Any sane, fed-up, liberty-loving citizen will benefit from John MacArthur’s June 13 sermon, ‘When Government Rewards Evil and Punishes Good,’
Time constraints meant I couldn’t get to it after a friend dropped me the link mid-last week.
The recent rash, health hazard lockdown in New South Wales seemed to provide an opportune time to tune in.
I call these excessive lockdowns a health hazard because, in all frankness, that’s exactly what they are.
They’re an illogical way to fight COVID-19.
It makes no sense for public health experts to issue public health orders that hurt healthy people.
The same goes for public health orders that hinder unhealthy people who need to get healthy.
Pinning them to their couch, fast food, and Netflix – among other mind-numbing, life-sucking drugs and devices we’ve allowed into our lives – isn’t a logical, holistic health strategy.
The excessive use of lockdowns will kill.
I’ve already argued how CCP-19 medical tyrants are harming cancer research.
We also published a piece in February pointing to the World Health Organisation’s regional director for Europe who warned that: “Coronavirus measures will have a ‘catastrophic’ impact on hundreds of thousands of cancer patients who’ve had appointments cancelled and screenings delayed during the pandemic.”
Additionally, information provided by Caldron Pool on Monday strongly backs the conclusion that public health orders are creating a public health crisis.
Christian’s ought to be on the frontline fighting this on behalf of the poor, the wounded, and the vulnerable.
While some are. Many aren’t.
Instead, they post selfies of themselves getting “vaccinated,” usually accompanied by a manipulative comment like “man up”, “be a big boy,” or “do your duty and help us get out of this mess.”
Some lurk on social media smugly calling those who choose to practice more discernment, “anti-vaxxers.”
Rather than stand with the vulnerable and encourage the gift of discernment, they call the “vaccine-hesitant” and those who are more civic-aware “selfish.”
Any Christian who would rather self-promote, than sigh with the wounded stands on extremely thin ice.
It’s this trend that MacArthur’s sermon smacks up the side of the head.
“The true church,” MacArthur asserted, “follows Christ, not the government.”
The power of government is not its own. God gives it, and God can take it away.
Though people in power can become lawless, there is no such thing as a Lordless power.
Their power is on loan to them through the office of vocation, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Consequently, God will hold the government accountable for how that power is used.
Speaking from Romans 13, MacArthur explains, “The role of the government is to restrain evil; and when it functions to restrain evil, it is fulfilling its God-ordained purpose…It is designed as a necessary restraint in a world of sinners.”
He adds, “This is God’s design for government. The problem is, when government ceases to function by God’s design, it yields up its authority. When government turns the divine design on its head and protects those who do evil and makes those who do good afraid, it forfeits its divine purpose.”
MacArthur then lists how today “In our world rulers are designing a culture that protects the immoral.”
First, “it desires to protect criminals, and makes those who do good afraid.”
Second, “criminals are unrestrained because they don’t fear the consequences, but the police are restrained because they fear the consequences of stopping criminals.”
Third, by propagating lies, protecting liars, and persecuting those who speak the truth, “it praises the evil and persecutes the good.”
The conclusion being that “God’s design for government has been entirely corrupted.”
A corrupted government turns everything upside down, “like putting [Canadian] Pastor James Coates in prison for preaching but letting rioters go free.”
For him,
“The greatest threat to truth and virtue in this country is the government because they have totally prostituted their God-ordained design. All through history, government is the ultimate persecutor of people. Satan has to get ahold of government; and that’s where he operates—always work through government… Satan always works through evil rulers to persecute the people of God.”
COVID-era government attacks on civil rights aren’t new.
For example,
“Look, in Acts chapter 4, the Jewish leaders said to the apostles, “Stop preaching!” In Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzar said, “Stop worshiping!” Again, in Daniel 6—we didn’t read it—the rulers said, “Stop praying, or we’re going to throw you into”—what?—“the lions’ den.”
MacArthur continues,
“So we are beginning to see persecution from government. This is the most formidable persecution: COVID, LGBTQ, transgender, social justice—all these new ideologies are now going to become the only acceptable moral standards. And if you don’t accept them, you’re going to be the enemy of the government. Truth, the Bible, Scripture is going to be cancelled. The government’s taking control; they want to take control of absolutely everything. The church has become the main enemy of the government—nothing new.”
He closes with prayer, but not without first reminding us that Romans 13, when removed from the context of Christ’s Lordship, has been used to justify “horrendous abuses of individual human rights”:
“Hitler’s Holocaust, racism in the apartheid of South Africa, both the Jews in Germany and blacks in South Africa were viewed as a threat to public health and national security… ‘Trust us,’ said government…‘we truly have your best interests at heart. All we want to do is help . . . keep you safe.’”
Preaching from Romans and Revelation, MacArthur acknowledges the battle lines between the World (Kosmos), Satan and Parousia (physical return of Christus Rex – Jesus Christ, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords).
The Lamb wins. The Lamb has already won. The Lamb will overcome.
We can vent at government abuse, and vent we should.
Be Ephesians 4:26 angry. Fervent in prayer as James the brother of Jesus instructs (James 5:16).
Likewise, James in 4:7, restrained righteous anger stops the triumph of evil.
This reflects where I think MacArthur’s main points land.
As I wrote last week, Government as God is a government gone wrong.
The full transcript of MacArthur’s sermon can be accessed here.
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