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Religious Liberty and the Lesser Magistrate Doctrine

“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places if you can find a man, if there is anyone who executes judgment, who seeks the truth, and I will pardon her” (Jeremiah 5:1).

As America “slouches towards Sodom,” communism, and Islam, what can Americans do to change our slide towards perdition? Clearly, we are living in dangerous, tumultuous times that demand answers, if we long for a future and a hope. Blatant immorality amongst our citizens combined with the rise of governmental tyranny threaten our survival. Our national sins and abominations (abortion, homosexuality etc.) have reached heaven and those that hate us rule over us (Psalms 106:34-42).

Many times in Israel’s history when she went a whoring after other gods, committed abominable idolatries, and allowed injustice to run rampant, God called for someone to make up the hedge and stand in the gap (Ezekiel 22:30). In those desperate times, watchmen upon the wall, guardians at the gate, and those needed to stand in the gap to interpose were necessary to avert national calamity.

Every national indicator points to the fact that America is in need of this kind of interposition today. We are clearly going the way of every other empire that dared to shake their puny fist in the face of a Holy God. Our nation calls evil, good and good, evil (Isaiah 5:20). There are serious woes associated with that moral confusion. We are experiencing them almost on a daily basis.

Our government, tragically, has chosen to codify much of this evil into law. Under the color of law, lawlessness, immorality, injustice, and unconstitutional decrees spew from Washington, D.C., like an open sewer. The Federal government has become a beast. It exists now to impose tyranny, plunder our citizens wealth, corrupt our culture, and dismantle our freedoms to control every aspect of our fleeting lives.

The Obama administration is the culmination of America’s long march from freedom to bondage. He is the personification of the fourfold evil destroying America— abortion, homosexuality, communism, and Islam. When God views America, Obama is our representative. This is what we have become in God’s sight as a nation. We should shudder, cry out, and repent at the mere thought of it.

With the recent Obergefell vs. Hodges opinion, the Supreme Court strengthened Obama’s craving to further his “hope and change” perverted, tyrannical agenda against us. “Sexual liberation” has always been utilized to undermine, faith, family, and freedom by those who seek tyrannical control over the masses. A faithless, godless, and sexually immoral people are merely “useful idiots” tyrants manipulate to bring about the chaos that strengthens their tyrannical grip on men and nations.

True to form, the fascist elements of the Obama sodomite agenda is in full manifestation. This wicked agenda does not seek equality, it demands supremacy. It is not about so-called “Gay Marriage,” but the criminalization of Christianity in America.

As sodomites get their hands on the sword of civil government, our nation is being forced to make a conscious decision. It appears the “powers that be” are seeking to establish this wicked agenda at the expense of Christian’s freedom of religion, speech, and other liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. Several recent cases against Christian bakers, photographers, sports figures, and celebrities, who stand for Christ and the God-ordained covenant of marriage highlight the marginalization and persecution taking place under our watch.

We must remember, the sword of civil government is not neutral. If our government is going to uphold and defend that which God considers an abomination, it must of necessity punish the righteous. Proverbs 17:15 reveals this double abomination at work in our day, “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.”

The plight of our nation seems to have awaken some of the church to these sobering realities. Some, in fact, are seeking to answer the question, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do” (Psalms 11:3)? For many Christians and conservatives, they have opted for the “religious liberty” defense. May I suggest, that is a losing proposition that will further our demise, rather than protect our liberties.

Although religious liberty should be a concern to Christians in our nation, we cannot defeat this monstrosity based upon that legal rebuttal. Those who advocate solely from the religious liberty perspective merely address a fruit of the problem. It is insufficient to remove the roots of our woe. It treats a symptom, but it is impotent to cure the disease. It prunes a branch, but refuses to bring God’s axe to America’s idolatrous, tyrannical tree.

Pastor Matt Trewhella, author of The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate and the Magdeburg Confession exposes the folly of this strategy. He states, “Religious liberty is the latest retreat of the GOP and the conservatives. First they stood against sodomy itself, but then they retreated to the new position of opposing homosexual marriage. Now they have retreated from that position to ‘defending religious liberty.’ The GOP has no fealty to Christ. They only know political expediency– an expediency for their own political ends.”

This hearkens to the warning issued by R. L. Dabney in the last century. He warned:

This [Northern conservatism] is a party which never conserves anything… American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward towards perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader. This pretended salt hath utterly lost its savor: wherewith shall it be salted? Its impotency is not hard, indeed, to explain. It is worthless because it is the conservatism of expediency only, and not of sturdy principle. It intends to risk nothing serious for the sake of the truth, and has no idea of being guilty of the folly of martyrdom. It always when about to enter a protest very blandly informs the wild beast whose path it essays to stop, that its “bark is worse than its bite,” and that it only means to save its manners by enacting its decent role of resistance.

In other words, conservatives merely maintain ground the progressives take. They point out what is wrong and then acquiesce to the liberal’s position. Why? They are not willing to sacrifice or as Dabney stated they have no desire to be “guilty of the folly of martyrdom” to see righteousness prevail. They are indeed “pretend salt” when they forfeit “sturdy principle” for “political expediency.” Pastor Trewhella documents well this travesty as it relates to the events that recently happened in Kentucky with Kim Davis, religious liberty, and the new governor elect, Matt Bevin. He wrote:

After the Obergefell opinion by the Supreme Court this past June, the Republican leadership in Kentucky, with the connivance of pro-family groups, decided that homosexual marriage and religious liberty provided a political opportunity to capture the governor’s seat from the Democrats.

They made the clerks, like Kim Davis and others, the poster-children for their campaign. “Protect their religious liberty!” was the rallying cry. But the GOP never intended to actually stop the evil of homosexual marriage in Kentucky, they only wanted to use it to seize the governor’s seat.

Now that they have it, their true motives are revealed in Bevin’s deceptive executive order. They will accommodate the evil of homosexual marriage. Those who are easily duped will think him some great hero and defender of freedom and marriage, but in reality, he will create the first state policy through executive order that acknowledges the legitimacy of homosexual marriage in Kentucky.

Laws or policies that protect Christians from being personally affected by evil laws, but which allow the evil to continue in the nation are themselves evil laws or policies. Such laws or policies further marginalize Christ and Christianity within the culture.

Bevin’s true duty is interposition. He has a duty to protect the people of Kentucky against a lawless federal judiciary that wants to give the force of law to depraved men. He has a duty to defy.

The issues that arose from County Clerk, Kim Davis, in Kentucky are not just religious in nature. At their core, they are Constitutional, rule of law, and oath of office issues. In God’s providence, a small team from Operation Save America had the opportunity to meet with Kim Davis during this highly publicized event in Kentucky. We encouraged her, prayed for her, and admonished her on these important issues. At one point, I shared, “Miss Kim, the same God who seeks to protect you from putting your hand to this evil is the same God that wants to protect the citizens under your jurisdiction from putting their hands to this evil. This is not just about your religious liberty or your conscience. It is about law, the Constitution, and your oath of office. Your duty is clear. You must interpose to stop the lawlessness, injustice, and the unconstitutional attacks from Washington DC to protect the life, liberty, and property of the citizens you swore before God to serve.”

I hope, by now, that you are beginning to grasp the idea that approaching this issue from solely a religious liberty perspective will not righteously resolve this deplorable situation. It will only serve to further privatize the Christian faith and marginalize Christians as second-class citizens in America. Our nation has pushed in this direction for years with the cooperation of most Christians in America. It is this pathetic condition, the lack of the Church of Jesus Christ being salt and light in our decaying culture that has helped to pave the way for the tyranny that we struggle against today.

What is desperately needed in defense of our lives, liberty, and property is a return to an understanding of the Lesser Magistrate Doctrine. Before I share on this important teaching, a foundation must be first established. The dirty little secret that is coming to light through this debacle is COURTS CANNOT MAKE LAW!!!

Under our Constitution that authority is reserved for the United States Congress. Article One, Section One of the Constitution says, “All legislative power herein granted is vested in a Congress…” How much legislative power is granted to the Congress? All means all, which means there is none left over for the judicial branch in America. Court opinions do not constitute law.

This was the battle cry in Kentucky, “Show us the law or set Kim Davis free!” Michael Peroutka, from American View, powerfully made this point at the rally outside the jail where Kim Davis was incarcerated. It changed the entire narrative that overthrew the failed “religious liberty” arguments. Kim Davis broke no law. In fact, she was the law keeper. It was the Supreme Court that was lawless. There is not one law on the books that came out of Congress that was signed by the President that grants permission for homosexual marriage to be recognized by the states. Yet, the states continue to bow before their Federal masters and comply with their wicked, unjust, immoral and unconstitutional decrees.

Besides this, any so-called “law” of men that violates the Holy Commandment of God is no law at all. Sir William Blackstone and Martin Luther King Jr. would both agree with this premise. In fact, for over 1500 years of Western civilization, men upheld this presupposition. Blackstone, who wrote Commentaries on the Laws of England, was one of the main sources our Founding Fathers looked to form our nation. He stated, “Upon these two foundations, the law of nature (the eternal laws of good and evil) and the law of revelation (found only in the Scriptures), depend all human laws. That is to say, no human laws should be allowed to contradict these.”

More recently, Martin Luther King Jr. affirmed this truth. He gave this apologetic on law:

There are two types of law: just and unjust. I would be the first advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that ‘an unjust law is no law at all.’ Now what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.

Throughout history, men had to deal with this controversy. There are reasons why in times past they declared:

“The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” -Plato

“The hottest fires in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis.” -Edmond Burke

“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” -Edmond Burke

“Men must be governed by God, or they will be ruled by tyrants.”

“Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.” -Thomas Jefferson

These men are all dead who understood these truths. They ran their lap of the race and whether we like it or not, it is our turn now. How shall we then live? How shall we respond in the current crisis? I highly recommend two books to study to help answer these critical questions. These books contain the Biblical principles and historical lessons that have the potential to end this night of wrong and bring forth a new dawn of freedom in our nation. It can provide a future and hope for our children and grandchildren.

As stated prior, they are The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate and the Magdeburg Confession written by Pastor Matt Trewhella. The doctrine simply states:

When a superior civil authority, such as our federal government, makes unjust/immoral decrees, the lesser authority, such as a governor of a state or a sheriff on a county level, has the duty to refuse all unlawful orders. If pushed by the higher authority, the lesser magistrate has the duty to actively resist tyranny in order to protect the life, liberty, and property of those they swore an oath to serve.

To find out more on this important doctrine and what you can do to join the “Gentle Revolution” go to www.lessermagistrate.com or www.defytyrants.com. It is time to stop cursing the darkness and muster the courage to light a candle by rallying the Lesser Magistrates to stand against Federal tyranny in Jesus’ mighty and holy name! Amen!

The Tale of Two Governments

Charles Dickens, the English author of classical literature, wrote a famous novel called The Tale of Two Cities. It centered on London and Paris during the upheaval of the French Revolution. The opening lines state, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

I guess that describes to a certain degree all generations in human history, but for the purposes of this article, I’d like to borrow from Mr. Dickens title and change it to The Tale of Two Governments. What is the best case scenario for civil government as opposed to the worse case scenario?

What constitutes a wise government as opposed to a foolish one? What does a government based upon the Bible look like as opposed to a government rooted in humanism, which the Bible refers to as the beast? What is more preferable for our future hope? Is it a government exercising its authority in the light of justice or a government that descends into the darkness of tyranny? Is it a government that inspires a spring of hope or plots a winter of despair?

As our nation moves from being a free nation towards Communism, I believe we are at the crossroads to answer these questions before they are answered for us. God, in His Word informs us that this tale of two governments does exist in our poor fallen world. Proverbs 29:2 teaches, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” As you check the pulse of America today, are Americans groaning or are they rejoicing?

Thankfully, it is also in the Scriptures that we find the delineation between what constitutes a righteous government as opposed to a tyrannical one.

We will be studying two Scripture references to discover the contrast. They are Romans 13:1-4 and Psalms 94:20, 21. Prayerfully, between these two references, the reader will gain understanding between a virtuous government and an immoral government as God’s Word defines the critical concepts of good and evil. Otherwise, as men and nations are prone to do, we descend to a place where good becomes evil and evil magically becomes good (Isaiah 5:20). The following are the Biblical marks that define them both.

Three Marks of a Tyrannical Government

Psalms 94:20, 21 states, “Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, have fellowship with You? They gather together against the life of the righteous, and condemn innocent blood.” Generally speaking, Psalms 94 cries out to God to shine forth His Justice upon those who “break in pieces Your people, O LORD, and afflict Your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless” (Psalms 94:5, 6). A powerful question is mentioned as well, one I dare say the modern day church needs to answer, “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity” (Psalms 94:16)? From there, the Psalmist zeros in on the three major marks of tyrannical government that God rejects and refuses to endorse.

First mark: tyrannical government “devises mischief by the law.” In other words, they codify evil into law. In the name of law, despotic governments violate the function of law. As the French philosopher, Frederic Bastiat, stated, “It (civil government) has acted in direct opposition to its proper end; it has destroyed its own object; it has been employed in annihilating the justice which it ought to have established.” Today, in America, under the color of law, our experiment with liberty is being dismantled, one freedom at a time.

Human law divorced from the foundation of God’s moral law, is no law at all. Sir William Blackstone, English Jurist, who penned Commentaries on the Laws of England clarifies this time-honored truth:

Man, considered as a creature, must necessarily be subject to the laws of his Creator, for he is entirely a dependent being… And, consequently, as man depends absolutely upon his Maker for everything, it is necessary that he should in all points conform to his Maker’s will… this will of his Maker is called the law of nature. These laws laid down by God are the eternal immutable laws of good and evil. This law of nature dictated by God Himself; is of course superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times: no human laws are of any validity if contrary to this… The doctrines thus delivered we call the revealed or divine law, and they are to be found in the Holy Scriptures… {and} are found upon comparison to be really part of the original law of nature. Upon these two foundations, the law of nature and the law of revelation depend all human laws; that is to say, no human laws should be suffered to contradict these.

America rejects this foundation for law today and has opted for legal positivism. Legal positivism implies law does not need to have an ethical basis. In other words, it is not necessary for law to have a moral foundation. Concepts of righteousness, morality, and time honored truths, are no longer necessary to support law. Frederic Bastiat exposed the folly of lawlessness masquerading as law. He stated, “When law and morality contradict each other, the citizen has the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense or losing his respect for the law.” Just a cursory view of American jurisprudence and the culture it has spawned reveals both tragic realities manifesting under our watch.

As a result of America’s betrayal against God’s Law, our nation opted for a campaign calling for judicial reform. Led by Christopher Columbus Langdell, dean of the Harvard Law School, America rejected Blackstone in favor of Langdell’s “reforms.” He gave birth to the current case method, legal model. The case method uses the study of man’s experience, previous court cases, and prior judge’s rulings as the basis for “law.”

Roe vs. Wade is the epitome of Langdell’s judicial reforms and legal positivism. It moved the basis of law from an eternal, fixed standard to the whims of fallen men. The case method, legal model and legal positivism conspired to produce the “Constitution is a living, breathing document” mentality that breaks the chains on the federal beast that threatens our liberties today. This also paved the way for judicial activism. Judicial activism legislates “law,” like Roe v. Wade, rather than judge cases according to the Constitution. Void of divine absolutes, law has become a human fabrication.

We cringe today at the legal concept of paterfamilias. Under Roman “law,” the father had the authority to express a thumbs up and his child would be allowed to live. But, if he motioned a thumbs down, his child would be left to die. Yet, Roe vs. Wade granted this same so-called right to women. Think about the implications of this unlawful, yet legal insanity. The basis of law finds its source in the fickleness of flawed human beings. In this case, if woman wants the conceived child, the baby can live, if the woman rejects her child, the baby can be exterminated. The God of the Bible describes a government who allows such evil as those who “devise mischief by law.” He will not have anything to do with it, except judge it, like every other idol fit for destruction.

Second mark: They gather together against the life of the righteous. The sword of civil government is not neutral. It is a ministry of justice that is to be concerned with the physical welfare of men and nations. Part of its function is to punish evil doers as God defines evil and to protect those who are good in God’s sight. If our civil government reverses that function and protects evil, it must of necessity punish the righteous.

This is part of the reason why the Apostle Paul called for prayers for those who are in authority, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1, 2).

Proverbs 17:15 warns, “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.” This double abomination dominates American jurisprudence today. Our government gathers against the life of the righteous by legalizing sins and abominations, such as, abortion and homosexuality. Local, State, and Federal officials routinely deny Christians their First Amendment Rights in order to uphold, celebrate, and defend what the Bible considers abominations. 1 Timothy 1:8-11 teaches:

But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

Tragically, our government is making a conscience decision that the pro-abort and sodomite agendas trumps Christians free speech, free exercise of religion, and a host of other rights articulated in the Constitution of the United States of America.

Our Lord takes this persecution against His people personally. Before Saul became Paul, he was breathing out great threats against the fledgling church (Acts 9:1). He hunted Christians down, imprisoned them, confiscated their property, and had many put to death. On his way to Damascus, however, to spread more terror amongst God’s people, he had a divine encounter.

Suddenly, a great light shown from heaven and knocked Saul off his high horse. It was at this point the Lord reveals something truly amazing. He declared, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (Acts 9:3-5).

Saul never laid a hand on the person of Jesus Christ and yet the Lord accused Saul of persecuting Him. In other words, when you touch God’s people, the apple of His eye, you touch Him. As a result of this divine encounter Saul became Paul. Afterwards, the hunter became the hunted and the persecutor became the persecuted.

It is never a good practice or sound policy to persecute God’s people and yet the world delights to do so as seen in Islamic and Communist regimes. Sadly, America is steadily moving forward in this dangerous direction. The day may come when Christians will be considered enemies of the state in the land of the free and the home of the brave. History reveals that our Lord has a major problem with governments who “gather together against the life of the righteous.”

Third mark: Tyrannical governments condemn innocent blood. The first mention of civil government in the Bible is found in Genesis 9:6, which states, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God, He made man.” It is here that we discover the ultimate purpose for civil government, which is to protect life and stop the shedding of innocent blood. God instituted the state to make sure the earth would never again resort back to the horrific conditions of evil before the flood.

Our Founding Fathers agreed with the Biblical understanding of civil government. Thomas Jefferson declared, “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.” Therefore, any civil magistrate that upholds Roe vs. Wade and promotes abortion violates their sacred trust and is not morally qualified to govern.

The Biblical Marks of Good Government

Romans 13:1-4 reveals the marks of good government, a civil government that is operating as God designed it to function. Keep in mind, the Apostle Paul wrote this courageous admonishment during the cruel reign of Nero, a great persecutor of God’s people. God’s Word states:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, reveals the first mark of good government, which is, Almighty God is the supreme authority and civil government is a delegated authority. This implies the concept of limited government. It also introduces the concept of higher law. Almighty God is the final arbitrator mankind can appeal to when suffering under the weight of oppression by despotic governments.

Our own Declaration of Independence acknowledges this truth. “To which the laws of nature and nature’s God” was the appeal and justification for our Founding Fathers to “dissolve the political bands” with England and become a separate and distinct nation amongst the nations of the earth. If there is no such being as the Triune God of the Bible or the concept of higher law, America remains a rogue nation in rebellion to England to this day.

Good government also acknowledges God as the ultimate sovereign. If not, man has only two failed options to embrace. The state is sovereign or the individual is sovereign. One leads to tyranny and the other to anarchy. This is part of the reason our nation opted for One Nation under God. Only “One Nation under God” can secure the delicate tension between a just social order on the one hand, while allowing maximum individual freedom on the other hand. Only “One Nation under God” can maintain the essential balance between authority and liberty.

The second mark of good government upholds God’s commandments in the civil sphere. The symbol of God’s authority in the church are keys (Matthew 16:19). The symbol of God’s authority in the state is a sword (Romans 13:1-4). The church is a ministry of grace, while civil government is a ministry of justice. The church is to be concerned with the spiritual welfare of men, while civil government is to be concerned with the physical welfare of men. Whereas God’s church is to teach the commandments of God, civil government is to enforce God’s commandments in the civil realm. The church is called to expose evil, while civil government is to punish and deter evil that constitute crimes.

Though there is a true separation of church and state, surprisingly it is not found in any of America’s historical documents. It is discovered in the Bible. There is no separation, however, between God and his delegated authorities that He established for His glory and our benefit.

Only the ultimate Lawgiver, Creator God, can define for us the concepts of good and evil. If civil government rejects this revelation, the danger becomes, as stated prior, good becomes evil and evil, good. This moral confusion will lead civil government astray from their sacred trust and inevitable lead to tyranny. Isaiah 10:1, 2 warns, “Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, which they have prescribed, To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless.” Bible commentators refer to this passage as the “woe of tyrants” text. Rulers descend to this deplorable condition when they refuse to acknowledged God’s law and their duty to uphold it in the civil realm. They abandon justice, so God abandons them.

Lastly, Romans 13 addresses good government as God ordained. We are duty bound to obey all lawful authority. This passage of Scripture on civil government, however, does not address our Christian duty when civil government becomes idolatrous, tyrannical, and becomes a lawbreaker itself. In those instances, when the laws of men conflict with the laws of God, we must obey God rather than man. This was clearly taught by the same Apostles who admonished the church to obey all lawful authorities. Acts 4:19, 20 states, “But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Acts 5:29 is even more explicit, “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

In the first Epistle of Peter, the Apostle taught in the times of oppression and tyranny, Christians are to trust God and continue to do good. He admonished this, even though our good may be considered a crime and civil government may consider Christians enemies of the state. This is true Biblical submission and subsequent redemptive suffering Christians endure living under a tyrannical state. It is also God’s rebuke to a government that moved from being a Minister of God to an agent of oppression.

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Lower Magistrate Doctrine

I think we would all agree that we live in tumultuous times that threaten our life, liberty, and property. Most of us suspect that our future and hope stands in jeopardy. In light of these concerns, it would be prudent to address the critical nature of the Lower Magistrate Doctrine.

Before I do, however, it is important to reveal why we have come to the point that the Lower Magistrate Doctrine is necessary in these uncertain days. Our Founding Fathers knew there were two enemies to America’s experiment with liberty. First, was licentiousness amongst the people, which would inevitably lead to the second threat, tyranny in civil government. Freedom, to them, was not the ability to do whatever we wanted to do, but to the power to do as we ought. Freedom was the power to do what was right.

John Adams, our second president, stated, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” He went on to say, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.” He warned, “The avarice of men would bust through the Constitution like a whale through a net.” To him and many others of their day, self-government was the key to liberty.
George Washington in his farewell address admonished, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of man and citizens…And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” If we were honest, Washington’s warnings has most certainly come to pass.

Samuel Adams, Father of the Revolutionary War and Signer of the Declaration of Independence, declared, “Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.”

Jedediah Morse, Patriot and Father of American Geography stated, “To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys. . . . Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all blessings which flow from them, must fall with them.”

Benjamin Franklin stated, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” Proverbs 28:2 concurs, “Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes; but by a man of understanding and knowledge Right will be prolonged.”

Robert Winthrop, Congressman in the 1800s, concurs, “All societies of men must be governed in some way or other. The less they may have of stringent State Government, the more they must have of individual self-government. The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint. Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled, either by a power within them, or by a power without them; either by the Word of God, or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible, or by the bayonet.”

There is a direct connection between our spiritual and moral state and the litany of woe upon us. As the French Historian De Tocqueville stated, “America is great because America is good, if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” The march leading our free nation to slouch towards Sodom, Socialism, and Communism has been long and arduous. Obama is the culmination of our transformation. He has created an environment where everything good, decent, and wholesome about America is mocked, despised, and rejected, while everything evil with America is celebrated with demonic glee. Obama is the personification of evil that is savaging our nation. He is tied directly tied to abortion and the shedding of innocent blood, the homosexual agenda, Islam, and Communism. All four present a danger to our national survival.

This lays the foundation for the Lower Magistrate Doctrine.

THE PRINCIPLE

In essence, the teaching of this doctrine declares that when a superior civil authority, such as our federal government, makes unjust/immoral decrees, the lesser authority, such as a governor of a state or a sheriff on a county level, has the right to refuse all unlawful orders. If pushed by the higher authority, the lesser magistrate has the duty to actively resist tyranny in order to protect the life, liberty, and property of those they swore an oath to serve.

THIS DOCTRINE IN HISTORY

Historically, this doctrine was practiced before the time of Christ. It was Christian men, however, that formalized it and embedded it in their political institutions throughout Western civilization.

Before I give examples in history, it is important to note that the Lower Magistrate Doctrine is rooted in the concept of interposition. Interposition is demonstrated when someone or some group positions themselves between an oppressor and their intended victim. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the supreme example of interposition. He humbly and courageously stood between sin, Satan, and this illegitimate world system that is in rebellion against God’s loving rule and rescued us.

In the days of the Roman Empire, Caligula sent his diplomat Petronius to set up his image in the Temple of the Jews. This was a great offense of sacrilege and idolatry foisted upon the Jews. The Jews remonstrated and beseeched Governor Petronius to defy Caligula’s orders and spare them this grave offense, to the point they prostrated themselves on the ground and offered their necks. They would rather die than to see this happen to the Lord’s Temple.

Governor Petronius was so moved by their remonstrations, he bravely stood between the Emperor’s soldiers, the unjust decree, and the troubled Jews. He took a personal risk for the sake of justice. This is demanded by all Lower Magistrates, if or when the time presents itself.

In Scripture, there are many accounts of interposition. Pharaoh and the Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1 would certainly qualify. Pharaoh ordered all male babies murdered by throwing them in the Nile. The Hebrew midwives refused to comply with his wicked order and spared their lives. Would to God, Governors would fear God and follow the example of the mid-wives to intervene and spare the preborn from the wicked decree of Roe vs. Wade. They could do it if they mustered the courage to protect their most vulnerable citizens amongst them from decriminalized murder. Some of them are willing to say no to the federal beast when it comes to gun control, common core, and Obamacare. Why not say no to the federal beast when it seeks to devour innocent babies in the womb through the injustice of abortion?

In 1 Samuel 14, King Saul made a foolish decree during a fierce battle. He stated, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance upon my enemies.” One huge problem, his son Jonathan did not hear the command and ate honey. Saul was going to have his own son put to death. The people intervened on his behalf and declared, “Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.” “We the people” rose up to interpose and defend Jonathan.

In the field of Runnymede in England, Christian nobles, who operated as Lower Magistrates, took King John’s tyranny to task in the year of our Lord 1215. This gave birth to the Magna Carta. This document came from a Christian culture. It played a huge role that led to the rule of constitutional law in Western civilizations. It helped to eventually correct the false notion of “the divine rights of king” doctrine. Rev. Samuel Rutherford from Scotland sealed it by his tremendous work called Lex Rex. The important principle he established was the king is not law, the law is king. We will not be ruled by the whims of men, but ruled by the law of God. The king is not above the law, he is subject to the law and he is ordained to enforce it when violated.

2 Corinthians 3:17 states, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” This is not only true internally, but eventually externally as well. Every nation where Christianity has been established and flourished, unprecedented liberty has followed in its wake. Why is this? Because Christians, whose thinking is informed by the Bible, know the true nature of God and man. Man is sinful and power corrupts. Therefore, there must be checks and balances to avoid the natural tendency towards tyranny to secure our liberties.

For the last several decades, America has forgotten these Biblical and historical realities. In our great folly, we have given God our official eviction notice, “Get out of our schools, get out of our government, and get out of the public life of our nation.” Do you think it is a coincidence that we are resorting back to tyranny where we are once again ruled by the whims of men rather than by the rule of law?

The problem is America still desires the fruits of Christianity, its protection, prosperity, and blessings, we just don’t want the root, which is Christ our Lord. Only One Nation under God can balance the tension between authority and liberty. Only One Nation under God can secure social order on one hand and maximum individual freedom on the other hand. No other faith, worldview, and religion can accomplish this in our poor-fallen world. We have forgotten these truths to our own demise.

Next stop is the Magdeburg Confession. This is where the doctrine was formalized by Christian pastors. It started when Martin Luther pounded his 95 theses on the door at the Wittenberg church in the year 1517. He was condemned in the Edict of Worms. Facing possible death as a heretic, a Lower Magistrate, Prince Frederick of Saxony, rescued him and provided sanctuary. This act helped to lead to the development of the Lower Magistrate Doctrine as detailed in the Magdeburg Confession.

After Luther died, King Charles imposed the Augsburg Interim. He used military force to try and smash the Reformation. He was seeking to coerce German Christians to readopt Roman Catholic practices. While many capitulated, one city stood in defiance. That city was Magdeburg. It was here Lower Magistrates who were initially being used to attack the city had a change of heart. They eventually turned to protect the people from religious and civil tyranny. They defended the people and upheld God’s Law, Word, and Gospel. As tensions of the siege against their city mounted, the pastors wrote a document that would become known as the Magdeburg Confession. It was there that the pastors articulated the doctrine and took their stand in fealty to Christ.

To learn more about this history, doctrine and confession, may I suggest two books. Both are written or translated by Pastor Matt Trewhella. They are called The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate and the Magdeburg Confession. These works need to spread far and wide, if our nation has any hope of recovery.

Before the American Revolution, it was this doctrine that prepared the colonies to sever ties with England to become a free and independent nation. The Continental Congress gathered in prayer and assigned Thomas Jefferson to craft our Declaration of Independence. It was then and there they looked to the Laws of nature and nature’s God as justification to form our own nation. In this document, they laid out 27 grievances where the higher authority threatened their lives, liberty, and property. They acknowledged Almighty God four times throughout the Declaration. They acknowledge Him as Lawgiver, Creator, Supreme Judge, and His divine providence as they pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. In this case, these Lower Magistrates looked to the higher Law that England was violating to justify resisting the higher magistrate in freedom’s cause.

There have been many recent examples of the Lower Magistrate Doctrine being implemented in America today. Governors and Sheriffs are simply say no to federal tyranny, unjust laws, and wicked decrees. They are one of the last remaining defense mechanisms to protect our life, liberty, and property. If they fail to do their duty, it then falls to the last defensive element, “We the People.” Typically, when it gets to that point, it turns bloody. Thus, we either have a Gentle Revolution led by the Lower Magistrates or I cringe to think of what awaits our future.

This leads to my last admonishment, which is what we can do as citizens? First, I highly recommend you pass on this message to others. Second, we must remonstrate like those who have gone before us. This teaching must spread far and wide. Make sure your family, friends, churches, and Tea Party groups have the books I suggested. We must be schooled in these principles and pass them on to Lower Magistrates, such as Governors, State Legislators, Sheriff’s Departments, and local police officers. We need to encourage them to take a righteous stand against tyranny and assure them that we will stand with them in the defense of our lives, liberty, and property in Jesus’ name!