The Antiestablishment Christ

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities [powers that be in KJV], for there is no authority except that which God has established" (Rom. 13:1, NIV).
"What can the righteous do, when the foundations are destroyed?" (cf. Psalm 11:3).
"All that is necessary fo revil to triumph is for good men to do nothing ." Edmund Burke

People are against the establishment and even resent authority and authority figures for that matter, especially the government, but note that all authority is ordained by God and we ought to obey except when in conflict with Scripture. Government is not a necessary evil, according to Augustine, but necessary because of evil. There are even people who are against the church as part of the establishment but for Jesus and don't see any contradiction. Jesus, according to Humanist historian Will Durant, was the greatest revolutionist in history. Jesus was antiestablishment par excellence!

The church is not an institution or an organization, but an organism--a living relationship and fellowship of believers on a mission. There is a difference between establishment and institution that we should beware of. You don't have to be for the establishment, or the system, to be in favor of the institution of government per se, or its branches.

The establishment may include a police force that profiles illegally, for instance, and you are against it. This is why we protest to show our disdain for the status quo and don't have to accept injustice and inequity. Jesus did a lot to overthrow the establishment of the Pharisees and Sadducees but posed no viable, practical threat to Caesar. He was a threat to the Pharisees' turf and influence. You could say He upset the religious apple cart! Jesus was a controversialist and wasn't afraid to take a stand for what was right and to condemn the hypocrisy of the religious leaders.

It is not good to be a troublemaker; Paul had this reputation as "ringleader" of the Way, and also Elijah, who was "the one who troubled Israel". But heresies must come to show who is approved and this does not give us free rein to be divisive, contentious, argumentative, nor judgmental--instead, we are to be peacemakers, sometimes standing in the gap and reconciling opponents.

Note that God has ordained and established the institutions of family, church, and government and we ought to be in submission to them as appropriate (cf. Rom. 13:1). We can be against a certain leader and still be for the institution for which he stands, i.e,. respect for the office, not the officeholder. We are not to ever become revolutionaries to overthrow the government for Christ, so as to usher in the kingdom, but that doesn't mean we cannot be reformers and heroes of our cause. We have no social commission as a church to "reclaim America for Christ." We must stand up for our faith and not only declare our Christian colors but fly them proudly and individually be social activists of our faith. We must not lose by default! And we must maintain law and order in society and faith in the institutions or the powers that be, for if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? (cf. Psalm 11:3).

The rule of law was first expounded by Rev. Samuel Rutherford in his book, Lex Rex, or "the law is king." We believe in the rule of law, not men! It upset the whole royal landscape. We are not to be a nation of men ruling but laws ruling. No one being above the law and equally subject to it ("equal justice under the law"). Any form of the perversion or miscarriage of justice or its corruption is forbidden by God. It seems sometimes like what James Russell Lowell said, "Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne."

Christians have no right to wreak havoc on the social order or to support an uprising or revolution, even if they disagree with the "system." We must limit the powers of government leaders as Lord Acton warned: "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely." If we disagree, we not only have the right to protest in civil disobedience but the mandate as long as it is concordant with God's will and Word.

This is supposedly a constitutional republic and that means it abides by the rule of law and no one is above it. It's been the tradition that the law is king, not the king and even the king must obey and submit to it. We are a nation of laws, not of men, which would give us a highly whimsical and capricious government.

You don't have to agree with the system to be for the preservation of our institutions. Christians have no right to wreak havoc on the social order and to create or fuel chaos or anarchy, on the other hand, we are salt and light and to be of positive influence. Christians should care a lot more about preserving our institutions than getting their agenda accomplished, no matter how noble in intent (results and unwanted repercussions matter too). We must beware of authoritarianism from any party, which can devolve when the checks and balances of the branches of government are dysfunctional or special interests control.

Augustine said, "An unjust law is no law!"  It's our right to protest or to do civil disobedience when the government demands unjust or immoral laws be obeyed--we must obey God and not man in these cases. But we are to be model citizens otherwise and not a liability to our nation's success and prosperity. Soli Deo Gloria!