Keanne Bexte is an intrepid independent Canadian journalist. He recently surprised Justin Trudeau by showing up on a beach in Tofino, B.C., at the Prime Minister’s favourite vacation spot. Surf’s up, dude. Hang Ten; or at least 10 minutes or so, during which Bexte conducted by far the most candid interview with Trudeau in living memory. During it, Trudeau claimed to work harder than most Canadians, despite the fact that he has missed more than 700 days (over two full years) during his 9 year administration. Trudeau also revealed that he is undaunted by calls within and without the Liberal party for his resignation, and that he plans to run for re-election as the least popular Canadian Prime Minister in the history of polling. 7 in 10 Canadians want him gone. It is so bad that his vast propaganda machine is now attacking the pollsters, claiming political bias in favour of Trudeau’s opponents. Many Canadians who have witnessed the very character and complexion of their nation destroyed on Trudeau’s watch under a massive globalist assault aimed at making our lives miserable, are all asking the same question: is there some peaceful, justifiable way to rid ourselves of this odious man and his gang of Liberal sycophants before it is too late to salvage what is left of Canada?
When a state—through a ruling party—attacks our God-given rights and freedoms, can something be done about it? More specifically, when civil government exercising human authority directly contravenes God’s laws and instructions, must we accept such tyrannical abuse of authority?
How can we stand together in the gap against tyranny during this time of crisis?
That got me thinking about a peaceful way out of this mess. Sir Winston Churchill once wrote that the further we look to the past, the better we can see into our future. I therefore cast my gaze to the ancients for a possible solution, and came across the little known, all but forgotten Doctrine of Lesser Magistrates (DLM).
We begin with the premise that human authority is delegated authority. God is the King of the universal, eternal kingdom. He has called mankind to work, instituted marriage and family, made nations, ordained national governments, and Christ is building His church since Pentecost. To each of these institutions, God has delegated authority in its own sphere or realm. Whereas God’s authority is absolute and unlimited, authority in human institutions is always delegated authority; ever limited, never autonomous.
According to DLM, whatever delegated human authority may concern itself with, be it marriage, civil government, family life, etc.—God’s laws always trump human ones. Disobedience of higher authority is only justified when such authority requires a believer to disobey the laws of God. This basic principle is summarized as willingness to disobey human law when it directly contradicts God’s revealed directions.
Disobedience can arise when God commands us to do something which a human authority bans; or when a civil authority commands us to do something which God prohibits (abortion, for example). Human law contravening God’s law may be properly disobeyed. If it is not, then such acquiescence dishonours God. For example, God clearly says that we cannot steal; but if a government promulgates a law allowing theft in some form, then such law can be disregarded. Of course, a government like Trudeau’s would not say “go ahead and steal”, but it could use other words such as ‘expropriation without compensation’—and employ all manner of rhetoric to justify their lawlessness.
But God shall not be mocked.
This basic principle is applicable in all areas of human life where God has delegated authority to human institutions. Concerning civil authority, there is an order of priorities in showing honour and obedience, and God always comes first. There can be instances when government rules contrary to Biblical mandates (eg. Covid closure of churches). In those cases, believers have a duty to obey God. If civil disobedience is Biblically justified, then the consequences must be accepted and peaceably suffered. The imprisonment of courageous Alberta Pastors James Coates and Timothy Stephens in defiance of Covid lockdown orders banning worship at their churches is a prime example of this in praxis.
As the authors of the Magdeburg Confession illustrate, if a father commands his wife and daughters to go and prostitute themselves, the wife and daughters must quite evidently disobey such instruction. This terrible example is taken from the Holy sphere of family life, but the same principle can also be applied in the realm of civil governance—which is what the Magdeburg Confession is all about.
On 15 May 1548, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, imposed his Augsburg Interim Decree. This law followed 30 years of religious war in Germany and forced Protestant Christians back under traditional Roman Catholic beliefs, practices, and rules. One community in Germany, the tiny town of Magdeburg, refused to submit to this decree, defying the Emperor. As tensions mounted, Lutheran leaders wrote a Protestant defence of Magdeburg. Published on 13 April 1550, the Magdeburg Confession sets out the Biblical doctrine of the lesser magistrates. The Emperor responded by besieging Magdeburg for over a year. Such is the personal cost of obeying God’s law in preference to that of a tyrant.
I recently read Doctrine of The Lesser Magistrate, by Pastor Matthew Trewhalla. Its thesis is that we in the 21st century West have entered troubled times. The Rule of Law is crumbling. Massive expansion of Federal government power with its destructive laws and policies is of grave concern to many; but what can be done to quell the abuse of power by civil authority? Are unjust or immoral actions by the government simply to be accepted and their lawless commands obeyed?
How do we know when the government has acted tyrannically? Which actions constitute proper and legitimate resistance? DLM places in our hands a hopeful blueprint for freedom. Appealing to history and the Word of God, Pastor Trewhella answers these questions and shows how we can successfully resist the Federal government’s attempts to trample our Constitution, assault our liberty, and impugn the law of God. DLM declares that when the superior or higher civil authority makes an unjust or immoral law or decree, the lesser or lower ranking civil authority has both the right and indeed the duty to refuse obedience to that superior authority. If necessary, the lower authority may even actively resist the superior authority.
DLM actually predates both Christ and Christianity. It was Christian men, however, who formalized and embedded it into their political institutions throughout Western Civilization. DLM is an ancient tool providing proven guidelines for legitimate resistance to tyranny, often without causing any major upheaval in society. The doctrine teaches us how to rein in lawless acts by government and to restore justice in our nation.
Trewhella’s is the first book published solely to address DLM in over 4 centuries. Trewhella is the pastor of Mercy Seat Christian Church in Milwaukee Wisconsin, a graduate of Valley Forge Christian College. He is father to eleven and grandfather to 9 more. His research and teaching on DLM is reshaping the thinking of Americans and Canadians. He was instrumental in publishing the Magdeburg Confession in 2012–the first English translation of the document since it was first written in 1550.
To combat the universal tilt toward tyranny, Trewhella posits that there are but a handful of tools typically available to nations that enjoy freedoms inherent in the English parliamentary tradition. The two best known tools are the ballot box, through which citizens can reject politicians who show signs of totalitarianism, and the jury box, through which smaller groups of citizens have the right to acquit because they believe that even though the accused may be guilty, the law itself is unjust. But from Trewhella’s viewpoint, a better means of preserving liberty in the land is through a renewed emphasis on encouraging police and other local officials—lesser magistrates—to remember that their own authority is endowed by God (see Romans 13:1-4), and that along with Prime Ministers and Kings, they too must someday account for how they discharged their responsibilities. Here is how Trewhella defines the doctrine:
“The lesser magistrate doctrine declares that when the superior or higher civil authority makes unjust or immoral laws or decrees, the lesser or lower ranking civil authority has both a right and duty to refuse obedience to that superior authority. If necessary, the lesser authorities even have the right and obligation to actively resist the superior authority.”
The tradition of resistance to unjust laws by lesser magistrates includes the time in 39 A.D. when Publius Petronius, the Roman Governor of Palestine, refused to install an image of the tyrant Emperor Caligula of Rome at the Hebrew temple in Jerusalem. The enraged Emperor sent a letter to Petronius, commanding him to commit suicide. Shortly after sending the letter, Caligula was assassinated. The ship bearing news of his demise arrived in the Holy Land before the suicide order could be delivered. Petronius is to be commended for his courage; but he was in fact following in the footsteps of the prophet Daniel, who risked destruction in defiance of the Persian Emperor Darius, who commanded Daniel to pray only to him for 30 days. While not an example in the sphere of civil government, remember also Shiphrah and Puah, who defied Pharaoh’s command to murder baby boys in Exodus 1:15-16. Who was going to stand in the gap, to interpose between the evil king and helpless newborns? These brave midwives feared God and did not do as Pharaoh commanded, but let the boys live instead, thereby sparing Moses. God then blessed Shiphrah and Puah (Exodus 1:20-21). The wise men from the East likewise disobeyed Herod, and were also blessed by God (Matt. 2:1-12) for helping to protect the infant Jesus.
In ancient times, perhaps the most defining civil governance statement of DLM actually came from the Roman Emperor Trajan, circa 117 A.D.:
“Use this sword against my enemies, if I give righteous commands; but if I give unrighteous commands, use it against me.”
Supported by such Reformation luminaries as John Calvin and John Knox, DLM was first formulated by the Lutheran Pastors at Magdeburg, Germany. They did so because they found abundant support for it in Scripture, including Exodus 1:15-21; Daniel 3 & 6; Matthew 2:1-11; and Acts 5:29. In a letter to the nobles of Scotland in 1558, John Knox cited over seventy passages of Scripture to support the doctrine. He insisted that the nobles and their king shared a duty to protect the innocent and oppose those who made unjust laws or decrees. Knox held that
“When the state commands that which God forbids or forbids that which God commands, men have a duty to obey God rather than man.”
DLM is thus rooted in the historical, Biblical doctrine of interposition, in which God calls or causes someone to step into the gap—willingly placing themselves between the oppressor and the intended victim. Perhaps the clearest exposition of this doctrine is found in Ezekiel 22, where God brings a series of accusations against every strata of Israel’s leadership for their willingness to callously shed blood of their compatriots, simply for their own advantage. God speaks against the princes for contempt toward their own parents and excoriates others for their lewdness and adulteries, as well as their readiness to shed blood for profit. He even rejects His own prophets for smearing whitewash on those committing such rampant evils.
Then, in Ezekiel 22:30, God finally complains:
“And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it (interposition), but I found none.”
Jerusalem was therefore doomed to destruction; not just because the king failed to uphold his duty to maintain justice and punish evildoers, but also since no one was willing to take up a stand for justice and righteousness. For those tempted to think that Romans 13 is the final word on government and God, Trewhella offers much needed balance:
“All authority is delegated authority, derived from God. All authority is thus limited authority. God has established four realms of government to which He delegates authority: (1) self-government; (2) family government; (3) church government; (4) civil government...If one invades the authority of the other, chaos or tyranny ensues.”
This is of course in perfect alignment with Romans 13, which states in verse 1 that
“There is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”
Of course they are; but we must not forget that they are appointed to operate in specific spheres. Just as the individual (self-government) has no inherent right to govern another individual, neither may the state govern matters that God has given to the church, or to the family. If the state attempts to exert its authority over realms that God has delegated to others, it must be resisted. Moreover, those who publicly identify where the state has overstepped, along with those who resist the state’s encroachment, are servants of God who ultimately contribute to the welfare of the entire society.
Trewhella gives a brief synopsis of the duties of the lesser magistrates; and when we read these instructions, we must remember that each magistrate, now matter how limited in authority, holds their position as a divine gift in exactly the same way as the highest office holder in the land:
“The primary duty of the lesser magistrates is threefold. First, they are to oppose and resist any laws or edicts from the higher authority that contravene the law or Word of God. Second, they are to protect the person, liberty, and property of those who reside within their jurisdiction from any unjust or immoral laws or actions by the higher authority that violate their nation’s constitution. If necessary, they are to resist them.”
But how is the lesser magistrate to know when it is time to risk life and limb in resistance to higher authority?
Ignorance of the law offers no defence, and so there is no substitute for knowing the laws of the land—especially the constitutional protections that we are supposed to enjoy. If governments violate constitutional protections, then a lesser magistrate certainly has the right and duty to act; but of even greater importance is the need for magistrates at all levels to understand that from Moses on, human beings have been privileged to possess God’s own description of the highest laws, as well as their application. I refer to the Ten Commandments and case law found throughout the Bible, explaining how each Commandment is to be properly applied. If God truly is God, and if Christians really believe that all authority is appointed by God, then we also have the duty to confirm that our magistrates know what God expects of them.
The Ten Commandments are the primary exposition of objective law in the Christian worldview. When Moses descended Mt. Sinai, for the first time the world had law standing apart from the whims of a king, or any other earthly authority. This was a radical departure from the Code of Hammurabi, according to which every law was an expression of a Monarch’s fiat.
The problem with the Hammurabi Code is obvious. Since it derives from man, it could easily be changed; if not by Hammurabi, then by the next despot. Interestingly enough, when the great stele upon which Hammurabi wrote his laws was uncovered in 1901, it was soon learned that a subsequent king had scraped off more than 30 laws in the original code. Evidently, he did not like those much and so, suddenly, the law was changed. Those of us living through the Justin Trudeau era know all to well what it is like to live in a society where the laws we came to know are all capriciously changed, and not for the better.
When God gives us His law and then appears on earth to personally explain it to us (see Matt. 5-7 &19), we suddenly see that there is a law that never changes, and that it supersedes all other laws. Ultimately, these are the laws that guide all magistrates, lesser and greater, and as Christians it is our duty to constantly keep these laws before the minds of our lawmakers.
But how?
Most of us will never be permitted to get as close as Keanne Bexte did; to talk with, let alone teach a Prime Minister or top-level bureaucrats who—in writing regulations—become legislators themselves. This emphasizes the importance of the lesser magistrates. They live and work nearby, and because they need our votes to hold office, they are likely amenable to the odd visit. They may even offer us a hot cup of coffee. Who knows what might happen if we had a few timely thoughts to offer them about their primary responsibility to God, or if we offered them a copy of, say, the 95 page Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates—with a few key passages highlighted to attract their interest? We might even ask what they would do if confronted by a regulation or law that appeared to overstep, and then see where the conversation leads; and if we gave our time and energy to, say, sitting on local boards and knocking on doors, who knows where their gratitude might lead?
Well, God knows.
Remember this: if the lesser magistrates truly have a duty to obey God first, then it is a primary duty of we Christians to do all we can to explain that duty to them.
Who knows? We might even save a few souls!
Christians are called to live holy lives, walking worthy of our calling. Every facet of a believer’s life is improved as a result of progressive sanctification, of growing in the Grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The church is called to glorify God, to edify believers, and to make disciples. But making disciples is not the same as setting up a theocracy.
Christ’s Kingdom will come—but it will be His doing, not ours, and in His time, not as a result of our political efforts. Historically, whenever religion has centralized its focus on attaining political power for the conversion of the masses, the results have been horrifically evil. The default position of the Christian is to obey God first and then defer to the delegated human authorities which God has instituted; but if a human authority goes against God’s laws and commands, then disobedience to such human authority is more than justified—it is necessary for us to stand in the gap, no matter the personal cost we might suffer at the hands of petty tyrants.
