Come Down, Lord!

Jacob Reaume writes, " We find ourselves in the middle of a fight for liberty.  The declaration of a pandemic in March 2020 led to fear within the general population.  The population, including many Christians, cried out to the state to save them from the perceived threat.  Fear and a cry of salvation to the state are ingredients for tyranny.  Individuals, businesses, and, most important to me, the Bride of Christ now find themselves under the heavy hand of a state employing increasingly brutal measures of enforcement to coerce formerly free citizens and organizations into compliance.  The state has essentially claimed ownership over almost all aspects of our existence, including the Bride of Christ, under the pretense of loving us enough to save us from a virus.  With mounting fines and increasing threats from the state for asserting the crown rights of Jesus over His church and His worship, we find ourselves in the centre of a conflict for liberty." Later...

From a sermon to the Westminster Assembly Doctrine : All princes are obliged to govern and rule for the Lord and his honor. 1. So Scripture speaks, it shall be in the last days (Isa. 49:23; Ps. 72:10). 2. Princes are God's standard bearers; they bear his sword by office (Rom. 13:4), and they hold crown and scepter of him , as great Landlord of all powers. 3. In a special manner they are second gods (Ps. 82:6; 2 Chron. 19:12).  All rulers in the act of judging are God's deputies, even though their second calling is to be sent by a King, and t herefore see what judgement God himself would pronounce , if he were on the bench, that same must they decree, except they would make the deputed mouth to belie the mind of the great Lord who sent them.   4. The Lord has entrusted Christian rulers with the most precious thing he has on earth; he has given his bride and spouse to their tutorage and faith. A. Use One.  You are entrusted by God, with an honorable virgin, a King's ...

Today I heard a reformed church elder argue from John Calvin for submission to the magistrate's current restrictions on worship.  Though he was not quoted, we were exhorted to read from Book IV.     Ironically, the following is taken from Book IV of the Institutes: Bold emphases are mine. "But in that obedience which we hold to be due to the commands of rulers, we must always make the exception , nay, must be particularly careful that it is not incompatible with obedience to Him to whose will the wishes of all kings should be subject, to whose majesty their sceptres must bow. And, indeed,  how preposterous were it, in pleasing men, to incur the offence of Him for whose sake you obey men !    The Lord, therefore, is King of kings. When he opens his sacred mouth, he alone is to be heard, instead of all and above all. We are subject to the men who rule over us, but subject only in the Lord .  If they command anything against Him let us not pay the...

  It is something of an understatement to say that I have been encouraged by John MacArthur's faithfulness over the years.  He is one of the few warriors left.  It is no secret that over the course of a long ministry he has consistently contended for the faith; and in more recent years he has continued to do so though it has cost him.   His recent 'defiance' of covid regulations has been particularly helpful to many of us who have been discouraged by the silence and (apparent) complicity of so many church leaders.   At a time when  many have changed (are changing and continue to change) it is a blessing to have men like MacArthur who are unwavering in their commitment to the Bible... and who are willing to act on its principles no matter the cost! But what does John MacArthur believe about masks and social distancing?   The following is part of a legal  REBUTTAL DECLARATION   shared publicly by the  Daily Wire . ...