1 00:00:04,690 --> 00:00:09,689 Greetings, this is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a 2 00:00:09,689 --> 00:00:13,609 moment of truth, where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. 3 00:00:14,210 --> 00:00:20,109 And today, with spring coming, I want to ask you, what does the rainbow signify in the Bible? 4 00:00:20,690 --> 00:00:28,250 What does the rainbow signify in the Bible? Today, the civil covenant is signified by the 5 00:00:28,250 --> 00:00:33,369 rainbow, brothers and sisters, whether we are aware of this or not. And that civil covenant 6 00:00:33,369 --> 00:00:39,729 in the Bible obligates all of us to be involved in government as a part of our Christian faith. 7 00:00:40,450 --> 00:00:45,170 This is very well known amongst those who understand covenant, but I submit to you, 8 00:00:45,189 --> 00:00:50,689 not everybody does. We have much of the Christian church today, for example, that takes an exception, 9 00:00:50,929 --> 00:00:56,729 that takes a dive, if you will, on responsibility in government because they are understanding God's 10 00:00:56,729 --> 00:01:03,350 working with us in terms of dispensations. But God works in a covenant economy, not a dispensation 11 00:01:03,350 --> 00:01:10,129 economy. And one of the great covenants that does lay this responsibility for us, the responsibility 12 00:01:10,129 --> 00:01:19,069 to bring justice into the world. As the prophet Micah said, you know, oh man, what the Lord requires 13 00:01:19,069 --> 00:01:26,629 and what is demanded of us, that is to love justice and to practice justice, to love mercy and to walk 14 00:01:26,629 --> 00:01:32,549 humbly with our God. And it is this civil covenant that introduces us to basic human government, 15 00:01:32,549 --> 00:01:37,829 the beginnings of human government, go all the way back to Noah and the civil covenant that God 16 00:01:37,829 --> 00:01:43,329 cut with him. Now, most of the modern evangelical church believes that the gospel is only concerned 17 00:01:43,329 --> 00:01:49,030 with heaven and the salvation of the soul and that we must not soil the garments of the gospel with 18 00:01:49,030 --> 00:01:55,629 the dirt of politics and government. Oh, no, no, no. How wrong this is. Let me ask you, if this is 19 00:01:55,629 --> 00:02:03,230 your persuasion, is human government any more corrupt or any less susceptible to reform than your personal 20 00:02:03,230 --> 00:02:08,710 life, which Christ expects you to transform? That's called our walk of sanctification. And since 21 00:02:08,710 --> 00:02:15,330 your life radiates out and affects not only your family and your workplace and your local communities, 22 00:02:15,330 --> 00:02:20,250 but also your local governments, and then by extension, your state governments and federal government 23 00:02:20,250 --> 00:02:27,469 too. In fact, human government is an important part of your sphere of influence. The Bible obligates you 24 00:02:27,469 --> 00:02:32,810 in a covenant. And I wish to put that before you today. When we talk about the rainbow, when we talk 25 00:02:32,810 --> 00:02:39,469 about Noah, when we talk about the covenant that God made with Noah, it includes the pursuit of justice 26 00:02:39,469 --> 00:02:47,009 and the rudiments of human government started all the way back with Noah after the flood. Genesis 9 is 27 00:02:47,009 --> 00:02:52,449 structured like an ancient covenant with all the elements of a covenant. Let me begin with you 28 00:02:52,449 --> 00:02:59,069 in chapter 9 of Genesis and read the opening verses, which lay this out for us. This is Genesis 29 00:02:59,069 --> 00:03:06,689 chapter 9, verses 1 through 7. Then God blessed Noah. This is after the flood. Then God blessed Noah and 30 00:03:06,689 --> 00:03:12,750 his sons, saying to them, be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you 31 00:03:12,750 --> 00:03:17,569 will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves 32 00:03:17,569 --> 00:03:24,210 along the ground, and upon all fish of the sea. They are given into your hands. Everything that lives and 33 00:03:24,210 --> 00:03:30,430 moves will be food for you. Just as I give you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must 34 00:03:30,430 --> 00:03:37,469 not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood, I will surely demand an 35 00:03:37,469 --> 00:03:44,189 accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal and from each man, too. I will demand an accounting 36 00:03:44,189 --> 00:03:49,849 for the life of his fellow man. Whoever sheds the blood of man by man shall his blood be shed. 37 00:03:50,629 --> 00:03:59,169 For in the image of God has God made man. As for you, be fruitful and increase in number. Multiply on the earth 38 00:03:59,169 --> 00:04:06,389 and increase upon it. This is chapter 9, verse 7 of Genesis. Oh, dear listener, dear friend of mine, 39 00:04:06,389 --> 00:04:12,669 let me ask you, of what does the rainbow remind you? Is it sentimental feelings of good things 40 00:04:12,669 --> 00:04:17,889 after rain, like somewhere over the rainbow? We can almost hear Judy Garland begin to sing, right? 41 00:04:19,110 --> 00:04:24,589 Oh, way up high, the dreams that you dreamed of once in a lullaby. No, I'm afraid that's not the 42 00:04:24,589 --> 00:04:32,310 purpose of the rainbow. Is the rainbow then to signify the multiplicity of genders? No, heaven forbid. 43 00:04:32,310 --> 00:04:39,029 The rainbow is much more than this. It is a sign of the civil covenant. And I wish to lay that out 44 00:04:39,029 --> 00:04:43,550 and establish that with you here today. We've just read Genesis chapter 9, verses 1 through 7. 45 00:04:44,029 --> 00:04:50,410 And let me ask you, under the civil covenant, under the dominion mandate, who governs life in the human 46 00:04:50,410 --> 00:04:57,769 and animal kingdoms? Who governs life in the human and animal kingdoms? Oh, if the flood was a judgment 47 00:04:57,769 --> 00:05:05,110 of the old world, and it was. And a recreation of a new world, and it was that too. Then here in 48 00:05:05,110 --> 00:05:11,430 Genesis chapter 9, we have a restatement of the dominion mandate too, which encompasses all of 49 00:05:11,430 --> 00:05:19,949 human life, all of animal life. We are expected as image bearers of God to bring to bear the dominion 50 00:05:19,949 --> 00:05:25,149 mandate. That hearkens all the way back to Genesis chapter 1, verse 28, where God's blessed them, 51 00:05:25,149 --> 00:05:30,449 Moses says. And God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth 52 00:05:30,449 --> 00:05:36,470 and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over 53 00:05:36,470 --> 00:05:42,410 every living thing that moves on the earth, the dominion mandate, dear listener. And under this 54 00:05:42,410 --> 00:05:48,589 dominion mandate, we take dominion of the earth. And this does not mean that we waste the planet. 55 00:05:48,589 --> 00:05:54,490 And it doesn't mean that we worship the planet either. That is under Gaia and so forth. No, 56 00:05:54,529 --> 00:06:03,009 those are two extremes that men tend to go to in lieu of the biblical idea of dominion and taking 57 00:06:03,009 --> 00:06:10,170 mandate. This is not the idea of dominion of the earth. No, we are expected to husband the planet. 58 00:06:10,329 --> 00:06:16,889 We are expected to husband the earth and its plant life and its animal life to take care of it and to 59 00:06:16,889 --> 00:06:27,230 make it work for us as well. So this idea of subduing the earth is further expanded on in 60 00:06:27,230 --> 00:06:32,870 greater detail here in Genesis chapter 9. And if you have that before you, then you can look with me, 61 00:06:32,970 --> 00:06:38,709 study it with me. If you're driving, don't bother to open your Bible. You just keep driving and consult 62 00:06:38,709 --> 00:06:44,870 chapter 9 of Genesis when you get home. But there are four things that the subduing of the earth is 63 00:06:44,870 --> 00:06:51,509 expanded upon here in this civil covenant with Noah and his sons. Four of them. Number one, 64 00:06:51,790 --> 00:06:57,009 the inhabitants of the animal kingdom will know us as vice regents of the creator. This is the idea of 65 00:06:57,009 --> 00:07:01,889 subduing and taking charge, if you will, of creation. The inhabitants of the animal kingdom 66 00:07:01,889 --> 00:07:08,889 will know us as vice regents of the creator. No, they are not animal companions. There's no such thing 67 00:07:08,889 --> 00:07:15,329 as an animal companion. They are not our equals. We are to take dominion of the earth and subdue it 68 00:07:15,329 --> 00:07:21,250 and take charge of the animals and husband them and nurture them, of course, but they are not our 69 00:07:21,250 --> 00:07:27,589 equals. That's the sense of the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast because the 70 00:07:27,589 --> 00:07:32,629 inhabitants of the animal kingdom will know us as vice regents of God. We are the mediators of the 71 00:07:32,629 --> 00:07:38,610 civil covenant to not only one another as human beings, but also to animals. Secondly, the inhabitants 72 00:07:38,610 --> 00:07:45,089 of the animal kingdom will know themselves as provender for us, as food for us. This is not a 73 00:07:45,089 --> 00:07:51,550 new provision. I think it's an extension really as well as of the first creation mandate that they 74 00:07:51,550 --> 00:07:57,889 are now food for us as well. This is one reason why they are not equals. We don't eat equals. We eat 75 00:07:57,889 --> 00:08:05,649 those over whom we have charge as we subdue the earth and as we husband animal life then. And then 76 00:08:05,649 --> 00:08:11,110 thirdly, we are also to acknowledge the giver of life, the covenant head, by refusing the blood. 77 00:08:11,490 --> 00:08:16,170 We are not to eat blood, to eat meat with the blood in it or blood separated from the meat for that 78 00:08:16,170 --> 00:08:23,310 matter. It's not as though blood is ipso facto poisonous to us. No. Rather, blood is a symbol of 79 00:08:23,310 --> 00:08:27,649 the life of the creature. The life of the creature is in the blood, as Leviticus tells us. 80 00:08:27,889 --> 00:08:34,830 And that life is given by God. And we acknowledge this fact in the blood. The entire Hebrew 81 00:08:34,830 --> 00:08:40,090 sacrificial system is testament to this. So we do not eat the blood. Do you understand this Satanists 82 00:08:40,090 --> 00:08:46,830 and Luciferians who eat, who go so far in their debased state to eat and drink human blood? No, 83 00:08:46,970 --> 00:08:52,470 this is evil and this is contrary to the civil covenant. We do not eat blood. And then fourthly, 84 00:08:52,470 --> 00:09:00,830 the fourth thing that the covenant with Noah, the civil covenant expands upon is the beginnings of 85 00:09:00,830 --> 00:09:06,470 human government are laid in foundation here. Very basically, this is one of the main points I want 86 00:09:06,470 --> 00:09:12,210 to get to with you today, is that the civil covenant is cut here in this covenant. It is part 87 00:09:12,210 --> 00:09:17,690 of the rainbow covenant, if you will, that God makes with man and all the earth because justice must be 88 00:09:17,690 --> 00:09:23,470 done. This is not a bare proof text for capital punishment. When we say, whoever sheds the blood 89 00:09:23,470 --> 00:09:28,970 of man by man shall his blood be shed for in the image of God has God made man. No, it's not just 90 00:09:28,970 --> 00:09:34,490 a bare proof text for capital punishment. Rather, it is the prime directive and founding principle 91 00:09:34,490 --> 00:09:40,450 for human government. And that is justice. Yes, justice is the prime directive of human government 92 00:09:40,450 --> 00:09:47,970 and justice and only justice shall you do, as the Bible says. And this here reprises man's creation. 93 00:09:48,350 --> 00:09:52,909 If we go all the way back to Genesis chapter one again, much of the covenant with Noah, the civil 94 00:09:52,909 --> 00:10:01,769 covenant is indeed a reprise, if you will, of Genesis chapter one. And it says there back in Genesis 95 00:10:01,769 --> 00:10:07,889 chapter one, then God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion 96 00:10:07,889 --> 00:10:11,750 over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the 97 00:10:11,750 --> 00:10:17,929 earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, 98 00:10:18,190 --> 00:10:23,549 in the image of God, he created him male and female. He created them unquote from Genesis chapter 99 00:10:23,549 --> 00:10:29,889 one. This is why we are distinct from the animal realm. This is why we are not animal companions. 100 00:10:29,889 --> 00:10:38,450 No, we are mediators and covenant heads above them. We are in charge of shepherding them and of 101 00:10:38,450 --> 00:10:44,049 cultivating them and husbanding them and taking dominion over them. Once again, we don't waste the 102 00:10:44,049 --> 00:10:50,830 planet and we don't worship the planet. No, we husband the planet. The language that we have here 103 00:10:50,830 --> 00:10:56,070 in Genesis chapter one and then again in Genesis chapter nine is covenantal language. It's structured 104 00:10:56,070 --> 00:11:01,190 covenantal language. There are parallels in it. It is Hebrew poetry given for ease of remembrance. 105 00:11:02,049 --> 00:11:06,690 And in these principles, in this covenant language are ensconced founding principles upon 106 00:11:06,690 --> 00:11:12,490 which others are to be elaborated. The principle of justice. There are several important founding 107 00:11:12,490 --> 00:11:20,490 principles here. First of all, a under four, that is as covenant mediators, we human beings made in 108 00:11:20,490 --> 00:11:26,429 the image of God. As covenant mediators, we are to administer justice as we exercise government over 109 00:11:26,429 --> 00:11:32,629 one another. As covenant mediators, we are to administer justice as we exercise government over 110 00:11:32,629 --> 00:11:37,610 one another. And this includes you, dear listener. You can't escape from this covenant. No living man 111 00:11:37,610 --> 00:11:43,210 can, much less the church. The church has shirked her responsibility as being administrators of justice 112 00:11:43,210 --> 00:11:50,070 as we exercise government over one another. Our constitution has given us a blessed entry into self-government. 113 00:11:50,490 --> 00:11:56,090 And as long as we shirk and neglect this as the church, we are shirking our responsibilities as 114 00:11:56,090 --> 00:12:01,649 Christians, dear listener. We are covenant mediators under the civil covenant, and we are charged with 115 00:12:01,649 --> 00:12:06,990 administering justice as we exercise government over one another. We have a participatory form of 116 00:12:06,990 --> 00:12:11,289 government and we are expected to take up our responsibilities, but the church has shirked 117 00:12:11,289 --> 00:12:16,070 these responsibilities over the last few decades and generations. It's time for us to take up our 118 00:12:16,070 --> 00:12:23,549 responsibilities again, because God does not sit at some heavenly judge bench every day, personally 119 00:12:23,549 --> 00:12:29,230 handing out everything from death sentences to parking tickets. No, he doesn't exact perfect and 120 00:12:29,230 --> 00:12:33,730 immediate justice for every infraction, great or small. No, it would be, that would be a true theocracy. 121 00:12:33,730 --> 00:12:40,990 No, instead, God has entrusted government to his vice regents, that is, us. And then B, under four, 122 00:12:41,350 --> 00:12:47,950 since we are image bearers of God, we are justice bringers of his as well. Yes, since we are image 123 00:12:47,950 --> 00:12:55,389 bearers of God, we are justice bringers of his too. Ah, it is one of the communicable attributes of God, 124 00:12:55,389 --> 00:13:01,950 and that is justice. God is just, and we can be just to a lesser extent, perhaps, but also we can 125 00:13:01,950 --> 00:13:07,169 be just, a communicable attribute, as it's called. First of all, the Bible says in many places that God 126 00:13:07,169 --> 00:13:13,750 is just. For example, Deuteronomy 32, the rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. 127 00:13:14,129 --> 00:13:21,590 A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he. So God is just, and consequently, 128 00:13:21,590 --> 00:13:28,850 as image bearers, we can be just as well, and we can exercise justice. For the one in whom justice 129 00:13:28,850 --> 00:13:36,330 resides to perfection has also communicated this attribute to us, to his image bearers. We can be just 130 00:13:36,330 --> 00:13:44,129 as well. In fact, we are obligated under the civil covenant in Genesis 9 to do so. We are obligated to 131 00:13:44,129 --> 00:13:51,210 be just. This is the responsibility of every image bearer, dear listener, especially Christians. We of all 132 00:13:51,210 --> 00:13:57,470 people should be able to practice justice. As Deuteronomy also says, justice and only justice 133 00:13:57,470 --> 00:14:02,009 you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you, 134 00:14:02,070 --> 00:14:07,870 unquote, from Deuteronomy 16. Now, I've had people say to me, whoa, but oh, pastor, this was part of 135 00:14:07,870 --> 00:14:13,450 Israel, and we're no longer obligated to apply the civil laws of Israel to our current circumstances. 136 00:14:13,809 --> 00:14:16,669 Oh, yes, I've heard this oftentimes. Maybe this is what you've been saying 137 00:14:16,669 --> 00:14:24,710 under your breath as you listen today. But I just must ask you, oh, really? Oh, really, dear listener, 138 00:14:24,809 --> 00:14:30,789 we're no longer obligated to administer justice? Oh, but you might say, oh, yeah, we're to administer 139 00:14:30,789 --> 00:14:36,629 justice. Oh, well, then what is your source? If your source and standard for justice is not found 140 00:14:36,629 --> 00:14:43,090 principally in the law court of Israel, where is it found? The court of Hammurabi? Maybe some civil 141 00:14:43,090 --> 00:14:48,490 laws under Napoleon? Maybe some secular civil laws you'll find justice. But where will you find 142 00:14:48,490 --> 00:14:54,169 true, perfect justice? If we're not to bother with insisting upon justice in government as 143 00:14:54,169 --> 00:15:00,029 individuals and churches, are we not covenant breakers? I submit to you, we are. The church is 144 00:15:00,029 --> 00:15:07,029 largely full of covenant breakers because we refuse to take on the responsibility of administering 145 00:15:07,029 --> 00:15:12,450 justice that is taking part in government in our own day and age. We have neglected, and it has drifted 146 00:15:12,450 --> 00:15:18,610 into downright evil. You see the evil before you in government. I lay that responsibility at the feet 147 00:15:18,610 --> 00:15:24,690 of the church for not taking up her responsibilities under the civil covenant. Well, verses 8 to 11, 148 00:15:24,809 --> 00:15:31,230 also in Genesis chapter 9, pose this question for you. The civil covenant, under the dominion mandate, 149 00:15:31,409 --> 00:15:36,049 in what economy does God deal in his kingdom? Verses 8 through 11, let me read them for you, 150 00:15:36,090 --> 00:15:40,889 and then you answer that question. Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 151 00:15:40,889 --> 00:15:46,929 I now establish my covenant with you. He doesn't say I establish my dispensation with you. He says, 152 00:15:47,049 --> 00:15:52,029 I establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature 153 00:15:52,029 --> 00:15:56,769 that was with you, the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals, all those that came out of 154 00:15:56,769 --> 00:16:02,330 the ark with you, every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you. Never again will 155 00:16:02,330 --> 00:16:08,350 all life be cut off by the waters of a flood. Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. 156 00:16:08,350 --> 00:16:13,990 That's verses 8 through 11. Under the dominion mandate, your listener, in what economy does 157 00:16:13,990 --> 00:16:20,289 God deal in his kingdom? Dispensations, perhaps, or covenant. Ah, that's the word that's used, 158 00:16:20,350 --> 00:16:26,470 isn't it? But like true schizophrenics and dispensationalists, we compartmentalize verses 159 00:16:26,470 --> 00:16:32,889 8 through 17 from the previous verses. But can we do this with exegetical integrity? No, 160 00:16:32,889 --> 00:16:38,169 they follow with all logic and context. Verse 8 says, then God said to Noah and his sons with him, 161 00:16:38,629 --> 00:16:43,230 behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you. Oh, dear listener, 162 00:16:43,330 --> 00:16:50,730 what covenant? What covenant? Oh, it's the one that the provisions and stipulations and participants 163 00:16:50,730 --> 00:16:55,870 for which have just been given, I submit to you. There are five components to every covenant. There's a 164 00:16:55,870 --> 00:17:00,809 preamble, a historical prologue, all those things we have had here in the previous verses in chapter 165 00:17:00,809 --> 00:17:07,670 9, where God introduces himself and tells you why he is establishing the covenant that is after the 166 00:17:07,670 --> 00:17:12,970 flood and the recreation of the earth. And there are ethical stipulations to do's and don'ts, that is 167 00:17:12,970 --> 00:17:19,130 do take charge over, take dominion over the creation and don't drink the blood, the do's and don'ts, 168 00:17:19,190 --> 00:17:24,569 those kinds of things. And then there are succession arrangements that is for future generations. So he 169 00:17:24,569 --> 00:17:29,470 assembles his sons here as well. So all the components of covenant are here, the promises, 170 00:17:29,470 --> 00:17:34,470 and then the signs and the seals are about to be given. Sign and the seal of this civil covenant 171 00:17:34,470 --> 00:17:39,710 is the rainbow. The other components of covenant without which we have no covenant were just 172 00:17:39,710 --> 00:17:45,029 articulated for you. So every covenant also has a provision for the propagation of the covenant to 173 00:17:45,029 --> 00:17:50,769 subsequent generations. Ergo, God said to his sons with him and then to his sons and his sons down to 174 00:17:50,769 --> 00:18:00,490 our day. So then we have then our third section of verses 12 through 17. Verses 12 through 17. And 175 00:18:00,490 --> 00:18:06,690 those verses prompt me to ask of you, under the dominion mandate, dear listener, what is the sign 176 00:18:06,690 --> 00:18:13,150 of the covenant given to us in his kingdom? Verses 12 through 17. Let me read those for you. And God said, 177 00:18:13,430 --> 00:18:19,529 this is the sign of the covenant. I am making between me and you and every living creature with you 178 00:18:19,529 --> 00:18:24,230 a covenant, a covenant for all generations to come. That's an important part of covenant is the covenant 179 00:18:24,230 --> 00:18:30,309 succession. That is to those in the future, all generations to come, God says. I have set my rainbow 180 00:18:30,309 --> 00:18:37,009 in the clouds and it will be a sign of the covenant. That is the civil covenant between me and the earth. 181 00:18:37,910 --> 00:18:44,450 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my 182 00:18:44,450 --> 00:18:50,269 covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become 183 00:18:50,269 --> 00:18:55,549 a flood to destroy life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the 184 00:18:55,549 --> 00:19:02,369 everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. So God said to 185 00:19:02,369 --> 00:19:08,990 Noah, this is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on earth. Unquote. 186 00:19:08,990 --> 00:19:14,630 That is, that's the promise. That's an important part of covenant is promise. But equally important 187 00:19:14,630 --> 00:19:20,089 are the other provisions of the covenant. That is, you will do justice and justice only. That is, 188 00:19:20,210 --> 00:19:26,710 you will demand the life of the creature for taking the life of another creature. And so this is also 189 00:19:26,710 --> 00:19:32,269 one of the provisions, the establishment of the civil covenant, justice. Every covenant has signs 190 00:19:32,269 --> 00:19:39,289 signs and seals by which the abstract elements of the covenant are made concrete and tangible for their 191 00:19:39,289 --> 00:19:49,269 better understanding. And this is the purpose then of the rainbow because every covenant has signs and 192 00:19:49,269 --> 00:19:55,630 seals. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are signs and seals for the new covenant, for example, just as the 193 00:19:55,630 --> 00:20:03,230 rainbow is for this civil covenant. It is a vivid, tangible sign and seal of a covenant. It's not a 194 00:20:03,230 --> 00:20:09,910 sentimental maudlin icon for fleeting human hopes and dreams, or it's not either a symbol for 195 00:20:09,910 --> 00:20:16,309 progressive sexual identities. No, and it's not just a bare promise either that God won't flood the world 196 00:20:16,309 --> 00:20:23,849 again. No, it is much more substantial of a covenant than that. The right use and administration of human 197 00:20:23,849 --> 00:20:30,609 government is the covenantal responsibility of every image bearer. Oh, that's all of us under this civil 198 00:20:30,609 --> 00:20:36,309 covenant. How much more the Christian, dear listener? It's the lack of such use and administration that 199 00:20:36,309 --> 00:20:43,049 leads necessarily to tyranny and slavery. You neglect this covenant, dear Christian. Mankind neglects 200 00:20:43,049 --> 00:20:49,890 self-government. Mankind neglects a Christian constitutional republic, and we will sink into tyranny and slavery. 201 00:20:49,890 --> 00:20:56,230 And this is largely the fault of the church. The American constitutional republic is derelict 202 00:20:56,230 --> 00:21:03,869 because the church continues to neglect justice and the civil covenant. Let me say that again. The 203 00:21:03,869 --> 00:21:11,190 American constitutional republic languishes and is derelict because the church continues to neglect 204 00:21:11,190 --> 00:21:19,130 that civil covenant, dear listener. All of us will be held accountable, excuse me, all of us will be held 205 00:21:19,130 --> 00:21:24,490 accountable to our fidelity to the civil covenant, regardless of whether you believe we are under such 206 00:21:24,490 --> 00:21:30,109 a covenant or not. It was cut. It was established, and we are under it, whether you are apprised of it 207 00:21:30,109 --> 00:21:35,650 or not. Most Christians, most of the church today is ignorant of their responsibilities. It doesn't mean, 208 00:21:35,750 --> 00:21:40,849 for example, that you just go to the voting booth once every four years and vote for a president and 209 00:21:40,849 --> 00:21:45,789 think you have fulfilled your covenantal obligations. No, that is not the sense and purpose of the civil 210 00:21:45,789 --> 00:21:51,450 covenant. Rather, it means that you become an informed, engaged, and vocal participant in a 211 00:21:51,450 --> 00:21:58,130 constitutional republic. This is your privilege and responsibility. A case can be made that a Christian 212 00:21:58,130 --> 00:22:04,849 constitutional republic, which we used to have at least, that it is a close model of biblical 213 00:22:04,849 --> 00:22:09,569 government. I've established this in other places. We can't establish it here, but I have done this 214 00:22:09,569 --> 00:22:15,630 elsewhere. How we have been given, dear listener, we've been given an opportunity here in America to 215 00:22:15,630 --> 00:22:20,670 exercise our responsibilities under the civil covenant. You are under it. You're responsible for 216 00:22:20,670 --> 00:22:25,630 it, whether you realize it or not. You may be ignorant of the fact, but you live under a civil 217 00:22:25,630 --> 00:22:31,470 covenant, and you are responsible for government, for self-government. How we have wasted that opportunity 218 00:22:31,470 --> 00:22:36,269 in our generation. We have frittered away that which was given us by our founding fathers, 219 00:22:36,269 --> 00:22:41,309 and especially the church has done this. I laid this at the foot of the church. The American 220 00:22:41,309 --> 00:22:47,410 Constitutional Republic is derelict because the church continues to neglect the civil covenant. 221 00:22:48,230 --> 00:22:54,170 We have believed three lies. I have outlined this more fully in other places as well, but we have 222 00:22:54,170 --> 00:22:59,150 believed three lies. First of all, that there is no civil covenant. Yeah, that biblical Christianity 223 00:22:59,150 --> 00:23:05,009 extends to family, perhaps, and to the church, perhaps, and to your workplace, perhaps, but not to 224 00:23:05,009 --> 00:23:09,890 government. No, we must not soil the garments of the gospel with politics, right? That's the second 225 00:23:09,890 --> 00:23:14,509 lie we have believed when, indeed, civil government is as much a part of the Christian 226 00:23:14,509 --> 00:23:19,609 sanctification as any other part of his life. And then thirdly, we have believed the lie of the separation 227 00:23:19,609 --> 00:23:27,210 of church and state. All three of these lies we must do away with and put aside and clear up because we 228 00:23:27,210 --> 00:23:32,750 live under a civil covenant, dear Christian, and it is your responsibility, the life and responsibility 229 00:23:32,750 --> 00:23:40,410 of you as a Christian and the church as a whole, then to begin to live and apply the civil covenant 230 00:23:40,410 --> 00:23:46,890 under the blessed opportunity we have under a Christian constitutional republic. If indeed 231 00:23:46,890 --> 00:23:53,789 sanctification is a necessary component of the gospel, then your obligations under the gospel will 232 00:23:53,789 --> 00:23:59,349 necessarily extend to not only personal holiness, but also to your immediate world, your family, your 233 00:23:59,349 --> 00:24:04,910 church, and your community, which includes that community's government under the civil covenant, 234 00:24:05,250 --> 00:24:12,569 especially, dear listener, dear Christian. You know, personally, I hope this 4th of July, 235 00:24:12,730 --> 00:24:17,769 it's a little ways off yet, but I hope that this 4th of July, there's a rainstorm in Idaho Falls and 236 00:24:17,769 --> 00:24:23,390 then a rainbow. How appropriate that would be on the 4th of July if there was a rainbow. And if there is, 237 00:24:23,390 --> 00:24:30,089 I hope that you, after hearing this message today, I hope that you personally think more than of a 238 00:24:30,089 --> 00:24:37,869 maudlin human hopes or dreams and more than of sexual identities and more than just a bare promise 239 00:24:37,869 --> 00:24:43,670 too of no more flood. When you see a rainbow, and I hope there's one on the 4th of July, I hope that 240 00:24:43,670 --> 00:24:49,829 you're reminded of and that you are thankful for Christ and his covenants and for the civil covenant 241 00:24:49,829 --> 00:24:55,490 in particular. This has been Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. 242 00:24:56,190 --> 00:25:02,009 And we meet for holy worship on Sundays at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and 243 00:25:02,009 --> 00:25:06,329 Boulevard. I encourage you to come out and visit us. Now, many of you have been listening for years 244 00:25:06,329 --> 00:25:13,670 to our radio broadcast, and I just invite you to come and visit us in one of our worship services 245 00:25:13,670 --> 00:25:19,289 and see who else we are. You know us by these radio messages, but we are much more than this. 246 00:25:19,349 --> 00:25:25,289 We are a living church as well with a vibrant worship service and teaching and doctrine, Sunday 247 00:25:25,289 --> 00:25:30,990 school classes and so forth. So I just invite you to come out and visit us at New Geneva Orthodox 248 00:25:30,990 --> 00:25:37,650 Presbyterian Church, 10 a.m. We meet for holy worship at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. 249 00:25:37,650 --> 00:25:44,650 I also invite you to check out our websites, and you'll find sermons and much information on our church 250 00:25:44,650 --> 00:25:54,349 at NewGenevaOPC. That's one word, NewGenevaOPC.org. And then we also have a catalog of these radio messages 251 00:25:54,349 --> 00:26:02,210 at another website. We have two websites. Our second website is Omnispotestas.org. That's Latin 252 00:26:02,210 --> 00:26:14,369 for all authority. And let me spell that for you again, Omnispotestas, O-M-N-I-S dash, P-O-T-E-S-T-A-S dot org. 253 00:26:14,549 --> 00:26:26,450 That's Omnispotestas.org. O-M-N-I-S dash, P-O-T-E-S-T-A-S dot org. Omnispotestas.org. And you'll find 254 00:26:26,450 --> 00:26:30,009 And they're cataloged, many of our radio messages, most of them. 255 00:26:30,529 --> 00:26:33,730 And you can, at your leisure, dial those up and listen to them. 256 00:26:34,049 --> 00:26:43,049 And you can also call us then for feedback and perhaps some more information at area code 208-523-0196. 257 00:26:43,049 --> 00:26:49,630 That's our phone number. Area code 208-523-0196.