Some actually believe that sovereignty is a political construct that’s incompatible with being a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
But nothing could be further from the truth. Freedom has its basis in the Word of God [1] and cannot logically be separated from it. There is, however, a dimension of liberty that’s often neither recognized nor appropriated. The First Amendment to our Constitution reads:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” [my emphasis]
To “petition the government for a redress of grievances” is a handful of fifty-dollar words often used to define a civil lawsuit.
However, there’s a reason filing a suit is commonly considered to be off limits to the Christian community. Both the apostle Paul and Jesus Himself were clear about how those in Christ’s Body are to handle disputes among themselves. [see: Matt. 18:15-17] We’re never to seek a remedy for injury or loss from one another outside of our provision to self-adjudicate through His ἐκκλησία [2]–or assembly. [see also: 1Cor. 6:1-11]
But nothing in the Bible prohibits the administration of justice at common law.
What if the authority God has appointed [see: Rom. 13:1-7] begins to violate His laws or oversteps its jurisdiction? Sure, Jesus said to give to “Caesar” what belongs to him.
But everything doesn’t belong to him.
That’s why sometimes it might become necessary to seek legal recourse against the God-ordained institutions we’ve created to serve us—or the private entities they’ve been known to protect. Our cheeks aren’t available for them to slap.
Of course, we might very well bring glory to His character by submitting to the oppressive conduct of a neighbor. [see: Matt. 5:39-43] But am I to ignore unwarranted oppression from what was created to govern or profit honorably in His behalf?
What shall I use as an excuse on that day for allowing His scales of justice to be tipped to accommodate lawlessness?