The civil government has a specific and limited role according to the Bible, and it should not be confused with the mandates given in the Bible to individuals. The civil government was never meant to be the savior of the people!
God always wanted to be the King over His people and He desires for people’s hearts to turn to Him for their needs. The history of Israel shows that instead of His people turning to God, they turned to a humanly king (civil government) to rescue them from their bad choices. A cycle of sin and disobedience led people to seek a king like all the other people. Whenever the people of God choose to live their lives like all the other people, they lose God’s pleasure, and they open the door to all sorts of sin and wickedness in the land.
Watch the YouTube video or listen to the podcast by clicking on one of the links below:
Apple Podcast: God and Government – Civil Government
Spotify: God and Government – Civil Government
Below are the scriptures, I shared in this episode:
See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. Deuteronomy 30:15-16
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:7
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When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work, which He had done for Israel. Judges 2: 10
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In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 17:6
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And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 1He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.” 1 Samuel 8:11-18
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And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” Exodus 19:6
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Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Romans 13: 1-7
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Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 1Timothy 2:1-7