There is no denial that we are seeing the acceleration of the assault by the Government and Courts against the Lord Jesus and the Christian church in America that had its beginnings in the early 1900s. This opposition has the support of the majority of the American citizens as witnessed by their votes and acceptance of decisions by the Supreme Court, laws passed by Congress and Executive Orders and rulings issued by the President. In addition there is wide spread support for the secular humanist agenda by the media, academia, unions, the entertainment industry and even some liberal mainline protestant churches.
While there are great differences between what the German Christian Churches faced in the 1930s under the Nazi leaders and by what we are experiencing now in America, there are similarities that beg us to recognize them and move to prevent them from occurring.
In Romans 13 God orders us to obey Government because He established it, He put it there for the preservation of order. He also tells us to obey those over us and give honor and respect to all to whom it is due. Government itself is subject to the Higher Power- God Himself. We are instructed also to pray for those in authority.
By the same token the State’s actions must lead to law and order. If the State moves to lawlessness and disorder then the Church/Christians have the obligation to confront the State. The Church/Christians can take the following actions:
- Question and confront the State regarding the legitimacy of their actions.
- Aid and protect the victims of the State’s wrong and evil actions.
- Do not vote for political leaders that support evil but get involved in the process of selecting Godly leaders by involvement in local party politics.
- Take action to stop the State from perpetrating the wrong and evil actions.
In addition the Church has a responsibility to resist the State when it threatens the existence of the Church and its God-given mission. Taking away the tax deduction for gifts to the Church and taxing Churches for services like fire/police protection are NOT threats to the Church. In fact the Church would be stronger if it did not have those so called advantages.
Threats to the Church and Christians are when the State decrees that the Church cannot preach the Gospel, cannot pray in Jesus name, and cannot declare that fornication, adultery and homosexuality are wrong and sinful.
The Christian Church is the States strongest supporter. If the State deviates from God’s law and order, the Church should be its greatest enemy.
The MANHATTAN DECLARATION (www.manhattandeclaration.org) takes a stand on three vital issues: SANCTITY OF LIFE, DIGNITY OF MARRIAGE and FREEDOM OF RELIGION. The signers declare:
‘We pledge to each other and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence. It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season. May God help us not to fail in that duty’
It further states that civil disobedience is required when we are ordered to disobey God’s laws.
Greene Hollowell
