[This is part 7 in a series on allegiance to God alone. See part one, two, three, four, five, six, eight, nine]

Leaving Egypt Ministries, Obadiah D. Morris

The ideology of statism is not learned from God, but rather picked up from the world of men who live in rebellion against God and His natural order. This ungodly philosophy, which leads men to idolize human government and defend it as necessary for social order, infects those who have turned away from divine wisdom and instead adopted the ideas of the men around them who have done the same. If men sought their wisdom from God, they would never fall victim to such harmful ideologies.

Though some may claim divine guidance for their statist beliefs, the truth is their own idolatry and rebellion against God compels them to venerate and exalt human rulers. The scripture, after all, commands men to have “no other gods” than the Lord. Since these men don’t wish to abandon their professed Christianity and insist on using God’s name in vain as they preach the statist philosophy of the world alongside Him, instead they try to make a case for God-the-statist. They try to make the case that it is possible to serve both the Lord and Caesar. In a vain attempt to justify their rebellion against God, evade accountability, and avoid being rebuked for their sin, they twist scripture to align with their political views they learned from the world (“Jesus is a Republican just like me!”). Rather than be changed by the Word, which would lead them to an anti-statist philosophy that they don’t wish to embrace, they seek to impose their pre-existing worldview upon God and His word and present a Biblical case for statism.

Any reader of the Bible should clearly recognize that establishing or endorsing systems of political power directly contradicts the prophets’ scathing rebuke of statist societies, the psalmists’ unwavering trust in God alone for salvation, and Jesus’s own instruction to reject the worldly exercise of power over others (Mark 10:42). But these men ignore these things and seek to cherry-pick a couple of passages to repeatedly use in defense of their worldly philosophy, rather than use scripture to guide their thinking. If they read their Bibles humbly and were ready to give up the pride and patriotism taught to them by their human masters, they would see that God hates statism.

Thus, the statist position that many men hold—the reverence for political power and the belief that such systems are necessary for social order—does not come from God or His word. Rather, statism and its variants like democracy, socialism, and fascism are ideologies that originate from the world, not from following divine counsel. Anyone who gets their ideas from the world, following the “wisdom” of the “secular” philosophers, is bound to run into some convoluted defense of state power. This has always been the nature of most men who are regarded as the wise philosophers of the world. As James B. Jordon noted, “Virtually from the beginning, philosophy was political philosophy, designed to support the city of man. Philosophy was to be the religion of the state, the new form of the ‘court prophet.’” These classical philosophers of the world always lead men down the statist path. Their whole philosophies were state-centered rather than focused on individual liberty. As the economist Murray Rothbard explained, “For Plato and Aristotle, ‘the good’ was naturally not to be pursued by the individual but by the polis. Virtue and the good life were polis- rather than individual-oriented. All this means that Plato’s and Aristotle’s thought was statist and elitist to the core.”

The ungodly philosophy promoted by the thinkers of the world—or rather by the men whose religion is statism—is one centered around the alleged justness and necessity of political power for social organization. These false prophets have been sent by the devil to make a defense of human government and convince people that political rulers are essential for society. They have come to make men believe that trusting in God alone is insufficient for social order. They are the ones that help teach men to say such ungodly things as “who would protect us without the United States Military?” Such a teaching is clearly wrong and ungodly. God does not tell us that we need men who call themselves “the government” to be safe and free, but rather, “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him” (Psalm 2:12). We are not told that we are in need of “the most powerful military in the world” to be safe and free, but rather, “Blessed are those whose strength is in God” (Psalm 84:5).  

The worldly-statist ideology is propagated by professors, academics, pundits, pastors, philosophers, and other influential voices with popular platforms or followings who, knowingly or not, steer people away from God and towards the “political gods” who rule over and enslave their subject populations through false political doctrines. As opposed to the liberation that scripture leads us to, statism is a worldly philosophy of men in rebellion to God who spin these ideas to keep men in bondage by making them into mental slaves. 

While some professing Christians may claim their statist beliefs come from God, or try to reconcile such political positions with scripture, this merely demonstrates that they have not truly repented of worldly thinking. Embracing statist ideology is evidence they remain enslaved to an unregenerate mind, not led by the Spirit of the Lord. For it is not the Spirit of God that compels men to worship the thrones of human authority, but the spirit of Egypt.

Statism is a destructive, worldly philosophy that leads those who embrace it down the broad path of ruin. Those seeking true peace and prosperity must firmly reject this ungodly ideology and refuse to be swayed by its self-serving proponents. There is no reason for the man of God to buy into the ideas of the crony philosophers of the world. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly” (Psalm 1:1).

Those who embrace the worldly-statist ideology, which is meant to enslave men under man’s rule rather than liberate Him under God’s rule, are not men who are asking God, “Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth” (Psalm 86:11). Rather, they are men who never even sought God’s counsel on such matters but simply copied all the other ungodly men around them who repeat the abundant lies and fallacies of the world that human government is necessary to civilization. They are men who still need to “seek ye out the book of the Lord, and read” (Isaiah 34:16). For they have adopted their ideas from the playbooks of the rulers of this world. 

Freedom is not obtained through statist systems, which only bring the enslavement of mankind. If men want to get free, they must seek the Lord, who “shall give thee rest from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve” (Isaiah 14:3). It is only God who will rescue a repentant people from out of the hands of our Egyptian captors (Deut 26:6-9); the statist philosophy—this spirit of Egypt—will only keep men in it. 

Trusting in God rather than government

This Egyptian philosophy that most men hold, which says that human government is necessary to civilization and society, is where people arrive when they reject God. Any society where statism—both as an ideology and as an actually existing political system—abounds is proof that men have rejected God and turned to the political gods of the world for their security. This is why we must repent from the ideas of the world and turn our eyes back to the Lord, who “will guide you along the best pathway for your life [and] will advise you and watch over you” (Psalm 32:8). 

Without divine wisdom and guidance, men risk falling prey to the millions of worldly-minded deceivers out there, such as Keynes and Marx, who claim to act in the people’s best interest but in reality serve the forces of spiritual evil and physical enslavement. These false prophets advocate for state control and intervention, promoting the notion that a dictatorship of self-proclaimed guardians of the “common good” is the path to salvation. Such men, like Keynes, present an entirely new religion that is wholly apart from God and scripture. As one mid-twentieth century economist put it, Keynes’s main treatise, the General Theory, “founded a new economic church, completely furnished with all the properties proper to a church, such as a revelation of its own, a rigid doctrine, a symbolic language, a propaganda, a priestcraft, and a demonology.” There is no such thing as a “Christian Keynesian.” The ideas of men are, by and large, at war with the laws of God.

On the other hand, men who remain steadfast in the Lord cannot possibly be fooled by the deceptive philosophies of the world, all which point men toward statism and away from God. Filled with the Holy Spirit and grounded in the Word, they cannot be misled by doctrines that teach the obedience to man over obedience to God. It would be immediately obvious that anyone who claims that society cannot function without presidents, legislatures, police, or the military, is a false prophet who has not come in the Lord’s name (though he may claim to). For the scripture tells us that God is our king, judge, and lawgiver, and that we are in need of no other (Isa 33:22).

Coming out of the world

Leaving the world behind involves rejecting the deceptive philosophies that prop up its systems and institutions (Col 2:8), which require pseudo-scientific defenses for their existence, which are readily supplied by intellectuals who publish propaganda masquerading as legitimate academic work in order to create the impression that influential thinkers endorse the interventionist agendas of ruling elites and that you should too. We wouldn’t walk out of Egypt and maintain the spirit of Egypt, i.e., carry with us the Egyptian philosophy of statism on the way out. Coming out of the world includes abandoning all the philosophies and ideologies that are of the world and not of God: democracy, republicanism, socialism, communism, fascism, democratic socialism, social democracy, progressivism, monarchism, constitutionalism, etc, etc.

The mainstream ideas of the world—namely the idea and its many variations that human government is necessary to keep men safe and free from their enemies—are made to turn people away from God and corrupt their thinking. Many of us have been raised to embrace the ways of men rather than the ways of the Lord. This is why scripture warns against being “taken captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition” (Colossians 2:8). If we base our ideas on the ideological environment of the world and its political landscape, we will inevitably adopt beliefs that conflict with the Lord’s teachings.

Therefore, it is crucial that we distance ourselves from the spirit of Egypt that permeates worldly institutions, and instead immerse ourselves in the liberating word of God. This allows us to free our minds from the false ideas that have taken us captive, both spiritually, mentally, and physically. We must reject the lies propagated by the government and mainstream culture if we are to live according to God’s ways.

The ideas that men can easily run into among worldly folk who have likewise not sought the counsel of the Lord will quickly lead them astray down the false and destructive path of statism — whether the “conservative,” “progressive,” or some other brand. While it was always man’s own idolatry that led him into the statist position, it was still an aid to his wrong thinking that such ideologies are the prevailing opinions of our world. The State-gods have so much power over the minds of people because most of the population has always been propagandized by these worldly ideas for all of their lives. They believe that there is no protection outside of the State, that without human government we would be left open to attack by other people, that we have to have a State because others have one, that the government keeps us safe and free, etc. Men have long been infected by the spirit of Egypt, which is bound to consume a man that doesn’t abide in God and His word.

Man-fearing and the temptation of statism

Thus, one reason men fail to heed the call to not be like the other nations in the world (i.e., the statists) is that they are tempted by the lies of the world and allow themselves be ruled by the spirit of Egypt, namely the satanic idea that men need governments to protect them from other governments or various “bad guys” and boogeymen that the ruling elites of the world have invented in order to successful rule over men through fear. If some other foreign statists (eg., Assyrians or Babylonians) have a political system, they reason, with the rest of the peoples of the world, that acting like Babylonians—setting up human rulers and centralized armies—or seeking protection from these system is the only way to stay safe. And this temptation to statism for protection and aid is an ungodly one. Trusting in states for protection is a clear demonstration that one does not trust in God. All state systems are under divine judgment themselves, even if they are presently being used as a tool by God for judgment upon people who trust in them, and to trust in a State to save you is to join in on this punishment for the sin and rebellion of statism. 

Those who believe we need government rulers and state armies to protect us out of fear of foreign enemies coming upon us simply have no faith in the Lord and His protection and have not received this ideology from the Holy Spirit. They do not believe the words of the Lord, saying, “Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you” (Deuteronomy 3:22). Those who say they need soldiers and police to keep them safe and free do not believe that God is with them. They departed from the whisper of God in their ear, saying, 

“Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). 

Those who think that a “Department of Defense” is indispensable to a free society have no faith in God but have rather put their faith in men. They may profess God with their lips, but in their actions they deny Him. If they knew the word of the Lord, their faith would be in God alone, which necessitates that they be anti-statists. They would know that fearing men, which leads men to setting up political systems, is the opposite of the exclusive God-fearing that the Lord calls us to.

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

Those who conjecture all the bad things that would allegedly happen to them without “their” government to protect them—the knee jerk response of all statists of the “bad guys” who would allegedly overcome us without man-kings to rule over us—cannot say with the scripture, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). This fear of all the bad things that would happen without a government is a clear sign that they are being animated by some other spirit than that of the Holy Spirit. It is a sign that they are infected by the spirit of Egypt, which calls men to put their faith in Pharaohs and their political systems. If they were men of the scriptures who lived in the Psalms and its clear calls to trust in God for protection, they could say, “The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6). But they say instead, “We have the U.S. military on our side, we’re not afraid of the Chinese, what can they do to the world’s superpower?” This exposes them as men who do not fear God and do not operate on the Holy Spirit. Trusting in men for protection, whether soldiers, police, or congressmen, is not only a clear mark that one has no faith in God. but is precisely definitive of man’s rebellion against the Lord (1 Sam 8). 

Fearing God alone

Men who are guided by the Holy Spirit do not say such evil things as “thank God for the U.S. Armed Forces.” They know that it is sufficient to trust in the Lord for one’s protection — that God is always ready to be with those who abide in Him. As God says, 

“Obey Me, and do everything I command you, and you will be My people, and I will be your God” (Jeremiah 11:4). 

We can pledge our allegiance to God knowing that we will be provided for in all things: protection, peace, prosperity, and our daily bread. We can fear God alone, knowing that He will keep us from the evils that ungodly statists allege will come upon those who don’t disobey God and trust in men for their protection (which is what all men are doing when they trust in the State). We can repent, knowing that repentance is sufficient for salvation. 

This worldly, statist idea that we need political rulers is the spirit of Egypt. It is not a godly fear, but rather a temptation by evil forces to give into the systems of the world and place one’s faith there. When men fear men and put their faith and fear in government instead, it is a clear indication that they are being led by some spirit other than the Lord. 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Those who fear the Lord do not fear men, nor do they establish or engage with the political kingdoms of this world that are in conflict with God’s kingdom. They do not buy into the worldly fear—this spirit of Egypt—that makes them believe that political systems which supposedly represent “the people” are needed to stay safe from common criminals or other authoritarian regimes around the world. God-fearing men are fully aware of the judgment that inevitably befalls these systems and avoid involving themselves in them for that reason. 

Repentance from statism

For anyone who still mistakenly pledges allegiance to the kingdoms of men, the time has come to repent of this worship of false gods and pray to the Lord to change your heart. For such statism is the spirit of Egypt. The statist heart doesn’t come from the Lord, but is an idea “based on human commands and teachings” (Colossians 2:22).

Any man who has become a new man in Christ will also have His heart and mind changed in how he thinks about the world and the ideas that empower it. He couldn’t possibly continue on in the same old statist philosophy and flag-waving of his unrepentant, reprobate neighbor who openly and proudly participates in pagan kingdoms. He couldn’t possibly have the same political philosophy as everyone else around him. For knowing the Lord means also a change in the ideas that a man holds to, and not only because the scripture provides a different, anarchistic political theology that is different from the teachings of the world, but also because God changes men. The man who abides in the Lord is set apart from the people of this world who are still lost in the ideology of statism. He is a new man who sees how evil these ways of the world are and just how possessed by this spirit of Egypt—the worldly ideology of statism—most men are. 

Anyone who clings to the worldly philosophy of statism that the liars of the world have sold them on is trusting in an ideology and system that is bound to fail them. As God says, “The spirit of Egypt shall fail” (Isaiah 19:3). 

Anyone looking to know the Lord must abandon their love of the Egypts and Babylons and Romes and Americas of the world that have taken over their minds and turned their hearts away from the Lord. Might these men, and all of us included, pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Amen.