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Let me
try to describe reality to you -- what the universe
really is, and how reality truly operates. If
you could travel beyond Planet Earth, and go beyond
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the rest of the solar
system; if you could keep on traveling beyond
this galaxy, and then go to the end of the universe,
I don't know if you would find a barrier there,
or some kind of end, or some kind of nothingness,
but beyond the universe, perhaps in another dimension,
there is a real place called "Shamayeem" -- Heaven.
In that very real place, there are millions of
great and wise and powerful angelic beings. In
the center of Shamayeem there is a throne, and
the Supreme Being sits on that throne, the Melech
HaOlam -- the King of the Universe, who has ultimate
power and authority, rule and dominion and kingship
over everything that exists. He rules over Heaven
and Earth. He has dominion over powers and authorities,
over angels and men, over everyone and everything
in this universe.
He has
a right to sit on that throne, and rule over all
else, and make commands, and issue decrees and
laws that we are obligated to obey, because He
is the Creator. And, since He created us, He has
the right to demand that we conform ourselves
to His laws. You don't like His laws, and don't
want to obey them? You don't like the way He wants
to rule the universe? Fine! You go create a universe
of your own, and then you make the rules that
you want! Until then, I suggest you come to grips
with your non-divinity and submit yourself to
the Creator, and obey His rules! And, His laws
that He commands us to obey are good laws. His
is a perfectly good administration. He is a good
King, and only issues laws that are good, right
and just: "Righteousness (doing the right things,
being genuinely right) and justice (being fair,
abiding by good rules) are the foundation (the
very basis and essence) of Your throne" (Psalm
89:14).
God and
His laws are good and right and fair. But the
Fall of Man, the Rebellion of Adam and Eve against
God, affected every aspect our lives. It made
it easy and natural for us to violate God's good
laws. You want to live making up your own laws,
with every person doing what seems right in their
own eyes? Here's what it eventually looks like.
After the Fall of Man, and before the Flood, there
doesn't seem that there was much, if any human
government on Earth. Not surprisingly, the wickedness
of man became great on the Earth, and every intent
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Living according to your own wisdom is a prescription
for anarchy and devastation! The Lord destroyed
that entire civilization with a great flood, but
He spared righteous Noah and his family, and with
them, gave humanity a fresh start. But, things
changed. The Lord established human government
as soon as Noah and his family came out of the
ark. The Lord said to us, "I will surely demand
an account. I will require your blood for your
lives; from every animal I will demand it, and
from every man I will demand the life of his fellow
man." In other words, if a man or an animal unfairly
and unjustly killed a human being, that man's
life, that animal's life, was forfeit. Then the
Lord instituted human government, that has the
right to carry out that punishment, and take that
forfeited life. "Whoever sheds mans blood, by
man -- not by God -- by man his blood will be
shed." Human government has great authority, even
the ultimate kind of authority to take a human
life. This is not just a teaching limited to the
Old Testament, but includes the New Testament,
and applies still to nations and governments in
our day.
Paul writes:
"Every person is to be in subjection to the governing
authorities. This is the general principle. 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. To oppose good government
that God has established is to resist God, and
if you resist God, you will be punished for your
resistance. For rulers are not a cause of fear
for good behavior, but for evil. This implies
that rulers are ruling well, ruling wisely, ruling
fairly, ruling justly. 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. This is human government's
purpose -- it is serving God for the benefit of
mankind. He is ruling through government. It is
to do good, and we are to do good by being good,
and obeying the good authorities. It also means
that we need good authorities, that know how to
rule well! 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. Government
has the right to punish wrong-doing of all kinds,
and even has the right to use the sword, and impose
the maximum penalty -- capital punishment, on
the worst offenders. Therefore it is necessary
to be in subjection, not only because of wrath
-- fearing punishment, but also for conscience'
sake -- because it is genuinely right and necessary
to obey government." We, as a race, are fallen.
We have been affected by sin. We need help to
rule ourselves. We need human government, specifically
one that is based on God's wise laws and principles,
to help us live the right way, to encourage us
to do the right things, so we can live together
in a good way. We need good human government to
punish the wicked, and to restrain what is evil.
God created
human government to help bring His good and wise
and just laws to human beings. Mankind is responsible
to govern the world, and govern ourselves, in
God's stead, when He is not physically present
on Planet Earth. We call this stewardship. For
most of history, and in most places, one man alone
was entrusted with government, and ruled over
the rest of the people. Among God's Chosen Nation,
however, it was not so. The Lord divided up the
tasks of leadership among three offices: Kings,
who had administrative rule; Priests, who ruled
over religious matters; and Prophets, who spoke
to God, and called the Kings and the Priests and
the people back to God when they strayed. We live
in a unique situation in this society. We live
in a system of government in which the people
rule. We are the rulers! We rule by voting for
representatives, who are entrusted with the power
to rule the rest of us. In this system of government,
we are the rulers! We are the stewards. That means
that we have duties and responsibilities. Bill
Bright, the leader of Campus Crusade For Christ
for many years, in an article entitled "Elective
Duties" tells us the following: "Our once great
country [Rabbi Loren Jacob's comment: I agree
-- "once great" -- no longer great.
How can
a nation be great if it is not even good, when
it kills 4000 of the most innocent and vulnerable
each and every day?], now mired in numerous social
ills, is facing an unparalleled moral crisis.
God alone holds the solution to our nation's problems
-- and we hold the key. British statesman Edmund
Burke said, ‘All that is necessary for the triumph
of evil is for good men to do nothing.' America
is one of the last strongholds of freedom on Earth
-- and citizens who are dedicated to God are the
only resource for the preservation of our freedoms,
including the freedom to serve Him. It has been
reliably estimated that more than half of the
United States professes faith in Jesus Christ.
By following these five simple guidelines, even
a small percentage of us can be used by God to
set this nation on a new course of righteousness
for His glory.
Pray
without ceasing: The healing of our nation
begins with the prayers of the saints. Pray that
God will send a great spiritual awakening to America,
that millions of our citizens will receive Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord, and that Christians
will dedicate themselves to God for spiritual
living and active service. Pray daily that leaders
and authority figures will be filled with godly
wisdom. And stand firm for what is right and true.
We may be tempted to criticize our elected officials,
but praying for them is far more profitable and
effective.
Register
to vote: Voting is a matter of stewardship
under God, yet many of God's people throughout
America are not even registered to vote. Only
as a registered voter will you be in a position
to help elect godly officials.
Become
informed: Just as the untrained soldier is
at the mercy of his enemy, the uninformed Christian
cannot prevail against evil forces in the world
of politics. To serve God effectively as a citizen,
you must learn how to act for His glory within
the framework of existing political processes.
Make a sincere effort to obtain reliable information
about all issues and candidates before voting.
If your congressmen and senators are running for
reelection, find out how they voted on issues
of critical importance. Many organizations and
ministries provide summaries of current issues
and updates on pending legislation. Rabbi Glenn
Harris adds: "Don't tell me you don't have time
to do this; you most certainly do! Even if you
have neglected to do so, one afternoon or evening
of reviewing the information available is sufficient
to make your decisions."
Help
elect godly people: Righteous rule brings
rejoicing: "When the righteous increase (and thereby
gain power and authority) the people rejoice,
but when a wicked man rules, people groan" (Proverbs
29:2). Godly people must vote for godly rulers.
This can be done only by informed, praying Christians
like you. The Word of God gives us the basic qualifications
of a good candidate: "Select out of all the people
able men, who fear God, men of truth; those who
hate dishonest gain... let them judge the people
at all times" (Exodus 18:21-22). Six qualifications
are listed in this passage: demonstrated capability
(they are able men. They have competence in managing
business or professional affairs), godliness (spiritual
maturity), honesty, integrity, industriousness
(at all times) and justice (let them judge). If
there is no qualified candidate who is spiritually
mature, vote for the one whose personal principles
and platform most nearly agree with the Bible.
Remember that a candidate's principles are far
more important than his party affiliation.
Vote:
It is commonly believed that decisions in America
are made by a majority of the people. This is
not so. Decisions are made by a majority of those
who vote. As few as 16 percent of all eligible
voters in a district can elect a member of Congress.
By just one vote, Texas was admitted to the Union.
By just one vote Hitler won leadership of the
German Nazi Party. By just one vote the U.S. House
of Representatives elected Thomas Jefferson as
president. Your one vote can make a difference!
Exercise the influence that God has given you
through our unique system of self-government.
Christian lawyer Michael Whitehead put it this
way: "If America is to be saved, saved Americans
must lead the way." You know that I am convinced
that the supreme moral issue of our day, the greatest
issue that concerns righteousness, is the issue
of murdering a child that is growing in his or
her mother's womb. I believe that anyone who is
pro-abortion, pro-murder, whatever party they
are from, is unfit for any kind of office.
Don't
be like the German people, who voted for what
they thought was good for the nation's economy,
but at the expense of millions of innocent lives.
You can't vote for candidates who come to power,
and stay in power, climbing over the crushed dead
bodies of 40 million children! I believe that
Christians and Messianic Jews must make this the
highest priority and the supreme consideration
in our voting. Politicians talk about a litmus
test. I believe whether a person is for or against
abortion is one of the most accurate litmus tests
for righteousness. Some of the candidates running
for office support abortion, even partial birth
abortion. Our own Steve Wrathell wrote the following:
"Partial-birth abortion occurs only during late-stage
pregnancies. The baby is delivered feet-first.
All of the baby comes out of the womb, except
for the head. Then, sharp surgical scissors are
used to puncture the back of the baby's head and
enlarge the opening. A suction catheter is then
inserted and the baby's brains are vacuum-sucked
out of his or her head, causing the skull to collapse.
Then, the dead baby's head is pulled out. Some
defend this brutal, gory practice by claiming
that it is medically necessary to allow these
brutal, painful killings in cases where it is
considered necessary to help protect the life
or the health of the mother. There is one "little"
loophole here, though. If the step where pulling
the baby's head out of the womb (remember, the
baby's shoulders, which are wider, are already
out) followed the step where the rest of the body
was taken out, then the woman would not have to
have all of those sharp instruments inserted into
her body. It is absurd to claim that this is necessary
or safer for the mother!"
My wife
Martha, who is a nurse, tells me repeatedly that
there is no medical need for this procedure. Most
of the baby is already out of the womb! Just take
the baby's head out! The real reason partial-birth
abortion is practiced is to try to justify killing
a baby right before he or she is born. We must
obey God above men. When the wicked decrees of
human government and the good laws of God conflict,
we must choose God's laws above man's decrees,
even if it means suffering unpleasant consequences.
We don't cooperate with evil laws, we resist them!
Steve Wrathell also reminds us that the Bible
tells us that Egypt's Pharaoh ordered the midwives
to kill Jewish babies during birth (sound familiar?),
but the midwives knew that this was immoral. They
let the babies live and lied to the Pharaoh about
this. God rewarded the midwives for this by letting
them have their own children. Let me tell you
how serious I think this is, how deeply I feel
about this, and how I think the Lord feels about
this. If you claim to be a Christian, a Messianic
Jew, and thereby claim to follow God and His ways,
and you vote for those who are sympathetic to
baby killers, I don't want to have fellowship
with you. The Word of God tells us not to associate
with any so-called brother, those who claim to
be Christians, if they are immoral people (see
1 Corinthians 5:9).
Being
for abortion is immoral! I don't want eat with
those who support murder, and those who strengthen
them, and put them in office. I don't want to
eat with you, and I don't think the Lord will
welcome You at His table either. It's a common
understanding about American politics, "It's the
economy, stupid!" But, if you believe in God,
it's not the economy. It's righteousness! We must
vote for what is right, even if it hurts us economically.
We must sacrifice our economic interests in favor
of moral and righteousness interests. Seek first
the Kingdom of God and what? Money? No! Righteousness,
not money! You can't serve God and money. The
Holy Scriptures teach us that "righteous exalts
a nation" -- not good economic policy! We must
place morality and righteousness before our pocketbook.
Don't vote your pocketbook! Vote the Holy Book!
Vote righteousness! Christians and Messianic Jews
need to vote, and be actively involved in the
political process. If the righteous don't vote,
guess who will? The unrighteous, the wicked. For
evil to triumph, all good men and women have to
do is nothing. If the godly don't bring God's
values into the political area, and the political
arena simply means the way we rule ourselves,
then the wicked and god-ignorers and God-rejecters
will bring their satanic and demonic values, which
will take over, and this is what has happened.
Christians were encouraged to limit their activities
to the Gospel. They were told that politics is
dirty, and they shouldn't get involved, and so
they withdrew and left the political arena to
the godless! Let's start changing this. In this
country, we can be saints, and actively promote
the Gospel, and we can and should be actively
involved in politics. Let's be good stewards,
and fulfill our duties and responsibilities as
the leaders of this nation. We can and should
do both!
Shalom,
Rabbi Loren Jacobs
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