We're winding down this series of lessons. We began February 2021 covering every point in our doctrinal statement, the beliefs that bind us together as a local church. Hope this has been a blessing to you. And the next topic we'll consider is this, we believe that any attempt by the state to interfere with the working of the church, or by the church to interfere with the working of the state, is a violation of God's purposes for both. That's an interesting statement, a little bit of a different topic than many of the things that we've covered, but this is something that is biblical and important to be understood. That statement of belief could be encapsulated in a phrase that you maybe have heard from time to time in history class or in a news broadcast, and it's the separation of church and state. How many of you ever heard that before, that phrase, the separation of church and state? It's unfortunate that phrase has been divorced from its historical context, and it's taken on a meaning that is far different from what was originally intended. So we're gonna start with a little bit of a history lesson this morning, and we'll quickly move into a little bit of a Bible lesson on this separation of church and state, that the state is not to interfere with the church, that the church is not to interfere with the state. That's what we believe from the Bible. So first for the history aspect. of this lesson. When the founding fathers of this country went to work replacing the Articles of Confederation, any of you remember those from history class, the Articles of Confederation? They're going to replace those with what we now have, the supreme law of the land, the United States Constitution. In order for that Constitution to take effect, it had to be ratified by the states. And it was in danger originally of not being ratified by at least some of the states because it lacked what many considered to be an essential guarantee of certain liberties. Okay, so the ratification of the Constitution was pushed through. It was ratified by the states, but that was largely in part to efforts or largely due to efforts of James Madison, who promised that such provisions, these certain liberties, would be guaranteed to all Americans and added to the Constitution at a later date. Those provisions came in the form of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, and those are known, class as the? Good job. Somebody's paying attention. That's the Bill of Rights, okay? So in order for the Constitution to pass, Madison made these promises that amendments would be added to it to guarantee important things like religious liberty. That First Amendment reads as follows, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances. Now, the purpose of the first part of that First Amendment, that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, is very, very clear. They did not want the government establishing any kind of state church system. That's what our forefathers left Europe to escape. Now throughout Europe, throughout the Dark Ages, there was a church-state system imposed by the Roman Catholic Church, right? The Roman Catholic Church, it was not just a religious system, it was a political system. And the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, they didn't just wield spiritual power and influence, they had political power. and influence. And the Pope and the King, it was like always this kind of a power struggle because there was a church state union that was in place and the effects of that were devastating and horrible. Now, England eventually split off from that, but they also instituted a church-state system. If you were a member of English society, if you were an English citizen, you had to belong to the Church of England. And the Church of England was funded by tax money. And the Church of England was in cooperation with, and the government was in, they were all in cahoots together, right? And you could be punished civilly If you failed to meet certain religious duties and qualifications, if you didn't attend and if you didn't tithe, you were subject to governmental punishments. So, our forefathers got on the Mayflower, right? And they were separatists. Remember that? They believed in separating from the church-state system. Now, there's a lot that we have to skip, but fast forward to 1802 and the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was an anti-federalist. That's the next blank there in your notes. Thomason, I'm sorry, Thomason. Where did I get that? Thomas Jefferson. Got it. Jefferson was an anti-federalist. What does that mean? He opposed a strong federal government. Imagine that. He opposed a strong federal government. Now we would not align with really any of Jefferson's religious beliefs. But Jefferson was committed to preventing what he called the establishment of any particular form of Christianity by any denomination. Jefferson was real big on the First Amendment. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment. of religion. Now, like Jefferson, many Baptists of the day were also anti-federalist. If an anti-federalist opposes a strong federal government, sign me up. I am an anti-federalist, okay? But without getting too far off track, the iron of history is that those who came to America to escape religious persecution later became persecutors of those with which they disagreed. You need to study the history of colonial America because when those colonies were established, they decided to go and institute a church-state system and they persecuted. In some cases, they even executed people who disagreed with them religiously. They did not give people freedom of conscience and sole liberty. It was not recognized. They made all of the same mistakes and it really was a blessing of providence that when this nation and the union was formed and the constitution established that religious liberty was was written in to that First Amendment. Now, at the time the First Amendment was passed, there was a concern that the wording could be interpreted as meaning that the government was granting religious freedom. And this is a significant distinction. It might seem insignificant, it might be small, it might seem trivial, but it's really important. They were worried that the wording of the First Amendment could be interpreted to mean that the government was granting freedoms, not recognizing God-given freedoms. You see the difference? Because if the government can give you a freedom, then the government can take that freedom. And what these people were arguing is the government didn't give us this liberty. God gave us this liberty. And if the government tries to take it away, they can try, but they're taking away what's called a natural right. In the Declaration of Independence, it was termed an inalienable right. Life and liberty, and they end up changing the word in pursuit of happiness. But a natural right or an inalienable right is one that is given and established not by government, not by man, but by God. And the freedom to worship according to the dictates of conscience, and the freedom to serve God any way that you want to, and the freedom to gather together with other people in God's name, those are all natural rights. inalienable rights, not given by government, but thankfully in this country recognized by government. Okay? So again, it might seem like an insignificant difference, but the obvious and well-founded concern is that a government in a position to grant certain liberties to its citizens is a government that can also take them away. So 1802, The Danbury Baptist Association wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson, who had just taken the Oval Office, and they congratulated him for his election to the presidency, and they communicated some of those concerns that they had. Jefferson sent a short and polite response. I'm going to read a little bit of it to you. So remember, their concern is the wording of the First Amendment makes it seem as if government is giving us this right, but we believe that God gave us this right. And they're writing Jefferson to encourage him to really be strong on those points in his policies in his presidency. And so Jefferson answers their letter. He says, gentlemen, the affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me on behalf of the Danbury Baptist Association, give me the highest satisfaction, believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God." Religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God. We call that soul liberty. sole liberty. And it's a really important concept. Jefferson says that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship that the legislative powers of government reach actions only and not opinions. The government can make some laws about what you do. The government can't make any laws about what you believe. Okay? Legislative powers of government reach only to actions and not opinions. I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people, which declared that a legislator should make no law respecting the establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise thereof. And he quotes the First Amendment and says, thus building a wall of separation between church and state. It's where the phrase came from. Jefferson's letter, the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation on behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights. And that was a really important phrase at the time, and everybody understood what that meant. I restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties. I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association assurances of my high respect. and esteem. Now what he meant by a wall of separation between church and state is I'm going to make sure government never does anything to prevent or hinder your free exercise of religion. What he did not mean and never meant and what is twisted today is that the wall of separation between church and state means that there cannot be any religious activity in public. The First Amendment was Congress can't establish a state church. It didn't mean that nobody in government can cry out to God or express any type of faith or religious belief. People have taken that phrase and they ran with a completely different direction. That's another topic for another time and I can point you to some more articles if you're interested. Now, let's go to Psalm 33 and move through these verses rather quickly. Psalm 33 in verse number 12. So the separation between church and state. What it really means is that the state is not to interfere with the church, and the church is not to interfere with the state. It doesn't mean that individuals in public office can't have or express any religious belief. Congress funded chaplains. Anyway, that's a different topic. Psalm 33, 12. And the Bible says, blessed is that nation whose God is the Lord, and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Now who is that people, Bible students? The people God has chosen for his own inheritance, one nation, it's the nation of? Israel, very good. So this is not talking about us. This is not talking about the United States of America. We have no special covenant relationship with God. America is not, never has been, a Christian nation. But, though all of the Founding Fathers were not Bible-believing Christians, they were, most of them, many of them, the majority of them, God-fearing men. and they established this nation on biblical principles. And we have been blessed for having recognized God as the Lord throughout the 200 plus years of American history. We have enjoyed unprecedented, not only financial success and liberty and comfort and all of those things, but unprecedented religious liberty. What we enjoy in the United States of America It's almost exclusive to us in this location, in this point in history. Think of the 6,000 years of human history and all the places that have been, all the governments that have been, all the countries that have been. There have been very few who have enjoyed what we have enjoyed because of the founding fathers, at least fear of God and recognition of the Bible as God's Word and the principles in the Bible, they just work. Okay, how much longer that lasts is very much in question and very much in doubt because of the next verse, Psalm 9 verse 17. Psalm 9 and verse number 17. The wicked shall be turned into hell. That's still in the Bible. Hell exists. God's love does not negate the existence of hell. Everybody who rejects Jesus Christ, that's where they're going. That's why we need to be witnesses. The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God. Question, has our nation forgotten God as a whole? Absolutely. So where's the nation going, as the phrase goes, to hell in a handbasket? Which I'm not really sure what that means. I'll have to look that up because that's a curious phrase, but this nation is going to hell in a handbasket, just like Psalm, well, kind of like Psalm 917 says, okay? With that as a backdrop, what is God's purpose for the state? Come to Genesis chapter number nine. Genesis chapter number 9 and verse 6. What is God's purpose for the state? God is the one who instituted government, human government. He gave man the job of governing and he did so way back in the book of Genesis. Genesis 9 and verse number 6. right after Noah and his family got off the ark. In Genesis 9-6, God said, shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man." So God instituted capital punishment. God said there are certain offenses for which the offender should be executed, should be put to death. It's very unpopular in modern society, but it's biblical. It's a great deterrent to committing certain crimes when you know that if you get caught, if you get tried, if you get sentenced, you're going to die. Your life's going to be over. You'll think twice before doing those things. But God gave man the responsibility for carrying this out. It does not say, whoso shedeth man's blood, by God shall his blood be shed. God does not. In most cases, we read some stories in the Old Testament where God kind of just brought swift justice and retribution. I think of Korah and the earth opening up and swallowing them, but those are the exceptions that prove the rule, right? Whoso shed man's blood by man, God gave man the responsibility for punishing evildoers, Romans 13. says the same thing, Romans chapter 13. Compare Genesis 9 to Genesis 4. Remember when Cain slew Abel? God came and placed a mark on Cain, a punishment In that instance, God came and took care of things, but when they stepped off the ark in Genesis 9, God said, look, you're going to have to take care of this. If somebody is a bloodshedder, there's going to have to be some system where men get together and pronounce judgment upon that individual. Romans 13, verse number one, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. There is no power but of God. For the powers that be are ordained of God. In the book of Daniel, he setteth up kings and removeth kings. God rules over all, but he has delegated some of that responsibility. He established human government. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a tear to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he, the power, is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid. For he beareth not the sword in vain. For he is the minister of God, a revenger, to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. So, in Romans 13, it's very clear that government was ordained by God for the purpose of punishing evildoers and rewarding those who do good. Now, obviously, because it is a human institution, those purposes are corrupted and The way that government defines evil and good can change from government to government from time to time throughout history, but the fact, the principle, the concept remains the same. The purpose of human government is to punish evil doing and reward those who do good. Now, what's God's purpose for the church? By contrast, John 17. John 17 in verse 15. We'll probably only be able to look at one or two of these, but they all say the same thing, make the same point. John 17 and verse number 15. Looking now at the question, what is God's purpose for the church? John 17, 15, I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, Jesus Christ, praying for the disciples and those who would believe on him through their word. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so send I, even so have I also sent them into the world for what purpose? Mark 16 and verse 15. Mark 16 and verse number 15. Jesus Christ praying for his followers, Lord, keep them in the world, keep them from the evil of the world, sanctify them through thy truth because I want to send them into the world just like you sent me into the world. Why did Jesus come into the world? To save sinners, 1 Timothy 1.15. Why did Jesus come into the world? To seek and to save that which was lost, Luke 19. Mark 16, 15 says, and he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Ultimately, primarily, what is God's purpose for the church? To preach the gospel. In Matthew 28, 18-20, All power is given to me. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son. and the Holy Ghost. Luke 24, 46-48, Thus it behooved Christ to suffer and arise from the death of the third day, that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, and ye are witnesses of these things. Acts 1-8, Ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you. Ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, outermost part of the earth. 2 Corinthians 5.20, He made us ministers of reconciliation. We are ambassadors of God. We are representing His interests in a foreign country. So the duty of the church, the job of the church, the purpose of the church is to preach the gospel to all the world, to spread the message of the saving grace of God to every man and woman and child. The duty of the church is not the punishment of evildoers. Okay? We are not to carry out the laws of the Old Testament related to capital punishment. We're not supposed to go find homos and put them to death. That's not the job of the church. We're supposed to go find sinners and tell them how Jesus Christ can save them from sin. In 1 Corinthians 5, there are certain conditions under which a church must remove someone from their fellowship in order to protect the purity of the body, okay? But God has only given the church jurisdiction over its members in that way. We don't have any jurisdiction over society. We don't carry out the Jewish legal code. We don't stone Sabbath breakers. We don't stone adulterers. We don't burn down abortion clinics. We don't shoot abortion doctors. That is all a very serious error to rightly divide the word of truth. That's government's job to make laws and enforce laws for the punishment of evil doers. The church's job is to tell everybody who has broken God's law how they can be forgiven and saved and made right with God. The Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, Luke 9, but to save them. James and John. They were kind of interested in that whole vigilante system. I want to be God's enforcer. I'm going to call down fire on those people. And Jesus rebuked them and corrected them and tried to help them understand that that's not the job of the church. So it's very important to understand that the New Testament says nothing as to how Christians are to address the social issues of the day. Think of the context of the writing of the New Testament and the establishment of the early church. They were under Roman oppression. They were under a dictatorial empire. They were under Nero. They faced stiff opposition and persecution from the government. The government had all kinds of views and ideologies and mandates that were wrong. But the New Testament never encouraged any Christian to drop evangelism so they could take up a political fight. Because the ultimate solution for society is the gospel. The ultimate solution for society is the gospel. That's our ultimate responsibility. Lester Orloff used to say, you want to save America? Get America saved. If you stop preaching the gospel to try to get Republicans elected, then you have forsaken what God gave you as your responsibility and purpose for existence of a church, and you've traded it for something else and something less. I'm a political conservative, that's a different discussion for a different day, but my job as a Christian is not to embrace and advance political conservatism. I can devote my life to that cause and everybody who becomes a political conservative, if they don't trust Jesus Christ, they're still going to go to hell for all eternity. So my primary objective and the church's primary purpose, it's only purpose, is to make the gospel known. How involved or uninvolved an individual Christian should be in politics, that's all up for debate. But if the church wants the government to leave it alone, the church should probably also leave the government alone. We're not supposed to be in charge of the government. That's separation. We're not trying to be in charge of the government. We should do our civic duty. I believe a Christian should vote according to policy, according to issues, according to the Bible, okay? But I'm not trying to take over the government. I'm trying to introduce people to Jesus Christ because he makes the real difference. So God's purpose of the state, punishment of evildoers, rewarding those who do good. God's purpose of the church, spread the gospel. What's the church's responsibility in relation to the government? Go back to Romans 13. Go back to Romans chapter 13. These are not very pleasant verses, but they're Bible verses. It doesn't matter if they're pleasant or not. God knows what He's talking about. Who are we to question Him? Romans 13, verse number five. Romans 13, verse five. Wherefore, ye must needs be subject. Ye, Christian, need to be subject to powers that are ordained of God, not only for wrath, Because if you don't, they're going to punish you. But for conscience sake, for this cause, pay ye tribute also. Because if you don't, you're going to get punished. And it's going to be a really bad testimony. For this cause, pay ye tribute also. That's taxes. Who likes taxes? You don't even know about taxes yet. You're not going to like them, I promise you. It is very, very, very painful. You get that paycheck, and you see that top line, gross wages, and that line looks so good, and then they start subtracting, and those subtractions are depressing. What's even worse is being, well, I mean, what seems even worse is being self-employed, where you have to sit down every quarter and write a check to the government. That is no, anyway. But for this cause, pay ye tribute also for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues. Tribute whom tribute, custom whom custom, fear whom fear, honor to whom honor. So what is the church's responsibility, the Christian's responsibility? To submit to government and to pay taxes to government. That's what the Bible says. First Peter chapter two, verse number 13. First Peter chapter two, and verse number 13. The Bible says, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. If we could take that approach and that attitude, I think it'd really help us. For the Lord's sake, I'm doing this for God. I'm doing this for my testimony. For the Lord's sake, whether it be to the King, the Supreme, and the governors and them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, see there's the purpose again, and for the praise of them that do well, for so is the will of God. that with well-doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men as free. I'm free, I can do whatever I want. But God told you to submit. As free and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness but as the servants of God. I just gotta keep in mind I'm representing the Lord and I'm trying to represent him as best I can. 1 Timothy chapter two. 1 Timothy chapter two. That's in the New Testament somewhere, 1 Timothy chapter 2, there it is. Verse number 1, 1 Timothy 2, 1, I exhort therefore that first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, specifically, verse 2, for kings and for all that are in authority. So what does God want us to do? He wants us to submit to the powers. He wants us to pay taxes. He wants us to do good and honor the king. He wants us to pray for those in authority. Look at the purpose, verse two, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all governess and honesty. God, please make the government leave us alone. that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty. 2 Thessalonians 3 says that we are to pray the word of the Lord may have free course be glorified, that God would deliver us from unreasonable and wicked men, for all men have not faith. So 1 Thessalonians 2, we pray for their salvation, we pray for our freedoms to continue. 2 Thessalonians 3, we pray for the word of God to not be bound. Now come to Acts chapter 5. Because here's a good question and a relevant question. What does one do when man's law and God's law are at odds? When government says you can't go to church, the New Testament says not to forsake the assembling of yourselves together. the government makes it illegal to proselytize, and that is witness and tell others about Jesus Christ and try to convert them from their religion into a real relationship with God. What do you do? Acts chapter five, they faced that problem in the early church, and they faced it this way with a simple statement. Then Peter, verse 29, then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than man. We ought to obey God rather than men. If man's law and God's law contradict, you follow God's law, but understand that you are subject to the punishments of man's law. Count the cost. Honor God. He takes priority. His word takes first place. Now, what we've experienced in all of our lifetimes, as we mentioned earlier, in the last 200 years of American history, is something unknown to most of the world for most of history. We're allowed to be thankful. We're allowed to be grateful. We're allowed to pray really hard that it continues. But it is not difficult to imagine a day when we will have to put this principle from Acts 529 into practice. where it might be that we have to come to a choice, a decision between God's law and man's law. And here's just the question I have to leave you with as we finish this morning. If we are not committed to obeying God when it doesn't violate the law of the land, how committed do you think you're gonna be to obeying God when there are civil consequences? when there is governmental punishment, when there is going to be something at stake. All that's at stake now is putting down your flesh. All that's at stake now is whether or not you're popular with society. You don't have to break laws to be a Christian. in America so far in 2022, I almost said 2021, it's 2022 already, March, right? 2022. But what if that day comes? The only way to prepare yourself is to have the kind of commitment now that it's going to take then. So the question for all of us to reflect on is, How's my commitment to obedience to the Word of God? How's my knowledge of the Word of God to those things to which I am to be obediently committed? Let's examine our hearts along those lines. So we believe that any attempt by the state to interfere the work of the church or by the church to interfere the work of the state is a violation of God's purposes for both. We believe that. Hope you believe that. That's why we believe that. Hope that you'll take that position and understand why it is that way from the Bible. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for your word and the instructions that it gives us. Lord, we believe that you and your wisdom, you know, how to best live, how we can best live this life on the earth, receive your blessings. And God, that's what we want. I pray that we would desire it even more. We would want your blessing on our lives. So help us to conduct ourselves according to the principles that you've given us in your word. We do thank you for the liberty and freedom that we enjoy in this country. And God, we do pray that you continue to deliver us from unreasonable and wicked men. Lord, I pray that we'd be able to lead quiet, peaceful lives. And God, in us, in honesty, help us to use the freedoms we have while we have them and not take them for granted. We love you. In Jesus' name, amen.