When Not to Obey (4)

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. Daniel 6.10

Control freaks
Governments like to control things, have you noticed?

That old temptation to abuse political power has many guises. With Darius we see a new example of a government going bad and acting horridly. Darius may have been a very powerful man and a skilled military leader; but he was apparently a few cars short of a full train. He was easily flattered by his lackeys and, thus, induced to take an action that even he would later recognize as completely foolish.

Darius’ fellow Persians, who were appointed to administer the realm he had taken over from the Babylonian king, didn’t like the fact that Daniel was kept on in an influential role. He wasn’t “one of them” after all, and he should not have been allowed more power than they, or, so these political appointees reasoned.

How to get rid of Daniel? They came up with a terrific scheme: Encourage the king of Persia to take charge of all religious exercises and to determine when and, probably, where anybody in his realm could pray to their god. That seemed reasonable to Darius, as, doubtless, it would to any civil government that was determined to aggrandize as much power as possible to itself.

The Persians were more cosmopolitan than the Babylonians, as the Romans after them would be. They didn’t mind if captive peoples worshiped their own deities, as long as they were obedient to the rulers of the Persian Empire. So the problem wasn’t that Daniel refused to give up his religion for that of his new ruler. The problem was that Daniel would not be ruled in his religious practices by any government mandate.

Not thirty days, not one!
Darius was manipulated by his underlings to sign a law of the Persians – which, once signed, could not be revoked, but only overridden by a new law. That law said, in effect, that only the king of Persia could authorize people to pray (vv. 6-9). Granted, this was only for a 30-day period, but to Darius it would have meant that he had power to make such determinations any time, for any length of time.

For his jealous underlings, who knew Daniel very well, it would be just enough time to accomplish their wicked purposes.

So it is significant, as our text tells us, that as soon as Daniel knew that the law had been put into effect, he went right back to his regular practice of praying three times a day, in full public view, kneeling in the window of his apartment and facing toward Jerusalem.

A higher Authority
Daniel took his marching orders about spiritual matters from a higher Authority than King Darius. Like great saints in both Testaments, he understood that praying at least three times a day is part of what we owe to God, giving Him thanks and praise, as well as bringing our petitions to Him in prayer. He would not be told by the civil magistrate either whom he should pray to or when he could pray, or, for that matter what he could include in his prayers.

So here is a third principle for when it is right, indeed, essential, for believers in Christ not to obey civil government: Whenever the magistrate tries to control the practice of religion in a way contrary to what God has commanded, Christians must be willing to disobey.

And this strikes us right here at home, because we are commanded to pray at all times, without ceasing, and in every place. Any government mandate that tries to forbid or restrict such lawful prayers on the part of Christians must be opposed, and at times, publicly.

In the same way, civil government must not be allowed to dictate or control the content of Christian preaching and teaching. For now, we don’t worry too much about this. But “hate speech” legislation and court rulings could soon infringe on the freedom of Christians to teach the Bible openly. Indeed, already preachers and other Christian teachers may feel constrained as to what they can teach out of fear of jeopardizing the tax-exempt status of their church or organization.

But it is not the province of civil government to dictate or regulate the terms, times, or teachings of worship. This does not mean that any and all worship is legitimate; rather, it simply insists that all forms of lawful worship should be as directed under the guidance and regulation of God’s Word, and not the whims of magistrates.

For reflection
1.  Some might think that government has no authority to regulate worship. Is this true? Why or why not?

2.  In what ways does a church’s tax-exempt status potentially jeopardize its freedom of worship and instruction? How should a church deal with this?

3.  Is it ever proper for a Christian to refrain from public prayer or preaching? Why or why not? What alternatives exist for believers “always to pray” (Lk. 18.1) without provoking or offending either the people around us or the civil magistrate?

Next steps: Government must not seek to regulate Christian worship. Only Scripture can do that. How confident are you that the worship in your church is regulated by Scripture? If it’s not regulated by Scripture, then what does regulate your church’s worship? Talk with a church leader about these questions.

T. M. Moore

The Week, T. M.’s print and audio offering of worldview insights, musings, and reflections, is now available for free subscription. You can subscribe to The Week by going to the website and, when the pop-up appears, put in your email, click on The Week, then click to update your subscriptions. You’ll be sent an email allowing you to add The Week to your list of subscriptions.

We’re pleased to bring ReVision to you daily, and ReVision studies each week in PDF at no charge. Please visit our website, www.ailbe.org to learn about the many study topics available. Your gifts to The Fellowship of Ailbe make this ministry possible. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT 05452.

This week’s study, When Not to Obey, is part 5 of a 5-part series on 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 books The Kingship of Jesus  and The Ground for Christian Ethics to supplement our studies of God and government.

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