Bowing the knee

Philippians 2:10-11 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,¹¹ and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NAS)

It will be a glorious sight to see what this passage promises will happen, that all people, even those who go to the grave rebelling against their Creator will bow the knee and will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  But the bowing knee I am speaking about is not this glorious future obeisance to Jesus.  It is the sad state of the Church in America, which was once a shining star but is now barely a glimmer.  The Church in America has said “Uncle,” before the bully even walked into the room.  We have closed the doors to our churches for months on end because of the Covid-19 virus, the reason given is the Government ordered us, and some are still shuttered!  The Government said “close your church,” and we consented.

They told us we could not have close contact with our brothers and sisters when we were able to meet again.  Keep that social distance (I must admit I’m conflicted on this one because I’m not really big on hugs!).  There is nothing sociable about standing six feet apart!  This is an absurdity.  It’s one of many absurdities that we have consented to.  Remember the 15 days to flatten the curve!  Obviously, this virus is infectious, and some people are more susceptible to dying from it, so those with risk factors should take precautions.  However, the Government overreach in this situation is wrong and is leading to further problems (business closures, permanent job loss, suicide, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, loneliness etc.)  I’m not even going to get into the fact the survival rate of those infected with this virus (even with risk factors) is quite high.

That’s not an overstatement, but the truth, but then again we cannot say the truth anymore or our social media overlords will censor or post notes and links to left-wing propaganda sources.  This has happened to my own Facebook page.  And through it all, we have consented, but we should not.

One of the continuing themes of the Bible is opposition to the biblical message, whether it was a prophet, King, Moses, or whomever God gave utterance to, there was always opposition.  We see this in the New Testament as well as the Old Testament.  Even before His birth we see that conflict was prophesied about Jesus (Isaiah 49:5, 53:3; Psalm 22:5, 24).  When He was just a new born baby we are told He will be a sign to be opposed.

Luke 2:34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed– (NAS)

Has anything changed today, are we not still expecting opposition?  During His earthy ministry they repeatedly tried to thwart Him.  They were said to be “persecuting” Him.

John 5:16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. (NAS)

*An aside at this point—some people mistakenly believe that persecution only takes the form of the physical; imprisonment, beatings, or death.  But here we are told they were against Him because He was breaking their religious traditions, and they believed He was a blasphemer (making Himself equal with God v 18).  The next two verses give us a greater glimpse into what this “persecution” entailed; they were actively seeking ways to put Him to death. 

John 5:17-18 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” 18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. (NAS)

They called Him names like “drunkard,” “Beelzebul,” and claimed He “had a demon.”  They tried to trap Jesus with their questions; their persecution took many different forms.

Matthew 10:24-25 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. ²⁵ “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! (NAS)

If they persecuted our Lord, will they not take aim at us as well?  Of course they will.  We have become soft in our comfortable way of life; forgetting that it is in the nature of the unrighteous to oppose Jesus and us because we proclaim Him.  In our desire to be liked and respected by the world we have forgotten that being associated with Jesus comes with a cost.

2 Timothy 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (NAS)

John 15:18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. (NAS)

John 15:24-25 “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. 25 “But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’ (NAS; see also Psalm 35:19; 69:4)

It might help us to see how the Apostles dealt with conflict with the governing authorities in Acts 5.  This account gives us the arrest of the Apostles for healing the sick, and preaching about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Acts 5:17-18 But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. 18 They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. (NAS)

I would first like to point out and I will go in more detail in a separate post about Romans 13, the Apostles are willingly arrested which is an example of submitting to the governing authorities.  Often in these discussions Romans 13, “be in subjection to the governing authorities” (Rom 13:1 NAS) is mentioned as a catch-all for obedience to all commands of the Government, but we will see here that this is not the case.

But an Angel of the Lord released them from the jail, and gave them some important instructions.  Did the Angel tell them to obey the authorities?  No, he told them to continue preaching about Jesus.  The authorities put them all in jail for preaching, the Angel instructed them to do the very thing they were arrested for.

Acts 5:20 “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.” (NAS)

The next day the council received the shock of a lifetime when they ordered them brought from the jail to appear before them. But they were not found in the jail.

Acts 5:23 saying, “We found the prison house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside.” (NAS)

They were at a loss (v 24); they were perplexed at how they escaped the jail.  The Apostles obeyed (v 25) the voice of the Angel and continued to teach the people.  They were arrested again and were brought before the council.  Notice how the council appeals to their perceived authority over them.

Acts 5:28 saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

They may have given them strict orders not to teach about Jesus, but the Apostles obeyed the higher authority; God.  They answered them and preached Jesus to them also.

Acts 5:29-31 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. 31 “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” (NAS)

The council did not take these words well, and intended to kill them (again the governing authorities had authority to execute evil doers per Romans 13:4).  One of the council members spoke up, and convinced them not to kill them because he said if they were doing this by the power of man the movement would fail, but if God is behind it they “will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.” (Acts 5:39 NAS)

Acts 5:40 They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. (NAS)

After all that including the flogging (the governing authorities had the power to inflict punishment on them, even though they had done nothing wrong: see Romans 13).  Did they stop preaching in Jesus’ name?  No they did not.  Even though they were given orders to not preach in Jesus’ name they continued to obey God in this matter.

Acts 5:42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. (NAS)

The power of Governmental authorities is limited to a certain sphere.  They are not to overstep their bounds and command the church about its doctrine and practice.  We should also notice that they were gathering together in the temple, and from house to house.  They did not stop meeting.  They did not stop teaching that Jesus was the Christ.  Those who had believed did not pay attention to the threats of the council.  No one was saying, “Maybe we should obey the governing authorities and stop preaching Christ.”

After all the difficulties in the past few months: Covid-19, race protests and riots, assaults, statues defaced and torn down, destruction of public property, looting, police violence (both against citizens and against police officers), CHAZ or CHOP or “the summer of love” nonsense in Seattle and now mask mandates growing in many states, counties and cities.

Now is the time for the church to stand up and be a part of the conversation.  Instead churches have been closed for months, offering either online service or nothing at all.  Very few leading religious voices have been on the forefront of any of these issues at all.  Except to offer up apologies for their “white privilege” (Pro tip: if your solution to racism requires anti-white racism you’re doing it wrong!).  Or they have simply bellowed something about “submission,” “Roman’s 13,” and “loving your neighbor,” thus the instruction to the people of God has largely been for us to be subject to the governing authorities.  That is a gross misreading of the context of the relevant passages.  The Bible does not teach churches to obey any and all dictates of the government.

What is the state of the church in the United States?  The state of the church today is reminiscent of the writing on the wall given in Daniel:

Daniel 5:25-27 “Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’²⁶ “This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENE ‘– God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. ²⁷ “‘TEKEL ‘– you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. (NAS)

Our response to all these challenges has been deficient, we have been found wanting.  The church has become too complacent, too self-consumed, and unwilling to take a stand.  How can the church influence the world for good when our churches can be closed for months?  We possess the only message that can give real and true hope to the hurting people of this world.  The question is what are we doing with it?  Why have we lost heart to be a voice for hope?  

There is nothing noble about cowering to people who have no right to demand anything of the Church.

When will we will we stand up with the Apostles and say:

“We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)

And:

“Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)

Philippians 2:5-11 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. ⁸ Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NAS)

Remember our Lord Jesus; the church is supposed to be about Him.

Jesus emptied Himself and took on the form of a servant so we would what… take orders from the Government!  How will His name be exalted when our churches are shuttered?  Will the lost hear about His life -giving death through the obstruction of our face masks?  Will we proclaim, “Come hear about the true freedom that Christ gives sinners from the bondage of sin”… as the church is in bondage to the state! 

The longer that this has gone on, the more shocked I have become by the obedience in the churches.  To have this same attitude as Christ does not mean we allow the government to control the worship of God.  And we should not dehumanize ourselves by mandating covering the image of God with a face mask.  Its one thing if individuals chose to wear them, it’s quite another when the church becomes the “mask police,” enforcing Government dictates.  If your church requires the congregation follow the Governments orders; you ARE the State Church!  Shut your church down, you are not a real church anymore.  

Don’t meet, not to many people, keep your distance, wear a mask, don’t sing, and don’t take communion!  All of these things have been ordered by the governing authorities all across the United States these past few months. 

Is that seriously what you think the Bible calls us to do?  When the Government orders you to cease preaching what the Bible says about God, salvation, repentance, faith, unrighteousness, hatred, idolatry, greed, abortion, and sexual immorality, will you resist that?

Are you actually going to stand up when the costs are high?  Are we really going to be faithful when threatened with; fines, violence, torture, imprisonment, rape, death, separation of families, and destruction of homes and church buildings?

You know like stuff people all over the world are facing right now.  How will you stand firm then, when you won’t now when there is little to no cost?  Now is the time for the church to declare that God decides the affairs of the church not the Government.

Do we submit to Government or not?

Scenario 1: A church wants to expand the current ministry building, what are the applicable zoning and building codes for the area?  If a property is not zoned for a three story school and ministry center addition, we obey the authorities on the zoning.

At the end of the day things like building and fire codes are for the safety of the community and are not intrusions into the ministry of the church.  There are many other issues that could fall under this type of scenario where the autonomy of the local church is not given over by submitting to the Government.  Authorities are put in place by God to serve in the civil sphere through enacting laws and ordinances in individual localities. The Bible is clear that the church is to be submissive to the Government when they are functioning within the civil sphere, but there are clear limits to their power.

Scenario 2: The church of God, being submitted to its head Jesus Christ (Eph 5:23) and seeking to follow the Word of God has undertaken to worship God according to the commands of the Lord.  Therefore, the church following the example of the Apostles comes together to worship on the Lord’s Day.  Aspects of the worship include; singing, reading of scripture, prayer, explanation of the scriptures (Sermon), observing the Lord’s Supper and Baptism, serving, acts of love and care for the brethren, and giving of time, talents and treasure to further the ministry of the church, both here locally and all across the world.

The Government comes to the church and says: “you cannot come together for worship, only so many people are allowed to come, when you come together you must wear a face mask to worship, you cannot sing out loud, you cannot celebrate the Lord’s Supper (Literally forbidding the celebrating of the redemption of the church—our remembrance of Christ’s death for us), you cannot speak those words (fill in the blank) anymore…, we consider those words illegal—they are words of hate…you must not speak them!”

In regard to all those commands from the Government the response of the church must be an unequivocal; No!  

No, we will submit to you!  Get out of here, you do not belong here!  The church is the domain of God; we will not obey your words, because God’s are superior to yours.  His is the highest court; there can no appeal to a higher authority.  Our Lord will return to render judgment on all mankind, including you and He will not submit to your words—the governing authorities will give an account to Him.  He will not take kindly to you forbidding what He has commanded the church to do.  When the authorities invade the domain of the church we do not submit to them.

And yet, we see churches submitting to unlawful commands of man, and it is shameful.

What does God want for the church?

• He wants the church to meet together (internet church is not a substitute for getting together as the body of Christ)
• He wants us involved in each other’s lives (yes that requires contact closer than 6 feet).
• He wants us to raise our voices together corporately and sing (zoom chat rooms and Facebook live are not a substitute for being together in one place praising God), requiring face masks will inhibit and mute our singing, and unlawfully cover God’s image bearers.  Singing God’s praises should not be muzzled!
• He wants us to remember the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus for us (this is the central act of redemption—we should regularly participate together)

I saw that John MacArthur’s church said that they would not submit to the Governor of California’s orders that all churches shut down indefinitely, and they held service the last two weekends and had a packed house.  My response: It’s about time they resisted that Governor!  I glad they did, but I wish they had acted sooner. 

I’ve heard they have threatened fines or even jail for MacArthur for violating their orders.  I say, call these people on their abuse of authority; Governors were never intended to rule unilaterally for months on end!  And if they arrest an 80 year old pastor, maybe that would show the world and voters what power-hungry fools they have been this whole time.  It reminds me of what happened in Dallas a few months ago with the salon owner being arrested for opening her business.  The arrest of a salon owner or an 80 year old pastor might shine a bad light on these corrupt politicians, and maybe they would stop acting like they were elected to be dictators.  The Governor in Texas changed his tune when his orders were actually challenged.  That’s what we need to do at every church; challenge these unconstitutional usurpers!

We need remember that through everything in this life that God is with us and that whatever may come upon us is within God’s sovereignty over all things.  Even in death or imprisonment, or persecution of any kind, the victory is ours because Christ is our victor and we are in Him.  Even if the Government comes down upon us like the Christian church experienced the first 300 years of its existence, God has promised that He is with us.  We do not need to be fearful about what might happen.  He promises to give strength to those who are weak.  We do not fight in our own power, but He expects us to fight unrighteousness.

The events of this last year are evil and sinful; the church should not close down when people most need it. Churches should not turn away worshipers because they refuse to bend the knee to Government mask edicts.

The ten weeks of online church for me and my family were not a great experience; online church is no substitute for meeting with God’s people.  We longed to be with God’s people.  Internet church might be fine for a week or two, but it cannot replace the true thing.  Real church is speaking, knowing, serving with people who know our names, who share a meal together, who pray for you by name, that’s a real church.  That’s what the world needs most at this time, the real church to step up and act in the world.

We should only bend the knee to Christ, our great and glorious Savior.  The Government may only enact laws in the civil domain, not in the church.

Romans 13:3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; (NAS) 

A preview of what I plan to write regarding Romans 13.  Paul was most certainly not teaching them to be subject to every whim of Government.  But he was calling them and all of us to be good citizens.  How might we be good citizens?  The instructions to Christians are that we would be a morally upright people.

Romans 13:12-14 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. (NAS)

Do you see it?  Lay aside sin and deeds of darkness; let us behave properly, as the children of light (Ephesians 5:8).  When you make a provision for the flesh, you will inevitably harm your neighbor.  Paul even mentions loving your neighbor in verses 8-10 of this chapter.  How do you love your neighbor?  I’ll give you a hint; it’s not by wearing a face mask.  We do not get to redefine what it means to love our neighbor!  He gives us the answer; first obey God’s law, then you will show love to your neighbor.

In fact he says this 3 times in these few verses in slightly different ways:

…he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. (Rom 13:8 NAS)

…if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” (Rom 13:9 NAS)

…love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Rom 13:10 NAS)

Anyone who says: churches must close, not sing, not take communion, not have contact with others, must wear a mask, is woefully misguided about what the scriptures teach and has missed the fundamental issue in Romans 13.  The first half of the chapter is all about the role of Governments in maintaining law and order (ironically the riots, looting and the violence of the past 2 months in the United States are the very thing Paul is condemning!)

This is why he writes; “…whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they …will receive condemnation upon themselves.” (Rom 13:2)

But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing… brings wrath on the one who practices evil.” (Rom 13:4)

Meeting together as the body of Christ is good, not evil.  Raising our voices together unhindered is good, not evil.  Remembering the Lord’s death for us is good, not evil. Bearing one another’s burdens is good, not evil.  Loving and serving one another and evangelizing the lost are good things, not evil.

He even brings up taxes in verses 6-7; I just mailed my tax payment to my local city about three weeks ago as they graciously extended the deadline to file until July 15th.  They have a right as “ministers of God” (Rom 13:4) to collect taxes, but there’s nothing in Romans 13 giving Government the right to infringe on the worship of God in His church.

All will bend the knee to Christ; He will not submit to the Governing authorities, they are His ministers.  And His church should not bend the knee to Government oversight regarding the teachings, worship and practices.  There is nothing in the Scriptures that supports that.  Let alone the Constitution that is supposed to govern this country.

It is time for the church in the United States to say no to government interference.  Should we be wise about how to meet safely?  Sure, minor changes to church practices can be made and should be decided by the church itself ( hand washing station, disinfecting between services, maybe spacing people farther apart etc.).  By saying that the church should not be subject to the Government does not mean that we do not take the threat of the virus seriously, but it means the church should make decisions that are in line with proven science (there is a plethora of studies showing the ineffectiveness of cloth masks for example), and those things that have the least effect on the worship of our Lord.  Those considerations should be balanced, but it is unacceptable to not meet for months on end.  If we fail to send the message that they are not welcome to order us around, do not be surprised when they add more restrictive measures.  It will not stop with the church closings for months on end, face mask mandates and other restrictions, but will be much worse.  Take notice of what totalitarian governments do around the world.  The time is short.

²³ “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. (Isaiah 45:23 NAS)

¹¹ For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.” (Romans 14:11 NAS)

In Christ,

Jeremy Murphy