My Life and Books (20) Government of God

My book called Government of God explains the perfect system of government that God gave through Moses when he was leading the children of Israel into the promised land. This alternative system of justice, welfare and defence relies on Free Authority. It does not need the coercion and force of Imposed Authority. The book describes how God’s people can prepare for the collapse of human government by applying these principles within Kingdom Communities.

A neighbourhood church becomes a Kingdom Community by providing everyone living in their neighbourhood with the services that governments promise, but fail to deliver. They will provide social support, justice and protection for everyone in their neighbourhood, regardless of whether they have chosen to follow Jesus. When people submit to the wisdom of the elders of a Kingdom Community to obtain these benefits, they are part of the Kingdom of God even though they have not chosen to follow Jesus.

The Kingdom of God is the goal of everything, but there are no kingdoms left on earth, so the word “kingdom” is not very helpful to modern people. The best way to understand the nature of a kingdom is to think of it as a “government”, so I often refer to it as the “Government of God” to make its role and nature clear. This explains the title of this book.

Government of God describes the important insights into political theory that I received as I studied the scriptures and pondered the problems faced by modern political systems. I realise that most people do not get the significance of these insights because they still have strong faith in political power. They believe that the situation in society and the economy will improve if only the right person (or the right political party) is elected to power. Unfortunately, history shows that this is a false hope.

I am patient. The time is getting closer when human trust in political power will be severely shaken. When that happens, people will begin searching for a form of government that does not rely on human wisdom and power. They will then be ready for the insights that I have shared.

More at Government of God.

Government of God

The Kindle version of my book called the Government of God will be available for free on Amazon for the next three days.

If you don't have a Kindle download the Kindle app and you can read it on your phone, tablet or laptop.

Government of God

The following are some of the topics covered in my book called Government of God.

• the nature of authority
• the nature of the kingdom of God
• perfect government
• the structure of society
• kingdom communities
• source of law
• applying the law
• crime and restoration
• relieving with hardship and poverty
• defending the community from attack
• taxation
• voluntary financing of community services

Thessalonian Politics

When Paul was in Thessalonica, some of the Jews stirred up trouble and some followers of Jesus were arrested. They made the following accusation.

They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus (Acts 17:7).

When they heard this, the city officials were thrown into turmoil.

Paul could have said,

Jesus is not a real king, he just wants to live deep down in your heart. He is not a threat to the Roman empire.

Paul did not say this. Instead, he fled to a different town. He did not say it, because it is not true. Jesus is a real king. His kingdom is a threat to the other kingdoms of this world. As it grows and expands, other kingdoms will shrink and slowly die. Other kings and political leaders will lose their power.

Jesus’ kingdom will be a very different kingdom. It will not look like the political kingdoms of this world. However, it will provide all the justice and protection that worldly governments promise to deliver, but never do. I describe how this will happen in Government of God.

Making Kingdom Real

In recent years, Christians have become fascinated by the idea of the kingdom of God. “Kingdom” is now the most popular adjective in Christian writing. Yet the political side of the kingdom has been strangely neglected. This is surprising, because a kingdom is a political institution and a form of government. Therefore, a right understanding of politics and government is critical for understanding of Kingdom of God.

The Old Testament tells the story of government. Mostly it was a mess.

Jesus had a very staunch attitude to government. Before he ascended into heaven, he claimed all authority on earth and in heaven. Yet his followers have been confused about their attitude to politics and government.

Politics and government are important, because kings and governments claim authority to exercise legitimate force and coercion. They can pass laws or proclaim regulations and punish anyone who does not obey them with fines or imprisonment. Kings and governments can force people to join their military forces and die fighting wars. They can impose taxes that take income and wealth from people by compulsion.

Governments claim that their authority to use force is legitimate because they are working for the greater good of society. This raises a related question. If a government’s right to use force is legitimate, who should control it? If it is going to be used for good, shouldn’t Christians get into the game? God is the source of all good, so how can he influence the way force is used for good?

Government of God explains how all authority can be submitted to King Jesus without the need for political power.

Peter

After Peter and John were released from prison, they prayed and quoted a prophecy by David.

Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together against the Lord
and against his anointed one (Acts 4:25-26).

Peter understood that the rulers of the nations are opposed to God’s purposes. God responded to the prayer by re-filling them with the Holy Spirit.

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31).

God was doing something much bigger than the nations and their rulers. He was bringing in the Kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many Christians still hope to use the power of the nation state to establish the Kingdom of God. Peter understood that God could do something more powerful through the Holy Spirit.

Government of God

Mary's Prophecy

When Jesus was still a baby in her womb, Mary gave a wonderful prophecy. She said,

God the Mighty One has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.

The prophecy has not been fulfilled yet. Mostly because the church has colluded with the rulers sitting on thrones.

Government of God explains how kingdom communities can lift up the humble, so that human rulers become redundant, and Jesus becomes the only ruler, from his throne in the heavenly realms.

Peter Drucker

Peter Drucker was a guru of business management. He taught at Wharton School of Business. He was a Christian, and was involved as an advisor at the beginning of the mega church movement. Lance Wallnau (at 46 min) described his views as follows:

Peter Drucker said that the local church should be the deliverer of the community. A non-profit organisation (501(c)3 in America) is the only entity without a self-interested agenda. You cannot trust the government. If you give money to a government, it expand inefficiently, because it is non-profit motivated. If it fails, it demands more money.
The only safe way to solve our city’s problems is for Christians to start non-profits and plug the gaps that governments cannot meet.

This was Drucker’s dream for the mega church, but it has not happened.

Strong churches could extend services into social problem, and become the bridge between what government cannot do, and the citizens need to do. No one is philanthropy motivated like a kingdom person to get the job done.

Drucker said we could transform cities if non profit organisations became mega economic powers, with people with an agenda to fill the gap.

It never happened, due to self interest. Mega churches are only interested in increasing the number or people, number of views, number of staff and the square footage, because growth is a sign of success. They are only interested in serving their constituents, with a new building, a new program, or new gymnasium. The dream that Drucker had for the mega church was never tried.

Churches are not known as the people who have solutions to the problems of the city. They are known for their programs. These are five churches a good reputation, but they are not known for having solutions.

Creative non-profits should be coming up with newsworthy solutions to problems that the world will never solve. They should have solutions that other will copy. They should be problem solvers for the city.

This is a Jewish thing. The Jews got to be safe from persecution by being indispensable.

If Christians were smart, rather than just having big buildings and big gatherings, we would be indispensable to our city’s welfare. We should be the last people they want to persecute, because we would be the first people with the answers to problems.

In Government of God I explain how local community-based churches can provide services to the people in the community in which they live. They have an interest in doing this, because that is the only way they can survive and grow.

Dutch Sheets

In a recent talk, Dutch Sheets said,

Authority is government. All government on earth is supposed to be a direct extension of the government of God, flowing through human beings into the earth, to release his justice, his righteousness, his peace, his salvation, his ways into the earth.

However, Dutch did not explain how this would happen. Government of God describes how the authority of God flows through his people to bring his peace and justice to earth.

Political Power

Christians have always been uncertain about what to do with political power.

• The most popular option has been for the church to use political power to impose Christian standards on society. During the middle ages, the Pope was able to impose considerable control over the political leaders of Europe. Because most people believed themselves to be Christian, this was usually accepted. However, when people lost faith, they hated the Catholic church, because they saw it as a controlling organisation, forcing them to do things they did not want to do.

  The same thing happened in the United States, when the Moral Majority gained political influence. Some laws were changed in a Christian direction, but people who did not believe in Jesus started hating the church, because they believed, it was forcing them to behave in a particular way.

  Using political power has not really been a successful option, because it creates hostility to the gospel.

• The other common option has been withdrawal from political power. This leaves the people of the world holding the reins of power. Unrestrained power often leads to evil. In the worst case, Christians are persecuted for their faith.

• These days, most churches have adopted a Goldilocks option: not to hot and not to cold. They get sufficient involvement in political power that they avoid persecution and oppose really bad laws. But they do not get so involved that they can be accused of controlling society, or imposing God’s standards on people who do not believe in him.

  The Goldilocks option tends to produce a slippery slope away from the gospel.

Each of these options tries to answer the question, who should control political power. Should it be the people of the world, or the people of the church?

This is the wrong question. The real problem is not who holds political power. The real problem is with political power itself.

Political power allows one group of people to impose their view on another group of people. That is always wrong, even if the group in control is a majority. God has not given any group of people authority to control other people.

Political power also amplifies the power and control of the spiritual powers of evil that control cities and nations.

Political power is always the problem, not the solution, no matter who exercises it.

In my book, Government of God, I describe a system of government that does not need political power.

Government of God in NZ

The paperback version of Government of God has arrived in New Zealand. Two weeks from South Carolina to Christchurch is not bad.

People living in New Zealand can now purchase the book directly from Kingwatch Books for $NZ12.00. Delivery is by standard post. Go to this link and scroll down to the New Zealand section.

Political Systems

Most authors of books on political theology begin with an existing political system, usually their own, and look for scriptures that justify it. Sometimes, they will suggest modifications to the system to make it a little more Christian.

I have tried to work the other way round. I have spent years studying what the scriptures teach about economics and politics. I have now drawn those insights and principles out into a system of government.

The government that I describe in the Government of God is totally different from anything that currently exists, but I believe that it is the government that God wants for his people.

Sharing a Vision

Writing a book is a challenging task. In my most recent book, Government of God, I had to put in a lot of wisdom and knowledge. Getting that written down was relatively straightforward.

I also have a vision for the way the government could be. Getting that down on paper is much harder. It’s one thing to see something in your minds eye. It is another thing to describe it in words that another person can read, and see what you have seen. I have tried hard to share the vision, but I am not sure if I have succeeded.

Time will tell.

When I wrote my first book, it was well received, but I soon realised that many of the people who said they like it did not understand the vision that I was sharing. I rewrote the book with diagrams to describe the vision more precisely (Being Church Where We Live). I think the vision was clearer, but some people did not like it as much.

That is life. Time will tell if I have succeeded this time.

Government of God

At last, it is done.

The book that I have been working on for the last two years is complete. Government of God is now available in paperback and kindle formats on Amazon (paperback books will not be available at Kingwatch Books for delivery in New Zealand until July, as they have to come from Charleston, South Carolina).

I believe that this is the most important book I have written. It has also been the hardest to write. I have had to organise and present a huge number of important insights and ideas about government in a way that can be easily understood. Not a simple task!

I suspect that the church is not yet ready this book. Most Christians still have significant faith in political power. They might be frustrated with the current crop of political leaders, but they still hope that the right leader could made a difference. They have not yet given up hope that this person will turn up and rescue their nation.

My task is to get this book out now, so that it is there, ready for the time when hope in political power is gone.

For those who are not ready, the book contains a huge range of insights about government, the nature of political power, God’s system of justice, caring for the needy, defence and war, and the morality of taxation.

No Love

A civil government cannot love. It must set rules and enforce them. Political authorities cannot love. They can take money from some people and give it to others. They can force people to do things that they do not want to do. The can stop them from doing doing things they want to do. But political authorities cannot love.

Political authorities cannot build the Kingdom of God, because it is a kingdom of love. They are cannot serve the kingdom, because they cannot love.

My new book called the Government of God will be available on Amazon.com in May this year. In this book, I will explain how God’s government is radically different and better than any government we know. The coming of his kingdom will radically change the operation of government on earth.