Expert: Mr. McClellan - 3/30/2007

Question
Mr. McClellan,
After reading you answer on The Bible's Position on Man Made Laws, I was still perplexed about a question I have, that is the separatin of church and state.

Does this separtion go against God's laws or should Christians follow man's laws on this issue.

Thank you  

Answer
Hello Diana,
This is a follow up to the answer I gave you concerning the question about the "seperation of church and state." In Romans, chapter thirteen, the apostle Paul clearly states that it is God who puts governments in place and gives them authority. They are supposed to be voluntarily in subjection to him but, as you know, they often disobey God and do not treat people fairly or with compassion, etc., By reading the Old Testament, especially the books of Kings and Chronicles as well as the book of Daniel, you can see that Paul is just saying what the scriptures have always said. Now, in Matthew, chapter 19 begenning with verse 16, Jesus answers a man that had asked him how to have eternal life. If he had asked him how to be saved, or to get into the kingdom of God, or how to be redeemed, how to be allowed into heaven the man would have gotten the same answer because all of these things mean the same thing. A sinner receives eternal life at the moment that he is saved (although salvation, and thus eternal life, can be forfeited if a sinner returns to his sinful ways. God requires a person to be faithful to his committment to him and the New Testament is filled with warnings to Christians about what will happen to them if they depart from "the faith" after they have been saved.) and salvation takes place the instant a person obeys God's requirements on how to become saved and begin life again free from the penalty of past sins. Read Acts, chapter two to learn exactly what God requires. Also read Romans, chapter 6 as well as Acts 22 which is about Paul's salvation and how he got rid of the penalty for his sins. And, please be aware that the word "baptized" does not mean to have a little water sprinkled or poured on you. It quite literally means to let yourself be totally buried or immersed in water. It is the very first physical action that is required of a repentent sinner if he/she intends to be faithful to God and from the time that Jesus was resurrected it is not until that moment that a person has the spirit of God in them. It could not be more clearly stated than in the 38th verse of Acts 2. Quite literally, everything else on the topic of salvation in the New Testament backs this up without exception. Now, just because some people had the spirit of God in them before baptism was required by Jesus does not mean that it is not necessary to be saved. In Matthew 28, Jesus plainly states that after he was resurrected he received all authority in heaven and on earth, he no longer was subject to the Law of Moses as he voluntarily had been before. Now, Jesus makes it quite clear that salvation is not only for the Jews (John the baptizer, who was sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus, said that God required repentent Jews to be baptized in order to have their sins forgiven.), it is to be offered to every sinner on earth and everyone who wants to be forgiven of their sins and thus have eternal life must submit to Jesus and be baptized as he requires. How can a person think that they are being faithful to Jesus if they refuse to do what he says to do? Only a fool or a false teacher would say that baptism is not necessary! So, lets say that the government or some individual made a law that said that you were not to obey God and be baptized in order to have your sins remitted, or forgiven. What should you do? Should you obey such a man made law or should you obey God?
Let me make this absolutely clear. There is not supposed to be any seperation of church and state as far as God is concerned. All governments are supposed to be in subjection to God and upholding his instructions for living the way that God prefers us to live because he loves us. To speak of the government being seperate from the church, the true church which is composed of people who are actually and willingly living by the rules for eternal life, is to say that the government is in rebellion to God and who wants to be ruled by a government that is in rebellion to God and requires us to obey laws that are contrary to God's laws? This is why Christians, people who want to be faithful to God and have eternal life, are encouraged to ignore government laws that are not in line with God's laws. Governments are supposed to be in subjection to God, but when they are in rebellion to God and subject to Satan instead, we must not obey them when they insist that we disobey God also even if it will cost us our lives. This is exactly what the apostles talked about in the other books of the New Testament. Jesus had said that his followers would be persecuted just as he was and many would lose their lives because of their faithfulness to him but they were not to worry because if they remained faithful unto death, they would receive a place in heaven. Heaven is guaranteed only to those that remain faithful. If a person could not lose salvation after he had been saved then why do the apostles spend so much time and effort warning Christians to remain faithful? Beware of false teachers. They are everywhere and in great numbers and many of them are very popular and influential.
I hope that this makes it more clear to you.
Sincerely,
Mr. McClellan


First, you have to know the difference between a man made law and what God requires. If, as most people mistakenly assume, you cannot really know what God requires or even that God exists, then it would be impossible to know the difference. It would just be anybodies guess, as it is now with most people. This is at the root of why there are so many different churches and religions. Now, for what the writers of the Bible said. Anytime a man made law requires you to do something that is contrary to what God requires, you are encouraged to ignore the man made law and abide by what God has said. See Acts 4:19 and 5:29. But, as I have said, most people seem not to be able to recognize what God actually requires though it really is quite easy and not at all difficult.
Sincerely,
Mr. McClellan
Oh yes. The common idea of the seperation of church and state is a total misunderstanding and entirely rediculous when you actually understand the Bible writer's position. I'll elaborate more on this if you need.