The Tenth Commandment – Thou shall not covet
9 Thou shalt not covet (Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21; Rom. 7:7; 13:9)
Ex. 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Deut. 5:21 You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
The New testament repeats the prohibition:
Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
Rom 13:9 For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Covetousness goes to the very root of the fallen state of humanity, as we can see in the story of the temptation of Eve:
Gen 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
Various aspects of her desires override her knowledge of the Lord’s commandment not to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, a commandment Adam had taught her. Yet in the face of the desires, the commandment fades in importance.
In political life, politicians, both those who are lawyers and those who are not, know the law and its limits on their behavior. Yet lobbyists or other types of interest groups approach politicians with a variety of offers and promises ranging from re-election, to personal benefits and perks in the form of trips, gifts, money, etc. These things can blind a politician to the law as easily as the Woman was blinded to God’s one commandment by the enticement of the good looking fruit and its desire for wisdom about good and evil. How many times do people hear some form of Satan’s proposition: “How will you know if it is bad unless you try it?” Usually they are not offering you Brussels sprouts or rutabaga when they say that.
Everyone involved in politics ought to have an image of the temptation of Eve in their offices to remind them of their own susceptibility to covetous temptations. Job was well aware of the temptations to covet, which he asserts he did not give into:
Job 31:1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a virgin?
2 What would be my portion from God above, and my heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Does not calamity befall the unrighteous, and disaster the workers of iniquity?
4 Does not he see my ways, and number all my steps?
5″If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hastened to deceit;
6 (Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!)
7 if my step has turned aside from the way, and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has cleaved to my hands;
8 then let me sow, and another eat; and let what grows for me be rooted out.
9 If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door;
10 then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down upon her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
12 for that would be a fire which consumes unto Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my increase.
The prophet Micah, writing in the middle of the 8th century BC, explains the moral evil of coveting in his description of his contemporaries:
Mic 2:1 Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil upon their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand. 2 They covet fields and then seize them, And houses, and take them away. They rob a man and his house, A man and his inheritance.
The covetous consider the things that they desire or covet and then plan out the acquisition of those things while they are in bed. Their activity outside of bed is to take the actions to get what they desire, even if they do not really need them. The opening word, “Woe,” is a term from ancient funerals and in the Lord’s mouth it means that the people who covet other people’s property are already as good as dead in God’s view. Their desires for evil lead them to commit more evil.
Another ramification of the covetous person is that his or her desires become the basis for boastful pride, which is at the core of all other sins:
Ps. 10:3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, And the greedy man curses and spurns the LORD.
Greedy desire for other people’s property needs self-justification by the greedy person, and for that reason they curse and spurn the Lord. His laws of justice prohibit the acquisition of other people’s property by any means that amounts to stealing, cheating and violence. As a result, the covetous need to “curse and spurn” the Lord in order to show that he is wrong in giving commandments that set limits to human desires and covetousness.
Isaiah proclaimed God’s just punishment for covetousness:
Isa 57:17 “Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him; I hid My face and was angry, And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.
God’s condemnation of covetousness is included among other sins that preclude the possibility of entering the Kingdom of God:
1 Cor. 6: 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
One specific aspect of covetousness concerns sexual relationships. That is why the commandments specify the prohibition of coveting a neighbor’s wife (Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21). The rest of Scripture confirms this:
Pro 6:25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her catch you with her eyelids.
Pro 6:24 To keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
Jer 5:8 “They were well-fed lusty horses, Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
Ezek. 33:31 “And they come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people, and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain.
Mat 5:28 but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Eph 5:3 But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints
Eph 5:5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Col 3:5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
The commandment also prohibits the coveting of various kinds of property, since this lends itself to forms of greed:
Hab 2:9 “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high To be delivered from the hand of calamity!
Jer 6:13 “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely.
Jer 22:17 “But your eyes and your heart Are intent only upon your own dishonest gain, And on shedding innocent blood And on practicing oppression and extortion.”
Ecc 4:8 There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity and it is a grievous task.
Ecc 5:10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity. 11 When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on?
Ps. 119:36 Incline my heart to Thy testimonies, And not to dishonest gain.
Luke 12:15 And He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
Act 20:33 “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes.”
Phil. 3:18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ.19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.
1Ti 3:2 Now a bishop must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt teacher, 3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, uncontentious, free from the love of money.
Heb 13:5 Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”
The Eighth Commandment – Thou shall not steal
Thou shalt not steal. (Ex. 20:15);
Neither shall you steal. (Deut. 5:19)
This commandment is repeated in the New Testament:
Mat 19:18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Mark 10:19 “You know the commandments, Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother. “
Luke 18:20 “You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.”
Matt. 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
Rom 13:9 For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The Old and New Testaments frequently warns believers against theft and other vices, with the knowledge that God will judge each person with the possibility of going to hell for such theft:
Zech. 5:3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.
1 Cor. 6: 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
Eph 4:28 Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.
1 Peter 4:15 By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler.
Respect for the goods of others
The underlying value of the prohibition of theft is every person’s right to the ownership of property. Personal ownership of property allows and insures a person’s legitimate independence and self-determination. Theft is therefore usurping another’s property against the reasonable will of the owner. Whether civil law recognizes the action as legal or not, theft includes all forms of unjust acquisition of other people’s property. This would apply to the deliberate retention of goods that have been lent to someone or the refusal to replace objects belonging to another person that were lost inadvertently. Other forms of theft include fraudulent business practices, paying unjust wages to employees or not giving an employer the proper labor for the wages that have been paid to an employee (Lev 19:13 You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.) Poorly done work is another form of theft, as are the forgery of checks and invoices, excessive expenses and unnecessary waste of effort or property. Equally under this commandment would be the unjust increase of the prices of goods or services that takes advantage of the ignorance or hardship of other people. Artificial manipulation of the prices of goods or services is wrong when it seeks to make personal gain to the detriment of other people (Cf. Deut. 25:13 “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small… 15 You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. ” Deut. 24:14-15; James 5:4; Am 8:4-6).
Another extremely serious form of theft is the kidnaping of other persons in order to sell them into slavery or do other harm to them:
Ex. 21:16 “And he who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death.
Deut. 24:7 “If a man is caught kidnaping any of his countrymen of the sons of Israel, and he deals with him violently, or sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall purge the evil from among you.
Though slavery is outlawed in all Christian countries today, it still exists in the sex slave trade of girls, boys, and young women and men. More people are enslaved in the sex trade than in agriculture of the 18th or 19th centuries. The difference is that instead of working in the cotton fields they are enslaved between cotton sheets, where they contract the various sexual diseases in addition to the degradation of forced labor and the objectification of the intimacies of their sexuality.
Political corruption that seeks to influence the judgment of civil decision makers is a form of stealing. It is theft if a citizen or politician appropriates and uses public property for private purposes, as is tax evasion, or willful damage to private or public property. (Luke 3:14 And some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”)
All people also have a moral obligation to honor the various aspects of morally just contracts and promises regarding purchase or sale of goods, rental of property, or labor and services. A contract is moral if the tasks, services and good promised in the contract are themselves morally legitimate. For instance, a contract to steal property or kill someone is inherently illegitimate. Further, all contracts must be freely and knowingly agreed to and executed in good faith. (Lev 19:11 You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.)
Legal justice concerns issues of what a citizen owes in fairness and justice to the community. Distributive justice regulates what the community (nation, state, county or town and city) owes its citizens in proportion to their contributions and needs, e.g., the government owes health care to veterans. Commutative justice regulates the exchanges between persons in terms of a strict respect for their mutual rights and legitimate responsibilities. Commutative justice strictly requires the protection of property rights, paying debts, and fulfilling obligations freely accepted in contracts. This kind of commutative justice makes other forms of justice is possible.
Because commutative justice is so basic, it requires any person who has stolen another person’s property or defrauded other people in any way to make reparations for the injustices they have committed. This entails the restitution of stolen goods to their owner or reparations for fraud in contracts, for failure to pay just wages or to give a full day’s labor to an employer, or any other type of theft or fraud. This is exemplified by the tax collector Zacchaeus who told Jesus, “If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” (Lk 19:8) At that point Jesus announced that salvation had come to his house because he did restitution for the goods he had taken illegitimately in taxation. Anyone who directly or indirectly stole from another or defrauded another has a moral obligation to make restitution of the stolen goods by returning the equivalent object or pay the money it was worth, along with the profit or advantages the owner would have legitimately obtained from them. Similarly, anyone who took part in a theft or knowingly benefitted from it by receiving stolen goods at a lower price, is obliged to make restitution in proportion to their responsibility and to their share of what was stolen.
The Sixth Commandment – Thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not killThe Hebrew verb is tirtzah, from the relatively rare verbal root ratzah. Far more frequent is the verbs harag, which is commonly used in cases of murder (e.g. Gen 4:8,14,15,23,25 and elsewhere), kill in battle (Nu. 31:7-8, 17 et al.), capital punishment after a capital conviction of crime (Ex. 32:7; Lev. 20:15-16; Num. 25:5; Deut. 13:10; Ezra 9:6), killing animals (Num. 22:29; Is. 22:13; 27:1).
Also, hemith, the hiphil (causative) form of the verb “to die” (muth), is used for killing in war (Josh. 10:26; 11:17; 17:50), and especially for capital punishment after a trial by humans (Lev. 20:4; Num. 35:19, 21; Deut. 13:10; 17:7; Judges 20:18, et al.) Or by God’s punishment (Ex. 4:24; Num. 14:15; Deut. 9:28; 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:6; et al.).
Ratzah means killing with premeditation in the Decalogue, plus Hos. 4:2; Jer. 7:9; 1 King 21:19) or unawares (Deut. 4:42) or kill out of revenge (Num. 35:27, 30), or in unintended manslaughter (Deut. 4:42; 19:3-4, 6; Num. 35:6, 11-12, 25-28, et al.) Or murder with intent (Num. 35:16-19, 21, 30-31).
Based on this linguistic analysis, the commandment does not prohibit fighting in war or capital punishment. Rather, its object is murder and manslaughter. Some Christians have come to oppose both war and capital punishment, even tho0ugh both can be justified by the various laws in Scripture, while some denomination (often enough the same ones that oppose war and capital punishment) have come to accept abortion and euthanasia. How do Christians sort through these issues?First, since a child in the womb or a sick person on a deathbed have not committed any capital crime by being in those states, the Commandment applies to them. They are innocent of any crime and deserve society’s protection, especially the protection of its Christian members.
Second, a number of people present the case of the children who are conceived in rape, whether forced sex or statutory, (about 1% of rape victims conceive) or through incestuous relationships. One way to approach the question is through a look at the perpetrator of either crime of rape or incest. If the perpetrator were caught and convicted, the punishment would be a prison term whose length would depend on the local statutes and on the judges. However, no U.S. court would be permitted to condemn him to death by having his arms and legs cut off before his head was smashed. The VIIIth Amendment prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment,” so such a sentence could not be given or inflicted. However, if society is justifiably unwilling to inflict that punishment on the perpetrator, on what basis can society, especially its Christian members, justify inflicting this very punishment on the child in the womb who is completely innocent of any crime? Abortion cannot be justified morally, including in the case of rape or incest.
What about the Death Penalty?
One starting point is that the convicted perpetrator of a capital crime, such as murder, is not innocent. The existence of such a person raises important questions for society: does society avenge the crime by taking the perpetrator’s life? Does society rehabilitate the criminal? Christ Jesus forbids Christians from pursuing revenge (Matt. 5:38-45)
Matt. 5:38 You have heard that it was said, `An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; 40 and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; 41 and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Therefore, as strong as the temptation might be, a Christian needs always to restrain any temptation for revenge. Rather, the minimum that any citizen ought to ask of the sate is the protection of the population, including the protection of innocent citizens from aggression by capital felons.
In this light, the issue is whether imprisonment is sufficient to protect the citizens from assaults by dangerous criminals. For the most part, in the United States this is the case. Not many prison inmates escape from incarceration, so citizens can be relatively sure of being protected. The prisons themselves contain different levels of secure incarceration, all the way up to solitary confinement. When it is necessary to protect the other inmates, who indeed deserve protection from dangerous felons, these additional levels of security can be applied to the individuals who fail to regard the legitimate rights of other people, including their fellow prison inmates. Wealthy countries, such as the United States, can afford a secure prison system and can make sure that felons are locked up long enough to render them harmless to other citizens. However, some countries are too poor to build and support many prisons, therefore they may have a legitimate need to use capital punishment in their correctional facilities as the only way to protect citizens from violent criminals.
Another value in foregoing the death penalty is the occasion when a person is falsely convicted of a crime. If that person is executed, the punishment cannot be undone. The execution of an innocent person remains permanent, even after the conviction is overturned. Given the constantly improving techniques of evaluating evidence in criminal cases, society is better to avoid the death penalty if at all possible.
Finally, Christians always have the hope that comes from God that a sinner might repent. Of course, a criminal who receives such an opportunity to repent does not deserve it. In fact, many correctly observe that the murderers rarely give their victims that opportunity to repent, so giving the perpetrator a chance at repentance is completely unfair. This would be true by the standards of strict justice. However, Christians know that the grace of repentance and faith is completely undeserved by any one of us. No one deserves the chance to repent; it is a free gift from God. The Church does not base all of its decisions on justice alone; the Church of Jesus Christ knows it is the recipient of undeserved mercy, and therefore it seeks to extend that mercy to anyone and everyone, as much as that is possible. While it remains prudent to incarcerate dangerous criminals for the protection of the lives and property of others, it is also possible to extend a kind of mercy that permits the criminals to repent. A life sentence in a secure prison can be an act of mercy that opens a criminal to believe in Jesus Christ and seek mercy from its ultimate Source – the Redeemer.
The Influence of Christ or the Antichrist: That is the Question!
We know that the antichrist will be a member of the government. A leader of people and the conditions are right today for his appearance. The falling away is already occurring! The Church is retreating and the Anti-Church is advancing!
Consider the following scripture:
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
Verse 6 states that there is something that is restraining the appearance of the Antichrist. He will not appear until that which restrains is taken out of the way (7) and then, (8) he will be revealed.
That which restrains is the influence of the Church in Government. The very influence that the Gatekeepers Association is seeking to maintain and restore to prominence before the principalities and powers have their way and completely separate Church from State.
How long can you continue to sit passively by and do nothing when your inactivity is actually hastening the appearance of the Son of Perdition – this wicked man of sin? Don’t you realize you are helping to create the very conditions that will cause your children to have to live under his demonic influence? Isn’t it time we stand together before it becomes too late?
It is either the influence of Christ or the influence of the Antichrist. Which do you choose? That is the question!
The Gatekeepers Association are Pastors of the Church of God United to empower the church to think, speak and to act to transform society by extending the influence of the kingdom of God into the governmental realm.
Godly Politics
What does it mean when a vacant seat on the Supreme Court is filled? And, why would it matter who sits on the United States’ most powerful assembly of magistrates? This group of judges offer speculations surrounding the rule of Law. The individual who will have this position shares power and has influence over what a nation believes to be truth.
We should pray about the Supreme Court nominee because if he or she has a liberal mindset and gets the position, many court decisions may be determined and interpreted from a more contemporary or liberal point of view.
How important is it that we should have a Godly balance in the Supreme Court? God’s prosperity is with a nation when the people are righteous.
While Yeshua (Jesus) will be the King over the earthly Kingdom, His government will have no end.
NLT Isaiah 9:6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6 NLT)
What we do for God can overshadow what we say about God. Every believer knows that their primary call is to build disciples for God’s Kingdom. Therefore, every Christian worker should strive to be the best employee in the company. Every Christian student should study to develop themselves personally and academically. As a Christian neighbor, we should walk alongside the people in our communities and be intently involved. This is done by meeting the needs of our neighbors with love and compassion.
NLT Matthew 19:19 Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.'” (Mat 19:19 NLT)
In the last days, political systems will come under the influence of the Kingdom of darkness. Men will start looking for answers to the world’s chaos from ungodly men. This state of affairs will open the doors for a leader who is a brilliant politician, but he is not Godly. People will be looking for political answers but not for God’s Word. Eventually, the Bible and the religious institution will come under persecution and preachers will be told what they are to teach. I believe that
17 For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled. (Rev 17:17 NLT)
Whenever any nation turn’s it’s back on God, the blessing and prosperity of those will come in the form suffering economy, weather, and national disasters.
23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The happy voices of brides and grooms will never be heard in you again. For your merchants were the greatest in the world, and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.
24 In your streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.” (Rev 18:23-24 NLT)
CNN News Reports
“There is a lot at stake here. Depending on who ultimately fills this vacancy, the next Supreme Court justice could change the ideological direction of the court for a generation — and fundamentally reshape American society in the process. As we know from his previous nominees, a court selected by President Obama could impose its views on the people, regardless of the democratic process. The question now before the American people is whether they want to dramatically change the current ideological makeup of the court.” http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/18/opinions/supreme-court-nomination-cornyn/index.html
Each party has specific beliefs:
The Democrats
This website states that the party is focusing on “building an economy that lifts up all Americans, not just those at the top.” Interests of the party include equal pay, job creation, health care, education and clean energy. Democrats.org features more detailed information on the party’s stance on specific issues. Civil rights, education, immigration reform, national security and voting rights are a few of the issues selectable on the bottom of the Democrats.org
The Republicans
Republicanism refers to a loose tradition or family of writers in the history of western political thought, including especially: Machiavelli and his fifteenth-century Italian predecessors; the English republicans Milton, Harrington, Sidney, and others; Montesquieu and Blackstone; the eighteenth-century English commonwealth men; and many Americans of the founding era such as Jefferson and Madison. The writers in this tradition emphasize many common ideas and concerns, such as the importance of civic virtue and political participation, the dangers of corruption, the benefits of a mixed constitution and the rule of law, etc.; and it is characteristic of their rhetorical style to draw heavily on classical examples
The Liberals
A liberal democracy is a form of representative democracy in which elected representatives who hold power are limited by a constitution that emphasizes protecting individual liberties, equality and the rights of minority groups. Among the many liberties that might be protected are freedom of speech and assembly, freedom of religion, the right to private property and privacy as well as equality before the law and due process under the rule of law. Such constitutional rights, also called liberal rights, are guaranteed through various controlled institutions and statutory laws. Additionally, the constitutions of most contemporary liberal democracies prohibits majoritarianism, which is ruled by the will of majority when it harms those in the minority. http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-liberal-democracy.htm
Politics
Activities that relate to influencing the actions and policies of a government or getting and keeping power in a government. the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy.
God’s Earthly Commonwealth
In the community of faith, God has always divinely placed servants in high positions of government. For example, Josiah was responsible for the great awakening of Judah. His revivals were instrumental in the people’s return to worship Adonai, the G-D of Israel.
יֹאשִׁיָּה Yo’shiyah {yo-shee-yaw’} or יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ {yo-she-yaw’-hoo}
Meaning: Josiah = “whom Jehovah heals” 1) son of Amon by Jedidah who succeeded his father to the throne of Judah and reigned for 31 years; his reign is noteworthy for the great revivals back to the worship of Jehovah which he led 2) a returned exile and son of Zephaniah at whose house took place the solemn and symbolical crowning of Joshua the high priest in the time of Zechariah the prophet.
Another key person God used in the political arena was Joseph. Although he went through a series of betrayals and disappointments, Joseph was divinely placed in a situation where he finally received a high ranking position in Pharaoh’s upper Government. God’s sovereign plan was to rescue the children of Jacob with Joseph’s influence in Pharaoh’s government.
יוֹסֵף Yowceph {yo-safe’}
Meaning: Joseph = “Jehovah has added” 1) the eldest son of Jacob by Rachel
9 So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream first. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a grapevine in front of me.
10 The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes.
11 I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
12 “This is what the dream means,” Joseph said. “The three branches represent three days.
13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer. (Gen 40:9-13 NLT)
David may have been the most unlikely one of Jesse’s sons that one would have expected to be king. His story reveals to us the importance of repentance, servitude, and worship. Although David made mistakes, he was a seeker of God.
דָּוִד David {daw-veed’} rarely )fullyדָּוִיד ( Daviyd {daw-veed’}
Meaning: David = “beloved” 1) youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel, a man after God’s heart. David moved God’s heart, not because he made no human errors, but because he ruled with compassion and fairness. David sanctioned a more redeeming, softer approach to leadership.
Solomon is known because of desire for wisdom. He could have asked for riches, but his request was that God would give him wisdom to rule his people.
שְׁלֹמֹה Shelomoh {shel-o-mo’}
Meaning: Solomon = “peace” 1) son of David by Bathsheba and 3rd king of Israel; author of Proverbs and Song of Songs
I would be remiss if I did not mention the prophetess and judge, Deborah.
דְּבוֹרָה Debowrah {deb-o-raw’} or )shortenedדְּבֹרָה ( Deborah {deb-o-raw’}
Meaning: Deborah = “bee” 1) the nurse of Rebekah who accompanied her from the house of Bethuel 2) a prophetess who judged Israel
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get ready! This is the day the LORD will give you victory over Sisera, for the LORD is marching ahead of you.” So Barak led his 10,000 warriors down the slopes of Mount Tabor into battle.
15 When Barak attacked, the LORD threw Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a panic. Sisera leaped down from his chariot and escaped on foot.
16 Then Barak chased the chariots and the enemy army all the way to Harosheth-haggoyim, killing all of Sisera’s warriors. Not a single one was left alive. (Jdg 4:14-16 NLT)
Deborah was a ruler during the time that Israel needed a military mindset. She had strong leadership skills that brought God’s people out of captivity and led them into a season of prosperity and victory.
Any nation will prosper when they make God the ruler and Kind of their land.
Pastor Demetrics Roscoe
The Church and the Issues of Life
What should we do about the life issue? Should we preach or teach about it or should we avoid it so that we don’t hurt feelings and open old wounds? If we preach and address it, would people be offended? Should we avoid controversial issues such as the life issue and abortion? Shouldn’t we only preach and teach about culturally acceptable topics that will encourage people? These are questions and issues that the Church as a whole and the local church in particular should address. Read More >
Original Article By: Pastor Joseph Parker
Living Biblically
At times, the statement is made “The problem with life is that it doesn’t come with an instruction manual.” Well, I beg to differ. O, yes it does! That instruction manual is called the Bible. It is the written Word of God. The Bible is the Word of God in print. The Word of God is God’s will, His counsel, and His wisdom. The Word of God is God’s heart and His Truth – for all the world and for all of life. Read More >
Original Article By: Pastor Joseph Parker