Renewing the Mind - #4

 This is the fourth sermon in a series of messages focusing on the importance of having a Christian/biblical worldview of life. We are bombarded every day with the philosophies and values of the secular, godless world in which we live. Far too often, Christians have accepted the views and assumptions of the secular world rather than applying biblical truth to every area of life. This sermon addresses the topics of law and government. You may view a video recording of the worship service in which this sermon was delivered by clicking here. 

Written excerpts:

Introduction:

Wow, here it is already the second Sunday of January in a brand new year! With the cancelation of our services the past two weeks, it seems like “forever” since we worshiped together.

Back in November, I had gotten started in a series of messages that we were calling: “Renewing the Mind.” In those messages we were trying to emphasize the fact that it is not only important for us to confess our sins and put our faith in Jesus Christ to be “Born Again,” but also that this new birth is intended to impact our whole lives. That is, it not only changes our relationship with God, but it changes our patterns of thinking and our manner of living. We tried to explain how our lives will be shaped by the way we view the world around us – either from a biblical perspective or from a secular/atheistic perspective.

Romans 12:2 urges believers to do not be conformed to the world (squeezed into its pattern or mold), but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. i.e., Let God completely change us so that we think and act like Christ rather than thinking and acting like someone who doesn’t even know Christ.

We broke away from that series for a few weeks in order to focus on Advent and the Christmas season. As we prepare to consider a couple more topics or themes today that are included in our study of a Christian Worldview, I wanted to start by looking at a passage of Scripture that I had used about 4 years ago.

In Matthew 13:33, Jesus is using a parable to give us a lesson about the Kingdom of God and how it grows.

Matthew 13:33 ^(NKJV) Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."

Even though the immediate lesson from this verse is regarding the growth of God’s kingdom in the world, yet I believe it can also be used to illustrate how the message of the gospel and the message of God’s kingdom is meant to permeate our individual lives. Being a Christian and being born again by His Spirit doesn’t simply mean that we have this new little compartment in our lives that will be devoted to God from now on and therefore we will add a few religious activities to give expression of that new compartment of faith. No, being born again means letting the seed of gospel truth get planted in our heart and soul so it can grow and develop and impact every area of our lives. Jesus compares the kingdom to yeast that is mixed into the dough until it has its effect upon the entire amount. The truth of righteousness will have the same effect upon every person that is truly born again.

For our Scripture reading earlier this morning I chose the first chapter of Daniel because of the implications in that story regarding those Hebrew men and how they stood out in stark contrast from the rest of the “wise men” of Babylon. They were educated in all the various fields of study, but they maintained their godly convictions and commitment to divine revelation. (Some scholars have even suggested that these men were largely responsible for the knowledge that the Magi had regarding the birth of Hebrew king.)

After that lengthy introduction, let us pick up our previous discussion of different topics that are impacted when we have a biblical/Christian worldview. The topics or disciplines that we have already discussed are: truth; theology; philosophy; ethics; science; psychology; and sociology. We just briefly defined each area and tried to describe how our understanding of each one is shaped either by a worldly/ secular/ atheistic viewpoint or a Christian and biblical viewpoint. 

With the Lord’s help, I want to speak to you today regarding two more disciplines or fields of study, which I am going to consider together because they are so interrelated.

Law and Government

Our consideration for today is the area of law and government. As with all of the previous topics we have considered, we will merely “scratch the surface” in discussing these two subjects (law & government).

Those who look at the world and at life from a secular perspective, not taking into consideration the existence of God, generally look at law as something that is strictly man-made and continually evolving. If there is no God, then laws are nothing more than the invention of men to provide for a safe and orderly society. And it is the conventional opinions of society that form the basis for laws. This obviously means that there is no absolute standard for the formation of laws and therefore, what is legal not only DOES change from one era to another, but it MUST change in order to reflect the changes in social standards. 

Government comes into the picture as the means of creating the laws and enforcing them. Again, when the basis for government is strictly humanistic and atheistic, then government power and limits of power are constantly changing as public standards change.

I am keenly aware that these statements are very general and broad. But I think we can understand that nothing is certain when the general prevailing view of government and law leaves out any possibility for divine authority and standards.

What are some of the important principles regarding law and government for the person that is a Christian and desires to see a society that functions the way God intended?

A. God is the source of all law.

2 Chronicles 20:6 … "O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?

Acts 17:24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.

Isaiah 33:22 (For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King; He will save us);

(Some have suggested that this verse provides the basis for the different branches of government that our forefathers created in the founding of our form of government – judicial, legislative, and executive.)

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

For the Christian, God and His righteous/holy nature is the basis and foundation for all law. He is unchanging and therefore, His law does not change. His nature and His law is the final authority by which all human laws and government rules must be judged.

B. Laws and standards for governing must acknowledge both the dignity and the depravity of mankind.

We have frequently mentioned various passages of Scripture that support these truths.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

The dignity of “man” is rooted in the image of God and must be cherished by the laws of governments to protect human life.

The depravity of “man” is established in scripture and in human history, so left unchecked, humans will abuse power and produce great harm upon each other.

Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

This is not only true in individual, interpersonal relations, but it is also true of government entities, which are prone to acquire more and more power that becomes abusive and totalitarian.

(Allaboutworldview.org) Our founding fathers also grappled with the problem of protecting ordinary citizens from the sinful inclinations of those in authority.

From a biblical and Christian perspective, public behavior must never be allowed to destroy the value and dignity of human personhood. It was a belief in a Law and a Law Giver, which superseded human laws, that gave men the moral courage to change laws that were clearly unjust and wrong, e.g., slavery. Many of those who fought against the slave trade appealed to a moral law that was higher than the current laws of the land.

Next Sunday is “Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.” Those who continue to appeal for changes in our laws regarding abortion, do so for the same reasons we have already mentioned:

·         There is a higher law and higher moral standard by which we will be judged.

·         Human life should be protected in all stages of life because all humans are formed in the image of God.

C. Laws and government need a permanent, non-changing foundation.

Because we believe that God is the source of all moral laws and He never changes, we believe that the foundation for government should not change. Peripheral laws will change and need to change in order to conform to a higher law that is permanent. But, the foundation must remain the same or there is no restraint from great abuses of power.

Two philosophies regarding those who should serve on the Supreme Court – a) those who believe the Constitution is firm and should be interpreted in light of the creators’ original intent; b) those who believe the Constitution is a living, changing document that must reflect the current standards of the society.

The Christian believes that there is a higher standard or law to which both individuals and government entities must be held accountable to. Because of our national departure away from biblical foundations, we are witnessing more and more abuse of power by those in positions of authority. More and more freedoms are being taken away by authorities who are becoming intoxicated with power.

D. Government primarily has two main responsibilities: national security and equal justice for all.

In Scripture, the two primary responsibilities of government are these:

1. Provide for the security of its citizens against enemies.

2. Protect the innocent and punish the guilty.

As we all know, there are a myriad of other duties and benefits that our government has determined to be its responsibility, which all require more and more tax revenues.

Conclusion:

I actually had intended to cover more than just this area of law and government for today, but as I worked on it, I could tell that I would not have time for another topic. In closing, I just want to remind us what the Bible says, When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. (Proverbs 29:2 NKJV) We need to intercede in prayer for God to raise up more and more godly/righteous people to positions of authority. We have surely seen the damage that the wicked can do to the moral fiber of the nation when they are in power. We need to pray more, not less!

For our closing song today, I chose the hymn:

O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee