 Politics
So often, in the church, we say that we do not want to get involved in politics. However, it really is not possible to be truly severed from politics while holding any genuine convictions. What is really meant by “not getting politica”l is that we don’t want to get into partisan division. In truth, I don’t trust either party or very many politicians, regardless of their party affiliation. With that said, the real issue is do we as God’s new covenant people have anything to say to the political entity of our local, state, and national governments? The answer is yes! We should bring the truth and ethical stipulations taught to us in the word of God and call out to the government to enact laws that are in keeping with the moral equity of the word of God. I believe that we can call on the government to enact moral laws in keeping with the Scripture without the government establishing any preference or prejudice toward any religious entity. Governance I can hear ‘theonomists’ now saying that they were right with me up to the point when they would see it as a claim to moral or religious neutrality. But I am not granting neutrality. We as Christian citizens certainly are not neutral in arguing for moral and just laws and our Christian legislators and political executives are not to act in a neutral manner either. They should call for and vote for moral and just laws and state that they do so because Christ is King and Lord! But the state itself is not an entity with a soul and as such the state cannot become a disciple of Jesus, cannot be baptized, and cannot be taught to observe everything that Christ commanded; only individuals who are a part of the new covenant through regeneration can do that.(Matthew 28:18-20) This means that to see the kind of just and moral legislation that we all long for in our land we must be proclaiming the gospel and seeking the salvation of our families, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. Only if God is so pleased to grant that many more individuals would become born again disciples would we see the government coming under the general influence of a true Christian majority. Our goal is not for the state to become Christian, but for the people of our country to become Christians who are baptized and taught to obey everything commanded by Jesus and enjoy His promise even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20). The Gospel This means that the hope for our nation is not a quasi-christian political movement or moral majority coalition of co belligerents but rather our hope is the proclamation of the gospel by individual believers who are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15), the raising of godly families under the Lordship of Christ (Ephesians 5:22-33), the building and strengthening of local churches under the head of the church the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-20), all influencing the governing authorities who regardless of their affirmation or submission are under the sovereign reign of the Lord Jesus Christ!
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