No doubt the events of the last year and a half are beyond anything most of us could have ever imagined. Fear of widespread sickness, death, and fluid plans of how to mitigate the situation have understandably led to deep anxiety and concern among both Christian and Gentile. It was reasonable and proper to expect the Church to ardently engage alongside the governing authorities in response to the pandemic.
But what has happened after the initial shock of the pandemic, is what is truly terrifying. The Church has responded practically in lock step with the world, often even taking more extreme restriction measures, like telling worshipers not to come to the House of God in the name of safety. Fear has seemingly taken on a similar power to the virus: being both contagious and widespread. The one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ is in many ways hardly discernable from the world. This should not be so. Overwhelmingly, the Church has succumbed to utter fear with no end seemingly in sight. Even more concerning, she is looking to man, not God, to deliver her. More than ever, the Church needs to remember our transience, our ultimate authority, and our commission.
In Psalm 144, King David declares that, “Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.” We are also reminded of the brevity of our lives in James 4:14, which says that our lives are a vapor, here and then gone. Why should we then cling desperately to this life as though there is nothing beyond the grave? This world is not our home; our true citizenship is in heaven. We have to confess our fears to God, trust in Him to take care of us, and get on with living the life we have been given in view of eternity, because our time here is short, and no one is guaranteed tomorrow. Holy Scriptures tell us many times over, “Fear not.” After rebuking the wind and the sea, Jesus said to the disciples in Mark 4:40, “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” Perhaps He is asking us that today. Perhaps we should ask ourselves that, too.
With regard to submitting to governmental authority, particularly in reference to mandates of any sort, many have referenced Matthew 22:21, in which Jesus says that Christians are to render unto Caesar those things which belong to Caesar and to render unto God those things which belong to God. This does not mean that we must render governance of our bodies over to the state. But our bodies do not belong to the them, rather they belong to God.
Additionally, not just as Christians, but as humans made in the image of God, we each must be free to seek God and make decisions in agreement with our conscience—to mask or not, to vaccinate or not, to stay in our house or not. As Christians possessing the Spirit of the Lord, we have liberty, announces II Corinthians 3:17. Even a pandemic does not negate truth or the power of the Word of God.
Romans 13, too, is also widely employed to justify absolute obedience to governing authorities. But verse 3 states that “rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil … do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.” At that point, it is, in essence, against God.
This gripping fear of death is not winsome or attractive to those in the world. Why should it be? If Christianity has nothing more to offer than what they already have, why bother? The world needs another option besides fear, doom, and gloom. We must live like we believe what we profess to believe. The world needs hope — the hope of the resurrection and of life eternal. And the only hope is Jesus Christ. It is long past time that the Bride of Christ awaken, repent, fully open her places of worship, proclaim the Truth to a desperate world, and ready her lamp. Our Bridegroom is indeed coming.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the Cogitare Magazine’s position.
