MESSAGES
The Bible tells us that God has established three institutions, the family; church, and government, and in all three there is an order of authority. The Bible also tells us there are those who see to it that this authority is carried out.
In the family it’s mom and dad. In the church it’s the pastor and his associates. In government it’s Congress, the Senate, and the Court at national, state and local levels. The local level consists of the Mayor and City Council as well as men and women in the police field and fire service, otherwise known as Peace Officers.
One of your jobs as a peace officer is to help protect the citizens of your community from becoming the victims of crime. One way you accomplish this is by arresting the bad guys and allowing the judicial system to carry out its function of pronouncing sentence, if they are found guilty, and putting them behind bars.
Each of these acts is part of what is known as enforcing the law. The word force can be defined as, “strength or energy exerted or brought to bear; active power; capacity to persuade or convince.” To enforce means, “to carry out the force effectively.”
As a peace officer you may be called upon to use split-second judgment that will require the use of force, to include deadly force. It might be for the purpose of self-defense, or for preventing a crime from occurring, or for protecting the lives of citizens. Your job is to enforce the law, and thus it will often times require the use of force.
At times when you have to use more force than normal to resolve a situation there will often be a public outcry. I’m not opposed to public outcries when a violation of human rights has clearly occurred. If an officer has over-stepped his authority then that officer should clearly be held accountable for his actions. He should be disciplined and punished just like anyone else.
Not only does our Constitution command all citizens to obey the laws of the land, but even more, God’s law commands that we obey the laws of the land.
The Bible says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience sake” (Romans 13:1-4).
Paul is saying that every soul is to be subject to the governing authorities (vs.1). In other words, we are to render to the government and its agents due respect and obedience. Society is to have and show respect for proper authority, and it shows this respect by being obedient to the laws of the land.
As a peace officer you represent authority, and as such, you are called upon by the government and God to enforce the law, “…For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves” (vs.1-2; emphasis added).
Paul says that all authorities (good and bad) are appointed by God. Am I saying that people are to obey bad rulers? Yes I am! It might help for us to remember that when Paul wrote this letter that Nero, one of the most wicked emperors there ever was, was ruler. Yet Paul did not deny or revile the authority.
There is wickedness and corruption at every level of government, but that doesn’t mean the structure of government is wrong, because all authority is given by God. Therefore, when people resist and rebel against the law they’re not resisting and rebelling against you. In all actuality they’re resisting and rebelling against God.
With all this said, there is one exception, when obedience to civil authority would require disobedience to God’s Word. Peter said, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). When man’s law tells us to do, or not do, something that is in direct opposition to the law of God, then we are to obey God.
The reason God has ordained government and authority, and those who enforce authority is because man is sinful and needs authority over him. Therefore, the government is to enforce law and order. When it does not, it fails to follow the commands of God.
Paul goes on to share two truths in verse 3. First, the law-abiding citizen does not have to fear the government or its agency, and will receive praise when they do the right thing. Second, the lawbreaker is to fear the government because when he commits a crime he will pay the price as the government punishes his wrongdoing.
God established your professions in order that people can live a safer and more secure life, not to make their life miserable. Your job is to help restrain evil, as well as protect life and property, and often times that requires use of the sword—the use of force (vs.4). This might, at times, include having to put to death the wrongdoer.
As the avenger (vs. 4), when a criminal act has been committed you are avenging wrath against the person on behalf of the government. You didn’t start anything, but you are there to end it and prevent it from escalating.
Unfortunately, there will always be those in society who decry the work and office of your professions. They will spend their time bad-mouthing, name calling, and decrying the work you do, and yet they will sit back and enjoy a heritage of freedom that has been purchased at the cost of blood, sweat and tears from men and women like yourselves who are willing to put their lives in harms way so that these people can have a good nights sleep. The fact of the matter is, if it weren’t for men and women like you this society would totally self-destruct.
A major role in your profession is that of arresting bad guys, and in order to affect an arrest, force is always necessary to one degree or another. It might consist of a firm verbal command—Stop where you are! It might require a much more severe force such as having to fire your weapon.
PC 832 tells us that when making an arrest the subject can be restrained according to what is reasonable for his arrest and detention. Reasonable force can be defined as, “any force that is necessary to affect an arrest; prevent escape; or to overcome resistance.” Necessary force is defined as, “using the exact degree of force needed to constitute the arrest based on the circumstances that surround it.”
Unfortunately, sometimes you may go beyond necessary force and use unnecessary or excessive force. After awhile you can become like LAPD Rampart officer Rafael Perez who has admitted to framing innocent people, doctoring crime scenes, and lying in court. You begin to think that you are above the law, and you begin to act that way.
Mr. Perez made an interesting statement in court as he was sharing how his values began to change for the worse as a police officer. He stated, “The lines between right and wrong became fuzzy and indistinct. The “us-against-them” ethos of the overzealous cop began to consume me and the ends seemed to justify the means…Whoever chases monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster himself.”
Mr. Perez continued to use excessive force to affect his arrests and to put people behind bars knowing full well he himself was committing a criminal act. Perhaps many of the people he arrested did belong behind bars. Nonetheless, that does not ever justify him or you to become like them and commit crimes yourselves. You then become no better than the criminal.
The true professional Peace Officer who carries himself with character and integrity will not ever lower himself to the level of the criminal element. He will rise and stand above it. He will have the control to use force when force is necessary, but only the force that is necessary.
As we read the Bible it is very obvious that God believes in use of force. However, God never believes in abuse of force. That is the difference between God and man when it comes to meeting out judgment on people. God takes vengeance, but mankind takes revenge. There is a very big difference.
The purpose of vengeance is to satisfy God’s holy law. The purpose of revenge is to get even for a personal grudge. God doesn’t judge in order to get even, but rather to vindicate His righteousness and holiness as He deals with the sin issue. He takes no pleasure in what He does, but He does it because we leave Him no choice.
We see God demonstrating use of force throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. For instance, after the fall of man in the garden, God judged Adam and Eve by putting them outside the garden and then setting up angels to guard against them from ever entering in again. Some people think that God was pretty harsh on our first parents, that He over-reacted, and that He abused His force.
God was forceful yes, but only for their protection. Adam and Eve had sinned and were now separated from God because of their sin. Had they returned to the garden and eaten from the Tree of Life they, and us, would forever be in sin with absolutely no opportunity for salvation. Yes, God used force against this couple, but He did not abuse His force.
In Genesis 19 God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by raining brimstone and fire down on the city. The men of the city had broken the laws of God and showed themselves to be wicked and perverted. They left God no choice but to use force. Again, God would do whatever He had to in order to protect His law and to protect His name.
There are those who would tell you this was an abuse of force, but they simply have no understanding of the seriousness of sin. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23).
In Numbers 21 Israel showed their lack of obedience to the Lord when the people spoke out against God and His servant Moses. We read that God sent fiery serpents among the people and those who were bitten would die.
God used force to get their attention, but He didn’t abuse His force. In fact, He even gave them a way out. He provided a means of salvation. He told Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. Those who looked at the bronze serpent on the pole would live, and those who didn’t would die. Their obedience or disobedience to the word of God was the determining factor as to whether they lived or died. God will use whatever force is necessary to bring about obedience from people to Him.
Sometimes God has to intensify His force. For instance, in the life of Jonah God had told him to go to Ninevah and cry out against it for their wickedness. Jonah because he hated the Ninevites refused and in disobedience to God’s Word attempted to take a ship and flee to Tarshish.
God didn’t immediately have Jonah swallowed by a whale. He took steps to get Jonah’s attention hoping he’d see his need for obedience and repent before Shamu came on the scene. Jonah refused and kept forcing God’s hand leaving Him no alternative but to use more force.
First, God sent a storm upon the sea. That didn’t cause Jonah to obey. Second, God had a pagan rebuke Jonah for his disobedience to Him. That didn’t cause Jonah to obey. Third, God had Jonah tossed overboard only to be swallowed up by a whale. That didn’t cause Jonah to obey. Fourth, God kept Jonah in the belly of that whale for 3 days until he cried out to God and began to be in obedience once again. Only then did God allow the whale to puke Jonah out. The point is simple: God gives us every opportunity to obey Him before He begins using force on us.
Man on the other hand can easily step over that thin line that separates necessary force from excessive force. We see that throughout the Bible as well as throughout history.
Pharaoh abused his force over the Israelites in Egypt. Haman abused his force by attempting to destroy all the Jews. Saul of Tarsus abused his force by pulling Christians out of their home to have them killed or thrown in prison. Pilate abused his force by thinking he had the power to kill the Son of God. Nero abused his force by hanging Christians on a pole, placing the poles in his garden and then lighting them on fire to light his garden. Hitler abused his force by having over six million Jews murdered. Stalin abused his force by having over 20 million people murdered.
Today we see in many countries a horrible abuse of force as ethnic cleansing is taking place. In the U.S we see the abuse of force on 1.5 million unborn babies each year. One day Antichrist, during the Tribulation Period, will abuse his force as no other man ever has.
The greatest abuse of man’s force was when we took an innocent man by the name of Jesus Christ, tried Him, whipped Him, spit on Him, pulled His beard from Him, and nailed Him to a Roman cross.
All these men I’ve mentioned and 1000’s more cared nothing about whether they abused their force. In fact, they enjoyed it.
On the other hand there are those of you who have been given much authority, who not only want to carry out that authority, but who want to do it in a fair and friendly yet firm way. You want to enforce the law without stepping over that thin blue line of abusing that force. Otherwise, you, like Rafael Perez, can become like the monster you’re chasing.
What makes the difference between the way you enforce the law and the way God enforces His law? Emotions and self-control! I’ve shared with you some of the times when God became angry and had to use force. Yet, He always had His emotions under control.
Anytime you make an arrest there will be emotions of one kind or other factoring into it. Those emotions, if not under control, can determine the outcome of your arrest. For instance, when you’ve been in a high-speed car pursuit observing the lives of innocent people placed in danger because of the driving of this criminal you become upset. Once the pursuit is over you now begin a foot pursuit, finally catching him and wrestling him to the ground. By now you’re huffing and puffing, and quite likely a little ticked off. Perhaps all you can think about is kicking some butt.
You might have to use more force than under other conditions, but once the force has done its job—stop! If you allow your emotions to take over you can end up going beyond your authority and crossing over that thin line that separates necessary force from unnecessary force. You need to have self-control.
Even the best of men have feet of clay, but we see the best in God through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). If we want to learn about self-control, then we need to look at Jesus.
Jesus demonstrated self-control in the wilderness as He was being tempted by the devil. He had nothing to eat or drink for 40 days, and the enemy came knocking at His door in order to make Him give in to His fleshly desires.
Every time the enemy came knocking Jesus used the greatest weapon one can ever use against him—the Word of God. Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God had the written Word of God as His power to use against the enemy. That same Word, that same power is available to us today.
We also see Jesus demonstrating self-control as He went into the Temple and drove the moneychangers out because they had turned His Father’s house into a den of thieves (John 2:13-16). We read that He turned the tables over, He drove the people out, but He never harmed the innocent doves. Jesus was always under control no matter where He was.
I believe He showed His greatest act of self-control as He hung upon the cross of Calvary dying for the sin of all humanity. As His battered body hung limply on that cross listening to the people laugh at Him and mock Him, “If you are the King of the Jews come down off that cross” (Luke 23:37). If ever there was a supreme example of self-control in the life of Christ it was then. Had He come down off that cross, instead of die on that cross, you and I would forever be in sin and would never have an opportunity for salvation.
Jesus was able to demonstrate self-control because He cared more about His Father than about Himself. He was able to have self-control because He was God-controlled.
Self-control is not something that we can give ourselves. It's not something that comes from within, but rather it’s something that comes from above as we make Jesus Christ the Lord and Master of our life. We will come to master ourselves only as we yield ourselves to the Master. We do this by putting our faith in Christ and the work that He accomplished on Calvary, and inviting Him into our life as our personal Savior.
The only way that you and I can ever have self-control is by first allowing God to have full-control of our lives. The Bible says when we receive Christ into our lives as Savior and Lord that we are filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is, "…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:23).
As Christians we are not to live under the control of our emotions, but under the control of God. We are to live by faith in Christ’s capacity to control our turbulent emotions. In the realm of our emotions the need for the Spirit’s control is absolutely imperative.
In order to affect an arrest safely and bring a suspect into custody you must always be in complete control. You must be in control of yourself in order to be in control of the situation.
You’re familiar with the term escalation of force. If someone spits in your face you don’t pull out your weapon and shoot him. You might begin your force by firmly saying—Stop where you are! You’re under arrest. If he doesn’t stop, then you might have to escalate by putting your hands on him to stop him.
If he begins to resist, you might then have to escalate by mazing him. If he begins swinging at you, you escalate by using your baton. If he begins to use a weapon against you, you might have to escalate by using—God forbid—deadly force.
This is how self-control works. It helps you to keep your emotions under control, and to escalate when escalation is necessary and at the same time to escalate in a controlled manner.
As you are under the Spirit’s control, He will give you victory over your fleshly desires and emotions. As you are under the Spirit’s control, He will help you avoid crossing that thin line as a Peace Officer from necessary force to unnecessary force. He will help you to use force when necessary and at the same time He will help you to never abuse that force.
Though times might become very frustrating and disappointing, I encourage you to never give up. Our country needs men and women such as yourselves, good Peace Officers. It needs men and women willing to walk the point at the risk of their own safety. Without you there would be chaos and anarchy to the highest degree.
I encourage each of you with the words of Paul, “Remain steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain, in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
God bless you,
Pastor Steve |
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