In Luke 4:4 the Scriptures tell us “And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”. And in 2 Timothy 3:16 we read “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”.
While there are many Christian denominations there really are only two types of Christians. Those who believe the Bible is the Word of God and that we must live by every word it and those who believe something less than this. The former would be classified as Biblicist Christians and that is what is I am, a Biblicist Christian.
As soon as we say this, ignorant Christians and unbelievers alike will point to Old Testament civil, and ceremonial laws that we no longer keep as Christians to point to our supposed hypocrisy or inconsistency as Biblicists. But the Bible says in Galatians 3:24-25 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster”. And in Hebrews 7:12 we read “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law”. The Old Testament law was given to bring God’s people to Christ, but after Christ came, we are no longer under the civil punishments, dietary, cleanliness or sacrificial laws of the Old Testament because with Christ we have a New Covenant and a new high priest who has changed the law.
But just because we are no longer under the civil and ceremonial laws of Israel does not mean we are no longer under the moral law of God found throughout the Old Testament. In Romans 3:31 the Bible states “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” and in Romans 7:7 we read “…I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet”.
With that said as the foundation for my religion, for my faith, the following is what I believe based upon the teachings of the Bible.
The Scriptures say of Jesus Christ in John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” and I believe it. The Scriptures also refer to the third person of the trinity in John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” and I believe it.
The Scriptures tell us in Exodus 20:11 “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” and I believe it.
The Scriptures tell us in Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” and in Acts 4:12 the Bible says “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” and I believe it.
The Scriptures tell us in Leviticus 18:22 “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination” and Romans 1:26-27 the Bible states “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet”. The Bible calls homosexual behavior an abomination, a vile affection, unseemly and unnatural and I believe it.
The Scriptures tell us in Mark 10:6 “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” and in Deuteronomy 22:5 the Bible says “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God” and I believe based upon the Bible that transgender behavior is an abomination before God.
The Scriptures tell us in Hebrews 13:4 “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge”. I believed based upon the Bible that the only sexual relations God honors and considers pure is between a man and woman within a covenant of marriage.
The Scriptures tell us in 1 Corinthians 11:3 that “…that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God” and in 1 Timothy 2:12 the Bible says woman is not “…to usurp authority over the man” and I believe it.
The Scriptures tell us in Ephesians 5:23-24 “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing” and I believe it.
My Political Beliefs Are My Religious Beliefs
My faith teaches me that we cannot separate politics from morality because a vast majority of laws and political decisions are in fact based in morality. Sure, building codes and speed limits may not be based in morality. But laws regarding things like theft, murder, marriage, sexual behaviors and a host of other issues are based in morality. Even tax laws are based in morality because we must ask ourselves what is right amount that each person should pay? That is a moral decision.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 22:28 “For the kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the governor among the nations” and in Psalm 33:12 we read “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance”. God rules over the nations and his law is supreme over the nations whether they recognize his existence or his law. If a nation recognizes God’s law and enforces his law and design, he will bless them. But if a nation rejects God and his law the Bible gives us the following dire warning for that nation in Psalm 9:17 where we read “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God”.
This is why as Biblicist Christians we cannot separate our religious views from our political views because our political views are directed by the foundation for our faith which is the Bible. Whether it is advocating for social policies, tax policies, individual rights or even foreign policies, as Biblicist Christians the political views we advocate for are moral views, and our religion dictates that all our moral views must come from the Bible.
In other words, my political views as a Biblicist Christian are my religious views.
As you read this blog and my commentary on various current events and news articles you will see where I show from the Bible, the basis for my faith and life, that many American laws are in fact a violation of God’s design and law. I will show where the American government has violated God given rights with its laws and also where it has granted rights that God has not granted which violate his moral law.
The Bible tells us in Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God” and in 1 Peter 2:13 we read “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme”. Some Christians, especially humanist Christians, believe that civil governments have unlimited power and we as Christians may not disobey any law of man.
But they are failing to take into account the entire witness of the Scriptures which is a pit they often fall into. In Acts 5:29 the Bible tells us we should not follow the laws and edicts of men if they tell us to disobey or disregard God’s law. Also, in Mark 12:17 the Scriptures tell us “And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him”. Jesus did not say “render unto God the things that are God’s and everything else belongs to Caesar” as humanist Christians would have us believe. Jesus told us to render unto Casear “the things that are Caesars” and in that statement he was teaching the principle of limited government.
God tells us his purpose for civil government in 1 Peter 2:14 when he states that they are “sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well”. And what is the standard of good and evil? God’s Word. Civil government is ordained by God to punish evil doers, those who violate God’s law including the rights he gives to us. And they are also sent to praise and uplift what is moral and right behavior according to God’s law.
But the civil government cannot usurp or take authority in matters that God has given to the church or the family. And it is this sinful usurping of authority that sometimes necessitates civil disobedience on the part of us as Biblicist Christians.
There are times where I will advocate for civil disobedience to some American laws or executive orders of elected officials following the example set forth by the Apostles who practiced civil disobedience to certain laws and they boldly told their governing officials that “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
At other times I will encourage Christians to take full advantage of their rights under this same system that we must sometimes practice civil disobedience against just as the Apostle Paul did in Acts 22:24-29 when he confronted Roman officials for violating his Roman civil rights.
What all that means is this. My speech on this blog (as well as my other blogs) is protected under our legal system by two different areas of our laws. The first set of protections afforded to me are found in the first amendment the United States Constitution which states:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
Under our legal system I have the freedom to express both my political views and religious views. The Supreme Court has held certain limits on freedom of speech such as the Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) decision which does not allow speech “directed to inciting imminent lawless action and is likely to produce such action” and in this they were referring to incitement to imminent violence. The same case protected the right to advocate for the overthrow of the American government as long as it was not specific and imminent. In Virginia v. Black (2003) the Supreme court further clarified that such speech must be a “true threat” to commit violence against certain individuals or groups.
The Supreme court stated that “The government may not prohibit the verbal or nonverbal expression of an idea merely because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable” in Texas v. Johnson (1989) and it has consistently upheld that even hate speech cannot be prohibited.
But my political views stated here and elsewhere are not just protected under the freedom of speech protection of the constitution. They are also protected under the “free exercise” of religion clause found in the first amendment because my political views are my religious beliefs.
That brings us to another protection afforded to me and like-minded Biblicists Christians under American law and that is the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which protects people from discrimination based on five key classes which are race, color, religion, sex and national origin.
The irony is that I disagree with many parts of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as it took away certain rights God gives to individuals and nations and it gave some rights to individuals that God does not give. Yet as long as it exists, I will encourage my fellow Biblicist Christians to make full use of religion being a protected class in that law. In fact, I believe it is our greatest legal defense against the humanist hordes that seek to silence our voice in society.
The Bible has answers to all the societal problems we face, if only we would listen. The problem is that we have strayed from God’s design of the nation, his design of the church and his design of the family. Only when we bring all three of these areas back into accordance with his will can we ever hope to find a lasting peace.