Biblical Political View

I am sorry for returning once again to the Biblical principles of politics, but here I am again.  I have much I want to say on prayer that God has shared with me over the last year or so, that will actually bring about the change of the political atmosphere of our country, but I have what I hope is a final word on this subject.

Our government was designed to have a strong church at its foundation.  As the church weakens, so does our country.   The church as a whole does not understand the principle by which this government was established.  The Church has converged to prop up the government rather than propping up the church.  If this persists, in the end, we will have lost both.

Many people in the Church struggle with the concept of the Church being the foundation of our government.  I assure you it is not only Biblical, but it was the concept our founding fathers adhered to and so designed the foundation of our government to be the Church and the foundation of the Church is God.  One doesn’t exist without the other.

Here are just a few quotes from our founding fathers:

George Washington, 1st U.S. President:

"While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian."

--The Writings of Washington, pp. 342-343.

John Witherspoon, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Clergyman and President of Princeton University:

"While we give praise to God, the Supreme Disposer of all events, for His interposition on our behalf, let us guard against the dangerous error of trusting in, or boasting of, an arm of flesh ... If your cause is just, if your principles are pure, and if your conduct is prudent, you need not fear the multitude of opposing hosts.” "Whoever is an avowed enemy of God, I scruple not to call him an enemy of his country."

--Sermon at Princeton University, "The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men," May 17, 1776.

James Madison, 4th U.S. President:

"A watchful eye must be kept on ourselves lest while we are building ideal monuments of Renown and Bliss here we neglect to have our names enrolled in the Annals of Heaven."

--Written to William Bradford on November 9, 1772, Faith of Our Founding Fathers by Tim LaHaye, pp. 130-131; Christianity and the Constitution — The Faith of Our Founding Fathers by John Eidsmoe, p. 98.

As you can see, our founding fathers had a clear grasp of the Biblical principle of God’s sovereignty and that no government can stand, even ours, unless the foundation is Jesus Christ.  Our government has not failed us because it didn’t have enough checks and balances.  Our Constitution didn’t fail us because it was inadequate, or our Bill of Rights did not cover enough freedoms.  The Church bares the sole responsibility of our nation because it was placed in our hands, not by the Founding Fathers, but by our sovereign God.  When the church began to stray from the principles within God’s Word, the nation began to stray from God.  People began to stray from the fundamental truths of the Bible and then began to run for office, and like-minded people began to vote for them.  Many preachers have left their pulpits to pursue a more active role in politics in order to bring about change, when God actually chose the pulpit to bring about change.

Romans 10:14 (Webster):

14) How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Now, we have come to a point in time where people in church will vote for a politician who supports the killing of an unborn child, or will stand in favor of same sex marriage.   That they claim to be a Christian somehow justifies any action they might take no matter how far it strays from God’s Word.  You have heard it said, “You are what you eat.”  I say, you are what you vote for.  Our vote mirrors who we are as a country and the country mirrors the Church.  When the votes are cast in November and you don't like what you see, it's the Church’s fault.  One more final quote from Thomas Jefferson shows the connection between the Church and government:

Thomas Jefferson, 3rd U.S. President, Drafter and Signer of the Declaration of Independence:

"God who gave us life gave us liberty.  And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God?  That they are not to be violated but with His wrath?  Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event."

--Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.

 

I have said enough on this matter and I hope you will catch my next few blog posts as I share some insights on prayer which I hope will change you and everything around you.   Let me leave you with this verse:

Romans 12:12-13 (KJV):

12) Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Chariots of Fire

"Chariots of Fire"

It was so cute to hear my then two year old granddaughter say, "What in the world?”  It always brought a smile to my face.  The question itself is one of astonishment mixed with confusion.  I now find myself looking at the church and asking, "What in the world are you doing?"

I guess now is the time to take this opportunity to interject a disclaimer: the vast majority of the Church will not like what I'm about to say and it could induce vomiting, increased heart rate, reddening of the face and slurring of the speech, causing incoherent verbal abuse and bad thoughts toward me.  If symptoms continue for more than a few hours, you should seek immediate help from the Great Physician! 

With that out of the way, let me continue.  I feel that church's preoccupation with politics is a great deception of Satan to neutralize its efforts of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Let's face it: most denominations will admit that they have been in decline over the past 20 years.  I know I'll catch some heat by saying this, but I believe that the greatest perpetrator of this decline has been the church's political involvement.

In the history of man, there has never been a successful government, not even with God's chosen people, Israel.  Let's Read Samuel 8: 9-20 (BE) to see what God's opinion of government is:

9) Give ear now to their voice: but make a SERIOUS protest to them, and give them a picture of the sort of king who will be their ruler.

10) And Samuel said all these words of the Lord to the people who were desiring a king.

11) And he said, This is the SORT of king who will be your ruler: he will TAKE your sons and MAKE them his SERVANTS, his horsemen, and drivers of his war-carriages, and they will go running before his war-carriages;

12) And he will MAKE them captains of thousands and of fifties; some he will put to work ploughing and cutting his grain and making his instruments of war and building his war-carriages.

13) Your DAUGHTERS HE WILL TAKE to be makers of perfumes and cooks and bread-makers.

14) He will TAKE your fields and your vine-gardens and your olive-gardens, all the BEST OF THEM, and GIVE them to his servants.

15) He will TAKE a tenth of your seed and of the fruit of your vines and GIVE it to his servants.

16) He will TAKE your men-servants and your servant-girls, and the BEST of your oxen and your asses and PUT THEM TO WORK.

17) He will TAKE a tenth of your sheep: and you will be his SERVANTS.

18) Then you will be CRYING out because of your king whom you have taken for yourselves; but the Lord will not give you an answer in that day.

19) But the people gave no attention to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No, but we will have a king over us,

20) So that we may be like the other nations, and so that our king may be our judge and go out before us to war.

Does that sound a little familiar?  All of that could have been said in a speech to the American people last night!  So, why should the focus of our hope be on a government?  Many people are so surprised by the failure of our government.  All one has to do is apply just a little understanding of human nature to know that government plus people equals failure.  We will always have to deal with flawed government until Jesus comes to rule and reign.  The United States has been called the great experiment, and we gave it our best shot, but anytime you put people in the equation, it just won't work.  Saul, Israel's first king, was humble.  He even seemed to have low self-esteem, but in the end he was consumed with power and became jealous of any opposition.  Power breeds corruption and corruption will bring down the greatest of governments.

Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't vote.  I believe that all Christians should take the time to study the candidates and vote.  We should take seriously the responsibility of being a good steward of this great country God has given us.  So, you are probably asking, "Where is your problem?"  Well, the problem is, it was always when Israel disobeyed or turned away from God or, might I say, when God was no longer a priority in their lives, that judgment ALWAYS came.  What makes the church think they can fight this battle politically or any other way?  There is only one way to fight.  We find it in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV):

14) If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Many Christians have the tendency to say that if we can get this man elected or that man elected, or get this law passed or that law passed, then all will be well.  But I just have to ask this question: how has that worked for the church over the past 30 years?  There is only one remedy and the church is failing to do it.  I have also heard many people say that if their candidate doesn't get elected, it's all over.  It very well might be over with, but not because your candidate didn't get elected. It will be over because the church has failed to recognize God as their only source of power.  II Chronicles 7:14 still applies today.  Some say this Scripture was intended for the children of Israel and I would have to agree with them, but the reason that it applies to us today is because we serve a God that the Bible says does not change.  Man changes, man's theology changes, but God can’t change.   If the solution will work for Israel, it will work for the Christian church today.  Verse 14 starts off with "If".  In this context, “if” is a positive statement.  If we do this, God will do that.  The answers to our problems today don't get any simpler than that.

The first thing God gives us to do in Chronicles 7:14, is to humble ourselves.  In other words, stop running around in circles in a panic saying we have to do this or that to fix this thing.  We have to stop and say, “God, we can't fix this.  It's out of our control.  We’re not big enough or smart enough or powerful enough.  God, you're the only one who can fix this.”  That my friend is humility at its best.  That is where we must begin.

Next, God simply says to pray and seek His face. To pray that’s the words man speaks to God, but to seek His face is to demand His attention.  The context of what He said is to pray to God with passion and fervency as if we really can't do anything about it and He is our only hope.  Next, Chronicles 7:14 says to turn from our wicked ways.   Do right, and God will take it from there.  Simply do right,

In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, Christians traded the altar for the voting booth.  The late 1980’s gave birth to the Christian Coalition and the Christian Coalition did what Christians do best.  They bickered and fought so much that now they're irrelevant.  When those same Christians decide to go back to the altar, they will find that the altars have been taken out of the church.  As was the case throughout the Bible, we are going to have to rebuild the altars that have been broken down before God can do a work.

In the 34 years since I've been voting, we have amassed a $16 trillion debt and the church has lost many rights that it once held dear.  There have been somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 million babies aborted.  As our government changes hands from Democrat to Republican, then Republican to Democrat, like a well orchestrated ponzi scheme  the church continues to lose ground.  We have found ourselves taking a knife to a gunfight and coming out on the short end of the stick.  It's time to break out the heavy artillery and pray; you must never lose sight of the fact that our God is sovereign.

Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (KJV):

3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

4) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;

5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Notice verse 4.  Our weapons are not of this world.  We are mighty only because of God.  Hebrews 11:32-34 (KJV) says:

32) And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

33) Who THROUGH FAITH subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

34)  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

We can also find hope in Jeremiah 32:26-28 (KJV):

26) Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,

27) Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

The Church doesn't need a perfect political climate to flourish.  We only need to turn back to God.

The persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire began during the ministry of Jesus and continued intermittently over a period of about three centuries.  This persecution can be traced both historically and in the current era.  Early Christians were persecuted for their faith, at the hands of both Jews and the Roman Empire, who controlled much of the land early Christianity was distributed across.  Yet the Bible said they turned the world upside down and during that time no government could stop the growth of the church.

God and Samuel were both disappointed when Israel chose to be ruled by a man rather than God; but have we not done the same thing by putting all of our efforts into political actions instead of seeking the face of God?  I can remember many in the church as a kid who didn't believe in voting.  There was an element in the church that condemned them for their beliefs.  It is necessary to find balance.  In the 1960’s, there was a political upheaval that spilled over into the church.  It was the final nail in the coffin of any revival in the early part of the century.  Topeka, Kansas and Azusa Street are just foot notes in a history book now.  As the church’s political clout grew, revival and the power of God faded away.

When the Apostle Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans, Nero was emperor of Rome.  Ultimately, Paul was beheaded on Nero’s orders.  It is especially important to keep Nero in mind when reading Paul’s admonition to the Romans as recorded in Romans 13:1-2 (KJV):

1) Let everyone put himself under the authority of the higher powers, because there is no power which is not of God, and all powers are ordered by God.

2) For which reason everyone who puts himself against the authority puts himself against the order of God: and those who are against it will get punishment for themselves.

No tyrant, no matter how terrible, achieved his rank through his own effort.  While Satan is certainly capable of corrupting tyrants, he is powerless to appoint them.  This is one of the harder passages of Scripture, but it is nonetheless true.  Every tyrant in history was either appointed by God or the Bible is not true.

 

We must be careful that we don't find ourselves working fervently against God and His purpose.  God should be our main focus, with politics in our peripheral vision.  Again, I know many will disagree with me, but you can't read the Bible and not see it has always been people's attitude toward God that determined the direction of a country, not the politics of a country.  The Church can make a huge difference in this world by returning to God with a renewed enthusiasm for the power of prayer.  Don't you think it's time for the church to try a different approach?  If we want real “hope and change”, let’s try the tactics that have actually worked in the past, such as found in Joshua, chapter 6.  We could march around a city seven times, blow our horns, wait for the walls of the city to fall, then just walk right in.  Or maybe Judges, chapter 7, and take an army of 32,000, reduce it to 300 men, surround an enemy who outnumbers you by about a thousand to one, at night no less, break a pitcher and blow a trumpet, shouting "the sword of the Lord and of Gideon"!  Then wait for the enemy to become confused enough to kill each other and just chase away the remaining few.

   

I have a bunch more ideas and all of them have already been used and were very successful if you're willing to listen!  I must warn you, though, that all my ideas involve praying a lot, doing little, and letting God do the work.  I think our greatest battle is within ourselves, trying to go it alone without God’s help.

 

Read what God told Gideon in Judges 7:2 (KJV):

2) And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are TOO MANY for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

We have a great division in the church today, much like the children of Israel had when Moses led them.  Look at Numbers 13:27 – 33:

27) And they said, We came to the land where you sent us, and truly it is flowing with milk and honey: and here is some of the produce of it.

28) BUT the people living in the land are strong, and the towns are walled and very great; further, we saw the children of Anak there.

29) And the Amalekites are in the South; and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill-country; and the Canaanites by the sea and by the side of Jordan.

30) Then Caleb made signs to the people to keep quiet, and said to Moses, Let us go up straight away and take this land; for we are well able to overcome it.

31) But the men who had gone up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.

32) And they gave the children of Israel a bad account of the land they had been to see, saying, This land through which we went is a land causing destruction to those living in it; and all the people we saw there are men of more than common size.

33) There we saw those great men, the sons of Anak, offspring of the Nephilim: and we seemed to ourselves no more than insects, and so we seemed to them.

The vast majority of the church only looks within themselves and their abilities, whereas there are only a few who will say, “With God's power and strength, we can win!”  A person might be able to change a vote, but that vote will never change a heart.  If you change a heart, that changed heart will change a vote.

 

For those who have taken the time to read this in it’s entirety, I would like to pray for you the same prayer that Elisha prayed for his servant in II Kings 6:17 (KJV):

 17) And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.  And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.