Government

Government

A Case Study in Restoration

In 586 BC, the Babylonians destroyed the city of Jerusalem and carried away a final group of prisoners into captivity. This was God’s judgment against his people because of their refusal to obey him. But by the time the book of Nehemiah was written, the exile was over. The Jews were allowed to return home and rebuild the Temple of God. A spirit of revival was sweeping the land, and the people were eager to serve God. You can see…

Church and State Postscript: What Now?

The election is now behind us. Perhaps you are distraught that the Democrats gained control of the House. Or maybe you are on the other side, upset that they did not gain the Senate too. Or maybe you are one of those in the middle who thinks a divided government is a good thing because it forces compromise.  In any case, we have spent multiple weeks laying out fundamental Scriptural principles that should guide us politically: the sovereignty of God;…

Church as Social Strategy

We have attempted to refine our thinking on the relationship between Christians and the government. After laying down some fundamental principles, we moved last week toward application, exploring the mission of the church: to call people out of the world and into the kingdom of God. That leads to a second, closely related observation: attempting to co-opt the government to promote a Christian vision of society is not only the wrong mission, but it is also the wrong method. Political Activism…

The Mission of the Church

Over the last few weeks, we have studied three principles that run throughout all Scripture to help orient us in the political realm: the sovereignty of God, the Lordship of Christ, and God’s people as a holy nation. Now we want to turn our attention to application, not encompassing specific scenarios, but in terms of the overall attitude of the church and Christians toward the state. A number of points could be made, but we will limit ourselves to two:…

The State of the Church

For several weeks, we have considered Biblical principles that help guide us politically. We examined the sovereignty of God and the Lordship of Christ. Now let’s turn our attention to the political status that accompanies being God’s people. The church is God’s holy nation (1 Pet 2:9-10),the place where the Lordship of Christ is recognized. Christians live in this world as strangers and aliens (1 Pet 2:11)– those who define their reality as rooted in God’s empire rather than any earthly…

Christians and Civil Government

For years, I have been keenly interested in the relationship between Christians and the civil government. I am clearly not alone in that. Any ordinary election season intensifies that existing concern. And regardless of your political leanings, I think we can agree that, between the last Presidential election and this midterm election, we are not in an ordinary season. Many Christians feel that they face a dilemma: we must vote for one major party or the other, and both options…

The Christian Nation

This week we will celebrate Independence Day, commemorating the Declaration by the Continental Congress that the 13 colonies constituted a new nation separate from the British Empire. We are all fortunate to live in the United States; that is certainly something worth remembering, and we should thank God for this privilege. But that thanksgiving can go too far. A good example comes from just this past week, where First Baptist Church in Dallas held a “Freedom Sunday” service. They took…

A Wall of Separation

This week, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop, in which a baker refused to craft a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage due to his religious beliefs. There were a number of issues in play, but the Court hinged their decision on the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s overt hostility to the baker’s faith. This is a very narrow holding that does not really address the larger questions the case raised, leaving many on both sides of…