Local Authorities – The Kingdom Curriculum XIX (4)

Local Authorities

“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.” Deuteronomy 16:18

Beyond the home, every community is comprised of various centers of authority. Those who serve in those centers–schools, churches, volunteer agencies (Scouts, service organizations, PTAs), and local governments–have the duty to practice justice according to the Law of God. This gets a little sticky once we get beyond the pale of the community of the faith; however, as God holds even unbelievers accountable to His standards of righteousness, surely we can do no less.

In our churches, officers–elders and deacons–and servants–teachers, committee members, and so forth–are also required to understand and act according to the just ways of God. Elders are called to be shepherds of God’s flock (1 Pet. 5:1-3). Shepherding is a very specific kind of activity, designed to aid believers in becoming equipped for ministry, as Jesus pointed out in John 10. When elders fail to accept and practice the demands of shepherding that Jesus taught, they fail the congregation, depriving it of the blessings God would give them were the leaders only more just in carrying out their duties.

Teachers in the church are also called to do justice for their learners. Teachers who give the impression that all that is required of students is to come to class, behave, and act like they have learned something–but who do not lead them to take the Word to heart and learn to walk in obedience to it–are not acting justly towards those they teach.

In the larger community school teachers and local magistrates must be held accountable to the standards of God’s Law. This requires wisdom on the part of believers, for unbelievers–as many local authorities will be–will chafe and resist if they feel like they’re being preached to on any subject. We must discover ways of persuading local authorities to adopt policies and practice protocols that reflect the justice of God, so that His love may flow to saved and unsaved alike, and His peace may be maintained in the community.

Every election, every new school year, every activity in church provides an opportunity to think about the requirements of justice and what we, as members of the believing community, can do to help those in authority practice the justice God expects of them. Every day presents abundant opportunities to examine, evaluate, and, if necessary, seek to correct the practices of those in authority, so that the good pleasure of God–justice–is more consistently in evidence in our community.

Reading and meditating on the Law of God is every believer’s duty and privilege (Ps. 1). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compendium of the commandments and precepts of God’s Law, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

–

In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.