I am simply amazed to see how many Seventh-day Adventists are seemingly unaware that we are in the midst of a Constitution crisis, where our religious freedoms are being violated as never before on such a major scale. Even Mark Finley, on the May 17th “Level Up” Zoom video conference by AWR didn’t see this, using Romans 13 as the reason we should just quietly obey the government mandated closure of our churches.
Now let me say, I fully believe in what Romans 13 says, and that is why I believe our border security is an important issue, for instance. Those who violate our laws should not be rewarded with a free pass ahead of those who came here legally. And why do I say this? Do I harbor racial animus against Hispanics, as some would say? No, it is because I believe in Romans 13 and that the law of the land should be followed.
With this in mind, we need to ask: what is the highest law of the land in the United States of America? It is the Constitution! All other laws and leaders are to be in complete subjection to that document, and any order or law that violates the unalienable rights enumerated therein is null and void, and should not be followed.
All earthly governments follow one of two basic concepts of governance:
1. The rule of man
2. The rule of law
Under the first, a man, usually a king, dictator, or otherwise totalitarian ruler is the originator and has the final word with regard to all law. And being subject to the whims of a man, life can be very unstable and unpredictable. This principle of governance always leads to tyranny because of man’s sinful nature.
Under the second, the law is the final authority, and no ruler or legislator can rightly or justly act out of harmony with that law.
For most of our world’s history, the rule of man was how all nations were governed. The closest I know of to the rule of law being followed was the ancient Medo-Persian kingdom, where the law of the Medes and Persians could not be changed (Dan. 6:12), and even then, it was a man, not a legislature that made the laws, as in Daniel 6.
The United States is one of the first, if not the first nation since ancient Israel to be established under the rule of law, the highest law being our Constitution. And our laws are not supposed to be established by any one man, but by all the people through their duly elected representatives in the capital. Even presidential executive orders are null and void if they do not have some basis in previously established law.
Israel was originally set up by God under the rule of law, God’s Law. There was no “federal” government as in other nations, but citizen rulers of the tribes and their cities were to administer justice in harmony with the law of God. Any cases too hard to be determined locally were taken directly to God through the priesthood at the sanctuary, which is what happens in a true theocracy. (No, the Papacy is not a theocracy, for they do not consult the true God).
When Israel later chose to have a king, in spite of Samuel’s warnings, they were choosing the rule of man over the rule of law. Yes, the king was supposed to rule according to God’s law, but this didn’t happen very consistently, and eventually not at all. Israel’s sad history and the oppression that eventually followed the establishment of a monarchy is an object lesson of why it is not wise to put any man or small group of men in charge of the lives of his fellows. The rule of law is always our best option to ensure liberty for all.
When the apostle Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans, the world was under the rule of Rome, under the rule of man. No one could do anything about this, for there was no representation or elections by which the average person could bring about any change. Whatever Caesar wanted Caesar was able to enforce through his army. It is not what God wanted, but Israel had chosen this style of rule by rejecting God’s rule of law.
We have been established as a nation under the rule of law in the United States, so when we apply Romans 13 1-2, we must accurately and properly apply it to our present situation. The authority of our Constitution was “appointed by God”, and resisting its authority is to “resist the ordinance of God”. It was established that way by God at His direction (Dan. 2:21, Rev. 12:16, Rev. 13:11) by Christian men who understood that only way true liberty can be attained and maintained is under the rule of law.
This means no man can justly enact any laws that are in violation of the highest law of the land, the Constitution. When various governors of states for instance are violating their citizen’s rights to gather for worship, work, or other activities, we the people are duty bound to resist such unjustly enacted laws, enacted by the rule of man (or woman in at least one case). Our Constitution gives us the means by which to do this through the courts, petitions, peaceful demonstration, or the ballot box. In the case of the banning of church attendance, civil disobedience in the form of holding church services would be another way. If we truly value our God given freedoms, then we have no other choice, if we are to retain these freedoms.
The wise preacher of Ecclesiastes tells us why:
Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil (Ecclesiastes 8:11).
John Stuart Mill, a British philosopher, stated this truth in his own words when he said:
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” (Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St. Andrews, Feb. 1st 1867 (1867), p. 36)
But alas, there are so few with the courage it takes to stand up the present tyranny! There are a few pastors here and there who are, and as usual they are paying a price, but thanks to religious liberty litigation firms who represent such cases without charge, they will eventually by vindicated in a just court of law. I wish that I could say that there are Seventh-day Adventist pastors doing this as well, but I do not know of any.
We all know that someday, another serious Constitutional crisis predicted in Revelation 13 as the mark of the beast will be enacted. We are called by God on that day to resist with civil disobedience. But if we do not resist this present breach in the wall of separation between church and state now, we are setting a dangerous precedent for the future. When the Mark of the Beast is imposed upon us and if we resist, the authorities can rightly ask us why we have a problem with this and not the COVID-19 related closure of our churches. They might even ask us why we don’t care about the welfare of our people, as there will be various catastrophic events will cause them to enact this unjust law.
If Jeremiah were alive today, he might well ask us,
If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? (Jeremiah 12:5a).
But since Jeremiah is not around to ask this question of our leaders, I will. God is giving us a chance to build our spiritual muscles of resolve, and we are failing to take advantage of the opportunity to be strengthened for the final conflict. We need to look at what is upon us now as training for the future test of faith which will inevitably come. If we fail to stand now, what makes us think that we will stand then?
I was an auto mechanic for over 30 years, and for most of those years as a Seventh-day Adventist, and auto shops are almost universally open on Sabbath mornings. As a result, I have had to take a stand on numerous occasions for Sabbath observance, and now I am used to the pressure and intimidation that it can bring from the enemy. The last time this happened I lost my job, and many fellow Adventists told me how admirable I was for taking a stand, and the way that they said this gave me the impression that they thought that what I had done was some novel thing. I certainly hope that this isn’t true, that I am not somehow the exception rather than the norm.
Some might say, well if it is predicted to happen prophetically, we really can’t stop it from happening, can we? This is true, but following that line of logic, why even have a religious liberty department if we are to just allow our liberties to be freely violated without opposition?
A loss of religious liberty is losing our ability to spread the Gospel in our land, so to not oppose these violations is to demonstrate a lack of concern for the eternal life of our fellow man who could be reached while religious liberty is still intact.
My brethren, in light of all this, let us learn a lesson from this experience and covenant with God to not be so weak from this day forward. I especially call on our leaders to do this, for the time is at hand, and soon the ultimate test will come. We need you to set a godly example of standing up for religious liberty. There are thousands just here in America alone who need the saving message of Jesus through His 3 angels (that’s us!). Let us not so easily allow the rule of man take that right away from us, so these previous souls can hear that message that they so desperately need.
Let us take Romans 13 to heart, and live out that injunction in light of the rule of law that God has put in place in America. Let us take a stand for our God given liberties!
Pastor Dale Fuhrmeister teaches auto mechanics at Ouachita Hills Academy and College.