[WP-Coder id="1"]
by Dr. Curtis Alexander, Academic Dean
By a five–to–four vote, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided that government has authority to control church activities. Is this the beginning of the end for freedom of religion in America? Might be!
For a technical legal discussion of government’s authority over churches, see HERE.
(My thanks to Board of Directors chairman, Rev. Walt Kellcy, for finding this helpful website)
Several teachers of Eschatology (end times) have told me personally that they believe the USA does not appear in Revelation, as some other nations seem to. How can this be, this puzzling disappearing act by the most powerful and influential nation in world history? Something catastrophic must happen on the world scene, that robs the USA of its influence. It is the only coherent explanation I’ve heard.
Empowering government to inhibit our free exercise of Christian faith might be the forerunner to many events as they unfold in the book of Revelation.
I fear that the U.S. Supreme Court has struck the first official blow against freedom of worship as guaranteed in the Constitution. And it will only get worse from here.
I pray I am wrong but mark my words. In future years, if Christianity is suppressed by the government of the USA, remember when and where you heard it!
The health and safety of our people, who could be at risk in large–gathering worship services, are vitally important. Churches’ disregard of such health dangers would be irresponsible at best.
That notwithstanding, the Kingdom of God is more focused on people’s eternal spiritual destiny than physical wellbeing. “Fight or flight” describes the autonomic prioritization of physical wellbeing. But God values our eternal wellbeing much more—the spiritual far outweighs the temporal. God has His priorities, and wisdom instructs us to embrace them.
God has a plan, and we are in it. As threatening as Christian persecution may seem, there is a greater issue—the Kingdom of God and His eternal reign in the world.
Churches can give care and succor to the physical needs of their people without neglecting in–person worship. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 11:24– 25)
By reintegrating corporate physical attendance into our worship of God, all of us can, as we like to say at Covenant Bible Seminary, “Become More!”
In fact, we can become more with or without the government’s permission. Guiding Christians into global service to God is at the core of the CBS mission. Become More! is a missional principle for us, not just a catchphrase. Coronavirus and other societal circumstances have made personal and corporate growth more challenging than ever. But also, more critically important. Our government’s nascent intrusion into individual rights in the name of public safety, ups the ante. It has never been more urgent for us to engage the culture, and to be more faithful to God. We will become more sensitive to the insidious issues of racism, governmental overreach, and the preeminence of spiritual, rather than physical, aspects of life.