Decreeing Wicked Decrees

Many of you have heard about Arnold Abbott, a man who was arrested for feeding the homeless in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is not the first time something like this has happened in America. These sorts of things are fast becoming the norm in our nation, not the exception. Laws that criminalize good conduct seem to be the specialty of American jurisprudence these days.

Let me give you another example, a bit closer to home. In our state of Delaware, a woman can legally murder her child (if the conditions are right—namely, the child is inside the mother’s womb). At the same time, it is virtually illegal for a midwife to help women give birth to children. I was in attendance at the Health Committee meetings at Legislative Hall this past summer—I learned that our legislators are good at one thing: decreeing wicked decrees. Sadly, the people love to have it so. They keep reelecting these men and women who hate God and His Law.

But God’s Word is not silent on this issue.

Woe unto them that decree wicked decrees, and write grievous things, to keep back the poor from judgment, and to take away the judgment of the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may spoil the fatherless. (Isaiah 10:1-2)

In the book of Micah, God denounces the people for keeping the statues of a pagan ruler (statutes based on pagan thought):

For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the manner of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels, that I should make thee waste, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people. (Micah 6:16)

It should be obvious: if a society is to honor Christ, they must follow His Law. The Church in America has largely abandoned the relevance and validity of God’s Law-Word for the civil government. We and our fathers have sown the seeds of humanistic, enlightenment thinking (baptized in the name of Christianity)—and now, my friends, we are reaping the whirlwind.

When will this nation wake up and say, “Hey, natural law isn’t working out so well for us in this nation”? Maybe it will be when we start getting arrested for helping the poor. Maybe it will be when we start getting arrested for preaching the gospel. Maybe then we will realize we are to bring all things under the Crown Rights of the King.

The Church has been lulled into complacency. We can think, “We have such ‘great blessings’ here. We have ‘religious freedom’—let’s not cause too much trouble, lest we lose the freedoms we have.” What? Bow the knee to Caesar in the name of our little pocket of obedience to Christ! What? Hunker down in our little Christian ghettos in order to retain a semblance of “freedom” while our nation is being destroyed! We can think, “Let’s not rock the boat too much. We should be thankful for what we have—we can worship freely at least.” The Church doesn’t need careful men. The Church needs faithful men. As Doug Wilson said, “The careful men come later and write biographies about the faithful men, lauding them for their courage.”

Rock the boat? I don’t want to rock the boat of the Church’s complacence. I want to sink that ugly ship. By the grace of God, may the Church wake up to her duty to transform the culture for Christ, calling all men everywhere to repent and follow Christ. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: that means the civil magistrates as well.

I am preaching this message first to myself. I need to be stirred up from my complacency and my lazy desire to fight against the idea that the culture is the report card of the Church.

God is not in exile (despite what one of my favorite Bible teachers has said). Our system of humanistic government will not last. God is judging and will judge a nation such as this (cf. Jeremiah 5:29). What will our nation do when the day of our punishment comes due to our sin of rejecting Christ and His Law for our nation?

What will ye do now in the day of visitation, and of destruction, which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help and where will ye leave your glory? Without me everyone shall fall among them that are bound, and they shall fall down among the slain: yet for all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. (Isaiah 10:3-4)

The question for the Church is this: What will we do when this system crumbles? To whom will we flee for help? Will we try to implement another humanistic, anti-Christ system of “natural law”? Or will we finally see the goodness and beauty and justice of God’s Law? Oh, may we see that only the latter will honor Christ!

When God indicted the nation of Judah, He gave them a laundry list of reasons why His judgment was coming. One prominent theme was the nation’s proclivity to national injustice and violence. “But thine eyes and thine heart are but only for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for destruction, even to do this.” (Jeremiah 22:17). My friends, that is a painfully accurate description of America.

When the leading cause of death in a nation is legalized murder, that nation is ripe for destruction from the Almighty. (In case you’re not aware, I am talking about abortion, and yes, I am talking about America.)

Even when God judged Judah, He also judged the pagan nations. God did not simply judge “His people” in the Old Testament, He judged all nations. And He continues to do so today. The following verse is frightening. This is what God said to the nations around Judah, lest they would think that God only brings judgment on a nation “in covenant” with Him:

For lo, I begin to plague the city, where my Name is called upon, and should you go free? Ye shall not go acquited: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts. (Jeremiah 25:29)

The same is true today. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven, where Jesus is sitting on His throne as King (cf. Romans 1:18; Matthew 28:18). Woe to those in America who are decreeing iniquitous decrees. Kiss the Son, America, lest you perish in the way. Kiss the Son, and then He will bring forth our righteousness as the light, and our justice as the noonday (Psalm 37:6).

There is no King but Christ. Let’s act like it.

A Rioter and a Drunkard: A Look at Deuteronomy 21:18-21

It doesn’t take long for any discussion about God’s Law for society to focus upon specific case laws in the Old Testament. While parallel to the discussion of the general validity of God’s civil Law, discussions aboutspecific laws are usually dealing with slightly different questions and presuppositions. When those who disagree with the general validity of God’s civil Law for today bring up a specific case law, it is sometimes done to say, “See, look at this law. Are we really supposed to follow this today? Your position would advocate putting to death rebellious children!”

How should society deal with a riotous drunkard?

Those who use specific case laws as an argument against the general validity of God’s civil law are clearly revealing an antipathy to the case laws of the Old Testament. Rather than delighting in God’s statutes (Psalm 119:16), it seems they are resisting them. Others, however, may just be so used to a “separation of state and religion” mindset that they have a hard time accepting God’s Law as the standard for society. I hope to briefly address this issue as it relates to the case law concerning a rebellious son found in Deuteronomy 21:18-21.

To begin with, the text:

¹⁸ If any man have a son that is stubborn and disobedient, which will not hearken unto the voice of his father, nor the voice of his mother, and they have chastened him, and he would not obey them, ¹⁹ Then shall his father and his mother take him, and bring him out unto the Elders of his city, and unto the gate of the place where he dwelleth, ²⁰ And shall say unto the Elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and disobedient, and he will not obey our admonition: he is a rioter, and a drunkard. ²¹ Then all the men of his city shall stone him with stones unto death: so thou shalt take away evil from among you, that all Israel may hear it, and fear. (Deuteronomy 21, GNV)

Before delving into this text, I would like you to consider your initial reaction. Did you find yourself rejoicing in God’s good Law for his creation? Did you see this law as a wonderful act of mercy by God to preserve society and protect the family unit? Or, on the other hand, did you bristle at this command? Perhaps you had a mixed reaction. Whatever the case, my goal, despite my personal feelings, is to line up my thoughts with God’s Word, not with what a pluralistic society accepts. Just be aware of your reaction and consider what presuppositions you are bringing to the text.

So what is this text all about? Is this text advocating capital punishment for a son who defied a command to clean up his room? Is this text saying society should execute a son who doesn’t mow the lawn or milk the family cow when instructed to? Despite the fact that such sins are worthy of eternal death (cf. Exodus 20:12; Romans 1:29-31), that is not what this verse is talking about. (If, however, that was what God’s Word said, I would accept it because God’s Word is my authority, not autonomous reasoning. However, the Bible does not command execution for simple disobedience to parents.)

The first thing to note from verse 18 is that we are dealing with a son who is characterized as being stubborn and disobedient. The parents have “chastened him” consistently. Unlike many parents today who hate their children and spare the rod of discipline (Proverbs 13:24), these parents actually love their son and have been disciplining and chastening their son for years (a toddler cannot be “a rioter and a drunkard”). Parents who love their children, and more importantly their God, will not spare the rod. They will consistently and persistently discipline their son for disobedience. Despite that loving discipline, this son has rebelled not only against his parents, but against God. He has become a rioter and a drunkard.

The Hebrew word for rioter is zalal. It is used in the Proverbs in reference to a glutton (23:20-21, 28:7). It is also translated “vile” in Jeremiah 15:19. It describes a man who is worthless and abhorrent, lacking in all modesty and morality. Likewise a drunkard is one who lacks decency and the ability to control his passions. He is a slave to alcohol and destructive to the family and society. This man is a rioting drunkard who will not heed his parents’ godly admonition (v. 20). The weight of these sins (disobedience, stubbornness, riotousness, drunkenness, hardheartedness) is enough for God to command the society to execute such a destructive son.

Consider next the procedure advocated in verses 19-21. It is not the parents who execute their son. The appointed civil leaders/magistrates (in this case, the elders of the city), are the ones who “bear the sword” (cf. Rom. 13:4). These civil magistrates are to, according to God’s Word, make “diligent inquisition” to ascertain every case brought before them (cf. Deut. 17:4, 19:18). Parents have no authority from God to execute a riotous, rebellious son.

Ponder also the reason given for such a penalty in verse 21: “So thou shalt take away the evil from among you, that all Israel may hear it, and fear.” First and foremost, such a son is evil and an abomination to God. Any society that seeks to honor God will honor His Laws. For the glory of God, evil must be punished in accord with God’s Law. Secondly, this punishment is for the good of the society. Riotous drunkards are immensely destructive to society. Unfortunately, most parents today do not discipline their children (in which case, such a law would be so foreign as to be absurd to them). However, in a God-honoring society, such a civil punishment would cause others to fear and order their life according to God’s Word. This of course reminds us of one of the three uses of the Law the Reformers spoke of. The Law serves to keep sin and evil at bay in society. However, if God’s Law is maligned, as it is today, such a purpose falls by the wayside.

Consider also the faithfulness of the parents. These parents love their God, their community, their family, and their son too much to ignore such a good law. What would their negligence toward God in regards to this law demonstrate to their other children? In our individualistic, narcissistic age we tend to think of everything in reference to ourselves. We forget that our children will either bless or curse others. Parents who faithfully discipline their son for years, only to have him become a riotous, destructive drunkard, ought to continue to obey God by following the civil law as it applies to their evil son. In our society, we are not blessed with a civil magistrate that honors God’s Law. Of course, such a change in laws will only come about when the people voluntarily embrace God’s Law as good and just. However, getting professing Christians to even accept God’s Law, let alone embrace it, is like pulling teeth at times.

In summary, this text presents a loving law for the glory of God and good of society. Only a parent who truly loves God and loves his son (demonstrated by not sparing the rod) would have the strength to do what honors God by giving his son over to the magistrate for the just application of the sword. Such a commitment to the glory of God is sorely lacking in the Church today.

Now, let’s consider the real issue here. Despite what the Bible says about God’s Law as being good and just (Rom. 7:12; 1 Tim. 1:8), and the clear reason for such a law found within the text itself, some people still insist that this law is not to be followed by societies today. Do we have a basis for rejecting God’s Law here? (Furthermore, why would we want to?)

If we say that God’s Law is not our standard for civil punishments, then what standard are we going to use? On what basis can we say any civil execution in unjust? For example, let’s say a state decides that the crime of theft if punishable by death. On what basis could we say this is wrong? Unless we appeal to God’s Law, we cannot. If God’s Law is abandoned when it comes to civil punishments, there is no longer any basis to distinguish between murder and capital punishment. To abandon the Law of God in civil matters, and appeal to an arbitrary standard, gives every civil government a free pass to execute any sort of criminal they wish. That is tyranny.

The problem with insisting on some sort of “natural law” instead of God’s revealed Law is that it erroneously posits two contradictory standards. God does not give one standard in His Law and then another standard “through nature.” The “law of nature” cannot be from God if it is contradictory to God’s revealed Law.

But what’s really at the heart of this? Given the fact that the Bible describes the law in Deuteronomy 21:19-21 as good and just and holy, why are so many Christians reluctant to say, “That’s a good, just law”? Perhaps it is because we have elevated the zeitgeist above God’s Law: “Our ‘modern’ society is far too civilized to put adulterers or practicing homosexuals too death.” Actually, if we were using God’s Law as our standard, we would say that our society is too sinful to follow God’s Law. The most troubling aspect of this is that Christians think God’s Law is harsh—they relegate the civil laws of the Old Testament to a bygone era of extremism and severity. This understanding fails to embrace the biblical understanding of God’s Law:

To say that the penal sanctions of the Old Testament are “too severe” for a period of “common grace” is to overlook at least two important points: (1) Israel of old enjoyed God’s common grace (at least as defined in Gen. 8:22), and was still required to enforce His law, and (2) God’s political laws serve topreserve the outward order and justice of a civilization and thus are a sign of God’s “common grace”—rather than detracting from common grace. If “common grace” really conflicts with God’s law, then the critic will need to demonstrate that what he means by “common grace” is actually taught in Scripture and logically implies the law’s abrogation. This has yet to be done. The parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43) teaches that the general execution of unrighteous unbelievers awaits the Final Judgment, not that civil magistrates ought never to execute those individuals guilty of civil crimes (more specific than general unbelief)—or else there would be no penal sanction of death (even for murder), and the specific purpose of the state (the power of the “sword”) would vanish. (By This Standard, Greg Bahnsen, p. 234)

To set aside God’s Law for civil magistrates is to adopt a smorgasbord approach to civil punishments. As Dr. Bahnsen also noted, “Those who restrict the validity of the Old Testament law to Israel may not realize it, but their philosophic outlook is that of ‘cultural relativism,’ where what counts as justice is adjusted from culture to culture.”

If execution is not the just and proper civil punishment for a rebellious son who is a riotous drunkard, then what is? Any alternative answer you give will be outside the realm of God’s Law. In fact, if you reject God’s Law for society, you have no basis to say that a child should not be put to death for a far less serious crime. The choice is clear: God’s Law or tyranny. I pray the magistrates govern according to God’s good Law, not their own arbitrary opinions.

Why is it that one person can look at the Law of God in Deuteronomy 21:18-21 and say, “What a good, just, and loving law given for the good of society and glory of God,” and another person can look at the same law and say, “This is harsh, strict, and severe. I am glad we are not living in a society like that”? The difference is a different standard concerning what is good. I’ll agree that if we abandon God’s Law and embrace “current consensus,” then this law is harsh. But I will not elevate man’s autonomous thinking above God’s holy and just Law. I hope you won’t either.

The Fetters of Federal Funding

It has become so commonplace in our modern welfare state to assume that the civil government exists to take care of us. In many ways, the civil government has been elevated to the position of deity—able to dispense resources, wisdom, and protection ad infinitum. Unfortunately, many otherwise private, Christian organizations have unwittingly bought into this mindset by relying on federal funding. As it has been made abundantly clear elsewhere on this site, God has instituted civil magistrates to punish evildoers, not to provide for citizens (cf. Romans 13:3-4; 1 Peter 2:14). By utilizing federal funding, organizations are not only legitimizing the unjust taxation of an overgrown federal civil government but are also asking for more oversight and intrusion.

Christian organizations should not only discontinue the use of any federal funding, but they should also forfeit any so called “privileges” from the federal civil government—such as a “tax-exempt” status via a 501(c)3 status (click here for more on that). While the taxation of the federal civil government has certainly gone beyond what is proper, we must not seek special treatment from the federal civil government while everyone else is not “tax-exempt.” We all—especially explicitly Christian organizations—need to seek to delegitimize the unbiblical welfare state we have been relying on in America.

The ultimate goal for a Christian in America should be to see all aspects of his society—self-government, family government, church government, civil government—brought in to conformity to God’s Law. However, as we work toward that goal, let’s stop relying on and legitimizing an unbiblical federal civil government. Let’s stop right now.

Wicked Men Understand Not Judgment

In yesterday’s edition of the Delaware State News there was an article entitled, “Obama orders employment protection for gay, transgender workers” (p. 9). Here’s the scoop: Not only has the President made such “discrimination” illegal for all federal jobs, but he is also seeking to expand the bill to all employers (i.e. private companies). Here is another case of the federal government seeking to unjustly interfere in private affairs. Even without considering the evil of homosexual behavior, private contracts are entered into voluntarily. If I want to own a business with only Christian employees, I would not contract with practicing homosexuals—but nor would I contract with practicing fornicators, idolaters, or swindlers.

Instead of ruling according to God’s Law, Mr. Obama has forsaken it. Absent of an ultimate standard of right and wrong, the President has set his own opinion as the ultimate authority. Revealing his manifest abandonment of God’s Law, the President said this: “It’s not just about doing the right thing, it’s also about attracting and retaining the best talent.” Furthermore, Obama referred to the cause of homosexuals when he said it was a cause of “irrefutable rightness.” Rightness? What is rightness when there is no ultimate right and wrong? This is the fruit of secular humanism and America’s rejection of God’s Word. The fact that our nation’s leader is praising and promulgating sinful behavior is a judgment of God upon us.

The Scripture says, “They that forsake the Law, praise the wicked: but they that keep the Law, set themselves against them” (Proverbs 28:4, GNV). Mr. Obama has forsaken the Law of God and is praising the wicked. Christians are by definition set against those who are spurning God’s Law. But what are our “weapons of warfare”?

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, to cast down holds. Casting down the imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5, GNV)

We speak the truth and call on the wicked to repent (cf. Proverbs 24:24-25). Here’s the thing: It’s not that people like Mr. Obama believe we should stop calling people to repent—they just believe we should be using a different standard. The standard they would have us use is the standard of modern-day humanism—an arbitrary standard with no foundation for ultimately calling anything right or wrong. Really, they want us to use their standard. They would want us to “convert” to secular humanism and call on “fundamental Christians” to repent of their “bigoted hate speech.” Look, if this were about my standard, I don’t know what would I would promote or condemn. But it’s not about my standard and it’s not about your standard—it is about God’s standard. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). When a man rejects God’s Law, he cannot judge properly:“Wicked men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord, understand all things” (Proverbs 28:5, GNV). May we seek the Lord and call on all those in our nation—not just Mr. Obama—to repent and follow Christ.

Why the Church?

When many Americans think of “church,” they think of a group of money-grubbing, self-righteous, religious hypocrites. Unfortunately, there are many so-called “churches” in America that would actually live up to those less than savory descriptors. But that is not the whole story. Unbiblical churches are not solely to blame for an improper view of what a biblical church is. A serious lack of biblical knowledge in our land has led many people to be confused about what a true church is.

Probably the very first misconception that needs to be cleared up is this: The church is a group of believers in Jesus Christ. The church is, first and foremost, a group of people with a unity in Jesus Christ. While someone who is not following Jesus Christ may sit in on a meeting of the church, the church itself is the body of believers in Christ, not a group of unbelievers. With that being said, it is clear that within the membership of a local church there will be some professing believers who are actually still dead in their sins and lost in unbelief (Matthew 13:24-25). It is for this reason that the ministers of the Word must always bring the full counsel of God to bear on a congregation, warning those who may be settled in a false sense of peace. Be that as it may, the church is still to be made up of those “visible saints”—those who profess “the faith of the gospel, and obedience unto God by Christ according unto it, [and do] not [destroy] their own profession by any errors everting the foundation, or unholiness of conversation” (1689 Confession of Faith, 26:2). This simple truth would go a long way in correcting misunderstandings. Many people have the mistaken notion that being a member of a church is simply a religious decision someone makes. Because of this, there are thousands of people who have never been born again—who are not truly Christians—and yet are joined to a church that names the name of Christ! While this is inevitable to some degree, it is rampant in our culture due to a lack of biblical knowledge.

Another misconception among many Christians is this: We should be encouraging unbelievers to “go to church.” Once we understand what the church is, we will realize that when we encourage unbelievers to “go to church,” we are actually encouraging someone who has no genuine desire for Christ to come to the gathering of those who love and adore Christ. While there is nothing wrong with an unbeliever sitting in on a gathering of the church (1 Corinthians 14:23), Christians need to remember that unbelievers need to be joined to Christ before they should be joined to a local church! An unbeliever who simply comes again and again to the gathering of the church needs to be challenged as to what he is really doing there. The church is not a social club for people with varying religious allegiances. The church is the body of Christ—God’s people who gather together to worship and exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. This does not mean church members ought to be snarky or rude to visitors, on the contrary, they ought to be friendly and kind, always seeking to speak the truth in love. Allowing someone to continue in error is neither kind nor loving. Instead of encouraging unbelievers to “go to church,” let us urge them to beseech God for the ability to come to Christ first!

The church is made up of those who have, by God’s sovereign grace, “gladly received” the Word of Christ (Acts 2:41) and who have been “called to be saints” by God (Romans 1:7). While much, much more should be said about the church (for starters, I encourage you to read the section on the church in the 1689 Confession of Faith), sufficient for now is the fact that the church is made up of those who are in Christ. The church gathers and meets and is overseen by its officers so that God would be glorified (Ephesians 3:10), believers would be built up (Ephesians 4:12-16), and the nations would be discipled unto obedience to Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20).

If you are a Christian, the answer to Why the church? is simple. A true Christian loves those who truly love God.

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. (1 John 5:1, NASB)

If you have been born of God, you will love your brothers and sisters in Christ. The command to not forsake gathering together (Hebrews 10:25)—while challenging at times—will not be burdensome to you.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3, NKJV)

However, if you claim to follow Jesus Christ—the true Jesus Christ, not a christ of your imagination—and yet you still say you have no need of the church, I leave you with these words from Charles Spurgeon:

I know there are some who say, “Well, I’ve given myself to the Lord, but I don’t intend to give myself to any church.” I say, “Now why not?” And they answer, “Because I can be just as good a Christian without it.” I say, “Are you quite clear about that? You can be as good a Christian by disobedience to your Lord’s commands as by being obedient? There’s a brick. What is the brick made for? It’s made to build a house. It is of no use for the brick to tell you that it’s just as good a brick while it’s kicking about on the ground by itself, as it would be as part of a house. Actually, it’s a good-for-nothing brick. So, you rolling stone Christians, I don’t believe that you’re answering the purpose for which Christ saved you. You’re living contrary to the life which Christ would have you live and you are much to blame for the injury you do.”

Jesus made it clear: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Being a Christian means obedience to Christ, and obedience to Christ includes joining a biblical, local church. The church is to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace as the members speak the truth in love to one another, encouraging, exhorting, comforting, and challenging one another (Ephesians 4:12-16; Colossians 3:12-17).

To those of you who have only a nominal interest in Christ, I say: Do not join a church unless God has first joined you to Christ Jesus! We do not need more “churches” full of unbelieving people—for already some churches “have so degenerated as to become no churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan” (1689 Confession of Faith, 26:3).

One more word to those who may be very involved at “church” and yet do not love Christ: If you are easing your conscience by your frequent involvement at “church” and yet have no true interest in the Savior, no true desire for complete obedience and holiness, then I say unto you: Christ is the head of the church! You have all your religious incantations and maneuvers, yet have you no love for Christ? Have you a feigned love for His church but no true love from Him who is the head? The true church has been purchased by the blood of Christ and exists for the praise of Christ. Beg God to secure your interest in Christ before any more involvement in His church!

Letter to My Representative Concerning Midwifery

In the state of Delaware, it is very easy (legally speaking) for a mother to murder her unborn child. However, midwives are criminalized for helping mothers give birth. Since God’s Word is not the standard for the laws in our land, this sort of arbitrary absurdity ensues. Below you can read a letter (dated June 6, 2014) I sent to my representative. Mr. Scott is on the Health Committee and is one who is stalling this bill in the name of concern for the “safety” of women and children.

Dear Representative Scott:

I am writing to ask you to support HB 319. While I disagree in principle that the state should ever criminalize someone for helping mothers give birth to children, this bill is the first step to remove the threat of that unjust criminal charge from many midwives in our state. The state is preventing these midwives from doing good to Delaware families.

The Word of God says woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Unfortunately, our state government calls good that which God calls evil, and calls evil that which God calls good. The Word of God says in Romans 13, “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (v. 3-4). The problem is our government is doing the exact opposite: punishing those who would do good and endorsing those who do evil.

The state government has no authority to criminalize the good conduct of midwives helping bring children into this world. The state criminalizes these women because they do not meet the state’s requirements concerning midwifery. At the same time, the state calls good that which God calls evil—endorsing the murder of unborn children at local abortion mills. It is disingenuous to stall this bill any longer under the guise of concern for the health of mothers and children. I do not trust the state for one second to have the best interest of my family in mind. If the state truly wants to protect life, representatives should be fighting to make the murder of unborn children (i.e. abortion) illegal or impossible.

It should not be a crime under any circumstance to help a mother give birth to her child. The state has overstepped its God given authority and is now acting as a terror to those who do good, and all the while supporting murderers who do wrong.

As a father, I do not look to the state for medical advice or family advice—clearly the state is incompetent for such matters. Nor do I seek the input of state endorsed “medical professionals.” I do not need the state or the state’s representatives to make these decisions for me or my family. Children are a blessing from the Lord, not from the state.

I urge you to change your mind and support this bill fully. Women will continue to have homebirths despite the pedantic delays of those who profess concern for the wellbeing of these children and mothers. Allow these fathers and mothers (who have chosen to treasure life rather than murder their babies) complete freedom to choose how and with whom to deliver their babies.

Lord willing, I will be in the next meeting. I hope and pray you change your mind and support this bill on the principle that the state has no authority to criminalize good conduct.

A slave of the Lord Jesus Christ,

Chris Hume