“You Christians are trying to tell everyone what to do!” That’s what lots of folks say these days when topics like abortion or drug use or sexual behavior come up. Christians are often accused of trying to set up a theocracy, a situation where the Church is in charge of the whole society. And passages like these are often cited in evidence.

Now, it is true that during Old Testament times, when God’s people were defined according to their political and ethnic status, having a union of Church and State made sense. But the Christian faith is worldwide, spanning all ethnic groups and including a multitude of cultures. These days it is not appropriate for the Church to govern non-believers.

And we can prove this from looking at the life and ministry of Jesus Himself. Oh, He did assert His authority as King over all the earth (Matthew 28:18), but he steadfastly refused to use His immense power to overthrow even obviously unjust political systems. Indeed, that’s the main reason that the Jerusalem crowd turned on Him between Palm Sunday and Good Friday – they wanted Him to kick out the Romans and become their King, and He wouldn’t do it.

And if we look back at the many, many attempts that have been made to assert the authority of Church over the state, none of them have worked. The state-supported churches in Europe are withering, with empty sanctuaries dotting the landscape. When Massachusetts was founded, you had to be a member of the Congregational church to vote – but how strong is that denomination in the region today? The bottom line is that you can’t use the power of the state to compel faith in Christ, any more than you can point a gun at someone’s head and say, “I order you to trust me!”

So, what do we do with verses like these? As we do with all the Law of Moses, we take the general principle and apply it to our modern context. No, we don’t expect the ruling elders of our congregations to handle cases of homicide or assault – that’s what government courts are for. But wouldn’t it be a good idea for Christians to go to our ruling elders and let them help us settle our disputes before they reach the boiling point? Wouldn’t it be a good idea for all of us Christians to trust the judgment of the ruling elders and pastors that we have chosen to lead us in the way of righteousness? Indeed, wouldn’t we have a safer and happier society if we all sought to govern our lives according to the principles of love and respect and fairness that we find throughout the Law of God?

Deuteronomy 17:8-11 (ESV)

8 “If any case arises requiring decision between one kind of homicide and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another, any case within your towns that is too difficult for you, then you shall arise and go up to the place that the LORD your God will choose.
9 And you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall consult them, and they shall declare to you the decision.
10 Then you shall do according to what they declare to you from that place that the LORD will choose. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you.
11 According to the instructions that they give you, and according to the decision which they pronounce to you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside from the verdict that they declare to you, either to the right hand or to the left.