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Tracts for Law Enforcement:
So Great Faith
By Your Words
Do You Know Your Rights?
It Is a Fearful Thing
The Great White Throne Judgement
Do You Know Him?
Tracts for Non-law Enforcement:
Jesus of Nazareth is He the Only Begotten Son of God?
Muhammad or Jesus the Prophet Like Unto Moses
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This tract contains every verse in the Bible that relates to law enforcement. Everyone in law enforcement should read this. It is part of the Police Packet or you can request a free copy. This tract is available in bulk orders. Why not give a copy to everyone in your department or squad! To request a copy or information about bulk orders email: McT911@aol.com.
I can vividly remember back to June 1972 when I was sworn in as a Federal agent and issued a badge and a gun. Being fresh out of college, this was a dream come true. However, in a relatively short time the feeling wore off and my job became just like any other job. Most law enforcement officers have the same mind set, as they become experienced and established in the job, work becomes routine.
Most police officers have never considered the spiritual implication of their job, but the Bible is very clear that law officers have a special calling from God. In fact, the Bible refers to the police as God's ministers and awesome power has been granted by God to the police for the subduing of evil. This power includes arresting people and suspending their liberty, putting people in jail, starting civil and legal proceedings and the authority to use force, including deadly physical force, when necessary.
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This special ministry granted by God to the police can be found in the Bible. The following verses show the authority God has granted to law enforcement. Remember, the sword 2000 years ago was the weapon used by law enforcement to enforce the law including the use of deadly force. The sword was the equivalent to our modern gun.
Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
(2) Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
(3) For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
(4) For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”
I Peter 2:13 “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; (14) Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.”
Police officer, whether you are aware or not the bible declares that you are a minister of God. This is an awesome concept that the Creator of the universe has chosen you to be His minister to subdue the criminal element and protect society.
The original Greek word in the Bible that is translated minister is very interesting. The literal meaning is to run errands; an attendant; or a waiter, and it is the same word used for a minister of a church. Just as a minister is called by God to lead a church so are the police called of God to protect society.
This may shock you, but when you are lawfully performing your job, God is with you and on your side. In those situations that are life threatening, you can call on God and have complete faith He hears you.
Please, no longer take your job for granted but remember the high calling you have and the awesome responsibility God, through the state, has given to you. When this realization hit me, I no longer took the job for granted, but I was humbled by how responsible I am before God.
The bible is clear that God has no favorites - God is no respecter of persons - and through faith in Jesus Christ eternal life has been provided for everyone:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
However, a brief study of the Bible shows that God gave revelations of Himself and eternal life to police officers that few others received. I believe God did this because the police are His ministers, and law enforcement is close to the heart of God.
In Jesus' day, the Roman army was the police force. A centurion in the Roman army would be like a police captain today. The Bible records that one day a centurion came to Jesus begging for help because his servant was severely sick. Jesus said He would heal the servant, and He would come to the home of this pagan Roman, who was rejected by the Jews. The centurion responded with a statement that amazed Jesus. He told Jesus just to speak the word and his servant would be healed. The Lord then marveled at the faith of this police officer:
Matthew 8: 8-10 “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. (9) For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. (10) When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”
The Son of God marvelled at the faith of this police officer, but notice it was the centurion’s training as a police officer that gave him the understanding of God's authority. Because of his position of authority, he understood Jesus’ authority. The religious leaders of the Jews rejected Jesus and mocked Him, but a pagan police officer immediately recognized the authority of Jesus. A police officer had the greatest faith that the Lord Jesus had ever seen!
When Jesus was crucified, most of his disciples had fled from Him. His mother and a few women stayed with him along with the Apostle John. The religious people mocked Him along with an angry crowd. The Romans used crucifixion as the form of capital punishment, and they had crucified thousands. However, the centurion, the police officer, who was in charge of crucifying Jesus recognized that as Jesus died He was the Son of God:
“Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.” Matthew 27: 54.
Think of this! The political and religious leaders were blind to Jesus as the Messiah of Israel, but as Jesus died the pagan police who crucified Him realized He was the Messiah! When the Apostle Peter gave his famous confession that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Lord Jesus responded by saying, “for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
The centurion received the same revelation of Jesus the Apostle Peter had, but remember, Peter was with the Lord for over three years. This may have been the centurion’s first contact with Jesus. Again, we see that God gave a special revelation of His Son to the police - even though they partook in His crucifixion! This is the mercy of God! Twice in the gospels the police received a revelation from God about Jesus that few others understood. They had the same understanding of Jesus as His disciples!
The Bible records the spread of the gospel after Jesus ascended into heaven. For several years the entire church was made of Jews; however, Jesus said to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
The first recorded non-Jew to believe on Jesus was - you guessed it - a police officer. He was a centurion named Cornelius. He was a man who loved God was seeking the will of God. The word of God states of Cornelius: "Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.”
God sent the Apostle Peter to preach eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ to Cornelius. The Bible records that Cornelius gathered all his friends and relatives to hear Peter. And Peter said:
"To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” Acts 10:43.
Cornelius and they that were with him trusted in Christ for forgiveness of sins, and the first non-Jews were brought into the church.
While the religious leaders of Jesus' day were spiritually blind, the police received tremendous revelations about faith and the person of Jesus Christ. The Roman centurion was told by Jesus that he had the greatest faith in Israel. At the cross, the police realized Jesus was the Son of God and later, the first non-Jews to be brought into the church were the police. The revelation the police received from God was awesome.
God used one additional law enforcement officer to reveal a tremendous truth. The Apostle Paul was imprisoned for preaching the gospel. He had been beaten and fastened to stocks. While in prison, Paul prayed and sang hymns and the jailer heard him. The jailer came to Paul and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
This officer saw the truth that he was separated from God by sin and needed a Savior. He accurately saw his true relationship with God.
God is holy and righteous and is separated from man because of sin:
“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” Isaiah 59:2.
To God, man's sinful state is lawlessness:
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” I John 3:4.
All of mankind including the police are separated from God by sin. Sometimes the sinful nature of man is evident. This is easily seen in criminals who commit such crimes as murder, rape, mugging, drug dealing, theft and a host of other sins. God uses the police to deal with these criminals otherwise society would fall into anarchy. However, the sinful nature is always operating in ways that are not viewed as criminal. This could involve lying, gossip, slander, all types of sexual immortality, hate, addiction and a host of others.
God hates all sin whether it involves crime or not. The Bible says there are seven things that God hates:
"A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief” Proverbs 6:16-18.
To God, all of mankind are like felons and just as a convicted felon in our society should be punished, so God punishes sin with separation from Him in a place of torment called hell. Just as man has a prison for criminals, so God has a prison, so to speak, called hell.
Although man deserves hell because of rebellion against God's holy laws, God loves man. He does not want anyone separated from Him in hell:
"The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9.
God's holiness demanded punishment for sin but His love demanded mercy. What God did was become one of us through the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was the sinless, Son of God, but He became the sin bearer of mankind. He was placed on a cross by the Roman police of His day and executed. But, the Bible states that, Christ's shed blood paid the price for sin: "In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins”
Jesus’ body bore our sins: "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree.” Christ's death reconciled us to God: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself...For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
When the jailer asked, "What must I do to be saved?” the apostle Paul responded by saying, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Almost 2,000 years later, the answer has not changed. Through faith, by believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross and that He rose from the dead and shed His blood to pay for your sin, you can be reconciled to God. You can have assurance of eternal life.
When you truly believe in the risen Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you enter into a personal relationship with God. God is not a doctrine or theory, but you can have a personal relationship with God through Christ. This personal relationship, based on the Word of God, gives you assurance of eternal life:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3.
This personal relationship with the Lord Jesus brings peace into your life - a peace that is deep inside you that surpasses anything this world has to offer:
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27.
I was in enforcement 26 years, and I've worked with many police officers on the local, state and federal level. So many of the officers are depressed, alcoholics, paranoid, cynical, involved in sexual immorality, hate the job and just unhappy. Many suffer from physical ailments caused by the job such as heart problems, ulcers and injuries that are job related. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ will completely change the inner man and free you from sin. The resurrection power of Jesus Christ is greater than any problem you have.
God is on your side and He wants to empower you with His Holy Spirit so you can truly do the job as His minister. Are you on God's side? God even wants fervent, constant prayer offered for you so that you are protected and you can protect society:
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” 1 Tim 2:1,2.
Please don't reject the forgiveness of sin and the peace in your life that comes with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and don't miss the power in your life to break the hold of sin. The Commander and Chief of all law enforcement states:
"and this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another as He gave us commandment.,” 1 John 3:23.
Believing on the Lord Jesus is not an option but a command from God Himself. Faith in Christ is God’s way to be reconciled to the Law Giver. How can you be a true police officer without being under the authority of God? He is the one who has raised you up to be His minister.
The ancient jailer obeyed the apostles’ command and the Bible states: “and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house." You also will be able to rejoice like the jailer when you believe in Jesus as he did. Right now, you can turn from sin and confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior. My prayer is the Lord Jesus will say of you as He did to that Roman centurion nearly 2,000 years ago:
Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in all of America.
John McTernan
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