"Stay at home" vs "assemble together"

People are getting restless. Several news sources have covered stories this week about protests by different groups, some religious and some not, against the covid19 stay at home orders. As a Christian I seem to be in a quandary between the government’s instructions to stay at home and God’s instruction to “not forsake the assembling of yourselves.” How much of a dilemma is this and what, as a Christian, should I do? This is a question we must all decide, even if our decision so far is actually the result of making no decision.

We all know that churches are getting by right now primarily through on-line communications and phone calls. We’ve all heard accounts of churches trying to meet in parking lots where everyone stays in their cars and in some cases have been fined for doing even that. Perhaps you’ve read comments on-line from people complaining that if it is okay to practice social distancing at a grocery store or alcohol distributor, why can’t a church practice social distancing on their own property. We’ve also heard that our current social distancing practices are successfully reducing the spread of the virus.

So again, what do we do about the Biblical mandate to gather together which is not limited to the statement in Hebrews 10:25; it is imbedded throughout the New Testament and the Old for that matter. Christianity is not simply a relationship between myself as an individual and God; it is a relationship between God and His Church of which I am made a part through faith in Jesus Christ who died that I may be forgiven and redeemed, and who rose that I may have new life in Him. Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, for example, tell us that life as a Christian means being involved in each others’ lives for encouragement, building each other up in the faith, working together to do His will, and worshipping. And let’s face it, on-line is nice, but it cannot replace actually meeting in person.

Before anyone thinks I am calling us to revolt, let me get to some other things that God commanded in His Word, the Bible. I mentioned this briefly in a previous blog as a note at the bottom of that post, but let me expand upon it now as the current situation continues to unfold. If you actually read Romans 12 a moment ago, and I hope you did, then let’s continue on to Romans 13. It is no coincidence that the Holy Spirit moves the Apostle Paul from a discussion of what it means to be part of the Body of Christ in Romans 12 to that of obeying the government  and loving each other in Romans 13. God knew that in many places and times during the era between Jesus’ first coming to die on the Cross and His second coming as King of Kings, there would be situations where His Church was hindered from freely doing what He called it to do. Here in America we have had it pretty easy during my lifetime. For decades I’ve been saying that we need to make full use of this religious freedom because we never know how long it will last. Because of the reality of spiritual attack, and other types of attack too, God gave us many instructions about what to do. Through the wisdom granted by His Holy Spirit to us, the Body of Christ, we then apply those instructions to ever-changing situations.

The situation we are facing today in America and many parts of the world is that governments are restricting our ability to gather for legitimate health reasons. As a little side-bar here, I cannot help but think about our brothers and sisters in Christ who have, and who are, suffering in exceedingly greater ways than any limitations we are facing now. Being required to stay at home in no way compares to the threat and reality of being persecuted, even killed for your faith. Our current situation in America is just a matter of seeking God’s wisdom about gathering together right now. So let’s actually look at Romans 13.

“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (Romans 13:1). That, my friends, is a powerful statement from the Holy Spirit about the sovereignty of God Almighty. God not only established human government and gave it authority, He appoints each one. Now some of you may immediately raise the question of tyrants and those leaders who terrified and treated their people brutally; there are many examples of those in history.

Keep in mind that God never promised there would be no suffering, in fact He says just the opposite, that there will be suffering and hardship and persecution. Jesus Himself said in John 15:18 and 20, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you…Remember, the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” Jesus added in John 16:1-3, “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.” An example of this is found in Acts 5:40-41 when Christ’s disciples were called before the Jewish Council. “And they (the council) agreed with him (Gamaliel a teacher of the Jewish law), and when they had called for the apostles and beat them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”  I would also add 1 Peter 2:19-21 which says, “for this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongly. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.” I strongly encourage you to also read Romans 8:18-30.

God tells us many times that there will be hardships, trials, and persecutions. He never promised to provide you with happiness and luxury. He promised to forgive your sins when you confess them (1 John 1:8-10), to be with you always (Matthew 28:20), to provide strength and encouragement (2 Corinthians 3-7), and that your inheritance is reserved in Heaven (1 Peter 1:3-5). As a believer, we have fellowship and unity with God in all circumstances; that is our joy.

So yes, there have been many times when brutal, oppressive and even murderous governments have persecuted their own people and others. All of that falls under the Spirit’s statement in Romans 13:1, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” As human beings we cannot possibly understand the wisdom of God (see 1 Corinthians 1-2). Then Romans 8 talks about how all Creation eagerly awaits God’s deliverance from the bondage of human sin and corruption which involves all kinds of suffering.

Alright, let’s get down to the matter. God created, appoints, and gives authority to human government. So what authority did He give it? Part of the answer is listed in Romans 13:4 when it says, “for he (governing authority) does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” Thus, one reason God created and appoints governments is to maintain order and deal with those who do evil. When some citizen goes into a public school and starts shooting people, that is evil and the government has God-given authority to punish that person. In America, we have a system of justice that tries a person first to make sure we’ve got the guilty party, and then justice is served. That person needs to be brought to justice because innocent people are dead and their families are suffering due to his or her evil actions. The examples go on and on, but I will stop there. Does this mean there should be no compassion for all people involved, even the guilty? It does not. Anyone can be forgiven, mercy should be extended, but justice must also be served and sometimes there must be consequences. God gives human government the authority to maintain order and justice within its borders.

Directly connected to that is a government’s authority to protect its citizens from those outside of its boarders. I just talked about protecting citizens from internal threats, now we consider that the same authority extends beyond its borders in some cases. On December 7, 1941 the Empire of Japan attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor launching a war against us with a sneak attack. The US government then declared war on Japan and its allies including Hitler’s Third Reich. During Hitler’s reign of terror in the 1930s and 1940s, many nations fought against his blatant abuse of governmental authority. Hitler went far beyond the authority given to him in Romans 13 by attacking other nations and slaughtering innocent men, women, and children in concentration camps, gas chambers and all the rest. The United States was one of the nations who fought against that tyranny and it had every right to do so. A government has the authority to not only to defend its own citizens, but also the basic human rights of those being oppressed and killed outside its borders.

God also gave authority to human governments to establish and enforce laws. In 1 Peter 2:13 the Spirit wrote through Peter, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.” We then, are commanded by God to obey the government’s laws. Now, if the government enacts laws that violate the Word of God, it has overstepped its authority. The government is not sovereign over God, He is sovereign over it. So if that happens are we supposed to forcibly rebel? Well, is that what Jesus did? Is that what Paul did? No, they did not.

In times when the government oversteps its authority and enacts laws that violate the Word of God we, as believers in Christ and citizens living under a human government, continue to be like Jesus who sought to proclaim forgiveness, mercy and love through the Gospel to those around Him. We don’t change things by violence and use of force; we change things by something much more powerful, by proclaiming the life changing and life giving Gospel of Christ, one person at a time.

Let me be clear, there is no dilemma. I do not believe the US or PA governments have overstepped their authority by issuing the stay-at-home orders due to covid19. It is within their God-given authority because the purpose is to protect their citizens. God says to obey every ordinance of the government; the social distancing and stay at home orders for covid19 are lawful orders that do not overstep that authority.

So, instead of complaining, as believers we should be praying for God’s will to be done, reaching out to our brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage and strengthen them as best we can, and we must demonstrate love to all those around us. Let us also consider that perhaps we have taken our ability to assemble a little too lightly. How many times have you missed a church gathering on a Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday or whatever days your church meets because you had something else you wanted to do? Maybe, we as the church need some repentance for taking His Church a little too lightly in recent years.

May the Lord watch over you, protect you, and keep you close to Him.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mark