From the book Thy Kingdom Comes
Chapter 10. Two Paths
Liberty
There was freedom of religion in Rome but all freedoms and liberties were not tolerated by all the rulers of the Pax Romana where vanity and jealousy reign.
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only [use] not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. Galatians 5:13
Jesus also warned that we should not swear oaths because such activitycometh of evil.1 Jesus knew this was one way in which the other nations expand their authority, turning what should be God’s into the jurisdiction of men. It was a way of binding a man’s fidelity and faith to another god. In James 5:12 we are warned again, “above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and [your] nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.”
Paul, as a lawyer, comprehended the dangers and binding legal significance of oaths and contracts, covenants and compacts. In 1 Corinthians 6:12 the Bible clearly states that Paul does not recommend that you go under these authorities with oath or application.2 He repeats this idea of freedom in 1 Corinthians 7:21 with the statement Art thou called [being] a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use [it] rather.
People knew that Jesus was bringing the kingdom in spirit and in truth and that he proclaimed such to all the world. They saw the kingdom come, they saw the Messiah, the Anointed, the Christ, the King in the flesh and learned to work together as a kingdom, as a government under liberty. This required that they voluntarily do what was right.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1
Those early teachers were steeped in the knowledge of systems established by Abraham and practiced by groups like the Essenes. They knew that men were often lazy or self indulgent and that they had a tendency to neglect the needs of others.
The good Samaritan philosophy was essential to the survival of a Theocratic republic where men were free to contribute to the needs of the community or not. Independence is an essential ingredient to a strong community but charitable participation is just as important.
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:25
When one is at liberty and is free not to contribute, they may be tempted by apathy and avarice to do nothing for their neighbors. To be a true nation they must be as one body.
As free, and not using [your] liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. 1 Peter 2:16
There has always been those who were envious and jealous of those who make liberty work. Through clever schemes the despots prey on the industrious people who neglect their charitable duty. Rights are responsibilities. Neglect the obligations directed by God’s law and you will loose the birthrights and patrimony of His kingdom.
And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: Gal. 2:4
From the earliest time Seth, Enos, Abram and Moses walked with God. It was the righteous liberty that they sought which drew them near the God who made us. It was their faith in action that awoke them to the true nature of God the Father and His government.
Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. Jeremiah 34:17
For those who will not follow the ways of God but establish their own kingdoms and governments with force and control, regulations and rules, the end result is clear and inevitable by the rule of His law and the nature of mankind. Power corrupts.
And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts. Psalms 119:45
Jesus came to bring the kingdom of God’s liberty into every aspect of our lives. God’s precepts and character should govern us and the nations of the world. Liberty is conducive of growth and maturity. Virtue is the avenue of God’s grace. Faith is a gift that brings us into a fuller knowledge of God. A relinquishment of those rights and responsibilities bestowed on us by the Creator makes us poor and weak.
The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18
There is no more common theme in the Bible than liberty under God with charity and love for God and for our neighbor. Voluntary governments have been the rule in man’s history and not the central or even democratic authorities so common world wide in modern administrations. It is commonly unknown that, “our modern reliance on government to make law and establish order is not the historical norm.”3
We are taught and have come to believe that the history of men and government is the history of centralized authoritarian government while the truth is that most governance has been men working together in voluntary groups united by customs, mutual respect and reasoned justice. Although, top down authoritarian forms amongst the states created by men have been here since Cain killed Able it is in itself an aberration, not the creation of God.
The ruling elite, acting as the fountainhead of justice, is presently so pervasive throughout the world that many still believe that the definition of, “The state is essentially an apparatus of compulsion and coercion. The characteristic feature of its activities is to compel people through the application or the threat of force to behave otherwise than they would like to behave.”4It assumes that there can be no order without men compelling it. In truth the power of God written in some men’s hearts and minds can bring order around the world.
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12
Some will argue that democracies are governments of the people, by the people and for the people. While this could be true if the people were without guile and greed, men can still say, “the State is in essence the result of the successes achieved by a band of brigands who superimpose themselves on small, distinct societies.”5 This has always been true in democracies where “Fifty percent of the people takeaway the rights of the forty-nine.”6
Even men like George Washington believed that, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force. Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”
Any Government that is given a power to exercise authority will soon attract to it men hungry for such power. They will grant benefits by taking from a portion of the people to satisfy the covetous nature of their supporters. Apathy and avarice will bring in the idleness and dereliction of the people. An appetite for comfort and self-indulgence will replace the daily sacrifice of brothers and neighbors for each other. Rights will be dissipated as individual responsibility is forsaken. It is only a matter of time until the ruling elite have the people, “in utter ignorance and steal their liberty by ambuscade.”7
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily [sacrifice], and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. Daniel 11:31
This is why Christ forbid his appointed ministers8 to form such a government and Samuel gave God’s warning on this ancient subject and controversy. It is the nature of God’s dominion on earth to be a government quite different from what we have come to believe is normal or proper or even desired by God the Father and creator of us all.
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1But I say unto you, Swear not at all… these cometh of evil. Mt 5:34-37.
2All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. (1 Cor. 6:12)
3The Enterprise of Law: Justice without the State. Bruce L. Benson Publisher: Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (San Francisco), 1991 ’
4Ludwig von Mises, Austrian political economist.
5On Power by Bertrand de Jouvenel, Viking Press, New York 1949.
6Thoams Jefferson 2nd Inaugural address.
7Patrick Henry in opposition to the Constitution and warning of the spuriousness of the same.
8Matthew 20:25-27, Mark 10:42, Luke 22:25
