Law, Love, and the Lie of Righteous Rage

Theme: Civil Unrest, Scripture, Law, and the Gospel

I. INTRODUCTION — THIS IS NOT A SURPRISE

Civil unrest feels shocking only to those who don’t read Scripture
What we’re seeing is not sudden or mysterious
Result of:
- Truth detached from authority
- Compassion separated from order
- People reduced to categories
Recent headlines:
- Death becomes symbol before mourning
- Protests escalate before facts
- Leaders speak before truth
- Scripture quoted to justify rage, ignored when it restrains
Ecclesiastes: nothing new under the sun
Scripture already warned where this road leads

II. THE BIBLE NEVER ENDORSES CHAOS — GOD IS A GOD OF ORDER

Key truth: God creates, governs, and redeems through order

Genesis 1:1–3
- Chaos described
- God speaks → order established
- Structure precedes blessing
Pattern throughout Scripture:
- Law before flourishing
- Covenant before inheritance
Romans 13:1–4
- Authority instituted by God
- Government restrains evil
- Sword exists for accountability
- Written under Rome
1 Peter 2:13–15
- Submission for the Lord’s sake
1 Corinthians 14:33
- God not author of confusion
When law collapses:
- Innocent suffer first
- Loudest win
- Fear replaces justice
- Violence masquerades as virtue

III. “CARE FOR THE FOREIGNER” — WHAT SCRIPTURE ACTUALLY SAYS

Key truth: Compassion never separated from obedience

Scripture is being twisted here
Yes — God commands care
Never:
- Borderless lawlessness
- Moral exemption
- Violence justified by empathy
Leviticus 19:33–37
- Love the stranger
- Justice, honesty, obedience in same passage
Deuteronomy 1:16
- Same justice for native and foreigner
Deuteronomy 27:19
- Curse for perverting justice
Numbers 15:15–16
- One law, one rule for all
Biblical model:
- Protected, not exempt
- Welcomed, not lawless
Modern framework = emotional, not biblical

IV. CIVIL UNREST IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AUTHORITY IS REJECTED

Not about one administration
Didn’t start with Trump
Won’t end with next election
Happens when:
- Truth becomes relative
- Authority labeled oppression
- Feelings become moral proof
- Scripture used selectively
Judges 21:25 / 17:6
- Everyone did what was right in own eyes
Results in Judges:
- Violence
- Sexual sin
- Religious confusion
- Innocent crushed
Sincerity replaces submission
Chaos with a conscience

V. THE REAL SIN UNDERNEATH — DEHUMANIZATION

Common thread:
- Protesters → uniforms
- Officers → weapons
- Victims → symbols
- Families → talking points
Dehumanization precedes violence
Seen in:
- Riots
- Genocide
- Abortion
- Lynch mobs
- Cancel culture
- Political extremism
Psalm 139:1–4
- God knows the person
Psalm 139:13–16
- God forms bodies
- God numbers days
Crowd forgets names
God never does

VI. JESUS AND AUTHORITY — WHAT HE DID NOT DO

VII. THE WARNING TO THE CHURCH

Church drifts when:
- Compassion becomes permissiveness
- Rage is called righteous
- Scripture quoted selectively
- Disorder cheered politically
James 1:19–20
- Anger of man ≠ righteousness of God
2 Timothy 2:24–25
- Lord’s servant not quarrelsome
Matthew 5:14
- Church is light, not fire
Not called to be loud
Called to be faithful

VIII. GOSPEL APPLICATION — WHERE THIS LEADS US

Psalm 139 ends with self-examination
Psalm 139:23–24
- “Search me, O God”
Destroys:
- Moral grandstanding
- Outrage addiction
- Performative righteousness
Gospel confronts:
- Abuse of authority
- Despising authority
Romans 3:23
- All have sinned
Galatians 3:28
- Categories collapse at the cross

IX. CONCLUSION — LAW, LOVE, AND THE FEAR OF GOD