In this life, for all who experience persecution for their faith, Jesus promises great blessing and heavenly reward (Matt. 5:1, 8:1), granting them eternal life and a glorious eternity with him (John 11:25-26 Rev. Incredibly, God will instantly and irreversibly declare sinners righteous who repent and put faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. Christ then rose victoriously from the grave demonstrating that he is the sufficient Savior (Rom. 3:23), God the Father has not left us to our condemnation, but sent his Son to die as a wrath-bearing sacrifice in our place (1 John 4:10). The good news is, that though we have all sinned (Rom. In the meantime, God extends his loving mercy to sinners (Ps. Jesus will return one day to the earth, render judgment, and rule as King over the world (Ps. Every knee and every tongue of every human will one day bow and confess him as such, whether in redemption or wrath (Phil. Above all, the Lord Jesus Christ sits as the sovereign King and supreme Lord over all the universe (Ps. Perhaps this reminds us of John Bunyan, who once said, “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.”Ĭhristians need not be surprised nor shaken by these things. So far, Pastor Coates seems to have declined the offer. Reportedly, authorities will release him from jail on the condition he does not preside over Grace Life services. In the meantime, as Canada jails Pastor Coates, the nation considers marijuana dispensaries and liquor stores essential services. Pastor Coates was arrested and jailed Tuesday. Health inspectors attended Grace Life again on February 14 th. ![]() He explained that he could not go against conscience and the need to shepherd God’s people. On February 7 th, Canadian police told Pastor Coates that he was under arrest for continuing to preside over worship gatherings, explaining that he must abide by the health order. Grace Life continued to gather for corporate worship. Then the health department issued a closure order on January 29 th. On January 21st, a court order was filed to imprison Pastor Coates. On December 17 th, a health inspector posted a report against the church. ![]() The church regarded “the weekly invasion of AHS inspectors to be a potential criminal offense, pursuant to section 176(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada, which prohibits the interrupting or disturbing of a religious worship service.” This continued each Sunday for about three months. In November, Canadian health officials began showing up at Grace Life worship gatherings, recording the number of attendees, those who were not wearing masks, and social distancing. “uch restrictions violate the constitutional rights to freedom of conscience and religion, expression, peaceful assembly and association as protected by section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” Representing Grace Life, the Justice Centre wrote: In December, the chief medical officer of Alberta issued a mandate restricting worship gatherings to 15% capacity, with masks and social distancing. They then resumed meeting when it was discovered that no further spread occurred. The lawyer representing the church stated, “Even in the summer of 2020, it had become apparent to congregants of Grace Life that government lockdowns cause far more self-imposed harm than the natural harm of covid.” In early July, two people who attended Grace Life tested positive for covid, upon which the church shut down for two weeks. ![]() On June 21 st, the church resumed meeting for corporate gathering. Grace Life suspended corporate worship services in the spring of 2020 in response to an largely unknown covid situation. Here is a brief summary of the situation. ![]() Coates is a graduate of the Master’s Seminary, was a personal classmate of mine, and has faithfully pastored Grace Life since 2010. Currently, his wife and children are prohibited from visiting him. As of February 17 th, he remains imprisoned with a possible trial date to be set next week sometime. Pastor James Coates of Grace Life Church in Spruce Grove, Alberta was jailed this past Tuesday. The pastor of a Bible church has been imprisoned for going against covid restrictions by presiding over his church during corporate worship.
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