“But if the watchman see the sword come,
and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and
take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his
blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]
“For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
[Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[2] THE
MOSES STATEMENT – Let God’s People Worship
---
Kristen
VanderBerg, CRC Communications wrote on 9 September 2021:
All Christian Reformed Church in North America staff
who wish to work in either the Grand Rapids, Mich., or Burlington, Ont.,
offices will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
This requirement is part of two new policies, one
for Canadian and one for U.S. employees, that outline expectations for
returning to work in the denominational offices following 18 months of
primarily remote work. Other expectations include wearing masks, limiting the
size of meetings, and maintaining physical distancing when possible.
“Our goal is to provide a safe and healthy workplace
for all staff and visitors to our building,” say both policies in their
preambles. “Employers have a duty of care to ensure workplace safety of
employees and visitors to the building. Vaccination against COVID-19 is the
single most effective public health measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Its inclusion among the other public health measures (including physical
distancing, capacity limits, and indoor mask use) is essential in the response
to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
…
U.S. staff who wish not to be vaccinated may seek a
medical or religious exemption. Proof of vaccination or completed exemption
forms are required by October 15, or the staff member will be placed on unpaid
leave.
Unvaccinated
staff in Canada will be able to continue working remotely. Churches and classes
in either country are not subject to the vaccine requirements.
Colin
Watson, executive director of the CRCNA commented:
“We know that COVID vaccination is a widely
discussed and debated topic, and we know that there are some who are opposed to
it. For CRCNA
staff, the decision came down to ensuring that we live into our values. We
believe it is important to show love to our neighbors and to protect the
vulnerable among us. Asking staff to be vaccinated if they are in our buildings
or interacting with others is one way that we can do that.”
+ Christian Reformed
Church in North America,
[2] THE
MOSES STATEMENT – Let God’s People Worship
To the Prime Minister and State Premiers of Australia
PREAMBLE
As
Christians, we write respectfully to you because God calls us to honour our
rulers (1 Peter 2:17) who He has put in positions of authority over us (Romans
13:1). As with Christians in all generations, we want to be a great blessing to
our country, as those who work diligently, submit to and honour authority, pay
our taxes, love our neighbours, giving honour to all. God tells us to pray for
you, and so we do. We ask Him to direct you so that we can lead a quiet peaceable
life in all godliness and reverence, because this pleases God (1 Timothy
2:2-3).
We
write to you at this time, because the current situation in Australia is making
it increasingly difficult for Christians to obey the rules and regulations that
the States are enacting. We do not want to be put in the position where we must
choose between obeying God or our government (Acts 5:29).
At
this time, one of our greatest concerns is the public worship of God.
We
have a deep respect for lawful, civil authority (Exodus 20:12; Exodus 22:28,
Matthew 22:15-22; 1 Peter 2:13-17), which arises out of our respect for the
absolute authority, the only true and living God, who created everything and
upholds it by His power. We respect and honour His authority above all, because
He made each of us to bring glory and honour to Himself. As Christians, we
confess that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, rules and reigns over all creation,
and that every person and all institutions are subject to His authority. He is
our Saviour and Lord, the only King and Head of the Church. He has given us
rules to live by, which He summarised by saying:
“’You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all
your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself. ” (Luke
10:27)
God,
in His wisdom, has set up authority structures on earth. In the 5th commandment
(Exodus 20:12), God teaches us that we have a duty to respect and honour
earthly authorities. The command specifically speaks about parents but extends
into all structures of legitimate authority in society (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter
2:11-17; Titus 3:1-8). This includes family, business, church, and civil
government.
God
also puts limits on all human authority. God sets these limits because fallen
humanity does not wholeheartedly love God or neighbour. If our parents command
us to disobey God, we cannot obey them in this (Ephesians 6:1). If any
authority commands anyone to do evil it is wrong to obey (Acts 5).
God,
who has all authority and gives limited authority to people, calls all people
to worship. Worshipping God is the most important activity and privilege of
human existence (Genesis 2:1-3, Exodus 20:1-11, 1 Peter 2:4-10, Revelation
7:9-12). God calls everyone everywhere to worship (Psalm 96). If we are going
to keep God’s command to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind,
soul and strength,” He calls us to physically gather together to worship and
warns us not to stop (Psalm 100, Hebrews 10:25). If we are going to love our
neighbour as ourselves, we must place great value on their ability to gather
for worship, as this is our neighbour’s greatest privilege and duty.
While
God calls everyone everywhere to worship, He gives Christ’s church a clear and
direct command to gather to worship Him. The public worship of God is essential
to the church’s life. Local churches obey this command by physically gathering
together. The Biblical word for “church” (occurring 111 times in the New
Testament) literally means “assembly” and requires a physical meeting.
Therefore, virtual meeting is not a substitute.
God
alone controls everything in the universe, including disease and death. In
times of crisis, public worship is vitally important, as God either blesses or
frustrates our efforts to combat sickness and disease. While precautions should
be taken to ensure safety, and while God often uses medicine to counteract and
prevent disease and death (Isaiah 38), He calls us to gather to humble
ourselves and pray for mercy, because He ends plagues, stops diseases, and
brings blessing when His people gather together to humble themselves, pray and
seek His face (Joel 2:12-17). He also prolongs trouble when a people harden
their hearts.
In
a health crisis with no clear end in sight, the alarming increase in suicide,
alcoholism, and depression, the pressing need to hold public worship should be
even more evident (Psalm 73:16-17). God alone can heal our land and provides
the greatest cure for all the troubles which overwhelm broken people (Psalm
61:1ff). Our country needs hope. People find true, lasting hope when they
gather for worship and prayer, as they find forgiveness in Jesus Christ our
Lord.
As
God directly calls His Church to worship and promises to respond to His people
when they gather together, no government on earth should tell the church it
cannot gather to worship. The Bible tells us of a time when a government
refused to let God’s people worship Him. When God’s people were in bondage in
Egypt, God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people go so they could
worship Him (Exodus 3:12).* Pharaoh answered, “Who is the Lord, that I should
obey His voice?” God sent great plagues on Egypt because Pharaoh would not
listen to His prophet Moses. All Moses asked of Pharaoh was for God’s people to
go apart for worship. Pharaoh’s refusal led to the destruction of most of Egypt
and the annihilation of its army.
In
a similar way, we come, like Moses of old, with the same plea. Let God’s people
worship Him. Let God’s people gather for worship. We must answer His call to
worship. We plead that you would not be like Pharaoh and stand between God and
His Church, especially during the present troubles.
–
*
God’s word to Moses in Exodus 3:12 was to serve/worship on Sinai, and the
repeated references following in the narrative to freedom to go and sacrifice
and serve/worship, were all refused by Pharoah – who constantly wanted to limit
or diminish the number – (i.e inside Egypt, close to the border (Exodus 8:25,
28; only the men, without children Ex.10:7-10, without livestock etc. Ex.
10:24-26 ). But Moses demanded the whole people go together (Exodus10:9) as a
holy people, set aside and called out to God.
DECLARATION
As
Christians, who seek, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind
and strength:
We
declare that there is no other head of the Church, but the Lord Jesus Christ,
who reigns supreme as King over all authorities and rulers (Isaiah 9:6-7;
Matthew 28:18; Colossians 1:15-18; Ephesians 1:20-23).
We
declare that while we are called to submit to the government, we cannot obey
the government if it requires us to disobey God (Acts 5:29; Romans 13:3-4; 1
Peter 2:13-17; Exodus 1:15-20; Mark 12:17).
We
declare that the worship of God is the most important activity and privilege of
human existence (Genesis 2:1-3, Exodus 20:1-11, 1 Peter 2:4-10, Revelation
7:9-12).
We
declare that the public gathered worship of God is essential to the church
(Ephesians 3:20-21; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 7:9-12).
We
declare that loving the Lord our God means loving and valuing His worship
(Exodus 25-31; Numbers 3:4; 1 Corinthians 11:27).
We
declare that loving our neighbour involves the provision of care for their
souls (Mark 8:36; Romans 10:1).
We
declare that in times of crisis, we must, all the more urgently, call upon the
name of God in public worship (Joel 1:14, Joel 2:12-13, Luke 13:4-5, Hebrews
12:7).
We
declare that since the Lord has commanded us and given us the right to worship,
it is wrong for any government or official to obstruct gatherings for public
worship, especially at a time like this.
We
respectfully and dutifully urge you to allow Christ’s church to gather together
for public worship.
Robin
Tso | Minister, Hunter Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia
John
Forbes | Minister, Hastings River Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia
David
Kerridge | Minister, Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia Northern Rivers
David
Lachman | Pastor, Hobart Southern Presbyterian Church
Thomas
Eglinton | Elder, Smithfield Baptist Church
As of September 15. 2021
at 8:30 p.m. EDT (USA) - Signed by 461 Church Leaders and 1,569 Members
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