Paul's Passing Thoughts

In this post, I am not sure I adequately conveyed my thoughts so this post adds some clarification. If present-day calamities are God’s judgment against America prompting a call to “return to God,” how would America do so? So, when pastors call for America to “return to God,” how is the following assumption in anywise avoidable? “Do what the church says because we represent God’s authority on earth.” And consequently, if America refuses, calamities will occur. Is this not laying claim to a shadow theocracy? And if that theocracy becomes a reality, why wouldn’t evildoers be done away with to prevent natural calamities? Isn’t it better for one gay guy to die than thousands dying in an earthquake? And what would be considered ill behavior evoking the wrath of God? Here is the real point of the former post: the idea that God punishes countries with natural calamities because the people don’t listen to the church is merely one step from ISIS ideology.

And scarier yet is the idea that “God’s law” is a “higher law” than the American Constitution. And I will give you three wild guesses as to who they think the experts are in regard to God’s “higher law.” That would be the church (give me a break, the church doesn’t even have a proper understanding of justification). So, if the church oversees the higher law of God, and “man’s laws” should not have precedent, you do the math; everything would be good in the world if the church ruled on God’s behalf.

Christians consume everything labeled “Christian” that sounds good and pouring forth from the mouths of all who claim to be God’s anointed because they have been certified by puritanical seminaries. But if they would just read the Bible for themselves and have an original thought, they would see that all moral laws come from God. There is NO “higher law” of God, only more specific revelation, and in both cases, to be interpreted by every man, woman, and child according to their own consciences. Governments are God’s ministers to make sure they have the freedom to do so. As I stated in the other post, God’s kingdom is not presently on earth, and it is not the church’s role to rule here on God’s behalf.

The fact is, the works of God’s law are written on the hearts of every human being born into the world:

“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.”

There is no “man’s law” as opposed to some higher law of God. We are not here to invoke God’s law on mankind via authority, we are here to appeal to the God-given consciences of men. Christians need to facilitate good governing as much as we are able. Good governments reward good and punish evil according to God’s purposes which does not include forced subservience because this is God’s kingdom—God’s kingdom is not here yet.

We are not here to promote a theocracy through the institutional church; we are “ambassadors” from a foreign country presently located in heaven. Our appeal is not an authority enforced by God through natural calamities. That notion is egregiously misguided.

paul