How Historical Christians Took Over Cities… And How We Can Again – Part 4

Christian History “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6

In Part 1-4, we saw historically how earlier Christians started or reformed/transformed their existing towns from godless to Christian… and affecting the whole Western Civilization to be Christian, despite its present decline. We looked at some of the historical reasons how and why they were able to do that. But the most important reason, without which none of this would have ever happened, was their unwavering life conviction of a BIBLICAL CIVIL MANDATE!

Historically, for 1,800 years from the time of Christ, most Christians understood Jesus’ Great Commission to be a civil mandate or at least include being a civil mandate (Mat. 28:18-20):

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”

But from the founding of America and even the United States, it being so strongly and unanimously Christian, and Protestant Christianity legally protected by state constitutions, and geographically protected by two oceans – for the first time in history Christians and their leaders no longer needed to worry about being taken over by false religions or anti-Christians. As a result, over the centuries, Christians and their leaders slowly and gladly abdicated theologically and practically from their biblical civil mandate. Most have gotten so removed from it theologically and practically, that after all these generations and centuries, they don’t even know Scripture mandating it and some today even preach against it.

There are many verses in the New Testament mandating our obligation to declare the gospel, but the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, clearly does not declare that – there is no mention of the gospel. This thought is hard for some to digest, as unwittingly today most refer to the Great Commission as for sharing the gospel. But the Reformers and early Americans had a quite different and more literal view of the Great Commission.

In early American homes, after the Bible, the most common book was the 18th century Metthew Henry Commentary of the Bible. Metthew Henry’s Commentary of the Bible, more than any other writing during that time, captured the sense of what early American Christians understood Jesus’ Great Commission to mean (emphasizes were Henry’s):

“What is the principal intention of this Commission; to disciple all nations. Matheteusate—’Admit them disciples; do your utmost to make the nations Christian nations;’ not, ‘Go to the nations, and denounce the judgments of God against them, as Jonah against Nineveh, and as the other Old-Testament prophets” (though they had reason enough to expect it for their wickedness), ‘but go, and disciple them.’ Christ the Mediator is setting up a kingdom in the world, bring the nations to be his subjects; setting up a school, bring the nations to be his scholars; raising an army for the carrying on of the war against the powers of darkness, enlist the nations of the earth under his banner. The work which the apostles had to do, was, to set up the Christian religion in all places, and it was honorable work; the achievements of the mighty heroes of the world were nothing to it. They conquered the nations for themselves, and made them miserable; the apostles conquered them for Christ, and made them happy.”

Historically, their vision was “to make the nations Christian nations.” Now take an honest look at what Jesus actually did say in His Great Commission:

FIRST: Look at the first thing Jesus said: “all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Jesus did not say, “will be given all authority”, maybe in the millennium or some future time. But no, “all authority” right now. Also, Jesus said He has been given no less authority on earth than He has in heaven. How much practical authority do you suppose Jesus has right now in heaven? That’s how much practical authority Jesus has right now here “on earth” – all authority. In fact, if Jesus has “ALL” authority on earth right now, no one else on earth has any authority, unless delegated to them by Jesus. And this certainly includes all civil authority!

SECOND: Moreover, what would “all authority… on earth” obviously include? Certainly, ALL civil authority on earth. Now, there is so much to absorb with this understanding. First, that can only mean, any other civil authority is insubordinate or treasonous if they do not honor the ONE ONLY who has ALL authority on earth – Jesus and His civil Law.

In Part 3 we looked in detail at:

John the Baptist – reproving his top civil leader for not following God’s Law, even though he (like many naïve Christians today) thought he was being lawful not violating Roman law.

Jesus – reproving His so-called civil authorities, who were the Judean Pharisees, for violating God’s Law, though they were the law makers in Judea, via the Sanhedrin.

Paul and Silas – declared as “being treasonous” by Roman civil authorities because they were “declaring allegiance to another king – Jesus!” Well, were Paul and Silas “being treasonous” or was the so-called civil leader treasonous? In every case we must choose – between our “civil leader” or JESUS – their law or God’s Law?

Once we righteously begin identifying any civil leader as being God fearing versus treasonous to Jesus and His Law/Word – then if the people of God, the church, has any “salt” left in it or any “light” (Mat. 5:13-14) – they will biblically mobilize, resist, and replace the unrighteous civil leader, one at a time. Any church that is worth its salt would remove any unrighteous church leader… no less should it for any unrighteous civil leader. If the church, the righteous, don’t do it, who should? Paul said, “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? (1Cor. 5:6). That applies to any entity, church or government. And only the church can, and is mandated, to salt the earth and light the world. There is none other.

Civil treason is serious in any nation. Treason to subvert the top civil leader in most nations is the death sentence. Should we be less serious in working to remove every civil leader who is treasonous in subverting our top civil Leader – Jesus and His Law – our “ONLY Sovereign, the King of kings (1Tim. 5:15) … The ONLY God our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord, be… dominion and authority… NOW and forever!” (Jude 1:25).

THIRD: “Go therefore…” Why does Jesus say, “…therefore”? Because He was now given all authority, and therefore we go with all authority.  And, because His mandate was to make all national (civil) authorities be under His national (civil) authority – “Go therefore and make disciples of all the NATIONS.”

Jesus did NOT say, make disciples of churches. Jesus did NOT say, make disciples of disciples. Jesus did NOT say, make disciples of the lost.

But Jesus DID say, make disciples of nations. A nation, by definition, is a body politic, a people group under some civil government. To not disciple a civil government is to not disciple a nation! As 17^th century Matthew Henry wrote:

“What is the principal intention of this Commission; to disciple all nations. Matheteusate—’Admit them disciples; do your utmost to make the nations Christian nations; … go, and disciple them.’ Christ the Mediator is setting up a kingdom in the world, bring the nations to be his subjects… enlist the nations of the earth under his banner…  The work which the apostles… They conquered the nations for themselves… the apostles conquered them for Christ, and made them happy.”

This is how the European Protestant Reformers and our early American Christian Founders understood Jesus’ Great Commission.

This is why they politically took over civil governments – for Christians to be the rulers under Jesus and His Law.

FOURTH: “Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them…” The word “them” is a pronoun and the only word it can refer to is “nations”. It is not talking about churches or disciples, but only nations. But it says to “baptize” nations. In the New Testament, the word “baptize” was used in 15 different ways, and only one of those ways was water baptism of new believers. This clearly is not talking about water baptism of new believers. But this word can equally be translated as “immerse”.

The verse goes on to say, to immerse “all the nations… in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…” You can’t water immerse nations, but you can immerse nations in what Jesus in context said, “…teaching them [nations] to observe ALL that I commanded you.”  This would be immersing the nations in the “name” (also translated “authority”) of all the Triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). This would be “teaching them” the “whole counsel of God”, as the apostle Paul said he did.

Of note, there were four times in the book of Acts where it says exactly what was said when they baptized new believers, and it was always the same – “in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.” It was never in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism was a common rite that was done by others, such as Roman generals who baptized their troops in giving up their life to follow their generals into battle. One purpose of new believer’s water baptism was identifying who they would follow in life – Jesus. No one could see God or the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus was human who believers could practically follow, thereby being baptized in Jesus’ name.

FIFTH: “Teaching them [nations] to observe all that I commanded you.” The word “observe” does not mean to view but specifically “to keep, to do, or to obey”. This is the same as obeying any civil law. But Jesus mandated that it should only be ALL that He commanded. And Jesus made clear that includes all God’s moral civil Law (Mat. 5:17-19).    

SIXTH: “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Jesus’ national civil mandate is not for some future millennial reign, but it is for our age, now, and until the end of our age. Jesus did not need to give this mandate for Himself, for when He comes back. This is for us today!

The word “lo”, can be translated “behold!”. English translation can’t capture the meaning here very well. But Jesus is saying something shocking next – “Behold, I AM!” When the Lord told Moses to free the enslaved Israelites from the most powerful nation in the world, taking with him only a shepherd’s staff, and to set up a whole new godly nation, Moses asked what His name was: “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, ‘You shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you!’” (Ex. 3:14).

This is the only time and for the only mission Jesus said – “I AM with you!” Jesus’ national civil mandate is so impossible and so great, that it takes the same faith which Moses had in I AM to conquer Egypt… for us to be able to conquer our nation today for Jesus. But His promise – “I AM with you!” – is all anyone needs.