Day 282 "Appropriate Separation of Church and State"

Passage: Acts 18:12-16

While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law." Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law--settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things." So he had them ejected from the court.

Devotion:

Often time people try to use government to enforce their own agenda. We see this in our passage today, however just as Paul was about to defend himself against charges brought to the court by the Jews, Gallio (the proconsul for the province of Achaia) interceded on his behalf. Gallio's reasoning was accurate and crystal clear, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law--settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things." He thereby demonstrated, in my opinion, an appropriate separation of church and state.

The phrase "Separation of Church and State" has been bandied about so often that most Americans actually believe that it is in the Constitution, when in fact it is not. Rather the First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". Those words simply mean that Congress is prohibited from establishing a national religious denomination, and cannot require that all Americans become Catholics, Baptists, or members of any particular denomination. Unfortunately, modern social liberals have taken this original concept and changed it to mean that any mention of God must be removed from the public view.

In our passage today, I believe the proconsul Gallio modeled our country's Founding Fathers intent regarding church and government. The purpose of the First Amendment was not to keep religion out of government, rather it was to keep government out of religion -- a subtle but important distinction.

Questions to Ponder:

James Madison, the chief framer of the Constitution once said, "We have staked the whole future of American civilization... upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." -- Hardly a social liberal's definition of the First Amendment. No one can be neutral on this issue because all laws must have some reference point -- whether God's or man's. Should we continue to use a Biblical moral foundation for our laws as did the original writers of our Constitution or do we think we have found a better one? Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other..." It seems many in this country believe that man is capable of establishing his own moral code and God is no longer needed. I think that kind of thinking is a formula for disaster, what do you think? How can we as Christians get involved in the public forum in healthy ways?