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God and Government
Please enjoy the Audio Lessons Below.
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God and Government Lesson 1
1. What is government?
It is not confined to, say, “Washington D.C” or “Madison, Wisconsin”. Government is not confined to what most people think when they hear the term “government”. Government, in the broadest biblical sense, refers to an act of legitimate rule. “Governance” (the act or process of ruling) involves multiple kinds of “governments”:
• The individual, being made in God's image, is given the laws of God as his or her operating standard. Being made in God's image, God gives us the capacity to rule the world around us. The so-called “conscience” references the seat of such rule, where the standard for the individuals worldview and conduct is found.
• Marriage establishes a government wherein a husband and wife become the foundation for family. Family government is also a legitimate seek a rule the exercise of authority under God.
• Business government is given by God the editorial ownership risk taking and rule in the production of goods and services, with its primary goal productivity and service stewardship to overcome the Curse.
• Civil government -- which most people consider to be the whole of governance -- is, actually a very small part of governance, though an extremely important function of God's government in the earth.
• Church government refers to God's ordained approach to rule in the Church of Jesus Christ. It is also a legitimate government in the governance of the world around us. God has given it also purpose and design is vital for understanding the nature of Truth.
In all matters of governance, a distinction must be made between the triune God who is Ultimate in Authority and those governments which he has empowered and legitimized, being therefore DERIVED in their authoritative use and rule of the world around them. This one of the most important issues to be understood by Christian people when dealing with the concept of “government”.
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God and Government: The New Birth (Regeneration) is the only sound basis for government Lesson 2
Biblical Presupposition: Government is used in the Bible referring to several different kinds of governments that God has instituted among men. Government, as exercised by individuals, is derived in authority, being bounded to God's will in the exercise of that authority. God Will is revealed in his Word -- the Bible. Only God is Ultimate in Authority. All governments underneath his authority must be exercised according to His Will, as revealed in his Word.
The new birth -- called Regeneration -- is brought to mankind through the message of the Gospel. The Gospel does not just teach that women how to “go to heaven”. Regeneration provides the real basis for proper government, and that the Holy Spirit teaches wisdom and righteousness which are the only sound foundations for ANY KIND of Government -- be it family government, church government, business government, our civil government. The regenerated heart of the Christian teaches new affections and new SERVICE, seeking both please and love God as well as our neighbor. That INTENT is the only sound basis for any kind of governance. |
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God and Government: Autonomous Rule vs. The Art of Christian Self-governance Lesson 3
The Art of Christian – governance is grounded in the fear of God. That “fear of the Lord” makes us diligent to understand how God's word is to be applied to the world around. In other words, Christians are called to be the world's problem solvers (“salt of the earth”). But Christians are also to be “vigilant” , on guard and to defend the Truth: “Ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us.”
However, there is a counterfeit to the art of Christian self-governance. That counterfeit is wrapped up in the word “autonomy”. Autonomy is a word developed from two Greek words meaning “self” plus “law, rule”. Autonomy refers to the fact that an individual will declare himself or herself “self ruled”, having no outside Standard binding their hearts. Autonomy often looks like “self-government” and even acts like it at times. But it knows nothing of the “fear of the Lord”, hence no's no standard except the self willed, lawless heart of the autonomous individual. |
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God and Government Lesson 4
God and Government: The major elements of "Government"
There are five major elements that need to be considered when dealing with any of the governments God has called forth: marriage/family government, church government, civil government, business (and voluntary associations) government, individual government (each individual person). The five elements need to be understood are the following:
• Jurisdiction
• Representation
• Law
• Sovereignty
• Continuity
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God and Government: Lesson 5
The Attack on the Modern Family
The modern world has not been able to obliterate either physical marriage or the biblical family. Communist Russia under Lenin and Stalin attempted to do that very thing and failed. Modern humanistic approach is to reeducate and command the loyalty of this generation as Hitler did with Hitler Youth in the 1930s. Hitler was,to the large extent successful. Modern humanism is copying much of what the Nazis did with government schools, college university educational system, social networks, and the media.
Different forms of marriage and the family are being legitimized by the State in an attempt to subordinate the family and marriage under statist control. The very life of the Christian faith is at stake in this culture war and Christianity must revitalize the authority of the family and marriage.
The problem has not been so much that other forms of "marriage" and "family" have been so successful. It is the case that the post-World War II Christian Church in the United States failed in their mission to uphold, teach, and train the people in the pews concerning marriage and the family. The failure of the generation of the 1950s and 60s led to the rise of a rebellious generation which challenged the values of the older generation. The final result was that same 60s generation has now raised families and rules over the culture. The result of this has been a "Marriage Plague" in which people entering into marriage have no idea what is required to make it work. More to the point, our generation has no concept -- even in the churches -- of how marriage was constituted by God to REPRESENT Jesus Christ, to the Community Roundabout Is a Witness of the Truth. Consequently, Even for Christian Families, Marriage Means Little More Than Having Children, Being Moral, Establishing a Place to Live, and culturing family love and devotion.
There is much more to marriage and the family, in its Representative capacity (Ephesians 5), than the churches are teaching. The result has been a massive fallout and destruction of Christian Worldview thinking and practice. |
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| God and Government Lesson 6God and government: issue jurisdiction is an important one for understanding government. Jurisdiction is a concept that limits the expansion and reach of governing institutions. |
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God and Government Lesson 7
God and Government: Educational is fundamentally a right and responsibility of parents and family government. The Bible is very clear about this in Deuteronomy 6, and provides the book of Proverbs as a means of teaching worldview to children.
There is a grant of authority given to the Church of Christ by God whereby the church can rightfully influence -- through its teaching, preaching and discipline -- the children of the members of its covenanted body.
The civil government is given NO grant of authority toward the training and rearing of children. |
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God and Government: Church Government Lesson 8
The reason American Christians have no real vision of cultural victory in the world around them is due to the fact that the last hundred years or so, the churches in America have not demonstrated a good stewardship in carrying forward their mission as the Guardian of the Republic. Instead the churches have withdrawn to the cloister their four walls only to peer outside and find a very ugly humanistic we driven culture that is assume the mantle of authority in America, bringing ruin the once great Christian Civilization.
It is necessary that the Christian church in America recovers a sound view of church government. It does not seem like an exciting venture and it would certainly seem that speaking of "government" would have nothing to do with the real mission work of Christianity. Nonetheless, all fried history the genius the Christian faith has also been reflected in the simplicity and power of its church government. Even the great historian Edward Gibbon, in his The Decline and the Fall of the Roman Empire, wrote in his controversial 15th chapter of the first volume to one of the five reasons Christianity overwhelmed the Roman Empire and defeated it without recourse to the sword was due to the presence and cultural genius of church government.
Church government consists of two kinds of officers (elder, deacon) and three different offices within those two kinds of officers:
• the Minister of the Word of God (Greek: episcopos)
• the Ruling Elders (Greek: presbuteroi)
• the Deacon If American Christianity is to recapture what has been lost in America, she must reconstitute her vision of the church in the land, and reoriented herself to a proper biblical structuring of church government and governance. This is the first lesson on this particular topic so vital to an empowered Christianity |
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Quiz for the first 8 God and Government Lessons
1. Under God and according to his word name the 5 primary governments?
2. God's Government is Ultimate, and all other are ______________
3. Who is given the responsibility for educating the Children in the home?
4. Who is given a grant of authority to educate the children?
5. How many kinds of offices?
6. How many offices are there?
7. What is the function of government that means self law?
8. and 9.Name of the offices of the church.
10. What ONE government should never be involved in the government of the Children?
Answers |
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