Gavin Newsom took the opportunity to institute a new lockdown in California and in 30 counties included the complete shutdown of indoor worship, including any private Bible studies. After twenty weeks of cooperation from faith communities, Grace Community Church declared Friday they will no longer obey Caesar.

In a respectful, but forceful post, Pastor John MacArthur lays out the Biblical reasons why he will no longer comply.

God has not granted civic rulers authority over the doctrine, practice, or polity of the church. The biblical framework limits the authority of each institution to its specific jurisdiction. The church does not have the right to meddle in the affairs of individual families and ignore parental authority. Parents do not have authority to manage civil matters while circumventing government officials. And similarly, 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. […]

[I]t has never been the prerogative of civil government to order, modify, forbid, or mandate worship. When, how, and how often the church worships is 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 kingdoms 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.

The vast majority of churches, synagogues and mosques voluntarily cooperated with the government right from the beginning of the unprecedented house arrest of the healthy. They did so willingly as to do what they could to support the stated mission of flattening the curve in order to not overwhelm the healthcare system. This was never a surrender of their authority to the government.

However, as we have witnessed, those original goals have been abandoned in an ostensible effort to eradicate the virus. As Democrat governors and mayors have moved the attainable to the impossible, their seizure of power has grown. With it, the contradictory and irrational policies that have eroded public confidence. This is no more glaring than Democrat-run cities where mass protests, riots, looting and occupation of whole city blocks by insurrectionists have not just gone unmolested by law enforcement, but are praised by Democrat politicians.

Demonstrators for racial justice represent the best of our democratic ideals. The President's unilateral deployment of federal forces betrays them — and does nothing to keep us safe.

L.A. stands with our friends in Portland.

— MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) July 23, 2020

Meanwhile, a 5-4 SCOTUS split allows discrimination against the faith community. The majority of those judges refused to even try and justify their ruling against the church.

Pastor MacArthur makes clear he isn’t making his argument on First Amendment grounds.

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.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is powerful. Too many of our ill-educated fellow citizens fail to understand that the Constitution does not grant rights but secures them.

Those negative human rights exist outside of government. While we may not be able to exercise them at any given time, that doesn’t negate the right.

Grace Community Church did, indeed, hold in-church worship yesterday.

Worth a thousand words!!! https://t.co/pTciT3i7uO pic.twitter.com/UFWolq6LTx

— Tom Buck (@TomBuck) July 26, 2020

This was an answer to Caesar Newsom’s overstepping his jurisdiction. Let’s see his next move.

featured image, cropped, Adobe Stock standard license