by Fr. Robert J Carr
When you read the bible carefully, you discover a kind of a spiritual legal system applying to all creation. It is this legal system under which Christ died that that all might be saved. The law applies with mercy in the Kingdom of God and with tyranny outside that kingdom.

The system of the world, with all its principalities and powers, is where the law is strict and merciless. There is no salvation and nothing but condemnation for any infraction against the law. Dante described such a system as without hope.

Look at it this way, you could be the best person in the world, but that is not going to prevent the laws of physics from applying to you. If you lean too far out a ten story window, you will die. There is no recourse and no exception. The laws of physics are as hard as the ground upon which you landed.

The spiritual laws of the world’s principalities and powers are similar. You can be a nice person, but if you violate one law, then you are as guilty as if you violated ten. There is no mercy or exception. The law says eternal death and you suffer eternal death in the devil’s realm which is Hell.

However, I said there is the alternative, the Kingdom of God. There law has a just judge who is the Father and in Him there is an exception for mercy. If you are in the Kingdom of God, Jesus, the Son, paid the penalty for you by his death and resurrection. The tyrannical dictator, who is the devil, has no authority over you and you have as your arbiter the merciful God.

Now, we always have a choice over which realm we enjoy. If we seek to be part of the Kingdom of God through our life in Christ, then we become subject to Our Lord’s justice, love and mercy. If we reject the Kingdom of God by choosing to reject Christ and His way of life, then we fall under the authority of the principalities and powers which follow the letter of the law, mercilessly.

An example to illustrate this:

Many years ago, I played a form of computer scored bowling. This was not a video game, but a bowling alley where a computerized system counted the pins and enforced the rules. There was no mercy, if you stepped one millimeter over the foul line, your score for that ball was zero. You did not throw a strike, even though you knocked down all the pins with your first ball. But in human scored bowling there is no computer. You can accidentally step a millimeter over the foul line and your score still counts, as long as no one calls you on it. One side has no give for the reality of humanity and the other does.

This is similar to the two systems. If you reject God, then you fall under the tyrannical system of the world. There is no mercy for any infraction and there is zero tolerance for each one. However, if you are in the Kingdom of God, there is forgiveness for the repentant sinners who choose to be subjects in that kingdom. Further, because your citizenship is in Heaven the principalities and powers have no authority over you.

This is the powerful meaning of the words of St. Paul to the Colossians and to the Romans regarding the legal system as it applies to world and the Kingdom of God.

And even when you were dead [in] transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst

New American Bible. (2011). (Revised Edition., Col 2:13–14). Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Now we know that what the law says is addressed to those under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world stand accountable to God, since no human being will be justified in his sight by observing the law; for through the law comes consciousness of sin.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

New American Bible. (2011). (Revised Edition., Ro 3:19–22). Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

You only have freedom if you embrace the Kingdom of God, for you are a subject of that Kingdom. If you reject the Kingdom of God by rejecting Christ then you are, by default, a subject of the world whose monarch is the prince of darkness. There is no middle ground.

Imagine it this way, a great tyrant has taken over your country and you see an ocean liner acting as lifeboat to the free world. The crew is inviting many to escape the horrors that are coming their way. If you get on the lifeboat, you are subject to all the rules and regulations of the new country, but they lead to a freedom you can no longer find in your native land. Do you choose to board the lifeboat or do you stay? If you stay, you will live under the tyranny approaching that has overtaken your beloved homeland. The choice and the consequences are yours.

Jesus’ death and resurrection frees us from every element of the authority of the principalities and powers. Indeed, the name Satan means “enemy” who uses the law against us. He becomes the accuser who cites every jot and tittle that condemns us. We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, however, it is our Father, in the Son with the Holy Spirit who is our judge under those laws and He is a forgiving and loving judge for those who are citizens of His kingdom.

If we choose to be the Catholics Christ calls us to be, even as repentant sinners, we fall under the mercy of God for we are His subjects. If, however, we embraced the world and the principalities and powers, then we are not God’s subjects and do not enjoy the rights and privileges of a citizen of the Kingdom of God. We fall under every letter of the law with no recourse for mercy.

The choice is ours, if we choose to be citizens of the Kingdom of God, and act upon the choice in the way we live our life, then it is our role in union with the Holy Spirit to lead others into the divine citizenship and free them from the tyranny of the devil. Whether they respond is, as is always the case, in accords with their free will. We help them make an informed choice. So they understand not only what is at stake, but the way to freedom.