Calaveras Presbyterian Church hereby states and adopts the following position regarding attempts in our time by civil governments and courts to restrict the worship and other spiritual practices and prerogatives of the historic and universal Church of Jesus Christ.
Our opposition is based in centuries-old natural law, as derived from scripture itself, which holds that the Church is and always has been by the nature of its institution by Christ sovereign in its own sphere.
This historic doctrine is succinctly summarized as follows:
We must first understand that the Church and State are both independent perfect [complete in themselves] societies with specific ends and goals. Each is juridically competent to provide all necessary and sufficient means to carry out its purpose; each is sovereign in its own sphere.” (Jon Horvat, Return to Order)
Further, though originally stated in a separate but parallel context, we agree with the following position stated by Amy K. Hall, author of “Why Religious Institutions Aren’t Taxed”:
Religious institutions are exempt from taxation because our government has not been given the power to govern religion. This is an expression of the basic principles behind the founding of this country — that is, there is an Authority above the government that has established rights apart from the government, including free speech and freedom of religion. Since these rights were not created by government — and, in fact, existed before any government existed — our government is restrained from infringing on these natural rights. There are things that are simply not rightly under any government’s control. To reverse this long-standing practice … is to wrongly place the government in authority over religion.” (Emphasis added)
Again, we note that this statement was in the context of taxation of Churches. But the principle is the same in current conflicts between Church and state concerning each entity's sphere of sovereignty. With regard to taxation, until the national income tax was instituted in the early part of the last century, Churches were universally deemed not to be subject to government taxation. The reason was the universal understanding of the sovereignty of the Church in its own affairs.
Our position as a Church is based on this ontological, existential, natural-law principle instituted by God. The Church is in very fact the Body of Christ, who is its Head, and no civil government has power over Christ. The Church has understood this from its very founding, when its earliest confession was “Jesus is Lord,” a confession directly contradictory to the demand of the Roman Empire that all people must acknowledge that “Caesar is Lord.” The early Church was persecuted for its confession, but it held to it nevertheless. We honor the Faith of our Fathers when we do no less. It is the failure of many civil authorities, and many in the Church itself, to recognize the true nature of the Church which has produced the current cavalier notion about the essentiality and necessity of divinely instituted worship as revealed in the Christian scriptures. The Church is not merely a discretionary social institution that can be curtailed at whim or even under emergency situations. It is left to the ordained, divinely appointed leaders of the Church to determine when wisdom and prudence may require modification of its practices.
Our position coincides with the statement of policy promulgated by the elders of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California; and we herein substantially, with modifications, adopt and incorporate their position statement.
Christ is Lord of all. He is the one true head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1:18). He is also King of kings—sovereign over every earthly authority (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). Calaveras Presbyterian Church has always stood immovably on those biblical principles. As His people, we are subject to His will and commands as revealed in Scripture. Therefore, we cannot and will not acquiesce to a government-imposed moratorium on or curtailment of our weekly congregational worship or other regular corporate gatherings. Compliance would be disobedience to our Lord’s clear commands, which according to our timeless Scriptures, historic creeds, confessions, and understanding constitutes sin.
Scripture does mandate conscientious obedience to all governing authority, including kings, governors, employers, and their agents (in the Apostle Peter’s words, “not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable” [1 Peter 2:18]). Insofar as government authorities do not attempt to assert ecclesiastical authority or issue orders that forbid our obedience to God’s law, their authority is to be obeyed whether we agree with their rulings or not. In other words, Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 still bind the consciences of individual Christians. We are to obey our civil authorities as powers that God Himself has ordained to carry out the righteous purposes that He has set forth in His Word. Magistrates who exceed their duty by enacting unrighteous judgments or edicts contrary to God’s Word and Law are to be resisted out of respect and obedience to the Higher Power that has ordained governments to rule justly and protect the peace of those under its lawful jurisdiction.
However, while civil government is invested with divine authority to rule the state, neither of the aforementioned texts (nor any other) grants civic rulers jurisdiction over the Church. God has established three institutions within human society: the family, the state, and the Church. Each institution has a sphere of authority with jurisdictional limits that must be respected. A father’s authority is limited to his own family. Church leaders’ authority (which is delegated to them by Christ) is limited to Church matters. And government is specifically tasked with the oversight and protection of civic peace and well-being within the boundaries of a nation or community. God has not granted civic rulers authority over the doctrine, practice, or polity of the Church. Thus, government officials have no right to interfere in ecclesiastical matters in a way that undermines or disregards the God-given authority of pastors and elders.
When any one of the three institutions exceeds the bounds of its jurisdiction it is the duty of the other institutions to resist that overreach. Therefore, when government officials issue orders regulating worship (such as bans on singing, caps on attendance, or prohibitions against gatherings and services), they step outside the legitimate bounds of their God-ordained authority as civic officials and arrogate to themselves authority that God expressly grants only to the Lord Jesus Christ as sovereign over His Kingdom, which is the Church. His rule is mediated to local churches through those pastors and elders who teach His Word and govern the Body as His representatives (Matthew 16:18–19; 2 Timothy 3:16–4:2).
Therefore, in response to any state and local orders restricting churches, we, the pastors and elders of our church, respectfully inform our civic leaders that in doing so they have exceeded their legitimate jurisdiction, and faithfulness to Christ prohibits us from observing the restrictions they want to impose on our corporate worship services.
Said another way, it has never been the prerogative of civil government to order, modify, forbid, or mandate worship. When, how, and how often the Church worships are not subject to “Caesar.” Caesar himself is subject to God. Jesus affirmed that principle when He told Pilate, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11). And because Christ is head of the Church, ecclesiastical matters pertain to His Kingdom, not Caesar’s. Jesus drew a stark distinction between those two authorities when He said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's” (Mark 12:17). Our Lord Himself always rendered to Caesar what was Caesar's, but He never offered to Caesar what belongs solely to God.
As pastors and elders, we cannot hand over to earthly authorities any privilege or power that belongs solely to Christ as head of His Church. Pastors and elders are the ones to whom Christ has given the duty and the right to exercise His spiritual authority in the Church (1 Peter 5:1–4; Hebrews 13:7, 17)—and Scripture alone defines how and whom they are to serve (1 Corinthians 4:1–4). They have no duty to follow orders from a civil government attempting to regulate the worship or governance of the Church in ways that contravene the divine requirements for worship. In fact, pastors who cede their Christ-delegated authority in the Church to a civil ruler have abdicated their responsibility before their Lord and violated the God-ordained spheres of authority as much as the secular official who illegitimately imposes his authority upon the Church.
One of our historic confessions, dating back to the 17th century (The Westminster Confession of Faith), contains the following provision, which we as rulers and spiritual leaders of our churches have taken sacred vows to uphold. Indeed, many of our spiritual forbearers gave their lives in defense of this doctrine:
Civil magistrates may not assume to themselves the administration of the Word and sacraments; or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven; or, in the least, interfere in matters of faith. Yet, as nursing fathers, 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. And, as Jesus Christ hath appointed a regular government and discipline in his Church, no law of any commonwealth should interfere with, let, or hinder, the due exercise thereof, among the voluntary members of any denomination of Christians, according to their own profession and belief. It is the duty of civil magistrates to protect the person and good name of all their people, in such an effectual manner as that no person be suffered, either upon pretense of religion or of infidelity, to offer any indignity, violence, abuse, or injury to any other person whatsoever: and to take order, that all religious and ecclesiastical assemblies be held without molestation or disturbance.
Indeed, the earliest pilgrims to this land came here precisely to secure that liberty and freedom from governmental interference with their faith and worship. In short, as the Church, we do not need the state's permission to serve and worship our Lord as He has commanded. The Church is Christ’s precious bride (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23–27). She belongs to Him alone. She exists by His will and serves under His authority. He will tolerate no assault on her purity and no infringement of His headship over her. All of that was established when Jesus said, “I will build My Church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18).
Christ’s own authority is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And [God the Father has] put all things in subjection under [Christ’s] feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:21–23).
Accordingly, the honor that we rightly owe our earthly governors and magistrates (Romans 13:7) does not include compliance when such officials attempt to subvert sound doctrine, corrupt biblical morality, exercise ecclesiastical authority, or supplant Christ as head of the Church in any other way.
The biblical order is clear: Christ is Lord over Caesar, not vice versa. Christ, not Caesar, is head of the Church. Conversely, the Church does not in any sense rule the state, though it has the right and duty to bear witness to truth and righteousness in the social order. Again, these are distinct jurisdictions, and Christ is sovereign over both. Neither Church nor state has any higher authority than that of Christ Himself, who declared, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).
Notice that we are not making a constitutional argument, even though the First Amendment of the United States Constitution expressly affirms this principle in its opening words: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The right we are appealing to was not created by the Constitution. It is one of those unalienable rights granted solely by God, who ordained human government and establishes both the extent and the limitations of the state's authority (Romans 13:1–7). Our argument therefore is purposely not grounded in the First Amendment; it is based on the same biblical principles that the Amendment itself is founded upon. The exercise of true religion is a divine duty given to men and women created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27; Acts 4:18–20; 5:29; cf. Matthew 22:16–22). In other words, freedom of worship is a command of God, not a privilege granted by the state.
An additional point needs to be made in this context. Christ is always faithful and true (Revelation 19:11). Human governments are not so trustworthy. Scripture says, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). That refers, of course, to Satan. John 12:31 and 16:11 call him “the ruler of this world,” meaning he wields power and influence through this world’s systems (cf. Luke 4:6; Ephesians 2:2; 6:12). Jesus said of him, “he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). History is full of painful reminders that government power is easily and frequently abused for evil purposes. Politicians may manipulate statistics and the media can cover up or camouflage inconvenient truths. So a discerning Church cannot passively or automatically comply if the government orders a shutdown of congregational meetings—even if the reason given is a concern for public health and safety.
The Church, by definition, is an assembly. That is the literal meaning of the biblical Greek word for “Church”—the assembly of the called-out ones. A non-assembling assembly is a contradiction in terms. Christians are therefore commanded not to forsake the practice of meeting together (Hebrews 10:25)—and no earthly state has a right to restrict, delimit, or forbid the assembling of believers. We have always supported the underground Church in nations where Christian congregational worship is deemed illegal by the state.
When officials restrict church attendance to a certain number, they attempt to impose a restriction that in principle makes it impossible for the saints to gather as the Church. When officials prohibit singing in worship services, they attempt to impose a restriction that in principle makes it impossible for the people of God to obey the commands of Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. When officials mandate interpersonal distancing, they attempt to impose a restriction that in principle makes it impossible to experience the close communion between believers that is commanded in Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, and 1 Thessalonians 5:26. In all those spheres, we must submit to our Lord.
Although we in America may be unaccustomed to government intrusion into the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, this is by no means the first time in Church history that Christians have had to deal with government overreach or hostile rulers. As a matter of fact, persecution of the Church by government authorities has been the norm, not the exception, throughout Church history. “Indeed,” Scripture says, “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Historically, the two main persecutors have always been secular government and false religion. Most of Christianity’s martyrs have died because they refused to obey such authorities. This is, after all, what Christ promised: “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). In the last of the beatitudes, He said, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11–12).
As government policy moves further away from biblical principles, and as legal and political pressures against the Church intensify, we must recognize that the Lord may be using these pressures as means of purging to reveal the true Church. Succumbing to governmental overreach may cause Churches to remain closed indefinitely. How can the true Church of Jesus Christ distinguish herself in such a hostile climate? There is only one way: bold allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even where governments seem sympathetic to the Church, Christian leaders have often needed to push back against aggressive state officials. In Calvin's Geneva, for example, Church officials at times needed to fend off attempts by the city council to govern aspects of worship, Church polity, and Church discipline. The Church of England has never fully reformed, precisely because the British Crown and Parliament have always meddled in Church affairs. In 1662, the Puritans were ejected from their pulpits because they refused to bow to government mandates regarding use of the Book of Common Prayer, the wearing of vestments, and other ceremonial aspects of state-regulated worship. The British Monarch still claims to be the supreme governor and titular head of the Anglican Church.
But again: Christ is the one true head of His Church, and we intend to honor that vital truth in all our gatherings. For that preeminent reason, we cannot accept and will not bow to the intrusive restrictions government officials now want to impose on our congregation. We offer this response without rancor, and not out of hearts that are combative or rebellious (1 Timothy 2:1–8; 1 Peter 2:13–17), but with a sobering awareness that we must answer to the Lord Jesus for the stewardship He has given to us as shepherds of His precious flock.
To government officials, we respectfully say with the apostles, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge” (Acts 4:19). And our unhesitating reply to that question is the same as the apostles’: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
Our prayer is that every faithful congregation will stand with us in obedience to our Lord as Christians have done through the centuries.
Our opposition is based in centuries-old natural law, as derived from scripture itself, which holds that the Church is and always has been by the nature of its institution by Christ sovereign in its own sphere.
This historic doctrine is succinctly summarized as follows:
We must first understand that the Church and State are both independent perfect [complete in themselves] societies with specific ends and goals. Each is juridically competent to provide all necessary and sufficient means to carry out its purpose; each is sovereign in its own sphere.” (Jon Horvat, Return to Order)
Further, though originally stated in a separate but parallel context, we agree with the following position stated by Amy K. Hall, author of “Why Religious Institutions Aren’t Taxed”:
Religious institutions are exempt from taxation because our government has not been given the power to govern religion. This is an expression of the basic principles behind the founding of this country — that is, there is an Authority above the government that has established rights apart from the government, including free speech and freedom of religion. Since these rights were not created by government — and, in fact, existed before any government existed — our government is restrained from infringing on these natural rights. There are things that are simply not rightly under any government’s control. To reverse this long-standing practice … is to wrongly place the government in authority over religion.” (Emphasis added)
Again, we note that this statement was in the context of taxation of Churches. But the principle is the same in current conflicts between Church and state concerning each entity's sphere of sovereignty. With regard to taxation, until the national income tax was instituted in the early part of the last century, Churches were universally deemed not to be subject to government taxation. The reason was the universal understanding of the sovereignty of the Church in its own affairs.
Our position as a Church is based on this ontological, existential, natural-law principle instituted by God. The Church is in very fact the Body of Christ, who is its Head, and no civil government has power over Christ. The Church has understood this from its very founding, when its earliest confession was “Jesus is Lord,” a confession directly contradictory to the demand of the Roman Empire that all people must acknowledge that “Caesar is Lord.” The early Church was persecuted for its confession, but it held to it nevertheless. We honor the Faith of our Fathers when we do no less. It is the failure of many civil authorities, and many in the Church itself, to recognize the true nature of the Church which has produced the current cavalier notion about the essentiality and necessity of divinely instituted worship as revealed in the Christian scriptures. The Church is not merely a discretionary social institution that can be curtailed at whim or even under emergency situations. It is left to the ordained, divinely appointed leaders of the Church to determine when wisdom and prudence may require modification of its practices.
Our position coincides with the statement of policy promulgated by the elders of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California; and we herein substantially, with modifications, adopt and incorporate their position statement.
Christ is Lord of all. He is the one true head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1:18). He is also King of kings—sovereign over every earthly authority (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). Calaveras Presbyterian Church has always stood immovably on those biblical principles. As His people, we are subject to His will and commands as revealed in Scripture. Therefore, we cannot and will not acquiesce to a government-imposed moratorium on or curtailment of our weekly congregational worship or other regular corporate gatherings. Compliance would be disobedience to our Lord’s clear commands, which according to our timeless Scriptures, historic creeds, confessions, and understanding constitutes sin.
Scripture does mandate conscientious obedience to all governing authority, including kings, governors, employers, and their agents (in the Apostle Peter’s words, “not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable” [1 Peter 2:18]). Insofar as government authorities do not attempt to assert ecclesiastical authority or issue orders that forbid our obedience to God’s law, their authority is to be obeyed whether we agree with their rulings or not. In other words, Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 still bind the consciences of individual Christians. We are to obey our civil authorities as powers that God Himself has ordained to carry out the righteous purposes that He has set forth in His Word. Magistrates who exceed their duty by enacting unrighteous judgments or edicts contrary to God’s Word and Law are to be resisted out of respect and obedience to the Higher Power that has ordained governments to rule justly and protect the peace of those under its lawful jurisdiction.
However, while civil government is invested with divine authority to rule the state, neither of the aforementioned texts (nor any other) grants civic rulers jurisdiction over the Church. God has established three institutions within human society: the family, the state, and the Church. Each institution has a sphere of authority with jurisdictional limits that must be respected. A father’s authority is limited to his own family. Church leaders’ authority (which is delegated to them by Christ) is limited to Church matters. And government is specifically tasked with the oversight and protection of civic peace and well-being within the boundaries of a nation or community. God has not granted civic rulers authority over the doctrine, practice, or polity of the Church. Thus, government officials have no right to interfere in ecclesiastical matters in a way that undermines or disregards the God-given authority of pastors and elders.
When any one of the three institutions exceeds the bounds of its jurisdiction it is the duty of the other institutions to resist that overreach. Therefore, when government officials issue orders regulating worship (such as bans on singing, caps on attendance, or prohibitions against gatherings and services), they step outside the legitimate bounds of their God-ordained authority as civic officials and arrogate to themselves authority that God expressly grants only to the Lord Jesus Christ as sovereign over His Kingdom, which is the Church. His rule is mediated to local churches through those pastors and elders who teach His Word and govern the Body as His representatives (Matthew 16:18–19; 2 Timothy 3:16–4:2).
Therefore, in response to any state and local orders restricting churches, we, the pastors and elders of our church, respectfully inform our civic leaders that in doing so they have exceeded their legitimate jurisdiction, and faithfulness to Christ prohibits us from observing the restrictions they want to impose on our corporate worship services.
Said another way, it has never been the prerogative of civil government to order, modify, forbid, or mandate worship. When, how, and how often the Church worships are not subject to “Caesar.” Caesar himself is subject to God. Jesus affirmed that principle when He told Pilate, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11). And because Christ is head of the Church, ecclesiastical matters pertain to His Kingdom, not Caesar’s. Jesus drew a stark distinction between those two authorities when He said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's” (Mark 12:17). Our Lord Himself always rendered to Caesar what was Caesar's, but He never offered to Caesar what belongs solely to God.
As pastors and elders, we cannot hand over to earthly authorities any privilege or power that belongs solely to Christ as head of His Church. Pastors and elders are the ones to whom Christ has given the duty and the right to exercise His spiritual authority in the Church (1 Peter 5:1–4; Hebrews 13:7, 17)—and Scripture alone defines how and whom they are to serve (1 Corinthians 4:1–4). They have no duty to follow orders from a civil government attempting to regulate the worship or governance of the Church in ways that contravene the divine requirements for worship. In fact, pastors who cede their Christ-delegated authority in the Church to a civil ruler have abdicated their responsibility before their Lord and violated the God-ordained spheres of authority as much as the secular official who illegitimately imposes his authority upon the Church.
One of our historic confessions, dating back to the 17th century (The Westminster Confession of Faith), contains the following provision, which we as rulers and spiritual leaders of our churches have taken sacred vows to uphold. Indeed, many of our spiritual forbearers gave their lives in defense of this doctrine:
Civil magistrates may not assume to themselves the administration of the Word and sacraments; or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven; or, in the least, interfere in matters of faith. Yet, as nursing fathers, 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. And, as Jesus Christ hath appointed a regular government and discipline in his Church, no law of any commonwealth should interfere with, let, or hinder, the due exercise thereof, among the voluntary members of any denomination of Christians, according to their own profession and belief. It is the duty of civil magistrates to protect the person and good name of all their people, in such an effectual manner as that no person be suffered, either upon pretense of religion or of infidelity, to offer any indignity, violence, abuse, or injury to any other person whatsoever: and to take order, that all religious and ecclesiastical assemblies be held without molestation or disturbance.
Indeed, the earliest pilgrims to this land came here precisely to secure that liberty and freedom from governmental interference with their faith and worship. In short, as the Church, we do not need the state's permission to serve and worship our Lord as He has commanded. The Church is Christ’s precious bride (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23–27). She belongs to Him alone. She exists by His will and serves under His authority. He will tolerate no assault on her purity and no infringement of His headship over her. All of that was established when Jesus said, “I will build My Church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18).
Christ’s own authority is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And [God the Father has] put all things in subjection under [Christ’s] feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:21–23).
Accordingly, the honor that we rightly owe our earthly governors and magistrates (Romans 13:7) does not include compliance when such officials attempt to subvert sound doctrine, corrupt biblical morality, exercise ecclesiastical authority, or supplant Christ as head of the Church in any other way.
The biblical order is clear: Christ is Lord over Caesar, not vice versa. Christ, not Caesar, is head of the Church. Conversely, the Church does not in any sense rule the state, though it has the right and duty to bear witness to truth and righteousness in the social order. Again, these are distinct jurisdictions, and Christ is sovereign over both. Neither Church nor state has any higher authority than that of Christ Himself, who declared, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).
Notice that we are not making a constitutional argument, even though the First Amendment of the United States Constitution expressly affirms this principle in its opening words: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The right we are appealing to was not created by the Constitution. It is one of those unalienable rights granted solely by God, who ordained human government and establishes both the extent and the limitations of the state's authority (Romans 13:1–7). Our argument therefore is purposely not grounded in the First Amendment; it is based on the same biblical principles that the Amendment itself is founded upon. The exercise of true religion is a divine duty given to men and women created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27; Acts 4:18–20; 5:29; cf. Matthew 22:16–22). In other words, freedom of worship is a command of God, not a privilege granted by the state.
An additional point needs to be made in this context. Christ is always faithful and true (Revelation 19:11). Human governments are not so trustworthy. Scripture says, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). That refers, of course, to Satan. John 12:31 and 16:11 call him “the ruler of this world,” meaning he wields power and influence through this world’s systems (cf. Luke 4:6; Ephesians 2:2; 6:12). Jesus said of him, “he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). History is full of painful reminders that government power is easily and frequently abused for evil purposes. Politicians may manipulate statistics and the media can cover up or camouflage inconvenient truths. So a discerning Church cannot passively or automatically comply if the government orders a shutdown of congregational meetings—even if the reason given is a concern for public health and safety.
The Church, by definition, is an assembly. That is the literal meaning of the biblical Greek word for “Church”—the assembly of the called-out ones. A non-assembling assembly is a contradiction in terms. Christians are therefore commanded not to forsake the practice of meeting together (Hebrews 10:25)—and no earthly state has a right to restrict, delimit, or forbid the assembling of believers. We have always supported the underground Church in nations where Christian congregational worship is deemed illegal by the state.
When officials restrict church attendance to a certain number, they attempt to impose a restriction that in principle makes it impossible for the saints to gather as the Church. When officials prohibit singing in worship services, they attempt to impose a restriction that in principle makes it impossible for the people of God to obey the commands of Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. When officials mandate interpersonal distancing, they attempt to impose a restriction that in principle makes it impossible to experience the close communion between believers that is commanded in Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, and 1 Thessalonians 5:26. In all those spheres, we must submit to our Lord.
Although we in America may be unaccustomed to government intrusion into the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, this is by no means the first time in Church history that Christians have had to deal with government overreach or hostile rulers. As a matter of fact, persecution of the Church by government authorities has been the norm, not the exception, throughout Church history. “Indeed,” Scripture says, “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Historically, the two main persecutors have always been secular government and false religion. Most of Christianity’s martyrs have died because they refused to obey such authorities. This is, after all, what Christ promised: “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). In the last of the beatitudes, He said, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11–12).
As government policy moves further away from biblical principles, and as legal and political pressures against the Church intensify, we must recognize that the Lord may be using these pressures as means of purging to reveal the true Church. Succumbing to governmental overreach may cause Churches to remain closed indefinitely. How can the true Church of Jesus Christ distinguish herself in such a hostile climate? There is only one way: bold allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even where governments seem sympathetic to the Church, Christian leaders have often needed to push back against aggressive state officials. In Calvin's Geneva, for example, Church officials at times needed to fend off attempts by the city council to govern aspects of worship, Church polity, and Church discipline. The Church of England has never fully reformed, precisely because the British Crown and Parliament have always meddled in Church affairs. In 1662, the Puritans were ejected from their pulpits because they refused to bow to government mandates regarding use of the Book of Common Prayer, the wearing of vestments, and other ceremonial aspects of state-regulated worship. The British Monarch still claims to be the supreme governor and titular head of the Anglican Church.
But again: Christ is the one true head of His Church, and we intend to honor that vital truth in all our gatherings. For that preeminent reason, we cannot accept and will not bow to the intrusive restrictions government officials now want to impose on our congregation. We offer this response without rancor, and not out of hearts that are combative or rebellious (1 Timothy 2:1–8; 1 Peter 2:13–17), but with a sobering awareness that we must answer to the Lord Jesus for the stewardship He has given to us as shepherds of His precious flock.
To government officials, we respectfully say with the apostles, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge” (Acts 4:19). And our unhesitating reply to that question is the same as the apostles’: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
Our prayer is that every faithful congregation will stand with us in obedience to our Lord as Christians have done through the centuries.