The Government and You

This is our time. The torch has been passed to us in this relay race we call the Christian life. "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands." (Acts 17:26) Jesus Christ is the Lord of all of the Christian's life. Christ must be Lord of our political views. That may sound obvious, but it is anything but obvious in practice. The Scriptures teach that government is ordained of God and thus accountable to God. Some groups try to use the First Amendment to mean that religion cannot have any voice in government matters. But the intent of that amendment was not to keep religion out of the government, but to keep the government out of religion. Since part of the government's God-ordained function is to promote justice, and since, by necessity, that involves legislating morality, it is absurd to talk about a total separation of church and state. Freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion. Yet, the church must be careful to be known primarily for the gospel, not for a partisan political stance. Christians have influenced government positively throughout history. These changes have also facilitated the spread of the gospel. The media soaks the culture in the implicit assumption that we need the government to make life better and longer. The implicit assumption made by most Americans is that government can and must solve every human problem and is responsible to usher in some utopia. The Bible teaches otherwise. Near the consummation of all things, the government will try to crush the church and it is only King Jesus who can and will save His people!