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Dave Havir - A Beleivers Approach Toward Civil Government - Part 1 |
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Dave Havir, while asserting his love for America, reminds us that America is not the kingdom of God and gives some caveats about our understanding of Romans 13, a scripture which sometimes is grossly misunderstood. While often government works for our good, at other times it works for our harm. Sometimes civil authorities fight evil and other times they are the evil. When we study the kings of Israel in the Bible, they were universally evil, while Judah’s rulers fared a little better; still, over half were evil. The conciliatory tone Paul had in his commentary toward civil government could have been his caution that the Roman government could have scrutinizing his letters, prompting him to write in code. Paul carefully evaluated his audience, practicing pragmatic diplomacy. Under many circumstances it may be necessary to be cooperative, but there are occasions when to submit to civil authority might actually militate against God’s Law and morality. Scriptures are replete with examples of necessary civil disobedience, including the hiding of Moses, Rahab’s hiding of the spies, and Shadrach, Meschach, and Obednego’s defiance of Nebuchadnezzar. Christ defied the ‘civil authority’ of Satan, the god of this world. Peter decided to obey God when it conflicted with religious and civil authority. In the history recorded in the Bible, a great deal of evil is perpetrated by civil and religious authority. Jesus warned his disciples that the leaders of the Gentiles tend to act as autocrats and dictators, tending more toward evil than good, appealing to mob mentality. Both Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul suffered much abuse from both civil and religious government. Appealing to Caesar - Branson, Missouri - Church services in the home - Class system - False accusations - Festus - Fighting wild beasts at Ephesus - Hiding of Moses - “If the shoe fits, wear it” - King James and the monarchy - Mob mentality - Nebuchadnezzar - Ordained - People pleaser - Rahab - Religious authority - Romans 13:1-7 - Sugar coating - We ought to obey God rather than man |
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