11.1.25
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Politics is applied morality. Morality shapes politics. Politics is the application of morality to public life. When someone says that the Church should not be political and that we should stay in our own lane, they are also advocating that the church should not be concerned with the application of morality to public life. The Church is being told that we can practice our faith in our churches and in our homes, but the public square is off limits. Politicians can impose their (a)moral vision on national life, but the Church cannot seek to influence the moral trajectory of a nation. He who sits in the heavens laughs. Politics is the lane of the church because morality is the lane of the Church. “Thou shalt not murder” is the application of morality to public life.
Here is Wikipedia’s definition and description of politics: Politics is about making agreements between people so that they can live together in groups such as tribes, cities, or countries. The government tries to lead everybody. Governments do things such as:
- Decide which people get which pieces of land
- Decide which people can tell other people what to do
- Decide whether to go to war with another country
- Create money
- Build things for the use of the whole group, such as roads, hospitals, libraries, and docks.
- Educate people, either for their own good, or to teach them what the government wants them to know
- Take care of the very young, the sick, or the very old
Which one of these governmental functions does not have a moral dimension to it? Doesn’t land distribution have a moral aspect to it? Is the land stolen? Is the land given to a relative or a supporter of the politician? Are political opponents barred from the benefits of land distribution? Is the land distributed at an inflated price? Do some get more while others get less? All these are unjust and immoral. What standard guides how the land is distributed? We say that the Bible provides a moral norm, a just standard for these political decisions.
In some cases the State determines who lives and who dies. Criminals, soldiers sent off to war, human beings yet in the womb. Are these purely political and not moral issues? The Bible has something to say about this. And we who believe and teach the Bible have something to say about this.
The State builds things for the use of the whole group. How does morality guide these decisions? A fixed bid is immoral. Subpar materials are immoral. Shoddy workmanship is immoral. Uneven distribution of these public works is immoral. The colossal misdirection (theft) of public funds is immoral. The Church can insist on a just and fair distribution of public works and a robust financial ethic.
The Church has a Biblical right and duty to seek to influence the educational policies of the nation in which they reside. Here’s a simple principle: Not all ideas are created equal. For example – teaching multiple genders versus two genders is anti-science and anti-common sense. All things sexual are moral categories and sex has been politicized. The church that steers clear of politics is helping to deliver the nation into the judgment that follows deep-rooted, normalized immorality. It is the devil’s deception to get you to think that politics is off-limits to the Church. The Church should not speak to politics? What a quaint notion.
The church that avoids politics is shirking its responsibility to speak into the moral fiber of the nation. PLEASE NOTE: I did not write that the church that isn’t Republican has shirked its responsibility to remain faithful to the Word of God. I did not write that the church that isn’t Democratic has shirked its responsibility to remain faithful to the Word of God. Mine is not a partisan plea – it’s deeper than that. Mine is a principled plea. Obviously, it will have partisan implications, yet I don’t want to reduce this to partisan politics – I want to think at the level of principle and not party. Look at all of life through the lens of God’s Word. Nothing is off limits.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
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