The King

Most of us are aware of the clash of the titans taking place in California these days over rights and safety – and safety does matter (MacArthur v. Newsome).  The governor of the state has declared that churches remain closed until the COVID crisis is either past or controlled – until he says so.  But some churches have risen up in revolt – most notably those pastored by John MacArthur and Jack Hibbs.

We are fully aware that we do not live in isolation as what happens in CA affects us both now and in the future.  Just remember the street corner of Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco (the birth place of the hippy movement) and its influence in the 60s and beyond or the CA emission rulings that greatly affect us – the smog plumbing brought about the collapse of the Road Runner and GTOs of the early 70s.  As goes CA and MacArthur, goes us.  We have a HUGE duty to be in prayer for those on the front lines for the soul and morals of our country.

Most of you know that Pastor MacArthur put out a letter on July 24th declaring that God’s will trumps the will of the state.  He wrote: “As His people, we are subject to His will and commands as revealed in Scripture.  Therefore we cannot and will not acquiesce to a government-imposed moratorium on our weekly congregational worship or other regular corporate gatherings.  Compliance would be disobedience to our Lord’s clear commands.”

He cited Romans 13 and I Peter 2 which speak of compliance to ruling authorities.  I give you a couple of verse from each here:

Romans 13:1-2, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

And I Peter 2:13-14, Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.

I fully concur with Pastor MacArthur about the headship and submission issues that we must obey and that authorities are not equals.  God rules over “kings” and those who think they are kings.

But, I have a little different slant on this issue:

Who is the king of our country?  Both Paul and Peter had the Caesar of Rome in mind when they wrote, for he was their king.  And our king?  The king of the United States?   President Trump?  Nancy Pelosi?  Chief Justice John Roberts?  No – No – No!  Our king is the Constitution!  We live under the rule of law.  We, the citizens of the United States, have bound ourselves together in subservience to the Law of the land – to the Constitution.

And the Constitution says:  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (Amendment #1)

Therefore, be it the President or a Governor, they are not the final authority in our country.  The “king” is our Constitution and it says that we are not to be prohibited from freely exercising the rights given us as citizens to practice religion, to speak out, or to assemble.

We, as followers of Jesus, are commanded to be subservient to our king as long as that king does not trample on the King of kings, for then we should defy.  Remember that King Darius told Daniel he couldn’t pray, while God had said to pray.  Daniel obeyed the KING and prayed and got pitched in with a pride of hungry lions.  Which king proved wrong?

So, we Americans have a king and the king says we can freely practice our religion, speak out, and assemble.  While I agree with Pastor MacArthur, I also believe that my king (the Constitution) has given me the right to meet with other believers to worship the greatest King (Daniel 4:34-35).