New's Analysis and Commentary   |  THE BIBLE SAYS CHRISTIANS ARE TO BE GOOD SLAVES

THE BIBLE SAYS CHRISTIANS ARE TO BE GOOD SLAVES

  1. The Christian as Slave

The responsibility of the Believer toward the civil government is a most misunderstood relationship. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul admonishes Christians who happen to be slaves to be the best slaves they can be. Jesus said that if a Roman soldier orders you, a civilian, to carry his pack a mile (that was his prerogative), you should carry it two. In the Old Testament there are many, many examples of Believers, Godly men and women, who were enslaved, some of them all their lives (Joseph and Daniel come to mind). These did such a good job for their owners that they were exalted to the number two position in the land.

What are we to make of all this? Well, the popular wisdom of many preachers
and churches is that we must not, under any circumstances, “oppose the government.” That Romans 13 (“Let every man be subject to the civil government…) means we are to submit and never challenge. I followed this doctrinal teaching for a decade, and I think I understand it. I followed it to its logical conclusion. Taking the position that our Kingdom is not of this world, that we are not really citizens of any earthly kingdom, I did what such a doctrinal position requires — I refused to vote, to serve on a jury, to participate in the political process in any way.

I was working as a missionary in The Philippines in 1989, pursuing “The Kingdom,” when I read some Proverbs just before retiring. They dealt with kings, magistrates, princes, rulers, etc. And they all said that those who rule must do so righteously, must protect the widow and the orphan, must rule wisely, must not favor the rich over the poor, must protect the working man from a greedy employer, must stand firm for what is clearly God’s Law. In the middle of the night, I sat up, and it was like a light had gone on in my head.

Just as there are really only two kinds of people, (those reconciled to God and those alienated from Him), there are only two kinds of government (those which recognize and call upon God, and those, which spurn Him). The form of government is not sacred. Constitutional Republics may spurn God, and dictatorships may well recognize him. We have it in our head that OUR government is the only form that can please Him, but that is ludicrous. What woke me up was the realization that when a man is given a responsibility to rule, regardless of where on the chart he is slotted, he is given certain authority to go with it, along with accountability and responsibility. Take, for example, the civil judge in Judea in the First Century. Suppose he was a Jew, but became a Christian (as some most certainly did).

What was he to do? Resign his position? Or begin to rule righteously? It might cost him his position, sooner or later, or it could even cost him his life. But his responsibility was to God first, then to the civil authorities. Look, for example, at Daniel. Ordered to pray to a false god, he refuse, upon the threat of death. Otherwise, he was an obedient slave.

I submit to you that, in the event we become slaves, we ought be the best slaves we can be. BUT…I also submit that under the present government, established by the US Constitution — on Biblical principles — the Citizen is the King! And that’s what woke me up. I am King! I am the ruler!

I have no option, I cannot abdicate my position, I have a duty to perform it, and to do it well. ALL Christians have an imperative to serve God, and to assume any authority given them by the State, and to do it well, in accordance to the Oath of Allegiance and to their underlying Faith in God. To do otherwise is to abdicate, to fail in the mission.

While we certainly live in a dying republic, and reversal of the process may not be possible (humanly speaking), there are some things we not only can do, but must do.

  • We must turn back to God, on an individual basis, and repent of our sins, and seek His face, and become the Light and the Salt that is required of us.
  • We must accept those roles given to us, including the Constitutional role of defending the Republic. If we perish, we are in God’s hands. If the Republic perishes, it will not have done so with our assistance. (The Bible is also full of examples of God’s people defending themselves, their families, and their property from thieves and invading armies.)
  • We must resist the tyranny of those who would steal the Freedom of our children and their children. We have the authority and we have the responsibility. God Himself (I believe) will hold us accountable if we do not act. The state motto of New Hampshire is, “Live free…or die.” It may not be an option for a slave, but Gentlemen, if I am a slave, it has not yet been made crystal clear to me. Therefore the Tyrant is going to have to wait awhile before finding me his compliant and obedient chattel property.

Frankly, I pray that I have the opportunity to die on my feet, rather than be enslaved. Surely the Children of Israel felt the same way. But when they finally were enslaved, they somehow found the grace to submit and obey their new masters. If we believe that God sets up governments, and knocks them down, then we must believe that we are witnessing the Divine Judgment upon the government of the USA. It is not for us to say that we will win because God is on our side. It is for us to do what is right on an individual basis, and as a group of citizens who are still the Rulers.

We may not, under any circumstances, stoop to the tactics of the Enemy, where a moral decision is required. We are not terrorists, as we saw in NYC last month. Nor may the U.S. government rightly employ torture in getting at least one of its 800 suspects to talk, as they are now discussing!

I recently read of an incident where General Robert E. Lee instructed his men to refrain from stealing when they occupied Union territory. One man dismantled a fence and burned it to keep warm. General Lee had the man executed, and stealing ceased. Harsh? Perhaps. Just? Definitely. Even in War, General Lee knew how to be merciful to innocent civilians, and to not compromise on his integrity or that of his men. I’m sure the decision grieved him. It did not keep him from his duty.

Until we are convinced that the political process is totally fraudulent, or that ALL civil government is set up against the people, we may, indeed, we must freely exercise the authority given us by our Creator and by our foundational documents: The Declaration, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights.

Once we are convinced that the war is over, that we are beaten, then we may begin the more difficult, and odius task of trying to be good slaves. I pray I will not live that long. But if I do, I shall do all that is in me to obey God and His commandments.

In the meantime, when you hear Christians say that we ought not get involved in politics, you might ask them if they vote, and if so, why? This is an all or nothing participatory process. If you care about the freedom of your posterity, then act accordingly. If you believe it a dirty business where Christians should not get involved, then quit being so inconsistent and hypocritical by voting. Freedom is not a spectator sport.

Americans today want the benefits of Freedom. But they do not want to pay the price. They seem to think it’s like a credit card. Buy now, pay the interest, and never pay the principle. Doesn’t work that way. Something about the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God… .

  1. The Christian as Revolutionary

When may a New Testament Believer be a revolutionary? I believe the answer is, “Never.”

That raises the immediate and obvious question of whether I am accusing all those who participated in the “Revolutionary War” of being disobedient to Biblical imperatives. I am not. The problem with this argument lies in the definition of what constitutes a “revolution.” This is not mere semantics, it is a vitally important distinction.

First, even though it may have been called a “revolution” by many, and in a sense of “reinventing government,” it was revolutionary in its approach, the American Colonies found themselves in a political vacuum, having been “outlawed” by their own King. He disenfranchised them, and illegally so. The King of England was bound by English Common Law, by British Statutory law and by the Magna Charta. The Declaration lists these illegal acts very clearly. Then the King sent red-coats to protect his own interests, not to protect his unruly citizens who were still entitled to the protection of the Crown.

Second, the legal documents declaring the independence were not the acts of a mob running rampant in the streets (as we see in France), but of duly and legally elected representatives of the people, acting in accordance with the charters and constitutions that governed them at the time, moving to fill a political void. It was done in a most legal manner. It was done by Lower Magistrates who had failed in their remonstrances with the highest Magistrate of the land, the King.

This brings us to the political doctrine of “Interposition of the Lower Magistrate.” When a Higher Magistrate breaks the Law, he becomes a criminal. As much as he wanted to, even King Nebuchadnezzer dared not break his own ruling to throw Daniel into the den of lions, because it was a Law of the Medes and the Persians.

Whenever any magistrate breaks the law, it is a “null and void” action, and any lower magistrate who is ordered to enforce it may lawfully refuse. He may, obviously, be arrested and charged, but the lawfulness of an order is a defense to prosecution. But WHO has the authority to challenge that? To defy that higher magistrate?

Any lower magistrate. And this is the key. The Citizen without portfolio is pretty limited, although the extreme example of this is the right of a citizen to conduct a “citizen’s arrest” even on a policeman, under the proper circumstances.

© Daniel D. New, Permission to copy, with credits, is hereby granted.-

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