuring that righteousness and justice are being carried out and that good is rewarded and evil is restrained
29:25: The church is a tool that the state should use really So they would govern better the nation would prosper and that God would be glorified
29:32: It would be for their good as they before they stand before the judgment seat of God For how they rule that they would rule well and that they would look to the church
29:42: For to be informed on how to do it best In addition to law and order right now, we also have word and sacrament.
29:50: I think there's a place even for cooperation here When when it comes to the true religion and the carrying out of that true religion
29:59: Obviously again, just like law and order is responsibility of the state word and sacrament these ministries belong to the church
30:05: These are the church's responsibility before God to carry out to preach the gospel to administer the sacraments to exercise church discipline
30:12: For the building up the body of Christ's the glory of God and yet I think this one might be might make us a little bit more uncomfortable than the first there's also a place for the state
30:24: Right for a society to function properly I believe the scriptures will teach us that we should look to the civil magistrate to protect and defend the true religion
30:33: The Christian faith handed down to us by the Apostles while also suppressing all blasphemies and heresies
30:40: Right, it's the state's responsibility to do this in order to foster an environment in which the Church of Jesus Christ Can flourish and perform its work to the glory of God?
30:51: So again for a society to function properly and to the way in the ways that God has designed it to be
30:58: For these institutions to work together. I think that we should see that while the church focuses on the ministries of word and sacrament the state has a responsibility and a role to play in suppressing blasphemies and heresies and Protecting preserve in defending the true religion so that there is an environment for that ministry of word and sacrament to be to be maximally
31:20: Successful obviously these things are a work of God, but I think that these things God uses these things to do it
31:26: So again this view might be even more difficult to swallow for some of us in the first right we kind of like the idea
31:31: Of being able to tell the state. Here's the kind of laws you should have right. That's that sounds great. That's exactly what we need
31:38: But so we might be a little bit more uncomfortable with this idea That now the state's gonna have some role in society to make sure what to preserve the true religion
31:46: But ironically enough I actually think that this position this biblical case for this one is even stronger
31:52: Than than the other frankly that the biblical case or the idea that the state has a responsibility to preserve the true religion
31:58: To protect the true religion. I think is really really strong Again, the magistrate is
32:04: God's servant for your good It is who does not bear the sword in vain and while this is speaking here that in Romans 13 of the general maintenance of Justice as the magistrate's responsibility the promotion of the true religion
32:16: I think is inherent in the role of the magistrate because the highest good is the worship of the one true
32:23: God Furthermore, I think this is maybe the lynchpin verse 2 Isaiah 49 verses 22 and 23
32:30: We read this this is the Lord speaking Thus says the Lord and he's talking about the future when the his servant would come
32:37: Into the world and he would establish his servant in his kingdom forever and ever says behold I will lift up my hand to the nations and set up my standard to the people's this regards to Jesus being proclaimed to the nation's gospel proclaimed to the nations and they will bring
32:52: Your sons in their bosom and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders meaning that many of these
32:57: Gentiles Will come come to him through this proclamation of the gospel and then verse 23 is really critical here because God is
33:05: Telling us that he will use these nations in their governments to take care of his people
33:10: Who will soon be covering the whole earth and not only in Israel anymore geographical Israel Isaiah 49 23 says kings will be your guardians other translations say your foster fathers and their princesses or Queens Will be your nurses or nursing mothers
33:29: They will bow down to you With their faces to the earth and lick the dust of your feet and you will know that I am the
33:36: Lord those who hopefully Wait for me will not be put to shame God has promised that he will preserve his people and one of the means that he has said he you that he will do this is the
33:48: Magistrate He will use the governments of the world kings and Queens as Guardians as foster fathers and as nursing mothers to his church so that the church can grow strong Right, they will bow down to you with their faces to the earth and lick the dust of your feet
34:05: You will know that I am the Lord God is saying that as the church goes out into the world He will one of the ways in which he will preserve that church and grow it and grow it in strength is by providing foster fathers and nursing mothers to them and What's more
34:25: God has commanded that kings and rulers be equipped to ensure that protection and promotion of the true worship of God For all people of Israel and Deuteronomy 17 18 through 20
34:37: God says now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom He shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the
34:46: Levitical priests It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life that he may learn to fear the
34:52: Lord his God By carefully observing all the words of this law in these statutes That his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right or the
35:03: Left so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel And we see later in the history of God's people how he uses this not only to ensure that that Kings have the right world view
35:15: As they govern but also to use them to preserve right worship right story of Josiah and second
35:21: Kings 22 and 23 Especially exemplifies this role that That God would have for the magistrate as Josiah at the hearing of the book of the law.
35:30: He leads a national repentance From the sins of their forefathers who had not listened to the words of this book and had a gender had engendered the wrath of the
35:39: Lord on them says in second Kings 22 and he leads Josiah leads this repentance not merely by Pietistically emphasizing his spiritual disciplines.
35:47: He doesn't just change the way that he acts and encourage us to do the same hopefully But he commands as this as the king commands the tearing down of idols the burning of vessels that were made for false gods and placed in the temple doing away with the idolatrous priests and What I mean by that is he put them to death
36:05: He defiled the altars of the false god Molech So that the people couldn't make their children pass through the fire anymore for that demon
36:13: And that doesn't I don't mean just pass through the fire and come out the other side pastor If I put them to death as sacrifices that that's your your abortion in that time
36:23: Right, and he even commanded the people to once again observe and celebrate the Passover which they had not done for generations
36:29: So Josiah's Reformation is a glorious example to us of the value of a good king in God's economy and how he should be a help to God's people in their worship
36:41: He does not assume the role of priest like Josiah tried to do but rather he embraces the fact That the king's role was not merely to promote civil peace
36:49: But to safeguard the worship of God according to his revealed will That's really important and it's really
36:57: I think fundamentally different than how we're used to thinking about government But again, I think this is the biblical pattern
37:03: Right in addition to protecting the true religion from the false that would seek to corrupt magistrate has responsibility
37:09: To add to add even give the church the freedom to do its work without government
37:15: Interference first Timothy to Paul teaches that supplications prayers and intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people
37:21: For kings and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life godly and dignified in every way
37:28: Paul's here connecting the role of the map the civil authorities to the ability of Christians to worship freely and without interference
37:35: God Paul is saying to us that if if the man the magistrate is doing its job Well, and according to God's design when we can live peaceful quiet lives
37:43: Godly lives that we can worship God freely and so in not and not to be destabilized by And undignified even by false religion
37:54: And so to be clear while the church is responsible Regarding her doctrine the magistrates duty is to protect the church from the external forces that promote
38:04: Heresy and false worship which can destabilize societies and lead people away from God We don't have to look far to see examples of this
38:11: We know that this is this is a reality And now we need what we need to understand why we're considering this is how are we to respond as Christians to it?
38:20: What should we be believing about it? So there is this cooperation between church and state that promotes
38:27: I think the preservation and expansion of this church the spread of his glory over the earth Creates a fertile ground for word and sacraments
38:35: This is not about coercing faith forcing people to believe but it's about creating an environment where the true gospel could flourish right where we have law law and order that is
38:46: Righteous that is that is meant to point people and incentivize people even towards godliness and away from evil
38:52: Suppressing suppressing those evils and even putting putting away those false forms of worship that exists in false religions
39:00: There's a role for the for the magistrate to play in creating this fostering this environment
39:05: Where the gospel can flourish and there's a role for the church to play When it comes to helping those laws to come in to be
39:11: Where the church must be must have its voice and must use its voice to encourage the society in the proper directions
39:20: And so as we prepare to close this morning, I think it's important to state the following And I'm not up here giving you my political philosophy because I'm looking for support in an upcoming election
39:30: What I'm trying to do some people would tell me I can never get elected But I'd say we'll see well
39:36: What I'm trying to do Is to empower us again as Christians to be willing to think about our politics biblically
39:45: Right to not be conformed to this world But be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we may prove what the will of God is
39:52: That which is good and acceptable perfect If I can put it in a slogan, I might say something like make politics
39:59: Christian again, right? I think we need to be willing to do that first We might be too prone to accept that Christless conservatism of our time
40:09: And I want to challenge us to not be willing to do that I want to challenge us to push deeper into what the scriptures teach about how we should think about government
40:18: Because if we don't align perfectly with either party on how we should be thinking about government from a biblical perspective
40:25: And I think that this is important because our culture has convinced us to Neuter ourselves from the power of God and his authority over all of life
40:34: We let them convince us that we we get to have as much Jesus as we want so long as we keep them in these certain Areas right not looking not look to bring him into others, but we can't continue on that trajectory
40:45: It won't be good enough for us won't be good enough for our children for our children's children They won't be good enough for our nation and it won't be good enough for our neighbor
40:53: So we need to be willing to take these areas back we need to be willing to deal with the scorn of scoffers who hate
41:01: God hate his ordinances and Respond like in Psalm 119 verse 23, even though princes sit and talk against me your servant meditates on your statutes
41:10: We'd be willing to meditate on the statutes of God trust in him Not what people in our world today would say about our views
41:18: People will think that we're crazy for holding what the Bible teaches on many things They already do right they'll think that we're crazy for believing that we shouldn't have a total separation of church and state
41:27: Even some Christians will think that that we we need to have some sort of separation. I'd say we need to think about Biblically Right, let alone for believing that the church should play a proactive and advisory role to the state
41:39: Right. The church should have a voice toward to the state on what is good. What is right? Or that we think that state should be
41:47: Safeguarding society from false religions that we think the state should be should be doing away with this with all these false
41:53: Religions that are out there We think the state should be making sure that the that the environment the culture that there's that they're shaping the society that they're helping to form
42:02: Is an environment that's that is ready for effective gospel ministry an environment that is that is prepared to receive
42:09: The gospel as it's proclaimed fertile ground for the gospel. The state has a role there
42:14: We I think we should believe that the scriptures teach that to us. I Think we have to hold to these views and even if people would call us crazy even people who might tend to agree with us
42:24: And other things who call us crazy Maybe we have to hold them hold to them because I believe God has spoken on these areas and we can't be ashamed of them either
42:33: We can't be ashamed of them. You know why? Because Jesus Christ was crucified for the nations
42:39: Jesus Christ died that the world would be reconciled to God through him He rose from the dead that he would lead us into that Reconciliation into that new life and the father having installed
42:51: Christ as King upon Zion his holy mountain has promised According to Psalm 2 way that he will give the nations to his
42:59: Christ as his inheritance in the very ends of the earth This is possession And in his wisdom and kindness to us
43:06: King Jesus has given his spirit in the Commission to go under his authority To bring this gospel this good news to all the nations to bring them under the rule and care of Christ Who is the good
43:19: King? All right, if we believe that Christ's rule is good, then we the nothing should stop us
43:25: All right. He is not a king who is a miserly King who people will be Tortured under he's a king who will set people free who loves his people who cares for the poor
43:35: Who vindicates the afflicted he crushes the oppressor He frees them from bondage to their sin and has already bore the wrath of God for his people
43:47: Subjects like this like God and government they matter, you know, it seems like you know, why are we talking about this on Sunday morning?
43:52: Maybe this is something we should talk about another time These matter because these are among the ways that God intends to bring people to himself
44:00: These are the ways in which God cares for his people So we need to know what those ways are so that we can work for them so that we can strive for them
44:08: We can labor in our lives and encourage our children our children children to continue laboring in this direction
44:13: Aligning our lives in such a way that will look to promote these things for future generations and promote the glory of God in all spheres of life
44:22: Christ died that we may have life in his name that our lives would be about bringing his name into all of life by his
44:29: Grace may our Society do that more and more as the church Matures in its understanding of these things and God brings
44:36: Kings to bow to him. Let us pray Father we do. Thank you this morning for your word or we thank you that You are a good
44:45: King that you have promised to care for and to protect and provide for your people we asked this morning that as we prepare to close here in these next few moments that we would
44:59: Be strengthened Lord and encouraged and the things that are from you or that you would help us to be to find rest and your word again and that you would
45:07: Through your spirit or really make these these things to be effective in us or that things that are from you again
45:14: They would they would germinate or they would bear much fruit not only today, but for generations to come
45:19: Where may the may you bless the magistrate in this country or the locally in the state level and national level
45:27: May you help our leaders God to rule righteously God may you bring them to repentance? That they would believe in you that they would rule in light of who you are and you're in your law what you have given to us
45:38: Or that they would reward good and punish evil Or to give give us as individuals as a church
45:46: The opportunity to live peaceful and quiet lives and godly and dignified ways
45:51: May you help us to be citizens who honor our magistrate who honor the leaders you place over us
45:57: Lord and submit to them as unto you God may you ultimately again all these things be glorified and may you help us to to rejoice in Your design and strive to see your design carried out.
46:10: We ask in Jesus name. Amen If you would stand we'll sing together psalm 72 We won't sing the the full psalm here.
46:44: We'll sing verses 1 through 8 and then verses 17 through 19 Excuse me
46:53: But it's been a little bit of time since we've sung this but it is a glorious glorious Psalm as we look at the dominion of our of our
47:00: Lord the of our Lord Jesus Christ Extending to all the earth in the the fruit of his of his kingship is a glory the poor are
47:11: Are vindicated that they are saved and the oppressors are broken in pieces by his mighty hand
47:16: And that ultimately the fame and the name of our of our Lord Jesus Christ will endure forever more and that in him
47:25: All men of the earth shall be blessed and the nations blessed by him. So let us sing together In response this morning celebration of our great king
47:39: Oh God give justice to thy king His royal son thy righteousness
47:51: With a righteous judgment shall he give
47:57: And to the poor with uprightness
48:04: The mountains and the lesser hills
48:10: Peace Shall peace unto thy people bring
48:18: Together with prosperity And peace bring forth by righteousness
48:31: The poor ones of the people's judge And save the children who have need
48:42: And their oppressors shall he break
48:49: In pieces by his mighty hand
48:55: They shall be fear while son endures
49:02: Peace As well the moon from age to age
49:10: As the rain on mown grass shall he fall And water earth as showers do
49:23: The righteous flourish in his day Here And prosper they in all his reign
49:37: And he long as the moon remains Shall peace bring forth and peace maintain
49:50: His great dominion shall extend From From sea to sea and even from The river to the ends of earth
50:09: The earth's remotest regions run His name forever shall endure
50:22: And last his fame long as the sun In him shall men of earth be blessed
50:35: And blessed by nations shall he be
50:42: Oh bless the lord of israel For he is the king of kings
50:50: He alone does wondrous things And bless his glorious name forever
51:02: His glory fills the ends of earth Amen.
51:10: Amen. So let it be Amen. Amen.
51:17: So let it be Amen. Amen.
51:23: So let it be Amen. Amen.
51:30: So let it be Amen Father again, we thank you
51:36: For your word we thank you for your promises to us and ask your help to believe these things
51:41: We built up in them as your people in the world and working for your glory striving For your glory and the expansion of your kingdom we ask in christ's name.