Never Again Must the Church Bear the Sword

The Axe Is Laid to the Root, Therefore . . . 

"May the Force be with you" evokes the legends of Hollywood.  It is a benediction which comes from a powerful work of fiction--and, therefore, an effectual commentary upon life and society.  But whenever the force has been "with us" and used by the Church of the Lord Jesus, disastrous outcomes have poured forth.   To the State--and to the State alone--God has granted the authority to deploy force.  It bears the sword.  The Church does not.

By the same token the State cannot perform the duties or take the prerogatives of the Church.  If the State bears the sword, the Church has been granted the Keys of the eternal Kingdom of God.  In bearing those Keys, the Church can both open the doors to allow penitent believers to enter the Kingdom, and it can shut them against the apostate and the reprobate [Matthew 16:19].  The Church, in bearing the Keys--with all the authority implicit therein--can shut out kings and great men from the Kingdom. The authority and function of the Church is eternal; the authority of earthly rulers and kings and the State is not.

Whenever the respective roles and responsibilities of Church and State have become intermingled and confused, the outcome has been disastrous for both Church and State.