Rediscovering the American Covenant (eBook)

The Duty Is Ours

Mark Burrell (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024 | 1. Auflage
174 Seiten
Ballast Books (Verlag)
978-1-962202-62-6 (ISBN)

Infos

The colonial church was critical in training the founding generation on biblical principles for governing justly. When England governed unjustly over a long period of time with no intention of changing course, the leaders of the Continental Congress confronted their civil authority. After many years trying to reconcile, they saw no other option but to follow the biblical template for starting a new nation. They drafted the Declaration of Independence, and God blessed their effort. For many generations, the church embraced its stewardship role to pass on these principles, but for the last fifty years, the modern church has turned away from this responsibility. Is citizenship optional for Christians? What is the compelling biblical argument for active Christian citizenship? This book lays out this citizenship role in strikingly clear terms backed by thousands of verses. All the common objections to political engagement are addressed, pointing the reader to the unescapable conclusion: The Duty Is Ours.

Mark is originally from Pennsylvania and graduated from Penn State University with an engineering degree. He has spent forty years in industry and developed a passion for theology. He has helped to start several churches and has had a teaching ministry for over thirty years. Mark began focusing on the American founding in the mid-1990s when seeking to understand whether the Revolutionary War was biblically justified. This led to the publication of his first book, Rediscovering the American Covenant: Roadmap to Restore America, in October of 2022. His latest book, The Duty Is Ours, is a condensed version arguing all Christians have a citizenship duty in the communities and nations in which they live.

Textauszug

Chapter 2

God’s Civic Expectations of Individuals

Once we grasp the biblical principles for starting a nation and governing it justly, the pivotal question arises: Who will step forward and take up the responsibility to apply these principles to establish a just civil authority?

In the latter half of the twentieth century, the evangelical establishment prioritized missions as the paramount activity while downplaying the importance of citizenship. According to their perspective, a spiritually mature Christian focuses solely on sharing the gospel. Contrary to this view, anyone suggesting that political engagement is also an important part of the Christian faith is often labeled as misguided or spiritually immature. They are accused of working against the Great Commission, which aims to evangelize the lost.

In this chapter, I will argue that the exact opposite is true.

Who Is Responsible?

A critical question emerges after recognizing biblical guidelines for establishing a just civil authority for the nations that would form after Noah: Who does God expect to step forward to establish and uphold justice? This question holds particular relevance in today’s context, where many within the evangelical church advocate for Christians simply submitting to and praying for civil authorities.

To explore this further, we can divide the population into several groups to contemplate who God might expect to fulfill this citizenship duty:

Group 1: Is it those who do not know God or the Bible?

Is it reasonable to assume that this group, with little to no knowledge about how to ensure justice, can meet God’s expectations in this regard? While it’s possible for someone who doesn’t know God to be an effective civil leader and approximate the dispensation of justice as God intends, is it this person who God would expect to govern, a person who lacks biblical knowledge of Him and access to His word?

Group 2: Is it those who reject God and the Bible?

It should be evident that God is not looking to this group, which rejects Him, to establish and uphold justice as described in the Bible.

Group 3: Is it those who acknowledge there is a God, or maybe a new believer, but do not know their Bible?

There is a higher likelihood that this group would govern justly as they acquire more knowledge if they were growing in their faith and reading their Bible. However, is this God’s first choice when it comes to governing justly?

Group 4: Is it those who know God and generally read their Bible regularly, especially if they have talent and/or the spiritual gift of leadership or administration?

It appears evident that in this modern age, Christian believers would be the most qualified group to understand what God expects in this area and be capable of dispensing justice fairly to all, provided they have been properly taught how to do this.

It seems clear that Genesis 9:5–6 represents God’s initial call to active citizenship for all people throughout history and that this call is directed at those who claim to follow Him. This call happened before God called Abraham and the formation of Israel. This call entails governing justly as God’s servants, acting for the collective good by defending individual rights. It seems very apparent that today this responsibility is bestowed upon Christians. It is our duty.

This context is crucial when examining New Testament verses like Romans 13, which suggests that the call to submission in Romans 13 is contingent on the presence of a just civil authority that rewards those who do good and punishes those who commit evil acts:

For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. (Rom. 13:3–4)

This passage affirms the biblical role of a just civil authority, which is to commend those who do good and punish wrongdoers. Therefore, Romans 13 reinforces the principles of a just civil authority originally outlined in Genesis 9 rather than introducing a new principle that mandates unconditional submission to the governing authority.

Why God Desires Believers to Step Forward to Lead

Chapter 1 discussed God’s aspirations for nations: to prosper, multiply, inhabit the earth, and uphold justice. However, there’s another crucial reason why God seeks to establish liberty and justice for all. We see the answer in what Moses conveys to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 4:

See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? (Deut. 4:5–8)

In the Old Testament, governing justly served as God’s evangelistic strategy. We discover the effectiveness of this strategy through the visit of the Queen of Sheba, who came to test Solomon with numerous questions. In the end, her visit confirmed the success of this approach:

The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness. (1 Kings 10:6–9)

One might wonder if this was a genuine conversion, but Jesus answers this question when the Pharisees came to him asking for a sign:

A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here. (Matt. 12:39–42)

This encounter in the gospels reveals that the Queen of Sheba experienced a genuine conversion. By her admission, the key factor contributing to her conversion was witnessing the blessings bestowed upon Israel because of Solomon’s just and righteous governance as a king. This aligns precisely with Moses’s indication of the desired outcome for surrounding nations if Israel remained faithful in governing justly.

In the New Testament, we find additional guidance regarding the role of nations and Christians in God’s evangelistic plan. Paul, during his ministry to the Gentile nations, affirmed the evangelistic role of nations as laid out in Genesis 9:1-7 and Deuteronomy 4:5-8:

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him . . . (Acts 17:24–27)

In this passage, Paul reflects on God’s plan for the nations, clarified after the flood. God intended for nations to emerge, populate the world, and govern justly, enabling their citizens to “seek Him and perhaps find Him.” Paul later affirms God’s desire that people live peaceful and quiet lives where they can consider following God and instructs his protégé, Timothy, that this requires praying for our civil leaders:

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim....

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 26.3.2024
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• ISBN-10: 1-962202-62-3 / 1962202623
• ISBN-13: 978-1-962202-62-6 / 9781962202626