I grew up listening to Rush Limbaugh. I learned a lot from him. The issue I see now, is that he talks about freedom and limited government, but doesn’t call for the end of public school and Social Security, etc. He doesn’t make any mention of the Bible’s teaching on these subjects. But pastors don’t either.

R.J. Rushdoony (the better Rush) figured out what the Bible teaches on so many topics of life, and wrote tons of books. I’ve thought about some of what he’s saying here, and it’s good to know I’m not the first Christian to ever think about these things. There were probably thousands of Christians in the early church, and then Rush and then me. Here’s the quote referring  to early Christians, and their employment under Caesar:

As Christ’s servants or slaves, bought with a price, they could not voluntarily enslave themselves to men.

As a result, while Christians could be office-bearers under Caesar, they were servants of Christ alone. They could not, unlike modern office-bearers, see themselves as servants of the people, or servants of the state. They were Christ’s servants, “bought with a price.”

The early church had serious weaknesses which far surpass those of the church today, but its strength was far greater. There was a reason for this. First as Williams has pointed out, the faithful were a community, and a responsible community. Second, the early church was aware of its conflict with the world; now, there is little sense of conflict. It would not occur to a church, its officers, or its members today to raise such questions as these: Is a judge who does not challenge the humanistic law which is taking over our country faithful to Christ? Is he the servant of the people, or the state, or is he Christ’s servant? Is a union member who does not work against the humanistic and coercive tactics of the unions faithful to the Lord? Can employers and workers disregard Ephesians 6:5-9 and be counted as godly? We do not yet accept pimps and prostitutes into church membership, but can we legitimately accept antinomians who assume that a verbal profession of faith can replace a disavowal of Christ in their works?