Politics and Christianity (Part 2)

God Raises up Circumstances and Adversaries

One thing most Christians fail to realize is that God raises up adversaries to a nation and before people to serve as a warning sign that alerts us that we are turning away from God and have ignored the warnings of the Holy Spirit and those who proclaim the warnings of scripture. God also raises adversaries to judge God’s people for their sins. God always gives His people ample warnings and space to repent and only after He has been rejected does God bring judgment. This is reiterated in the Old and New Testaments. When God proclaimed the destruction of Jerusalem, he called a pagan king to serve as His sword against Israel. God called King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon His servant (Jeremiah 43:10). This is the same king that called the world to worship his golden image and trusted in magicians and astrologers. God raised up Nebuchadnezzar for the purpose of executing judgment on Israel and other nations who were corrupted by sin.

As Israel turned their backs on God, He first sent prophets to warn them, then God sent pestilence, adversaries, disasters, and even stated that he withheld rain as a warning to His people (Amos 4:7-8) until finally He brought judgment. A good example of this is seen in the life of King Solomon. When Solomon and Israel sought God, the entire nation prospered into the greatest wealth the world has ever known. Solomon was filled with wisdom from God, walked in God’s ways and was greatly blessed in all he did. Yet when he departed from God, turned to idolatry and allowed sin to reign, God judged him. Look at these passages in 1 Kings 11:11-14  

¹¹ Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 

^…

 ¹⁴ Now the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom.

1 Kings 11: ²³ And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, Hadadezer king of Zobah.

God Himself raised up adversaries to trouble Israel. We fail to realize that God is in complete control over all things and all leaders. No one comes to power unless it is given by God (John 19:11, Psalm 75:7, Romans 13:1). When adversaries begin to trouble any land, it should be a warning sign that God is trying to get our attention. Historically nations have stiffened their necks and resisted God’s warnings until destruction comes. Will we follow that same pattern? Consider the adversaries that continuously rise against us. Off the top of my head I can think of Fidel Castro, Manuel Noriega, North Korea, Iran, the Taliban, Hamas, Hugo Chavez, the La Raza (who claims that they are taking back California, New Mexico and Texas to become a Latin state) and the list could go on and on. What about drug runners, crime rate, and internal strife? Middle Eastern terrorists bombed the World Trade Centers but Americans bombed the Federal Building in Oklahoma.

We should learn from the history God has given us as an example and warning to heed. When Israel sinned, God delivered them into the hand of the Midianites, Amalekites, Philistines, Syrians, and Babylonians. Each served as a warning for the purpose of driving God’s people back to Him. God is our Father and has the right to chastise His children just as you have a right to chastise your children when they do wrong. Just like the modern church movements, Israel walked in the statutes that they made but rejected the commandments of the Lord (2 Kings 17:19). PBS aired a special on the Emergent Church movement where a church member boasted, “I take comfort in knowing that I don’t have all the answers and that there may not be any answers”. Rather than receiving the word of God and the answers God has given, people are now taking comfort in buying into the lie that the Bible does not have the answers (at least not the answers they are looking for). The comfort is that people can now claim to be Christians while determining their own statutes, seeking their own ways, and formulating their own answers just as scripture foretold would happen in the last days. While the church is making up their own statutes, God is sending warning signs and a call for repentance. We should not repeat the example of Israel found in Jeremiah 25:4-9  

⁴ "And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear.  ⁵ "They said, 'Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever.  ⁶ 'Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.'  ⁷ "Yet you have not listened to Me," says the LORD, "that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.  ⁸ " Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Because you have not heard My words,  ⁹ 'behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' says the LORD, 'and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.

Some will say, “We do not commit idolatry.” Have we created a Jesus that fits our own ways? Do we have a ‘tolerant’ Jesus that winks at sin and requires nothing of the church or its members? Do we have a Jesus that serves us or do we serve Christ. Look at the following commandments of Jesus:

Luke 14: ²⁶ "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  ²⁷ "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  ²⁸ "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it.

Luke 14: ³³ "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Luke 9: ²³ Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  ²⁴ "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

John 14: ²³ Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  ²⁴ "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.

The scriptures warn us not to go after false gods, not to follow our own ways of the flesh, not to live by our own wisdom and not to close our ears to hearing the instructions of God. If your Jesus does not call you to take up the cross, you have created an idol and are calling it Jesus. If your Jesus does not call you to die to the flesh and live in the Spirit, it is a false Jesus. If your Jesus does not call you to forsake all you have and follow Him, it is a false Jesus. A false Jesus is an idol. Do you participate in contemplative prayer, spiritual formation, ‘Christian yoga’, or any of the Eastern religious practices that have been mixed into the church? This is idolatry. If we resist the commandments of God, center our lives around entertainment, serve money by laboring to be rich, or covet the things that we are not given, we are just as guilty as those who bow down to a statue. God has a valid reason for not allowing His people to participate in these things. Look at 1 Corinthians 11:

³² But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

God Restores and Rewards

Look at the promise of Joel 2:

²⁵ "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.

While this promise was specifically given to Israel, the same principle applies to the church. When God’s people turn away from God’s ways, the blessings He desires for us are taken away; however, when there is repentance and we set our hearts to seek God there is always restoration. God’s blessings are the natural expression of love that we experience when we are walking in fellowship with God. We do not come to God to take it out of His hand and then leave to go our own ways. God is our reward; blessings are God’s expression of love. The blessing is not the reward. If we begin to look at material blessings and happy circumstances as our reward, we are completely missing the true reward. Look at Genesis 15:1  

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."

God does indeed promise us rewards for living according to His word; however, the exceedingly great reward is our fellowship with the God who created us. Consider the rewards of faithfulness God has given. We are promised that if we fulfill our call, we will reign with Christ, we will eat of the tree of life, will receive a new name, will rule the nations, and many, many other promises throughout scripture are given to those who live in the Spirit by faith. We are also promised three crowns: the crown of righteousness (1 Timothy 4:8), crown of life (James 1:12), crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4). Each of these promises are only to those who obey. It is not merely labor that inherits the reward, but obedience out of love. Consider this passage from Luke 17:7-10   

⁷ "And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?  ⁸ "But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'?  ⁹ "Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not.  ¹⁰ "So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.' "

We have to remember that the Bible says that we are not our own but have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). God purchased our salvation with His own blood (Acts 20:28 and Revelation 1:5-6). What service can you do for God seeing that you owe Him everything? If Jesus gave His own life to purchase your redemption, what can you do to ever begin to earn rewards? You can never earn anything for even if you give your life and even if you give your body to be burned, it profits nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3). The reward is not in your service but your faith and love that calls you to serve in hope or as 1 Corinthians 13:13 states:

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

You cannot merit anything from God for you owe God everything including your life. You cannot earn any reward for you can never pay God back for your redemption; therefore, it is impossible to ever merit any reward. When you offer to God your service, do not expect a reward, for you have only done what is your duty to do. You are required to serve God for when you gave Christ your old sinful life destined for judgment you are no longer your own. The reward is not in the service but in the willing act of love through faith. Consider these two passages:

Hebrews 11:⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

1 Corinthians 9: ¹⁶ For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!  ¹⁷ For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

Notice two very important truths found in these passages. First, we please God by faith. If you serve God without faith it is merely a task and has no reward. Everything in the Christian life must be founded upon faith or it is worthless religion. Getting busy for God is only valuable if you first are acting on faith and second that you are acting in obedience to your calling. To get busy in a work God has not called you to do is not of God and has no reward. God rewards those who walk by faith and seek Him by faith.

Second, our reward is based on our willingness to serve out of an attitude of humility and gratitude for God’s indescribable gift of salvation. If you merely serve, you are only doing what is your duty to do. Even if you do not want to obey God’s call, you are still obligated and ‘woe to you’ if you neglect God’s call for you will be held accountable. So even if we are unwilling, we still have a duty but that duty has no reward. Anyone who has been a parent should be able to identify with this. I have children and I frequently have chores that they are required to do. Sometimes they don’t feel like doing their duties, but it does not change the fact that they have to do as they are told. If they have a bad attitude and grumble their way through their tasks, I am not pleased with their actions. They won’t get punished if they obey and complete their work, but I am not going to eagerly reward them for complaining and whining their way through their tasks. However, if my kids do what I instruct willingly and have a good attitude, it is my desire to reward their behavior and give privileges to the children who consistently show themselves responsible and attentive to their duties.

The same holds true with our relationship with God. We all have been bought with a price and if my attitude is to please God and willingly give myself as a living sacrifice to Christ, God will reward me in this life and the life to come. If I don’t want to discipline myself to seek Him or apply myself to Christian service, I am not exempted from obedience because of my poor attitude. Often times we don’t experience the joy of the Lord because we are doing our duty instead of diligently seeking God, our Rewarder. We seek God through prayer, the word and applying the word to our lives. Our duty is to apply the word to our own lives as we also obey God to do the work that seeks first His kingdom. If you don’t know what God’s will is for your life, seek Him and study the word. If you haven’t willingly applied yourself to the things God has already revealed, you cannot expect God to reveal any more to you nor can you expect to find His special calling for your life. Your first command after receiving Christ is to study to show yourself approved to God so that you can be a workman that will never be ashamed (2 Timothy 2:15).

The Church Already Has the Answer

If we neglect these things, we cannot influence the culture around us and cannot prosper even if we mount up a revolution of voters to win every political office in the land. If our candidates are being drawn from a pool that has no moral foundation and no discernment, we cannot expect victory in our culture even if we have victory at the polls. The evidence is in the results of the last two to three decades. When election time comes around, candidates all become conservative and religious. Politicians see the stats and according to surveys, nearly 9 out of 10 Americans identify themselves with the Christian church – even if they are not active. To gain the Christian vote, everyone has family values and moral principles, but once in office we find that our candidates really do not have principles.

When campaigning, hopeful candidates claim to hold the values you hold dear, but once they are in a position to where they must take a moral stand, politicians seldom have moral courage. Repeatedly I have heard politicians say that they believe something is morally wrong but that they cannot vote their conscience but they must vote with their constituencies. How can someone believe something is wrong and then cast a vote to approve the very thing they say is wrong? The reason is that if there is not a moral foundation in which to stand upon, our leaders will shift with the sand that is shifting below them. True moral courage comes from within and since the heart is wicked by nature (Jeremiah 17:9) and that mankind follows a way that seems right and is unable to recognize that what seems good by worldly wisdom is actually the ways of death (Proverbs 16:25), if a man’s moral foundation is not founded upon the rock of Jesus Christ, he is incapable to lead in a way that is contrary to the moral decline of the culture.

The church alone has been given the task of preserving the culture. Government is made up of men and mankind is shockingly susceptible to Group Think. A few years back I took a business class that examined the phenomenon of Group Think. One researcher was able to get people to give answers that they knew were wrong simply because the group consensus agreed on a false answer. He took three flash cards with three different sized lines on them. The task was to identify the longest line. The class was prepped before hand to identify one line that was clearly not the longest line. Only a few classmates did not know about the experiment and they were pressured into agreeing with the group consensus even though it was clearly wrong. After seeing the entire class identify a shorter line as being the longest, the majority of the students gave into the pressure of not wanting to be the odd man out.

Almost everyone has been faced with this type of circumstance and will face this many times throughout their lives. When our heart is on seeking God and keeping His ways, it changes our perspective away from acceptance with the world and toward acceptance with God. Remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego? King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image to worship and all the nations under Babylon’s control were commanded to bow down to this idol. Out of the multitudes of people (including God’s own people), only three men refused to bow.

Is it any wonder that our politicians cannot resist bowing to the demands of the group consensus as they go along with the moral collapse of our culture? Who can stand? It is painful to stand up and go against the current of our culture and very, very difficult. If our eyes are not on the Author and Finisher of our faith, we will not stand. If you think winning an election will change the moral decline of America, you are putting confidence in man and men will always fail if his strength is in himself, his ethics are based on group think, or his moral foundation is based on the accepted standard of the culture.

We are dependent on God to raise up leaders as He uses us to make disciples of all nations. As the church fulfills its calling given by Jesus Christ to make disciples, the moral foundation built through discipleship will become the foundation that will affect the nation as a whole. If the church does not return to the commission of Jesus Christ, it cannot save the culture and cannot ‘take America back’. One up and coming candidate has a slogan stating that he is ‘Hope for America’. Can any man provide hope for America? Can we be blessed or restored to greatness while we are striving against God? I keep seeing political adds about the ‘Christian Revolution’ and ‘The Solution’ but I have a revolutionary thought – perhaps the church should return its focus on what God has commanded the church to do and then see what God will do through the church to affect the culture. Political leaders standing upon a destroyed moral foundation can do very little good. Psalm 11:3 asks a very pointed and self-evident question:

If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?

The answer is, ‘nothing’. The only thing we can do is submit ourselves to God so that He will rebuild the foundation and use us to accomplish His work. If we abandon the commission God has given the church, we cannot expect God to bless our efforts and cannot expect our elected leaders to succeed in restoring moral integrity to anyone. I’ll repeat this passage yet again because the only healing for the nation is found in 2 Chronicles 7:   

¹⁴ "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Why do we only focus on the command to pray and ignore the commands that call us to repent? The prayer of those who ignore God’s commandments is an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 28:9). The sacrifices of those who walk in sin are an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 15:8). If the church, God’s people, do not turn from their own ways, repent, obey the commission of Jesus Christ as they seek God’s face, the church cannot claim the promise of restoration and healing to the nation and it does no good to pray. Only the prayer of faith has any promise and faith is not possible if we are walking in disobedience. Let’s wrap this study up by reviewing again our commission given to the church by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20  

¹⁹ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  ²⁰ "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Preach Christ.

Baptize them in Jesus’ name.

Teach God’s people to obey all that is commanded.

Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com

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