Respectfully, Clearly Resisting the Governing Authorities

Bereans,

God established the human institutions of church, family, and government. His Word clearly spells out the roles He has assigned to each one of these institutions. This is what Scripture says about the role of government:
 
"Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil." (Romans 13:1-4). 

In summary, God ordained governing authorities to protect the innocent and restrain/punish evildoers. Any governing authority who neglects, abuses, or disregards that role is in sin and will be held accountable by God. Further, when governing authorities do not fulfill their roles, the people under them suffer and evil increases.

The sin of abortion is an issue where governing authorities should be protecting the innocent (unborn children) and punishing evildoers (those involved in killing unborn children). Instead, many of our elected officials not only support, but actively promote this horrendous injustice against the most vulnerable of God's image-bearers.

The most egregious example right now is the governor of California, Gavin Newsom. Governor Newsom has not only declared his state a "safe haven" for abortion, he is now running advertisements promoting California's abortion access in states that restrict abortion. Not only is he paying for these ads out of his personal campaign funds, but his ads quote Scripture to justify paying for someone else's abortions! He quotes Jesus' command to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31, taken out of context) as justification to kill unborn babies! This is about as blasphemous as it gets, yet he does this without even blushing.

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs decision, Governor Newsom and his party have become increasingly bold and defiant against God as they promote their culture of death, even going so far as to promote violence against pro-life pregnancy centers (see first article below). As Christians, we have an obligation to call them out and implore them to repent. Last week, John MacArthur, who is a California resident, did exactly that by writing an open letter and making a public call for the governor to repent. His wording was precise and respectful, yet without watering down the truth. He pulled no punches, but did so in a way that exemplifies how Christians can glorify God in the public square. I hope you'll find this encouraging as an example of how each of us can submit to human institutions while still resisting them when they commit evil acts.

https://www.newsmax.com/politics/democrats-abortion/2022/07/22/id/1080024/
https://www.gracechurch.org/news/posts/3592 

Grace and peace to you,

J.W.
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