“Government, Bah Humbug! …” (October 2020 Update)
Why does government exist? There are many opinions about government. Especially during election years, people espouse all sorts of opinions about government. But why do we have government? There is really only one reason – because of sin. Now I know that when I write that, many of you are thinking, “That’s right. Preach it! The problem with government is sin – sinful politicians, godless laws, and sinful corruption and unfair taxes.” Some will even say that government is a “necessary evil.” And many will say, “it is time to do away with government all together.”
But that is not what I mean at all. Government exists because we are all sinners. If there was no sin, there would be no need for government. Government exists because sin exists. When sin passes away in eternity, there will be no need for government. But until there is no sin, government is an absolute necessity.
You might be tempted to think that the problem is non-believers. But you would miss the point completely. We are all sinners, including Christians, and we all need government to keep us from committing sinful and disobedient acts too. If you think I’m being too critical, ask yourself, when was the last time you thought about breaking the law but didn’t because you thought about possible punishment for your disobedience? And when have you broken the law by exceeding the speed limit because you were pretty sure there were no police around to catch you? The problem of sin is not just a problem with non-Christians. Even Christians sin and we would all sin more if it was not for government. That’s why Paul writes in Romans 13:1-5 that God has given us government authorities because our fear of punishment is often what keeps us from sin. And he includes that we should also obey authorities “because of conscience sake” (vs. 5). Not just because we fear being caught, but because we know we must stand before a God who see and judges all (2 Corinthians 5:10) and we must even give an account of our disobedient actions toward governmental authorities.
Now we might have good governments or bad governments, but a society without any government would be worse than even the worst government. Why? Because of sin – our sinfulness means we all need government to curb our sinful, selfish desires so that we might live in an orderly society. Even bad governments provide some semblance of order which is part of God’s common grace for us all.
Now we might disagree with our government, but our disagreement should lead us first to pray and then to protest in a way that honors Christ. And if we disobey, we should be willing to suffer whatever consequences the state imposes on us. This was the response of Shadrach, Meshach and Abendigo when ordered to worship the king’s statue. They refused but were willing to suffer even if God did not deliver them (Daniel 3:17-18). Peter and John did the same in Acts 5:29. But we need to be sure that our disobedience toward authorities is really because it interferes with our obedience toward God – not just because it interferes with our personal freedom or desires.
In short, that is why Paul urges us to pray for all those in authority: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”
What should we pray?
- Pray 1 Peter 2:15-17. Pray that believers will bear testimony to Christ by their actions and words: “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil but use it as bond slaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.” Pray that believers will also learn to “honor all people” regardless of their political persuasions.
- Pray 2 Chronicles 7:14. Pray that God’s people will regularly cry out to the Lord in repentance and in faith: “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
- Pray 1 Timothy 2:1-2. Pray that we would elect leaders at all levels of government who would allow “that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”
- Pray Romans 12:17-19. Pray that, regardless of the outcome of the various elections, that we as believers would “never…pay back evil for evil,” and “never take your own revenge” but leave matters in the hands of a sovereign God who will exercise vengeance now or later in His own way and His own time.
- Pray Psalm 24:4-5. Ask the Lord to give you His wisdom about each situation and pray for guidance for yourself and other as they go to vote next month. “Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
I love this prayer by Charles Stanley from his series on Nehemiah. “Lord, I’m here today with open hands and an open heart, ready to depend on you to help me through the day and all it will bring my way. Help me be like Nehemiah, help me come to you for guidance, strength, provision and protection….. Help me live today in a way that brings honor to Your holy name. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.” That’s a great prayer to pray as we seek to honor Christ by the way we respond to government and authorities.
I am not sure about the nature of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s faith, but during early hours of D-Day, he led the nation in public prayer over the radio, praying for the soldiers and for their success. And he prayed something that would be appropriate for our time: “Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.”
Let this be our goal over the next few weeks as we approach this year’s election. That we would pray for our government and for our nation to come together so that this special nation, which God has blessed, would continue to experience God’s grace and mercy in the days ahead. We need government because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Government exists because sin exists. Pray that God will hear our prayer and give us a government that will serve all Americans and give us the freedom to serve the Lord with “peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”
I am not always happy about much that government does. But I am grateful for government! Government – Bah Humbug? No, I am grateful for God’s gift of government that keeps us all under His common grace!
Teaching …
Because of the quarantine, our schools were not able to have graduations like usual in May. So, graduations were scheduled for this September after quarantine restrictions were reduced. Although I was not able to be present because of my health problems, it was a great joy to see students graduate from Kyiv Theological Seminary and from Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary. We were also able to rejoice over the graduations of students from Word of Life in Kyiv. We have former students and friends who are teachers at Word of Life and we also had some friends in this graduating class! Congratulations to all this graduates and we pray their studies have prepared them well for many years of ministry in Ukraine!
Even though I have not been able to be in classes, I have still been teaching. Over the summer, I was busy converting all my lectures for the Worship and Prayer and also for my class on Evangelism. This has been a lot of work, and we are still working on converting many of these lectures. We hope to complete them all this next week.
All of these classes are being led by teaching assistants that I have worked with to lead these classes. They play the lectures and then lead discussions and small group exercises. And then once or twice a day, I have a Zoom session to answer questions and review essential points. And each evening (and often mornings), I am grading all the papers that they are submitting. This has worked very well so far, and it is exciting to read their work and see how much they are learning and applying.
The Evangelism class is currently going on at Kyiv Theological Seminary. Sergey Bochko is the teaching assistant for this class, and he is doing an excellent job leading this class! We have had some very interesting and helpful discussions about the way Jesus and the apostles did evangelism compared to how we do evangelism today. We also are learning how to train church members in evangelism, and we are learning about apologetics and how to answer various objections to the gospel.
We are traveling to Lviv this week to meet with the teaching assistants who will be teaching for me in October. David Snead with will be leading the class on Worship and Alexander Savich will be leading the class on Prayer. Both of these are former students of mine. David Snead is an American missionary who has written an excellent book on Public Speaking in a Second Language and he is currently finishing a book on leading worship. He has been a worship leader for many years and he will do an excellent job leading the Worship class. Alexander Savich was one of my original students back in 1996 at KTS and he currently serves as the Dean for the Pastoral Ministry Program at UBTS. He has also taught at Lutsk and at KTS and he has translated the Prayer class for me in the past. Pray for both of these men as they lead these classes. And pray for me too. I will be participating by Zoom and also grading all the papers for these classes. So, we all need your prayers during this coming month!
Time with Family …
Kristina is already looking forward to Christmas. She learned in science lessons that the days get shorter in the fall and winter. So, she said she was glad that Christmas would be really soon. I told her that Christmas was still a long way away. She said if the days are getting shorter then Christmas will come even faster. I laughed and then explained that every day still has 24 hours, but the daylight time would be shorter and shorter.
We are really enjoying learning about American History together. The girls enjoyed building replicas of the Nina and the Santa Maria (only two boats – the Pinta got left out). They also built a fort to represent Jamestown and spent a week learning about the various American Indians and the different types of housing – teepees and wigwams and igloos.
When we studied about Leaf Erickson and the Vikings, we also took time to study about the Vikings that settled in Ukraine called the Kyiv-Rus. We were able to visit a historical replication of their fort and see an archery contest there (We did not participate in the contest – but we enjoyed getting to try shooting a few arrows!).
We also took a short cruise down the Dnieper River as we talked about the Vikings coming down the Dnieper and settling in Kyiv. And the girls have loved the few warm days we have had and they love climbing on nearly everything they can! In short, learning has been a lot of fun for us all!
My Health …
My health continues to improve but I am still quite weak. Even when I have been doing the Zoom sessions for class (usually an hour), I am really worn out afterwards. But my heart seems to be getting stronger and stronger and I am able to walk most days for an hour without any difficulty. I am still having problems with my gastro-system but there even seems to be a lot of improve here too. Please continue to pray for me and my continuing health issues.
Pray for Ukraine … and America
Please continue to pray for Ukraine over the next few months while Russia is conducting its “Caucasus 2020” war games. Also be praying for the people of Belarus. Russia has already sent some troops into Belarus and we don’t know what will happen there. We have a number of students in Belarus and some of them have been detained and even put in prison for protesting so be praying for them too. Also, pray for Armenia. Just this week, war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We have students in Armenia who have posted videos of open conflict there. We don’t know many details at this point but one concern it that Turkey and Russia are supporting opposite sides and this war could expand to affect other countries in the region.
We also continue to pray for peace in Eastern Ukraine also where the war there continue (even though we supposedly have a cease fire) and 2-3 soldiers are dying each week. Pray also for our students who serve as pastors and chaplains to many from the war-torn areas.
Be praying for America especially this coming month as people place their votes, not only for the Presidency, but also for many other government representatives. Government may not be loved by most people, but it is essential – at least until the Prince of Peace comes and sets up His kingdom. Remember, government is necessary because sin exists. Pray that people will make wise choices as they go to the polls to vote in November!
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya, Kristina and Nadia
Teaching Resources International 
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