Highest Law...lesson one

Faith Fellowship Church…PO Box 1586…Broken Arrow, OK 74013…918-451-0270…Pastor Terry Dashner….

Higher Law series
Lesson one

“The Bible declares the Highest Law”

Some of the greatest discoveries in archeology have been ancient civilizations’ codes of law. For example Hammurabi, the sixth king of the Amorites, compiled and simplified a code of laws for his people about 1700 years before the birth of Christ. This code of laws is known as the Code of Hammurabi. The Mosaic Law of Israel, which came later, is not unlike the Code of Hammurabi. Both systems of law provide moral, civil, and criminal codes for each respective civilization. There is, however, a significant difference between the Code of Hammurabi and the Mosaic Law. The difference makes the Mosaic Law unique from all other codes of law. The Mosaic Law is monotheistic (one God) and given to Israel by God Himself. Because of this truth, the Mosaic Law has been revered throughout Israel’s history as sacred and has helped sustain Israel as a Hebrew people to this very day. This feat alone is supernatural, considering Israel’s long history. (Scattered for 2000 years throughout all nations of the earth, they returned to their nation in 1948 and remain there to this day.)

I believe that every ancient civilization that has ever existed on the face of the earth has either pledged to, or rejected some system of law. Why do I make this blanket statement? The Bible says that every man who has ever lived on the earth has witnessed the reality of God by seeing Him revealed in His orderly expanse. Every man born is born with a conscience that should guide him to God (Romans chapter one). I believe that law is good and ordained of God to protect, preserve, and propel civilizations forward. After all, history teaches us that great civilizations flourish when law, government, and enterprise are upheld.

What does the Bible say about law and order? It says much. I want to share some scriptures with you that underscore the necessity of the rule of law in society. In Exodus 19: 5 we read, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, (6) you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” Here the Lord tells Israel that they will be unique from all other nations if they revere Him. What I glean from this scripture is that any nation is unique to God if it willingly honors God. God is not a “respecter of persons.” He does not prefer one nation to another nation, either. What He does for one, He will do for anyone who meets His conditions.

Throughout Israel’s early history all crimes were crimes against God. Why was this true? It was true because God wanted to be Israel’s King forever and fight her battles for her (I Samuel 12:9-10). The day that Israel refused God as her King, because she wanted to be like the other nations, is the day she began to stumble, eventually falling into gentile captivity. God expected His people to follow His Law or suffer the consequences. The consequences could be severe. God never overlooked wrongdoing because of His love for His people, but in love He punished the “wrongdoer.” There is nothing wrong with “aversive conditioning” which is known in psychology as “classical conditioning”, the use of punishment to deter bad behavior. Once again, upholding right and wrong by the threat of punishment or the promise of reward is not a bad thing. It sets guidelines; defines boundaries; it maintains order. The Bible says that God is not the author of confusion. He is the God of order. God is for law and order.

Also, the Mosaic Law regarded all life as sacred, unlike other nations’ codes of law. The Bible declares that man is made in the image and likeness of God. Man is the highest rank of all God’s creation. The Bible says that Christians are ranked above angels in the created order. Man is given a privileged position in creation’s rank and file; therefore, human life is especially precious to God. It should be special to man. Time does not allow me to cover everything the Bible states regarding the rule of law; however, I would like to conclude this study with some scriptures that speak to moral and civil laws. God’s moral laws are universal. It’s just as wrong to murder in America as it is to murder someone in England, France, Australia or anywhere else on this planet. It is never right.

Faith Fellowship Church…PO Box 1586…Broken Arrow, OK 74013…918-451-0270…Pastor Terry Dashner

God will judge all men of all ages in eternity if they refuse to accept His standard that can be met only in Jesus Christ, God’s perfect sacrifice.

The Bible also lays down strict laws regarding property losses due to crime. The guilty party is to recompense the victim. Romans chapter 13 teaches that Christians are to obey the law of the land, resisting only when the national law is opposed to God’s law. The chapter also talks about capital punishment. The state is the one entity sanctioned by God to “bear the sword...” The Nohaic Covenant established the right of capital punishment. If a man takes the life of another human being by murder, his life is required for that life. (I’ve never understood the logic behind drafting a teenager to fight and die in a war, and then arguing that it’s wrong to execute a convicted killer. Maybe we should draft the convicted killer to fight and die in our wars and let the teenagers go on with their lives.)

We live in an imperfect society. Man’s justice can fail. Innocent people can get hurt. That’s why it is important to adhere to God’s order of society, laid out in His Word. God with His guidance can be our safeguard against injustices. Nevertheless, just because our justice system in America is flawed by imperfect men does not give us the right to rebel against the law of the land by refusing to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. God has ordained human government. Law and order is good, and God sanctions it for the good of all.

If you would, please indulge me in a few personal comments somewhat related to today’s topic.

American patriots were willing to declare war against England for their National Independence. Do you remember why? It involved more than just a complaint about “taxation without representation.” The American patriots were not lawless men. There had to be a greater cause to rebel rather than unfair trade laws. What was it? As far back in world history as the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin who was one of the greatest thinkers and Biblical scholars of all times began to write and publish his views regarding Biblical societies (what they were and how they operate). He believed that societies could function for the good of the believer and glorify God. He believed, among other things, that law and order had to be upheld in society to suppress the debased nature of man that could be ruthless. His ideas were put into practice and worked well. His teaching influenced many great minds of the day. Together with Calvin, these men and their ideas revolutionized church and state governments. Over time, the teachings evolved and influenced European groups like the Puritans of England. This led to the expansion of Calvin’s ideas of law and order being implemented in the “New England” America. So the philosophy regarding representative rule in government, and the sacredness of human life were sown during the Reformation; they were later carried across the Atlantic by the Pilgrims and Puritans to build the “New Jerusalem”, in the new world.

By the 18th century the enlightenment age was producing authors that began to expand on the idea of man’s inalienable rights. These writers agreed that man had God given rights that only God could give or take away. These enlightened writers expressed this in literature that the European intellectuals and the American patriots were reading. The thought that men had rights that no government could infringe upon was fanning the flames of Revolution in America. Over time these American Revolutionaries began to embrace these ideas and promote them openly as America’s right to national independence. With this philosophy in hand, the patriots felt they had a divine right to wage war against England. When they drafted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, they defended their right for Independence against tyranny by underscoring man’s divine rights: no human government had the right to supersede the Highest Law in the universe. God’s Law is the highest law.

And now here we are over 200 years later in America again divided on whether or not the U. S. Constitution is the highest law. If it is, then every state and federal law is subject to it, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the U. S. Constitution. I’m calling for a revolution, not with sword or rifle. I’m calling for Christians in America to stand up and be counted. I’m calling for Christians to honor God’s Law, His way of doing things. A nation that denounces God’s Law is bound to fail. That is, my friend, the lesson of history. Pastor T.