J. Dale Massengale Implies Churches Should Deal With Criminal Activity in the Church

Описание: In the sermon Who and What is the Offended Brother, delivered September 27, 2023, at Pleasant View Baptist Church McQuady, KY, J. Dale Massengale strongly implies that the church should deal with criminal activity outside the law.

Original sermon link:    • J. Dale Massengale Implies Churches Should...  

While speaking about those who are "offended" as being "transgressors trying to throw off just authority," J. Dale Massengale recounts a conversation he had with a "law officer" about things that should be dealt with by the law. Apparently, the law officer was drawing a distinction between sin and crime, that crimes are not the same thing as sin in the eyes of the law and need to be dealt with through the legal system. J. Dale Massengale's response to that was, "But adultery and fornication were crimes in the Bible punishable by death."

In stating this, J. Dale Massengale makes a fundamental flaw that I've observed made by many an IFB preacher, the inability to rightly divide the Word of God in regards to the church and Israel. Why were sins punishable by death in the Old Testament? In the Old Testament, God was setting up Israel as a theocracy complete with a legal and judicial system. Israel was then tasked with maintaining and executing the laws according to that system.

The church has not been tasked with that as Israel has. In fact, Romans 13 tells us what institution was tasked with such a thing, and that institution is the civil government. "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing." (Romans 13:3-6) It is the ruler that has the power to execute laws and deal with crimes, not the church.

This inability to rightly divide between Israel and the church causes many an IFB pastor to fumble over the things in the Old Testament, coming up with all sorts of outlandish teachings and justifications for those teachings. It is also the basis for why the Catholic church founded a church state and ruled the way they did, taking political power upon themselves, and even was the basis for the belief that the church had replaced Israel and had all the promises of Israel, even bringing about the Crusades to take back the Holy Land as though God had promised it to the church. It's the result of a lack of understanding the most basic tenant of dispensationalism, that not everything in the Bible applies equally to all parties at all times.