Other Chapter Excerpts Here: The Way, the Truth and the Sword: Contents and Excerpts
[...] Now, to attain a proper understanding of the nature of government, imagine a government that acted in a Christ-like way.
A government that turns the other cheek?
That loves its enemies?
That leaves vengeance to God?
Clearly, this is impossible. A government constituted purely on Christian principles would commit suicide. When government forgives, it prepares its own destruction.
Doesn’t a government have to, by its very nature, extract some wealth from people by force, arrest and imprison people, even put to death murderers, and at times go to war? In order to even exist and operate properly, government must use violence. Government can not exist except upon the foundation of actual brute force. Government is not reason or eloquence, it is force.
And where do we find Jesus teaching his followers to act like governments act?
The way of Jesus is antithetical to the way of brute force.
This is not to say that God wants no government at all. Government is necessary and the New Testament Scriptures affirm this.
But the point here is simple. While God does have an expectation for the purpose of government, there is no such thing as a Christ-like government, because governments cannot…never have…and never will be faithful to Jesus’ teachings.
So, what Jesus taught about the Kingdom of Heaven comes into greater focus when we contrast it with a correct definition of human governments. The Kingdom of Heaven is an entirely different kind of kingdom from the kingdoms of man…in fact it is at times, quite the opposite:
Revenge vs. leaving vengeance to God.
Punishment vs. forgiveness.
Bombs vs. bridges
Taking money forcibly vs. giving money charitably
Force and coercion vs. persuasion and invitation
Conscription vs. liberation
The way that Jesus calls us to live is in stark contrast to the way that human governments must operate. [...]
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