“Let not a single action alienate a friend: bear in mind the general tenor of his conduct towards you. Be as ready to forgive as you desire to be forgiven. Remember there is still much in you which grates upon others. When wronged pray over it before you pass a verdict. Many a person has afterwards bitterly regretted a hasty decision. Take all the circumstances into account and “judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
“There is real need to labour this point, for not a few highly strung people and those with vivid imaginations have been deceived thereon, supposing that strange dreams, extraordinary visions, abnormal sights and sounds, are the means or manner in which the Holy Spirit is made manifest to the soul. Those who look for any such experience are far more liable to be deluded by Satan than enlightened by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit supplies no new and different revelation today from that which He has already made in the written Word.”
"“Welcome to our
peaceful protest.”
In the spring of 2020, government mandates forced churches
across North America to close their doors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As societal fear and unrest increased, Christians were forced to grapple with
how God wanted them to respond to these state-imposed restrictions. After all,
didn’t the closure of churches pose a serious threat in a time when people
needed spiritual direction more than ever?" - Amazon
blurb (preface)
The reality is that GCC shut down for 4 months in
obedience to the government. Now they're profiting off of their reversal as if
they were always courageous. Actually, it was biblical churches
that obeyed God rather than man and therefore never did shut down their
churches and didn't feel the need to thumb their noses at the government by making videos and announcing it. They quietly, like Daniel, continued on with how they'd been practicing sound doctrine. They treated and continue to treat Scripture and it's doctrine as it is: God's very word, knowable and essential, and not given to situational obedience. The government has zero jurisdiction over the local church. In any way. It neither defines it nor regulates it. That is solely the jurisdiction of Christ Jesus. Rather, James tells the elders to go to the
sick. Quarantines in the OT was for the lepers and all the
regulations of how, when, and for how long is given in detail in Leviticus to
the Jews for a specific reason, mainly to show the insidiousness of
sin and it's widespread growth in man. Never were the healthy quarantined
or isolated. Johnson neglected these important distinctions.
Phil Johnson in May 2020 posted:
I'm appalled at how many people who profess to believe
Scripture echo that sentiment. Nero was emperor when Paul wrote Romans 13:1-7: "Let
every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority
except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. . .
." First Peter 2:13 was
written to people suffering unjustly. ("Be subject for the Lord's sake to
every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to
governors as sent by him...")
Peter goes on to say: "Be subject . . .
also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one
endures sorrows while suffering unjustly" (vv. 18-19). Indeed, "to
this [unjust suffering] you have been called, because Christ also suffered for
you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps." (v.
21). When someone in authority over us treats us unjustly, the example we are
to follow was set for us by Christ, who simply "continued entrusting
himself to him who judges justly" (v. 23).
The only exception to this
principle is when the one in authority instructs us to sin. Then "we
must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
The answer to that question may vary according to where we live. Quarantining people in the midst of a pandemic is a legitimate prerogative of government. How long the quarantine should last and who should be exempted are questions that don't have clear, fixed answers. The severity and duration of the pandemic determines what's reasonable or not. We may or may not agree with how the quarantine is being implemented (I certainly do not), but we have a clear duty to submit unless we are being asked to sin.
How long until the government-ordered quarantine is
undeniably excessive, or we conclude that it's targeted persecution against our
worship and therefore an illegal attempt to make us disobey Hebrews 10:25? That time may
come, and when it does, we may have to implement the principle of Acts 5:29. The question
of whether we have already passed that point is another subjective
issue, but it's clear that among believers—in the church itself—there is not
yet consensus on whether the quarantine has gone too far.
Nevertheless, if you hang out on Twitter or Facebook, you may
have noticed that there are countless people in the evangelical community who
refuse to regard any of the above questions as matters of conscience. They
believe the answers are perfectly obvious. They are eager to tell you
what you and your church ought to be doing. They are locked
and loaded with vituperation for anyone who sees matters differently. Two camps
of them have squared off against each other—hordes of angry Karens at opposite
extremes, all of whom disagree with the position I've outlined above. Some of
them are scolding us for thinking Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 actually apply in
today's circumstances. The others are berating us for wanting to resume public
worship ASAP.
Sorry, but in the words of Martin Luther, here
I stand. I can do no other. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to
go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help us.
~Phil
Johnson May 25, 2020 [bold, original; underline, mine]
But a
little over two months later, he and his church became JUST AS DOGMATIC:
Churches
are shutting down. Large churches are shutting down until (they
say) January. I don't have any way to understand
that—other than they don't know what a church is and they don't shepherd
their people. But that's sad. And you have a lot of people in Christianity
who seem to be significant leaders who aren't giving any strength and
courage to the church. They're not standing up and rising up and calling on
Christians to be the church in the world.
—John
MacArthur (2 August 2020) (italics, mine)
GCC's stance changed 4 months later, going from "we need to submit to the government--Romans 13!!, to stating what biblical
churches and Christians had held to and practiced from the moment of the shut
down—that the government has no jurisdiction over the Lord's church ever---the very stand Johnson ridiculed as “angry Karens”.
Johnson
partially quoted Romans 13, but forgot to include the JURISDICTION of
the government God gave (aka, context). It was not over health, family,
marriage, working (work is mandated by God); who to isolate and not isolate for
health risks, how to run a church. Rather, the government’s jurisdiction given
by God is VERY NARROW:
Rom
13:3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil.
Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have
praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But
if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for
nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath
upon the one who practices evil.
1 Peter 2 explains
what the "good" and "evil" is--it's according to
Scripture, not Caesar. 1Pe 2:14 or to governors as sent by him
for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 1 Peter 3:14 says it's in regard to righteousness. So, tell a church how to function especially when it’s against Scripture IS sin. It’s source of authority is
satanic and therefore illegitimate. It goes back to the ancient Serpent in the Garden of
Eden, saying “Has God said?”. Yes,
He has said. He has spoken. Any view that is not a biblical view is sin. Doing
things from fear rather than faith, is sin (James 4). So, for Johnson to infer that disobedience to the government is allowed only if they command
you directly to sin (for example, only IF they say “you shall bow to an
idol” or “you shall take the mark
of the beast”, or "you must have an abortion"), is a very immature view of Scripture. It’s really a low
view of God, Scripture, and His church, His people. (I think a better example is Daniel,
who obeyed God in food, drink, and worship regardless of what the government
said, yet still showed honor to
the king. Note that he did nothing different when things got
bad—he continued on as he always had done—pray to Yahweh, obey Scripture, trust
in God. He continued to LIVE according to biblical doctrine. )
Months later he changed his tune. It was his experience with ongoing regulations, not a clear understanding of and trust in Scripture, is what changed his mind. He wasn't a little off and just needed "fine tuning". He did not start with the presupposition of God's Word trumping government mandates and fear. He didn't start with having a high view of the Lord's children. He mocked them. He got angry and impatient with them. Rather his post comes off as everyone has their own own interpretation of Scripture---the very thing he slammed the Emergent Church (Post-Modernists) for. He said,
But GCC ended up saying what we said all along: we won't submit to the government shut down of churches because it was wholly unbiblical. But for a quarter of an entire year they cowered before unholy men who dared to dictate to Christians and how they relate to God. And they didn't admit they were wrong, apologized to all those they rebuked for daring to be dogmatic on sound doctrine and practice. No, they rewrote the narrative, painting themselves as fierce, unmovable heroes of the faith when the fact was, they were cowards for months. That's dishonest and it's fleshly.
The problem is that GCC thinks time is what
justifies or does not justify disobedience to the Lord when it comes to closing
down a church, having no communion, no fellowship, no church discipline. Their
view was purely pragmatic, self-preserving, and out of fear of government and
illness. For four long months they kept their flock from
obeying the Lord as they continued to not obey the Lord as
"leaders". It was over-lording the people with their own fear and
rebellion. And now they wrote a book on how bold and courageous they were to
stand (even taunt, if you look at MacArthur's video statement), against the
shut down AS IF they had always stood open.
So
that’s the problem with the book. For four months, GCC was doing that very
thing they accused others of doing: redefining by action what a church is;
shepherds not shepherding their people and not giving strength and courage to
the church. I’d add they didn’t deal with sin within the church either.
Rather they were cowering and in fear of a less-than-lethal virus and the
government. They really want to be heroes and make some money and gain some recognition out of it. It's fleshly.
(Tangentially, it was MacArthur who refused to submit to the
human institution of WASC, the accreditation institute, when starting TMS. He
said he knew they weren’t supposed to start the seminary because WASC said no,
but went ahead, “hoping for forgiveness later” (TMS Chapel 8/21/18 Part 1 time
mark 4:25). So the hypocrisy goes back quite a ways with them- obey or
disobey at whim.) They are no Daniel. Not even close.
“O my reader, be not deceived on this vital matter: to mortify the lusts of the flesh, to be crucified unto the world, to overcome the Devil, to die daily unto sin, and live unto righteousness, to be meek and lowly in heart, trustful and obedient, pious and patient, faithful and uncompromising, loving and gentle; in a word, to be a Christian, to be Christlike, is a task far, far beyond the poor resources of fallen human nature.”
When churches try to usurp God's assigned authority to the civil government (Rom. 13 & 1Peter 2:13-14), always ends badly.
GCC: https://julieroys.com/macarthur-shamed-excommunicated-mother-take-back-child-abuser/?mc_cid=1eac21a092
Josh Root at Chandler's Village Church: https://theaquilareport.com/church-disciplines-wife-for-wanting-to-divorce-husband-who-admitted-paedophile-leanings/
SGM: https://www.bishop-accountability.org/2016/04/covenant-life-church-member-arrested-for-abuse/
"And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing" (1 Kings 18:43). Even Elijah was not always answered immediately, and who are we to demand a prompt answer to our first asking?....He was convinced that sooner or later God would grant his request, yet he was persuaded he should "give Him no rest" (Isa. 62:7). Six times the servant returned with his report that there was no portent of rain, yet the prophet relaxed not his supplication. And let us not be faint-hearted when no immediate success attends our praying, but be importunate, exercising faith and patience until the blessing comes..."Therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you" (Isa. 30:18). Why? To teach us that we are not heard for our fervour or urgency, or because of the justness of our cause: we can claim nothing from God—all is of grace, and we must wait His time. The Lord waits, not because He is tyrannical, but "that He may be gracious." It is for our good that He waits: that our graces may be developed, that submission to His holy will may be wrought in us; then He lovingly turns to us and says, "Great is thy faith, be it unto thee as thou wilt" (Matthew 15:28). "This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him" (John 5:14, 15). God cannot break His own Word, but we must abide His time and, refusing to be discouraged, continue supplicating Him until He appears on our behalf."
The things brought to us by our Sovereign God and Great Shepherd of our souls, not only work for our good, that is, our sanctification, but also we overwhelmingly conquer them because of and through Christ the Lord and His victorious work on the cross (Rom. 8:29-30) and resurrection and return as victorious King of kings:
Rom 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
2Co 4:8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
Php 2:12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
God loves us to the end of our salvation, our glorification that results in His praise (Eph. 2). This is why the true Christian is never hopeless but instead has living hope in the Living Lord Jesus Christ, who intercedes on our behalf all the time, especially when the Accuser of the Brethren (even through his children) seeks to accuse us. We are now IN Christ with whom the Father is well pleased, and by whom the Father's wrath is appeased.
We've all had to deal with a plethora of homeless people and for those of us in Democrat run states and near Democrat cities, even more so. It's often caused conflict in me because on the one hand, Scripture says we're to be generous with what the Lord gives, giving to the poor when He leads and not abusing them or devaluing them since He created the poor and rich alike. On the other hand, most of the homeless today is really just another community, constituency, industry, or whatever you want to call it, where the homeless are typically (not always, but typically) drug users, thieves, sexually immoral, and lazy. Some are demon possessed. They take from the hard working, law abiding citizens. They are typically rebellious people who refuse to live according to our laws and policies, desiring to live on their own by their "own" rules.
Now things are so bad that they dump their feces and needles on the sidewalks, take over multiple blocks (some up to miles) with their trash and tents. They are often aggressive to the poor soul who has to pass by them, and frequently they attack others, usually again, passers-by. Leftists and liberals have refused to deal with the homeless problem and instead see them as a way to pretend to care, using them as a way to get money, and basically has turned the homeless into a constituency, creating laws they think are compassionate, but aren't--not for the homeless and not for the victims of their crimes--the law abiding citizens. It's big money to say you fight for the homeless.
Where else but in say, CA, Los Angeles, to be exact, will you find tens of thousands of homeless people who get free housing, free houses, free medical care, free food, free lawyers and activists, and never have to go to prison or be fined for violating the law (even keeping prohibited items like illegal drugs and guns in lockers in said homeless villages) while the rest of us face pay them for that AND we are charged or ticked or jailed for violations of the law?
There's something wrong here. And as I study through Proverbs I finally understood what I was trying to deal with in my mind regarding the conflicting issues.
Scripture makes a difference between the poor and needy (truly poor and truly needy) versus the sluggard. Most of what we see today in these big swaths of homeless are sluggards, refusing to work for their food. There's a huge difference between the man who was laid off of his job of multiple years and wants to find another job, and those who refuse to work (you can even throw in the welfare generations with this).
This isn't meant to be a detailed treatment of the issue, but to list Scriptures that DO deal with this issue. While I have looked up many of these verses, I'm not including the context here, but leave it to you to do a study of it yourself. This is just meant to show that there IS a difference between a truly poor or needy person and the lazy sluggard who refuses to work in order to eat.
I do believe that making welfare limited to two years and have obligations that go with it (work to get the money) would cause many to stop being lazy and take responsibility for their own lives and livelihood. Sometimes it's the action of working to get room and board that brings back "pride" or ownership in working an honest day for an honest wage and restores the "hope" back to the one who was caught in giving up.
What Scripture says about the poor:
Pro_14:31 He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.
Pro 22:22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Or crush the afflicted at the gate;
Pro 22:23 For the LORD will plead their case And take the life of those who rob them.
Twelve times Proverbs talks about the sluggard.
Then there's the verses about the lazy:
Pro_10:26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy one to those who send him.
“Amid the strange vicissitudes of life how comforting it is for the saint to be assured that "the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord" (Ps. 37:23).
