One of my pet peeves about the modern church is their dogged adherence to the concept of "Submission to Authorities." There are plenty of things in the Bible to have a dogged commitment to, yet the contemporary church holds to this tradition as if it is our function and purpose.

This erroneous teaching has saved the church many times. It has kept them from having to take a stand, from having principles. Covid is the best example of this. Churches held firmly to these principles during Covid lockdowns. The mantra was, "We must shut down our churches because the Bible tells us to obey government authorities," and they were adamant about it.

In this article, we are going to look at this doctrine and what it really means. We will get to that in a minute. Before we do, let me ask you, the Reader, have you ever known the church to shut down in the name of safety before? or because the government told them to?

Throughout history, the church has been at the forefront of unsafe and dangerous conditions, including opposition to government authorities:

• During the 14th century, the Black Death caused the death of 75-200 Million people in Europe, Africa, Asia. The church was at the forefront of treating the sick. Entire populations of Abbeys and Monasteries were wiped out as the effort to treat the sick only killed people in the church. The church was also active in its attempts to devise cures for the Black Death. While many of the treatments did more harm than good, the church did not shy away from the church's role because they might die.
• The Red Cross was the brainchild of a devout Christian man named Henry Dunant. While you don't have to be a Christian to be in the Red Cross, many workers and staff are. The Red Cross has been in the thick of unsafe and dangerous conditions since its inception in 1881.
• What missionary endeavor was ever considered to be safe?
• The underground churches in China and the middle east, are they considered to be safe places for Christians to attend?

By using this approach, they didn't need to take a stand. The church didn't need to stand its ground. They caved. They took the namby-pamby approach to God.

• The casinos were open; but, the churches were closed.
• Anything big business, Home Depot, Walmart, Target, Lowes, Amazon, etc., was open; but, the churches were closed.
• The hospitals, the doctor's offices, and the clinics were closed unless you had Covid, and so were the churches.

The nation and the world were undergoing the most devastating incidences of depression, suicide, child abuse, domestic violence, drunkenness, drug abuse, crime, and violence in our history, and the churches were closed?

Even Hollywood knows that the churches are open during perilous times, as evidenced in the 1953 movie War of the Worlds

 

 

To be fair, there was a great deal of uncertainty at the time. No one knew what to do or to what extent the COVID would affect our lives. However, there should be one common sense, cardinal rule when it comes to perilous times:

Without the church, the people (the masses) have no hope. In such times, we should always ask ourselves:

Would Jesus close the churches in the name of safety? In the name of obeying government rules?

 

Thankfully there were a large number of churches that did not close during the shutdown. These churches experienced phenomenal growth, and the Spirit of God moved in unique ways. The leadership in these churches are genuine people of God.

John MacArthur's church, Grace Community Church is one of those churches that did not close. The church was threatened in every conceivable way by the government and neighbors, yet, in court, Grace Community Church prevailed. John MacArthur is one of the legendary heroes of the Covid debacle.

My home church, Cross Assembly, in Raleigh, North Carolina, did not close. Cross Assembly opened an additional campus and is getting ready to open a third campus. This growth was all DURING THE PANDEMIC!

The churches that closed were devastated - financially and physically. Those churches experienced staff layoffs and desertions, significant loss of congregation, and loss of programs and ministries. Many churches have closed permanently.

The sad part is that church leadership still believes they did the right thing? They think that what has happened to the church is "unfortunate." It was not unfortunate; it was orchestrated!

 

"Obey government authorities." How I wish the leaders of these churches would read, study, and follow the Bible.

Here are the verses the church uses to support this doctrine:

• Titus 3:1
• Romans 13:1
• 1 Peter 2:13

Let's look at one of them:

The Greek word for "submit" is "hupotassó." This word is used elsewhere in the Bible. One of the places is in Colossians:

This word "submit" is the same word used in Romans 13:1 (and Titus 3:1 and 1 Peter 2:13).

When wives "submit" to their husbands in a godly manner, does this mean that they blindly follow their husband's wishes? Does this mean that wives should conduct themselves as robots doing the bidding of their husbands?

Of course not! Christian men should cherish their wives and adore them. Wives are a precious gift from God. Additionally, Christian men are responsible for the well-being of their wives.

If a husband gets out of line or abuses his headship, the wife would not comply; even the Christian wife. For example, if the husband beats the children, beats the wife, murders people, sells drugs, harms people, steals, is involved in pornography, commits adultery, abandons the family, disrespects his parents, etc., should the wife sit idly by in complete submission to her husband? Of course not. She should rebel or abstain in some fashion.

With the same application, as Christians, we are not robots selected to do the bidding of government because all governing officials were put in place by God. God set them into their positions, but that doesn't make what they do holy. They are still sinners, and we still live under the curse. They should still be held accountable for their actions. Even though God chooses them, they are still capable of unfair, hideous, and atrocious activities.

Of course, we should submit to the rulers and authorities of our governments and churches. Sometimes it may be difficult to do so. It is God's way and God's design. However, when these authorities cross the line, we, as Christians, have a responsibility to stand up and say "No!"

As Christians, we are not to judge a person's heart because we don't have access to what a person is thinking or feeling. We are, however, to judge just about everything else.

SEE MY Blog: Fruit

 

There are lots of contradictions of this false understanding of submitting to government authorities. Both the Bible and history are full of righteous examples.

Examples in the Bible:

• The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
• Moses before Pharaoh
• David fleeing from Saul
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refusing to worship the King's idol
• Peter and John before the Sanhedrin
• and many more

This blindly following the orders of government by the church is not an act by God's people. It is an act by a worldly institution following a world order!

 

Examples in History:

• Were the Christians of the 1st century not ordered by Nero (the ruling authority) to stop worshipping Christ?
• Were the reformers during the 15th century not ordered by the church and governments to stop their reformation?
• Were the French Huguenots of the 17th century not rebelling against the French government?
• Did the Revolutionary War not rebel against the government (British Government)?
• Was the French Revolution not a rebellion against the government?
• Was the underground church in Russia not rebelling against the Russian authority?
• Did the underground railroad in the United States not disobey the orders of the United States government?
• Did Karl Plagge not disobey his government when he saved 2000 Jews from death during the Nazi reign?
• Abortions are legal. Should we as Christians give up our protests against abortions because we are protesting against our government - a government that passed a law using rulers put in place by God?

History is wrought with Christians that disobeyed and stood up to their governments in the name of the Lord.

Let us not forget the most audacious act of government yet to come:

When this happens, will the modern church decree that good Christians should receive the Mark of the Beast so that we are obeying government authorities?

I hope you are beginning to see that this Christian defense for closing churches is just ludicrous!

 

Closing the churches during the pandemic was the dumbest act the church has ever agreed to. The chaos, the confusion, the fear. Who knew what to do? Still, denying people access to fellowship, access to practicing religious activities, and access to their perceived place of comfort is something church leaders should have understood.

I understand making the wrong decisions at first, but it should have been a sign when the casinos were open, but the churches were closed that something was amiss. Even a mediocre church leader should have recognized that this was not an attempt to control a disease. It was and is an attempt by the government to control people, including the church. In fact, it was a direct attack against the church.

The church should have led the way during the pandemic. We should have set the example. Even with all the unknowns, the church still has the role of worshipping God, evangelism, and ministering to widows, orphans, foreigners, the sick, and the needy.

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