Clean Transcript

Christian & Civil Government # 3

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• Let's open our Bibles once again to Romans chapter 13, Romans chapter 13, and Lord willing, we're going to continue on this subject. And may I remind you, please, that these messages are building one upon the other. And that's why Monday night was really certainly foundational. And if you missed each night or one of the nights, you're going to see that there's probably a little skip in sense of the word, not in my teaching or preaching, but from where you left and where you took back up.

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• So you need to catch up on those tapes and try to have everything tied together for you. So Romans chapter 13, verse 1: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid."

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• "For he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law."

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• Now let me just very quickly tell you that on Monday night we tried to cover the institution and the nature of government, showing that God alone was sovereign and all other forms of government are derived from God and therefore they're limited, they're bounded, they're circumscribed. God told them, "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further." We pointed out the fact that there is sphere authority. God only created three institutions: the family, which is a ministry of education; the church, which is a ministry of grace; and the state, which is a ministry of justice. And God gave each one of these institutions its proper sphere of authority. And when one leaves its sphere of authority, it does not carry authority with it. It leaves that authority in that sphere because no one has the authority to function outside of the sphere which God ordained. So we looked at the covenantal nature of government as well. And then last night we looked at the purpose of government in Romans chapter 13 and also we answered the question.

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• Must we obey every law that comes down the pike? And the answer is certainly no, because we looked at numerous individuals who disobeyed the law of the land, even the highest civil ruler, and did so with God's apparent blessing. Not only was there Elijah and Rahab and Amram and Jochebed, there was the three Hebrew children, there was Daniel and there was Paul and a multitude of others as well.

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• Now, the question automatically arises: If you and I are not to obey those rulers when they are contrary to God and contrary to the Word of God, how do we resist and how far can we go? Well, I'm going to answer some of that tonight, but before I do, I want to lay down certain propositions for you from the Word of God. I want you to hold Romans chapter 13, but go back in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Hosea. The book of Hosea, right after the book of Daniel. You have Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. So go back to Hosea chapter 5 and look at verses 10 and 11. I could multiply the scriptures tonight, but let me just share this one with you, and I think you shall see the significance of it. In Hosea chapter 5 and verse 10, God says, "The princes of Judah."

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• Now, remember, the prince is the civil ruler. "The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound" or the boundaries. Notice what God says: "Therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water." In other words, here the rulers were limited. They were confined. They were bounded by God. Well, the princes of Judah did not like those boundaries. They did not like those limitations. So they removed them. In other words, they usurped and stole authority and went into that area which God had not ordained for them. Now, says God, "I'm going to pour out my wrath upon them like water."

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• Now look, if you would please, at verse 11. Now he says, "Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment." Now you've got to ask, why are they oppressed and broken in judgment? And here's the answer: "Because they willingly walked after the commandment." In other words, here the princes are then commanding that which they have no authority to command. And here the people are willingly obeying those usurped commands. And so God says, I will punish the prince. I will punish the tyrant. And I will also punish the people who willingly obey those commands when they certainly have no authority at all. Now, I mentioned the word tyrant. I don't know if you're aware of the etymology of the word, but the word tyrant literally means one who rules without God. But if you would take a dictionary and look up a tyrant, you'd be absolutely surprised at some of the dictionary definitions. For instance, the first one is this: One who seizes power illegally or unlawfully, a usurper. Everyone understands that.

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• So, if we have a duly elected president and someone comes along and takes the presidency away from him by force, that individual would be a tyrant. He would be a usurper. Here's the second definition: A cruel, oppressive ruler, a despot.

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• Now, that's usually what you and I think of when we think of tyrants. We think of someone like Idi Amin. We think of Castro. We think of Joseph Stalin. And we think, well, here are cruel, oppressive despots. Here are individuals who have no conscience and they just simply do whatever they please. Well, let me give you the third definition. And I want you to think very closely with me on this one. The third one is this: One who uses lawful power unlawfully. Did you hear that? The dictionary definition of a tyrant is not just simply a cruel, oppressive ruler. It's not just someone who seizes power illegally and unlawfully. It is someone who uses lawful power unlawfully. So if we lawfully elect a leader, and then that leader gets in there having lawful power, and then he turns around and uses that lawful power unlawfully to undermine, say, our Constitution or undermine the Word of God, he is still basically a tyrant. And I want you to note something. An individual does not have to be cruel and oppressive in order to be a tyrant.

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• You can have a benevolent dictatorship as well. Now, as you look in Romans chapter 13, everything that I just told you is significant for this reason. Because the first thing I want you to understand is that subjection that God demands in Romans chapter 13 is demanded in abstraction and not concretely and absolutely. God is not telling us that we are to absolutely obey every civil ruler in every set of circumstances and every time. No.

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• Magistrates that use the power lawfully, magistrates that are what God has ordained them to be in Romans chapter 13—not just a ruler, not just a power, not just a leader, but His deacon, His exactor of righteousness and His public worship, as we looked at on Monday night—those are the ones to whom God demands that we submit to. But God is not demanding, in Romans chapter 13, that we submit to a tyrannical, totalitarian despot who abuses and misuses authority. You see, God has ordained government, remember last night, for the protection of the righteous.

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• for the punishment of the wicked, and that which God has given for our good, and that which God has given for our right, cannot be turned upside down and then used against us, where we would be expected, therefore, to aid in our own destruction. Now, let me just try to lay this down for you. Look, if you would, please, in Romans chapter 13 and verse 1. Let me try to tie this together.

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• He said, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation" or condemnation. "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same."

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• Now, let me try to lay these verses out for you in proposition form. First of all, the only power that can tie us to submission is that which is of God. That's what he said: "The powers that be are ordained of God." So the only power that can tie us to submission are those that are ordained of God. Secondly, according to verse 2, to resist those lawful powers that are ordained of God is to resist the ordinance of God. Why? Because according to verse 3, those powers that are ordained of God are not a terror to the good work, but rather they are a terror to the evil work. And because God has ordained them for our good. You see how beautifully God lays that out for us. So in Romans chapter 13, God is not talking about an abused, tyrannical power. He is talking about a power that is ruling lawfully and biblically and scripturally. You see, when rulers become a terror to the good work, when rulers become a promoter of the evil work, when they become a praise to the evil, when they destroy that which is just and right and holy, there is no binding power because that power is not of God.

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• In other words, to resist an evil, usurped, tyrannical government is not to resist or reject the ordinance of God. You say, "How in the world can you say that, Brother Weaver?" I want you to understand this. For instance, in the first war for independence, some rightly call that the War of Rebellion. And then, of course, the second war for American independence, commonly referred to as a civil war, the War of Northern Aggression, the South were known as the rebels. Are you listening very carefully? Rebellion can only be to lawful authority. If the authority is not lawful, it is not rebellion; it is resistance. For instance, I could look at Mark's wife, and I could tell her, "Get up and go in that kitchen get me a glass of tea." And she would look at me and say, "Now, Brother Weaver, wait a minute."

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• "If you ask me, I'll be more than happy to do so. But don't command me to go get you a glass of tea." And I look at Mark and I say, "Well, the only problem with your wife is she's just rebellious." Well, his wife cannot be rebellious to me. And the answer is because I have no lawful authority over her. And so, therefore, if she doesn't get my tea, she would be resisting a usurped authority, but she certainly would not be rebellious toward me.

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• Now, the understanding that I want you to comprehend and grasp is this: There is a difference between a lawful authority and an abused authority. And there are people in this country, God-fearing people, who have a murder complex who want to surrender and submit to all authority just because they think it's authority and they're willing to suffer. They're willing to have their goods confiscated just simply because they can say—or so they could say—"Well, I'm in submission." Well, may I remind you of something? There is no obligation in the Word of God to suffer just to be suffering. The only obligation that you and I have in Scripture to suffer is for Christ's sake or for the Scripture's sake. There is no command in Scripture that just simply says, "Be thou robbed" or "Be thou stolen from" or "Be thou abused" just to be abused.

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• No, the Bible tells us that we are to be faithful unto Christ, even unto death. But let me explain this. There is a difference between God delivering me to suffering and me delivering myself to suffering. There's a vast difference. The Scottish Covenanters, and I'm going to mention them before I close tonight, the Scottish Covenanters understood the biblical principle. The biblical principle is "Thou shalt not kill." That's the sixth commandment. The positive side of "Thou shalt not kill" is "Thou shalt preserve life." And so here were these Scottish Covenanters, and they were fighting against the tyranny of Charles I. And what they would do is simply this: where they would fight against that tyranny, and they were captured many times, thrown into the dungeon or the tower.

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• Then they used every effort they could to escape and get away. They made pains and took pains to get away. However, if they were caught in their escape attempt, they were willing to suffer and be put to death for the cause of Christ. But what they were doing was this: They were trying to preserve their life. And so the problem is today, many people do not see the difference between a lawful authority and an abused authority, and they just want to simply submit. When God says no, you have a responsibility to save your life. You have a responsibility to save your property. You have a responsibility to do everything you can to keep from being stolen from and deprived of your life.

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• Now, there cannot be a stricter obligation between the government and the people than there is between a husband and a wife or parents and children or even the pilot or the captain of a ship and the passengers. Let me explain what I'm trying to say. I'm the head of my house. I'm a husband and I am a father and I could look at my wife and say, "Now, sweetheart, we don't have enough money this month to pay our bills."

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• "And so here's what I want you to do. I want you to take this pistol and go down and rob the bank where I can have enough money to pay my bills." Well, now, wait a minute. Don't laugh at that. Because the Bible says, and I can quote the scripture, "Wives, obey your husbands" in how much? In everything. Well, now, wait a minute. Honey, I just told you to go rob the bank. Now, you're supposed to go rob the bank. What is my wife supposed to say? She's supposed to look at me and say, "Well, you know, I love you and I'll certainly pray with you about the money that we need, but I'm not going to rob the bank because you have no authority to tell me to violate the law of God." And I don't. I don't have any authority to ask her to go contrary to the Word of God. My authority is to promote her and to build her up, not to destroy her. I have no right to look at my children.

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• and say, "That man over there insulted me, take my pistol and go shoot him." Well, I can show you scripture that says, "Children, obey your parents in everything." But I have no authority to tell my child to go shoot someone. God never gave me the authority to violate His law. I can go so far, but no further.

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• Now, let me try to put this even in a better context. Here you are. You wanted to take an ocean cruise all of your life, so you saved your money. And you and your wife finally get to take that ocean cruise. And maybe it's sailing around the world, who knows? But you decide one day that you're going to go up and watch the captain sail the ship. And as you were up there in the captain's quarters where he's piloting the ship and you go up and you speak to him and for some reason he doesn't speak back.

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• And you think, "What's wrong with him? He was so friendly yesterday." And you speak again, thinking maybe he didn't hear you. And he doesn't even look at you. He just keeps staring straight ahead. And you kind of work your way around and you notice his eyes are kind of glazed over. And you think, "Oh, no, he's on drugs." And you look up ahead and here's this humongous iceberg sticking up out of the water. And he's going to ram that boat right into that iceberg. What are you going to do? Are you going to just shrug your shoulders like, "It's his boat"?

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• "Let him do what he wants to do with it." I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going to jump in and you're going to try to get that ship away from that iceberg. And if you have to take his life to save yours and the life of your wife and the life of those other passengers, you would do it. Why? Because that pilot, that captain, although he may have control of that ship, he does not have control of it in order to destroy the passengers.

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• There's a limitation on his authority. You can see the limitation of a husband over his wife. You can see the limitation of a father over his children. You can see the limitation of a pastor over his church. You can see the limitation of a captain over his ship. The limitation of government over the people is equally the same. The government can go so far according to the Word of God, but no further. And once it leaves its proper sphere of authority, it's stealing authority, which God never gave it, and therefore it is an abused, usurped authority, and tyrannical in nature, and can tie no one to subjection. Now, let me continue by telling you that resistance to that type of authority, resistance to unbiblical, ungodly, usurped authority is not resistance to the ordinance of God. Why? God never ordained tyranny as a lawful form of government. Never. In fact, Thomas Jefferson said it like this: "Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God."

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• Samuel Rutherford said, "Faithfulness to Christ cannot be treason to Caesar." So that which God has given us then for our protection and for a blessing, that which is for our liberty and our freedom cannot now be construed and turned around or misconstrued and turned around into that which is to enslave us and to take our liberties from us. God has ordained government for our protection, not for our enslavement. And so, therefore, abused authority, when we resist it, it is not resistance to the ordinance of God. Now, it is true, if you resist a lawful, godly, scriptural, biblical government that is one that is functioning the way God has ordained it, if you resist that one, you are indeed resisting the ordinance of God.

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• But let me show you what has happened in this land. So many people have taken Romans chapter 13 and they've closed their eyes, they've closed their mind, and they say, "Well, the Bible says submit, and so I've got to submit." Why? Why submit? "Well, God says so." Let's try to translate that. They're trying to say that government here is God's authority on earth. And if I resist that authority, then I'm resisting God Himself. Well, that would be true of the biblical government. But if it is an unbiblical government, if it is a tyrannical government, if it is unjust, if it has usurped authority and power, when you submit to that government, what you are saying is this: If God were here on earth, He would be commanding exactly the same thing. Because government is nothing more than His representative. So when a government then is drinking the blood of innocence, when it's wasting the church of God, when it's trampling the law of God under its feet, when it is trying to destroy the people of God and the rights that God has given us, that government has never, ever been ordained of God.

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• And to resist it is not to resist the ordinance of God. If God has not ordained it, it may be resisted with the blessings of God.

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• Now, what does our text say in Romans chapter 13? God says, "Let every soul be in subjection unto the higher powers." Do you realize no matter how high you are in authority, there's always someone higher than you. The government is not the highest authority. God Himself is the highest authority. Just as God requires the family to be scriptural and biblical, and just as God requires the church to be scriptural and biblical, so likewise God requires government to be scriptural and biblical. So God says that we're to submit to the higher powers. That applies to government equally as it does to every other institution which God has ordained.

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• I never will forget hearing Lester Roloff. Many of you will remember him. He was fighting the state of Texas when they were trying to license the homes that he had out in Texas. And finally, he went to see one lady at the welfare department, children's services, that kind of thing. And, of course, he was being very evasive. And she said, "Now, Brother Roloff," she says, "you know, the Bible says that you're to be in submission to the higher powers." Brother Roloff said, "Ma'am, I have no problem with that. I'm willing to be in submission to higher powers. It's you lower powers that's giving me fits." And so that's a fact. When government is usurped, it is a lower power, not a higher power. The Bible says in Acts 5 and verse 29, we went over it last night, "We ought to obey God rather than men."

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• Now let me clear up a little misconception. Because inevitably, someone's going to say, "But now, Brother Weaver, don't you know, the Bible says, 'Render unto Caesar the things that belong to Caesar.'" You know, the Bible does say that. But isn't it amazing, the people that quote that verse never finish it. The Bible does say, "Render unto Caesar the things that belong to Caesar," but it also says, "and unto God the things that belong unto God."

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• Let me ask you a question. How many things belong to God? Everything, including Caesar. Now, watch this. It is true that the Bible says, "Render unto Caesar things which belong unto Caesar," but it is equally true the same God that said that is the God who tells you what belongs to Caesar. If you allow Caesar to tell you what belongs to him, he'll take everything you've got. See what I'm saying? If you're going to say Caesar is government, then the God who ordained government can tell you what belongs to government.

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• Now, let's be a little more practical, OK? I want you to think this through with me. Let's say that we're going to take the word Caesar to mean government. In fact, I had a pastor friend who was teaching in a Christian school and he asked these teenagers, he said, "Who is Caesar?" Because the Bible said, "Render unto Caesar things that belong unto Caesar." One kid raised his hand and said, "I know the answer to that, pastor." And the pastor said, "What's the answer?"

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• He said, "Sir, that dude's dead." Well, you stop and think about that. That is correct. Caesar is dead. Now, if you try to take the word government and make it equal to Caesar, let's do that just for a moment. And let's put it in the context of our country. Let's put it in the context of America. If God tells us to render unto Caesar that which belongs unto Caesar, let me ask you a question. Don't answer out loud. Well, what would be Caesar in our country? If you're required to render unto Caesar that which belongs to Caesar, what would be Caesar in our country? Well, it certainly wouldn't be the Supreme Court. It wouldn't be the White House, the executive branch of government. It would not be the legislative branch of government. But what would be our Caesar? Practically speaking, our Caesar.

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• is the Constitution of the United States. Because that is the agreement that we the people and we the states entered into with the federal government. But if you want to be even more practical, we ourselves will be the Caesars because the Constitution says, "We the people do ordain this Constitution." You see what I'm saying? So Caesar then is not the government. Caesar would either be our Constitution in this country or be we the people who ordained the Constitution. Government is to be nothing more than our servant, not our master.

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• Now, I want you to understand that abused authority does not demand obedience. Abused authority does not demand obedience. Let's suppose that I put on the uniform of a policeman. And everyone in this room knows I'm not a policeman. And yet, after service is over, I've got this policeman's uniform on and I get out there and I start directing traffic. How many of you are going to pay attention to me? If you've got any sense, you're going to say, "That crazy preacher, look at him out there playing cop" and you're going to just drive right on. Because I haven't the authority of a law officer in that sense of the word. And you owe me no obedience. You know I'm not an officer of the law. Now listen. There is a difference between the office of authority and the tyrant or the person in that office who is abusing authority.

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• Let me give you a practical illustration. And I'm not trying to be funny. How many people in this room have any respect for Bill Clinton? Raise your hand. Now, if you tell me you respect him, would you let your wife be around him alone? How about your daughter? You see what I'm saying? There's no one in this room has any respect for Bill Clinton. But you say he's the president. Now, wait a minute. I did not say how many of you have any respect for the office of authority. Every hand ought to be raised. If you had respect for the office, you see, you can respect the office of authority without respecting the individual who is abusing and misusing that office. I'm not going to make fun.

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• of civil government, civil government is ordained of God. But at the same time, God does not require me to respect an individual who is abusing and misusing the office. Listen to what Samuel Rutherford wrote in Lex Rex years ago. He wrote, "He that resisteth the power, that is the official power and the king as king commanding in the Lord, resisteth the ordinance of God and God's lawful constitution. But he who resisteth the man who is the king, commanding that which is against God, and killing the innocent, resisteth no ordinance of God, but an ordinance of sin and Satan. For a man commanding unjustly and ruling tyrannically hath in that no power from God." What's Rutherford saying? The man who's abusing and misusing his office has no binding power.

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• Now, let me give you an illustration. Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles, chapter 26. 2 Chronicles, chapter 26. And let's begin reading there with verse 14. In this passage, you're going to read about a king by the name of Uzziah. He had another name, Azariah. And basically speaking, he was a good king. I mean, he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. And God marvelously used Uzziah, but toward the end of his reign, he did something really stupid. Look at it. 2 Chronicles 26 verse 14.

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• "And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones. And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name was spread far abroad; for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong. But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense."

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• Now let me stop there just for a moment. Here's a king. He's been king for 52 years. He decides he's going to go into the temple and offer incense, which no one but the high priest and the priests could be in there. So watch what happens in verse 17. "And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore"—that is 80—"priests of the LORD, that were valiant men." They were going to throw the king out. "And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. Then Uzziah was wroth."

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• Now look what he said. And look at his attitude. "How dare you stop me? Don't you realize I'm the king? I can do whatever I want to. I am the king." He was angry. He had a censer in his hand to burn incense. Verse 19, "And while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several" or separate "house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD."

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• "And Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land." Here was a man that said, "I'm king. I ruled for 52 years. That means I can do whatever I want to do. And so I think I'm going to just go into the temple. I'm going to offer incense." Azariah and those other 80 priests said, "You're not going to do it." And when he was angry, God smote him with leprosy. You see, were Azariah and those priests correct in resisting the civil ruler? Yes. He had no authority in the temple of God. And when they resisted him, they were not resisting God's ordinance because God joined with them and smote him for his arrogance and pride and haughtiness.

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• Now, the question has to be asked, and this is what I want to answer tonight. If we are to resist abused authority, tyrannical, usurped power, how are we to resist it? Who is to resist? To what extent should our resistance go and what form should our resistance take? Well, I want to try to answer some of these questions tonight and tomorrow night. Let me tell you tonight that there are degrees of resistance in the Bible. I'm going to show you three of them tonight. There are degrees of resistance in the Bible.

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• The first one is verbal. There is a verbal resistance. Now, let me lay down a proposition, then we'll show it to you from the Scripture. The proposition is simply this: If our assaults are verbal, then our defense must also be verbal. I mean, if all someone does is attack me verbally, I don't pick up a weapon and start shooting. No, I defend myself verbally. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Kings chapter 18.

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• In this last night, you remember how Elijah stood before Ahab and said, "As the LORD God liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be rain or dew these years, but according to my word." You remember how God sent Elijah out of the country. And of course, for three and a half years there was a drought. Well, finally after three and a half years, God sent Elijah back in to see Ahab. And look what happens.

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• 1 Kings 18, and notice, if you would please, verse 17. "And it came to pass, when Ahab"—that is the king, the highest civil ruler of the land—"when it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim." So what does the king do? The king assaults Elijah verbally. And then Elijah defends himself verbally.

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• He didn't take a sword and cut the king's head off. Now, the king needed his head cut off, but Elijah didn't do that. He was attacked verbally, and so he defended himself verbally. Do you realize we are at a distinct advantage in one sense of the word in this country? Because actually, we have the fourth branch of government in this country. We're only supposed to have three, but we actually have a fourth one. You see, you have the executive branch, the judicial branch, the legislative branch, and the bureaucratic branch because every one of those agencies have all kinds of paperwork and administrative processes which they must go through. Do you realize that with just a small amount of work, and a little ingenuity, you can tie up any branch of the government, local, state, or national, you can tie up any branch of the government with just a little bit of paperwork and a little ingenuity because they've got all of these administrative processes they must go through.

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• And sometimes you can do so for a year or two years. That doesn't count getting into court. Why, you can get something in court and tie it up for three and four and five years. I know because I've done that. Our church was attacked by the state of Georgia. You're talking about something absolutely ridiculous, absolutely asinine. Did you know the state of Georgia wanted to give our church a license to drink water out of our own well? And we had had the well for over 40 years. They'd never heard of ex post facto laws before, you know, they just must take the license. Well, our church building was at the edge of the city limits, but we had our own deep well.

  #51 | 38:31 to 39:33 | cleaned

• We had 40, 50 acres of property there. No one was around us. Our water did not have chlorine or fluoride in it. And they just wanted us to have the license. And listen, you talk about run-ins, riding back and forth. It went on for a year. And finally, the head honcho from Atlanta called me, and he said, "Pastor Weaver," he said, "it looks like this thing is going to court."

  #52 | 39:33 to 40:00 | cleaned

• I said, "Yes, sir, it really does." He said, "I want to keep it out of court." I said, "So do I." He said, "What would it take for us to resolve this problem?" I said, "The answer is very simple. Leave us alone. We didn't bother you. You bothered us." He said, "Now, Brother Weaver," he said, "listen, I know you're against putting chemicals in your well. And we will be willing to forego those chemicals. You will not have to put chemicals in your well. All we want you to do is just take the license. If you take the license, you will not have to chloridate or fluoridate."

  #53 | 40:00 to 40:41 | cleaned

• And by the way, I had other men on the phone listening. And I said, "Sir, I said, tell me exactly what it is you're interested in in this case." He said, "Safe drinking water. We want safe drinking water for all the people of Georgia." I said, "Sir, let me ask you a question. How much safer is our water with a license than it is without a license?" There was silence. I said, "You know as well as I do, this issue is not over safe drinking water. This issue is over control."

  #54 | 40:43 to 41:21 | cleaned

• And of course, I had the law right in front of me. I said, "Let's do just a little supposing. I said, suppose I did take your license. Would there ever be a time that you could annul it, revoke it, repeal it, take it back?" Well, he said, "Of course," I had the law right in front of me and said he could. He said, "Well, we probably could, but we would never do anything like that."

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• I said, "Sir, let me ask you a question. If I took your license, and then according to the agreement that I made with you, you would be the head of this church, not Jesus Christ. I said you would be the one that determined when we could use this property and how we could use this property and not Jesus Christ. I said, there's no way that I'm going to take your license. I'll never take your license."

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• "And you might as well leave us alone. I'm not going to take your license. I don't need a license to drink water out of my own well." Mind you, there had never been anyone sick. There had never been anyone reported. We had never had a problem with our water. They just wanted to give us a license to drink water out of our own well. I said, "Sir, when I was a boy, I saw a lot of Westerns. And I said, I know for a fact, not only on the Hollywood screen, but in history, there are a lot of range wars over water and water rights."

  #57 | 42:19 to 42:55 | cleaned

• And there still are today. By the way, Georgia and Florida and Alabama have been fighting over water now for the last 10 years over the Chattahoochee River. Because you see, whoever controls your water controls your life. And literally, we tied those folks up, I don't know, for a year or two, just writing letters back and forth.

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• Finally, we got tired of it and went to court. We took them to court. And when the judge heard what the case was about, he looked at the state's attorney and said, "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" The attorney said, "Well, that's what they sent me down from Atlanta for." And finally, after the judge heard us, he looked at that attorney and said, "You tell your people to stay off that church property and tell them to never go back again unless I give them permission to go. Is that understood?" "Yes, sir." Case dismissed.

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• And we walked out and they left us alone. Now, the point I'm trying to make is you can use a verbal defense and use the process and tie the bureaucrats up with their own paperwork for years. So there's the first way that we resist verbally. And by the way, may I point out that that is where we fail most of the time at the lowest level. We don't speak out against wickedness. We don't speak out against usurpations of power.

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• We normally just keep our mouths shut so we can stay out of trouble and not get involved. And that way, no one bothers us and we don't bother them. And while they're slowly placing the chains around others, they're also placing them around us. We just don't realize it. But let me tell you, whatever government can do to one citizen, it can do to the rest. So we better learn to use our voices.

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• So the very first means of resistance is a verbal defense. The second one is flight.

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• Now, let me explain that. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10. Do not begin to think that when I'm talking about flight, that that means whoever flees is a coward. I'm going to show you that's not true. Look in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 23. Look what our Lord told His disciples. "But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another." So our Lord says here is a lawful means of resisting tyranny. When they persecute you in one city, flee to another. Look in Matthew 23 verse 34. Matthew 23 verse 34. Our Lord says it like this: "Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city."

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• That is, somebody was fleeing. And so they were being persecuted from city to city.

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• Now, let me just tell you that flight does not mean that one is a coward. I want you to turn over in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 7. You're going to see that our Lord Himself used a form of this resistance. He did not necessarily actually bodily flee, but He did stay out of the way. For instance, John chapter 7 verse 1: "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him." So the Jews were trying to kill Christ. And what did Christ do? Christ just stayed out of the way. He avoided them.

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• He didn't go near them. He didn't go where he knew they were.

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• Now, my question is this: Was Jesus Christ afraid? Look in your Bibles, John 12, verse 27. Look what He said when it came to talking about death. John 12, verse 27. Our Lord says, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour." Jesus Christ said, "I came to die." He was not afraid to die. Well, why did our Lord then withdraw from these people and not go where they were and would not stay around them?

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• I'll tell you why, because He was using flight and flight is a nonviolent means of preventing violence by other individuals. And so He just stayed out of their way.

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• Now, turn back in your Bibles, Matthew chapter 2, let me show you once again that flight is a lawful means ordained by God. And in Matthew chapter 2, I want you to see that God Himself ordered and ordained flight for Mary and Joseph. Matthew chapter 2 verse 13: "And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt." Now look at verse 13. God tells Joseph, "Arise, take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt." Do you think that God was afraid of Herod? Of course not. God could have killed every one of Herod's family, every one of his friends, his entire kingdom had He pleased. But God ordered and ordained flight in this instance to prevent the Lord and His family from being killed.

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• It was a nonviolent way to prevent violence by wicked men. Now, you've heard the old saying that discretion is the better part of valor. Let me let me try to illustrate it like this. Here I am. I'm walking down the street and I look up and it's getting a little bit dark. But I look up and here two men step out from a corner and they're dressed like thugs.

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• One of them has a log chain in his hand with a C-link on it, holding. Another one had a Coca-Cola bottle in his hand. And I think to myself, "This is just as much my sidewalk as it is theirs. I'm not about to let them scare me off this sidewalk, and if they start something, I believe I can take them." And so I keep on walking.

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• I walk a few more steps and two more step out. And I think, "Well, this is still just as much my sidewalk. I'm not going to give it up. I believe if they start something, I can take all four of them." And I take a few more steps, and four more step out, all armed the same way. And I think, "Hmm, I think I can handle four, but I don't know about eight. You know, that sidewalk on the other side of the street is just as much mine as this one is. I think I'll walk on that side a while." Now, am I a coward because I walked over on that side of the street?

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• And the answer is no. I'm more than willing to fight. But are you listening? I'm going to fight on my terms. I'm not going to fight on their terms. I'm not afraid of the fight, but I'm going to make sure that the battlefield is leveled when I fight.

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• Now, if you think that fleeing is a form of cowardice, may I remind you that David fled from Saul? Why did David flee from Saul? Not because he was afraid, but because he didn't want to kill him. Do you remember what they sang? "Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands." David wasn't afraid of Saul. He just did not want to have to kill him. May I remind you that Elijah fled.

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• You read 1 Kings chapter 19. Elijah had just come down from Mount Carmel. He'd killed 450 prophets of Baal. Cut off their heads. And old Jezebel said, "By this time tomorrow, you're going to be like one of them." And he hit the road. I don't think Elijah was afraid. He may have been discouraged. He may have been distressed. But I'm going to tell you what, just because he did flee, does not mean that he was a coward. I don't know about you, but I don't imagine most of us have enough courage to face the king and 450 false prophets and challenge him to a contest, and then after they lose, cut off their heads. I want you to turn in your Bibles to two passages, Acts chapter 9 and 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Let me show you another man who fled. Acts 9, 2 Corinthians chapter 11.

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• I can assure you that this individual was no coward. He was certainly not afraid. It was none other than the Apostle Paul. And look, if you would please, Acts chapter 9 verse 25. The Word of God says, "Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket." Now, you don't understand the significance of that statement until you turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and you understand who the Apostle Paul was fleeing from. For instance, look in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, beginning there with verse 32. You're going to find that he was fleeing from the government. 2 Corinthians 11, verse 32, "In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me: And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands."

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• So here the civil ruler was after him. And he used flight to get away.

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• Now, if you will turn in your Bibles to Hebrews 11, let me show you that multitudes used this technique. Hebrews chapter 11. Let's begin reading there with verse 37. Hebrews 11, verse 37, the Word of God says, talking about the Christians, "They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." Why were they wandering in the mountains? Why were they staying in the caves and the dens? They were fleeing. What were they fleeing? Persecution and prosecution. Were they cowards? No. No.

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• Flight is a nonviolent way to prevent violence by wicked men. Now, I want to show you some problems with flight. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 26. Jeremiah, chapter 26. There was a man by the name of Uriah. He was a prophet. He was preaching and teaching exactly what Jeremiah was preaching and teaching. But Uriah got in trouble because the king got angry with him. So in Jeremiah, chapter 26, beginning there, verse 20: "And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah."

  #79 | 54:30 to 55:19 | cleaned

• So it wasn't saying anything new. He was saying exactly what Jeremiah said. "And when Jehoiakim the king with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt; And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt. And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people." Now what did Uriah do? He fled. He went to Egypt. He got out of Jehoiakim's jurisdiction.

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• But you know, that didn't help him. Because Jehoiakim had the equivalent of the CIA. And he sent those men to Egypt to kidnap him and bring him back. And then he killed him.

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• Now, what are the two problems that you have with flight? The first one should be very obvious. It doesn't always work. It did work in Uriah's case. He fled. He got out of the country. But the king sent someone over there to kidnap him and bring him back. The second problem with flight is this: Not everyone can flee. Now, it's easy for one man to flee. It's easy sometimes for a husband and wife to flee, maybe even a family. But where can a whole church flee to? Where could the whole city of Greenville flee to? Where could South Carolina flee to?

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• You follow what I'm saying? Flight is not always possible. You have a verbal defense. You have flight. And then that brings us to the third one, which is violent self-defense.

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• Now, I've got two hours worth of teaching on this subject of self-defense taken from the Bible, but may I remind you, the Sixth Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," is the fundamental proposition for self-defense. Every negative has a positive. If I had the time to go through the Ten Commandments tonight, show you the positives of each one of them, you would find the positive for the Sixth Commandment is "Thou shalt preserve life." If you are not to kill, that means you have an obligation to preserve life, which means you have an obligation to preserve your own life. Hence, I am to kill rather than be killed.

  #84 | 57:30 to 58:11 | cleaned

• Let me give it to you the way Samuel Rutherford said it in Lex Rex. Listen carefully. He says, "God has implanted in every creature natural inclinations and motions to preserve itself. And we're to love ourselves for God and have a love to preserve ourselves rather than our neighbor. And God's law teacheth every man to love God best of all, and next ourselves more than our neighbor. For the law saith, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.'" Now watch this. He says, "It is true I am to love the salvation of the church, as it cometh nearer to God's glory, more than my own salvation, as the wishes of Moses and Paul do prove. And I'm to love the salvation of my brother more than my own temporal life. But I'm to love my own temporal life more than the life of any other. Therefore, I am rather to kill than to be killed." I usually use this illustration when I'm talking about biblical law, but I was living here in Greenville at one time and I had a man who was a professing Christian, he came up to me and he asked me, he said, "Brother Weaver," he said, "what would you do if you woke up during

  #85 | 58:13 to 59:26 | cleaned

• the night and someone was breaking in your bedroom window?" And I said, "Well, that depends." He said, "What does it depend upon?" I said, "Well, it depends on whether or not I get my hand on a pistol or not. If I could, I'd shoot him." I said, "And if I couldn't get my hands on a pistol, I said I'd get my hand on a baseball bat and I'd hit him in the head." He said, "Well, I don't think you ought to do that." I said, "What do you think I ought to do?" He said, "I think you ought to go in the other room and pray about it." I said, "What? You mean to tell me you think I'll be in the other room praying while he's in there raping my wife or murdering my children? I said, I'd pray. I'd pull that baseball bat back and I'd say, 'Dear Lord, don't let me miss him this time.' Pow! That's how I'd pray."

  #86 | 59:26 to 1:00:08 | cleaned

• Because Scripture tells me I have a right to defend my life and my family and the lives of others. Do you realize it would be a mighty defect if God allowed all of the animals to defend themselves and not us? Let me tell you something. You just look out at nature. We used to have a neighbor who had a humongous tomcat. And that tomcat liked to walk around like he owned the neighborhood.

  #87 | 1:00:10 to 1:00:38 | cleaned

• Well, back behind our house, we had a little bush and a mother mockingbird had made her nest in it. And that old tomcat, he came walking through our backyard. I want you to know that mama mockingbird dive bombed him, pecked his head, ran him off. Know what she was doing? She was defending her young. Let me tell you something else. I was raised on a farm. Some of you weren't, but I'd love to have you come out to a farm where there's a sow with little pigs. And if you don't know how to pick up a pig, you try to pick up that pig and let that little pig start squealing.

  #88 | 1:00:38 to 1:01:14 | cleaned

• Guess what mama's going to do? She will eat you alive. And the only way you can pick up a pig so it won't squeal is to pick him up by his tail. You put your hand on their stomach, you got problems. I tell people, my father went deer hunting. He shot a four point buck, it was a big buck. He got out of his tree climber, he walked over there and the buck wasn't dead. The buck started getting up.

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• Dad tried to shoot him again, but his gun had jammed. That buck lowered his head, charged at my father. My father took a brand new .30-06 and broke it, the stock, over that deer's head as he came to it. Now, he killed the deer, but he broke the gun. Someone said, "Well, now, Brother Weaver, that was a mean deer." No, that was not a mean deer. That deer was doing what it was supposed to be doing.

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• is trying to protect its life. There's nothing wrong with that. And there's nothing wrong with you and I protecting our lives and our families and the lives of others. It is obedience to God.

  #91 | 1:02:17 to 1:02:30 | cleaned

• Now, I want to just take a few moments and tell you some history, if you would. If you've never read the book, Fair Sunshine, written by Jock Purves, I commend it to you. It's a little book about that thick. It's a little paperback on the Scottish Covenanters. Now, let me read to you about the declaration, the Sanquhar Declaration. Charles I, of course, was tyrannizing, and the Scottish Covenanters, they had been run out of their pulpits.

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• They could not hold field meetings. And many times when these people would gather out in the woods to pray, the king's dragoons would come down upon them, shoot them, kill them, stab them, cut off their heads, do all kind of wicked things to them. And so finally, the Covenanters said, "Look, we need to defend ourselves." And so here's the Sanquhar Declaration and it was posted June the 22nd, 1680.

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• Let me read this to you because Richard Cameron, which I will tell you about in just a moment, he was known as the Lion of the Covenant. His brother Michael and his men came into Sanquhar town and they read this declaration and then they posted it. So here is part of the declaration. Michael Cameron reads that they "disown Charles Stuart, who have been reigning, or rather tyrannizing, as we may say, over the throne of Britain these years bygone, as having any right, title to, or interest in the said crown of Scotland for government, as forfeited several years by his perjury and his breach of covenant both to God and his church, and usurpation of his crown and royal prerogatives therein."

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• "As also we, being under the standard of our Lord Jesus Christ, Captain of Salvation, do declare a war with such a tyrant and usurper, and all the men of his practices, as enemies to our Lord Jesus Christ, and his cause and covenants, and against all such as have strengthened him. As also we disown, and by this, the reception of the Duke of York, that professed Papist, as repugnant to our principles and vows to the Most High God."

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• Now, Charles Stuart had signed the Solemn League and Covenant. And he had turned his back upon that signing of that Solemn League and Covenant. And now he's persecuting the very men that he promised to protect. He's taking their lives. Well, one of the leaders, of course, was Richard Cameron, known as the Lion of the Covenant. Let me read to you when Richard Cameron was ordained to the gospel ministry. He had to leave Scotland because of the persecution, and he got over into Holland, and there he studied, and there he was ordained to the ministry, and he was being sent back to Scotland.

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• But listen, if you would please, to this ordination ceremony. After Brown, Coleman, a Dutch minister, had lifted their hands, the great McWard, who was a Scottish pastor as well, kept his hand upon Cameron's light brown locks, saying—now this is at his ordination—here's what McWard said: "Here is the head of a faithful minister and servant of Jesus Christ who shall lose the same for his master's interest, and it shall set up before the sun and the moon in the public view of the world." Now, how would you like to have your pastor ordained to the ministry and someone put his hands on the head and said, "Here is a man, a servant of Jesus Christ, who's going to lose his head, and that head is going to be set up before the sun and the moon in public." Such was the ordination of Richard Cameron. And of course, Richard Cameron went back to Scotland and he began to teach the people and to preach, and they would meet in these little bands out in the wilderness.

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• And finally, one day, as they were preaching and praying, the king's dragoons came upon them. And here is what Richard said. The Covenanters had gathered around Richard, with the horsemen on either side and those on foot. And three times, Richard Cameron, the Bible says—the history book says—appealed to the Lord of the Sabbath to spare the green and to take the right. And then he looks at his brother and he says, "Come, Michael, let us fight it out to the last. For this is the day that I have longed for, to die fighting against our Lord's avowed enemies. And this is the day that we shall get the crown." To his loved fellows, he said, "Be encouraged, all of you, to fight it out valiantly, for all of you who fall this day, I see heaven's gates cast wide open to receive them."

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• Then with eyes turned to heaven and calm resignation, they sang their last psalm to the God of their salvation. When the king's dragoons came upon this little band of praying men, they did fight, and there was a tremendous battle, and Richard was killed. Several other men were killed as well. And so they took Richard Cameron and cut off his head and cut off his hands. Put them in a sack and then went back to Edinburgh. To show you the callousness of the soldiers.

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• They saw a young woman and asked her, did she like to play ball? And she said, "Yes." And they said, "We'll play with this." And they emptied Richard Cameron's head on the ground and kicked it to her as a football. And of course, the young woman screamed and fainted. They laughed. They put the head back into the sack. And before they put it on the Netherbow Port, they had one other

  #100 | 1:07:56 to 1:08:27 | cleaned

• little trick up their sleeve. In the prison languished an old man for his faith in Jesus Christ. His name? Alan Cameron, the father of Richard and Michael. They go into the prison and they take the head and the hands and they look at Alan Cameron and they thrust the head and the hands toward him and they ask, "Do you know them?" His son's head and hands, which were very fair, being a man of fair complexion like himself, Alan Cameron took his son's hands and kissed them saying, "I know them. I know them. They are my sons. My own dear sons. It is the Lord. Good is the will of the Lord,

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• who cannot wrong me or mine, but has made goodness and mercy to follow us all the days of our lives. Blessed be the name of the Lord." And then they took the head and the hands of young Richard Cameron and placed them on the Netherbow Port for all the world to see in light of the sun and the moon. You know why those Scottish Covenanters fought?

  #102 | 1:09:31 to 1:10:03 | cleaned

• Because verbal defense was gone. Flight was gone. May I remind you of a man by the name of Mattathias in 168 B.C.? He was a priest of the first 24 courses in Modin, a city of Judah. Antiochus Epiphanes, or Antiochus the Illustrious, was forcing Hellenism upon the Jews. And he had sent someone to offer a sow on the altar. And when Antiochus' men came and tried to get old Mattathias to offer the sow on the altar, he refused. He said, "I will never violate that altar." Well, one of the king's traitorous men said, "I will sacrifice that sow." And when that man started to put that sow on the altar, old Mattathias said, "You want a sacrifice? I'll give you a sacrifice." And he took his knife and killed the man who was going to violate that altar. And then Mattathias and his sons escaped.

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• And that was the beginning of what was known as the Maccabean Revolt. His son, Judas Maccabeus. I wish you could read some of the history of how those men fought. And it was amazing how many times they defeated larger numbers. And the way Judas died was very significant. They were so intent on capturing them and killing them that finally they put men on elephants in boxes and had the archers shooting down on Judas' men. And Judas' men were being devastated because they could not get to the archers to kill them and stop them. And old Judas Maccabeus said to his men, "As you see me do, so do ye."

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• And he took out his sword and he ran up under the elephant and he jabbed the sword up into the elephant's stomach and then ripped the elephant so the entrails would fall out. And of course, the elephant then fell down on Judas and killed him. His other men seeing that did the same thing, and thus they were still able to defeat their enemy, even in that battle. You see, there's a time even in history.

  #105 | 1:12:07 to 1:12:35 | cleaned

• When verbal defense and flight is no longer working or workable. Let me tell you one more. I want to encourage you to read this book if you can get it. The book was written by Ernle Bradford, E-R-N-L-E Bradford. The name of it is The Great Siege. The great siege took place from May to September in 1565. The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem had been run out of Cyprus, and now they had gotten on this little island of Malta. And the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem were supposed to be protecting the pilgrims, etc., as they went to the Holy Land, but the Turks had been going through there and killing everyone and conquering everyone. And so here de Valette, who was the leader of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and by the way, he was in his 70s during this battle. When he got to Malta, he immediately began to try to fortify it, and de Valette only had 1,000 trained fighting men. That's all.

  #106 | 1:12:38 to 1:13:45 | cleaned

• He had 1,000 knights. But some other men from the island joined him, and so he had a grand total of 10,000 men. He got 9,000 men from the island to help him. Well, Suleiman the Magnificent sent his armies, his Turkish armies, to destroy the knights. And he sent 40,000 Turkish warriors. Four to one, the knights were outnumbered. And by the way, if you want to know the significance of this battle, this is the one battle that stopped the westward victory of the Turks. We're Christian over here.

  #107 | 1:13:45 to 1:14:33 | cleaned

• From over there, they're Muslim. This was the deciding battle that stopped the western flow. Dragut the pirate was 80. He was commanding the Turks. And so he's facing de Valette, who is in his 70s. And when the battle started, some of de Valette's knights were captured by the Turks. Of course, de Valette had captured a number of the Turks. And those Turks took their knives and took those knights and ripped out their hearts. And then threw their bodies in the water so their bodies would float back up so the other knights could see what was happening. And what the Turks were saying was this: "We're not giving any quarter. We're going to do this to every one of you." And when de Valette saw what the Turks had done to his knights, he had a thousand Turkish prisoners.

  #108 | 1:14:33 to 1:15:39 | cleaned

• He made them all kneel down. His men took their swords and cut off their heads. And then de Valette took their heads and stuffed them in his cannon and shot them back on the Turks and said, "That's what we're going to do to you. We're not going to give you any quarter." That battle lasted for nearly six months. The great siege. It was a siege for six months. After nearly six months, when the Turks left, there was only a thousand men that de Valette had that was alive. The Turks had killed nine thousand. Just a few knights were alive. But when the Turks left,

  #109 | 1:15:40 to 1:16:24 | cleaned

• less than 10,000 went home. The Knights had killed 30,000 Turks. It was that one battle that stopped the western flow of Mohammedanism. I could stand here tonight and tell you historical example after historical example, where people were forced to defend themselves, but let me show you what the Bible says. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Nehemiah, chapter 4.

  #110 | 1:16:26 to 1:16:58 | cleaned

• You see, as much as I love history, history cannot take the place, nor does it have the authority of the Word of God. Let me show you what happened in Nehemiah chapter 4. In Nehemiah chapter 4, there were a number of enemies that entered into a conspiracy to destroy the work of Nehemiah and to attack Jerusalem. In Nehemiah chapter 4, beginning there in verse 7, the Bible says, "But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it." So here's a conspiracy. All of these people together are going to fight physically against Jerusalem. Verse 9, "Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them." Now skip down if you would please at verse 12. And verse 11, "And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease."

  #111 | 1:16:59 to 1:18:10 | cleaned

• So they're planning a surprise attack. "And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you." In other words, there's no use fighting. They're going to defeat you. Watch verse 13. Nehemiah said, "Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them."

  #112 | 1:18:10 to 1:18:41 | cleaned

• "Remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded."

  #113 | 1:18:41 to 1:19:23 | cleaned

• "And he that sounded the trumpet was by me." So here's Nehemiah, the man of God. He says, "If you attack us with physical weapons, we're going to defend ourselves with physical weapons."

  #114 | 1:19:23 to 1:19:37 | cleaned

• Now, let me give you a principle. Listen carefully. Here it is. Arms may be used to defend the kingdom of God, but not promote or advance the kingdom of God. We are not conquistadors. We don't go out and put a sword to someone's throat and say, "You repent or perish." You can get a lot of confessions like that, I can assure you. You can get a lot of decisions, a lot of professions, but that is not the way we do things. That is not the way the Scripture tells us. We may defend the work of God. We may defend the kingdom of God. We may defend our lives with physical weapons. But we cannot use those weapons to promote the kingdom of God. You see, our Lord said it like this. In Luke 22 and verse 36, He said, "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." What was He saying? He's saying there's a time when it's necessary to use physical weapons in defense of one's life, in defense of one's home, in defense of one's country.

  #115 | 1:19:37 to 1:21:03 | cleaned

• It might be the last means. It might be the means of last resort. But still, He says, there comes a time, you see, when God's enemies attack God's people with weapons, it is lawful, therefore, to defend with physical weapons. Don't come to me quoting 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 4, where the Apostle Paul says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds."

  #116 | 1:21:04 to 1:21:34 | cleaned

• Listen, you go back and read the context. When the Apostle Paul is quoting that verse, he's talking about the battle of the mind. He's not saying, "Do not defend your life." He's not saying, "Do not defend your family." He's not saying, "Do not defend your country, your nation." No. He's just saying physical weapons are useless when it comes to controlling your mind. What are the means of resistance? Verbal, flight, and violent self-defense.

  #117 | 1:21:35 to 1:22:06 | cleaned

• Those are the only three mentioned in the Bible. May I remind you, and I won't have time to read all of it, but our founding fathers, July 6, 1775, put out a document entitled, "The Causes and Necessities of Taking Up Arms." Our founding fathers wanted everyone to know that what they did was not some light, transient thing, and they did not take a flippant attitude when it came to defending their lives, their homes, and their country with physical weapons. Let me read just several paragraphs.

  #118 | 1:22:07 to 1:22:50 | cleaned

• They talk about how that George III has indeed violated the covenant. They say this: "They have undertaken to give and to grant our money without our consent, though we have exercised an exclusive right to dispose of our property. Statutes have been passed for extending the jurisdiction of courts of admiralty and vice-admiralty beyond their ancient limits, for depriving us of the accustomed and inestimable privilege of trial by jury in cases affecting both life and property, for suspending the legislature of one of the colonies, for interdicting all commerce to the capital of

  #119 | 1:22:52 to 1:23:30 | cleaned

• another, for altering fundamentally the form of government established by charter." In other words, here are some of the crimes that George III has committed. And then they go on to say, and I'm skipping, "We saw the misery to which such despotism would reduce us. We, for ten years, incessantly and ineffectually, besieged the throne as supplicants. We reasoned. We remonstrated with Parliament in the most mild and decent language." In other words, they say, "For ten years we've tried verbal defense." Finally, skipping down, they say this: "Parliament adopted an insidious maneuver calculated to divide us,

  #120 | 1:23:30 to 1:24:12 | cleaned

• to establish a perpetual auction of taxations where colony should be against colony, all of them uninformed what ransom would redeem their lives, and thus to extort from us at the point of the bayonet the unknown sums that should be sufficient to gratify, if possible to gratify, ministerial rapacity with a miserable indulgence left us of raising in our own mode the prescribed tribute. What terms more rigid and humiliating could have been dictated by remorseless victors to conquered enemies?"

  #121 | 1:24:12 to 1:24:44 | cleaned

• Now, they say this in the concluding paragraphs: "We are reduced to the alternative of choosing an unconditional submission to the tyranny of irritated ministers, or resistance by force. The latter is our choice. We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery. Honour, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us."

  #122 | 1:24:44 to 1:25:15 | cleaned

• "We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that wretchedness which inevitably awaits them, if we basely entail hereditary bondage upon them. Our cause is just. Our union is perfect. Our internal resources are great, and, if necessary, foreign assistance is undoubtedly attainable. We gratefully acknowledge, as signal instances of the Divine favour towards us, that His Providence would not permit us to be called into this severe controversy, until we were grown up to our present strength, had been previously exercised in warlike operation, and possessed of the means of defending ourselves."

  #123 | 1:25:16 to 1:25:52 | cleaned

• Then they say, "With hearts fortified with these animating reflections, we most solemnly, before God and the world, declare, that, exerting the utmost energy of those powers, which our beneficent Creator hath graciously bestowed upon us, the arms we have been compelled by our enemies to assume, we will, in defiance of every hazard, with unabating firmness and perseverance, employ for the preservation of our liberties; being with one mind resolved to die freemen rather than to live slaves." And then the last paragraph.

  #124 | 1:25:53 to 1:26:27 | cleaned

• "In our own native land, in defence of the freedom that is our birthright, and which we ever enjoyed till the late violation of it—for the protection of our property, acquired solely by the honest industry of our fore-fathers and ourselves, against violence actually offered, we have taken up arms. We shall lay them down when hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, and all danger of their being renewed shall be removed, and not before. With an humble confidence in the mercies of the supreme and impartial Judge and Ruler of the Universe, we most devoutly implore his divine goodness to protect us happily through this great conflict, to dispose our adversaries to reconciliation on reasonable terms, and thereby to relieve the empire from the calamities of civil war." So, here our forefathers said, "Look, when we took up arms, it was not flippantly."

  #125 | 1:26:29 to 1:27:26 | cleaned

• We did so when all else had failed. What did our Lord say? "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." Because there is a time, He said, when self-defense is absolutely necessary. Let's pray. Father, we ask You in the name of Jesus Christ that You would help us. We do, Lord, want to be instructed and edified in the most holy faith. And may we see, Father, the absolute purity and authority of Your Word. And Father, in our day and time, enable us to understand the difference between a lawful authority and usurped, abused authority. And let us, Father, use every means to fight against wickedness and tyranny and ungodliness. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen. Amen.

  #126 | 1:27:26 to 1:28:33 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T05:14:22Z