This issue affects all Christians where the state has issued restrictions on worship due to the Coronavirus pandemic. A non-denominational group that serves all Christians on legal issues sent out their newsletter ( http://www.christian.org.uk ) which pointed out that “the clear aim of the central and devolved governments has been to save lives. This is a great thing. God’s common grace is at work.” One problem it flagged up is that in some countries there is a restriction of no more than 50 people gathering for worship, distanced and wearing face-masks, “regardless of its size or capacity.”
This may strike many Christians as unfair, given that a congregation of 200 meeting in a very large building is being treated the same as a tiny congregation of, say, 30, meeting in a hall that could cope with 50, spaced out (2 meters distance, not high on drugs!) However, the question is not about logistics but the principle of state regulation of worship. My own denomination leadership sent out a circular, which all members with e-mail likely received, dealing with the mutual responsibility between the state and the church. It began by referring to the Westminster Confession of Faith (23 – Of the Civil Magistrate). The relevant part was quoted:
• “that unity and peace be preserved in the church, that the truth of
God be kept pure and ensure that all blasphemies and heresies be
suppressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline
prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly settled,
administered and observed.” para. 3
• And the Christian has the duty
“to pray for magistrates, to honour their persons, to pay them tribute
and other dues, to obey their lawful commands, and to be subject to
their authority for conscience’ sake.” para. 4
The point was made that times were not ‘normal’ and that government is acting for public health reasons due to this global pandemic. It is acting within its legitimate powers, so it has been right and necessary for churches to submit to the authorities on this. Then future possibilities were considered if secular voices within government sought to radically restrict public worship again, perhaps seeking other grounds for closure. A few days ago, I noted a radio news-item where the Prime Minister of New Zealand spoke about a recent recurrence of the virus and the belief that it was caused by “schools, social gatherings, and churches.” It remains to be seen if it is true that church gatherings are contributing measurably to a spike in the virus. So far, churches are not being singled out. On the contrary, in other countries it is being made clear that young people up to about 30 years of age are the greatest spreaders of the virus, and most likely to violate government requirements (and least likely to inhabit churches, I would add). Now I quote from the e-mail:
“We need to be clear that were there any attempt to close churches
down, or limit our worship, for virtually any other reason than we
have seen this year, then we would (under God, and for his glory’s
sake, and in line with Christian conscience) have to defy such an
order and obey God rather than men – and, let us not overlook this
important point: be prepared to face the consequences. We would have
to invoke the magnificent spirit of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
(Daniel ch. 3) who, when required to abandon God and go along with the
Babylonian practices, replied, ‘If we are thrown into the blazing
furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will
deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want
you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship
the image of gold you have set up’.”
The conclusion was that Christians should not seek controversy with this, but should never forget that our first and primary loyalty is to God, and God only. “Let us resolve that nothing will prevent us from doing that.”
As for pursuing public open-air worship services, some countries have inclement weather, not conducive to that, but history records thousands of Christians braving hail, rain and snow to worship each week for years, walking many miles into rough countryside, government troops riding out to try to arrest them for that. In my part of the world, they were known as “The Killing Times”, such was the violence done to Christians for daring to worship contrary to the then government laws. Private meetings or conventicles were declared illegal and those Christians attending them were hunted down as traitors. The Covenanters, however, brought in The Sanquhar Declaration in June 1680, which shook the throne of Britain nine years later. Now might be a good time for Christians to revisit history regarding such times of government suppression against Christian conscience of worship. The present situation is nothing like then, but in an increasingly secular society, it wouldn’t take much for some anti-Christian groups to try to manipulate the law to suppress public worship, the current crisis becoming something of a “thin edge of the wedge”. Alertness, and prayerfulness, are surely called for.
