Whatever You Bind

Whatever You Bind

Matthew 18:17-20

 [17] If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. [18] Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. [19] Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. [20] For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Church Discipline

This passage has to do with church discipline. Jesus says, if a brother refuses to listen to the church he is to be rejected as a Gentile and a tax collector. Gentiles and tax collectors usually belonged to Satan. Paul delivered two men “to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme” (1 Tim 1:20). He also commanded the Corinthian church to “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1Cor 5:5) because he was sleeping with his father’s wife. Paul said, “I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person” (1 Cor 5:11).

Binding And Loosing

Jesus tells the church, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The word “you” is plural in the Greek. It means “you the church.” To bind means to not permit and to loose means to permit. To bind a person or thing means to not permit it. Or to make something binding means to make it a law. A binding agreement is a contract or a covenant. Breaking a binding agreement is breaking a covenant. To break a covenant brings negative sanctions, and to keep it brings blessing.

If Any Two Agree

Jesus says, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. [20] For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” In other words, the agreement of the church is binding both on earth and in heaven. God delegates to His church the authority to bind and to loose. More than 2 or 3 agreed together at the Counsel of Nicaea in 325 A.D. to turn such a one over to Satan that he might learn not to blaspheme.

The Arian Controversy

It started this way. In 311 A.D. man named Peter was the overseer of the church in Alexandria, Egypt. He was in prison for preaching the Gospel and had a vision of Jesus with his robe torn down the middle. Jesus told him that just like the robe he was wearing was split a priest named Arius was to be turned over to Satan because he was about to split the church the same way. The next day Peter’s friends brought Arius to him asking to restore him to the church in spite of his former rebellion. Bishop Peter refused and was also executed for his faith the next day.

This prophecy was fulfilled when Arius started teaching that there was a time when Christ was not. He denied that Christ is God and gained such a large following that it threatened the peace of the Empire. The rulers of the empire sided with Arius and persecution followed.

The Council Of Nicaea 325 A.D.

To bring peace to the empire, the Emperor Constantine called for all the church overseers of the world to gather at Nicaea to come to an agreement on the issue. 318 bishops from all over the world gathered at the Counsel of Nicaea in 325 A.D.

The result was that all but 3 signed the agreement that the Scripture teaches that Jesus is God. The Nicene Creed includes everything the Apostles’ Creed says but adds that Jesus is very God of very God and very man of very man, that God is three persons in one essence… not three manifestations.

The fact that the universal church agreed made the Nicene Creed binding in heaven and on earth.

Who Decides What True Christians Believe?

The church does because Jesus said, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Those who reject the Nicene Creed are not Christians because the universal church said so. Those who reject the deity of Christ are not Christians even though they might say they are. The Nicene Creed contains the essential doctrines of the Christian faith.

The Essentials

In essentials – unity. In non-essentials – liberty. In all things – charity. We cannot be in unity with those who do not believe the essentials. Jesus said He came to divide believers from nonbelievers. But we are forbidden to divide if we agree on the essentials. And, to divide over non-essentials can be sinful. By “divide” I mean to pronounce a believer in the essentials as not Christians. Jesus prayed, “that they may become perfectly one” (John 17:23). “There is one body and one Spirit… one hope… one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph 4:4-5). The Nicene Creed says, “I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.” To deny that is to deny what Jesus said. “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.”

The Division

Until 450 A.D. all the churches were in agreement. They divided at that time over the two natures of Christ. The Church of Armenia, the Coptic Church of Egypt, and the Syriac Churches disagreed with the Eastern and Western churches. Then 500 later the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Churches divided in 1054 A.D. Then another 500 years later the Reformers tried to reform the corruptions of the Romish church after 1517 and were cast out or killed. Now here is the question:

What is a Christian?

Here is the argument of the Church of Armenia. Those who believe in the Nicene Creed can call themselves Christians. All the other doctrines, though they may be true and important, are not binding as essentials for salvation because to be binding takes the universal church. When Jesus said whatever you bind, He was speaking to the whole church, not just one segment of it.

Non-Essentials

There are many important and true doctrines on which the universal church has never agreed and therefore are not binding as essential for salvation. On these there must be liberty to disagree and to debate without dividing. Again, by dividing I mean declaring others as unbelievers. They can still call themselves Christians if they believe in the essentials found in the Nicene Creed. That, however, does not mean they are saved.

Two Kinds Of Christians

(Saved and Unsaved)

Many Christians only believe with the head and not with the heart. There are two kinds of Christians: head faith Christians and born again Christians. Just like there were Israelites circumcised in the flesh but not in the heart, so there are Christians baptized in water but not in the Spirit. Only God knows who is saved and not saved. But we can be assured that “that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? [The Bible says,] Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9-10).

If a man is baptized and says he believes and is not living in scandalous sins like those just mentioned we take his word for it and welcome him to the Lord’s Table. Only God knows the heart and God will judge those witch hunters who think they can read the heart.

Are Roman Catholics Christians?

So, do we say that the Roman Catholics and other denominations that believe in the Nicene Creed are outward Christians? Yes. But only God knows who is an inward Christian. Can an outward Christian believe false doctrines? Well, do you know of anyone that is perfect in all his ideas and doctrines? Don’t get me wrong. There is no excuse and there must be liberty to debate the issues. But we must include all as outward Christians who believe in the essentials of the faith. In essentials God commands unity.

But that does not mean we all have to belong to the same denomination. There must be liberty in the nonessentials and the unity must be in the Spirit and not just in the flesh.

This teaching is important because God hates the divisive spirit. There is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph 4:5).

•               Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity! 



•               Ephesians 4:3 
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:13 
until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ


The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Sabbath

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The Lord's Day

By Ron Smith

Hold The Traditions Which You Were Taught

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word [oral] or our epistle [written]”

(2 Thess 2:15).

It seems that since the surge of Modernism in the late 20^th Century, many evangelicals no longer see the need for observing the Lord's Day as our spiritual forefathers did. Is it time to quit calling Sunday the Sabbath? Have we evolved to be more enlightened than they were, or is there some other motive? Was their interpretation private, or is ours? Was their interpretation faulty, or is ours? Are we the cloud of witnesses or are they? Do we bear false witness when we say we believe in the Ten Commandments while we really only believe in nine? Do we really need to abolish the custom of having weekends off? Would it be good to open our businesses on Sundays and force our employees to work so they cannot go to church? Where do we draw the line between greed and obedience?

The pop interpretation nowdays is that every man can rest whichever day he chooses, go fishing, and thus fulfill the fourth commandment. The main two passages used to support this view are Romans 14:4-6 and Col. 2:16,17. Let us look at them.  We will show that the Matthew Henry Commentary and others believe these two passages are not referring to the seventh day, but rather to the new moon Sabbaths.

Romans 14:4-6

Who are you to judge another's servant?  To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

Colossians 2:16-17

Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

Matthew Henry Commentary

Now let us look at how our fathers interpreted these verses. Below is a quote from Matthew Henry's Commentary. He was a puritan who wrote around 1700. Matthew Henry shows that the apostle was not referring to the Lord's Day, but to the traditional Jewish Sabbaths that took place at new moons, on feast days, and on Saturday.

Those who thought themselves still under some kind of obligation by the ceremonial law esteemed one day above another-kept up a respect to the times of the Passover, Pentecost, new moons, and feast of Tabernacles; thought those days better than other days, and solemnized them accordingly with particular observances, binding themselves to some religious rest and exercise on those days. Those who knew that all these things were abolished and done away by Christ's coming esteemed every day alike. We must understand it with an exception of the Lord's Day, which all Christians unanimously observed; but they made no account, took no notice, of those antiquated festivals of the Jews.”

Sunday as the Lord's Day is the fulfillment of the Sabbath shadow. This is what Christians have always believed and practiced from the early days of church history.

Dictionary Of The Apostolic Church

In Ep. ad Magn., attributed to Ignatius, we meet with an early admonition, emphasizing the distinction: 'Let us, therefore, no longer keep Sabbath after the Jewish manner...and rejoice in days of idleness... But let every one of you keep Sabbath after a spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law' (ch 9). In the nature of things, the two days could not continue to be equally observed in the Christian Church. The Sabbath must needs give place to the Lord's Day: the seventh day of the week to the first. The legislation of Constantine (A.D. 321), which recognized Sunday as a feast day, must have been no small factor in the case; though, again, that would not have been enacted if the custom of keeping the Lord's Day had not already been predominant among Christians… But there is a clear distinction between the two; and for Christians the Lord's Day is paramount. The Fourth Commandment was still held to be binding; only Sunday was tacitly substituted for 'the seventh day.'...Great as the authority of the Sabbath is, the authority of the Lord's Day for all who accept the resurrection of our Lord is equally great or even greater.

Peloubet's Bible Dictionary

Christ's words do not remit the duty of keeping the Sabbath, but only deliver it from the false methods of keeping which prevented it from bestowing upon men the spiritual blessings it was ordained to confer. The almost total silence of the epistles in relation to keeping the Sabbath doubtless grew out of the fact that the early Christians kept the Sabbath, and that this period was one of change from the seventh to the first day of the week, and any definite rules would have been sure to be misunderstood. For many years both the first and the seventh days of the week were kept as Sabbaths; and gradually the first day of the week, the Lord's Day, took the place among Christians of the seventh day, and they had the fullest warrant for the change. The Fourth Commandment of the Decalogue is just as binding now as it ever was, or as any other of the Ten Commandments. Those who argue that God has abolished this Sabbath, but has written the Sabbath law in our very natures, must have strange ideas of the wisdom of a God who abolishes a command he has made it necessary to keep. Christians in keeping the Lord's Day keep the Fourth Commandment, as really as do those who keep what is every seventh day, only the counting starts from a different point. As to the method of keeping the Sabbath no rules are laid down; but no one can go far astray who holds to the principles laid down;-(1) Rest. Nothing is to be done in daily business, and no recreation taken which destroys the rest of others or takes from any the privileges of the Sabbath. (2) Spiritual nurture. One day in seven is to be set apart for the culture of the spiritual nature. These two principles of Sabbath-keeping will always go together. Only a religious Sabbath, which belongs to God, can be retained among men as a day of rest. If men can sport on the Sabbath, they will soon be made to work. Witness the large number of people who must minister to the sport of others. Also the fact that where the Sabbath is merely a day of pleasure the shops soon begin to stay open.

Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr (150 AD) tells us that Sunday was the day that Christians had set apart instead of Saturday, because it was the resurrection day. How can we do this if we have to work?

Ignatius

Ignatius, who was a young man while the apostles were alive, said, "Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the Sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death."

It is clear that the early Christians from the time of the apostles understood the Lord's Day to be the fulfillment of the Old Testament Sabbath Shadow. It was a day set apart from all others for man and for the Lord.

Since this custom has changed since in modern times along with all the other novelties, isn't that a little suspicious? In my father's day (1914 - 1935) the Christians rested from sundown Saturday until sundown Sunday. The custom was common to all denominations (except Adventists). Are smarter and wiser than our Puritan fathers?

Remember the movie Chariots Of Fire? It is a true story of a Church of Scotland covenanter who was expected to win first place in the 100 at the Olympic games. When he found out that he would have to run on Sunday, he told the leaders, including the king, that he could not do it. They were quite disappointed and tried to get him to violate his conscience. As it turned out, he ran the 400 on another day, and won. This he did in spite of the fact that he had never trained for that distance!

Where do we draw the line? The prophets Nehemiah and Jeremiah rebuked the people for carrying burdens on the Sabbath. “In those days I saw in Judah some people treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions” (Neh 13:15).

Jeremiah 17:21 says, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.”

Moderns would say the demands of Jeremiah and Nehemiah were legalistic. The Pharisees were so legalistic that they even went so far as to make it unlawful to carry their blankets. Jesus clearly did not agree with such legalism. Albert Barnes says, "This method he took to show them what the law of God really permitted on that day, and that works of necessity and mercy were lawful."

In John 5:8 Jesus said, "Rise, take up your bed and walk. And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, ‘It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.’ He answered them, ‘He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.' "

Where do we draw the line?

Where do we draw the line? We draw it where our spiritual fathers drew it. We abstain from gainful employment. We work and plan six days. We do not go to the extreme of legalism. Jesus made it clear that it is lawful to pull your ox out of the ditch on the Sabbath. There are some jobs that are necessary on Sunday, such as hospitals. It is not necessary to keep stores and restaurants open on Sunday.

I foresee a day when the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. In that day Christians will not work on Sunday except in those cases where it is necessary such as hospitals, etc. Televised sports will be after 6 PM. Stores and restaurants will follow the example of Chic Filet.

Should we go to restaurants and watch football on Sundays? I leave that for others to decide. Personally, I do not see that as a violation. Those who require their employees to work on Sundays are definitely violating the Sabbath. Some say, “Well, if I eat out or watch sports on Sunday I am causing others to work. Therefore I totally dismiss the idea of keeping the Sabbath.”  Is that logical?

I was fired from a job for refusing to work Sundays. After working there for two years, they decided to open on Sundays. I told them that I could not. They said, "Then we will have to fire you." After thinking it over, I almost gave in to fear. But, as scared as I was, I decided to obey my conscience and trust God to supply my needs. They fired me. In one month I was hired by the biggest advertiser in the world, and the company with the best benefits of any large company in the world. During that month, I did not lose a dime in income. I did some handyman jobs. If we have the moral courage to trust God, we may suffer, but God will bless us and supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!

The Law Of Creation

For those who believe the Fourth Commandment has been abrogated I ask, “Has the Law of Creation been abrogated, also?” In the Law of Creation the Sabbath is made for man and man was not made for the Sabbath (as the Pharisees with their legalist rules thought).  One time a Sabbath keeping team participated in a canoe race that lasted for several weeks. The first Sunday they rested while the other teams got a day ahead. I do not have to tell you which team won. Because the other teams did not take advantage of the rest God had provided for them, they wore themselves out while the Sabbath keepers renewed their strength. Let us work like God did for six days and rest on the seventh. It is wise to cooperate with the laws of nature (the law of creation). Let us obey God and renew the Covenant weekly by “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some” (Heb 9:27).

The word Sabbath is the Hebrew word seven. Seven in Hebrew also means oath. An oath is a covenant (See Gen 21:31-32). The Sabbath is the sign of the covenant. We gather every Sunday to renew the oath and covenant.

Can you imagine a world with no Sundays off?  This is glorious and orderly tradition that came from Judeo Christian tradition.

Hold The Traditions Which You Were Taught

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word [oral] or our epistle [written]”

(2 Thess 2:15).

Churchofthekingmcallen.com

956-585-4402

Not Willing That Any Should Perish?

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2Peter 3:9).

This verse must be interpreted in context. To whom was Peter writing? Verse one of chapter one tells. It says, “To those who have obtained like precious faith with us…” The context is referring to why the Lord had not yet returned. The answer is that He is longsuffering toward “us.” When Scripture speaks of “us,” it does not mean “us worldlings” or we humans. It means we “who have obtained like precious faith.” God is not willing that any of us should perish. There are those of us who have not yet repented. We must wait till the full number of God’s elect have repented.

The following Scripture shows that it was and is the will of the LORD that some should perish.

If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the LORD to put them to death (1 Samuel 2:25 ESV).

The very reason that they would not listen is that it was the will of the LORD to put them to death.

The Wrong Way To Be Right

The Wrong Way To Be Right

The word “polemic” has to do with controversial argument. The word irenic means peaceful and conciliatory. The following quote from “Calvinist International” explains how “being right” can lead to a lack of salt in our speech. “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Col 4:6). I need help in this area. Please pray for me.

“But refutation of polemical claims in a patient but rigorous way is not itself a polemic answer, but rather an irenic one, conducing to understanding of the truth; and irenicism certainly doesn’t mean unwillingness to clearly state the truth or to critique error. It simply loves truth more than the misleading feeling of being “right,” and knows too that on the way to truth, there are no shortcuts.” - http://calvinistinternational.com/2012/03/18/truth-and-method/

When I was a young new convert, my pastor said, “You always have to be right. Don’t you? You always have to set everyone straight.” Of course everyone wants to be right and everyone thinks he is right. Do you know of anyone that thinks he is wrong or wants to be wrong? Truth seekers have a problem.

It is great to seek the truth and be humble enough to be willing to be taught better by any man. But once the truth seeker does that and discovers where he was wrong, the next problem arises. He wants to correct others. The problem with that is that many do not want to be taught better by any man. The “feeling of being right” tempts us to call others “stupid” or corrupt.

For example, when people move from our church to another city, they have the problem of finding a church like ours. There is a great temptation to get crossways and critical. This is where humility is tested. Many things in the new church are distasteful to them. What should one do? The answer is: It is more important to be submissively humble than to be right. God is more interested in a gracious heart than in the correct brain. But is that not compromise?

It is not compromise with truth as long as one’s personal stand is firm, but gracious. A great opportunity for growth in grace is being offered. Just submit to their authority and be an influence without being divisive. “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called [even by opponents] sons of God.” Chew the meat and spit out the bones. Beware of perfectionism.

Even God made certain allowances that some might label compromise. Examples: the law for divorce and the request for a king. If we really do have better understanding, grace in the heart will understand that God needs dumb people, too, because only dumb people can reach dumb people.

When a truth seeker gets revelation, a lack of grace in his heart demands that everyone see what he sees. That does not mean he should not “clearly state the truth or to critique error. It simply loves truth more than the misleading feeling of being ‘right.’”

To teach the truth for God is to offer a sacrifice. “And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt” (Lev 2:13). To call names is to lack salt. To lack salt simply indicates a need for more grace.

Suppression Of Women by The Bible????

Someone sent me an email that said, "Because fundamentalist religion of all stripes has degradation of women at its core, and fundamentalist Christianity is no exception. Progressive Christians believe the Bible is a human document, a record of humanity’s multi-millennial struggle to understand what is good and what is God and how to live in moral community with each other. But fundamentalists believe the Bible is the literally perfect word of the Almighty, essentially dictated by God to the writers. To believe that the Bible is the literally perfect word of God is to believe that women are tainted seductresses who must be controlled by men."

Authority

Both men and women are to be humble and submissive to authority. No one is exempt. Tyrannical men who abuse their women have no authority. Nor do tyrannical women. Tyrants are rebels against the Highest Authority. Calvinism worked out this doctrine in history and it resulted in republican democracy (liberty in the modern world). The humanist Progressives built on this foundation of Calvinism but left the authority of God’s word out. Submission to authority is the path to freedom. Jesus said, "He that sins is the slave of sin" (John 8:34).

Only by being under True Authority does one have authority and freedom. “For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Mt 8:9). Rebels (including tyrants) might have power, but they do not have authority. “Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses” (Numbers 12:8)?

All rebels against legitimate authority are tyrants at heart. God says to all Progressive tyrants what he said to King Saul. “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king” (1Sam 15:23). Humility is God’s requirement for acceptance. “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Progressives are rejected from being kings because they invent their own authority. (Read Edmond Burke, for crying out loud.)

God is the highest authority. His word (as given by the prophets and apostles) is His revealed will. The Bible is the word of His people, His firstborn heir and delegated authority who is under authority. “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Israel is My son, My firstborn” (Exodus 4:22). God’s church is the Israel of God. “And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God” (Gal 6:16). But if the church is not under the authority of God’s word, the church has no authority. If Progressives pretend to speak for God but are not in agreement with the prophets and apostles of Scripture, then they are false prophets. Jesus appealed to Scripture for His own authority (John 5:39).

Even the humanist, Tom Jefferson did not leave God out. He wrote that all men are created and said, “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — 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.” Notice that these rights come from the Creator and the only rights we have are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (property). It is the sole duty of government to protect those God-given rights. The function of legitimate government is negative, not positive. Its duty is to keep men from murdering, enslaving, and stealing.

Because the Founders understood the proclivity of human nature to control others the Constitution was written to protect those rights and to protect the people from the government. Freedom of religion is the first amendment. Protection of private property is the law of the Creator: Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet. Protection of liberty: Thou shalt no bear false witness. Protection of life: Thou shalt not murder. We have no rights for a free education, free health care, etc. because to have that would violate the rights of others. (Read THE LAW by Bastiat, for crying out loud.)

But, we have a right to “altar or to abolish it, and to institute new Government” only through duly authorized government representatives. Mob rule and vigilantism is illegal rebellion against God’s authority. God hates rebels against true authority, but to rebel under the authority of the highest authority is not only a right, but also a duty.

The French Revolution was rebellion against the Highest Authority, God. It was illegal because it was based on mob anarchy and class envy. It sought to destroy the past and the church. The current progressives are children of the anti-God French Revolution. They are heirs of Barabbas. They oppose the God of Scripture and the Constitution. “Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries” (Jude 8).

Disarming Principalities

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Col 1:15-16).

Notice that these thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers are in heaven (invisible), and on earth visible. Satanic rulers work in tandem with earthly rulers.

Col 2:15 says, Christ disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross. Evil rulers are not disarmed by commanding them to leave, but by the cross of Christ, the weakness of submission to the Father. Even though the work was finished at the cross, the body of Christ does what Paul said in Col 1:24 by filling up in our flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.

Now please look at how Psalm 82 throws light on these rulers of heaven and earth.

Psalm 82

1 God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. [These mighty “gods” gather together as rulers while God stands among them.]

2 How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah [God’s law says, “You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty” (Lev 19:15). The identifying mark of these rulers is partiality. That is the nature of the beast that results in class warfare.]

3 Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. [The best way to defend the poor is by liberty and justice for all by means of free enterprise without partiality.]

4 Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.

5 They [the rulers] do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable. [Their earth is unstable because Christ is not their foundation.]

6 I said, “You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. [God calls the rulers of darkness “gods” and Sons of God (“children of the Most High”).]

7 But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes [Satan].”

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.

God Takes His Place In The Divine Council

In the midst of the gods He holds court

What God calls gods in Psalm 82:1 He calls “men” that die in 82:7. So, evidently visible human rulers are somehow metaphysically linked with invisible Satanic principalities in the divine council. This is why politicians somehow change once inside the D.C. Beltway. Principalities and powers discover chinks in their character with powerful temptations and corruption runs rampant. This is why liberals congregate in state capitals.

Micaiah’s Vision Of The Divine Council

When The Prophet Micaiah had a vision of the Divine Council we see a good example of how the visible and invisible work together when Ahab and Jehoshaphat had gathered a council to decide about going to war with Damascus. They asked the prophet Micaiah what they should do. Micaiah calls this council “the host of heaven.” Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So there were various suggestions. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ (1 Kings 22:19-22).

We see another example of the Divine Council in Job 1:6. Just as Psalm 82:6 calls these gods “children of the Most High,” in Job they are called “sons of God.” Job 1 says, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.” You might ask, “Why are lying spirits and Satan among them?” The answer is because of Adam’s fall God uses evil forces to punish sinners. When men break God’s law, God turns them over to the tormentors and we get the rulers we deserve.

The Bible calls these principalities the Rulers Of Darkness of this age. Ephesians 3:8-10 shows how God now includes the church in the divine council. Paul says, “To me… this grace was given, that I should preach… to make all see what… has been hidden… to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” Preaching God’s word is what disarms them. “For we … wrestle against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). The church does this warfare with the sword of the Spirit.

Psalm 2 says, “The rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Christ… but He who sits in the heavens shall … speak to them in His wrath, ‘I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.’” He speaks by the mouth of His people. The rulers of darkness plot in the divine council to ban God’s law in public places. Then they proceed to eliminate the name of God’s Son. Then they forbid our having a voice in the Divine council by separation of church and state. The solution is God speaking to them in His wrath by the mouth of his servants.

God Has a Message To Rulers: “Deliver the poor and needy.” Both liberals and conservatives say they want to do that. Liberals want the government to do it and conservatives want volunteers to do it. But for the government to do it, they have to break God’s law by showing partiality through the plunder of taxpayers.

Does it really help the poor to become wards of the state? Nowhere does God’s law command the government to provide handouts. All it does is make them slaves on Uncle Sam’s Plantation.

I don’t trust any politician that ignores Bastiat’s little book, “The Law.” Psalm 82:5 says, “They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.” Without Christ there is no foundation. Verse two says to the rulers, “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality?” They do not understand that the sole duty of government is to protect the people from plunder. But they do the opposite through imperialism (sticking their nose in the affairs of sovereign nations), regulations, taxes, and welfare.

Our Prayer And Our Hope is in Psalm 82:8Our prayer: “Arise, O God, judge the earth;” Our hope: “you shall inherit all the nations!”

Daniel’s Vision Of The Heavenly Court

The prophet Daniel foresaw the heavenly court seated over 500 years beforehand when the judgment in favor of the saints was given. He says, “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated… And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days… and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” [The time came when Christ ascended in the clouds and sat down on the throne of the Lord] (Daniel 7:9-22)… and Daniel said, “the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High” (Dan 7:27).

If the kingdoms of earth are given to the people of God, then I ask, “How can we possibly “zip it” and not make God’s voice heard in politics?”

“All things were created through Him and for Him,” every aspect of creation is created for Him, including politics.

We have ascended with Christ and are seated together with Him in the heavenly council as Sons of God, kings, and priests ruling and reigning with Him… disarming the rulers of the darkness of this age by teaching the nations. The meek shall inherit the earth.

“Arise, O God, judge the earth;

you shall inherit all the nations!”

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