Two Swords (5)

And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. Acts 12.22, 23

The desire for sovereignty
Human governments abuse the powers entrusted to them from God when they consider their own word and will to be authoritative rather than God’s.

This is a tendency inherent in all governments for the simple fact that rulers are sinful and will at times use their offices for personal gain or according to individual whim. This “desire for sovereignty,” Augustine warned “is a deadly corrosive.” History is littered with examples of nations and rulers reduced to rubble by the selfish ambition of those in power. Such calamitous upheavals do not occur outside the scope of God’s sovereign rule of the nations; indeed, at times, they may be manifestations of His divine judgment.

These are words that fall hard on the ears of our secular contemporaries. Even many Christians may find it difficult to believe that God acts so directly and with such wrath in the course of human affairs.

But when His glory has been offended, His justice compromised, and people are being oppressed to one degree or another by rulers bent on having their way, we must not suppose that the God Who rules the political swords of this world by the Sword of His Spirit will simply stand aside.

Herod
Herod learned this lesson the hard way.

Previous to the incident concluded in our text, Herod had abused his power by turning the political sword against the Sword of the Spirit in an attempt to assert Rome’s authority over all religions. He put to death the Apostle James and imprisoned the Apostle Peter, evidently with the intent of similarly silencing him.

Then, when Peter was delivered by the angel of the Lord, Herod abused his power further, by unjustly ordering the death of those who had been on watch at the time of Peter’s deliverance. His hubris before the people of Tyre and Sidon was merely the last straw in a series of challenges to God’s authority. He was struck down, our text explains, “because he did not give glory to God.”

It is the duty of all civil governments to rule in such a way as to manifest, exalt, preserve, and advance the goodness and glory of God. When they do not, they may be brought to sudden end.

God is glorified in the work of governments when His good and right purposes are preserved and advanced. When those in power consider their own plans, programs, projects, and precepts to be superior to those of the Lord, they raise the power of the political sword against the Sword of the Spirit, and challenge God to prove His authority over them and their rule.

God responds to all such challenges – not always with the kind of swiftness we see in the case of Herod, but sooner or later, and in His own most appropriate way.

This does not mean that we can always attach the specific troubles or trials of any particular government to specific acts of hubris in the face of God. Nor does it mean that we may confidently predict the judgment of God against nations or political platforms that oppose or disregard His will.

An obligation of vigilance
This much we know: Government is God’s minister, ordained to further His good among men. Nothing of good can long continue where God’s Word is ignored, His ways flouted, and His authority to rule abused. This means that Christians, those entrusted with the Word of God (Ps. 147.19, 20), have a special obligation of vigilance in warding off the wrath of God by working to keep governments within their proper bounds of authority.

In so doing we need to understand and make good use of every lawful avenue and opportunity for shaping the direction of government, at every level of society. We are stewards of the freedoms we enjoy in our society, and vigilance and lawful political involvement are important means for securing those freedoms for ourselves and our posterity.

Next Steps: Are there any political issues presently before us as a nation in which the Sword of the Spirit should be more decisively invested? What thoughts do you have about these issues? How might you learn more about what the Sword of the Spirit teaches as the civil government’s good duty here? Talk with a pastor or church leader about these questions.

T. M. Moore

This week’s study, Two Swords, is part 1 of a 5-part series on The King’s Heart, a Biblical view of government and politics, and is available as a free download by clicking here. We cannot understand God’s view of government, or how to function in a political environment apart from faith in King Jesus and His rule. Order T. M.’s book The Kingship of Jesusto supplement our studies of God and government.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.