Perhaps you’ve heard of the Alberta pastor who has gone to jail for holding Sunday services that violated COVID-19 rules. Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church in Spruce Grove was arrested last week and is now in jail after refusing to agree to bail conditions.
And people of his church have been strongly in support. “Our governing authorities are acting criminally and all this is against our constitutional rights and freedoms,” said Jasmine Tucker, who has been going to GraceLife Church for 10 years and has continued attending church since Coates’ arrest. “We’re devastated by what has happened. We have the right to go to church and worship God the way that God tells us to. We pray that churches will open, that churches stand up and say this is not right.” Tucker said she has been in touch with the pastor’s wife and has been told he is doing OK in jail. “He is faithful, he is courageous, and he is honouring the Lord.”
Like Pastor Coates, many are saying that the government, by legislating churches not meet during this pandemic, is guilty of persecuting Christians today. But in my opinion, Pastor Coates and this thinking is wrong.
So, is what the government doing really an attack on us as churches? Are they acting criminally? Not at all. Nothing could be further from the truth.
When it comes to the issue of our relationship as Christians to the governing authorities, the Bible clearly teaches us we are to obey them: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established” Romans 13:1.
Now the Bible does go on to give a specific exception as to when we can disobey governing authorities and that is when they overstep their God-given boundaries. When Shadrach, Mesech and Abednego were told by the king to bow down and worship an image of him, they replied, “ We will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:18.) This is called “civil disobedience.”
Is this the case today? Should Christians civilly disobey when told to not have public services? Well, just what is the government demanding of us and why? Are they telling us we can’t worship God at all? Or to worship the god they want us to? Obviously not. We can worship (at home, online etc.) but not together, for a short period time. And it’s not because they disagree with our beliefs. It’s because they are concerned to protect us from potential harm.
As a matter of fact, I’m happy our government has limited much of society’s activities and that’s because, in so doing so, many of my family and friends are still alive. I wonder how small our church family might have been had we carried on without restrictions…
Further, some Christians are saying the government is “persecuting “ us by these restrictions. But that claim really is an insult to millions of Christians worldwide who are facing bonafide persecution. In places like China, North Korea and Iran, you can go to jail and even be killed for simply being a Christian. Saying we are persecuted here belittles what these faithful followers of Christ are going through. As Pastor Jonathan Shierman puts it: “Limiting numbers for in-person services or asking churches to move online temporarily is small potatoes comparatively.”
It seems that Pastor Coates and others don’t think about that.
(For a fuller treatment of this topic, go to my YouTube channel and watch “Should churches stay open during the coronavirus pandemic?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdD_X0VVVO4.)
