“And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…” 1 Chronicles 12:32
God has only made one historical covenant with a nation…and, proud Americans, it wasn’t us! Christians should not look for any national salvation nor make the mistake of believing “God is on our side” (no matter what country holds your citizenship). Having said that, however, I certainly believe that having Spirit-filled, discerning believers in national leadership would invite a far different scenario than what is currently taking place in world politics. Israel’s tribe of Issachar had godly men at the helm who discerned their times and knew the direction that their nation should go. What would your homeland look like if people with holy wisdom were governing? Here’s your opportunity to sound off and I hope you don’t hold back. Maximum of two paragraph answers only please to the following question:
If you were given unilateral decision making capacity for your country, what would be the first and foremost piece of legislation that you would enact? Religious? Economic? Military? Humanitarian? Let me hear from you first and I might just tell you my own somewhere in the comment stream.
Gods plan for this nation is in effect. Always have been, always will be. I as a christian following his commands, will abide by his word. This world as we live in is sin. I cannot change the world, I can however live my life as an example for others to see. Most all will turn their heads, make opinions, even opose me, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Dont get me wrong, Im FAR from liberal, i make decisionsas to these “laws” but i will oppose any and all laws aganst my God and his laws. i pray for our leaders, but they are simply men like me. so theyre bound by the same sin i am.
So here is my political statement. MAN WILL ALWAYS MESS UP, OPPOSE, DISREGARD, anything God has laied out for this world. after all its pure sin. we as christians HAVE to speak up, grow a backbone, and vote in good christian people in the govt. thats mainly the BIG decision that we as voters HAVE to make. the, and only then, can these apaling laws can be changed.
Good word, Timbo!
I found this book to be really useful, in seeing an overview of why we
should strive to separate the church from the world (of politics etc.):
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Reformers_and_Their_Stepchildren.html?id=LUM-FCtmCZAC
If you click ‘search inside’ you can read it online for free.
The general thesis is that, despite the major breakthroughs that Luther, Calvin etc. made, the downside of their inclusive ‘sacral society’ led to much persecution and breaking of the principle of ‘voluntaryism’, which is crucial for all true Christianity to flourish and be sustained.
Does the wise concept of keeping the government out of the affairs of the church (separation between church & state) necessarily preclude the biblical concept of having Christian leaders governing according to biblical principles written upon their heart? Would we not want Christians in positions of national leadership? For example, if i had the unilateral power to decide, I would immediately criminalize all abortion. I would utilize the capacity granted to me to put an immediate halt to the infanticide which has welcomed a bullseye of wrath upon the USA. No nation has ever escaped judgment from God which had the legislated activity of killing the unborn. This is the type of question I’m asking. It is a highly hypothetical scenario which will never occur for anyone reading and responding in this blog. What I’m seeking to bring about in this post is a discussion about what hot-button political issues are important to those who read the Transforming Truth blog. Let’s all go ahead and agree that keeping government out of our churches is a wise thing, that way we don’t have to debate the validity of the separation of church & state.
Well, I think the social issues most Christians are
concerned about, at least in the West, are as follows:
1. Abortion
2. Homosexuality
3. Euthanasia
4. Education (evolution, sex ed. etc.)
5. Free speech (‘hate speech’ increasingly affecting evangelical street-preaching… at least in the UK)
I think we can all agree that these are important and vital issues. However, whether you get Christians in high places to be influential in legislatinon on these key issues is beside the point, since if the Church is not ‘the city that is set on an hill’ (Matt 5:14), then these key issues will be quickly overturned and re-legislated as soon as the influential Christians fade from the scene.
What is really needed is spiritual revival, since the root of all social issues is spiritual. We have to go for the root, not the fruit of the problem. Souls need to be awakened. Local churches need to become ‘working churches’ where the unglamorous, cumbersome work of evangelical Sunday schools, knocking on doors, and a whole host of other ministries and outreach projects have to be committed to, long-term.
We need to purge ourselves of worldliness in our churches, which again, I’m afraid, includes worldly, entertainment-style worship. People need to be able to see the Church as distinct and holy, otherwise they will not feel the need to fully repent, and live a life of sacrifice and daily heart work, where a man is willing to be ostracised rather than to be ‘cool’, embodying the godly paradox of being ‘all things to all men’ whilst being ready to ‘deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’ (Mark 8:34)
Our country has become a nation of laws and more laws, but we selectively decide what laws should be enforced. Laws used to be made and in most cases you could make some sense out of why and in a lot of cases you could say they were supported by the bible. Now it appears law makers make laws to support their special interest.
I agree with Dad, our justice system has become a joke for the average person. We need the fair tax.
You said, “Now it appears law makers make laws to support their special interest.’ I agree with you wholeheartedly. i think that Americans are seeing that this very weekend as Washington DC leaders cannot agree on a budget for fear of forfeiting their special interest projects. Somewhat of a pitiful circus, it appears. Great answer, Alan & Pat!
GOD created this world . GOD gave us HIS law . We must obey HIM in all areas of our life on this earth. To GOD be all glory.
We like to identify ourselves as legal American citizens.We choose religion and by this we mean christianity.To enforce morality is futile, because this evolves from the Holy Spirit dwelling in those who submitted their lives to Jesus.Still, we think that legislation should be dominated by morality.Immorality should not be endorsed by the nation, but still everyone will be judged by God in eternity. 1 Timothy 5:24 “The sins of some men are conspicuous, going before them to judgement, but the sins of others appear later”.
Sam & Zack.
I believe a platform for morality would he a welcome change in our government. If for nothing else, a restraint of overt evil is never a bad thing and we currently see policies in our government that promote evil.
We dare say what Solomon said in Proverbs that rightiousness brings prosperity to the nation and sin is the shame of nations.This is not a literal quote but fulfills what Solomon meant.God bless you Pastor Jeff,
Sam & Zack.
Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Sam & Zack.
I would pass just one bill. It would be the reversal of all legislation and court rulings that had social engineering as their purpose.
But, Dad, that might very well undo everything that the White House and Congress have done since 2008! Have you really thought about what you’re suggesting?
for those of us who are prone to verbosity, we can manage to get 2 paragraphs into a single ream of paper! But I will be more concise. I would not try to legislate morality or ethics as these seem to fail every time. Man’s sinfulness and propensity to do “what we want” will find a way around these laws… see prohibition, blue laws, abortion, etc. I would rather focus on economics and try to affect the everyday quality of life. To this end, abolishing existing tax code and enacting a Fair Tax would be a top priority. Each to pay according to his spending and level the playing field for low income earners by subsidizing basic needs. Not spiritual, I know but you asked!
I’m a propoent of the fair-tax idea, myself and am wondering if it will gain any legitimacy among the American populace in the 2012 election.
Jonathan, I purposefully chose the word “religious” in the sense of morality, not faith. You are 100% correct to say that you cannot legislate faith and I would love for America to have the total separation of government from interfering with the church. I would equate my suggestion of the arena of religion with “morality” – would the reader make legislation that falls into the area of what is moral/immoral. For example: establishing heterosexual marriage as the sole definition of marriage, the criminalization of abortion, the criminalization of pornography, etc. An enforced relgion (i.e. Christianty) was not what I was referring to. I hope that clarifies my intent.
Mine is from a UK perspective. It would not be religious because you cannot legislate faith. Here in the UK, my first act would probably be the seperation of church and state – the disestablishment of the church of England.