LAW & ORDER
OPEN: 23 People Have Died Since Violence Erupted Following George Floyd’s Death
- in New York City, shootings have surged by more than 358% this year
- Atlanta had record violence over July 4th weekend.
- CNN reports that 5 police officers had been killed in 9 days
- Officer Down Memorial Page reports 29 police officers have been shot and killed by gunfire this year
- In Atlanta, an 8-year-old child was killed near the site of protests by armed individuals manning a makeshift road block.
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1991 - Rodney King
Rodney King was brutally beaten by 14 LAPD officers after a high-speed chase during his arrest for drunk driving in 1991.
The incident was filmed by a bystander -and sent to a local news station. It went viral and caused public outrage.
Four officers were eventually tried on charges of use of excessive force.
Three were acquitted, and the jury failed to reach a verdict on one charge for the fourth.
Within hours of the acquittals, the 1992 Los Angeles riots started.
The rioting lasted six days and killed 63 people, with 2,383 more injured.
Pres. Bush said that the outcome of Rodney King's trial was used as an excuse for pillage, loot, murder and anarchy.
Gov. Bill Clinton described it as "the actions of a segment of people in America who are disconnected from the SHARED VALUES that the rest of America holds."
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(TS) SHARED VALUES!!! Is this true? Is Bill Clinton’s statement a true statement?
If so, what are these shared values? Where did these values come from? How did we come to share these values as a nation?
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I believe that America (from its inception) was founded as A CHRISTIAN NATION.
The foundations of our "shared values" are rooted in: 1. The 10 Commandments (Ex 20)
and 2. The Teachings of Jesus (Mt 22:38-39)
Ex. 1. Love God (Faith is important)
2. Have no other gods (Truth is important)
3. Honor mother & father (Family is important!)
4. Do not murder (Human life is important!)
5. Do not steal (Private Property is important)
6. Do not commit adultery (Marriage is important!)
7. Do not bear false witness (Your integrity is important!)
8. Do not covet your neighbor's stuff (Community is important!)
Jesus said: Love the Lord your God. Love your neighbor as yourself. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
SUMMARY: These values are what makes civilization possible!
1. The Colonies: 12 of the original 13 colonies incorporated the entire Ten Commandments into their civil and criminal codes.
2.Benjamin Franklin: Benjamin Franklin summarized his religious beliefs in a letter to Ezra Stiles, president of Yale University:
"Here is my creed, I believe in one God, the Creator of the universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render to him is in doing good to His other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. This I take to be the fundamental points of religion."
The Founders of America believed that it was THE DUTY OF SCHOOLS to communicate these fundamental points to future citizens of America.
Based on Franklin's statement, they emphasized:
1. The Recognition and worship of a Creator who made all things.
2. That the Creator has revealed a MORAL CODE of behavior for happy living which distinguishes right from wrong.
3. That the Creator holds men responsible for the way they treat each other.
4. That all men live beyond this life.
5. That in the next life, individuals are judged for their conduct in this one.
"All five of these tenets," says historian Cleon Skousen, "run through practically all the founders' writings
3.The Northwest Ordinance: In 1787, the year the Constitution was written, the founders also passed the famous Northwest Ordinance. In it they emphasized the essential need to teach religion and morality in the schools of the new territories. It stated: "Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.
4. Public Schools: A brief review of early American school books, even books in the early part of this century reveal that...
- THESE MORAL PRINCIPLES WERE TAUGHT IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS in America
- They were EMBEDDED in the hearts and minds of every school child.
Civilization is not transferred by osmosis. It is not inherited. It doesn't just happen
Its very advancement DEPENDS upon the ability of each generation to fully communicate and teach its children the Word of God.
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The current uprising that America is experiencing is evidence that the basic tenets upon which our nation was built are NOT being transferred or adequately taught. Man, instead of evolving upward, appears to be in a state of rot and decay, on a downward spiral, reverting back to barbarianism, where "might makes right" (survival of the fittest). Where rape and plunder and murder are common. Where "everyone does what is right in their own eyes" - which historically leads to bondage and oppression.
(TS) What Happened?
John Dewey (The Father of Progressive Education): John Dewey clearly states in his book, The Price of Liberty, why he believed there was NO PLACE FOR MORAL ABSOLUTES in the curriculum: "There is no God and there is no soul, hence, there is no need for the props of traditional religion. With dogma and creed excluded, then immutable truth is dead and buried. There is no room for fixed and natural law or permanent moral absolutes."
It took over fifty years, but Dewey's philosophy began to erode away at the foundations of our political and economic institutions until this ideology found its way into every public school in America.
Moral absolutes and the Biblical teaching of right and wrong, good and evil, have been replaced by "Values Clarification" which according to authors Simon, Howe, and Kirschenbaum, is to help young people "build their own value system."
Very simply stated, CHRISTIANITY teaches men and women to love God, to serve God, and to enjoy Him forever - so we will be blessed. So we will have hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). So our children will be blessed
ATHEISM (or SECULARISM) - encourages man to establish himself independent of God, to free himself from God's laws, to cast off all moral restraint. (Because if there is no God - we can do whatever we want.
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I. LAW & ORDER ARE GIVEN BY GOD
He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. - Deuteronomy 32:4
God is... JUST
Throughout the Bible, justice and injustice is a common theme. (See Micah 6:8, Amos 5:15, Zechariah 7:9, Matthew 23:23)
God is... RIGHTEOUS
God is... HOLY
God is... GOOD
God DEFINES what is good and what is evil.
God has given us The 10 Commandments, The greatest commandments, The Golden Rule (These are The Divine Rules of Human Conduct).
God declares - there are moral absolutes in life.
God sets down Laws and Limits to man's activities.
- He gives His laws to protect us (just like Guardrails protect us from falling over a cliff)
- what we can and cannot do with sex
- what we can and cannot do with money
- what we can and cannot do with freedom with speech
It is the Hope of Christianity that: "The kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." - Revelation 11:15
Why do we want this? We want this so that we can experience the blessings of God! We want this so ALL people can experience the blessings of God!
Christianity calls men into a life of service to God and fellowman. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD" - Psalm 33:12 (Where people live for God, listen to God, serve God)
Ill - It's like sports. You've got to play by the rules. The game is no fun when people don't play by the rules (Cheat).
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THE PROBLEM (Romans 1:18, 28-32)
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth (who suppress the rules) by their wickedness...
...since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree (His rules) that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. (They continue to ignore the rules, change the rules, make up new rules) - Romans 1:18, 28-32
The end result is... (of separating our civil laws from God's laws) is depravity, and devastation (Burning, Looting, Murdering)
Church Burnings
May 30, 2020 1. St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York
St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York was vandalized by two teenage Black Lives Matter activists on May 30.
May 31, 2020 2. St. John’s Episcopalian Church in Washington, D.C.
AG Bill Barr said the Church would have been destroyed if it weren’t for Law Enforcement
June 19, 2020 3. The desecration of Church statue in Los Angeles and in San Francisco
July 5, 2020 4. Harmony Baptist Church - Rogersville, Missouri
Johnson County Fire, which responded to Harmony Baptist Church July 5, said the structure fire was determined to have been intentional.
July 11, 2020 5. San Gabriel Church - near Los Angeles
It took more than 50 firefighters to put out the mountain of flames at San Gabriel Church, which — by Saturday night — was nothing but a rickety frame of smoldering ash. “It’s a tragic loss for our city,” exhausted fire chief Antonio Negrete told reporters. “It’s our city identifier.”
July 11, 2020 6. Queen of Peace Catholic Church
On the morning of July 11, a man crashed a minivan through the front door of Queen of Peace Catholic Church. He then set the church aflame while parishioners inside prepared for morning Mass. Laughing about it later with police, the 23-year-old arsonist said he was on a “mission.”
7. Five more churches were attacked within in 48 hours.
8. Calvary Baptist in San Diego
A historically black congregation - watched its building for children’s ministry burn to the ground after a “suspicious” blaze started in the attic.
July 15, 2020 9. A Catholic cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island
A 26-year-old man allegedly spray painted swastikas and anti-Christian graffiti on the headstones in the graveyard.
To reject God's law... to reject Law and Order... will result in a world that lives in fear, and frustration, and anger, and confusion.
CONCLUSION: Law & Order come from God!
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II. LAW & ORDER ARE ADMINISTERED BY THE GOVERNMENT
Romans 13:1-2... Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
Note: Not by: INDIVUALS... or mob violence... or vigilantes (because of Romans 1:28-32... Depraved minds... doing what ought not to be done. ... filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. ...slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil;...approving of those who do evil... )
a) The natural man seeks to pay back those who persecute him, plus interest. He would not be content with “an eye for an eye” but would seek two eyes for an eye. This is revenge.
b) The man of integrity seeks only that which is appropriate repayment or retribution. This is justice.
c) The Christian must return blessing for cursing, good for evil. This is grace.
Romans 12:17... Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
SUNSHINE & SHADOWS
Cleon Skousen writes in The Making of America,
"The founders were optimistic as well as realistic about human nature. They realized that all human beings are a mixture of sunshine and shadow. The sunshine consists of the perfectibility of human reason. This makes government possible.
The darker side of human nature is the imperfectability of human passion and man's faulty sense of judgment that make government necessary.
As James Madison states, 'As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust, so there are other qualities in human nature which justify a certain portion of esteem and confidence.'
"The founders' goal was to revive the ancient principles which would allow the sunshine side of human nature to enjoy virtually unlimited freedom, while setting up appropriate safeguards to prevent the doleful shadow of human passion, greed, and lust for power from spreading a permanent 'dark ages' across the face of the globe.
As Clinton Rossiter wrote, there is 'no happiness without liberty, no liberty without self-government, no self-government without constitutionalism, no constitutionalism without morality - and none of these great goods without stability and order.'" (Without Law & Order) (If you want happiness - then you need Law and Order)
QUESTION: HOW DO WE MAXIMIZE LIBERTY without being destroyed by our DEPRAVITY?
ANSWER: YOU ARE TO SELF-GOVERN YOURSELF
And for those who cannot self-govern themselves, God has ordained Governing Authorities to do so.
A Biblical Worldview (A Chain of Command... Because God is a God of Order!)
1. In the Home (Level 1): Parents (Teach/Discipline) (See Ephesians 5)
2. In the Church (Level 2): Preachers, teachers, elders, accountability partners (Teach/Discipline)
3. In the World (Level 3): The government, the police (Imprisonment, execution) (See Romans 13)
Government has been delegated authority by God.
PURPOSE OF GOV:
a) To commend the good (Romans 13:4) - To protect, to help
b) To punish the wrong-doer (Romans 13:4)
c) To be agents of God's wrath (Romans 13:4)
He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
Governments should Submit to God! And recognize that their authority (A Trust, a Responsibility) comes from God.
Tyranny: The word "Tyranny" comes from the Greek for "secular rule" (Rule without God). Rule without God will eventually lead to tyranny.
“Heathen kings think primarily in terms of being over others; God’s king thinks in terms of being under God.” – Robert L. Deffinbaugh
When the King thinks HE is God, he will soon become a devil. (ex. Hitler, Stalin, Lenin)
This was well understood by our founding fathers, who suffered religious persecution in the old world. This is why ALL Colonial States required their leaders to take oaths professing their faith in Christ and the Scriptures.
This is WHY police officers takes Oaths of office... This is why police wear badges - to recognize... to acknowledge that they have been delegated (By God) to administer justice.
This is why a posy in the old cowboy movies had to be sworn in.
If Governing Rulers want their administrations to be blessed - they should seek the Lord.
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Romans 13:5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.
- Because of sin
- Because of depravity
- Because we do not want our world to be taken over by anarchists who Burn, Loot, and Murder
- Because God does not want you to repay evil for evil
- God does not want you to seek revenge
III. LAW & ORDER ARE TO BE CHERISHED, RESPECTED & OBEYED BY MAN
Romans 13:1-2: Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ... he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
1 Peter 2:17: Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
Titus 3:1: Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,
We are NOT to take the law into our own hands (Rom 12:17-23)
We are NOT to play God and decide who receives justice - unless we have been officially appointed, hired, or elected, delegated to do so.
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MORE THOUGHTS…
Romans 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
The Law is LOVE.
Romans 13:9-10 The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Love is THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW
It is how you show love to God and to one another. This is HOW you love your neighbor
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Romans 13:11-14 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
WAKE UP! Put aside the deeds of darkness (Lawlessness)
WAKE UP - from this Satanic lullaby
- from this war that is presently going on against Law & Order
- against our governing authorities
- from the mindset that the Law is Oppressive
- from this mindset that there is no absolutes... there is no good and evil...
APPLICATION
We are honored to have with us today Lanesville Police Chief, Lee Hancock (Our honored guest).
We have invited him here today to introduce him to our church, and to honor him and pray for him.
He has a badge, a uniform, and has taken an oath (Because his Authority has been delegated to him by the State)
He has taken an oath to..."...uphold the constitution and the laws of our state and the laws of Lanesville, and to faithfully perform the duties imposed upon him as a police officer of Lanesville".
He has taken an oath... - To put his life on the line
- To protect the innocent
- To administer justice to the guilty
That's HIS job! (He is our community Peace Keeper)
- against Domestic violence
- against illegal drugs
- against rape & murder & sex trafficking
- against theft, looting, vandalism
And OUR job is to:
1. Be LAW-ABIDING citizens.
2. Respectfully acknowledge GOD-ORDAINED AUTHORITY.
Officer Hancock serves God as an agent of justice (this is his ministry).
3. Respectfully SUBMIT to his Authority (and the Authority he has delegated to his deputies).
He deserves our respect
He needs our support
He needs our prayers (For His protection, His safety, For his success)
4. HONOR Officer Hancock and ALL who serve to protect us.
- To honor him for being willing to do a necessary job in a world that is becoming hostile to Authority
Let us be a JOY to him, and NOT a burden (Not a part of the problem).
Let us pledge to be peaceful, respectful, law-abiding citizens as our act of worship and obedience to God, and as an act of love for one another.
CLOSE: 1 Peter 2:24
1 Peter 2:21-24: To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, HE ENTRUSTED HIMSELF to him who judges justly.
This is a hard teaching - but this is my challenge to us this morning - WILL YOU ENTRUST YOURSELF TO GOD?
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Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
1. Jesus Died for our sins (our depravity, our rebellion).
2. So we might Live for Righteousness (So that we would do what is Right... Just... and Good)
Are you ready to except what Jesus Christ has done for you?
Are you ready to do things His way?
PRAY...
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(Deeper Life)
1. What is your attitude toward Law & Order?
2. How is Law & Order related to Liberty?
3. How is Law & Order related to Love? (Romans 13:8-10)
4. What is your attitude toward Authority?
What SHOULD be your attitude towards Authority?
5. Do you have trouble leaving room for God's wrath? (Romans 12:19)
6. In what areas have you been given authority?
In what areas have you been given authority by God?
Do you recognize your authority as a trust from God?
What does that look like?
7. How can we show respect and honor to our governing authorities?
How can we help our governing authorities?
