Good Morning!
As we continue along in our look at the Westminster Confession of Faith we come to the chapter 23, "Of the Civil Magistrate".
Now "magistrate" is a word we don't use much anymore, but every now and then you will run into a "magistrates court" or something like that. It is simply a term which means the people in charge of the political government (Clover, York County, South Carolina, the United States) over against the Church courts (Session, Presbytery, Synod). In the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church we have a different Chapter 23 from all of our other Reformed brothers and sisters, like the PCA, OPC, RPCNA, etc... In our Chapter 23 we require our civil authorities to promote the Christian Religion. Now, that may seem strange at first, and I will admit that it can be hard to imagine someone like Joe Biden or Kamala Harris doing such things, but when we confess something we are saying that this is the way it ought to be, and if the President or Governor is not following that then we as the Church are called to prophetically warn and witness against their failure to keep what responsibilities they have before Christ as King over both the kingdom of power (the civil state) and the kingdom of grace (the church). This is part of the call as well of Paul in 1 Timothy 2, that we pray for the existing Magistrates, and if they are not doing what the Lord has commanded, then it is lawful for us to ask God to remove them from office and put in someone who will obey Him.
This is the section from our Confession that illustrates this:
"Hence, magistrates, as such, in a Christian country, are bound to promote the Christian religion, as the most valuable interests of their subjects, by all such means as are not inconsistent with civil rights; and do not imply an interference with the policy of the church, which is the free and independent kingdom of the Redeemer; nor an assumption over conscience."
So what we see is that in a well-ordered nation it first of all should be Christian. Now, our Seceder forefathers understood that this meant that all nations were to bow the knee to King Jesus and covenant (make an agreement with) to Him pledging their loyalty and love. While this was not the case in our Constitutional Republic (you'll remember that our 1st Amendment actually forbids the Federal government from choosing Christ) this is one place where we differ from our Covenanter brothers in the RPCNA. For us this means that our constitution is irregular, not immoral. In other words it doesn't mean the United States is illegitimate or anything, but it does mean that as ARP's we should be praying and pushing for our Federal, State, and Local officials to make common cause with the Ruler of Heaven.
This Christian Magistrate (President, Governor, Mayor) then according to our Confession is to "promote the Christian religion". He's to go about doing this because, as it states above, it is in the the "most valuable interest" for men and women to know Jesus as Savior, both for their eternal salvation and because the law of God is wiser and more just than the whims and ideas of men. Notice though that this part of Chapter 23 limits the civil magistrate to promote only in ways that do not violate civil rights or get in the way of the work of the Church. All this is speaking about is that the State is not to force men and women to accept Christ, but are to use the tools at their disposal to encourage in non-violent or compulsory ways.
It may seem as if this Chapter really doesn't have much to say to us in 21st Century America where everything is so off-kilter. However, reading this chapter is a mighty blessing to remind us of our duty to our wayward and rebellious nation and her leaders. We are bound to call them to account and seek the help of the Holy Spirit in bringing a great and wonderful Reformation to our land. May this be in your prayers today.
Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if Joe Biden was convicted by the Holy Spirit through the prayers of God's people? To not just rule as a Christian Magistrate in accordance with the law of God for the betterment of our society, but even more importantly that he would come to know your Redeemer as his own.
Be blessed today and may the Lord guide you in His grace.
Here is a little bit more on this subject:
https://purelypresbyterian.com/2018/04/09/christs-mediatorial-dominion-and-two-kingdoms/
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church