Participants: Alan J. Reinach, Esq
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000153
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth, live from Surprise, Arizona.
00:21 Well it's another beautiful day in Phoenix today. 00:25 And I want our people to know that we've had a tremendous 00:31 welcome by this church. 00:34 And the Clearview Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:38 right here in Surprise, Arizona are a wonderful group of people. 00:42 And if you live in this Phoenix area and you're looking 00:46 for a church, I invite you to visit this church. 00:51 And if you get a chance tomorrow, we're at 00:53 19554 N. Papago, that's a tough one for me, Drive. 01:02 It's just off Gold Water Canyon. 01:04 Is that right? 01:06 It's just off... 01:08 Well, alright. Well we're getting close. 01:12 - Put it in a GPS. - Yeah, put it there. 01:16 If you don't have one, call. 01:18 I'm sure someone can direct you to the church. 01:20 But you'll be welcomed here, and a wonderful group of people. 01:25 And we want you to visit us, because you will find 01:30 a lot of good friends here, people that love the Lord. 01:33 Beautiful church, beautiful city, beautiful weather. 01:35 Good pastor. 01:36 And good pastor, good pastor's wife. 01:38 She sang for us on last evening. Did a fine job. 01:41 And tonight we get to hear the pastor sing. 01:43 It's a talented couple. 01:44 That's right, and he's going to sing for us in a little bit. 01:48 But we're having an attorney speak to us tonight. 01:53 - Amen. - It's Alan Reinach. 01:56 He's going to be speaking in a moment. 01:58 We'll have somebody else introduce him. 02:00 Ralph Ringer, the NAD Jewish Ministries leader, 02:05 is going to be introducing him a little later. 02:09 Ralph may not tell you, but Alan is really a New York guy. 02:12 He's an east coast guy. 02:13 He's kind of a world figure now, but his roots 02:16 are in the east coast. 02:17 And you can still hear that New York in him when he talks. 02:19 He's got that New York demeanor. 02:21 So we still claim him back in New York as a New York guy. 02:24 Even though he's a sought after world speaker, 02:26 he's a New Yorker. 02:27 You know, a few years ago, a few months ago, 02:30 we interviewed Juanita Kretschmar. 02:31 You remember, that was a year ago actually. 02:34 About this time we were down in Miami, Florida. 02:38 And there are two individuals of our speakers 02:42 who, I believe, one of their first contacts 02:47 with Seventh-day Adventists was through that ministry. 02:50 I think you're one of them? 02:52 Okay, Jeff was one of them for sure. 02:55 So there have been a number of others that have received 03:01 Jesus Christ, and it all started with Juanita and her work. 03:05 Indeed. You know, we are remiss. 03:06 We get to wish our audience, and I to you, happy Sabbath. 03:09 Yes, happy Sabbath to you. 03:11 The Sabbath hours have begun. 03:12 And it is a respite from the work day, from the week. 03:16 And it's just good to be in the house of the Lord on Sabbath. 03:19 It really is. 03:20 And I'm going to ask you to introduce our... 03:24 I'm going to introduce our singer. 03:28 But I'm going to ask you to have a word of prayer 03:30 just before we do that. 03:31 - Would you do it? - Be my pleasure. 03:33 - Alright. - Shall we pray. 03:35 Gracious Father, how we praise Your name. 03:39 How thankful we are for the call that brought us from 03:41 darkness to light, and error to truth. 03:44 How thankful we are for the Sabbath day 03:47 and for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 03:49 How thankful we are for Three Angels Broadcasting Network, 03:52 and the many things that You are doing 03:55 to warn men and women that Jesus is coming soon. 04:00 We ask Your blessing upon this program, 04:02 the music that shall be sung, the word that shall be preached. 04:06 May we see Jesus again and anew. 04:09 May we take one more step along that road that leads to glory. 04:13 May our hearts sit with Christ for just a little while. 04:17 And may we get a new vision of the King 04:20 and the soon coming kingdom. 04:23 We thank You, Father, for Your promise to hear 04:25 and answer the prayer of faith. 04:27 - In Jesus' name, amen. - Amen. 04:30 Many years ago when I was in school, 04:33 I had a good friend named, Ronnie Tull. 04:37 And we all loved Ronnie. 04:39 He was a very special, special person. 04:44 Weekend leave, Ronnie went home. 04:48 And he never returned because of a tragic automobile accident. 04:53 And we mourned him. 04:55 The next year, I believe it was the next year, 04:58 his younger brother, Murrell, came to school. 05:02 You know something? 05:03 We all adopted Murrell, first because he was Ronnie's brother. 05:09 And Ronnie's brother was going to get special treatment. 05:12 But after that, it was because we liked Murrell. 05:16 We really did. We liked to tease him. 05:19 We liked to have fun with him. 05:21 Because he was a fun loving person. 05:25 In those days, we had medical cadet core. 05:28 I was the first sergeant. 05:30 And I liked to give him a rough time. 05:32 And he reminded me of that the other night. 05:38 Through the years we've remained friends. 05:41 I think a lot of Murrell Tull. 05:45 Later he met and married Ginger. 05:47 The wisest thing he has ever done. 05:52 And tonight, it's a real privilege to introduce 05:58 the pastor of this church, Pastor Murrell Tull. 06:02 He's going to be singing for us, My House Is Full. 06:25 There is peace and contentment in my Father's house today; 06:34 lots of food on His table and no one is turned away. 06:43 There is singing and laughter as the hours pass by; 06:51 but a hush calms the singing as the Father sadly cries, 07:02 "My house is full, but My field is empty; 07:11 who will go and work for Me today? 07:19 It seems My children all want to stay around My table; 07:27 but no one wants to work in My field, 07:36 no one wants to work in My field." 07:44 Push away from the table, look out through the windowpane; 07:53 just beyond this house of plenty lies a field of golden grain. 08:01 And it's ripe unto harvest; but the reapers, where are they? 08:09 "They're in the house," oh, can't the children 08:14 hear the Father sadly say. 08:21 "My house is full, but My field is empty; 08:30 who will go and work for Me today? 08:37 It seems My children all want to stay around My table; 08:46 but no one wants to work in My field, 08:54 no one wants to work in My field. 09:03 Who will go and work 09:09 in My field?" 09:27 A beautiful song. 09:31 A beautiful song. 09:32 Tonight, I want to introduce to you Alan Reinach. 09:38 He's the Executive Director of The Church/State Council. 09:43 And he will be speaking on, the title of his message, 09:47 Church, State, and the Covenants. 10:02 Thanks for telling me my lights are on, just when I'm 10:04 getting up to preach. 10:06 And C.A., you're absolutely right. 10:08 You can take the kid out of New York, 10:10 but you can't take New York out of the kid. 10:13 Always be a New Yorker. 10:14 But I'm delighted to be with you folks here in Surprise, 10:18 to reconnect with some old friends. 10:21 And you know, we're in a series about the covenants. 10:25 And I was asked to take the title, the topic that's 10:29 right up my alley, because my work is in religious freedom 10:33 and dealing with church/state relationships. 10:35 So we're going to tackle the topic of church and state 10:39 really in the Bible. 10:41 Church and State, and the Covenants. 10:43 There's a myth, ancient by American standards, 10:46 going back to the earliest days of European settlement 10:51 that likens America to Israel of old 10:55 and imagines a special relationship, 10:57 a covenant relationship even. 11:00 And the most famous and oft quoted sermon in 11:03 American history, John Winthrop, on his way to New England 11:08 with the pilgrims, with the Puritans, 11:11 he invoked the blessings and cursings of God's covenant 11:15 with Israel as he urged his pilgrim band to righteousness 11:19 and godliness in the face of the nearly impossible challenge 11:25 of the New England winters and establishing a settlement there. 11:29 Invoking the covenant promises to Israel, 11:32 John Winthrop proclaimed that this puny pilgrim band 11:35 would become a city upon a hill. 11:38 That the eyes of the world would be upon them. 11:42 "And the Lord will be our God and delight to dwell among us," 11:45 he said, "as His own people and will command a blessing 11:49 upon us in all our ways." 11:52 Well, Winthrop closed the sermon with one of my 11:54 favorite passages from Deuteronomy, 11:56 appropriating God's promises to Israel and making them 12:02 his own promises to the pilgrims. 12:06 Quote, "Therefore, let us choose life that we and our seed 12:12 may live; by obeying His voice and cleaving to Him; 12:17 for He is our life and our prosperity." 12:23 Well, in every generation since John Winthrop, 12:26 the errors of the Puritans have imagined America 12:29 in a special covenant relationship to God. 12:34 Revolutionary war era preachers invoked the rhetoric 12:38 of Israel to preach separation from England 12:41 and to encourage their flocks that God's blessings 12:45 would attend their efforts in opposing English tyranny. 12:52 We've written American history to make larger than life 12:55 Christian heroes of spiritually apathetic leaders, 12:59 like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. 13:02 Neither one of whom could have given evidence of 13:04 Christian conversion to satisfy the likes of John Winthrop 13:08 and the early generation of New England clergy. 13:12 And faced with social and cultural change, 13:15 Christians today and other generations have lamented 13:19 the loss of our nations spirituality 13:22 and the loss of our Christian values. 13:25 A generation ago, American Protestant leaders abandoned 13:28 their historic commitment to the separation of church and state 13:32 in the face of Supreme Court decisions 13:35 consistent with the ethos of the state as officially 13:40 neutral toward religion; 13:42 and thereby ruling that state sponsored religion in the 13:46 public schools, such as rote prayer and Bible reading, 13:49 violated the First Amendment. 13:51 These Protestant leaders condemned the Supreme Court 13:55 for doing what the Court surely could never do; 13:59 kick God and prayer out of public school. 14:04 Even the most casual observer should realize the absurdity 14:08 of claiming that the Supreme Court had the power 14:12 to restrict God's presence in the public school. 14:15 This is terrible theology. 14:18 Now Protestants believe that Christ indwells the heart 14:22 of the believer through the Holy Spirit. 14:25 So where there are Christians in public school, 14:27 God is there dwelling in their hearts. 14:30 Amen? 14:32 Well equally absurd was the Protestant defense of the 14:36 Regent's prayer, which the Supreme Court said 14:40 could no longer be mandated in New York public schools. 14:45 Now the governing body of the New York schools, 14:47 the Board of Regents, had drafted the following 14:50 seemingly innocuous prayer, and I'll quote it to you. 14:55 "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, 15:00 and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, 15:04 our teachers, and our country." 15:07 Nothing wrong with that prayer, right? 15:10 Well, contrast this prayer, which hundreds of thousands 15:15 of New York students were required to recite 15:18 by rote day after school day with the teachings of Jesus 15:23 in the sermon on the mount. 15:26 Jesus said, and I quote, "And when you pray, 15:30 you shall not be like the hypocrites; 15:33 for they love to pray standing in the synagogues 15:37 and on the corners of the streets, that they may be 15:39 seen by men. 15:41 But you, when you pray, go into your room; 15:44 and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father 15:48 who is in the secret place. 15:50 And your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 15:55 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions 16:01 as the heathen do." 16:03 So what do you think? 16:05 Was teaching our children to recite the same empty phrase 16:10 day in and day out, this is what we want to teach our children 16:14 about what prayer is? 16:16 One of my favorite incites about prayer 16:22 says that prayer is the opening of the heart to God 16:27 as to a friend. 16:29 And I don't see any of that in the recitation of 16:32 the Regent's prayer. 16:33 I think the state of New York was teaching our children 16:37 vain repetition, not genuine prayer. 16:40 Which is a good reason to keep government 16:43 out of the business of religion. 16:46 After all, we have such a dim view of our politicians, 16:51 we really want to trust religion into their hands 16:54 and expect that they won't sully the faith in so doing? 17:00 Well the ongoing social, cultural, and legal wars 17:03 over public religion in America have to be 17:07 put into a larger context. 17:10 Many Americans still believe our nation is in a unique 17:14 covenant relation to God, and that we must 17:18 return to God or suffer the consequences. 17:22 Now the Bible is quite clear, as Solomon observed 17:25 in the Proverbs, that righteousness exalts 17:28 a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. 17:32 But this is equally true for every nation, 17:35 not just the United States. 17:37 But the Bible is also very clear about the boundaries 17:42 between civil and religious authority. 17:45 Believe it or not, we're going to see that there is 17:49 separation of church and state in the Bible. 17:53 Now those who would invoke the power and the privilege 17:56 of the state to promote and regulate the beliefs 18:00 and observances of the church, I contend that they commit 18:05 a grave and a dangerous error. 18:08 But don't take my word for it. 18:10 Let's take a walk through the Bible and see 18:14 some of these passages that give us insight 18:17 about separation, about the relationships, 18:21 between church and state. 18:22 And we're going to take a look at the whole teaching 18:25 of Scripture and passages from both Old and New Testaments. 18:30 Well, in the beginning of Israel's history, 18:34 we see a separation between the civil and religious authority. 18:38 Moses, of course, is the civil leader, and his brother, Aaron, 18:42 the high priest, Aaron and his sons are responsible 18:46 for carrying out the religious ceremonies 18:50 in the temple. 18:51 Moses is responsible for the leadership of the nation 18:54 for the civic duties. 18:57 The priesthood is given to Aaron's family, 18:59 to the tribe of Levi. 19:02 After the days of Moses and Joshua, there followed 19:05 a period under the judges, as recorded in the book of Judges, 19:09 before Israel had a king, of course. 19:11 We consider it a theocracy. 19:13 God was the ruler and the nation was under God's authority. 19:17 And there are those today who imagine they would like to 19:19 bring America into a theocracy directly under God's authority. 19:24 I suggest to you that if you look around the world today 19:28 at nations like Iran and Pakistan, 19:32 you might think twice. 19:34 Saudi Arabia. 19:35 We might think twice about blending religious and civil 19:39 authority too closely, and the oppression that comes with that. 19:44 But honestly, I don't think that the modern vision of theocracy 19:48 bears any resemblance to what actually took place 19:52 in the theocracy in Israel. 19:54 And note, the period of judges summed up in the 19:58 final verse of the book says, and I quote, 20:01 "In those days there was no king in Israel. 20:05 Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." 20:09 Now we tend to think about this, that, "Oh well, there was 20:13 a lot of mischief going on. 20:16 People were behaving badly. 20:18 They were doing whatever they wanted, 20:20 and it was rather lawless." 20:23 But notice what this verse says about just how heavy handed 20:30 God was in exercising authority during a time when 20:34 He was directly ruling the nation. 20:37 During the period of the theocracy, God was not 20:40 careful to lay down the law at all, or to impose, you know, 20:44 religious and civil laws and rules. 20:47 He was not the least bit heavy handed, was He. 20:50 So I don't think that's the type of theocracy 20:53 that, when people think of bringing the Bible 20:56 back into the law and bringing theocracy, 21:00 that they're looking for. 21:03 Well as you know, Israel desired a king. 21:06 And Saul was chosen as the first king. 21:09 And Saul very quickly faced a military threat 21:12 from the Philistines. 21:13 So he was gathering his army at Gilgal to prepare for battle. 21:18 And the prophet Samuel instructed Saul to wait 21:21 for him there at Gilgal seven days, that he would come and 21:25 offer sacrifice and invoke the blessing of the Lord. 21:29 Now Saul quite rightly knew that Israel was outnumbered, 21:36 they were poorly armed, they were ill-equipped 21:40 to face the Philistines in battle. 21:42 And he coveted the blessing of the Lord. 21:44 That was a good thing. 21:46 But read with me the account in 1 Samuel chapter 13 21:52 beginning in verse 7. 21:55 "As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, 21:57 and all the people followed him trembling. 22:00 Now he waited seven days, according to the time 22:03 set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; 22:06 and the people were scattered from him." 22:09 Well, Saul must have been worried now, 22:12 how people are leaving. 22:13 How's he going to keep his army together? 22:15 "So Saul said, 'Bring a burnt offering 22:18 and peace offerings here to me.' 22:19 And he offered the burnt offering. 22:22 Now it happened as soon as he had finished 22:27 presenting the burnt offering..." 22:28 Funny how that works, isn't it. 22:30 Just as soon as he did it. 22:32 "...that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, 22:35 that he might greet him. 22:38 And Samuel said, 'What have you done?' 22:43 Saul said," innocently, "What do you mean, 'What have you done?' 22:48 When I saw that the people scattered from me, 22:50 and that you did not come within the days appointed..." 22:54 Shifting the blame, huh? 22:56 "...and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 22:59 then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down on me 23:03 at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication of the Lord.' 23:07 Therefore I felt compelled, and offered the burnt offering." 23:11 Blah, blah, blah. Saul's making excuses, right? 23:15 Trying to justify doing something that he knew 23:20 he was not suppose to do. 23:22 "And Samuel said to Saul, 'You have done foolishly. 23:27 You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, 23:30 which He commanded you. 23:32 For now the Lord would have established your kingdom 23:34 over Israel forever. 23:36 But now your kingdom shall not continue. 23:40 The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, 23:44 and the Lord has commanded him to be commander 23:46 over His people, because you have not kept 23:50 what the Lord commanded you.'" 23:53 Saul forfeited his authority as king, his kingship, 24:01 because he crossed a boundary. 24:05 He crossed a bright line boundary that no king, 24:09 no civil ruler, ever should do. 24:12 He offered sacrifice. 24:14 He usurped religious authority. 24:19 It was not his prerogative to do that. 24:23 Saul wasn't wrong to want to invoke God's blessing. 24:27 He knew he needed God. 24:30 But was this something that was so wrong 24:34 that his kingdom should be taken away from him? 24:39 Apparently, it was a very serious matter. 24:42 And God wanted to make it very clear, this distinction 24:46 between civil and religious authority. 24:49 And we see this in some additional examples as well. 24:55 I'm going to take them out of historical order. 24:58 So first, consider the experience 25:01 of a good king; Uzziah. 25:04 The Bible says he was a righteous king. 25:07 He became king at age 16 and reigned for 52 years. 25:11 The Bible said he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 25:16 But then look at 2 Chronicles 26. 25:20 Pick up the story in verse 16. 25:25 "But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. 25:29 For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered 25:33 the temple of the Lord to burn incense 25:36 on the altar of incense." 25:39 Now to me, this passage is counterintuitive. 25:43 Uzziah was unfaithful because he went to worship God 25:47 in the temple and to burn incense? 25:50 Well, let's keep reading. 25:53 "But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests 25:57 of the Lord who were men of valor, and they withstood 26:01 King Uzziah and said to him, 'It is not for you, Uzziah, 26:05 to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, 26:08 the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. 26:12 Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, 26:15 and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.'" 26:20 Wow, imagine talking to a king like that. 26:24 Azariah the priest is not messing around. 26:27 He's got eighty priests with him as backup. 26:30 Men of valor. 26:32 Sounds like they're pretty tough guys to me, you know. 26:35 Something like bouncers in the house of the Lord. 26:40 Well, then Uzziah was angry. 26:43 Now picking up from the Bible reading. 26:46 "He had a censer in his hand to burn incense, 26:48 and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out 26:53 on his forehead in the presence of the priests 26:57 in the house of the Lord, by the altar of incense. 27:00 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, 27:03 and behold, he was leprous in his forehead. 27:06 And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself 27:08 hurried to go out, because the Lord had struck him. 27:13 And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death. 27:17 And being a leper lived in a separate house, 27:19 for he was excluded from the house of the Lord. 27:23 And Jotham his son was over the king's household, 27:27 governing the people of the land." 27:30 Uzziah was a good king. 27:32 He was a righteous man. 27:34 But he crossed a line. 27:36 A line that no king was allowed to cross. 27:39 He entered the temple to burn incense on the altar; 27:43 to engage in religious ceremonies that belonged 27:46 only to the priesthood. 27:48 And for this grave sin, Uzziah was struck with leprosy. 27:52 He had to surrender his throne to his son. 27:55 As a leper, he would have to live alone. 27:58 He could no longer exercise the prerogatives of king. 28:01 What a sad ending for a good man. 28:06 Well in the next story, the king is chastised 28:09 for setting up a pagan altar. 28:12 Jeroboam is the one who divided Israel from Judah 28:17 after the death of Solomon. 28:19 And in order to secure the allegiance of the people 28:22 to his kingdom, he decided to set up a separate 28:26 center of worship so that people would not go down 28:29 to Jerusalem and then be led to follow the house of David. 28:36 And we read, "Behold, a man of God came out of Judah 28:40 by the word of the Lord to Bethel. 28:42 Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings." 28:46 Now this was a pagan altar that Jeroboam had set up. 28:50 It wasn't the temple in Jerusalem. 28:53 "And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, 28:56 and said, 'O altar, altar, thus says the Lord, 29:00 "Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, 29:04 Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you 29:08 the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, 29:12 and human bones shall be burned on you."'" 29:16 That's pretty intense, isn't it, 29:18 to say in the presence of a king? 29:22 "And he gave a sign the same day, saying, 29:24 'This is the sign that the Lord has spoken, 29:27 "Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes 29:31 that are on it shall be poured out."'" 29:34 Well, it's always dangerous to lift up one's hand 29:38 against God's anointed. 29:41 Civil rulers, kings even, are playing with fire 29:45 when they strike out against religious leaders 29:47 on account of their religious message. 29:50 Here, the king clearly doesn't like the message of the prophet. 29:55 He doesn't approve of his exercising free speech, does he. 30:01 "And so when the king heard the saying of the man of God, 30:04 which he cried against the altar at Bethel, 30:07 Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, 30:10 'Seize him.'" 30:12 What do you think happened to his hand? 30:15 "His hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, 30:19 so that he could not draw it back to himself. 30:23 The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out 30:28 from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God 30:32 had given by the word of the Lord." 30:35 Ouch. 30:36 A withered hand. 30:38 Instant judgment on Jeroboam for daring to strike 30:42 the man of God. 30:45 Now Jeroboam had the presence of mind to repent 30:48 and to ask the man of God to pray for him, 30:50 that his hand would be restored. 30:53 And so Jeroboam was given a second chance. 30:57 His hand was restored. 30:59 But tragically, he really didn't learn his lesson, 31:02 and he did lead Israel into idolatry. 31:06 Which ultimately is why the ten tribes are no more. 31:11 We can trace the destruction of the ten tribes of Israel 31:14 directly to Jeroboam's idolatry. 31:18 Had Jeroboam truly headed the message of the man of God, 31:21 he would have refrained from idolatry, 31:23 and history would have been dramatically different. 31:26 Jeroboam crossed a line. 31:29 He crossed the line by stretching his hand out 31:33 against the prophet. 31:35 But he also crossed the line by setting up a pagan altar. 31:39 And the consequences were especially tragic 31:42 for the entire nation. 31:44 Now our final Old Testament passage involves King David 31:49 and a rare example of a ruler refusing to invoke 31:54 God's blessing to serve his own political fortunes. 32:00 Today, politicians routinely invoke God. 32:04 "God bless America," they say. 32:06 When what they really mean is, "God, help me get elected." 32:11 We pick up the story in 2 Samuel chapter 16. 32:15 David is fleeing Jerusalem on account of rebellion 32:19 by his own son, Absalom. 32:23 "The king went out, and all his household after him. 32:28 I'm skipping down to verse 23. 32:31 "And all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by, 32:36 and the king crossed the brook Kidron, 32:39 and all the people passed on toward the wilderness. 32:42 And Abiathar came up, and behold, Zadok came also 32:46 with all the Levites, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. 32:51 And they set down the ark of God until the people 32:54 had all passed out of the city. 32:56 And then the king said to Zadok, 32:59 'Carry the ark of God back into the city. 33:04 If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, 33:07 He will bring me back and let me see both it,'" 33:10 that is the ark, "and his dwelling place. 33:13 But if He says," if God says, "'I have no pleasure in you,' 33:18 behold, here I am, let Him do to me what seems good to Him." 33:23 The ark of God was a powerful symbol in ancient Israel. 33:28 David might have consented to having Abiathar and Zadok 33:32 and the other priests continue in his camp, 33:35 keeping the ark close as a sign of God's blessing upon them 33:39 to encourage his supporters and to expect God to 33:46 have David prevail in his struggle against Absalom. 33:51 But David knew it was not right to use the ark, 33:54 a powerful religious symbol, to advance his own personal 34:00 political fortunes. 34:02 If God wanted to restore the kingdom to him, so be it. 34:06 But if not, David knew that having the ark 34:09 present with him would not change God's mind. 34:13 David would pray for God's blessing, but he would not 34:16 seek to manipulate God to his own end. 34:21 And this is a lesson that I wish many other leaders had learned. 34:26 I wish our American politicians would learn 34:29 not to try to manipulate God for political purposes. 34:35 Well let's take a look now at how Jesus related to the state. 34:41 Jesus acted as a good citizen all His life. 34:44 He avoided encounters with Roman authorities 34:47 until He was slandered and betrayed 34:50 to the authorities at the end of His life. 34:53 When Jesus appeared before Pilate, Jesus demonstrated 34:56 His understanding of the distinct roles of Caesar 35:00 and God. 35:02 Pilate asked Jesus whether He claimed to be King of the Jews, 35:06 as He'd been accused of doing. 35:09 Jesus assured Pilate that He had no designs 35:13 on Caesar's realm. 35:15 He told him that His kingdom is not of this world. 35:21 And for this reason His followers didn't 35:25 wield the sword. 35:26 John 18:36. 35:29 Now Pilate knew that he had no basis to assert 35:32 jurisdiction over Jesus. 35:34 Jesus' dispute with the Jews was a matter of religion. 35:38 The Romans weren't interested in exercising 35:42 jurisdiction over religious disputes. 35:46 But even so, Pilate had Jesus flogged 35:50 and questioned Him further because of his concern 35:53 about the crowd's sentiment and the threat that it posed 35:57 to his own position. 36:00 And so at this point Jesus shut up. 36:02 He refused to answer anymore questions. 36:05 Having established Jesus' innocence, 36:07 Pilate had no business toying with Him 36:11 merely to placate a hostile crowd. 36:14 Pilate stepped beyond any legitimate inquiry 36:18 as a state official. 36:19 And undoubtedly, he knew it. 36:22 Yet he was offended by Jesus' silence, 36:25 and resorted to arbitrary threats. 36:28 "Are You not speaking to me? 36:30 Do you not know I have power to crucify You 36:32 and power to release You," Pilate said to Jesus. 36:37 Christ's memorable response is the correct response, 36:41 the correct Christian response, to all states 36:45 and all rulers that overstep their powers 36:48 and invade the prerogatives of God. 36:51 Jesus said, "You could have no power at all against Me 36:57 unless it had been given you from above." 37:02 Jesus reminded Pilate that his power was not his own 37:08 to wield as he saw fit. 37:11 Pilate had been given power from above. 37:14 From the emperor certainly, but ultimately from God. 37:18 And Pilate was merely a steward of that power. 37:22 Pilate was obligated to exercise power with justice 37:26 and equity, not arbitrarily. 37:30 Which meant that he should release Jesus. 37:34 Now Pilate's response to Jesus demonstrates that he not only 37:38 understood, but really he agreed with Jesus. 37:42 He knew Jesus was right. 37:45 From then on, Pilate sought to release Him, the Bible says. 37:49 In the end, though, as we know, Pilate caved in 37:52 to popular demand and did not release Jesus. 37:57 And so, Pilate has become an enduring symbol of the weak 38:01 spineless authority that knows the right 38:06 but chooses the wrong for safety, expediency, 38:11 and popularity. 38:13 Ever sense that time, civil rulers have needed 38:17 the prophetic voice of the church to remind them that 38:21 they serve as stewards of power, not as masters. 38:27 Amen? 38:29 So we've seen these examples of the limited civil authority 38:36 of rulers; that they do not properly exercise 38:41 religious authority. 38:43 But what about the spiritual authority of the church? 38:47 Just as God has given civil authority to civil rulers, 38:53 so God has also given abundant spiritual authority 38:59 to the church. 39:00 And just a few verses will suffice to give us 39:04 an expansive view of this spiritual authority. 39:08 For example, Matthew 21:22, Jesus says, "Whatever you ask 39:15 in prayer, you will receive if you have faith." 39:22 Wow. 39:23 Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive? 39:28 That's astounding, isn't it? 39:31 That's a lot of authority. 39:34 Well in Matthew 18, Jesus says, "Whatsoever you bind on earth 39:41 shall be bound in heaven." 39:45 Whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven? 39:48 Now Protestants take a different view of that verse 39:52 than Roman Catholics do. 39:54 Catholics, of course, look at this in, I think, 39:59 an over-expansive view of church authority. 40:02 Because they assert the right to do things like change 40:07 the day of worship from Sabbath to Sunday. 40:11 To rearrange the commandments, for example. 40:14 But as Protestants, we do understand that there is 40:19 abundant authority given to the church to govern itself. 40:24 Now in this church, for example, I suspect that in your 40:28 morning worship service, you have some or all of 40:31 the following elements: you have some announcements, 40:34 you have opening prayer, you have maybe a children's story, 40:38 an offering, special music, you sing some hymns, 40:42 you have a sermon. 40:44 Well the Bible does not lay out what a worship service 40:50 should look like after the period of the temple, does it. 40:55 Of course, there's evidence in the Bible for things like 40:58 prayer, for giving offerings, for teaching the Word of God, 41:03 for, you know, having a Sabbath school, 41:05 having a Bible class. 41:07 Sure, these are all wonderful things. 41:09 But the church has authority to organize itself. 41:14 The Bible doesn't say whether the church should be 41:16 hierarchical or whether it should be congregational, 41:19 what our politics should be. 41:21 Well, we get together and we figure that out. 41:24 And we pray that God would lead us. 41:26 "Whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. 41:30 God has given us authority to figure things out; 41:33 how we're going to carry out the great commission, 41:36 how we're going to serve God, how we're going to bind together 41:39 as God's people. 41:42 How about this one, Matthew 28, the great commission. 41:46 Jesus asserted that all authority in heaven 41:51 and earth belong to Him. 41:54 And on that basis, commanded His followers to make disciples, 41:57 to baptize, and to teach. 42:00 All authority. 42:02 And He's given us that authority to teach, 42:05 to make disciples, to baptize. 42:08 Wow. 42:10 That's a lot of spiritual authority, isn't it. 42:18 One of my favorite passages that I think really 42:23 helps us see the distinction between civil and religious 42:27 authority is found in the book of Acts, chapter 1. 42:32 These are the final words of Jesus before He ascends 42:39 to heaven. 42:43 The disciples have been with Him now for, what, 40 days 42:47 after His crucifixion, after His resurrection I should say. 42:53 And they still don't get what kind of a Messiah 42:59 Jesus really is. 43:02 They're still mired in their Jewish ideas about 43:07 re-establishing the kingdom, and they're still coveting 43:11 political power. 43:13 Notice the question that they ask. 43:15 "Jesus, Lord, is it at this time that You will restore 43:20 the kingdom to Israel?" 43:23 That reveals, that says volumes about what's in their hearts, 43:27 what they're really hoping for. 43:29 They still want to sit at the right hand and the 43:31 left hand of the throne. 43:33 They still want to see Israel restored and the empire 43:37 ruling, dominating, the world. 43:39 They want to see Jesus as, you know, the Son of David 43:45 ruling all nations with a rod of iron. 43:47 That's the kind of Messiah that they want. 43:52 Now notice what Jesus says to them. 43:55 He'd already told them to wait for the promise of the Father, 44:00 referring to the Holy Spirit. 44:02 But now He reminds them. 44:05 "It's not for you to know the times or the seasons 44:10 which the Father has fixed by His own authority. 44:15 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. 44:21 And you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, 44:27 and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth." 44:34 The disciples were wanting the exousia. 44:39 There are two Greek words for, "power," here; 44:42 exousia and dunamis. 44:44 "It's not for you to know the times or seasons 44:47 which the Father has fixed by His own exousia." 44:50 His own authority. 44:52 The civil authority. 44:53 God setting up His kingdom and ruling. 44:56 That was in the Father's hands. 44:58 That was not to be given to the disciples; 45:02 ruling in God's name. 45:04 Which is, after all, the core concept 45:09 of America in covenant relationship with God. 45:12 The core concept is, we want to rule in God's name. 45:19 And Jesus said, "That is not to be. 45:22 The Father keeps the exousia. 45:25 He keeps the authority. 45:27 He will set up His kingdom in His own time. 45:30 But you, you've got something else. 45:35 You've got dunamis." 45:38 The Greek word that we get, what? 45:40 Dynamite. 45:42 Dynamo, dynamic. Right? 45:44 "You've got the dynamite power of the Holy Spirit. 45:48 And with that, you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, 45:51 in all Judea and Samaria, the ends of the earth." 45:55 And in a generation, the disciples of Jesus took 45:59 the gospel around the earth and changed the course 46:03 of human history with the dunamis power 46:06 of the Holy Spirit. 46:08 And I ask you, do we really need the power of the state, 46:13 the exousia, the authority of the state, 46:16 or is the power of God enough? 46:22 Now in the book of Revelation, there is a warning. 46:27 There's a warning about what happens when the church 46:31 has lost the power of God. 46:36 She's lost the power of the Holy Spirit 46:39 to where she seeks in the power of the state, 46:43 in state authority, a substitute for the Holy Spirit. 46:50 The warning is found in chapter 14, and it's repeated 46:54 again in chapter 18. 46:56 There are messages of three angels, aren't there. 47:00 And the second angel's message, in symbolic language, 47:05 very simply says, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, 47:10 that great city, because she made all nations 47:13 drink the wine of the wrath of her fornication." 47:20 Let's unpack that. It's really quite simple. 47:22 It sounds very complicated. 47:24 It sounds, you know, impenetrable even. 47:27 But it's really quite simple. 47:29 Babylon, as a symbolic name in Scripture... 47:33 And I don't have time to explore and explain 47:37 where we get this from. 47:38 But Babylon symbolically represents 47:42 corrupt religious authority, corrupt religious powers. 47:48 Of course, it derives from the tower of Babel. 47:51 It means, confusion. 47:52 And the book of Daniel opens with the tale of two cities; 47:58 the contest between Babylon, the city of confusion, 48:01 and Jerusalem, the city of peace. 48:04 Light and dark, good and evil. 48:06 The great controversy between Christ and Satan. 48:09 Babylon, the symbol of corrupt religion. 48:13 "Babylon has fallen, has fallen." 48:16 Why? How? 48:18 Because she made all nations do something. 48:21 So we start to see a collusion between church and state. 48:28 Babylon is no longer, the church is no longer 48:31 operating under the unction and power and inspiration 48:35 of the Holy Spirit. 48:36 She's in bed with the state. 48:39 Well that's what it says. 48:41 She commits fornication. 48:43 She's in an immoral, intimate relationship 48:49 with the political powers. 48:51 Church and state are in bed together. 48:54 Babylon is fallen because she makes all nations 48:56 drink the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 49:00 Well, wine in Scripture, Jesus said you don't put 49:04 old wine into new wineskins. 49:08 Wine is a symbol of the teachings of the church, 49:11 the doctrines of the church. 49:14 Well, whether those doctrines are true or false, 49:17 in the context of this warning, these doctrines are being 49:22 shoved down everybody's throat through the power of the state. 49:26 And that's where the wrath comes in. 49:29 The wrath of this relationship between church and state 49:32 is the power of the state to impose, to enforce, 49:36 the doctrines and the teachings and the observances 49:39 of the church. 49:44 We've already seen that it is not for civil authority 49:49 to be crossing that line and meddling with 49:52 religious observances, is it. 49:55 We certainly don't want our politicians telling us 49:58 which doctrines to believe and which ones are out of line. 50:03 We see that throughout many nations in this world. 50:08 You have religious freedom in many nations: 50:11 you're free to believe what the majority believes. 50:14 But if you believe something different, you are oppressed. 50:18 You're not free to believe. 50:20 There are blasphemy laws. 50:22 There are innocents languishing in prison. 50:25 And if they weren't in prison charged with blasphemy, 50:28 if they were released, they would be assassinated. 50:31 They would be killed. 50:32 There have been leading politicians in Pakistan 50:35 assassinated for opposing blasphemy laws. 50:38 And their murderers were never brought to justice. 50:44 It is not for the state to say that, "This is true religion." 50:49 And if you don't go along with this religion, 50:52 you are to be punished or even put to death. 50:56 But what we see in the book of Revelation 51:00 is a warning that in the last days these bright lines, 51:05 these distinctions between civil and religious authority, 51:09 they will be blurred. 51:12 Church and state in bed together. 51:15 And with it, the loss of freedom. 51:19 So to those who imagine that somehow a return 51:25 to a more biblically faithful era where the state 51:31 is in service to the church, that this would be a good thing 51:35 for America and would bring the blessing of God, 51:38 the irony is, the opposite is true. 51:43 When church and state, when the church, 51:46 having lost the power of the Holy Spirit, 51:49 hops in bed with the state, that's when God will 51:52 execute judgment. 51:54 That's the warning that we must faithfully give. 51:58 All those who read and understand the book of 52:03 Revelation are to proclaim this warning. 52:07 The judgment doesn't come except that the warning is first given. 52:12 Right? That's what we learn from Jonah. 52:15 Jonah... You remember Jonah. 52:19 Jonah delighted when God told him that Nineveh 52:25 was finished and He would execute judgment. 52:28 Forty days; judgment on Nineveh. 52:31 They were the enemies of God's people. 52:36 But Jonah was worried that if he went and gave this warning, 52:40 that they might repent and not be judged 52:43 and not be destroyed. 52:44 And that's why he wound up on that ship, 52:47 and ultimately would up in a storm, and in the sea, 52:51 and in the belly of the big fish, 52:53 and coughed up on dry land, before he came to his senses 52:56 and said, "Okay God, I guess I better go to Nineveh 52:59 and do what you told me to do." 53:03 And sure enough, Jonah knew God only too well, 53:08 and his worst fears were realized. 53:11 When he gave the warning, Nineveh repented. 53:15 And they were spared. 53:16 And Jonah was so depressed, wasn't he. 53:21 He just hated that. 53:24 The judgment will not come except the warning is given. 53:31 Now I believe that God has given to the church 53:37 ample power and authority to accomplish the work of God. 53:44 The promises are there in Scripture, aren't they. 53:48 God has given the church ample power 53:51 in the power of the Holy Spirit. 53:54 We do not need to rely on the power of the state. 53:59 But, you know, there's something else here. 54:02 It's easy to look at the moral and spiritual degradation 54:09 of society, and it's easy to lay blame and to point fingers. 54:14 But, you know, Hollywood, as immoral as it may be, 54:18 or the Madison Avenue, the advertising that they 54:21 dish out, as immoral as it may be, these institutions 54:26 are not responsible for the moral and spiritual 54:30 health of society. 54:32 And, you know, they may be irresponsible, but they're not 54:37 fundamentally charged with the responsibility 54:42 to preserve the moral and spiritual health of society. 54:45 But there is an institution that God has ordained 54:52 to bless and to maintain the spiritual health and well being 54:57 of society, right? 54:59 Isn't that the church? 55:01 So instead of pointing fingers at the public schools, 55:05 the teachers, the politicians, the Hollywood producers, 55:10 and looking at all these other places and saying, 55:13 "Oh, the immorality. Look what they're doing. 55:16 Look how our nation is going to you know where 55:19 in a hand basket." 55:22 It's not their job to build up the moral and spiritual 55:26 life of the nation. 55:28 And if there is a problem, and I dare say we would all agree 55:33 that there is great need for improvement 55:36 in the moral and spiritual health of the nation, 55:39 well folks, we can look no further than the doors 55:44 of the American church. 55:46 Because God has ordained the church to be the 55:50 influence in society that builds up the moral and spiritual 55:55 health of the nation. 55:57 So repentance begins at the house of God. 56:02 We don't need the power of the state. 56:06 We need the power of God. 56:09 America is at its most Christian when we uphold these 56:16 bright line distinctions between civil and religious authority, 56:21 when we uphold the separation of church and state; 56:27 which is fundamental to the preservation 56:31 of religious freedom. 56:33 You know, we saw the terror attacks in France this week. 56:39 What a tragedy that was played out finally today 56:42 with the death of the terrorists. 56:49 A reminder of what a free society is; that we have 56:53 free speech, we have religious freedom. 56:56 Because the government is there to protect everyone's right 57:01 to our own beliefs, and to speak them 57:04 whether we offend somebody or not. 57:07 We all have those rights. 57:09 And we have a prophetic duty as a church to build up society 57:14 and to warn against looking for false answers, 57:18 false solutions, to moral and spiritual decline 57:22 by looking somehow to the state and our politicians 57:26 to do what God has called the church to do. |
Revised 2015-11-10