Category Archives: Government

Babylonia dreaming

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You remember the story. Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, a troubling dream, a dream that he couldn’t remember. God told the prophet Daniel not only the dream but its interpretation.
Here was the dream: “You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.” (Daniel 2:31-35)
Daniel then explained the dream, how the Babylonian empire was the head of gold, to be followed by three lesser kingdoms. Then would come a kingdom that wouldn’t just coexist with the other kingdoms, it would blow away every trace of them. This would be the eternal kingdom, as Daniel explained: “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.” (Daniel 2:44)
Then what? Did the rock join itself to a new statue? Did it become part of the Holy Roman empire or the Spanish empire? Did it join itself to Gran Colombia or to the United States? No, the rock stands alone. God’s kingdom crushes the kingdoms of the world and endures alone. Forever.
Why didn’t God reveal more? Why not show Nebuchadnezzar the fall of the Romans and ensuing history? Because for us, the story ends there. God’s kingdom is established. Everything else is nothing more than a footnote.

David Lipscomb on voting

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As election day nears, this might be a good time to hear a voice from the past. David Lipscomb was a well-known editor, educator and minister in the last 18th and early 19th century. Here are some of his thoughts on Christians and the electoral process:

To the claim that a Christian is bound to vote, when he has the privilege, for that which promotes morality, and to fail to vote for the restriction and suppression of evil is to vote for it, we have determined that, to vote or use the civil power is to use force and carnal weapons. Christians cannot use these. To do so is to do evil that good may come. This is specially forbidden to Christians. To do so is to fight God’s battles with the weapons of the evil one. To do so is to distrust God. The effective way for Christians to promote morality in a community, is, to stand aloof from the political strifes and conflicts, and maintain a pure and true faith in God, which is the only basis of true morality, and is as a leaven in society, to keep alive an active sense of right. To go into political strife is to admit the leaven of evil into the church. For the church to remain in the world and yet keep itself free from the spirit of the world, is to keep alive an active leaven of morality in the world. If that leaven loses its leaven, wherewith shall the world be leavened? or if the salt lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted or saved? God has told his children to use the spiritual weapons, has warned them against appealing to the sword or force to maintain his kingdom or to promote the honor of God and the good of man. When they do as he directs them, and use his appointments, he is with them to fight their battles for them and to give them the victory. When they turn from his appointments to the human kingdoms and their weapons, they turn from God, reject his help, drive him out of the conflict and fight the battles for man’s deliverance with their own strength and by their own wisdom. Human government is the sum of human wisdom and the aggregation of human strength. God’s kingdom is the consummation of Divine wisdom and in it dwells the power of God.” Quoted from: THE ORIGIN, MISSION, AND DESTINY OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT, AND THE CHRISTIAN’S RELATION TO IT by David Lipscomb

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Also consider these words from the preface:

“While I failed to see then as I now see, that religion embraced every duty and every relation of man and moulds every thought, purpose and action of his being, the feeling would creep into my mind that even in political affairs man should do only what God commanded him. Finally the years of sectional strife, war, bloodshed, destruction and desolation swept over our land, and the spectacle was presented, of disciples of the Prince of Peace, with murderous weapons seeking the lives of their fellowmen. Brethren for whom Christ died, children of him who came to heal the broken-hearted, to be a father to the fatherless and a husband to the widow, were found imbruing their hands in the blood of their own brethren in Christ, making their sisters widows and their sisters’ children orphans. It took but little thought to see that this course is abhorrent to the principles of the religion of the Savior, who died that even his enemies might live. He had plainly declared that his children could not fight with carnal weapons even for the establishment of his own Kingdom. Much less could they slay and destroy one another in the contentions and strivings of the kingdoms of this world. It took but little thought to see that Christians cannot fight, cannot slay one another or their fellowmen, at the behest of any earthly ruler, or to establish or maintain any human government. But if he cannot fight himself, can he vote to make another fight? What I lead or influence another to do, I do through that other. The man who votes to put another in a place or position, is in honor, bound to maintain him in that position, and is responsible for all the actions, courses or results that logically and necessarily flow from the occupancy and maintenance of that position. A man who votes to bring about a war, or that votes for that which logically and necessarily brings about war is responsible for that war and for all the necessary and usual attendants and results of that war.” Quoted from: THE ORIGIN, MISSION, AND DESTINY OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT, AND THE CHRISTIAN’S RELATION TO IT by David Lipscomb

The Powers That Be

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Is it too late to apologize to King George III? And, of course, return to British rule here in the States. No, wait… Texas should return to Mexico. No, wait… to Spain. No, wait… let’s take it all the way back. Let’s all be Romans!

There are a lot of people who want to read Romans 13 as a commandment for all times. While I think the teachings and principles contained in Romans 13 speak to us, I believe that Paul was speaking to a specific situation. I don’t believe in the “divine right of kings.” I don’t believe that it was God’s will that Hitler come to power, nor that we can hold Him directly responsible for every king that ever walked the face of the earth.

Paul writes to the Roman Christians that should submit “to the powers that exist.” I believe that they were not to rebel against the Roman empire, that they were to follow the laws of the empire. This would facilitate the preaching of the gospel and postpone the inevitable persecution. I believe that he was giving a teaching for that specific situation.

He goes on to say: “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”
(Romans 13:3-4) Are we willing to say that Paul, Peter and all of the Christian martyrs were wrongdoers? If they had done good, they would have received the approval of the emperor… if this passage was meant to apply to all situations at all times. We can’t apply this passage universally without being forced to make some ridiculous statements about who did good and who was a wrongdoer.

And that doesn’t include all the questions that arise during civil wars, revolutions, coup d’etats, etc. Even wars are problematic… If one authority orders us to attack one of the other “existing powers,” should we obey? Or are we going against God’s appointed?

Let’s read this passage in its context. The principles of respect continue. The principle of following laws that don’t go against God’s law continues. But let’s not get too carried away with applying this passage.