Law in the Kingdom Economy (3)
I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers! 1 Corinthians 6.5, 6
Justice in the civil arena
We’re examining some of the criteria which must guide contemporary believers in applying the Law of God to life in the Church and the Kingdom economy today. We have said that the Church is not ancient Israel. Rather, as the new Israel, living in the age of grace and the Spirit, church leaders need to reflect carefully—following the example of Jesus and the apostles—on how the statutes and precepts of ancient Israel are to be understood and obeyed in our own day.
This was what outraged Paul about the behavior of the Corinthians. When members of the community had a dispute, they should have appealed to their church, in the form of its elders, to help them resolve it. Instead, their first line of response was to sue one another and seek justice in a pagan court. Their church, as keeper of the Law of God, should have been where these brethren turned for redress.
Christians do not keep the Law in order to earn our salvation, but to realize our salvation, prove our discipleship, equip ourselves for loving God and neighbors, and thus make progress in spreading the grace of Jesus Christ to all people.
The statutes and precepts of the civil law of Israel are still binding today—as Paul, James, and Jesus indicate. But they must be interpreted into the life of the new Israel, which, while it is built, like an ancient tell, on the foundation of Old Testament Israel, faces altogether different historical and cultural contingencies. This is the work of church leaders, those who are chosen to shepherd the flock of God with the rod and staff of His Law.
In addition to the Ten Commandments, the Law of God includes many guidelines for achieving justice and restoring order to a community. Believers should study the Law, live by it, and teach it to one another, submitting to the shepherds of their church and the protocols of disciple-making to embody the principles of love they are learning. Where necessary, the local church has sanctions it can apply to help those who are faltering in obedience.
But the ultimate responsibility for ensuring justice in the civil arena lies with civil governments—local, state, and federal. The Church must not presume on the prerogatives of the State in seeking justice between its members. There are limits to what the local church can do to restore justice. Where an infraction has been committed against the Law of God by a member of the Christian Church, believers must apply the principles of church discipline in seeking to restore justice. We shall have more to say about this in due course.
Final, not first
However, where church discipline fails to bring about a proper resolution of disputes, members should expect that the civil government may be invoked or appealed to for a just outcome, just as Paul appealed to Caesar in seeking justice in his case. But the courts should be the final bar of appeal for believers in civil matters, not the first.
Civil government, as Paul and Peter remind us, has been established by God to accomplish His good purposes (Rom. 13.1-4; 1 Pet. 2.13, 14). God’s Law is good and wise, and it proves to be beneficial when communities abide by principles derived from God’s Law, even though they do not acknowledge the provenance of those principles and practices. Thus, believers must work within the structures of society to model the power and goodness of God’s gracious Law and to ensure that governments act in accord with its teaching. The Church must not presume to enact civil judgments against its members or others, beyond what the Law prescribes. Rather, because the State also is subject to the righteousness and justice of God’s rule (Ps. 9.7, 8: Dan. 4.27; Matt. 14.1-4), believers must labor to persuade civil magistrates of the essential wisdom, goodness, and justice of the Law of God.
This we do through the political process, by electing leaders who fear the Lord and working for laws and other forms of public policy that reflect the character and purposes of the Law of God.
Leave room for grace
But even in this arena believers must remember that, in the age of grace, not even the vilest offender is completely cut off from the reach of God’s Spirit and truth. Penalties for violating the Law of God must, therefore, leave room for grace to work; they must not be so harsh as to harden hearts, but they must be sufficiently harsh as to achieve justice, encourage behavioral change, and deter other would-be offenders.
There is a role for civil government in overseeing a just society, where neighbor-love obtains through submission—even grudging submission (Ps. 81.15; Ps. 66.3)—to the standards and sanctions of the Law of God. It is the duty of local churches to pray for and support the civil magistrate and even to encourage magistrates to enact policies consistent with the teaching of God’s Law.
But in the Church, no actions must be taken against offenders of God’s Law beyond those outlined in the use of church discipline. The local church appeals to the Law of God to right wrongs within the community of faith, but it has no power, other than to prescribe, of retribution in its decisions. Unrepentant offenders may be subject to the Church’s authority to excommunicate, thus cutting them off from fellowship with the local body of believers and leaving them to the wiles of the devil and the pleasure of the State until they repent of their wickedness, make all due restoration, and return to their proper place in the Body of Christ.
The Church is not the civil magistrate. But local churches have an important role to play in demonstrating the power of grace, as encoded in God’s Law, and working to create communities of decency, order, and mutual respect.
For reflection
1. What is church discipline? When is it appropriate? How should church discipline be related to the Law of God?
2. What are some ways Christians in your community might work to help local government be more a channel of God’s grace?
3. The church does not wield the sword of punishment, but the sword of the Spirit: Explain.
Next steps—Preparation: Does your church practice church discipline? The first line of church discipline is believers confronting one another in their sins. How would you do that, if you knew of a church member who was practicing obvious sin?
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
To learn more about the Christian’s responsibility concerning civil government, order a copy of our book, The King’s Heart, by clicking here, or download the free PDF by clicking here.
Other columns of interest: This week: Our daily Scriptorium study presses on into Ephesians 5 in the week ahead. Our Read Moore podcast is working through The Gospel of the Kingdom, looking for the true Gospel of the Lord. The Crosfigell teaching letter continues our study of the life of Brigit, a contemporary of Brendan. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
