Lux Lucet

Now in fairness to those who hold to the idea that Christians are not to resist evil rulers or seek to remove them from power, most of them will admit that there are occasions where resistance is permitted.  For example, they will say that if the government orders you to kill your neighbor because of his political opinion, you have a duty to ignore that command, because the Law of God says that we are not to murder.  They are, of course, correct in this stance. 

Worth noting, though, is that there are some Christians who make Paul’s injunction in Romans to “be subject to the governing authorities” into something close to an absolute statement.  For example, during the Covid lockdowns there were plenty of Christians who tried to argue that, yes, churches should obey government orders not to meet on the Lord’s Day or not to sing hymns.  In America, we have the Constitutionally guaranteed right to assemble.  No magistrate has any business stating that churches cannot meet on the Lord’s Day (or any other day of the week for that matter).  Christians have not only a right, but a duty to ignore such laws.  Yet many Christians, entire churches even, went along with these abusive dictates. 

But what about the idea of removing a tyrannical government that has overstepped its God-given authority?  Do Christians have any recourse other than to submit to laws destructive of life, liberty, and property?  Are there any options open to them to take action? In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design [apparently, Jefferson was a “conspiracy theorist” in today’s parlance for believing that magistrates could work together to take away the God-given rights of the citizens] to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” Obviously, this is at odds with the stance that Christians are never to rebel against an unjust government.  So, who is right?  Those who claim Christians have no right to seek to overthrow an unjust government, or Jefferson who thought the people of a nation did have that right? 

There are many Christians today who seem to believe Jefferson was wrong.  I have heard from more than one Christian teacher that the American Revolution was not in accordance with the Scriptures and that it was sinful for the colonists to declare their independence and fight against King George.  I suspect that many of these are the same people who were ready and willing to bow the knee to Caesar when he ordered the churches closed during the unconstitutional Covid lockdowns. 

It is not this author’s intention to question the faith of those who went along with Covid lockdowns. But it is this author’s view that they were wrong to do so. Furthermore, it is this author’s stance that those who deny Christians have any right to remove an unjust government are wrong, that Jefferson was right to say what he did about the right and duty of the people to remove oppressive governments, and that the American Revolution can be justified from the Scriptures.

How can I say this in the face of all the Scriptures quoted above that seem to deny Christians the right to remove oppressive governments?  The key is making a distinction between private rebellion, which is prohibited by Scripture, and what is called the Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate, examples of which can be found throughout the Bible. 

Private rebellion by individuals is always wrong.  What Jozachar and Jehozabad did in murdering King Joash was sinful and they were justly punished by Joash’s son Amaziah.  The Scriptures don’t tell us what Jozachar’s and Jehozabad’s motive was for killing King Joash.  Given the context of the assassination, perhaps they were motivated to kill Joash for his turning away from the Lord after the death of the High Priest Jehoiada.  Joash was not a godly king and committed many evil acts towards the end of his reign, including the murder of Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah, who spoke out against Joash’s policy of promoting idolatry in the kingdom of Judah.  Maybe the conspirators thought they were doing the nation a service by getting rid of Joash.  Clearly, Joash was not a favorite among the people as in II Chronicles 24:25 we read that Joash was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

But resistance to a corrupt king, president, prime minister, or potentate by a lesser magistrate is something quite different from private rebellion.  Resistance to higher authorities, up to and including removing them from office by force if necessary, is not only the right of lesser magistrates but in fact, is their duty before God.

The American Revolution was no private rebellion, nor was it undergone in some haphazard, spur-of-the-moment manner.  It wasn’t as if King George did one small thing the colonists didn’t like and the next day they were up in arms.  Rather, it was a case, as Jefferson noted, of “a long train of abuses and usurpations” that led to 1776 and the Declaration of Independence.   Moreover, the Revolution, when it finally did come, was voted on by the Second Continental Congress and signed by representatives from the various colonial legislatures. These representatives were the lesser magistrates of their day.

What Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers of the United States did by publishing and signing the Declaration of Independence and fighting the Revolutionary War was consistent with the Scriptural doctrine of the lesser magistrate, as they interposed themselves, at great risk to themselves – recall they pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor – between a usurping king and the colonists. 

Closing

Well, that went longer than I thought. I see that I’m already over 1,300 words and I haven’t even gotten around to talking about the Biblical account of how the faithful High Priest Jehoiada interposed between the wicked and usurping Queen Athaliah and Joash, the rightful heir of the Davidic throne, and the people of Judah.  This fascinating example of the Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate in action will, Lord willing, be the subject of next week’s post.    

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