Salvation: By State or By God?

Reprinted from an article by Dean Isaacson 10 Feb 2008.

“So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: “O King Darius, live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered — in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing.

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” [Dan 6:6-10 NIV]

Here the government officials, out of jealousy toward Daniel, convinced the king to make a law establishing the state, or namely the king, to be higher than all authority on earth or in heaven. This is evidence of the narrow thinking and foolishness of man, that he can make a law that would establish himself, or an entity of himself, to have dominion over God.

This goes all the way back to Satan’s rebellion. He believed, in his magnificence, he could elevate himself above his Creator – or at least to a position higher than what was given him by God (Isa 14). In the Garden of Eden, man believed he could become as God, or at least as wise as Him (Gen 3). After the Flood, the great conqueror, Nimrod, intoxicated by his victories and his ability to unite mankind believed he could create a city that would negate mans’ need for a Provider and Savior (Gen 11). For the next five thousand years, in some shape or fashion, man has made every attempt to reprise the Tower of Babel. In our day, mankind of all nations, is rushing to elevate the state above God and sin above good.

In this account, the seduction was simple: Write a law and earn the praise of man. As our Christian nation is increasingly putting aside its godly heritage, more of our laws are for the praise of man, tearing apart our foundation of Biblical law. Every new law is carefully preceded by a crisis. Every politician presents his case as our ultimate provider and savior, without which, our society will of necessity fall asunder. It matters little that we ran out of money to pay for new salvations long ago and our grandchildren will be paying these back long into their retirement years.

This situation is not limited to the secular arena; according to a recent issue of World magazine, more and more “Christian” organizations are jumping onto the earmarked and subsidy gravy train. How often do we see professing Christian lawmakers promoting, or at least voting for, new government programs. How many people will the state rescue so that they will not have to look to God for help?

In Daniel’s situation, there was a penalty: acknowledge the state alone as god or die. Our nation will eventually get to that position; we have been weaving the cloth year-after-year. Too often the Daniels of today will give us upbeat speeches on how bending to the state will lend more credibility to the church and increase our stature among men. Then we all shout “Amen!” and join the throng. We are no longer a people given to prayer -we are given to relationship. We are confused. Daniel was not confused on this matter; he prayed three times a day.

For Darius, the unintended consequence of his action was the imprisonment of his trusted friend Daniel. Daniel prayed. Daniel trusted God. Daniel declared God to be above all kings and authority. God delivered Daniel. After Darius ordered Daniel removed from the pit, he issued a proclamation declaring Daniel’s God to be above all dominion, nations and kings. I suspect he prayed before he wrote another law.

When the state proclaims its message of salvation, there are those who bow and worship; there are those who condemn; and there are those who have no idea what is going on. It is easy to sit in judgment of Darius. We can sit in judgment of our savior-provider-state. Do we pray? Daniel fought back through prayer. Jesus said all authority has been given to Him (Mat 28:18). He also said the kingdom of heaven is forcefully advancing and the forceful lay hold of it (Mat 11:12). To proclaim God above the state, we need to live for Christ and be in forceful prayer (Jam 5:16).