Christians, at least in America, love to get involved in politics — articulating their position, their commentary, or even their ridicule on whatever issue currently strikes their fancy. Sometimes these folks formulate a well-stated biblical position on an issue fomenting in the world. They make God’s mind known to whomever will listen. At other times, however, these politically-minded believers approach the political arena with the assumption that the church has been commissioned by God to solve the world’s problems using the world’s political apparatus. This approach is myopic — stunningly ignorant of the big picture presented to us in the Bible.
The picture presented to us in the Bible is that the world cannot be fixed now because the devil is the god and king of the world (2 Cor. 4:4, John 12:31, 14:30), that it will only be cleaned up when the Lord descends from heaven and binds the devil (Rev. 20:1-3, Mark 3:27), and that our commission in the present age is to call men out of the world through the gospel so they will not be judged with the world. Nowhere in the New Testament is the church given a commission to make the world a better place to live.
So don’t let the world or progressive Christians bully you with accusations that you don’t love your fellow man because you won’t join them in trying to change the world with political activism. Turn a deaf ear to such vain accusations. No one loved mankind more than Jesus, yet he never involved himself in either political activism or social justice movements. He did not rally the Pharisees against the Sadducees, nor the Pharisees and Sadducees together against the Romans. He did not take up any political cause or platform of the day. He preached the everlasting gospel, encouraged those who believed to obey the whole counsel of God, and did good to needy folks who crossed his path. Jesus is your pattern, not modern, hip Christianity.
By all means be a voice for the truth of the living God. Defend the defenseless. Speak up for the voiceless. Articulate the mind of God in a world that does not want to hear the mind of God. If you are called of God to make his mind known in the political arena, then by all means do so. But never forget that you can’t change the world. You can only change men one at a time by bringing them to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Eyes wide open, brain engaged, heart on fire.”
Lee W. Brainard
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