We Ought to Obey God!
“These are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king–Jesus.”* This was the accusation those of Paul the Apostle’s day leveled against the Christians. And when it came to obeying the governing authorities, Peter said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”** This Christian response to state and social authorities show us that God is over these realms. When the state, or social authorities overreach their jurisdiction, they should not be obeyed. Such disobedience is native to the Bible. From earliest times godly people have disobeyed the state (king, emperor, etc.) and have been rewarded by God for doing so when the state commanded them to disobey His commands.*** Three such examples come to mind: 1) the midwives disobeyed pharaoh’s command to murder every newborn male child. The midwives not only disobeyed the command but also lied about their disobedience when confronted by pharaoh. “But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive… Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them” (Exodus 1:17-21). 2) Rahab the harlot hid Israelite spies and lied to the authorities. “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace” (Hebrews 11:31; also Joshua 2:1-21). 3) Jonathan lied to the king, his father Saul about David (1 Samuel 20). These “lying” and “rebellious” people are treated by the Bible as heroes for doing the right thing. (*Acts 17:7; **Acts 5:29; ***For further insight into Christian civil disobedience see Francis Schaeffer’s book – A Christian Manifesto, chapter 5, “Revival, Revolution, and Reform.”)
I am sure the time for some of us to disobey has come! Recently a single panel of three California judges decided to outlaw homeschooling. These judges, as well as the National Education Association (NEA), suppose it is the state’s right, no, more than that, the state’s duty to indoctrinate ALL children. Yet the education of children is a jurisdiction given by God to families, and ultimately to the family’s head which is normally the father. God has not assigned the indoctrination of children to the state; not of any child, and certainly not of all children as it now claims in California. The state is outside its God-given jurisdiction when it is in the education business. And children are attending an institution which ought not to be in existence (not under the state’s jurisdiction) when their parents send them to government run schools (aka public schools).
Perhaps this ruling by the three judges will force this issue to a head. Pray for California’s Christian parents and for all Christian parents. May they/we receive God’s grace and strength to do what is right in the face of tyranny. I hope we may be counted heroes some day!
For a biblical and theological explanation of Christian education, see the International Church Council Project’s Education of Christian Children at www.ChurchCouncil.org, and at Coalition on Revival’s worldview document on education www.Reformation.net
by Eugene Clingman
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