The Christian And Governmental Law...

"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof" (cf. Lev. 25:10, KJV).
"When Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law" (Rom 2:14, ESV). 
"As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice ["taken away my right" per ESV]..." (Job 27:2, NIV).    "[T]o deny people their rights..." (Lam. 3:35, NIV).   ALL ITALICS MINE.   Pertaining to governance issues.  

Nowhere in the New Testament is the Christian told to obey the Law of Moses directly! We do not become somewhat Jewish to be good Christians!  The law is for the lawbreaker!  The Law was meant to show that we cannot keep it, not as a way of salvation ("For by the law is the knowledge of sin").  This doesn't mean that we are lawless or that the Law doesn't apply at all, though.  There is the timeless moral law of Moses or the permanent code of conduct, which is, not the ceremonial nor the governmental, judicial code or law.  What was moral then is still valid today and this is universal, absolute truth that doesn't ever change!  We all know "natural law" (cf. Rom. 2:15).

We can be assured that the Bible does stand for law and order and the rule of law (cf. Habs. 1:4).  Only God is a law unto Himself and can take the law into His own hands!   God condemns the perversion and mockery of justice and especially when the poor aren't given their rights in court.  In fact, the very concept of human rights is God-given and are conferred from God, not the government, which only secures them.  The only reason we have rights and animals don't is that we are in the image of God and have dignity!  We are no "animals in heat, seeking pleasure and avoiding pain"; God has a higher purpose for us!  Animals should be treated humanely and are stewardship, but have no, zilch legal status, standing, or rights in court.   Facetiously, we might say, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" (from Animal Farm by George Orwell).

Jesus can relate to us when our rights are denied because He was given a pathetic mockery of Hebrew justice by the Sanhedrin and of Roman justice under Pilate and tried under kangaroo courts.  But Jesus didn't insist on His rights nor even defend Himself, but left His destiny to the Father's will, purpose, and design.  We must recognize that only God is truly a law unto Himself and is autonomous!

We are all subject to a Higher Power and the powers that be, ordained of God.  But that doesn't mean the law is always fair or right, in fact, sometimes it's civil disobedience is the duty because we must obey God rather than man!  The apostles rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer for the sake of the Name.  NB:  Augustine who said that an unjust law is no law at all and Isaiah pronounced woes on those who decree unjust laws.

The Bible is our standard, not our traditions or customs.  The Constitution can be wrong, though it's the highest law in the land, God's laws supersede it.  That's why the Bible is considered part of Common Law in England according to the jurist, judge, and member of Parliament Sir William Blackstone.  The Bible doesn't endorse any system of government (i.e., monarchy, democracy, republic, etc.), but it does insist on the rule of law--no one is above or exempt from the law!  There have been tyrants in history who had delusions that they could lead in their own right and not "under God."  Even King John was forced to sign the Magna Charta in 1215 at Runnymede.  Pastor Samuel Rutherford wrote Lex Rex in 1644 to make them realize that even the king had to obey the law! NB:  The chief purposes of government are to keep evil at bay, maintain law and order, and rendering justice.

This is an important concept because Lord Acton's adage that "power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely" is always a temptation.  The danger in freedom has always been authoritarianism and William Penn foresaw this as he said that "if we are not governed by God we will be ruled by tyrants."  Two specific examples are obvious:  King Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, who said "I am the state," and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, who said, "Me and God." What they were implying was that what was good for them was good for the state!  Plutarch mused "Who shall govern the governor?"  We must always have a check and balance system to keep authoritarianism, despotism, and a subsequent loss of our civil rights from taking place.  Totalitarian regimes have no such system.

We break God's laws and the Bible commands us to obey the government (cf. Matt. 22:21; Rom. 13:1) or we live at our peril: but they actually break us; we are really breaking God's heart, not His laws!   A good Christian obeys the law of the land, even when in authority, but if the Bible is in conflict, he must resist.  We are not here to sanitize the society but to preserve and add flavor to it!

That means we cannot outlaw every sin and must realize that something can be legal and sin or the other way around, it can be illegal and not a sin.  We must get over the notion that when the government legalizes something that we shall suffer for their sin, for the Bible makes it clear that the soul that sins is the soul that shall die--even the children do not suffer for the sins of their parents.     Soli Deo Gloria! 

Agreeing To Disagree

This is almost a cliché now but it cannot be stressed enough in the body of Christ:  "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace"  (Eph. 4:3). We don't want to be contentious, disagreeable, nor divisive, that is to say.   It has been well said by Chuck Swindoll that if you drink of only one fountain, you will lose your discernment.  What that means is to keep an open mind and don't think you or your group have monopolized the truth and get a Bible-club mentality.  We all need each other and are all part of the story, as it were--the Spirit of truth will lead us into all truth.  The church is to be semper reformanda, which means "always reforming" and we never will complete arriving at truth until Christ perfects His Bride.

 In a marriage, it is good to have an agreement, but disagreement can serve a purpose also:  It challenges our wits and brings to light issues that would otherwise go unnoticed.  If they agree all the time, one of them is unnecessary!  In a church body we want to strive for unity in the Spirit, of course, but leave room for disagreement or dissension in the body.  Aurelius Augustine of Hippo said, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."  There are certain doctrines that we cannot compromise on like the Trinity and salvation by faith alone, by grace alone, in Christ alone.   We have to agree to disagree even in the body and not "muzzle the ox that treads out the grain," [hinder or restrain someone from proclaiming the truth] so to speak.  We need healthy dialog and debate in the body to grow in the faith--that's why Jude says to "contend for the faith."

The whole idea behind the Protestant Reformation was what Martin Luther proclaimed:  "I dissent, I disagree, I protest!"  We are not at the mercy of church dogma any longer and realize our God-given right to interpret Scripture on our own and form our own beliefs and convictions; however, we are not free to fabricate our own truths and are responsible for our doctrines.  Roman Catholic churches do not allow this liberty and laypeople are at the mercy of the clergy and the Pope to interpret for them.

We need more healthy dialog in our churches and believers who aren't too timid or intimidated to speak up for the truth as they see it.  Most churches today have come full circle:  "What do you believe, Sir?"  "I believe what my church believes."  "What does your church believe?" "What I believe!" "What do you both believe?"  "We believe the same thing!"  We might as well be Catholics as blindly follow a teacher without question, no matter how good he is.  No one is apostolic today, despite the Pope claiming apostolic succession, and is inerrant or infallible.  To err is human!  Augustine said, that he had learned to hold only the Scriptures as inerrant and infallible.

The condition for arriving at the truth is to realize that you don't know all of it yet and have an open mind, that is willing to admit it could be wrong.  The truth is not arrived at by vote or majority rule, but by the conviction of the Holy Spirit that is called the illuminating ministry and God can convict us of the truth--"If any man will to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine..." (John 7:17).  Soli Deo Gloria!