When Mr. Benham arrived at the abortion facility, there were many police officers there already. He was told that he was not allowed to be there. Mr. Benham did not give up his rights, but respectfully explained to the officer that he was allowed to be there, and continued reminding the officer that the officer himself knew that Mr. Benham was well within his rights to be there. The officer did not uphold Mr. Benham's constitutional rights, nor his rights under the stay-at-home order and Mr. Benham was unjustly and unconstitutionally arrested.
You can view the video of Mr. Benham's arrest here:
David Benham Unjustly Arrested
Mr. Benham was taken to the jail and booked. He was released 4 hours later. While he was in jail, he had the opportunity to minister to 2 young men who were there. He was also joined in jail by his father "Flip", and his son, both of whom were also arrested for their stand for the Gospel and for the unborn.
Some may object to Mr. Benham's actions and some may believe that he should not have been out there at that facility on that Saturday morning. Mr. Benham however was within the laws of the land, he was within the stay-at-home orders, he had every legal right to be on that sidewalk, and he took precautions and practiced social distancing. What he did not do however, is stay home while innocent children were being murdered in his city, without standing up and being a voice for them. Mr. Benham was not disrespectful to the governing authorities, he told them even as they were arresting him that he appreciated them, and he was sincere in saying that. This is not a case of rude Christians being disrespectful to police and ignoring the law. They obeyed all the laws that applied to them. There were less than 10 people from Cities4Life present at the abortion clinic when Mr. Benham was arrested, and they followed all the guidelines they needed to in light of Covid 19. Mr. Benham was kind and respectful to the police officers, he obeyed when asked to step over to a different part of the sidewalk, and he did not resist arrest. Mr. Benham honored Christ in his actions, and serves as an example to others in balancing respecting the authorities, and yet obeying God even if that means they will be arrested. Mr. Benham's desire for going out to that abortion clinic on Saturday, not knowing when he got there what was going to happen, was to honor and glorify Christ and to fulfill his responsibility to speak up for the unborn who were being killed at that facility.
Mr. Benham has shown by example what it looks like to honor God and to respect the authorities while being an ambassador of Jesus Christ on the streets. As Mr. Benham has said, this situation can be boiled down to two words; Rights, and Responsibilities. Mr. Benham had the legal and constitutional right to be on that sidewalk that day. He also had a responsibility to stand up for the innocent children who were being slaughtered at that facility. The Church, as the body of Christ, has the duty to love their neighbors and to honor Christ and serve him with their lives. We as Christians are to "Rescue those being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter." (Proverbs 24:11) We are also to make disciples of all nations and to preach the Gospel to every creature. (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15).
Mr. Benham followed these commands of God. He spoke for the voiceless, and stood up to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Although he was unjustly arrested, he was willing to endure persecution for the sake of obeying the commands of Christ. Even in the midst of a pandemic or healthcare crisis, the government does not have the right to exercise tyrannical, unjust and unchecked power. The governing authorities will have to answer to God for all of their actions, even those that took place in the midst of a crisis. Mr. Benham exercised his rights, and fulfilled his responsibilities.
I would also like to note that Mr. Benham and the other Christians who were arrested, were targeted, as there were other people out at a local park who were not arrested under the stay-at-home order. A man drove around Charlotte to see if the stay-at-home order was being enforced.
What he saw, was crowded parks and riverbanks. There were clearly people in Charlotte who were out in public doing things, yet they were not arrested. Who was arrested? The Christians who were going about doing essential business in accordance with their rights and responsibilities. Those who were arrested were the ones who stood up to protect the rights of the unborn, who stood for justice, and stood up for the Gospel.
So was Mr. Benham right to go out to the abortion facility on Saturday? YES! He knew that babies were being murdered and that justice was not being served, and he was willing to give up his rights to defend the God-given rights of the unborn.
Was Mr. Benham going against Romans 13, and not submitting to the governing authorities? No. He was fulfilling the responsibility that he had been given to rescue those being taken away to death and to proclaim the Gospel. He was obeying God rather than man. (Acts 5:29) Remember that many Christians throughout the centuries have been arrested, persecuted, and even killed by the authorities for the sake of Christ. We are supposed to obey the governing authorities, however when the authorities unjustly tell you that you cannot stand up for the unborn, Mr. Benham chose to obey what he believed God wanted him to do, and obeyed God rather than man.
Was Mr. Benham not loving his neighbor by going out in public in the midst of Covid 19? No. He did love his neighbor, he kept his distance from others and had cleaned his hands. He was not doing anything that could have spread Covid 19. What he was doing was loving his pre-born neighbors as well and was pleading for their lives.
What good has come from this arrest and what should we as Christians learn from this? Mr. Benham has served as an example to Christians to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ even to the extent of giving up your freedom in order to obey God. He has also served as an example in how to show respect to the governing authorities even when you have to disobey unjust orders in order to obey God. Mr. Benham showed that he truly believed what he teaches about the value of the unborn and has lived out his words by his actions. We can all learn from this example in not just talking about what we believe, but actually obeying the commands of God in our actions.
May we as Christians be encouraged by Mr. Benham's example and seek to honor and glorify God in all of our actions.
Please be praying for Mr. Benham as this legal situation continues, and please be praying for all the Christians around the country and around the world who are standing for the Gospel and facing persecution for doing so.
In Christ,
Virginia
