In the sight of God, the most important arms of Government in power, are the higher powers, and these higher powers are the magistrates and judges, hence every soul is commanded to be subject to all magistrates and judges, because they are ordained of God, as written in Romans 13:1: “Let every soul be subject to the higher powers. For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God.”
Therefore Magistrates and Judges are God’s servants or ministers, entrusted with the sword of judgment, to execute judgment in the land and to ensure law and order in the society. These judges and magistrates do not bear the sword in vain. Wherefore God commands all men to be subject to all magistrates. (Romans 13:4-5)
If any civil government, or if any citizen of a country, most especially, if any believer in Christ, resists any magistrate or judge by refusing to obey that judge’s or magistrate’s final verdict or judgment, he/she is resisting the ordinance of God, and shall receive God’s damnation. (Romans 13-2) This will be the beginning of the fall of any such government in power.
Judges and magistrates, on their own part, must take heed what they do, for they judge not for man but the Lord Who is with them in that judgment. And so, they must not judge because of the fear of man or because of the fear of the government in power, but they must judge with the fear of God, Who made them higher powers. They must let the fear of the Lord be their guide in giving out judgment. For the judgments of God, Who ordained them, are true and righteous. And this same God is no respected of persons, neither does He take gifts or bribes nor is influenced by anyone. (II Chronicles 19:6-7)
Therefore, as ministers or servants of God, magistrates and judges should not be partial in their judgments, with regard to respect of persons, or any government in power, neither should they take gifts to pervert the judgment of the innocent, otherwise they shall become judges or magistrates of evil thoughts and thereby incur the wrath of God. (James 2:4)
The role of the true church in any civil government, is to preach to their congregation, salvation from sin, so that they may abstain from every evil work. The true church plays a complementary role with the judiciary because its spiritual leaders are also ministers or servants chosen by God; they also have the authority to discipline workers of iniquity in the church, by excommunicating them from the church until they repent.
That is why the saints of God in a true church are warned by the Spirit of God, not to sue one another to a law court, but that they must judge matters amongst themselves, as written in I Corinthians 6:1-3: “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye not worthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?”
As written in II Chronicles 7:14, the true church must pray fervently and ceaselessly, so that the Lord God, who rules in the affairs of men, will put the right person in power, under whose government, the people will not mourn, but rejoice!
Unfortunately, the devil has taken away from the church, the key of fervent, effectual prayer, as it was in the early church, because many of these churches have become lukewarm, as was the case of the church in Laodicea. (Revelation 3:16-18).
VANGUARD
