“…it seems necessary to amend the statement, ‘We must obey the government unless the government explicitly tells us to disobey God,’ to something like this: ‘We must obey the government (1) unless the government explicitly tells us to disobey God, or (2) unless the government exceeds its jurisdiction so as to speak authoritatively into a sphere regulated by another, God-instituted authority.’” -
My heart goes out to churches in places where COVID-related health orders have made it impossible to “gather in a normal way,” to use a phrase from Grace Community Church’s (GCC’s) “Statement from Pastor and Elders.”
Much of the debate over whether churches should submit to COVID-related rules in California has been inaccurately framed. “We must obey God rather than man,” they say (drawing from Acts). Using phrases like “ban on indoor worship” or even “ban on worship,” they represent the options as totaling two: We can (1) obey God by continuing to meet, disobey the manmade rules, and stand up for our rights or we can (2) disobey God by not meeting at all, comply with oppressive orders, and watch our liberties be slowly stripped away.
But these aren’t really the choices anywhere in California.
“…there is one exception that is clear. When our biblical responsibility to obey government authorities (or any other earthly authority) conflicts with our responsibility to obey God, we must choose to obey the higher authority…..May we too have the grace to disobey government authorities when they command us to do things contrary to the clear teachings of God’s Word.” - P&D
Reprinted with permission from As I See It, which is available free by writing to the editor at [email protected].
“It is legal to meet for worship in California. But, to do so, churches must follow the regulations put in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus, which involves meeting outside with masks and with distancing. How a church does that is up to them, but it is possible, as we have discovered.” - RNS
“A California judge has granted a temporary restraining order against Godspeak Calvary Chapel and its Pastor Rob McCoy for holding in-person services in violation of COVID-19 health orders….McCoy announced in a video message Friday that he will continue to hold indoor services.
“We are most certainly to obey God, but as Romans 13 indicates, one of the ways we obey God is to obey those God Himself has sovereignly and providentially put in authority over us. This includes civil magistrates. Even those we don’t like. Even pagan Roman emperors.
“Harvest met in a white tent half the size of a football field to comply with state orders restricting indoor worship. After the first week of meeting under the tent, pastor Greg Laurie said, ‘Our church loved it,’ so Harvest added a second morning service.” - C.Today
“This is one of the short videos I recorded for my church, which I’ve been doing daily since the COVID lockdown started. I recorded it before I knew about the rioting and looting in protest of the death of George Floyd. I had received questions from my flock about whether Christians may, or even should, protest police brutality, considering Romans 13 tells us to submit to government.” - Clint Archer
