Every week a hundred
stories, if not a thousand, illustrate the truth that the Bible is the most
relevant and reliable book on the school’s library shelf. Having been a preacher for almost 50 years, it
is my purpose to pick a story each week that illuminates the impact the Bible has
had, could have, or should have on “modern” mankind.
Last week the story of
the Catholic nuns—Little Sisters of the Poor—made headline news.[i] The nuns are suing the Obama administration
because the Obamascare law mandates that they, as employers, must offer their
employees birth control, which violates their faith and conscience. These nuns
will be forced to pay draconian fines if they refuse to comply with the law.[ii]
The Obamascare law is a
clear illustration of the Bible truth about conscience versus government.
I Timothy 1:15 says
“Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good
conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” The
end or purpose of all of God’s laws is to promote charity or selfless love that
comes from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from true faith. What a lovely picture of righteousness! If everyone lived by that ideal, governments
would not be needed.
One of the first
principles of Bible study is to understand that “In the beginning God created”
and ordained certain things in a divine order.
For example, marriage was created and ordained in the Garden of Eden
with Adam and Eve before governments were ordained by God’s covenant with Noah
after the flood. Marriage between one man and one woman was ordained by God in
the Garden. Family was ordained by God in the Garden. These were the first
building blocks of society. But the rule
of conscience was first ordained when God created Adam and Eve and placed them in
the Garden.
After the flood—around
2000 years after the Garden—God then ordained governments by His covenant with
Noah. In Geneis 9:6, God said, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his
blood be shed.” God ordained governments
to enforce the laws of God and to punish all forms of evil and wickedness,
especially murder. Therefore, the rule of conscience has the preeminence over
government dictates—especially when those dictates violate conscience or God’s
laws.
In Romans 13:1-7, Paul
says in verse 1, “For there is no power but of God, the powers that be are
ordained of God.” He goes on to explain
that the main function of government is to enforce the laws of God. It is governments’ responsibility to
“…execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”
However, Obamascare
brings into clear conflict the responsibility of the individual to obey
conscience and the responsibility of the government to punish those who break
God’s laws. Who are we to obey? God or
government! Obamascare makes these nuns criminals. What is their crime? Helping
the elderly poor! What is their crime? Having a conscience!
Nothing illustrates the
tyranny of Obamascare more than this story.
The Bible also
illustrates this kind of tyranny—the kind of tyranny that forces other
individuals to violate their conscience—the kind of tyranny that forces its
will upon everyone.
Cain was the first
Bible illustration of a tyrant who tried to force his will upon his brother
Abel. And he killed his brother because Abel refused to bow to his dictates and
demands. Obamascare seeks to destroy any
person who opposes its dictates.
Nimrod is the second
Bible illustration of a tyrant to force his will upon others. He rebelled against God and set up the first
dictatorship known upon earth. From that
evil seed came all the ruthless dictators of history who have trampled upon the
conscience of good people. For millennia, the norm was Rex is lex, which means the king is law. The whims and wishes and
dictates of the king were the law.
Reminds me of a president! The
American Revolution changed that to Lex
is Rex, which means that the law is king—nobody, not even the king, is
exempt from the law. So, by what
authority does our president grant “exemptions” to Obamascare? By what authority does Congress exempt itself
from so many laws?
Nebuchadnezzar is
another Bible illustration of a tyrant who built an image of himself and then
forced everyone—no matter what their conscience said—to bow down and worship
his image. Thankfully, three Hebrew children had enough conscience to say that
you can burn us in your fiery furnace, but we will not bow to your image. The pride, the arrogance, the hubris of this
one king brought the wrath of God upon his own head. Some political leaders never learn. God is
still the King of kings and ruler of the universe!
Herod the Great is
another illustration of a tyrant whose murderous intentions made it unsafe even
to be a member of his family. Reminds of
me a Korean dictator!
The Caesars of Rome
provide a great history lesson as they tried to stamp out conscience, but in
the end were smashed. Governments were
ordained by God to uphold His laws, not their whims. Governments that do not sustain
God’s laws are ordained to the dump heap of history.
The great thing about
the Constitution of the United States and its Bill or Rights is that the First
Amendment says that “Congress shall make no laws…” Our President, liberal Congress members, and
Chief Justice Judas and cohorts should write those five words a thousand times
on their blackboards—whiteboards—or IPads.
The First Amendment was written to protect conscience from all tyrannical
laws that violates both faith and conscience.
The First Amendment not only protects religious orders, denominations,
and other religions, but also it protects individual faith and conscience.
My conscience says it
is wrong for the government to force anyone to buy whatever government demands. My conscience says it is wrong to pay
premiums that will be used to pay for abortions. Obamascare violates individual conscience in
a thousand different ways.[iii]
Can you imagine the
liberal outrage if the government mandated that a Bible be put into every
hospital room, hotel room, library, home at the taxpayers’ expense? What if the
government mandated that every individual—regardless of their religious beliefs—buy
a Bible?
Can you imagine the
liberal outrage if the government mandated that everyone—including vegetarians
and PETA members—pay for the slaughter and processing of meat?
Governments were not
ordained by God to enforce equality, but to insure life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness. These are two totally different ideals. God did not ordain
governments to sponsor social justice, but to promote the laws of nature and of
nature’s God. God did not ordain governments to crush conscience, but to
cultivate it.
Chalk one up for the
Sisters! I hope and pray that they will win a victory for all individuals of
conscience.
One simple act would
destroy Obamascare. If 80 million Americans or more simply defied the law and
refused to buy an Obamascare policy, Obamascare would collapse within this
first year. Polls say that over half of
Americans oppose this law.[iv] What would happen if these refused to buy? What
would happen if these voted their conscience?
Who should we
obey? God or tyrants? Obamascare or conscience?
May God bless America by
giving us more individuals with a conscience!
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