Its hard to believe we find ourselves in the middle of June, but here we are. The first half of 2020 has certainly been dramatic, and the way things are going currently, the second half does not appear that it will be any less dramatic on a variety of fronts.
The issue that currently consumes the majority of news channels and is being discussed, debated, and decided on throughout certain areas of our country is the issue of police brutality, especially as it relates to the police and their treatment of African Americans. There is a well-promoted outcry for the defunding of police departments in major cities like Seattle, Washington, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Atlanta, Georgia, and Los Angeles, California. The group in Seattle, who apparently can’t decide by what name they want to be called (either CHAZ or CHOP), have established what is being called by many as total anarchy in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of the city.
Whether that assessment is accurate or not, these states are experiencing what appears to be a nation-wide sweep by a well-funded and well-organized group of protestors—some peaceful, some not—to demand that there be certain non-negotiable changes to the fabric of policing and government. That’s the most neutral observation I can offer regarding the events unfolding in our country. My intent in that introduction is to not paint a picture or tout any political jargon because none of that really makes much of a difference to me. At the moment, we all have the right to voice our opinions because we live in a free society...notice I said at the moment. Enjoy that freedom while we have the opportunity.
My main concern in communicating with you is the same concern I have always had. It is not to give you my opinion because my opinion does not matter and truthfully neither does anyone else’s. My main concern is for us to strive to look at what is happening around us through the lens of Scripture which is God’s eternal, inerrant, infallible truth. In Hebrews 4:12 we read, “the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Paul writes to young Timothy in 2 Tim 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
So, what does the Bible have to teach us as believers and followers of Christ about the idea of defunding the police? First off, we need to define the word defunding. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word defund as “to prevent from continuing to receive funds.” So, when the word “defund” is used in reference to the police, it means, to prevent the police from continuing to receive funds (the department, the officers, the equipment, the utilities, etc.). Where does the police department get its funds? From a city budget based on tax revenue and other government subsidiaries. So, defunding the police means to have the city government to stop the flow of money and resources that the police department receives in order to operate. I think this point is important to be clear about. Defund does not equal Reform. Police Reform is a completely different concept. So, let’s just be clear about that.
Now, why do we have police officers and all the equipment and resources that goes along with a police department? In Scripture, it is clear that God has established three institutions. The first institution was the institution of marriage (Gen 2). The second institution present throughout redemptive history is the people of God. In the OT, it was God’s covenant people Israel and today we understand God’s people as the church. The third and only other institution which God established or ordained is civil government. And here is the reason—for the protection and the preservation of social order and to punish those who do evil. Civil government exists because God designed it and put it in place.
Part of that entity, that organizational structure, is the police department. In Romans 13, Paul is writing about the necessity of all people, but especially believers to obey the governing authorities. In verse 1 and following we read, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s Servant for your good.” (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016. Print.)
He is referring to those in governing authority is verses 1-3, whether that is an emperor, president, governor, deputy sheriff or police officer. “For he, the one in the position of governing authority (and for the purposes of our discussion), the police officer is God’s servant for your good.” Some translations say that He is God’s minister for your good. That’s right, a police officer is a minister of God to serve and protect. End of verse 4, “For is the servant (doulos) of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”
So, what’s wrong with defunding the police? The overarching issue is that fact that we didn’t establish civil government, we didn’t establish the concept of the police—those who protect us and carry out the laws that are enacted in this country or any country—God did that. So, it is wrong for us to do away with what God has established. Instead, verse 5, “we are to be in subjection” to those in authority. The Apostle Peter says the exact same thing in 1 Peter 2:13-14, “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.”
Now, can the sinfulness of men invade and mess up these institutions that God has ordained and established? Absolutely! And we see that evidenced in our society. The institution of marriage has been completely uprooted and twisted and perverted for man’s own selfish and sinful desires. The church has certainly seen the sinfulness of mankind cause division and devastation. And, of course, the sinfulness of mankind have penetrated every level of civil government, including the police departments. But to dismantle and defund entire departments—those who are God’s servants for our good—well, there is nothing God honoring in that.
One last thought...and I hope an encouraging one...
Even when there is chaos, rebellion, anarchy, or coups de taus (which is an overthrow of power), there is always the instant propensity to move from that chaos toward structure and order because chaos and the absence of civil authority is intolerable and frightening. Government exists by divine ordination. It is in the fabric of man’s desire. And listen, God is at work in government. While God is transcendent and He is above His creation — He is immanent in His creation — He is not just present in the physical creation—ordering it and upholding it, He is also very present in the social structure. In a good government, He is at work safeguarding justice and punishing evil. In a bad government, one that is abusive, oppressive, murderous, and unjust, God is at work bringing judgment and retribution upon a rebellious ungodly culture.
God has ordained government for the protection of life and property...for the repression of evil and crime and for the rewarding of virtue and good. Its why Paul writes at the beginning of our text, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God.”
Brent Thompson
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