Daniel Hudgins
LU 1103
5/8/2007
Lipscomb’s Church
One might say that the church is made up of a group of Christians who join to worship the Lord. What would this church look like if it were to adhere to David Lipscomb’s views of the church? The people of this church would be shunned if they ran for public office, they would not be allowed to go to war to support their country, and the preachers of Lipscomb’s church would be told it is all right to preach at churches that have other beliefs in order to correct their wrongs.
To start, David Lipscomb stated in chapter four of “Civil Government”, “A man cannot be a follower of Christ and a ruler in the governments of earth.”(138) Obviously, if one wishes to run for office he could not become a candidate and still be in David Lipscomb’s church. Imagine for a moment what our great nation would be like if we had no one in public office with Christ-like views. Abortions would become legal at every stage of pregnancy, same sex marriages would be acknowledged in every state, and many other issues of morality would be compromised. Lipscomb also said “God neither permitted the subjects of his government to for alliances, or affiliate with the human governments… nor to participate in their affairs to sustain and uphold them.” Lipscomb had to go back to Isaiah to support his claim, but members of the Churches of Christ typically do not believe in the laws of the Old Testament. He makes the same claim of being affiliated with human governments on page 18 of “Civil Government”, and then Lipscomb refers to First Samuel, another Old Testament book. Out of the 37 references Lipscomb makes to the bible in Chapter 1, only one of the selections is from the New Testament. One should not rely fully on the old law for guidance, but one should apply the laws of the New Testament to one’s life. However, if the church were to comply with David Lipscomb’s rules, they would not be allowed to be in affiliation with the human government. No Christian would be allowed to serve on a jury, work for the postal service, or act as a clerk for a governmental agency according to page 141 of “Civil Government”.
