Pastor-teacher Don Hargrove

Faith Bible Church

Wednesday, Jan 27, 2010

http://fbcweb.org/Audio.html

Salvation/Justification (Rom 3:24; 4:5); Sanct (2 Pet 1:4; 2 Cor 7:1), Maturation (Eph 4:11-16; 2 Cor 10:4-5).

SEPARATION OF CHURCH STATE 1

Law, Justice, Western Civ., & the Church-State Relationship

(Series: GOD’S COVENANTS – Part 35: ML: Natural Law, Gov/State)

(Messiah & A.C. #281)

A. Law, Justice, Charity and the Constitution.

1. Meaning of justice: rendering impartially to everyone his due in proper proportion according to the norm of God’s moral law.

a. Impartiality, Dt 1:15-17.

b. Rendering what is due, Rom 13:1-7; 2 Thess 3:10.

c. Proportionality, Lev 24.

d. Normativity (conformity to the norm), Dt 25:13-16.

2. Justice, the Constitution and charity, cf. Davy Crockett and the Constitution.

B. The transforming power of Bible doctrine (Scripturalism) on society. Biblical ethos:

1. Primacy of the individual.

2. Private property.

3. The Protestant work ethic.

4. Individual responsibility.

5. Generosity.

6. Rule of law.

7. Federalism.

8. Republicanism.

9. Orientation to absolutes of right and wrong - rather than expediency.

10. Equality under the Law.

11. Constitutionalism.

12. Personal responsibility.

13. Free market capitalism.

14. A totally new civilization.

C. Rejection of Christ and the Biblical ethos always leads to Statolatry and some form of Statism (religious or secular).

1. Only the LJC and BD can provide true freedom and security, Jn 8:32.

2. It is the LJC who gives man spiritual freedom & BD which gives man the capacity for temporal freedom.

3. When man rejects the LJC and BD, he will eventually move into some type of statism and statolatry.

4. Description of Statolatry, cf 1 Sam 8.

5. Statolatry is one of the most difficult evils for man to overcome.

6. In statolatry man looks to Big Government as his god; it is the government that gives him meaning, purpose, provisions, control, power, and decides what is Right/Truth and wrong.

7. In statism and statolatry the state is the Big Brother whose job it is to mould and shape the character of its “unenlightened” citizens.

8. In statism and statolatry Truth is exchanged for expediency.

9. In statolatry a person’s basic orientations are self and relativism.

10. In statolatry there is always a willingness to give up freedom for personal peace & affluence - as well as excuse evil for the price of expediency.

11. In statolatry there is always willingness to accept authoritative government for more security.

D. Historical overview of the relationship between church and state.

1. It was Jesus Christ who first taught the need for the separation of church and state, Mt 22:21; Rom 13:1-7; 1 Pet 2:14-15.

2. Before Constantine’s “conversion” the state-religion was separate from Christianity.

3. After Constantine’s conversion there was the merging of church and state.

4. The Middle Ages: Papacy gains complete ascendancy over the state.

5. The Church of England: King and parliament gains ascendancy over the church.

6. Lutherans in Germany: 1st step toward separation of church & state.

7. The Reformed churches: 2nd step toward separation of church & state.

8. Early American Puritanism: return to merging of a church-state theocracy

9. American Constitutionalism of late 18th century – greatest separation of church and state the world has ever known = greatest freedom and blessings for both.

10. Modern America – increasing ascendency of Pagan Statism (with help from Romanism and ecumenicalism) is destroying Western Civilization.

11. Current Collapse of Western Civilization and movement to Statism is a direct result of the rejection of the Biblical theology that created Western Civilization 500 years ago.

12. Collapse of the West has been taking place for more than a century.

a. Dissolution of the Biblical family.

b. Economic and political regimentation of individual enterprises.

c. Government ownership and control of educational institutions.

d. Growth of crime

e. The waning of civility.

f. The acceptance of public profanity, obscenity, and homosexuality

g. Resurgence of brutality.

13. To oppose some of this civilization collapse, the Religious Right of American has increasingly embraced Romanism and various conservative neo-orthodox and ecumenical movements as saviors of the West, foolishly ignorant of the fact that they are destroyers of Western Civilization and True Christianity in the first place.

14. The Bible teaches and history has demonstrated that the only hope for any society is when Bible doctrine is lived out in the lives of citizens, Mt 5:13; Jn 8:32.