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Politics, Christians, and Romans 13, Part 3

June 8, 2016 at 8:18 AM 1 comment

In our most recent article in this series, we looked into verse 1 of Romans 13. In this article, we’re going to go a bit deeper. Before we do, let’s put the entire Romans 13:1-7 text up again.

1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 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. 4 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. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

As I said, we covered verse 1 last time. We noted that Paul commands us – using his apostolic authority, which, by the way, no one has today in spite of what they might claim – to “be subject to the governing authorities.” Again, this is not a suggestion. It is not something Paul would like to see us do. It is something that we must do and he provides the reason why when he says, “there is no authority except that which God has established.” End of discussion. Questions?

As Christians, as followers of God Almighty, we cannot on one hand say that we are His followers, while on the other hand, disagree with an apostle appointed by Jesus Himself, who provides commands on holy living. We either are a true follower of Jesus and live to serve Him or we are not. While we will fall from time to time, our hearts should always be set in the direction of wanting to fulfill our heavenly calling. That calling is living in obedience to God, whether or not commands come from God in Christ or one of His apostles. But today’s Christian likes to pick and choose as though we are captains of our own fate. We are not captains.

Jesus Himself said, “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:27). His point is simple. We control few things in this life. Yet, we act as though we are in control of many. Paul sets the record straight and let’s us off the hook at the same time. We have no choice but to submit ourselves to the governing authorities because God has established them over us, whether we like it or not.

This does not mean that we cannot vote or even become involved in certain causes. However, if those causes and involvement in politics actually causes us to forget or set aside the Great Commission, then we are doing it drastically wrong. Our first priority should be the spreading of the gospel truth so that God – if He chooses – can open the eyes of the lost so that they might embrace His truth and receive salvation. That is our primary goal. The rest is all secondary.

There are many wonderful causes in life, but those causes should never eclipse the spreading of the gospel. Never.

A photo alleged to be from Chief Eddie Garcia’s own Twitter account showing his participation at a local La Raza event. This tends to make people believe he is for one race above all others. As chief of police, he needs to distance himself from these racist groups, not participate with them.

Admittedly, it is often difficult to ignore the things in society that appear to be corrupt, criminal, and dangerous to innocent people. A case in point is with the recent events that occurred at a Trump rally in San Jose, CA. I do not support Trump. In fact, I cannot find a reason to support any of the current candidates. However, no candidate or their supporters should have to go through what some Trump supporters went through recently where San Jose police essentially stood by and did nothing while brute thugs attacked Trump supporters.

While some within the media have come down on San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia has denied the charges that he and his officers willfully chose to do nothing while innocent people were victimized, certain facts have come to the surface that would tend to negate Garcia’s claims. First, we learn that he is actually affiliated with the hate group, “La Raza.” In my opinion, any group – whether it’s the KKK, Black Lives Matter (BLM), La Raza or something else whose sole purpose is to support their own race to the exclusion of all other races, is without doubt, racist. How can it be otherwise?

Whether or not you agree with that comment or not, surely you would see how insipid Garcia’s comments are when a publicist for his department stated, “…SJPD said it held off in arresting people seen committing crimes because it ‘had the difficult task of weighing the need to immediately apprehend the suspect(s) against the possibility that police action involving the use of physical force under the circumstances would further insight [incite] the crowd and produce more violent behavior‘.”

I’ve bolded the last part of the above statement for emphasis so that it would not be missed. In essence, the San Jose Police Department did not arrest anyone because they feared making them angry. Really? So, that’s how a criminal can get by with breaking the law? All you have to do is be with a large enough crowd of people who have the potential of becoming “angry” at police if police try to arrest them and the criminals will apparently get their way. That is absolutely unbelievable to me, yet there it is and, by the way, I find it fascinating that in today’s world, a police department especially would need a publicist to tell the public what it supposedly needs to know. It is fortunate that no one was killed at this recent Trump rally. Their blood would be on Police Chief Eddie Garcia’s hands and it wouldn’t matter to God how the San Jose Police Department’s publicist would spin it.

In the meantime, innocent people were attacked, brutalized, and beaten and the police allowed it to happen. Could it be due to the fact that Police Chief Eddie Garcia, who is associated with La Raza, hates Donald Trump for the comments Trump has made regarding illegals entering into and remaining in this country?

But of course, in this case, the victims are not being victimized because they are Christians. They are being victimized because they are Trump supporters. Do they have recourse? Yes, absolutely, because their civil rights were violated. Would Christians have the same recourse? Yes, they would under the current laws of the United States.

But let’s step back a few feet and realize something very important that’s occurring in the United States and throughout the world. Evil forces have been at work for quite some time to overthrow this Constitutional Republic called America. The introduction of socialistic and Marxist tenets began decades ago because as Saul Alinsky (“Rules for Radicals”), has stated, there are eight things that need to happen to bring America to its knees. These things have been in the works for quite some time and “…evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived,” (2 Timothy 3:13), will continue to do what they can to bring this about.

Notice that Paul tells us in the above text to Timothy that these evil men are “deceiving” and “being deceived.” For the most part, they don’t fully comprehend what they’re doing because they themselves are deceived and cannot think clearly. Because of their deceit, they end up deceiving others and so it goes. This appears to be the case with Police Chief Eddie Garcia, who has come to power and power tends to corrupt, especially when you begin to look to your own race, to the exclusion of others.

Police Chief Eddie Garcia is clearly deceived into thinking that the racist organization “La Raza” is a good organization that simply cares for Hispanics. Unfortunately, this is clearly not the case and because he himself is Hispanic, he feels a sense of loyalty to his own race, which places non-Hispanics at a disadvantage. This is not the way a public servant is supposed to act, yet we see it all the time and it is becoming more prevalent.

Alleged authentic ad on Craigs List seeking people who were willing to disrupt Trump rallies for money.

As Christians then, what can we do? In this case, if you happen to be a Trump supporter, you can choose not to go to these rallies unless your safety is guaranteed. Unfortunately, we’ve seen how these concerns were ignored routinely during so-called tea party events in times past, even though safety was guaranteed by police officers. We need to understand that corruption may well be part of the system today and because of that, justice tends to be miscarried.

But isn’t God doing anything? Of course He is, but it may not be to our particular liking right now. Clearly, He is allowing evil to grow throughout society. If you support Trump, do you need to attend a rally? Do you need to actually be at Trump events? This is especially a good question to ask considering the fact that an alleged real ad on Craigslist was seeking individuals to disrupt Trump rallies for pay. In essence, you would be going into a situation where trouble would likely be brewing. From the example provided by the San Jose Police Department, it’s clear that your safety would be in question. Why attend? This was also the case in the Ferguson riots where individuals were sought after for pay to create conflict.

Folks, it’s not just Christians who are up against the evil in the world. It’s the average conservative person who desperately seeks change in America. The trouble is that the average conservative non-Christian has little to no recourse and cannot use or apply God’s wisdom in certain circumstances. Christians are different, or should be. In our case, we can rely on God, His Word, and the wisdom that only comes from Him to determine our course. Sometimes the best course of action is to simply stay away from a situation that has the potential of becoming violent.

For Christians to become involved in this type of political event only to discover that they may not have made the best possible decision in the first place may be too little too late. We know our society is being reworked by Satan himself. Because of that, evil is growing and God is allowing that to occur. Remember, these are for His purposes, not ours. Paul explains that God has established rulers for our benefit, for our safety, and unfortunately, things can go wrong due to the corruption of specific individuals. Regardless of who becomes the next president, the truth is that God always wants us to be involved in the Great Commission. That is our first priority, not political rallies.

Romans 13:2 states, “Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” Paul is speaking here of individuals who deliberately choose to rebel against those who are in authority. He is referencing people like Barabbas, who had also been arrested when Jesus was arrested. Barabbas’ crimes were against the Roman Empire because he wanted to overthrow it. Paul is stating that people like Barabbas are, in effect, rebelling against God Himself because He is the One who established the Roman Empire and its leaders. I believe Paul is also referencing people who seek people for pay who will cause trouble at political rallies. They and the people they hire are “rebels” against authority. Yes, they might also have some chief of police or mayor in their back pocket, and they too are considered “rebels” as far as God is concerned. They will get their due. Christians can avoid situations like this by using God-given wisdom to see what’s going on.

There is tremendous evil in society and it is being allowed to grow all the time. People routinely call evil good and good evil and that sentiment is taking root in American society. Christians need to do all they can to avoid it whenever possible. In today’s day and age, due to the corruption of politicians and chief polices alike, it may also be best to not attend public rallies for a favored political candidate. If you disagree with that, then let God’s Word and your conscience be your guide.

We’ll be back with more on Romans 13.

Entry filed under: christianity, Cultural Marxism, Emotional virtue, eternity, Global Elite, Political Correctness, Politically Correct, Politics, Religious - Christian - End Times, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation. Tags: craigslist, donald trump, la raza, police chief eddie garcia, san jose police department, trump rallies.