We all know that God is the ultimate judge of all things. But while we are here on Earth, there will be people who choose not to follow the way of the Lord. For this reason God has given man the authority to judge and to execute judgment as well. The question is, to whom does this power of authority belong to? This is a very important matter, and one that I think Jesus would have addressed. This is why I believe that in John 5:16-30, the Son being referred to here is anyone who follows the true God. It explains to us how judgment works, and how we are to go about handling it.
Great question… Here are my two cents - Jesus and Paul seemed to be big on the importance of respecting governmental leadership. Both Jesus and Paul talked about needing to judge others, although Jesus had the exception of making sure you aren’t a hypocrite first, and Paul said that we only judge those inside the church and not outside of the church.
Don’t know what you think, but I recon Christians should partake in politics, but not to the point where the church is the government. History tells us that didn’t work very well, and in the end who are we to judge those outside the church? One can still have a “moral” government without necessarily being a “Christian” one, which is what Jesus alluded to when He said governments are put in place by God and that we are to respect them - Romans 13:1 (obviously not to the point of sin… think of Daniel and the lion’s den)
Hi LLC- I agree with Daniel. Jesus said to render unto Caesar what is Caesars. Jesus never called for a coup de tat of Rome which is what the Jews thought the Messiah would do. I think God shows in Jesus words and those of Paul that He provided a system for order and civil justice on earth. In the case of tyrants or evil rulers, things such as impeachment and recall as well as elections are tools to be used. Or like Gandhi and MLK jr nonviolent civil disobedience. So to your question i think there can be many judges but only 1 Ultimate Judge.
Yes, I do agree that we shall “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and render unto God the things that are God’s.” To me, this means that the universal laws of God and the religious matters of the heart are two separate offices that are to be kept apart from each other. Even though they must remain apart, they both must operate according to God. Each office has been given it’s own duties, and each is to rule and judge separately. But they are as one because they both belong to God, and the sons of God ( those that follow the true God) are to be in charge of both. I believe the founding fathers of our country recognized this biblical principle when they set up the Constitution. When the two are woven together, it becomes an unlawful marriage per se as exemplified in the days of Israel. The laws of God and the Godly people who carry out the duties pertaining to these laws have their purpose, and the church has it’s purpose. It is only when we each come to live fully in the Spirit of God that the two become one.
Hi LLC.
Interesting. So many Christians in America believe that this country was (and now is in jeopardy of falling away from being) a Christian Nation.
Would someone like to comment on this 'theocratic/republic idea of America that so many who call themselves fundamental Christians seem to always talk about?
In the 17th century, Connecticut set up laws including those, the violation of which resulted in capital punishment. These laws were based on the Mosaic laws as found in the Old Testament. I wonder how many of us would be happy to see such laws setup in our own country:
Hi Paidion,
Where the pages you show from actual Connecticut law?
Thanks
ABSOLUTELY!
Here’s a link to the whole code of 1650. Turn the pages until you get to page 30, and you will see the pages concerning capital crimes that I posted above.
Thanks,
I’ll take a peek! 
To elaborate on this a little more, from what I understand, God established two distinct and separate institutions. Both are to be run by the people of God, yet they are not to be mixed or joined together. Each must stay in it’s own boundaries and tend to the specific duties that they have been given. On the one side, we have the law. Their duties are to maintain justice among the people. They are to guard and uphold the universal laws of God. By universal laws, I mean those laws which prohibit us from physically harming one another, or taking from a person that which belongs to them ( life, liberty, property).The founding fathers stated this in the Declaration of Independence; “that all men are created equal, that they have been endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness-that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.”
John 5:26 also states that “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also.” To me this means that God has given each of us a life of our own. No other man has the right to take that away or intrude upon it unless one violates the right of another, at which time we have the power to execute judgment against them. According to John 5:30 each case must be judged in all righteousness according to God’s will(which includes forgiveness and mercy) and not our own.
On the other hand, we have the church. Their duties are to minister to the heart. They are to provide for those in need and teach people the way of the Lord. As in John 5:19 " the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." Verse 22 says “for the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.” We are not to judge here. We are only to do what Jesus did and lead by example, doing the works of God, and letting each person judge the truth for themselves.
One of the big problems I see today is a mixing of these two institutions, where the law has taken over the duties of the church.
Were those who submitted to Hitler and the Nazi regime, doing right? Should they have carried out his instructions to put Jews to death by a slow, tortuous process?
Richard Wurmbrand, a Lutheran minister who spent 14 years tortured in a Romanian prison, said that it was RIGHT to lie to the Communists, and not to submit to them! He said that Communist governments were NOT established by God. For Peter, in the quote above, indicated that the human institutions to which his readers were to submit were sent by the Lord “to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.” He said that the Communist governments DO THE EXACT OPPOSITE! They praise those who do evil and punish those who do good."
Hi Paidion,
So am I correct in assuming that the word ‘as’ is the crux word in 1Pet 2:13-14?
Also, do you think Peter was talking about the Roman government in that passage?
Thanks
Paidion, I totally agree with you. Some governments are neither Godly nor have they been ordained by God. There are many who have come to believe that Jesus was not concerned with politics. I say that this is not true. For it is God who made the law, and has given us (as many who are children of God) authority over it. The purpose of it is to see that justice is being served as well as protecting the rights of each individual so that we may live in peace and harmony amongst one another. The offices of the law are just as important as the role of the church, yet we don’t hear much about it. This is why, as I have mentioned before, I believe that some of what Jesus is talking about concerns the administration of the law, how we are to judge, and what these laws are. Are we able to add to these laws?
As long as we live on this earth there will be men who do not live according to God. There is a need for law, order, justice, etc. and the governing of it. The only government that will truly work is the one that God has laid out for us to follow. But where is the blueprint for it? It must be somewhere. There must be set boundaries to what we can and cannot do when it comes to the governing of the law. If it were left to man alone, there would be no end to the amount of laws that we could enforce upon one another, becoming but slaves to the law. How did our founding fathers set up the Constitution? Was it by reason alone that they figured this out? As Paidion has pointed out in the early laws of Connecticut, do we have a right to make such laws?
Exodus 18:21-22 says this, 'Moreover you shall select from all men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you."
God has a right hand and a left hand. The one on the right (church ) is to minister to the heart. The one on the left( law) is to see to justice. I can’t see why Jesus would only be concerned with one and not the other. We can say that when we come to live in the spirit of God, that we are truly free. But I say that this is only partially true. If the law is out of order and becomes unjust, then we still would have no freedom. If the law is oppressive, how is the church able to fulfill it’s duties? Should we leave the dying guy on the side of the road until Monday? Or should we have to worship underground for the rest of our lives? Should we be told what to eat and what not to eat? Where is the freedom in this? Both of these “houses” must be in order for everything to work properly.