SATAN’S ASSAULT ON THE GOVERNMENT FRONT (Part One)

By Bob Myhan

aving previously dealt with Satan's attack on the individual and the family, we now come to his attack on civil government, the third of these fronts. As with the family, the more we understand about the role of civil government, and our relationship and responsi­bility thereto, the better able we will be to recognize both how and when Satan is attempting to devour us on that front.

ivil government is a divinely appointed institu­tion. By "civil government," we mean "a system of ruling, or controlling a particular community of citi­zens." In the US we have federal, state, county and city governments. By "divinely appointed" we mean, "assigned by God." And, by "institution" we mean "a plurality of persons, organized together as a functional unit."

esus is King over a spiritual kingdom (John I 8:33-36). "Everyone who is of the truth hears [His] voice," and is a willing subject in His kingdom. "The truth," of course, is the word of God (John 17:17). Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). The truth, when known, frees one from sin (Rom. 6:1 8), the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2), and fear (Rom. 8:15), but it does not free one from restraint. Freedom from restraint is anarchy, the absence of law and order. God's word will hardly re­strain those who love darkness and practice evil (John 3:19,20), though, to some extent, it will restrain one “who does the truth" (John 3:21). For this reason, God has authorized civil rule. "The law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate" (1 Timothy 1:9).

f course, if you are a Christian your citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20; Heb. 11:8-10,13-16; 13:13-14; 1 Peter 2:9-11). But you must be subject to civil rulers for several reasons.

 You must be subject "for the Lord's sake" (1 Peter 2:13). This is because "there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God" Ro­m. 13:1). Therefore, one who recognizes the authority of God must [and will] also recognize the authority of civil rulers (John 19:10-11).

 You must be subject to avoid the wrath of God, for "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" (Rom. 13:2-4; see also Gen. 9:6).

 You must be subject "for conscience' sake" (Rom. 13:5), because "he is God's minister to you for good" (Rom. 13:4). One who obeys the law does not have to look over his shoulder to see if the long arm of the law is about to grab him (1 Tim. 1:5-11). Besides, civil rulers provide the righteous with protection from the unrighteous (I Tim. 2:1,2).

 You must be subject "that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 Peter 2:15). If you claim exemption from civil law, on the basis of being “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Heb. 11:13), some will misunderstand your motives and charge you with being anarchists, making it difficult for you to have a positive influence. But if you conduct yourself “as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God" (1 Peter 2:16), "they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

ou are to “render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due: customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor" (Rom. 13:7). Does this mean everything civil govern­ment does is in keeping with the will of God? That depends upon what is meant by "the will of God." There are at least four aspects to God's will, or four ways of viewing it.

irst, there is the “ideal” will of God, or that which He desires as the ideal situation. In this sense, it is His will that no man ever sin, even one time. Surely, God could want nothing else as the perfect or ideal situation.

econd, there is the “circumstantial” will of God, or that which He desires in the circumstance of man's sin. In this sense, it is His will that sinful men come to Him in faith and repentance. That is, He "desires all men to be saved" (I Tim. 2:4).

hird, there is the “permissive” or “incidental“ will of God, or that which God permits (without causing or approving), as incidental to His ideal and circumstantial will. This aspect of His will is necessary because of the free moral agency of man and because of what we sometimes refer to as “natural law.” For example, God permits men to sin, though not with impunity ["free­dom from punishment, penalty, harm or loss"]. He also permits physical suffering—through illness and disaster—because man initially failed to obey His ideal will (Gen. 3:17-24).

ourth, there is the “ultimate” will of God, or that which He ultimately intends to do—punish wickedness and reward righteousness.

an can defeat God's ideal will and circumstantial will because they simply express His desires for all men, and all men are free moral agents. That is, all men can [and do] choose to sin, and every man, having sinned, can refuse to come to God in repentance. For example, God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but gave them free will to choose whether to obey or disobey the command. He also advised them of the consequence of disobeying. Their eating was inconsistent with His ideal will but consistent with His per­missive will. He expressed His desire in the form of a command but did not interfere with their choice to disobey.

an cannot, however, defeat God's permissive will. Whatever occurs is obviously permitted by God to occur, in that He does not prevent it from occurring.

either can man defeat the ultimate will of God, because it has to do with His Sovereign intentions, which have their basis in His infinite mercy and per­fect justice. Of course, we decide our own ultimate destiny by our response [whether positive or negative] to His circumstantial will.

he reader may well be wondering: How does this apply to the concept of civil government? God gave man the ability to choose whether or not to obey Him. He will not prevent man from disobeying. But He will ultimately punish the impenitent.

e will not force civil governments to pass and enforce godly laws; nor will He prevent them from passing and enforcing ungodly laws. He will, though, ultimately hold them responsible for the laws they pass and enforce (Daniel 4:1-37; 5:1-30).

aul said, concerning the idolatry of the Gentile nations, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked" (Acts 17:30). This does not mean that God approved their idolatrous activities, but simply that He tolerated them. He has always given man just enough ­rope to hang himself. He "Now commands all men everywhere to repent.” But He does not force them to do so.

n our next article we will see how the devil uses civil government in attempting to devour the citizens of that government. &