Trump administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions came under fire for quoting Bible to defend their actions on immigration policy. The scenes of separating children from their parents would melt any one’s heart. Even Franklin Graham criticized these practices.
Mr. Sessions said, “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes.”
Apostle Paul wrote Romans 13 when he and his fellow Christians were under persecution in the mighty Roman Empire. After 2000 years, the fact that the chief law enforcement officer of the world’s most powerful nation is quoting the Apostle’s words is a testament to the triumph of Christianity over the course of the Western Civilization.
The secularists immediately started to attack Mr.Sessions for quoting the Bible. Did n’t the slave holders, the British Empire suppressing the American Revolution quote Romans 13 to suppress people?
Just because Romans 13 was used by slave holders and opponents of American Revolution, it does not make it wrong. It’s like saying, ‘We should not use Boeing 767s because they were used by September 11, 2001 attack terrorists.’ There is a proper application of the Scripture which Apostle Paul called, ‘rightly dividing the Word’ (2 Timothy 2:15).
As Abraham Lincoln said in his Second Inaugural Address, ‘Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God’. The question is, how should we interpret the Bible?
Romans 13 commands Christians to obey the government and its laws. But it is not absolute obedience. God’s Word, the Bible is above the government and it’s laws. Why is it a crime punishable by death to possess a Bible in North Korea? Because Bible gives a worldview in which God is above every pot bellied dictator of this world!
Even apostles did not obey human laws under all circumstances. In Acts 4, we read government authorities ordering Peter and John not to preach the gospel of Christ in Jerusalem. Peter and John told them, ‘Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge you’ (Acts 4:19).
The apostles gave precedence to the Great Commission of Jesus than obeying the orders of the government. Christians should obey the laws of the government as long as they do not conflict with the Word of God.
Coming to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, he has perfect legitimacy to implement the laws of the United States on immigration. Christians should obey these laws. They should also show urge the government to show compassion towards the law breakers, who in this case, are illegal immigrants. Their children should be kept with them as much as possible.
Have a nice day!
Paul Kattupalli