Government church closures? How do we respond?
We are living in interesting times. At the time of this post, the world is experiencing the scourge of the Coronavirus - COVID-19. In many places throughout the world, church gatherings are being limited by government guidances and resolutions which prohibit large gatherings. This is obviously a struggle for many. This brings up a question that people of all faiths have struggled with from time to time. I write from the vantage point of a Christian, so I word the question this way: What is the Christian’s Relationship & Responsibility to the Government?
All humans at some point struggle with authority in various forms. In our original nature, we don’t want to live under the authority of God – we do not want to submit to God. In our current situation, there are believers who do not want to submit to the government. Yet Paul has something to say about this in the New Testament Book of Romans chapter 13.
The Apostle Paul writes about how the members of the Church should live in relationship to the government. This is interesting because Paul seems to find himself in jail a lot! Yet, he claims to have been unjustly arrested, and is often released without conviction!
The Romans 13 passage is one that has stirred great controversy and discussion through the years. Governments come and go – forms of government come and go – government leaders come and go – the Church is still around!
What is our relationship, as citizens of heaven and as citizens of this earth, to the governments that we live under?
Philippians 3:20 - But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
In Romans chapter 13, Paul makes 2 statements about this relationship:
First, Authority is given by God.
My quotes will be from the New American Standard Version.
Romans 13:1-3 - Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 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;
My brother, Dr. James R. Blankenship wrote his doctoral dissertation on this passage of Scripture. In that study he looked at what a couple of the leaders of the early church had to say about this passage.
One, John Chrysostom, lived from about 345 A.D. to about 407 A.D. He was well-educated, was baptized on Easter in 368 A.D. and was ordained to the priesthood in 386 A.D. He lived in the mountains with an order of monks and for a time he lived a life of self-deprivation. This life eventually ruined his health so that he returned to Antioch. In 397 or 398 A.D. he became the bishop of Constantinople, the leading city of the Empire at that time. During his life, there were shifts in the Roman government from “Christian” to “pagan” and back – different priests were honored or exiled depending on how loyal they were to the government leaders. There was also division in the church as to whether the Christians should be loyal to a government no matter what the circumstances, or should they participate in active rebellion.
In historical records we have over nine hundred of Chrysostom’s “homilies,” or sermons, many of which he may have preached without notes and were preserved by shorthand! He studied and wrote much on this letter of Paul to the Romans.
On this section (Romans 13) Chrysostom writes that there is a difference between the institution of authority and the specific individuals who lead in that government institution. As my brother wrote, “God has arranged that there be authority, but … this does not mean that God appoints specific individuals as rulers”).
Chrysostom also says that while there must be authority, it is not necessarily so that God approves of all forms of government. There have always been different forms of government, from dictatorial tyrannies to free democracies, all forms in between and various forms within forms! Chrysostom himself probably had a hard time imagining anything like a representative form of government such as what we have in modern countries today.
To illustrate this, he speaks of marriage. “Even though God made marriage, it is not God who ‘joins together each man who comes to a wife’” (Chrysostom, J.R. Blankenship’s translation). To have government authority is something that has been arranged by God, as the institution of marriage has been ordained by God. This does not necessarily mean that God approves of every ruler, every type of government, every person in the government, or every marriage! So, Chrysostom argued that if a government didn’t work out, or a marriage didn’t work out, you could not blame God!
God made marriage – but he leaves it up to us to choose our partners! God made governing authority, but he leaves it up to communities, large and small, to choose their form of government.
Leaders do make bad decisions. There are poor leaders. But just like there are bad marriages, it does not follow that God is not in favor of marriage. It does not follow that God is not in favor of a governing authority over our lives.
So, what if the government is bad? What if the marriage is bad? According to Chrysostom, it does not mean that marriage itself is bad! If the governing style or personality is bad, it does not mean that the institution of government is bad.
An example that arises is the dictatorship of Adolph Hitler in Germany in the Twentieth Century. Was God in favor of Adolph Hitler? Were the people of Germany commanded by the Word of God to be in submission to Adolph Hitler? Should that get the killers of the death camps off the hook?
What Chrysostom is saying that Paul is saying is that God ordained AUTHORITY – not the particular people who are in authority. God wanted there to be a structure of leadership in Germany, as He does in all nations – but not necessarily the form of authority nor the people of authority that were there. This is how German Pastor & Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer could be loyal to his country while being part of a group attempting to overthrow the German regime.
However, we also see through the course of Scripture that God even had His purposes in the rising up of wicked rulers. God used Nebuchadnezzar, a wicked Babylonian despot, as a tool of His judgment on His people, with the ultimate goal of bringing Israel to repentance. God used Cyrus, the Persian leader, to send the Israelites back to their homeland. Many other illustrations could be cited.
In looking at history, if you believe that Israel becoming a nation is a fulfillment of prophecy, ask yourself the question, “Would that have happened without Adolph Hitler?” If the Jewish people had not been so horribly persecuted during World War II, would there have been the international sympathy that led to their recognition as a nation and the granting of borders by the United Nations? When has there ever been a time, before or since, that the people of the world have been favorably inclined toward Israel? So, it can be argued that God had a Divine purpose in the rising up of Adolph Hitler and in the persecution of the Jews – in order to bring about the fulfillment of prophecy granting Israel status as a nation!
We are not saying that this situation or others like it are God’s first choice. Remember – ever since the Fall of Man as recorded in Genesis chapter 3, we are living in Plan B. We are no longer in the Garden, so often God allows events that are even abhorrent to Him to bring about His purposes.
Romans 8:28 - And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
So, Chrysostom insisted that his congregation be subject to authority, because God ordained authority. If the authority is unjust, it does not mean that God is unjust. It can still be stated and understood that rebellion against authority itself is rebellion against what God has set up. I will discuss exceptions to this later.
Chrysostom faced rejection by the Church. Because of controversy, he was deposed from ministry. About twelve years after he preached his message on Romans 13, the Empress Eudoxia urged him to return from exile. He returned to Constantinople where he had formerly been the Bishop. However, the invitation was from the “governing authority” of the Empire, not the governing authority of the Church, although they worked in tandem. Until the establishment of the United States, there was no “separation of Church and State.” One was always “in the pocket” of the other. If the Church leader was strong, the political leader usually kept his rule by bowing to the will of the Church. If the political leader was strong, the Church leader usually kept their position by bowing to the will of the State. In this case, Chrysostom was hoping for a reinstatement to the ministry. To resume his duties as Bishop in Constantinople would be a violation of the church leaders, but he was being urged to do so by the Empress. Who had more power? Who was he to obey? He had to choose whether or not to obey his civil leaders or his church leaders. He decided to return and resume his ministry, with the assurance that a council would be called to reinstate him. He wanted to wait – Eudoxia prevailed upon him to act as a bishop before this happened. This led to the church council exiling him for a second time – until his death.
Many years later, another church leader known as John of Damascus, who lived from sometime around 650 or 675 A.D. to at least sometime in the 750’s A.D., lived in a Muslim dynasty and actually held positions in the government, as a Christian, and pretty much agreed with what John Chrysostom preached.
What Paul is writing would seem to be the general rule. We do see in the Book of Acts Chapter 4 that when Peter and John were commanded by the Jewish leadership of Jerusalem to cease preaching in the name of Jesus, they responded,
Acts 4:19-20 - “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Notes in the “Life in the Spirit Study Bible,” edited by Donald Stamps, say, “Paul describes government as it should be. When it abandons its proper function, it is no longer from God nor operating according to his purpose… when the state requires something contrary to God’s Word, Christians must obey God rather than other humans.”
F.F. Bruce wrote, “When the decrees of the civil magistrate conflict with the commandments of God, then, say Christians, ‘we ought to obey God rather than men;’ when Caesar claims divine honours, the Christians’ answer must be ‘No’. For then Caesar (whether he takes the form of a dictator or a democracy) is going beyond the authority delegated to him by God, and trespassing on territory which is not his. But Christians will voice their ‘No’ to Caesar’s unauthorized demands the more effectively if they have shown themselves ready to say ‘Yes’ to all his authorized demands.“
The second statement Paul makes in Romans chapter 13 about the Christian’s relationship to government is this: God’s intention is for the authority to do good.
Romans 13:4-5 - for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.
“Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time!”
God’s purpose in setting up government for our lives was for our benefit! If we disobey, we should be punished justly. Lawful conduct should be rewarded, or at least left alone. Evil-doers, those who prey on others, should be punished.
Even if we disobey in conscientious objection based upon our interpretation of the Bible, we should expect punishment. It is incorrect to assume we would not be punished. Therefore, even if we disobey according to our convictions, we should accept the punishment with grace, and not say it is undeserved.
In other words, if you feel you must disobey the government to obey the Word, expect to be thrown in jail and don’t whine about it being unjust! That demeans your witness and your purpose! Take your punishment as a badge of honor for the Lord!
Following up on what F.F. Bruce said earlier, the Apostle Peter said,
1st Peter 2:13-14 - Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right…
1st Peter 4:15-16 - Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.
Choose carefully the times for civil disobedience. As a general rule, we are commanded to live in obedience to the government. If we do, it makes our necessary statements of disobedience more powerful, rather than frivolous.
Paul also wrote to a young student of his, Timothy –
1st Timothy 2:1-2 - First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
We should be praying that our leaders govern us according to the will of God so that we are not faced with the choice of whether or not to disobey.
Romans 13:6-7 - For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
There was a group known as “the Zealots.” One, Simon, became a disciple of Jesus. They were Jewish guerilla fighters against the Roman Empire and encouraged the refusal to pay taxes. Most likely Paul has this in mind and is rejecting it. When Paul is jailed, he is specifically jailed and tried for what he is preaching about Christ – and his persecution came more from the Jews than from the Romans.
John of Damascus wrote and spoke about our need to obey those in authority over us as a debt for the services and benefits they provide. We do complain about taxes, and the case can be made that we are overtaxed and the money is spent inefficiently. But, would you want to live without a police force? Would you want to live without a fire department? Would you want to drive on dirt roads? We have an obligation to our community, and the obligation is paid through taxes to the governing authorities. As followers of Christ, and for an orderly world instead of chaos, we must live in subjection to this. It could be argued that America is such a prosperous nation and has so many benefits because this has long been a part of its Christian heritage. In many nations chaos reigns and governments have many subjects who don’t pay taxes, and they often are never collected.
R.C. Sproul addressed the question, “What about our taxes being used for unholy purposes?” In essence, he said that it is our obligation to pay our taxes, as Jesus and Paul both taught, and once they are paid the money is no longer ours. Thus, we do not bear guilt for what happens with that money. The guilt then, is on the government.
Conclusion: It is clear that we are to submit to the institution of government, and most often to those who are in authority over us. Only when they require of us direct disobedience to a direct command of God may we disobey, and then we should willingly pay the price without resistance.
The institution of authority has been set up by God. In general, for the sake of order in society, we are to live in submission to authority. It is only when the authority issues a specific command that is in direct disobedience to the command of God that we are, in the words of Captain Jack Sparrow, “disinclined to acquiesce to your request” (Pirates of the Caribbean).
My conclusion on the specific question before us - the government is not limiting our meeting together, it is only limiting (and in some cases only advising) that we limit the size of our gatherings, and it is for the sake of our good. The current limitations on us does not reach the point of rebelling against the government. There is no command in the Bible to maintain churches of any numerical size, except to say that the Lord is present with us when only two or three are gathered together. And - since He is always with me - Him and me make two! (I love that!) In fact, there were no church buildings for about 300 years after the time of Jesus Christ. Christians mostly gathered in homes. So, you might say, the government is currently actually helping us get back to a more Biblical pattern of Christian gathering.