Several weeks ago a pastor named James Coates was arrested for holding services inside GraceLife Church, located in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada. Imagine my surprise when I recognized the photo of pastor James! He was a fellow student from when I was enrolled at the Master’s seminary. I was deeply moved as I read the article. What a joy to know that this brother in Christ is faithfully preaching the word of God “as a dying man, to dying men.”
If you listen to his last sermon you can tell he understood the weight of the situation. The sermon was titled “Directing Government to its Duty” and was taken from Romans 13:1-4. In it he argues that civil disobedience is necessary for Christians in three areas. 1) When the government forbids what God commands. 2) When the government commands what God forbids and 3) When the Government commands what isn’t theirs to command (i.e. giving orders outside of their jurisdiction).
In the case of GraceLife Church, civil disobedience is justified because both the first and third infractions are being done by the government. Alberta Health Services (AHS) has publicly declared that churches are not allowed to legally gather indoors at more than 15% building capacity. GraceLife Church has been disobeying that rule for an extended amount of time. On January 29, AHS stepped up their enforcement by sending an executive officer order, which states that the church must immediately close to public access and remain closed until the premises are in compliance with the orders issued on December 17, 2020 and January 21, 2021.
It is clear that the Alberta government is forbidding what God commands. The government is saying it is wrong for people to attend church indoors at more than 15% of capacity. Those attending the church disagree with the government’s definition of right and wrong. The Christians believe it is actually good behavior for them to gather because they believe God’s word says it is good (Hebrews 10:25). The members of GraceLife believe they are compelled by their consciences to obey God’s command to gather together, even if that means running the risk of interacting with a virus or being arrested by the government, or both!
The government is also overstepping their jurisdiction. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that everyone in Canada has the fundamental freedom of peaceful assembly. If the government tries to halt its citizens from peaceful assembly then it is clearly overstepping one of the rights it was established to defend. This is why even though pastor James has been arrested the rest of the church has been able to continue worshipping in the building. The AHS recognizes how difficult it will be for them to win a case in a Canadian court because the law stands in opposition to anyone trying to stop peaceful assembly.
As Christians we need to be aware of these issues and we need to be concerned about them. We need to pray for Pastor James and his family as he continues to serve the Lord in jail. We need to pray for those in the congregation who are continuing to meet indoors without their pastor. He was offered bail, but he did not accept because the terms of bail stated that he could not teach at GraceLife Church. His conscience did not allow him to leave under those conditions so he is still in jail and will remain there until the judge allows his release.
A trial date has been set for May 3, but his lawyer, James Kitchen, said his firm plans to appeal the bail conditions so their client can leave jail before then. It is also interesting to note that the AHS may lift restrictions as early as March 1, so the government may decide to make what is currently illegal legal again. We will wait and pray and be encouraged knowing that God promises to honor those who honor Him (1 Samuel 2:30).
