Why We Believe: Defiance to Tyranny is Obedience to God

if you would turn in your bibles to acts chapter 17 acts chapter 17. if you're new to the scriptures that's right after the four gospels acts chapter 17 you get dr luke's historical narration of the events of the early church the acts of the early church specifically related to the apostles and those first christians filled with the spirit of god out in the world proclaiming the gospel we're in acts 17. starting in verse 1 hear now the words of the living and the true god now when they had passed through amphipolis and apollo upon apollonia they came to thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the jews and paul went in as was his custom and on three sabbath days he reasoned with them from the scriptures explaining and proving that it was necessary for the christ to suffer and to rise from the dead and saying this jesus whom i proclaim to you is the messiah the christ and some of them were persuaded and joined paul and silas as did a great many of the devout greeks and not a few of the leading women but the jews were jealous and taking some wicked men of the rabble they formed a mob set the city in an uproar and attacked the house of jason seeking to bring them out to the crowd when they could not find them they dragged jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities shouting these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also and jason has received them and they are all acting against the decrees of caesar saying that there is another king jesus and the people in the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things when they had taken money as security from jason and the rest they let them go thus far as the reading of god's holy and inspired word let's pray together as the church god we come before your throne lord with bold and confident access as forgiven people with your inspired word before us this gift this treasure of your revelation you've spoken god and these are your words lord these are not just events in history they're your revelation to us as to what is right and true and lovely and beautiful what is just what is faithful what is obedient i pray god today lord through an unworthy servant you would speak by your spirit that you would challenge us in our thinking that you would embolden us you grant to us the strength of your spirit to live lives that are faithful to you i pray that we would have the strength and the courage to say jesus is lord he's the ultimate over caesar in jesus name we pray amen so today we're talking about why we believe resistance to tyrants as obedience to god or defying tyrant's obedience to god of course that's a challenging thing maybe not often preached today of course in the history of the christian church and in christian tradition it was something that was kind of understood particularly in the protestant tradition understood in terms of the role of the civil magistrate the king the governors the rulers and the role of the church the role of the family there's an understanding that god is the ultimate jesus is lord you understand by the way that that statement jesus is lord is not i'd like to say this is simply a pithy christian slogan he's lord to me he's the boss to me he's the chief ruler to me he's the king of kings to me and lord of lords to me he's lord between my ears and in my home and in my church family we understand that when christians early on were proclaiming that jesus is the king and there's another king other than caesar he's the ultimate jesus that was a profession and a confession a proclamation that was treason in rome you see it's easy for us to say today with the blessings that we've inherited from our forebears christian missionaries and christians evangelists pastors believers who laid down the solid blessings from god's word and justice in this particular nation that we live in it's easy for us to go out into the marketplace and say jesus lord now mind you yes in the 21st century that may cause a bit of a mob or a rabble uh it could create some difficulties say in chaz or chad or chop or chunk or whatever the name of that city was it changed a few times i understand there are some places in the west which was historically founded by believers with an understanding of jesus's ultimacy there are places today where if you say jesus is lord it can cause trouble but let's be honest right now even where we're at today we say jesus is lord and most people just give us a passing you know whatever what a religious zealot zealot or a weirdo but we're relatively safe at the moment in a way because we have not understood this truth of jesus lordship and our generation the way that it really is the way we ought to understand it that the claim of the lordship of jesus christ is that jesus christ is king he's the ultimate he's the ultimate standard he's the ruler of the world he's on his throne putting his enemies under his feet and that's proclamation that jesus is lord he's the ultimate he's the ruler it is understood today in different parts of the world who have been overrun by communist regimes or by totalitarian governments or people who haven't yet received the gospel when they hear that proclamation jesus says lord they get it they understand what it means and we're going to talk a bit about that but why preach a sermon on resistance to tyranny as obedience to god i'm going to say here it is fundamentally i hope you understand my heart on this the reason as a minister of the gospel as a pastor over this church i'm preaching a sermon on resistance to tear in his obedience to god is number one love for god love for god the two greatest commandments love god and love neighbor are what motivates a message like resistance to tyranny as obedience to god for if we love god first and foremost if he's the ultimate if we can recite the shema israel the lord our god the lord is one that proclamation has the understanding there is only one god none before none after he is the first and the last he doesn't even know of any other gods he is the ultimate we are to have his his his his authority his lordship as a sign on our heads and on our hands he has the ultimate position in our lives and everything we do all of our actions are in him we love him supremely love for god is why i preach a sermon on resistance to tear in his obedience to god because any time a tyrant tries to usurp god's authority or take his position it is my duty as a follower of jesus christ to resist that false god and number two love for neighbor we must resist tyrants as an act of obedience to god to love our neighbors for if we turn our heads or act with indifference when our neighbors are covered with the weight of tyranny or injustice we are in fact hating our neighbors if i am not jealous for my neighbor's liberty their freedom and their protection i hate my neighbor love for neighbor demands that we resist tyranny as an act of obedience to god now we need to consider this in the context of the early church a lot of times i think we miss this so many of the statements from scripture about jesus being king of kings and lord of lords and jesus as the ruler of the kings of the earth and statements like jesus as lord have been just simply the things we put on t-shirts or coffee cups they're the sorts of things that christians today just take for granted and we think well those are really just spiritual things they pertain just to our spiritual community we don't quite understand the context of our faith in the early church i want to remind you of it if you would come with me in this remember that the early christians were not killed by rome because they worshiped jesus rome was pagan you worship what you like they had pagan temples where you could pay you could pay a fee and go in and do all manner of wicked and evil things you could worship whatever you want stone stubble hay gold anything you could worship anything in rome but you had to recognize the ultimacy of caesar that caesar is lord caesar is god the state is ultimate the early christians particularly the book of revelation referred to that kind of estate as a beast and we ought to as well but remember they weren't killed because they worshipped jesus the early christians were killed because of what we read here in acts chapter 17 in other places they were killed because they were saying that there's another king jesus you understand that the statement jesus is lord and he's the king in the context of caesar's rule is treason you're saying that there's an ultimate that caesar must yield to caesar must obey the state must bow to jesus that was by the way the claim of the early church jesus as king is not just a really cool uh cd cover but from kanye jesus's king comes with implications it comes with demands you must obey jesus and i want to remind us all that the great commission that the lord jesus gave to us matthew 28 18-20 said all authority in heaven and on earth that pertains to the caesar civil governments your family my family the world all authority belongs to jesus and he says because of all that authority being mine that's past tense by the way he says therefore go because of this go and he says what disciple the nations disciple the nations baptize them and teach them to what obey obey who jesus the one with all authority that great commission is not about starting bible studies in basements that great commission is about winning to the winning the world to king jesus they were saying there's another king jesus by the way that was read it in acts 17 that was the claim that was used as a way to get them into trouble with the rulers of that day jesus is the king remember kaiser curios that was the claim just say it just say kaiser curia caesar is lord you can be a christian and live a good life worshiping jesus no problems at all all it takes is a little pinch of incense just a little bit just an acknowledgement that caesar is lord that he is divine that he has the ultimate saying early christians died gruesome gruesome deaths because they wouldn't offer the little pinch because they wouldn't let those words flow from their mouths they wouldn't say caesar is lord and they were seen as are you ready enemies of the states the christian church from its inception was seen as an enemy of the state and do not forget that our king the ultimate our savior the prince of peace the king of kings he was killed as an enemy of the states there is no way to get around the political implications of this gospel it is a gospel of salvation it is the gospel of forgiveness it is a gospel of peace with god but it is also gospel of a kingdom it's a message about what christ has accomplished in salvation defeating earthly powers spiritual powers and wickedness and it is a gospel that we actually sang about right here the kids did it do you ever think about that song joy to the world joy to the world the lord has come let earth receive what let earth receive her king let earth receive her king well who's that speaking to the christians we've sang that song it's a christmas song right you know that it wasn't created as a christmas song at all we sing it a lot at christmas because it's about advent it's about christ's coming he's appearing as king but that strong that song is is hashtag dat post mill i mean it is straight post millennial it is if you've been singing it welcome to the club guys but think about what the song says because it's deeply biblical the song talks about christ coming joy to the world and he said it says that he is going to defeat sin and darkness as far as the curse is what and we rejoice saying we see these kids singing the song joy to the world but have we thought about the implications of what we're singing as far as the curse is found jesus is going to address it he's going to wrap it up let earth receive her king the early church understood the implications of jesus as lord let me ask you what would it take for you to endure being flayed being flayed in the first century in rome was a way of torturing people to just do it for sport or to get them to say something that they didn't want to say being flayed is where you have your skin cut from your body and pulled from your body while you're alive now don't think about it in terms of theory right that would be really gross thing i want you to think about it as history it happens christians were flayed why not because they worshiped jesus they were flayed because they wouldn't say caesar is lord that you're the ultimate now watch this you are there before roman soldiers and you have a way of escape i want you to consider it you have a means of escape all you must do is say caesar is lord and you keep your skin what would it take for you to have your legs and arms pulled from your body and not recant to continue saying armless and legless jesus is lord because our forebears the early christians they died those ways what would it take for you to be tied to a stake naked to have nero caesar covered in a bare skin or a lion skin coming to eat your genitals that was caesar nero he was a disgusting despicable disgraceful man that considered himself divine he demanded worship he said that he was the son of god but these are the kinds of things that took place and all you must do to escape that kind of a beast that kind of a state is simply say caesar is lord early christian says no jesus is lord you can take my life i have no fear of death it has no power over me i worship jesus he's the ultimate that is brothers and sisters the beginning of the early church christianity started as an enemy of an ungodly idolatrous pagan state from the very beginning and everywhere we've gone by the way people have recognized always the threat of king jesus always i'm going to point you to a little bit of a history here i think it's important this from rj rush dooney tell me if this sounds familiar to you tell me if the quote and listen for it i want you to tell me if it's starting to sound familiar to to you salvation is to be found in none other save augustus and there is no other name given to men in which they can be saved sound familiar hang on according to a german historian the religious principle of the roman empire from the days of augustus on was salvation by caesar quote salvation is to be found and none other save augustus and there is no other name given to men in which they can be saved this helps us to understand the boldness of saint peter and the total power he declared rested in christ when he said of jesus christ neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved that really lets you see that verse in a whole different light doesn't it when peter preached that jesus was lord he declared war on rome modern christians by their devotion to the state have fallen into the pre-christian era that the state is god and only the state can save us politically economically and socially war between christ and caesar the christians in rome was thus inevitable the state and its emperors claimed to offer salvation the church declared that salvation was only in christ powerful another quote here from david chilton paradise restored about caesar worship asia asia minor was significant because the cult of caesar worship is dealt with at length in the prophecy and asia minor was a major center of caesar worship quote inscription after inscription testifies to the loyalty of the cities towards the empire at ephesus at smyrna at pergamum and indeed throughout the province the church was confronted by an imperialism which was popular and patriotic and bore the character of a religion nowhere was the caesar cult more popular than in asia after julius caesar died 29 bc a temple honoring him as god was built in ephesus the caesars who followed him didn't wait for death to provide such honors and beginning with octavian they asserted their own divinity displaying their titles of deity in temples and on coins particularly in the cities of asia octavian changed his name to augustus a title of supreme majesty dignity and reverence he was called the son of god and as the divine human mediator between heaven and earth he offered sacrifices to the gods he was widely proclaimed as the savior of the world and the inscriptions on his coins were quite frankly messianic this was the main issue between rome and the christians who is lord francis schaefer pointed out quote let us not forget why the christians were killed they weren't killed because they worshiped jesus nobody cared who worshiped whom so long as the worshiper did not disrupt the unity of the state centered in the formal worship of caesar the reason the christians were killed was because they were rebels they worshiped jesus as god and they worshiped the infinite personal god only the caesars would not tolerate this worshipping of the one god only it was counted as treason one more uh from a very good article in the time of jesus the roman empire was conquering the world through their military might and a mechanism called we've talked about this before the pax romana or roman peace when your tribe listen to this when your tribe or kingdom submitted to the roman peace rome would nail their euangelion announcements their gospel announcement to a post for all to see on it you could read the words quote there is no other name under heaven by which you can be saved save for augustus you could receive this salvation by having your tribe admit to the fact that caesar is lord now caesar augustus also had a name that went alongside him he was called the divi filius a name in reference to his adoption under julius caesar who was then believed to be a god caesar augustus the divi filius caesar augustus the son of god around the year 6 bce was carved on the side of a roman building this inscription quote the most divine caesar we should consider equal to the beginning of all things for when everything was falling into disorder and tending towards dissolution he restored it once once more and gave the whole world a new aura caesar the common good fortune of all the beginning of life and vitality all the cities unanimously adopt the birthday of the divine caesar as the new beginning of the year whereas the providence which the birthday uh which has regulated our whole existence has brought our life to the climax of perfection in giving to us the emperor augustus who being sent to us and our descendants as savior has put an end to war and has set all things in order and whereas having become god manifest caesar has fulfilled all the hopes of earlier times the birthday of the god augustus has been for the whole world the beginning of good news concerning him to hear it that is downright messianic and i want to say though it has such deeply religious connotations and language it is not really different than most totalitarian states in human history where the state is seen essentially as the ultimate as divine as the point at which you do not go beyond it must be obeyed and from the very beginning of the church the church started with a statement of open treason i want you to see it again acts chapter four go there acts chapter four verse five on the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in jerusalem with anus the high priest and caiaphas and john and alexander and all who were of the high priestly family and when they had set them in the midst they inquired by what power or by what name do you do this did you do this then peter filled with the holy spirit said to them rulers of the people and elders if we're being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man by what means this man has been healed let it be known to all of you and to all the people of israel that by the name of jesus christ of nazareth whom you crucified whom god raised from the dead by him this man is standing before you well this jesus is the stone that was rejected by you the builders which has become the cornerstone and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved do you see it here is peter at the beginning of the church holy spirit was poured out upon the church pentecost has happened now and here is peter in public offering a proclamation that was treason taking the language that was used about caesar and actually reorienting it and saying no that's jesus no salvation is found apart from jesus the state cannot save so the beginning of the church started with open rebellion and treasonous proclamations you see jesus was a threat to the rulers of the world he was a threat to the rulers of the world number one because of the messianic prophecies what do the messianic prophecies tell us about jesus appearing in his advent is coming into the world we can't do it all today but how about the christmas one isaiah 9 6-7 unto us a child a son so it's a human but yet it's the father of eternity it's the el gabor the mighty god of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end that's christ's kingdom that's its growth that's its victory in history and it says the zeal of the lord of hosts will accomplish this god's going to do this isaiah 42 says this servant is coming and he is going to establish justice he won't go grow weary until he has done so and the coastlands are waiting for his law isaiah chapter 2 says that god is going to draw the nations up to his mountain and his torah his law is going to go forth from zion from the center place of the people of god god is coming to rule the world as in genesis 49 10 it says that shiloh is coming and to him shall be the obedience of the nations and of course we did it today in our catechism psalm 110 1 the most popular verse in the new testament quoted from the old testament the lord said unto my lord sit at my right hand until i make your enemies a footstool for your feet that means all of god's enemies are going under the feet of christ so jesus was always a threat to the rulers of this world because jesus came for total obedience again i reference you back to matthew 28 18-20 all authority in heaven and on earth is jesus christ's he has it all and so of course jesus is a threat to the rulers of the world always has been but he was a threat to herod in matthew chapter 2 7-18 herod was a ruler in his day and of course when he hears about the advent of christ the birth of christ what happens he tries to kill him he tries to kill all the babies to end this messianic king's life so that this ruler would not ultimately impact or flirt with his rule he was a threat to the apostate jewish leadership you see tyrants don't like someone like jesus because he's the ultimate he was a threat to political leaders he was a threat to poli to religious leaders who were tyrants who were ruling in a way that was not honoring to god and of course jesus was a threat to caesar go with me to john gospel according to john chapter 19 john chapter 19. jesus was a threat to caesar in john chapter 19 verse 1 the text says then pilate took jesus and flogged him now if you're new to the faith pilate of course is a roman ruler and leader so this is jesus in conflict with rome and the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head in a radium and a purple robe they came up to him saying hell king of the jews and struck him with their hands mocking the king of the universe the king of the world with a crown of thorns placing it onto his head not understanding that they were placing the very sign of the fall onto the head of the sacrifice the thorns but they are mocking jesus hail king of the jews they knew what his message was in verse 4 pilate went out again and said to them see i am bringing him out to you that you may know that i find no guilt in him so jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe pilate said to them behold the man when the chief priests and the officers saw him they cried out crucify him crucify him pilate said to him take him yourselves and crucify him for i find no guilt in him the jews answered him we have a law and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the son of god when pilate heard this statement he was even more afraid he entered his headquarters again and said to jesus where are you from but jesus gave him no answer so pilate said to him you will not speak to me do you not know that i have authority to release you an authority to crucify you jesus answered him you would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given to you from above therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin from then on pilate sought to release him but the jews cried out here it is if you release this man you are not caesar's friends everyone who makes himself a king opposes caesar so when pilate heard these words he brought jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at the place called the stone pavement and in aramaic gabatha now was the day of preparation of the passover is about the sixth hour he said to the jews behold your king they cried out away with him away with him crucify him pilate said to them shall i crucify your king the chief priests answered we have no king but caesar there's the early conflict you see it you see that the scriptures place us in a context where this commitment to christ and his lordship is a commitment to christ as ultimates just think about that the proclamation jesus is lord is calling him the king saying that he has all authority that he's ultimate over every institution every person and when we come to jesus to be saved we're coming to die so we come to christ as ultimate as everything that is the biblical faith but make no mistake about it the early christians came into the world with this proclamation as enemies of the states so it should be no shock to us brothers and sisters when we are finding ourselves in a context today anywhere in the world where we have a state that rejects christ's word god's law and his ultimate authority where we find ourselves as enemies of the state that's the entire history of the christian church wherever anybody tries to subvert the authority of jesus christ in god's law we will be seen as enemies of the state and that is why resistance to tyranny is obedience to god number one because of love for god and number two because of love for our neighbors you see the message of the advent of the king of kings and lord of lords is in as inherently threatening and subversive to totalitarian and tyrannical governments let me say it again please hear it the message of the advent of the king of kings and lord of lords is inherently threatening and subversive to totalitarian and tyrannical governments remember that in psalm chapter 2 long before the advent of christ long before the first christmas the father warned the kings of the earth in reference to jesus that they were to obey the son obey him or they will perish psalm 2 the father promises the world to jesus he says ask of me and i'll give you the nations for your inheritance the very ends of the earth for your possession jesus did not forget to ask but the father says to the rulers of this world he says obey the son or you will perish so of course the message of the advent of the king of kings and lord of lords is inherently threatening to these ungodly governments of course the most quoted verse i'll give it to you again psalm 110 1 very clearly teaches that jesus is putting his enemies under his feet if you contradict him his authority or his law you are an enemy now there's two ways to see this i think that are healthy number one uh don't get too excited about all these enemies going under jesus feet because you also were one of them you were saved and subdued by jesus you who were once an enemy of god were brought near through the blood of the cross but there's also another way that jesus puts his enemies under his feet and that's by pouring out his judgment and wrath upon them there are times where when god wants to put an enemy under his feet to conquer them there they uh they die and are eaten by worms that's also a possibility you see the message of the advent of the king of kings and lord of lords is inherently threatening and subversive to totalitarian and tyrannical governments and pastor wang yi understands that pastor wang yi is a presbyterian pastor a faithful man of god who right now while we're giving this message is suffering somewhere in communist china in a prison he believes what you believe and what i believe the only difference is baptismal mode should we baptize babies but that's peripheral stuff he is us you understand that pastor wang yi is a brother in christ a faithful minister of the gospel if you haven't heard some of his sermons you can go look him up pastor wang yi there's a trans uh subtitle translation underneath he is a great man of god and right now brothers and sisters at this very moment he is suffering a nine year prison sentence in communist china and listen to the charge against our brother who is suffering right now in china for quote inciting to subvert state power they get it chinese government's right by the way they're right they're sinful they're wicked they're idolatrous but their rights the proclamation of the biblical gospel is subversive to state power of a wicked government like that it is you see the message of the advent of the king of kings and lord of lords is inherently threatening and that's seen even in recent times with the history of north korea did you know that before the end of world war ii more christians were in north korea than south korea and did you know that it was known as the jerusalem of the east and did you know that the wicked leader of north korea today who thinks himself a god isn't that interesting seems like we're seeing a pattern here who thinks himself a god did you know that his grandfather was the son of christian missionaries north korea in order to become what it is today had to stamp out the gospel it had to make the christian faith illegal why because we say there's another king jesus isn't it interesting that in history when faithful christians go into a culture with a faithful proclamation of the gospel the state understands the deified state understands these people are a threat to our authority why because they say there's another ultimate they say there's a higher law they say that there is somebody above them and a deified idolatrous pagan state cannot stand that faithful christians in any culture can be humble can be gracious can be hospitable can be like lambs but they will be seen as enemies of the state because of this jesus is lord we say there's another ultimate another king and it's jesus there is no way around this if you want to live a live a life of comfort and ease then you should back away now from the biblical faith because this true faith will cause you to lose your life and livelihoods this is a faith that does not promise comfort jesus said to people woe to you when all people speak well of you a curse on you when all people speak well of you jesus says you will suffer in a world that i believe is being transformed as far as the curse is found through the gospel as we're on our way from that mustard seed to a large tree there will be suffering there will be consequence and brothers and sisters what has happened to us as christians in the west that we love our lives so much that we're unwilling to be uncomfortable or to be seen as people who are subversive we love our stuff let's admit it we love our things we love our relationships above jesus so the moment this year in the west our government sought to subvert the authority and rule of jesus christ by dictating how we worship most pastors in this country yielded and obeyed many times in this country the state says something that is ungodly that is unjust that is unrighteous and we have men behind pulpits that lay down and lick the statue of caesar we live in a time where we have leaders who are the first to bow to the to the throne into the idol of caesar and brothers and sisters it ought not be that way we live in we have so many blessings we live in a nation that was given to us by our puritan forebearers the huguenots those calvinists those reformers those descendants of the covenanters that established this nation by first resisting tyranny we live in the light of all their blessings they tried to give to us they even tried to break up authority and power within our government system because they knew you should never trust an american right they knew that men are not angels they're sinners and so we need to divide power so the state doesn't try to become god but as soon as there's christian witness missing from our culture bold proclamation of the gospel what happens to the states it attempts to deify itself it attempts to be the savior it attempts to bring all issues of injustice into the now and say how do we solve this as the god states let's solve it now even if it hurts people because they don't believe in a day of judgment anyways so they try to bring that judgment into the now by being the deified state that says i'll solve all the problems and will bring all your salvation into the now i want to give a caution quickly quick caution you hear a pastor like myself saying that resistance to tyranny is obedience to god defying tyrants as obedience to god sometimes you can attract the wrong kind of people right you can attract people who are not balanced and understanding nuance and biblical truth and balance and you'll attract people when you say defy tyrants they're like yes anarchy no government i want to say first and foremost a caution romans 13 in proper context says that the state the civil magistrate is god's deacon god's servant to punish evil and to reward the righteous that text by paul in the first century is prescriptive not descriptive just think for a moment now people to this year any time you would have pastors standing up or christians standing up saying we've got to resist this this is tyranny this is evil this is unjust this is violating god's law this is hating my neighbor this is destroying their livelihoods it's destroying their businesses and resist resist you had cowardly christians saying things like romans 13 obey the government what an abuse of scripture when did paul write romans 13 in the first century under who rome so do we think that paul was describing rome as acting as god's deacon always he was killed by caesar he cut his head off they killed the apostles they boiled john in a pot of oil he didn't die so they sent him to patmos they flayed them they crucified them so was paul describing romans 13 as god's deacon acting as god's deacon it's prescriptive that's the role of government is to punish evil reward and protect the righteous that's the role of government it wasn't describing what governments always do so we are not anarchists because scripture teaches us that god has given to us a sphere of government but here's the important context according to scripture all governments are supposed to obey jesus we talked today about separation of church and state you'll hear secularists saying no separation of church and state separation of church and state brothers and sisters christians are the ones that invented separation of church and state and they did not mean what these atheists and naturalists and human humanists mean today they meant that the state has no authority over the church not that the state was not under god these christians who were actually proclaiming that truth and doctrine they never would have believed that the state doesn't have to obey jesus we are not anarchists we believe that government is good government is from god but we also recognize psalm 2 that god demands that the rulers of the earth obey jesus the ruler of the kings of the earth that's what jesus is called in the book of revelation now stop pause are you ready do you believe it now i'm not saying to do the thing where you get the christian exam and you check the box brothers and sisters i think oftentimes we're all good at that i can get the theological exam i can get all the answers right but here's the question do i believe it do i believe it is it in my bones is it rooted down within me because believing that jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth will have consequences and we need to prepare be prepared as christians for some of those consequences that quote from john knox rebellion or resistance to tyrants is obedience to god number one again the biblical basis of that is love for god and to love for neighbor here we go what are we saying when we say resistance to time and disobedience to god or defying tyrant's obedience to god when the state forbids what god commands when the state forbids what god commands or commands what god forbids they must be resisted when the state forbids what god commands or commands what god forbids they must be resisted why why because in doing this the state attempts to take the place of god you see there's a question of ultimates it's question of ultimates it's a foundation of ultimates and this is i think something that will go across the board when you have conversations with your mormon friends your roman catholic friends your jehovah's witness friends your buddhist friends your rosicrucian friends your christian scientist friends wherever they're at this question goes everywhere it's not just about the state it's a principle that applies there as well is jesus the foundation of all knowledge and wisdom does he have all authority is he the ultimate there's nothing behind him nothing that he's yielding to he is the sum and substance of it all the reference point of it all jesus is the ultimate when a state attempts to forbid what god commands or command what god forbids they must be resisted because in that they are claiming that their law is supreme that their rule and authority is over jesus so wherever we see the state behaving in this way we must resist on what basis love for god and love for neighbor you sound so sad about that love for neighbor okay love your neighbor this is also by the way a long-standing christian tradition this is a stand-alone message so i can't do the whole history here but from augustine onward as the christian church spread across the empire empire and around the world it's a long-standing christian tradition that we recognize jesus christ supremacy and ultimacy over all the rulers of the world as a matter of fact you know it and proclaim it now king of kings lord of lords is a treasonous statement in many places but from augustine onward this has been a long-standing christian tradition what resistance to tyranny is obedience to god we can think about and we've talked about this a lot but i think it's good to talk about because of just how simple it was to escape the covenanters in scotland we have john knox there the covenanters i want to just remind you they died such gruesome deaths it was so horrible if you go to edinburgh it is one of the most beautiful places on this planet i've been all over the world truly i've been all over the world in my life and edinboro is one of the most beautiful places in all of the world it has the most amazing architecture and architecture and the scenery it is so gorgeous there's a starbucks there um we were on the main street we're gonna do this covenanter tour and there's a starbucks there we went up in it to grab some coffee real fast and and asked zach and luke right you walk upstairs and there is this window like from there to there and it is facing edinburgh castle and these mountains it is the most epic starbucks in all of starbucks history it's like this is how much do you pay for this place because this scene right here you can sit and stare at for hours it is breathtaking but in that very place they were slaughtering christians dragging them broken legs and limbs up and down streets to have their heads cut off while they were mocked and ridiculed why here it is because the covenanters would not say that the king has authority over the church the king the state may not meddle in the affairs of the church the church is under christ we will be good we would be good citizens we will honor and obey the king but king you cannot take the authority of jesus over the church so we can't say that the king has authority over the church and if you live during their days all you would have to do is acknowledge that the king has authority over the church and you live or you can die like the naked covenanters who were exposed to the elements eating what was it four ounces of bread a day starved to death outside naked in the scotland winter those people died lived outside for months and died and starved because they would not say that the king has authority over the church what would you do what would i do would you be willing to be outside in the winter time in scotland with that cold ocean air blowing over you naked with hundreds of other christians starving watching your children starve what do you say to your children when they're starving and dying and they just want to escape this misery and this famine and this pain what are your children saying to you can't we just say it is there any way out of this and these people died because they would not say that the state the king has authority over the church what's happened to us the covenanters of course you have their descendants the puritans the huguenots from france that escaped persecution they came to america and established this nation brothers and sisters they were reformed through and through they believed in the word of god as the ultimate all that we have in our history the people that started the war for independence the revolutionary war those people that actually signed those documents as a treasonous act the declaration of independence signing that meant you die and your children and grandchildren go into poverty signing that document meant the end of your life and putting your descendants into poverty that's what it meant and these people had a particular christian historical understanding of the role of the church and the state and understanding all the way back from knox that resistance to tyranny is obedience to god and let me just say this i am so grateful for the new england pulpits i am grateful for the black robed regiment those pastors who wore those long genevan gowns they preached god's law the authority of jesus christ they rejected the tyranny of the king and then they grabbed their rifles and they went out and fought against tyranny why love for god and love for neighbor that's how this nation began of course remember this that the war for independence we call the war for independence or the revolutionary war uh this was started by essentially presbyterian anglican and baptist ministers congregational ministers that led their congregations to battle and preached against the injustices of king george and over in england you know what they called it they called the war the presbyterian revolt they understood where this was coming from it came from preachers people who preach the authority of jesus christ over the king brothers and sisters from the very beginning we have a historical tradition that god has given to us about conflict with the state and obedience to god above tyranny i'm gonna give you three examples just briefly go read them later in full detail three examples conflict with the state given to us in scripture in exodus chapter one conflict with the state in daniel chapter 3 with shadrach meshach and abednego conflict with the state in daniel 6 and daniel let me just go to exodus briefly and give you the couple just highlights here if you go to exodus chapter 1 this of course is the story of the hebrew midwives and this is the opening of exodus and in this story in verse 15 of chapter 1 of exodus it says then the king of egypt said to the hebrew midwives and you guys know this story we've read this recently when you serve as a midwife to the hebrew women and see them on the birth struggle if it is a son you shall kill him but if it's a daughter she shall live but the midwives feared god it did not do as the king of egypt commanded them but they let the male children live so the king of egypt called the midwives and said to them why have you done this and let the male children live the midwives said to pharaoh because the hebrew women are not like the egyptian women for their vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them so god dealt well with the midwives and the people multiplied and grew very strongly and because here it is the midwives feared god he gave them families so here's an example at the very beginning of our bible of the hebrew midwives resisting the decree of the king of the pharaoh who says you do this and they said no and they lied righteous deception they lied to the king they lied to the pharaoh to preserve and protect human life they loved god and they loved their neighbors enough to resist this wicked decree of the king and what does god just how does god describe the hebrew midwives as women who feared god there's the ultimate the state says you must and they say god's law is higher and i will love god and love my neighbor and preserve life my life for yours they were risking their own lives brothers and sisters to just to disobey in this way go to daniel chapter three another example just to read you the examples from scripture there's more we can show but daniel chapter three and you guys know i've talked about this many times before i can't read this story not as veggie tales so i'm ruined um and of course saying it the way they did shed rick meshech and abindigo um so here's the example of uh king nebuchadnezzar making an image of gold he makes an idol and he demands in babylon that everybody must bow and worship this idol now of course what would happen was is they would have all the pomp and the circumstance and the music play and everybody was commanded to bow down and to worship the idol but what happens is is these faithful believers who were in exile babylonian captivity at the time they worship god he's the supreme he's the ultimate and they're there now they have to live under this wicked government regime this pagan government and try to be faithful uh people in the midst of that but they're being demanded now it's being demanded of them that they worship and bow down to this idol and here's what happens in verse eight therefore at that time certain chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the jews they declared to king nebuchadnezzar o king live forever you o king have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn pipe liar trigon harp bagpipe and every kind of music shall fall down and worship the golden image and whoever does not fall down in worship should be cast into a burning fiery furnace that's not like seven hours in jail you know what i'm saying like christians today we're afraid to stand up and do things that are right and just proclaim truth in the streets and our worst consequence is like seven hours in jail maybe three but you get out because of covet so but they're being told you don't bow and you are burned to death in a fiery furnace it hurts he says these men o king pay no attention to you they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up the nebuchadnezzar and furious rage commanded that shadrach meshach and abednego be brought so they brought these men before the king nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them is it true o shadrach meshach and abednego that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that i have set up now i love this second chance i love this second chance is it true now if you're ready when you hear the sound of the horn pipe liar try again harp bagpipe and every kind of music to fall down and worship the image that i have made well and good but if you do not worship you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace and who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands now if we're honest with ourselves someone says that from the top and they have the power to do it they say look i'm going to play the music again and if you bound worship it's fine but if you don't you'll immediately be cast into a burning fire and who can deliver you out of my hands i wonder how many people how many of us would say okay just a second like to go like you know let's let's reconvene and try to at least encourage each other you guys ready are you ready are you ready like are we gonna do this like you know try to encourage the guy that's maybe a little weaker no here's what happened shadrach meshach and abednego answered and said to the king oh nebuchadnezzar we have no need to answer you in this matter if this be so our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fire furnace and he will deliver us out of your hand o king but if not be known to you o king that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up so the answer from these men to the threats of the king is i don't need another minute i don't need another second i don't need anything i'll answer you right now on this our god is able to deliver us from this fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of your hand king but even if he doesn't we're not bowing you see the motivation in the heart in the hearts of these believers is very simply live or die i don't bow live or die i will not bow and in this case here's let's be honest it's easier for us to read a story like this and say i get it there's like an idol on a throne there's something there it's built up it's a statue it can't see it can't hear can't taste the smell it has no mind i can see myself not being willing to bow resisting resisting the the forced push to the knees before the idol because it's a thing right there to see in front of me and the state is saying bow to this but see that idol was just a representation a representation of their claim to ultimacy and deity and in our day brothers and sisters we live in a day where the state isn't necessarily setting up an idol on a pedestal saying bow and worship this stone image but in many respects today the state in different parts of the world may just be claiming the status of deity and ultimacy and demanding that you submit to its ultimacy and its claims and its authority brothers and sisters it's still an idol don't worship it live or die we don't bow their consequence was a fiery furnace and they said live or die i won't bow another example daniel chapter six many of you guys know here's the account i won't go through this one in detail but read this later daniel chapter six is of course the story of daniel and the lion's den and daniel was praying and i love in the story that daniel goes and he opens his windows you know that part of the story by the way it's part of the story where daniel's told not to not to do this and daniel goes and he just repeatedly does it but what does he do he does it in a way where everybody can see so he's not like i guess i'll just hide in my closet and i'll pray there secretly and have my little private romance with jesus right this is between me and the lord it's a religion i'm sorry it's not a religion it's a relationship it's me and jesus right like i'll just hide in my closet god honors those prayers he knows that i love him now this is like daniel's opening the windows i'm praying and like bows down and it ticks the king off to the degree that he throws him in lion's den but the consequence is death and the answer from god's people is live or die i don't bow so what should our posture be i know this is a stand-alone message i'm going really fast here i'm just trying to give you the principles we can have all kinds of conversations about this but i wanted to be faithful what should our posture be what should our posture be with these biblical principles and truths we should have a humble because we are saved by the grace of god bold because it is the very truth of god prophetic witness in our culture humble bold prophetic witness humble bold prophetic witness our posture should always consider the fact that the great commission applies to those in governments all authority in heaven and on earth means that there is nowhere on this earth that doesn't belong to jesus that he isn't lord over our posture should be to pray for our leaders to pray for our leaders to pray that god would save them open their eyes and hearts to the truth that they'd submit to jesus our posture should be always to resist tyranny and lawlessness why because tyranny and lawlessness forbids loving god and loving neighbor and i want to say this very very important thing it is very relevant in our context today please listen to it love for neighbor we're done here we really are you guys are like what where we are love for neighbor this is so serious means that you will be jealous for their liberty love for neighbor means you'll be jealous for their liberty where you see your neighbors being crushed maybe you can endure it maybe you can endure the injustices the unrighteousness maybe you can endure the burden placed upon you maybe you could just just grind your teeth and push through that kind of thing but remember while you may be able to sit under the tyranny and the injustice maybe you can bite down and grit the teeth and push through it you have neighbors who are being destroyed and loved for neighbor demands that you are jealous for their liberty when you are indifferent towards injustice and tyranny in a society you are hating your neighbor i am hating my neighbor jesus said greater love has no man than this than a man lay down his life for his friends at times laying down your life for your friends doesn't look like physical death it looks like placing yourself in the position of getting arrows from the culture around you being vilified being quote cancelled i am thankful for our forebears i am thankful for our christian forbearers who fought and bled and died to preach a true gospel and to truly love god and their neighbors to care about what was happening around them who understood that jesus authority went everywhere they signed their commitment to love for god and their neighbor in their own blood the covenanters did it and the early founders of this nation did as well and they signed knowing the consequences brothers and sisters love for god and love for neighbor demands of us that we have a humble and bold prophetic witness to the world and we resist tyranny as an act of obedience to god let's pray father i pray that you bless the message that went out today for your glory and your kingdom i pray that you would challenge us with these truths that you would shape us and grow us and help us to love you and love our neighbors and understand the consequence of the proclamation jesus is lord amen

Channel: Apologia Studios

Views: 122,451

Rating: 4.9222679 out of 5

Keywords: jeff durbin, apologia studios, apologia church, jeff durbin sermons, jeff durbin sermon, paul washer sermon, shocking youth sermon, john knox, american history documentary, black robe regiment, t.d. jakes sermon, paula white sermon, r.c. sproul sermon, james white sermon, james white debate

Id: 8_4Z_rPgetk

Length: 66min 30sec (3990 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 09 2020