The Christian

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The Christian Government

• Ten Biblical Priorities for the Believer

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1. Recognition of Gods Kingship

• God is the ultimate king.
• Governmental leaders, who are given authority
  over men should recognize, respect, and submit to
  their ultimate authority.
• For the LORD is our judge the LORD is our
  lawgiver the LORD is our king he will save us.
  (Isaiah 3321).
• Christ is the head over every power and
  authority (Colossians 210)

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2. Motivation of Glorifying God

• Colossians 116 says that Christ created all
  things for His glory, including thrones, powers,
  rulers, and authorities.
• They were created by Him and FOR Him.
• Unbelievers do not see their rule as coming from
  and being for Christ and do not give God glory.
• Let all the earth fear the LORD let all the
  people of the world revere him. (Psalm 338)

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3. Desire to Praise the Lord

• We are called as Christians to elect God-fearing
  leaders who are consumed with praise and
  adoration for the Lord.
• Kings of the earth and all peoples Princes and
  all judges of the earth Both young men and
  virgins Old men and children. Let them praise
  the name of the LORD, For His name alone is
  exalted His glory is above earth and heaven.
  (Psalm 14811-14)

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4. Righteousness

• Proverbs clearly indicates that Godly virtues
  should be reflected in governmental ordinances
  and laws.
• A divine decision is in the lips of the
  king...It is an abomination to kings to commit
  wickedness for the throne is established by
  righteousness. (Proverbs 1610, 12).
• How can the throne be established in
  righteousness when an ungodly man is sitting on
  it?
• Unregenerate men are ungodly (Romans 45), wicked
  (Jeremiah 179), unrighteous (Romans 310),
  objects of Gods wrath (Ephesians 23), and
  enemies of God (Colossians 121)?

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5. True, Biblical Wisdom

• The Bible says that the fear of God is the
  beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 910).
• We should never desire to be under the authority
  and leadership of someone who does not fear God
  and therefore does not possess true wisdom.
• On the contrary, the Bible says that unbelievers
  are under the power of Satan (2 Corinthians
  43-4), dwell in darkness (John 14-5), are blind
  and deaf (John 843-44, 47), cannot understand
  the truth (1 Corinthians 214), and cannot please
  God (Romans 87-8).

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6. Meet Biblical Qualifications

• Article IV of the Constitution was derived from
  the model given in Exodus 1821-22, where Moses
  placed over the people leaders of thousands, of
  hundreds, of fifties and of tens (federal,
  state, county, and local).
• Notice the qualifications given in v.21.
• These leaders are to be
• (1) able men
• (2) men who fear God
• (3) men of truth
• (4) men who hate covetousness.

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7. Properly Equipped to do the Job

• 1 Peter 214 says that governors, etc. are sent
  by God to punish evildoers and praise those who
  do well.
• An unbeliever cannot accurately discern such a
  thing when he himself is an enemy (evildoer) of
  God through wicked works (Colossians 121).

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8. Godly Ministry

• Romans 134 says that the governmental leader is
  a minister of God.
• Should we desire to appoint unbelievers to
  unknowingly and unwillingly be God's ministers?

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9. Lead the Country Toward Revival

• Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and
  Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have
  subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against
  their adversaries. (Psalm 8113-14).
• If we want to be protected as a country by the
  Lord God, we need to turn as a people to Him.
• The president should be at the forefront of this
  type of revival.
• Unbelievers in office only serve to stifle
  spiritual revival.

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10. Exercise the Right Authority

• When the righteous are in authority, the people
  rejoice But when a wicked man rules, the people
  groan. (Proverbs 292)
• For the government is God's servant to do you
  good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does
  not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's
  servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on
  the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to
  submit to the authoritiesThis is also why you
  pay taxes, for the authorities are God's
  servants, who give their full time to governing.
  (Romans 133-6)

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The Christian and Politics

• What does the Bible Say About the Issues

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What Does the Bible Say AboutAbortion?

• The first thing we must understand is the sixth
  commandment You shall not murder (Exodus
  2013)
• Murder is the shedding of innocent blood or the
  unlawful killing of another person
• Murder is considered evil (Matthew 1519)
• The 6th commandment forbids murder but not
  killing
• There are times when killing is permissible in
  the Bible (e.g. Psalm 10634) but never murder

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What Does the Bible Say AboutAbortion?

• Human life is valuable to God
• GE 127 So God created man in his own image, in
  the image of God he created him male and female
  he created them31 God saw all that he had made,
  and it was very good.

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What Does the Bible Say AboutAbortion?

• Life begins at conception
• PS 13913 For you created my inmost being you
  knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise
  you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made
  your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
  15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was
  made in the secret place. When I was woven
  together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes
  saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for
  me were written in your book before one of them
  came to be.

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What Does the Bible Say AboutAbortion?

• Life begins at conception
• JER 15 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew
  you, before you were born I set you apart
• ISA 491 Before I was born the LORD called me
• JOB 3115 Did not he who made me in the womb
  make them? Did not the same one form us both
  within our mothers?
• PS 2210 From birth I was cast upon you from my
  mother's womb you have been my God.

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What Does the Bible Say AboutAbortion?

• God punishes the murder of babies and children
• PS 10633 for they rebelled against the Spirit
  of God37 They sacrificed their sons and their
  daughters to demons. 38 They shed innocent blood,
  the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they
  sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land
  was desecrated by their blood. 39 They defiled
  themselves by what they did by their deeds they
  prostituted themselves. 40 Therefore the LORD was
  angry with his people and abhorred his
  inheritance. 41 He handed them over to the
  nations, and their foes ruled over them.

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What Does the Bible Say AboutAbortion?

• God punishes the murder of babies and children
• EX 2122 "If men who are fighting hit a pregnant
  woman and she gives birth prematurely but there
  is no serious injury, the offender must be fined
  whatever the woman's husband demands and the
  court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury,
  you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye,
  tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25
  burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

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What Does the Bible Say AboutAbortion?

• 18 days after conception heart begins to beat
• Six weeks brain waves can be measured
• Eight weeks vital organs functioning
  fingerprints formed
• Nine weeks unborn baby is able to feel pain
  (over 700,000 abortions/year are performed after
  this point in the pregnancy)
• Beginning of the second month unborn child
  begins to look distinctly human
• Eleven weeks baby breathes (fluid), swallows,
  digests, sleeps, dreams, wakes, tastes, and hears
• Babies born prematurely can survive outside the
  womb as young as 20-25 weeks old
• All that is necessary to make the baby a grown
  human being is already there from the moment of
  conception

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What Does the Bible Say AboutStem Cell Research?

• As previously established, the killing of
  innocent children is murder and is considered
  evil by God, even if it is done for the sake of
  science.
• As opposed to adult stem cell research, embryonic
  stem cell research requires scientists to create
  and destroy human life for research purposes
• RO 38 Why not say--as we are being slanderously
  reported as saying and as some claim that we
  say--"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their
  condemnation is deserved.

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What Does the Bible Say AboutWar?

• The first war in history was in heaven
• REV 127 And there was war in heaven. Michael and
  his angels fought against the dragon, and the
  dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was
  not strong enough, and they lost their place in
  heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down--that
  ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who
  leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to
  the earth, and his angels with him.

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What Does the Bible Say AboutWar?

• War will increase as the second coming of Jesus
  draws near
• MT 246 You will hear of wars and rumors of
  wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.
  Such things must happen, but the end is still to
  come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and
  kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines
  and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these
  are the beginning of birth pains.

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What Does the Bible Say AboutWar?

• The final war in history will be initiated by
  Jesus Christ Himself
• REV 1911 I saw heaven standing open and there
  before me was a white horse, whose rider is
  called Faithful and True. With justice he judges
  and makes war14 The armies of heaven were
  following him, riding on white horses and dressed
  in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Out of his
  mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike
  down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron
  scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of
  the wrath of God Almighty19 Then I saw the beast
  and the kings of the earth and their armies
  gathered together to make war against the rider
  on the horse and his army.

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What Does the Bible Say AboutWar?

• God ordains war
• ECC 31 There is a time for everything, and a
  season for every activity under heaven8 a time
  for war and a time for peace.
• JN 1911 Jesus answered, "You would have no
  power over me if it were not given to you from
  above.
• REV 137 The beast was given power to make war
  against the saints and to conquer them. And he
  was given authority over every tribe, people,
  language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the
  earth will worship the beast--all whose names
  have not been written in the book of life
  belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the
  creation of the world.

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What Does the Bible Say AboutWar?

• Governments can elect to go to war (bear the
  sword) to deal with evil men. Although war is
  harsh, the alternative the destruction of
  innocent people by wicked and evil aggressors
  is far worse.
• RO 134 For the government is God's servant to
  do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for
  he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is
  God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring
  punishment on the wrongdoer.

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What Does the Bible Say AboutWar?

• The government is Gods minister of wrath until
  the second coming of Jesus Christ
• RO 1219 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but
  rather give place to wrath for it is written,
  Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.
  
• RO 134 the government does not bear the sword
  in vain for He is Gods minister, an avenger to
  execute wrath on him who practices evil.
• REV 1915 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp
  sword, that with it He should strike the
  nationsHe Himself treads the winepress of the
  fierceness and wrath of Almighty God

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What Does the Bible Say AboutWar?

• Throughout the Bible, the main role of
  governments was to protect its people from
  threatening invaders and to maintain law and
  order within its borders. This was done by
  maintaining a military force. Those who would
  argue against our country's military position,
  must also ask what our nation would be like
  without policemen and prisons. (Betty Miller,
  www.bible.com)

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What Does the Bible Say About War?

• Although there will be many wars and rumors of
  wars at the end of times, the return of Jesus
  will bring and end to all terror and wars!
• ISA 24 He will judge between the nations and
  will settle disputes for many peoples. They will
  beat their swords into plowshares and their
  spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take
  up sword against nation, nor will they train for
  war anymore.

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What Does the Bible Say About Marriage and
Homosexuality?

• God designed marriage to be between one man and
  one woman for procreation and partnership
• GE 127 So God created man in his own image, in
  the image of God he created him male and female
  he created them31 God saw all that he had made,
  and it was very good. 28 God blessed them and
  said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in
  number"
• GE 218 The LORD God said, "It is not good for
  the man to be alone. I will make a helper
  suitable for him.22 Then the LORD God made a
  woman from the rib he had taken out of the man,
  and he brought her to the man

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What Does the Bible Say About Marriage and
Homosexuality?

• God joins a man and a woman together in marriage
• MK 106 "But at the beginning of creation God
  made them male and female.' 7 For this reason a
  man will leave his father and mother and be
  united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one
  flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. 9
  Therefore what God has joined together, let man
  not separate."
• RO 72 a married woman is bound to her husband
  as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies,
  she is released from the law of marriage. 3 So
  then, if she marries another man while her
  husband is still alive, she is called an
  adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is
  released from that law and is not an adulteress,
  even though she marries another man.

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What Does the Bible Say About Marriage and
Homosexuality?

• Sex is commanded in marriage, but it is
  prohibited between people of the same gender
• 1 CO 73 The husband should fulfill his marital
  duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her
  husband. 4 The wife's body does not belong to her
  alone but also to her husband. In the same way,
  the husband's body does not belong to him alone
  but also to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other
  except by mutual consent and for a time, so that
  you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come
  together again so that Satan will not tempt you
  because of your lack of self-control.
• LEV 1822 Do not lie with a man as one lies with
  a woman that is detestable.

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What Does the Bible Say About Marriage and
Homosexuality?

• Homosexuality is evil, and marriage is pure
• RO 124 Therefore God gave them over in the
  sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity
  for the degrading of their bodies with one
  another26 God gave them over to shameful lusts.
  Even their women exchanged natural relations for
  unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also
  abandoned natural relations with women and were
  inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed
  indecent acts with other men, and received in
  themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
  28 God gave them over to a depraved mind, to
  do what ought not to be done.
• HEB 134 Marriage should be honored by all, and
  the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge
  the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

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What Does the Bible Say About the Environment?

• The Bible exhorts people to be good stewards of
  the earth by subduing it, ruling over it, and
  caring for it
• GE 128 God blessed them and said to them, "Be
  fruitful and increase in number fill the earth
  and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and
  the birds of the air and over every living
  creature that moves on the ground.
• GE 215 The LORD God took the man and put him in
  the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

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What Does the Bible Say About Caring for the
Needy?

• The Bible chastises rulers who treat people
  unfairly, oppress people, and withhold justice.
  Rulers are called to be just and fair.
• ISA 101 Woe to those who make unjust laws, to
  those who issue oppressive decrees, 2 to deprive
  the poor of their rights and withhold justice
  from the oppressed of my people, making widows
  their prey and robbing the fatherless.

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What Does the Bible Say About Financial Policy?

• The Bible tells us to do such things as feed the
  hungry and look after the sick (Matthew
  2534-45), but it is silent in regards to
  governmental financial policy and the use of
  taxes
• When read in context, we see that the commands in
  Matthew 25 are directed to individuals, not the
  government. The Bible does not specifically
  state how the government does/should use taxes
  outside of the payment of government salaries.
  As discussed, the primary role of the government
  is to protect the innocent and punish the
  evil-doer.
• RO 136 This is also why you pay taxes, for the
  authorities are God's servants, who give their
  full time to governing.