Christian Jural Societies: A Thing of the Past?
Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 4:32 pm
The issue of Christian Jural societies is one that has been troubling me for a few years now. Since my Calling to Christ in the early to mid 90's, when Freedom Conferences were sweeping across the country and the idea of Jural societies were rekindled here in America, I have followed the forming and subsequent failure of a few of these societies.
That had left me with the conclusion that God (YHWH) did not want these societies to succeed, perhaps it was not in His plan anymore. Perhaps the days of Christians coming together in communities with the rule of His Law were over.
But this just doesn't compute with the promises, blessings, and commands of our Lord and Savior , Jesus, the Christ. Hence my dilemma.
Over the last year or so my interest in this subject has been renewed and I've spent a good amount of time studying, praying, and reflecting on this dilemma trying to put the pieces together. Recently, a thought came to me that seemed to make sense and tie it all together. I'd like to present my thoughts on this subject for your review and consideration. Please bear with me... I was was late for the bus when the Lord handed out Blessings in eloquent writing techniques.
If one studies the truth about the cause of the Civil war and what the end result was, and compares it to prophecy in Scripture, it appears to be clear that YHWH planned for the North to win so that Roman law would become the law of this modern nation. The modern Roman style democracy is iron mixed with miry clay. The martial arm of the law (iron) is used to protect the commercial arm of the law (miry clay). All modern wars are waged to protect commercial interests and to spread democracy in the aftermath.
I don't believe for a moment that the good and brave men of the southern States died in vain. I believe they accomplished exactly everything that YHWH placed them in this land to do, until it was time for Him to take them Home. They established and nurtured the Christian common Law, their Christian culture and daily way of Christian life here in America.
Without that foundation in place, all semblance of Christianity would have been wiped out of this land decades ago. However, the culture and the way of life of the South's ecclesiastic society have been slowly eroded away, bit by bit, through the last few generations.
So where does that leave the contemporary Christian who is called out of the world's ways to lead a faithful life in the name of our Lord? I certainly don't believe he's going to find answers in the so-called “churches” of today. The liberal teachings that have infected the mainstream “churches” in this country are an abomination. (The Great Falling Away?) However, those of us that want to return to Scriptural Law are trying to re-learn those old ways with nothing but books, and not much of a chance at practical application. But our Lord always leaves a door open, right? I believe so.
This may be where it all starts to make sense. Please stick with me through this analogy. Lets say there is a teenager who has read every book on driving, and has seen their parents do it a thousand times but has never been behind the wheel. Modern attempts at Jural societies are like putting this youngster behind the wheel of a car in a large freeway interchange in the middle of a large city and asking them to drive safely home into the suburbs without an accident or getting pulled over by the cops.
Please allow me explain. Reading every book or paper on a subject such as the rules of the road, or how a steering wheel, brakes, and accelerator are used to control the car can never give the experience required to make that journey safely. Without learning and practicing the basic skills of operating and controlling the car, say in a high school parking lot, one can never know the little nuances of driving that are necessary to drive safely on the road with other cars in rush hour. How much pressure on the brake pedal does it take to slow the car but not stop it? How much pressure on the accelerator or steering wheel is too much or too little for a given situation? Not to mention how to observe and adjust for other drivers on the road. These are things that experienced drivers take for granted. The next time you're behind the wheel, try paying attention to how often you unconsciously move the steering wheel slightly left and right making adjustments to the road. It's staggering.
Maybe the basic skills of Christian life are what is missing in the modern attempts at Jural societies. We still have the foundation of Christian common Law, but perhaps we need to re-learn and nurture the Christian culture and the Christian way of life. I believe in looking at how the early Christians did things to help understand the Christian way of life. If we take a look at the first Christian ecclesias, ecclesia at Ephesus, ecclesia at Corinth, etc., we may be able to understand how they were able to survive and grow.
My goal in the next couple of paragraphs is not an attempt to give you a lesson on Scripture, but to ask you to consider the following as it pertains to basic Christian ways of life. The early assemblies of believers met in their homes. Many homes in cities and surrounding areas were used as meeting places. Imagine the fellowship, the bonding, the love and support for one another, and the interactive method of study and discussion that one could only find in such an intimate setting. Couple that with the Holy Spirit being poured into the very fabric of their lives and then imagine how wonderful it must have been!
These guys knew God's word! All of the knowledge, edification, manners, habits, and social graces that would form from that kind of brotherly love toward one another made up the basic practices of the Christian way of life which became natural to them. And their children grew up with the same common knowledge, teachings, principles, and practices.
Now compare the above to your average American Jural society member (who is well above average with respect to studying the Word of God than your local big-box church goer). How many, without looking, can identify the three main Blessings that YHWH promised to Abraham? Which ones have been fulfilled? Which ones have not? (by the way, that's a trick question) What is the sign or seal of YHWH's covenant with Abraham? The sign or seal of YHWH's covenant with Israel on Mt. Sinai? What is the New Covenant? Who are the specific parties to the New Covenant? What is the sign or seal of the New Covenant? With regards to the penny in the famous “Render unto Caesar” quote in Matthew 22:20, Caesar gets what and God gets what, and why? These are some very basic questions that each and every Christian should know without having to think about it. The answers to a few of these questions form the basic tenets of our faith. (BTW... How did you do?)
Please don't blast me for disparaging those who wish to start a Jural society. That is not my intent. I applaud those brothers and sisters for the work they have done. I only wish to point out the immaturity of the modern body of Christ. Law isn't the only aspect of Scripture that we should be concerned with. There are blessings, promises, social instruction, etc., the list goes on.
Now to the door that our Lord has left open to us: Could it be in the form of House churches? (or more correctly called “assemblies”). I believe so. I submit to you that we are not ready to drive the car during rush hour. It may be that the Lord wishes for us to learn or regain the basics of the Christian way of life before jumping into heavy traffic. The body of Christ needs to mature through fellowship, participatory study and discussion, and brotherly love. The best way to do that may be from small, intimate assemblies in which we can regain that Way which has been lost. You cannot get that from the Tuesday night “Men's Study” at the local Youth Ministry Center. The whole family needs to be involved in the study and discussions with other families in an organized way according to Scripture.
When several of these assemblies are mature enough and wish to come together for whatever reason they choose, then perhaps our Lord will be there with them and enable them to prosper as a larger whole.
There is only one book I've read on the subject, and when it comes to books, articles, audio, and other “ministry” material, I can can be one of the harshest critics. There is so much crap and half-truth garbage out there that I've had a lot of practice of weeding it out. However, the book I mention is titled, “House Church – Simple, Strategic, Scriptural” written by Steve Atkerson. I highly recommend it. In fact I have listened to some of his audio ministries on Sermon Audio to see where he's coming from, and for what it's worth, he gets my two thumbs up.
I pray that I have provided some food for thought. Please let me know if you think I'm a crackpot who should be wearing a tin foil hat, or if there is something here that may warrant more discussion.
In either case, I humbly submit the above for your review and consideration in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ.
May the Lord richly Bless you.
That had left me with the conclusion that God (YHWH) did not want these societies to succeed, perhaps it was not in His plan anymore. Perhaps the days of Christians coming together in communities with the rule of His Law were over.
But this just doesn't compute with the promises, blessings, and commands of our Lord and Savior , Jesus, the Christ. Hence my dilemma.
Over the last year or so my interest in this subject has been renewed and I've spent a good amount of time studying, praying, and reflecting on this dilemma trying to put the pieces together. Recently, a thought came to me that seemed to make sense and tie it all together. I'd like to present my thoughts on this subject for your review and consideration. Please bear with me... I was was late for the bus when the Lord handed out Blessings in eloquent writing techniques.
If one studies the truth about the cause of the Civil war and what the end result was, and compares it to prophecy in Scripture, it appears to be clear that YHWH planned for the North to win so that Roman law would become the law of this modern nation. The modern Roman style democracy is iron mixed with miry clay. The martial arm of the law (iron) is used to protect the commercial arm of the law (miry clay). All modern wars are waged to protect commercial interests and to spread democracy in the aftermath.
I don't believe for a moment that the good and brave men of the southern States died in vain. I believe they accomplished exactly everything that YHWH placed them in this land to do, until it was time for Him to take them Home. They established and nurtured the Christian common Law, their Christian culture and daily way of Christian life here in America.
Without that foundation in place, all semblance of Christianity would have been wiped out of this land decades ago. However, the culture and the way of life of the South's ecclesiastic society have been slowly eroded away, bit by bit, through the last few generations.
So where does that leave the contemporary Christian who is called out of the world's ways to lead a faithful life in the name of our Lord? I certainly don't believe he's going to find answers in the so-called “churches” of today. The liberal teachings that have infected the mainstream “churches” in this country are an abomination. (The Great Falling Away?) However, those of us that want to return to Scriptural Law are trying to re-learn those old ways with nothing but books, and not much of a chance at practical application. But our Lord always leaves a door open, right? I believe so.
This may be where it all starts to make sense. Please stick with me through this analogy. Lets say there is a teenager who has read every book on driving, and has seen their parents do it a thousand times but has never been behind the wheel. Modern attempts at Jural societies are like putting this youngster behind the wheel of a car in a large freeway interchange in the middle of a large city and asking them to drive safely home into the suburbs without an accident or getting pulled over by the cops.
Please allow me explain. Reading every book or paper on a subject such as the rules of the road, or how a steering wheel, brakes, and accelerator are used to control the car can never give the experience required to make that journey safely. Without learning and practicing the basic skills of operating and controlling the car, say in a high school parking lot, one can never know the little nuances of driving that are necessary to drive safely on the road with other cars in rush hour. How much pressure on the brake pedal does it take to slow the car but not stop it? How much pressure on the accelerator or steering wheel is too much or too little for a given situation? Not to mention how to observe and adjust for other drivers on the road. These are things that experienced drivers take for granted. The next time you're behind the wheel, try paying attention to how often you unconsciously move the steering wheel slightly left and right making adjustments to the road. It's staggering.
Maybe the basic skills of Christian life are what is missing in the modern attempts at Jural societies. We still have the foundation of Christian common Law, but perhaps we need to re-learn and nurture the Christian culture and the Christian way of life. I believe in looking at how the early Christians did things to help understand the Christian way of life. If we take a look at the first Christian ecclesias, ecclesia at Ephesus, ecclesia at Corinth, etc., we may be able to understand how they were able to survive and grow.
My goal in the next couple of paragraphs is not an attempt to give you a lesson on Scripture, but to ask you to consider the following as it pertains to basic Christian ways of life. The early assemblies of believers met in their homes. Many homes in cities and surrounding areas were used as meeting places. Imagine the fellowship, the bonding, the love and support for one another, and the interactive method of study and discussion that one could only find in such an intimate setting. Couple that with the Holy Spirit being poured into the very fabric of their lives and then imagine how wonderful it must have been!
These guys knew God's word! All of the knowledge, edification, manners, habits, and social graces that would form from that kind of brotherly love toward one another made up the basic practices of the Christian way of life which became natural to them. And their children grew up with the same common knowledge, teachings, principles, and practices.
Now compare the above to your average American Jural society member (who is well above average with respect to studying the Word of God than your local big-box church goer). How many, without looking, can identify the three main Blessings that YHWH promised to Abraham? Which ones have been fulfilled? Which ones have not? (by the way, that's a trick question) What is the sign or seal of YHWH's covenant with Abraham? The sign or seal of YHWH's covenant with Israel on Mt. Sinai? What is the New Covenant? Who are the specific parties to the New Covenant? What is the sign or seal of the New Covenant? With regards to the penny in the famous “Render unto Caesar” quote in Matthew 22:20, Caesar gets what and God gets what, and why? These are some very basic questions that each and every Christian should know without having to think about it. The answers to a few of these questions form the basic tenets of our faith. (BTW... How did you do?)
Please don't blast me for disparaging those who wish to start a Jural society. That is not my intent. I applaud those brothers and sisters for the work they have done. I only wish to point out the immaturity of the modern body of Christ. Law isn't the only aspect of Scripture that we should be concerned with. There are blessings, promises, social instruction, etc., the list goes on.
Now to the door that our Lord has left open to us: Could it be in the form of House churches? (or more correctly called “assemblies”). I believe so. I submit to you that we are not ready to drive the car during rush hour. It may be that the Lord wishes for us to learn or regain the basics of the Christian way of life before jumping into heavy traffic. The body of Christ needs to mature through fellowship, participatory study and discussion, and brotherly love. The best way to do that may be from small, intimate assemblies in which we can regain that Way which has been lost. You cannot get that from the Tuesday night “Men's Study” at the local Youth Ministry Center. The whole family needs to be involved in the study and discussions with other families in an organized way according to Scripture.
When several of these assemblies are mature enough and wish to come together for whatever reason they choose, then perhaps our Lord will be there with them and enable them to prosper as a larger whole.
There is only one book I've read on the subject, and when it comes to books, articles, audio, and other “ministry” material, I can can be one of the harshest critics. There is so much crap and half-truth garbage out there that I've had a lot of practice of weeding it out. However, the book I mention is titled, “House Church – Simple, Strategic, Scriptural” written by Steve Atkerson. I highly recommend it. In fact I have listened to some of his audio ministries on Sermon Audio to see where he's coming from, and for what it's worth, he gets my two thumbs up.
I pray that I have provided some food for thought. Please let me know if you think I'm a crackpot who should be wearing a tin foil hat, or if there is something here that may warrant more discussion.
In either case, I humbly submit the above for your review and consideration in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ.
May the Lord richly Bless you.