Excerpts from: Christ, not Caesar, Is Head of the Church
Christ is Lord of all. He is the one true head of the church (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1:18). He is also King of kings—sovereign over every earthly authority (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). As His people, we are subject to His will and commands as revealed in Scripture. We cannot and will not acquiesce to a government-imposed moratorium on… corporate gatherings. ?????????? ????? ?? ???????????? ?? ??? ????’? ????? ????????.
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We ?? ??? ???? ??? ?????’? ?????????? to serve and worship our Lord as He has commanded. The church is Christ’s precious bride (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23–27). She belongs to HIM alone. She exists by His will and serves under His authority. He will tolerate no assault on her purity and no infringement of His headship over her. All of that was established when Jesus said, “? ???? ????? ?? ??????; ??? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ????????? ??” (Matthew 16:18)…
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The honor that we rightly owe our earthly governors and magistrates (Romans 13:7) does not include compliance when such officials attempt to subvert sound doctrine, corrupt biblical morality, exercise ecclesiastical authority, or supplant Christ as head of the church in any other way.
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When officials prohibit singing in worship services, they attempt to impose a restriction that in principle makes it impossible for the people of God to obey the commands of Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. When officials mandate distancing, they attempt to impose a restriction that in principle makes it impossible to experience the ????? ????????? ??????? ????????? that is commanded in Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, and 1 Thessalonians 5:26. In all those spheres, we must ?????? ?? ??? ????…
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We cannot accept and ???? ??? ??? to the intrusive restrictions government officials now want to impose…
We offer this response without rancor, and not out of hearts that are combative or rebellious (1 Timothy 2:1–8; 1 Peter 2:13–17), but with ? ???????? ????????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?????…
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“Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge” (Acts 4:19). And our unhesitating reply to that question is the same as the apostles’: “?? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ???” (Acts 5:29).
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John MacArthur
{I may not agree with everything he says, but I appreciate his stance in this season.}
Grace Community Church
Sun Valley, CA
https://www.gracechurch.org/news/posts/1988