John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, Calif.
Posted on 08/03/2020 8:52:01 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
County officials have allegedly threatened Grace Community Church in California with fines and possible arrest for reopening his church in defiance of lockdown orders from Gov. Gavin Newsom during the pandemic. Still, Pastor John MacArthur has vowed to continue in-person services.
"We will obey God rather than men," MacArthur said in a video statement Friday. "We're going to be faithful to the Lord and we're going to leave the results to Him. Whatever happens is going to be what He allows to happen. But He will be on our side because we will be obedient and faithful to His word."
“We will not bow to Caesar,” he added. "The Lord Jesus Christ is our king."
Officials from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health have threatened MacArthur with “repercussions such as fines and even possible arrest” if his church doesn’t comply with state orders, the Rev. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, wrote on Facebook.
The department’s Environmental Health division "is investigating and will be reaching out to the church leaders to let them know they need to comply with the Health Officer Order,” Religion News Service reported.
MacArthur noted that this wouldn't be the first time that they find themselves "in a trial" or "end up in a court setting." In 1980, Grace Community Church was sued for clergy malpractice by the parents of a 24-year-old, who was part of the church, after he committed suicide. Nearly a decade later, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, allowing California Supreme Court's decision to dismiss the lawsuit to stand.
While he said he doesn't know "what the Lord has for us" this time around, they will continue meeting for worship every Sunday.
"We will meet as the church of Jesus Christ because we're commanded to do that. We will sing, we will pray, we will fellowship, we will proclaim the Word of God far and wide and even around the world through this livestream opportunity that we have," the pastor stressed.
Commenting on churches, including megachurches, that have chosen to shut down until January, MacArthur said, "I don’t have any way to understand that other than they don’t know what a church is and they don’t shepherd their people but that’s sad.
"And you have a lot of people in Christianity, who seem to be significant leaders, who aren’t giving any strength and courage to the church, they’re not standing up and rising up and calling on Christians to be the church in the world as I said on Sunday."
The pastor also addressed "misinformation" about his church and ministry regarding the Paycheck Protection Program.
He clarified that the federal government “did send us money; we did not receive that money. We sent it back … We did not receive a dime from the federal government.”
California continues to see a surge in coronavirus cases. It had a record high of 215 COVID-19 deaths on Friday. Total confirmed cases so far are 516,000 and over 9,000 deaths have been recorded in the state. Amid the surge, Newsom indefinitely closed churches and other businesses in more than 30 of the state’s 58 counties.
Some churches, including Destiny Christian Church in Rocklin, said they would still gather for worship.
In an earlier statement, MacArthur and elders of the church said they "respectfully inform our civic leaders that they have exceeded their legitimate jurisdiction, and faithfulness to Christ prohibits us from observing the restrictions they want to impose on our corporate worship services."
“Government officials have no right to interfere in ecclesiastical matters in a way that undermines or disregards the God-given authority of pastors and elders,” MacArthur wrote. "Compliance would be disobedience to our Lord’s clear commands."
Grace Community Church is making efforts to accommodate all persons as they take various precautions during the pandemic.
About a thousand extra seats will be kept outside the church building for those who may want to sit in the open. The church will also provide sanitizers and masks for those who want them.
MacArthur noted that they want to be as "gracious as we can be to as many people as possible" and be welcoming to all — whether people want to remain at home and watch online, attend in person but prefer outside seating, or wear masks or not wear masks.
"We don't want anybody to feel unwelcome. We don't want anybody to feel like an outsider because they sit outside or because they decide to wear a mask ... That's all fine. That's all temporary. That's all superficial kinds of things," he said.
Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar or else Caesar will throw your butt in jail.
In other words, follow in the footsteps of St. Paul.
Even though I agree with Pastor MacArthur theologically on some key issues, I admire him as generally good Bible teacher and I especially commend him in taking a firm stand in the midst of this pandemic hysteria.
They shalt have thy services indoors during pandemics, lest thine flock forget to send in their shekels, as it is written, let not thine bank account balance get low, as thine boat payments shalt continue to accrue.
Force them to make the arrest! They count on fear based compliance. They HATE the idea of being forced into what the call “bad optics”.
!. Get arrested
2. Sue
3. Profit.
Movie theaters are open and are allowed much greater occupancy than Churches. People in theaters are not being prevented from cheering and laughing.
Churches have a much more severe occupancy limit and are even told they may not sing. Nothing wrong with a preacher deciding to live by those same rules.
Movie theaters closed where I live.
My church, one of the largest in Canada, continues to have internet services four times a weekend. As the Province moved to ‘phase 2’ of restarting the economy, the church has started one in person, outdoor service on Sundays at 10:00. They ask that those over 65, those with compromised health, and those feeling ill, refrain from attending.
They also ask that one make a reservation to come to this service, check in when they get there, social distance, wear a mask if singing, bring a lawn chair, blanket, jacket, etc., and coffee (if wanted). The registration process is in case of someone having CCP-Coronavirus, Alberta Health Services can hopefully trace any spread of the disease and stop it quickly.
It is not an ideal situation but I can deal with the restrictions. If this carries on into the winter, all bets are off. Of course, our Premier is much more conservative than Gruesome Newsom. I am not surprised that Comrade Newsom is attempting to close churches in in People’s Proletarian Socialist State of Californication.
I do, however, expect that once the US election is over, this will all miraculously go away.
Perhaps this is a “What Would Jesus Do” moment. Would Jesus want His followers to gather closely together during a pandemic?
I would think not. But I am unsure of that. No one seems to know what’s going on. Some “experts” say masks work great. Others say no. Some say the six-foot rule is fine. Others say no. Etc.
May the shalom of YHVH (God) be with you in your stand for God and His ways, John.
Beginnings of revival?
RE: Would Jesus want His followers to gather closely together during a pandemic?
OK, where is the consistency in the policy?
Why is it OK for thousands to gather together in protest without social distancing and coming to church not allowed?
Someone in the area go get some video of the local mosques, if they are still open and having ‘services’
Would Jesus want His followers to gather closely together during a pandemic?
This idiot belongs in jail
I totally agree with your comment about the lack of consistency. It’s okay for 500 people to gather together to protest. But it’s somehow not okay for 100 people to gather together to worship.
But I don’t think that should be the main concern here. The main concern should be the safety of the congregation. As far as their safety goes, it doesn’t really matter what everyone else is doing.
Would a congregation be safe when gathering together indoors at a time like this? I just don’t think so.
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