The heart of the gospel message is that there is a heaven to come for those who believe in Jesus and trust him for salvation. The converse is: there is no heaven on earth because mankind is corrupt. But even in the midst of corruption, God is a God of order and he has established authorities in various realms.
The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. Rom. 13:2
This is a general truth for civil society, which may not include dictators and tyrants.
Christianity is both positive and realistic. It teaches us that there will never be a heaven on earth (often called utopia), because all have sinned. Christianity is realistic about sin and corruption. We inherited a corrupt nature from our very first parents, Adam and Eve. We are all subject to selfishness, tunnel vision, passions and foolishness. Therefore, anyone who says we don’t need laws and law enforcement is a fool; one who denies human nature. Just look at the so-called “peaceful protests” of the last year. Those who have denied the kingdom of God have put their trust in human systems and been sadly disappointed.
This is all part of a humbling that our very prosperous nation needs. But will we ever humble ourselves enough to avert God’s judgment?
Secondly, no form of government is perfect. There are evil capitalists as well as evil socialists. Anarchists are evil by definition because they deny all authority; both God’s laws and man’s. There are self-serving democracies as well as self-serving monarchies. But given man’s propensity to seek power and control, limited government is best. America experienced that for two hundred years. Checks and balances were purposely put into our Constitution. James Madison said, “If men were angels, government would not be necessary.”
But sad to say, our government is no longer limited. Checks and balances have broken down. Evil has corrupted our system. Raw power and tyranny are on display once again. Freedom is diminishing. The government stokes fear in order to gain more power over us. We are in the midst of a worldwide shaking. The kingdoms of this world will be shaken, but the unshakable kingdom will remain. “Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” Heb. 12:28, 29
Yet it is not too late to pray. Join us this Saturday for our monthly prayer gathering in the clubhouse at 9:30 A.M.
Lord, only your kingdom is perfect and unshakable. Let us be aware of your glory as things unfold around us. Many imperfect kingdoms will be shaken and brought down. But we put our trust in you, Lord. We worship you with reverence and awe. Though we don’t know your plans, we marvel at how you use every nation and every event for your purposes.
We pray for those in authority right now in our nation and community to have humility and wisdom. We pray for law enforcement to be upheld everywhere.
Help us to know when to submit to governing authority, and when to challenge it. Help us to walk in faith and not in fear. Help us to be aware of those who would take our liberties under the pretense of stopping a plague that only you can stop.
Lord, we pray for you to intervene in the Middle East to save the lives of innocent people.
But more than that, we pray that you would save the souls of people for eternity in these last days. Help us to be the conduit of your grace to many around us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.