THE BIBLICAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL ANSWER TO UNGODLY PURSUITS OF POLITICAL POWER

Federal District Judge, James Boasberg, ordered the Trump administration to turn around an airplane in mid-air and return it to the United States. The plane was carrying deported criminal aliens to El Salvador and one MS 13 gang member apparently didn't fit the criteria by which this group was being deported. The Trump administration said it was too late as the plane had already landed in El Salvador.

Judge Boasberg is now threatening to hold members of the Trump administration in contempt for defying his order. The Trump administration is arguing that a district judge has no authority to tell the executive branch how to conduct foreign policy and immigration issues, but Boasberg obviously thinks differently. Some Republicans are now calling for Boasberg to be impeached.

It is important to remember that district judges are not in the constitution; they were created by Congress. Nonetheless, to better understand what is at stake here, we must understand how the framers set up our Constitutional Republic, and why they set it up this way.

The Biblical Basis of the American Republic
"Fallen Humanity Cannot be Trusted with Power"

America's Founders would all agree with C. S. Lewis who said, “Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows." Because they believed human nature to be flawed because of original sin, they formed a government that would keep power out of the hands of any one person or group of persons. 

Whereas modern liberalism claims that human nature is essentially good and that people only need a change of environment and circumstances to improve their behavior, the Founders held no such utopian view of the human condition. "Take mankind in general," said Alexander Hamilton, "they are vicious." James Madison added, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary."

The historian, Benjamin Hart, wrote, "A central assumption of America's Founders was original sin, meaning the corruption of man's character." (Hyatt, America's Revival Heritage, Second Edition, 95). They, therefore, divided the powers of government into three branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial.

As another check on power, the Founders, in Section 1, Article 9 of the Constitution, forbade the government from issuing honorific titles of nobility and they forbade any government employee from receiving such a title from a foreign state apart from an act of Congress. In Section 10, they forbade the states from issuing honorific titles of nobility. 

In other words, they outlawed aristocracy in America. The Founders would all agree with Sir John Dalberg-Acton who said, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” 

Power Resides with the People

The Founders envisioned a government wherein power resides with the people, not a king, an aristocracy, or unelected judges. This is why the U.S. Constitution begins with the words, “We the people . . ..” Abraham Lincoln described America’s government as being “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

Since power is to reside with the people, laws are to be passed by the representatives of the people in Congress—the legislative branch. The president—the executive branch—is to execute and enforce those laws passed by the representatives of the people. Judges—the judiciary branch—are to interpret and apply those same laws to individual cases that come before them.

Judges were never meant to make rulings that apply across the board to the entire country. However, that is exactly what is happening as unelected judges legislate from the bench and overturn the will of “we the people.” 

We must, therefore, remind these unelected judges and every government official that they are flawed individuals, and while they must do their duty, they must reject the temptation to grab more power than has been allotted to them by both Scripture and the Constitution.

The Church's Responsibility

This political power struggle going on in America actually reflects the erosion of the Christian principles and values on which America was founded. Jesus clearly taught that leadership is to be characterized by humble service, not pompous power, and America's Founders agreed (Hyatt, Apostolic Leadership, 9). 

This is why John Adams, while serving as the nation's second president, said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious [Christian] people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other” (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 168).

Adams knew that without the Christian teachings on humility and service, political leaders would resort to unorthodox pursuits of power and control over their fellow citizens. This is why the late, Dr. Michael Novak, wrote,

Far from having a hostility toward religion, the Founders counted on religion [Christianity] for the underlying philosophy of the republic, its supporting ethic, and its reliable source of rejuvenation (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 171).

This is a critical moment in time when we, as the church, must be about our primary calling of being “salt” and “light” to this generation, calling the nation back to God, rebuking the ungodly pursuits of power, and directing the people to pray and expect another Great Awakening to revive and renew the church and the nation.

This article was derived from the books 1726: The Year that Defined America, America's Revival Heritage (Second Edition) and Apostolic Leadership by Eddie L. Hyatt and available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com

WHY THE CHURCH MUST DISMANTLE THE FALSE BELIEF SYSTEMS OF THIS GENERATION

I recently sat with a small group in a circle that included Rafael Cruz, the father of TX Senator Ted Cruz, and his niece, Bibi Loyola, who is Ted’s cousin and grassroots coordinator. We were having an informal interactive Bible study and the conversation turned to the role of politics in changing American culture.

I suggested that it will take more than politics and an election to change America. Everyone heartily agreed and Rafael pointed out that the church in America needs to understand spiritual warfare, and he quoted II Corinthians 10:4-5, which reads,

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God . . ..

A New Belief System is a Must

I then shared a powerful truth I discovered while studying this passage about eight years ago. I told them how the word “imaginations” is a poor translation of the Greek word logismous, which actually refers to a way of thinking or a belief system. This is why the NKJV and NIV translate the word as “arguments” and Marshall’s Greek-English Interlinear translates it as “reasonings.

The Greek word for “casting down” is kathairesin and is a very intense word. It means “to take down” or “demolish” or “dismantle.”

Paul is here saying that we are to dismantle those false belief systems by which Satan holds people, cities, churches, and nations in bondage. We have a model of how this can happen in Luke’s account of Paul’s ministry in the pagan, idolatrous city of Ephesus

Paul’s Modus Operandi in Ephesus

Ephesus was a very idolatrous and occultic city. It was home of the massive and ornate temple of the famous mother goddess, called Diana by the Romans and Artemis by the Greeks. Luke says that Paul, while in Ephesus, spent two years “reasoning daily” in a public lecture hall known as the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9-10).

The word “reasoning” in this passage is from the Greek word dialegomenos and it means to “dialogue” or “reason.” This indicates that Paul gave time and space for people to comment, challenge and ask questions about his message. He did this because he knew that if there was to be ultimate change in their lives, he would have to dismantle their present belief system or way of thinking.

This is why Paul would dialogue with these pagans for several hours per day, every day. It was not enough for them to come forward, repeat a prayer and fill out a card. They must be given a whole new way of thinking. By dismantling their false belief systems, Satan would no longer be able to hold them in bondage.

Interestingly, Luke makes no mention of Paul utilizing any of the modern, popular methods of spiritual warfare. There is no mention of Paul screaming at principalities and powers over Ephesus or casting down a Diana spirit over the city.

Paul was aware that Satan has no real power for he suffered absolute and total defeat through the cross, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Satan’s only power is in lies and deceptions. That is why Revelation 12:9 refers to him as, that serpent of old, the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.

Satan is the author of false belief systems by which he holds people, cities, and nations in bondage. Paul knew that the stronghold by which the Ephesians were held in bondage was a false belief system. Only a new way of thinking—a Biblical way of thinking—would free them from Satan’s grasp.

His method worked and before too long people began bringing their books of sorcery and magic, piled them up and burned them publicly. Luke says the books were valued at 50,000 pieces of silver, and I have seen modern estimates of anywhere from five-hundred thousand to two million dollars. In addition, the economy, which was based on the tourism related to the temple of Diana, began to collapse. This happened because Paul spent two years dismantling their false belief systems.

Today’s Church Must Dismantle the False Belief Systems of this Generation

Ever since that experience in the Bible study, it has been resonating and reverberating in my heart that the modern church must be about the business of dismantling the false belief systems of this world by which Satan holds the masses in bondage.

This is no time for a consumer-friendly approach. This is no time to be overly concerned about offending people and being “liked” by contemporary culture. We must take seriously the words of Jesus in John 8:31-32, If you continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

It's time for Christians in America, and the world, to rise up, take the truth of God’s word, and dismantle the false belief systems of this generation.

To read about America's founding within a Christian belief system, which made it possible for the nation to abolish slavery, survive a civil war, defeat Jim Crow, and become a nation that attracts millions from all over the world, read Dr. Eddie Hyatt's book, 1726: The Year that Defined America, available from amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.