Moral Government in Great Travail

 Matthew 6:25–34 (ESV): Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

How do you live this out?  Answer: We live out the command not to be anxious by recalling that the Scriptures teach the 3 uses of the Law & Gospel. 

There are 3 offices to Christ’s office as Redeemer-Mediator of the both the Covenant of Works & the Covenant of Grace - prophet, priest, & king (Hebrews).  Consequently, there are 3 sets of keys (Matthew 16:19), which are used for binding & loosing.   There are 3 overarching domains in which we exercise the keys (Individual/family; Civil (Government); & Pedagogical (Ecclesiastical).  I sometimes talk about them in a different order by way of size & scope - Individual (Local), Churchly (Mid-sized), Civil/Governmental (Large & Extra Large).  Thus, we have the 3fold Use of the Law & the Gospel. 

 

Since the Law & Gospel are presented to us with 3 sets of keys, 3 uses, & 3 general spheres, we should understand this passage in the light of the fundamental necessities of life.   Food, water, & clothing (shelter) are representative of the most fundamental requirements for the survival of living beings created by God.

Some people interpret this passage to mean something like this: If you just do the requisite amount of spiritual rigamorole then God will provide.  On that view, the Law & Gospel are all about the individual person’s relationship with God, which, when construed this way, sets them on the path of Works Righteousness, especially if people think that God commends & condemns us regardless of the motives that underwrite our thoughts, words, & deeds.  

Some people, these days, believe that Government should play little if any role in the regulation of goods, kindnesses, & compassions with respect to the Civil Sphere.  In their view, the State / Nation-State ought to play a minimal role.  Individuals, churches, & civil societies are the proper organs through which these regulated goods ought to be ordered & distributed. 

By way of contrast; the Bible enjoins all 3 sets of officers / officials to bind & loose using the appropriate set or sets of keys in order to serve & service living beings & steward the environment for all living beings who operate in, around, & through each sphere.  

Beware of both secular & sacred philosophies that run through “I know what’s mine!”  Such moral philosophies are often the road to gluttony, warmongering, idolatry, and, especially when the world is in escalating amounts of great travail, conducive to angry religious or quasi-religious bigotry - & that was why Sodom & Gomorrah were proverbed by God, & such thinking turns God’s goodness & grace into a transactional, not covenantal, relationship (Romans 4:4)

~ We live in evil times.~ (Cardinal Borusa, Dr. Who / The Deadly Assassin). 

Thank you for reading today. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem on this Purim Day.  

As always, God bless us all, every one. & “Go & sin no more.”