Today’s sermon deals with the Christian basis for resisting Statism – Statism is the idolatry that sets the ruler above God’s Holy Law (1st Commandment) and is, therefore, idolatrous. The call for Interposition of the lesser magistrate is a biblically based doctrine of temporal redemption. The responsible and godly call to PROPERLY OBEY the Lord who, as King, commands in His Word ALL magistrates obey him (cf. Psalm 2: 10-12)…
Key to understanding this, and all aspects of our faith, is what is revealed in Scripture. Such understanding does NOT begin with government. It begins with Christ and how He reveals His Will in His Word. Thus, the High Priest represented Christ. With the gems of his breastplate and the holy insignia of his garments naming all the tribes of Israel…in the person of the High Priest, all Israel entered into the Holy of Holies (representatively). So do we with Christ Jesus, who has entered into the Holy sanctuary for us. Christ represents us as our High Priest and rules the world as King of kings over all nations.
As such NO ONE person or world entity, has any right to forbid our worship of the Lord. Christ’s Body is His alone. No man, governor, President, Court, nor legislature may forbid the worship and obedience of the Lord. Such was the lesson taught to Pharaoh who would have forbidden the worship unto the Lord of the People of Israel. In his attempt to forbid the worship of the Lord, Pharaoh and all Egypt LOST THEIR WHOLE NATION in the righteous Judgment of God. NO ONE forbids the worship of the one True God.
God’s Word commands the obedience of the Civil magistrate who is COMMANDED to uphold the way of life so ordered by the Lord (cf. I Timothy 2: 1- 7). Furthermore, acting criminally draws the heat of God’s wrath (cf. Psalm 21: 8-9) for violating God’s Law (not given for salvation but for ordering society and individual ways of living (cf. Paul in Romans 7: 10, 12, note also vss. 22, 25). David in writing Psalm 21, was attempting to defend the righteousness and obedience to the Lord, as it was opposed even within Israel. So, Paul writes, “They are not all Israel which are of Israel.”
“Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?”
– Psalm 94: 20
The Hebrew of the word “mischief” of Psalm 94 (above) is much more serious than what the term means today. It is the word עָמָל ʻâmâl, aw-mawl’ – turmoil, vexatious regulations increasing labor (unto poverty), misery and perversity of law.
Finally, the terror of the civil magistrate who acts as a law unto himself, is a mirror reflection of some in society who care little for righteousness and who want government to allow them to take from others to benefit for themselves. The civil magistrate has derived authority and is commanded by God to defend a way of life that protects uprightness (cf. I Timothy 2: 1ff).
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