Thesis 23

The kingdom of God is a voluntary kingdom that is totally different from the kingdoms of the world. Coercion and force have no place in it (Matt 26:53). Jesus established the Kingdom by submitting to the political powers and freely dying on the cross, a totally different way of doing kingdom. His Kingdom will not be established by military power and political coercion, but by suffering and service. everyone who wants to be part of it should understand this truth.

Jesus rules in a totally different way from other kings. No threats! No shouting! No Fear! No detailed regulations! No coercion! No force! No security services seeking out opposition! No torture for opponents of the Kingdom. Jesus whispers in our ears through the voice of the Spirit. He does not force us to do things that we hate to do, so obeying his voice is freedom and joy. Jesus Kingdom comes when most people in earth obey that voice, because they love Jesus.

Voluntary Justice (1)

A Christian system of justice will be voluntary and not based on the use of force. The main problem with a system of voluntary justice is that an accused person might refuse to appear before a judge. Of if they are convicted, they might refuse to pay the restitution specified by the judges.

The system of justice established by God during the time of Moses was a voluntary system. The judges raised up to apply the law did not have a police force to enforce their decisions. All the judges could do was hear the cased brought before them. They could not force people to appear before the court. All they could do was hear the testimonies of the people who came before them and announce their verdict. They could specify the amount of restitution that should be made, if a crime had occurred, but they had no power to enforce their decisions.