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Acts 25:1–12
“Paul said, ‘I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar’” (vv. 10–11).
God has established different spheres in creation—the family, the church, and the state—each having its own authority structure and responsibilities. Moreover, He has told us that obedience to the lawful rules of the lawful authorities in each sphere is part of our obedience to the Lord (Rom. 13:1–7; Eph. 5:22–6:4; 1 Tim. 3:1–7). We are not obeying our Creator if we do not follow the lawful directives of the proper human leaders to whom God has delegated authority in each sphere. Importantly, a human authority acts unlawfully when it commands us to do something that God forbids, forbids us from doing what God commands, or attempts to take charge of affairs that do not belong to its sphere. Yet this distinction does not mean a complete and total separation between spheres wherein different spheres have nothing to do with one another or authorities in one sphere have no duty whatsoever with respect to other spheres. We will explore this a little more as we look at the state’s duty to the church.
The Westminster Confession of Faith as adopted by Presbyterian churches in the United States contains sound instruction on the relationship of church and state: “It is the duty of civil magistrates to protect the church of our common Lord, without giving the preference to any denomination of Christians above the rest, in such a manner that all ecclesiastical persons whatever shall enjoy the full, free, and unquestioned liberty of discharging every part of their sacred functions, without violence or danger” (23.3). Here, the confession makes clear that our being members of the visible church does not mean that we have surrendered our God-given rights to the protection that the state is to offer all its citizens. Since the state is tasked with administering temporal justice and punishing evildoers, Christians can appeal to the state to respond when crimes are committed against the church and against individual believers.
Christians can and in many circumstances must appeal to the state in matters of common justice. Yes, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:1–8 not to take other believers to court, but his instruction there has to do with petty offenses within the church, not serious crimes. It is not wrong to appeal to the state for help if a professing believer has committed a crime against us or against someone else in the church. That is what Paul did when the professing believers of his day—the Jews in Jerusalem—tried to kill him unjustly (Acts 25:1–12).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Scandals and other problems result whenever the church takes on the role of the state and tries to investigate criminal complaints on its own. When people have been criminally treated in the church, the church can minister to the victim and the offender. But the church is to let the state do its job in investigating and prosecuting criminal allegations, for that is the state’s area of competence.
For further study
- 2 Samuel 23:3b–4
- Proverbs 24:21
- Proverbs 29:4, 14
- 1 Timothy 2:1–2
The bible in a year
- Ezekiel 21
- James 1