God and Government (Part 2)

The Church’s Mission and the Need for a Biblical View of Government

Thank you for subscribing to the Shepherds Church podcast. This is our Lord's Day Sermon. We pray that as we declare the Word of God that you would be encouraged Strengthened in your faith and that you would catch a greater vision of who Christ is.

May you be blessed in the hearing of God's Word and may the Lord be with you.

Well this morning We're gonna be picking up in a very short very brief 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.

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. 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.

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.

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 Lord. We want to be equipped to contend against those who would dismiss our Christianity in the political realm.

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. Based on their contention that we need to keep this area of our lives to ourselves.

We need to keep our faith to ourselves. 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.

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 Democrats on these things and we need to understand what the scriptures say.

More than what Donald Trump says or any other? 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. 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.

I'm 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. This was a few months ago this last message.

It was the week the Sunday before. The first debate when Donald Trump debated Joe Biden feels like that was like four years ago. I didn't even know that he was running for president. But anyways, it's not in my notes I gotta get back to this.

Alright, so the government as much as it might chafe us, right? 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.

The government is part of God's created order and he uses it For his purposes in the world. We should embrace that for what God has created the government for God has given the government or the state or the civil magistrate.

All interchangeable terms that I'll use throughout time this morning. He's given the government authority in the world and over its constituents. So we highlighted last time that the critical aspect of that authority is that the state is not its own ultimate authority.

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. 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.

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 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.

Right to honor them to submit to them in the Lord and to pray for them to be good citizens, right? 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.

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 We're going to focus on the nature of the relationship between the institutional church and the state.

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. Canvassing really all of the scripture to get a fuller view of this particular doctrine as well as consider 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.

The Old Testament Pattern of Distinct Institutions

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. We want it to be from the scripture and we'll notice today that much of the New Testament.

We see very little in regards to this topic, but I think that's for good reason Charles Hodge was theologian who wrote in the 19th century wrote an essay on the relationship of church and state. That the doctrine of the separation of church and state is of very recent origin.

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 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.

This is again the time when the 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 Old Testament. Here in our understanding of God's design for the church's relationship with a state.

We want to understand God's intention for us both as members in Christ Church and as citizens and our 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 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.

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 Chronicles 26. And all the people of Judah took Uzziah who was 16 years old and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah.

He built Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers. Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jechaliah of Jerusalem.

He did right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father 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 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 Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gerbeel and the Maonites.

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.

He built towers in the wilderness and hewed many cisterns for he had much livestock both in the lowland and in the plain. He also had plowmen and vine dressers in the hill country in the fertile fields for he loved the soil.

Moreover Uzziah had an army ready for battle which entered combat by divisions according to the number of their muster prepared by Jael the scribe and Maaseah the official under the direction of Hananiah one of the king's officers.

The total number of the heads of the households of valiant warriors was 2 ,600. Under their direction was an elite army of 307 ,500 who could wage war with great power to help the king against the enemy.

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 and great stones.

Hence his fame spread afar for he was marvelously helped until he was strong. But when he became strong his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly and he was unfaithful to the 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 Lord valiant men. They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him it is not for you Uzziah to burn incense to the Lord but for the priests the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense.

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 Lord beside the altar of incense.

Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him and behold he was leprous on his forehead and they hurried him out of there and he himself also hastened to get out because the 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 Lord and Jotham his son was over the king's house judging the people of the land.

Let's pray Father this morning we do ask your help God. We ask that you give wisdom and understanding Lord to us as we hear your word Lord that you would grant us this morning through your spirit again an understanding that not only receives your word but learns even how to apply it in our lives.

That we would be a people who love your scripture that we would be a people who love your wisdom not the wisdom of men. We ask your help in Jesus name amen. Now this passage in 2nd Chronicles 26 is I think perhaps the most glaring example we have in scripture on the importance of our understanding of the distinctiveness of the institutions that God has created in the world and for us to function under.

This is where we see our Kuyperianism. That's this sphere of sovereignty right these three spheres of family, church, and state. It really comes out right in our sphere of sovereignty right the church is not the state and the state is not the church.

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. What is it that he did that demonstrates his unfaithfulness to God. Well verse 16 says that he entered the temple of the 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 God. And surely God would want the king over his people to want to worship him though. Well of course right.

God of course wants the king to believe in him. He wants the king to worship him but God will not have the king nor anyone else worship him in a way that he has not prescribed. Right verse 18 the priests come in to oppose Uzziah from doing this and they say it's not for you Uzziah to burn incense to the 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 and will 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 Levites the sons of Aaron.

And the king though he was had no right before God to step in to lead 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 Lord Jesus has called elders and pastors to lead his church today but he's not called them those men to lead our governments. 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.

And so the principle really that's critically important for us to understand is a foundational thing here. That the relationship that we should look for between church and state biblically speaking does have and should have a separation.

Right that we should desire a separation of church and state in our time. We should not desire an ecclesiocracy right where the church is the head of the government that's Romish that's potpourri. And that's not like a nice smelling thing I'm talking about in time mode.

You know I didn't even know what potpourri was. I had to look it up. I was like I said the word potpourri and I was like that's something else too. I looked it up and I was like oh yeah that's the thing that smells really good usually.

But that's 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 that's not what 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 church of England where the king is the head of the church.

That's a Rastianism right. It's an arrangement that we don't see a warrant for biblically where the church reports up into as it were the state as an authority over it. Rather as Christians thinking biblically on these matters we should desire that separation of these institutions of church and state 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 not one reporting into as it were another. Now to be clear on terms here we're not talking about individual Christians this morning.

Individual Christians as we talked about last time they should pursue I believe political office and civil authority when appropriate. Right when they have the skills that would bless their neighbors it's a good thing even when we have strong and good Christian men leading our local state and national governments.

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 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 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.

So Christians more than anyone else should be working to apply their Christian morals in the ways that they govern. And the legislation that they work to pass if they're in those positions. King David actually says this really well in his last words his final song in 2 Samuel 23.

It 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. It says the light of the morning when the sun rises a morning without clouds when the tender grass springs out of the earth through sunshine after rain.

The Christian prince rules according to God's ordinances glorifying God blessing his neighbor. He rules in the fear of the Lord. But again that individual Christian participating in government is not what we have in view this morning.

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 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 of heaven.

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 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 how are these institutions the church institution the church structure meant to relate to one another. 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. We've established that as I get 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 how should they interact.

Those are questions that we need to be able to answer. We need to be able to explore from the biblical record to establish what our political philosophy would be. Now some 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 well so we might as well never try it. They can't have cooperation. They have to remain totally separate because any commingling right 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 type of dismissal of this conversation is exactly the wrong thing to do. It's exactly what the enemies of God's church would want us to do. They'd want us to not even consider these questions from a biblical perspective not even ask the scriptures ask God to reveal to us how he would have us organize us.

They want to convince us to avoid the conversation altogether and what's more they want to convince us that that's actually somehow for our good. They want us to think like you'll have nothing you'll be happy.

Right. 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 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 and the family. Right. The state's more than happy to overlap into our families and sometimes that's a good thing.

Right. When there's abuse happening in families it's good and right that the state would interject to take care of those matters. Right. 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 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. 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 can't 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 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 you know you're a fascist or things like that for even asking the questions for exploring the topic when it involves the church and the state.

So at the outset we'll reject that that retort from someone trying to stifle those conversations and say that doesn't doesn't make sense that it is something that's worthy to be explored that we need to explore again what is where if anywhere should there be a cooperation between these two institutions and if anywhere what does that mean.

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 that the Bible teaches a necessity teaches the necessity of a separation of church and state.

And while it does that it does not give us license to believe in a total and complete separation 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 God-given duties specifically in regards to the two main areas law and order and word and sacrament.

So again the Bible teaches us that we should believe in an overlap of church and state to an extent 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.

Not maybe not in our lifetime but in future generations of discipling and moving towards the into this direction of overlap between church and state. So first on law and order. 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 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 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. 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 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 in guiding the civil authorities to fulfill their God-given mandate.

So again the Bible teaches that all authority including civil authority comes from God. It's Romans 13. 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 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.

However for the magistrate to fulfill this role it must have a clear understanding of what is good and what is evil. 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.

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 Lord is perfect reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple.

So civil laws that align with this perfect law bring about justice and order while laws that contradict God's law lead to chaos and moral decline. And the church is uniquely positioned to guide civil authorities in understanding and applying God's moral law.

We shouldn't be leaving it to think tanks and other organizations to do this right. The church should be the voice in these matters to the magistrate helping them to understand. In 1 Timothy 3 .15 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.

The church is tasked with teaching biblical principles not only to individuals and families but to the broader society including its leaders. We obviously see in the great commission that Jesus commands his disciples to go into all the nations teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you.

This includes the teaching of biblical justice and righteousness to nations which encompasses their civil leaders. And furthermore the prophets in the 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 God's standards. We have obviously when Nathan confronts David over his sin with Bathsheba demonstrating again the role of God's messengers in holding civil authorities accountable.

Similarly 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 New Testament even we do have examples 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 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.

And so the Ten Commandments obviously they provide the clearest foundation for civil justice in the history of the world. And our justice system really is based upon the Ten Commandments and some of the outflow from it.

But Deuteronomy 4, 5 -8 highlights how God's laws were meant to set Israel apart as a wise and understanding nation serving as a model for justice. God says to keep them, let's talk 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 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 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 church that is like this but also a nation that is like this.

That is grounded upon his law that the nations would see obedient nations and say these are wise and understanding people. The magistrate's role is to be a servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

And so civil authorities are meant to enforce laws that reflect God's standard of justice. He is the standard when it comes to these laws of good and evil. He and his law are the standards for justice.

Punishing evil and promoting what is good and when society's laws are disconnected from biblical morality and justice inevitably will follow. Proverbs 14 .12 warns us that there is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death.

Societies that base their laws on human wisdom rather than divine revelation are only cultures of death by definition. When civil governments reject God's laws they are prone to enact unjust and oppressive laws that promote evil rather than suppress it.

In our time and 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. But in the areas where there is even some ambiguity where it seems like there are well-meaning people who want to do good for other people.

They also need biblical instruction. It's easy to rebuke abortion, it's easy to rebuke gay mirage. Those are easy to speak against. 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 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.

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 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 and order. Again the Bible shows that when rulers neglect God's law that chaos ensues. The book of Judges is a great example of this.

But especially 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. And when they do this you get moral corruption and societal breakdown.

But in contrast when rulers submit to God's law the nation prospers and justice prevails. Just like we see in 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 I don't think that the church should be making laws for society.

It is the state's responsibility to do this. 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 Christian church.

Ensuring that righteousness and justice are being carried out and that good is rewarded and evil is restrained. The church is a tool that the state should use really. So that they would govern better, the nation would prosper and that God would be glorified.

It would be for their good 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 to be informed on how to do it best. In addition to law and order, right now we also have word and sacrament.

Word and Sacrament, and the Magistrate’s Duty to Protect the True Religion

I think there's a place even for cooperation here. When it comes to the true religion and the carrying out of that true religion. Obviously again, just like law and order is the responsibility of the state.

Word and sacrament, these ministries belong to the church. These are the church's responsibility before God. To carry out, to preach the gospel, to administer the sacraments. To exercise church discipline for the building up of the body of Christ into the glory of God.

And yet, and I think this one might make us a little bit more uncomfortable than the first. There's also a place for the state. For society to function properly, I believe the scriptures would teach us that we should look to the civil magistrate.

To protect and defend the true religion, the Christian faith handed down to us by the apostles. While also suppressing all blasphemies and heresies. 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.

So again, for society to function properly. And in the ways that God has designed it to be. 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 and defending the true religion. So that there is an environment for that ministry of word and sacrament To be maximally successful. Obviously these things are a work of God, but I think that God uses these things to do it.

So, again, this view might be even more difficult to swallow for some of us than the first. We kind of like the idea of being able to tell the state. Here's the kind of laws you should have. That sounds great, that's exactly what we need.

So we might be a little bit more uncomfortable with this idea. That now the state is going to have some role in society to preserve the true religion. But, ironically enough, I actually think that this position The biblical case for this one is even stronger than the other, frankly.

The biblical case for the idea that the state has a responsibility to preserve the true religion To protect the true religion, I think is really, really strong. Again, the magistrate is God's servant for your good Who does not bear the sword in vain.

And while this is speaking here in Romans 13 of the general maintenance of justice As the magistrate's responsibility The promotion of the true religion, I think, is inherent in the role of the magistrate.

Because the highest good is the worship of the one true God. Furthermore, I think this is maybe the lynchpin verse too. Isaiah 49, verses 22 and 23 We read this, this is the Lord speaking. Thus says the Lord, and he's talking about the future.

When his servant would come 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 peoples.

This regards to Jesus being proclaimed to the nations. The gospel proclaimed to the nations. And they will bring your sons in their bosom And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. Meaning that many of these Gentiles will come to him through this proclamation of the gospel.

And then verse 23 is really critical here. Because God is telling us that he will use these nations and their governments To take care of his people 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. They will bow down to you With their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet.