The Proper Role of Government part 1

Political Gnosticism

Government and salvation are mutually exclusive.

Gnosticism teaches that:

spirit and matter are separate

all matter is evil

the things of the spirit are good

anything in the body is meaningless because real life exists only in the spiritual realm

Some Christians say that government and politics do not matter. Only salvation matters. Certainly, matters relating to eternity are the more important concerns than that which is related to this world only, but what I hope to help us see today is that the government is part of the eternal issues with which the church should be concerned.

I’m sure many other nations struggle with this tension, but let’s consider the American Experiment

The Ideals of the American Experiment

Rights

Freedom

Equality

The problem with these ideals is the various ways various people think of and seek apply them to life:

The right to have an abortion

The freedom to determine one’s gender

Marriage equality

What makes these applications of these ideals good or bad?

Give Us Justice

Preserving right and wrong

Justice impacts freedom. There are times freedom is scaled back or even removed in the name of justice

Justice impacts equality. All people, including those who were once slaves, are created equal. The efforts to abolish slavery was an act of justice.

The mantra of justice could be right before rights

And I’m suggesting that the Bible makes clear that God established governments to preserve justice

The mantra of justice:

2 Samuel 8:15 ESV

So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people.

1 Kings 3:28 ESV

And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

1 Kings 10:9 ESV

Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.”

What is justice?

Righteous judgements. Righteousness is the standard by which justice is determined.

Preserve the Peace

Genesis 9:1–7 (ESV)

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

“Whoever sheds the blood of man,

by man shall his blood be shed,

for God made man in his own image.

And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”

Context:

God had punished the world through the flood and just brought Noah and his family off the ark (Gen. 6-8)

Verses 1 & 7 in chapter 9 repeat the charge given to Adam and Eve: be fruitful and multiply

Verses 5-6 of Gen. 9 show God giving authority to shed blood for blood which facilitates the larger charge to fill the earth and rule over it

What does the Noahic Covenant teach us about people and government?

All human life is valuable because all humans are made in the image of God.

God expects that the dignity and value of human life be recognized and honored by everyone.

God created governments to preserve and protect people because they bear the image of God.

God has granted government coercive authority in order to preserve and protect human dignity as defined by the Creator of humanity.

God created government to preserve peace and order.

A Platform for Redemption

1 Timothy 2:1–4 ESV

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Pray for our governing officials

We pray for our governing officials that they would act in such a way to preserve peace and order so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives.

quiet = tranquil - being untroubled and free from disturbances; especially free of noise and uproar.

We pray to this good end because we want the most conducive context to exist for people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

Acts 17:26–28 ESV

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

God made every person and nation to exist on earth for a specific period of time and in a particular place to seek after Him.

Purpose and Reality

We know that governments do not always demonstrate a commitment to God’s purposes, so why does it help to know His purposes for government if the government does not acknowledge God?

How does knowing God’s purposes help us with our reality?

Knowing God’s purposes for government should shape our expectations for our government.

Knowing God’s purposes for government should inform our political convictions and priorities.

Knowing God’s purposes for government will help us to know for whom we should vote.

Knowing God’s purposes for government should keep the church’s mandate to make disciples in its proper and primary place among all our concerns and commitments.

Something we (Josh and I) want you to know is that we do not intend to handle this class as one that will address policy (education, gun control, immigration reform etc.). Of course, those issues are valid and important concerns for which Christians should give careful thought, but our aim is to provide us with a framework with which to think through these issues. This framework, of course, is based upon our best understanding of Scripture. So, we want to encourage us all to process “the issues” something like this:

try to development an argument to provide health care or not, increase restrictions on gun ownership or not, reform public education or not from Genesis 9 and some of the other texts we considered today that will reflect a concern for justice, peaceful and quiet lives and ultimately the most conducive context possible for the redemption of people to take place.

We should be driven by biblical principle and not ideology.