The Proper Role of Government part 2
The Church & Politics • Sermon • Submitted
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1. God created government to execute justice, and justice is determined by measuring it against righteousness. This idea is grounded in the Noahic Covenant:
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.
2. We are to pray for people who occupy authoritative offices to lead and govern in such a way that allows for us to lead peaceful and quiet lives, so that we can pursue our God-given mandate to make disciples.
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.
The Imago Dei & Justice
The Imago Dei & Justice
Here Comes Santa Claus
Santa Claus knows we're all God's children
That makes everything right
So fill your hearts with Christmas cheer
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight
Are we all God’s children?
So all people are made in the image of God, including those who reject their Creator. And because all people bear God’s image, we are to understand all people as equally valuable. So, on this basis everyone should be treated with respect and dignity.
The problem is, the fact that all people are created in the image of God is often not the basis upon which people suggest that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect.
I know we may have lots of thoughts about this dynamic, but here’s how the conversation often goes:
“One man spends a life making foolish decisions, while another spends his life making wise decisions. The first goes to the poor house, as do his children. The second raises his children in a 4000-square foot McMansion. The children of the first, through no fault of their own, have none of the advantages offered to the children of the rich man—neither health care, nor education, nor daddy’s alum status at the Ivy League university, nor his network of friends with plush job offers. Indeed, they are marginally more likely to end up in prison or on drugs. Still, we want to say that all these children are equal in dignity and worth. What, then, does justice require? Plus, let’s be honest: the rich man is hardly sinless. He knows how to make the system tilt in his favor, and ensure that he and his children maintain their status and comfort. He can afford better lawyers than yours, and they know how to work the system.”
So here are some of the questions that the culture poses in response to this scenario:
Does justice demand an equality of fair process? Is it enough to just make sure the rules are fair?
Or, does justice require an equality of outcome? - Or at least equal starting points?
This is where the divide between the right and the left is found. But what I want us to see today is that the issue of justice is not fundamentally a political question; it is a theological one. And the scenario that we considered is one that’s relevant, and we should be concerned that our answers to the challenges contained in it are God-honoring, just answers.
The church, that is to say, Christians should not land on one side of this issue or the other… or any other side because of ideology. It must be theology.
Equality of Process or Outcome?
Does biblical justice require an equality of fair process or does the bible require an equality of outcome or at least opportunity.
Now, the partisan positions are clear, but let’s pretend it’s possible for our minds to be blank slates for a moment, and seek to answer these questions based on what we understand the word of God to teach.
Biblical justice demands a fair process (the rules should apply equally to everyone)
You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice,
“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit.
The law should be applied equally to everyone
Everyone should be treated fairly
Biblical justice is concerned for the needs of the disadvantaged
I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and will execute justice for the needy.
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
Psalm 72:4 (ESV)
May he [the king] defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
A couple of considerations here:
What Psalm 140 and Isa. 1 say about the needs of the disadvantaged may be implicitly stated in what we saw in Ex 23 and Deut 16, and therefore affirming that biblical justice demands a fair process for everyone is enough. Maybe a fair process for everyone includes a concern for the disadvantaged.
To what extent, if any, should we expect the government to address the needs of the disadvantaged? It appears that there is some expectation that governing authorities would seek to address the needs of the disadvantaged based on the expectations of the king expressed in Psalm 72.
We cannot loose sight of the church’s role in care for the needy. Acts 2:45
And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
So how to translate this into policy for section 8 housing, government assistance like food stamps, our treatment of illegal/undocumented immigrants is not simple, but whatever conclusions we form, let’s be sure they are grounded in the word of God.
Remember, the issues are not ideological, they are theological.
Biblical justice demands that God’s people be concerned for and work for just laws and processes - a just system
Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who keep writing oppression,
to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
according to your calling and stewardships, whatever they are, work for just systems, laws, and processes.
Use wisdom in doing so. The law of unintended consequences often means things that appear fair at first turn out to work for harm in the long run. Respect for marriage act
Biblical justice is a starting point, but the church goes further
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
yes, we are equal because we bear the image of God. But the church is concerned not just about equality but complementary unity. We are different, and these differences are valuable.
Complimentary Unity
we give honor to the parts of the body which may appear insignificant (no part of the body is insignificant)
all the parts of the body are dependent on the other parts of the body
complimentary unity is distinguished from equality in that it recognizes that though we are equally valuable, we are not all the same but we are dependent on one another.
God established government to preserve justice and the church as His community to effect true transformation
take Acts 2:45 again. Not only do we see in the gospel that we are equal as God’s image bearers, but as people embrace it by faith, not only are they transformed, but communities are transformed. In Acts, people were converted and as a result their community was transformed. The church is the instrument God uses to bring about the transformation of people and communities. He created government to preserve a platform for the church to engage in this work.