A pastor in Wisconsin delivered a sermon before the Montana legislature earlier this month, teaching those present the “Doctrine of Lesser Magistrates,” while insisting lawmakers should obey God even if they do not obey men. Matt Trewhella, who is a pastor at Mercy Seat Christian Church, was one of the invitees of Project Liberty Tree and he was expected to present this year’s election sermon after the release of his newly published book “The Doctrine of Lesser Magistrates,” which is a biblical and historical doctrine that dates back to the age of Moses and Daniel.
Trewhella’s “The Doctrine of Lesser Magistrates” revolves around the denial of civil magistrates to abide by laws that are ungodly or immoral, because they believe divine laws override human commands. With several court rulings and social issues having surfaced in recent years that allegedly try to force Christians to violate God’s law, Trewhella preached to those present about “The Duty of the Lesser Magistrate in the Face of Tyranny.”
“The cold-blooded murder of the preborn, the imposition of homosexual marriage upon our states, no-fault divorce, the decriminalization of adultery, the phalanx of laws created by the State to invade our domestic affairs, disarm the people, seize our property, and harass our persons—all point to the growing tyranny in America,” he declared.
Trewhella went on to point out several biblical examples of interposition when people of God have refused to be evil and chosen to obey God instead of men. The examples cited by Trewhella include Egyptian midwives refusing to kill firstborn male children as opposed to the then Pharoah’s commands and Daniel’s refusal to abide by a decree issued by King Darius that disallowed him from praying to God.
“Understand, God is the ultimate authority. The Bible says plainly, ‘The Most High rules over the realm of mankind,'” Trewhella preached to the more than 30 lawmakers gathered. “He created us, and thus knows best how we are to be governed. God is the ultimate Law-Giver and Ruler. As God’s minister’s you are to govern according to His rule. You are—as it says in [Romans 13]—to reward those who do good and punish those who do evil. You are not to make law or policy which contradicts His moral law or His word.”
Trewhella said he believes the majority of problems in America today are a result of moral relativism, which in turn is a result of people abandoning God.
“God’s moral law as the ‘higher law’ provides an objective standard whereby one is able to discern right from wrong, or good from evil. The ‘higher law’ exists independent of the authority of any government, and all governments of men are accountable to it,” he explained. “It is the tyrant state that abhors an objective standard. It does not want to be accountable. It flourishes in a subjective environment. And that is why you are watching Western Civilization crumble before your eyes… May God help you do right by Him.”
Speaking to the media, Trewhella said his sermon is very important, especially in current times. He also drew attention to the fact that the role of pastors at such gatherings has diffused over time as opposed to early America when pastors were invited to legislative gatherings more often.
“People from the community and the legislators and magistrates would come to hear the word of God,” he explained. “So to see that it’s being revived and actually practiced again after over 100 years plus of it not being done, you see how important it is.”
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