For a 21st Century Reformation
- Returning to the Faith Once Delivered Unto the Saints    [Back to the Homepage]
By Joe Pavone

Part 3 - The Christian and the State   [part I]   [part II]

Apostasy Incarnate

The Current State of the Church

March 31, 2007 -- The current state of the church in Amerika is one of abject submission to the government in Washington, D.C. It is my belief that Caesar has now become lord to the Evangelical church. Abominations abound in Amerika and the church is largely mute-cowed by a pagan culture and government. Instead of telling their flocks to obey Christ and His Word, accommodation is sought with a government that sanctions the genocide of unborn children and gives way to sodomy. Defiance of the Nazi-like decision of Roe v. Wade should have been shouted from every pulpit in the country since 1973. Priority should have been given to saving the lives of the 45+ million unborn children murdered since Roe. Utter scorn should have been heaped on a government and a society that increasingly tolerates sexual degenerates and even legalizes "civil unions" for homosexuals. In fact, Medicaid pays for aborting the unborn with the tax dollars collected from this apostate church. The response of the church has been to make its self-preservation the top priority-along with its tax exempt status. While the professing church largely becomes a wing of the Republican party, the response of Emperor Bush was to nominate his pro-abort crony Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.

What has bewitched the Amerikan church into such a stupor? The answer is not a simple one. Is it the millions of "Left Behind" books with their pre-trib rapture fictions? What is the Amerikan church so anxious to be raptured from-their SUV's and stock portfolios? The absence of resistance to ever increasing evil may be the result of rank materialism, the fear of man, and false doctrines. While the unborn are slaughtered, the elderly neglected, and the sodomites parading,millions are seeking a "Purpose-Driven Life"-instead of a Christ centered life. Are mortgages and car payments now to take priority over the commands of a thrice-holy God? Do the unborn children not deserve more than one "Pro-Life Sunday" per year? Is the church now afraid to preach the gospel to sin-crazed sodomites? It is my position that the church of Jesus Christ will never be the salt and light it needs to be without a proper understanding of the role of the Christian and the State. That is-must the Amerikan government be obeyed in all circumstances? Should a Christian defy and fight against the ungodly decisions of courts and laws that contradict the Word of God? The Amerikan church is enslaved and bound by pulpit-poodles who hide behind Romans 13 and are too cowardly to tell the Body of Christ to stand up BOLDLY against the Amerikan government and Amerikan culture and rebuke sin. Instead we had the spectacle a few years ago of the former Attorney General, John Ashcroft, (a Pentecostal) stating out of one side of his mouth that he was personally opposed to Roe v Wade and out of the other side of his mouth stating he would uphold it as the law of the land. As an ostensible practioner of glossalalia I suggest Ashcroft does indeed speak in tongues-forked ones. It is a sorry state of affairs when an ungodly government can cow the church of the King of Kings into submission. Our spiritual ancestors endured the tortures of the Roman Colosseum, the Roman Catholic Inquisition, and the persecutions told of in Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Today's church has instead chosen to bow the knee rather than face persecution and the disfavor of an increasingly pagan society. The blinders must come off and the sleepers must be awakened!

What saith the scripture then?

"And to the angel of the church of the Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Head of the creation of God, says these things: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified by fire, so that you may be rich; and white clothing, so that you may be clothed, and so that the shame of your nakedness does not appear. And anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; therefore be zealous and repent." Revelation 3:14-19

The Biblical Response of the Christian to Ungodly Laws and Pagan Government

The Bible teaches us that Civil Magistracy is ordained by God (Romans 13)-not to supplant Him but to be His instrument for righteousness.

"Shall one who hates right [justice] govern?" - Job 34:17a

"He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God" - II Samuel 23:3b

"Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees." - Isaiah 10:1a

"And you shall look out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness. And place such over them to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. " - Exodus 18:23

These and other Scriptures teach us that Civil Government administers on behalf of a holy and righteous God. However, the ultimate authority for the Christian is:

"Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigns!" - Revelation 19:6b

"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth." - Matt. 28:18

Notice Jesus did not say all power belongs to the U.S. Constitution or government. Romans 13 establishes the necessity of the government being the instrument of God for righteousness in order for obedience to be rendered to it. An Amerikan government that promotes infant slaughter and homosexuality while evicting the One True God from the public schools is an instrument of Satan. For the Christian to render unqualified obedience to this evil is a betrayal of Christ and makes an idol of the Amerikan government.

What is the testimony of our spiritual ancestors?

"For earthly princes lay aside all their power when they rise up against God, and are unworthy of being reckoned in the number of mankind. We ought rather utterly to defy than to obey them whenever they are so restive and wish to spoil God of his rights, and, as it were, to seize upon his throne and draw him down from heaven" - John Calvin (Commentaries on the Prophet Daniel) XII: 382

"Neither can oath nor promise bind any such people to obey and maintain tyrants against God and against his truth known. But if either rashly they have promoted any manifest wicked person, or yet ignorantly have chosen such a one, as after declareth himself unworthy of regiment above the people of God (and such be all idolaters and cruel persecutors), most justly may the same men depose and punish him, that unadvisedly before they did nominate, appoint, and elect." - John Knox (Summaries of the Proposed Second Blast of the Trumpet)

To those Christians reading this who disagree I ask the following questions:

German Christians

Is it a sin for Bibles to be smuggled into Communist and Muslim countries, since that is against the law of many nations?

It is the moral duty of Christians to resist ungodliness and testify against it-whether from individuals or governments.

The following testimony of the martyr Paul Hill is a challenge and a rebuke to all of us:

Paul Hill

"It is certain that we should use the means necessary to defend the innocent, and since the unborn are innocent, it is equally certain that we should use the means necessary to defend them. If we knew that we, or our loved ones were about to be killed, as thousands of unborn children are each day, we would defend one another with the means necessary. We would not limit ourselves to legal and educational remedies that might possibly stop the bloodshed in the future; rather, we would take the immediate action necessary to save one another. If questioned, we would assert the moral necessity of taking this action. The law of love requires us to similarly defend the unborn, and uphold the duty to do so.

The duty to defend the innocent with the means necessary is an essential aspect of the Moral Law that is found in both the Old and New Testaments, and has been recognized and implemented throughout history. Neither the overwhelming majority of citizens, nor the government, questions the duty to defend the innocent. Not everyone agrees on the degree of defensive force that is appropriate, but the obligation to defend innocent people with the means necessary is such a clear and compelling aspect of the Moral Law that it can scarcely be denied.

Not only does the Moral Law require the means necessary for defending the innocent, this duty comes directly from God, and cannot be removed by any human government. The duty to defend your own or your neighbor's child, thus, is inalienable. When the government forbids this defense, the people ". . .must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29b). The Scriptures teach that when the government requires a sin of omission (as it has by forbidding the defense of our unborn children), we must obey God rather than the government. As a consequence, you do not need the state's permission before defending your unborn child. No man-made law can remove the individual's duty to defend his own or his neighbor's child." - From the book "Mix My Blood with the Blood of the Unborn" by Paul J. Hill www.armyofgod.com/PHillBookForward.html

Thus we can see that the Infallible Word of God teaches us that not government, but our God, is the ultimate authority. It follows therefore that wicked laws and governments are to be resisted primarily by testimony against their evil and fleeing their jurisdiction as we saw in the preceding Scriptures quoted. In extreme cases of raging violence being used against the people of God, I believe violence in self-defense is permissible.

"If their princes exceed their bounds, Madam, it is no doubt that they may be resisted even by power (force)." - John Knox (while being questioned by Queen Mary about his views which legitimized subjects resisting their princes)

Needed: A Church Militant

In order for the church of Jesus Christ to repent and experience a 21st century Reformation, it must first return to the spirit and principles of the Protestant Reformation. In previous articles in this series, we have seen how ecumenical compromise with Roman Catholicism has weakened the testimony of the Evangelical church. Men of God like Martin Luther and John Calvin risked their very lives for the sake of the gospel-unadulterated by goddess-worship, rosary beads, and sacramental salvation. There can no compromise-NO COMPROMISE-of the Reformation principles of "Sola Scriptura"-Scripture alone and "Sola Fide"-Faith alone.

We have also seen in a previous article how a church that does not understand the devilish deceptions of Islam and the danger it poses will never understand the necessity to evangelize Muslim countries. There can be no accommodation with a false religion that denies the deity of the Son of God. Jesus Christ was much more than a great prophet but God Incarnate and we must not tolerate those who proclaim jihad and deny our Savior. There can be no compromise with those who persecute and kill our brothers in Christ.

"And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it." -1 Cor. 12:26a

The true church of Jesus Christ must arm itself for war-not cowardly surrender.

Lastly, abject submission to the Amerikan government has rendered the Evangelical church into an impotent arm of the Republican Party. As the landfills accumulate unborn children and sodomites parade in the streets, the Amerikan Christians pursue their "Purpose-Driven" lives. While condoms are handed out in schools and any mention of Christ is banned, the Amerikan Christians anxiously watch their rate of return on investments etc. The sole purpose of this Amerikan church seems to be its self-preservation and maintenance of its tax-exempt status.

What then can a 21st Century Reformation offer in the face of these modern-day Goliaths?

RESISTANCE

• PRAY: that our God will raise up fearless men and women to testify against the rising tide of evil in Amerika and act in resistance to this wickedness.

• BE ARMED: the Word of God must always be our sole guide.

  "Therefore take to yourselves the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
  Therefore stand, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness
  and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
  Above all, take the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." -Eph. 6:13-17

It is impossible for the Body of Christ to slay the modern day Goliaths it faces without being spiritually armed and equipped. Every believer should have a daily prayer and Bible reading time set aside to be ready for the spiritual battles we must fight.

• RECOGNIZE: the Amerikan government is not the final authority in moral matters. No ungodly government has the right to declare a section of the populace like the unborn to be subject to be killed at will. No ungodly government can dictate to the church of the Living God that sodomites are now to be accepted for anything less than the reprobate degenerates that they are. No ungodly government can replace the laws of God with the laws of man! The response of the church of Jesus Christ to governmental wickedness should be utter defiance and resistance! Judge Roy Moore of Alabama was an outstanding example of a Christian man's proper response to unlawful government edicts when he refused to remove the Ten Commandments marker in his courthouse.

• ORGANIZE: join with like-minded, born-again, children of God to take back our streets, our neighborhoods, and our country. If your Pastor is too afraid of losing his tax-exempt status, form local groups for action. The early Christians met in homes-and the catacombs. They did not need stained glass windows and cushioned pews to worship or serve God.

• LABOR: the fields truly are white to harvest. We live in a sin-sick society that needs the uncompromised Word of God desperately. Local groups of believers can do much to advance the cause of Christ. Door to door evangelism, picketing the local abortion mill, boycotting local stores that sell smut, nursing home visitation, street corner preaching and pamphletting-all are some humble examples of ministry. The internet offers possibilities also for outreach. What would happen if every victim of a crime or their family were contacted and offered spiritual and material help as possible? The millions of illegal aliens offer yet another harvest field. There are plenty of Spanish gospel tracts available-are we utilizing them or leaving these folks to the slavery of Roman Catholicism? The challenges are everywhere and the response can best be determined locally.

• WITHDRAW: from the ungodly institutions that are sending Amerika on its downhill slide. Home school your children, and control the computer, TV, and radio in your home. Fellowship with other believers and share with them liberally. The second chapter of Acts is a rebuke to the mammon-crazed Amerikan church-read it! Withdraw from any church or fellowship that is simply a Sunday morning meeting club and does nothing for the sick, unborn, homeless, elderly etc.

A PERSONAL AFTERWORD

This essay has been written after much agonizing about the present day state of affairs in the Amerikan church. I have been a believer for over 28 years and observed the church becoming more and more like the world, instead of vice-versa. The church that is supposed to be the city on a hill, the salt and light, has lost its way, I believe. Nothing less than repentance, renewal, and action can regain the church its place of moral leadership in a pagan society. Rank compromises like inviting godless men like Barack Obama to speak at a fellowship as Rick Warren did recently only add to our retreat and shame. We are not here to be friends of the world but a lifeline to lost and dying men. Rather than sitting in churches, watching movies and eating pot luck suppers, let us reach out!

To those Christians who prefer the current enslavement of the Amerikan church to the US government, I can only quote the words of Samuel Adams:

"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen."
-Speech delivered at the State House in Philadelphia,
"to a very numerous audience," on August 1, 1776.

To my brothers and sisters in Christ who are convicted by this essay, I pray it moves you to ACTION.

"For the love of Christ constrains us, judging this, that if one died for all, then all died;
and He died for all, that the living ones may live no more to themselves, but to Him who died for them and having been raised. -2 Cor 5:14,15

"The church is only the church when it exists for others." -Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, p. 382

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." -From the Declaration of Independence

For Further Reading:

"The Barmen Declaration" - A must read - a statement by German Christians that were in opposition to Adolph Hitler.

Biblical Civil Government Versus The Beast; And, The Basis For Civil Resistance" by Greg Price: This is a monumental work on the relationship of the Christian to the state. - Sub-Notation of Interest: Mr. Price may not correctly identify "the Beast" of biblical prophecy but he does hammer home the points of what constitutes righteous civil authority from that which we now face in the 21st Century...

Please address your comments and questions to Joe Pavone at: joe@calvinistcontender.org