SERMON SERIES: Biblical Foundations - Two Unlikely Friends: Why Faith and Politics Do Mix in America

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SERMON 1 - RELIGION AND POLITICS ARE INSEPARABLE

• God has always cared about governance and calls His Church to be His influence in these systems.
  
• The words politics and religion have been twisted over the years to be something they are not. They have been separated, but they belong together.
• Ultimately, politics is about how people organize themselves in community and society, and religion is a system of beliefs that directs how people engage.
  Godless worldly ideology like Marxism has influenced the culture of the U.S. and intentionally separated politics and religion.
  
• The same movement declares mankind to be the ultimate arbiter of truth through political correctness.
• God’s calling for His Church is to serve as His ambassadors for mankind.
  

Introduction

We’re starting a new series about what the Bible has to say about politics and government.

We first need to support the notion that this is a valid topic because, in our era, we have been taught that “religion and politics don’t mix.” We’re taught that they are two very specific things that must be kept separate, but the reality is that philosophically, biblically, and historically, religion and politics are, in fact, completely and totally inseparable.

The Bible is clear about this. Since the Garden of Eden, God has been heavily involved with how people organize themselves. Not only that, but since the fall of man, God has actively used people in all forms of government, from Joseph, to Moses, to Joshua, to King David, to Daniel, and so many more. God wants His people involved in policy. God wants His people involved in this sphere of influence.

In this series, we will begin to cover three major topics:

1) Religion and politics are totally inseparable.

2) The Bible has a great deal to say about politics and government.

3) We, as Americans, have a special stewardship that we have inherited—one that is of vital importance for the future.

In the first sermon in this series, we will tackle the first topic and discuss how religion and politics are inseparable.

1) Defining Religion and Politics

Religion and politics are inseparable. In short, this is because any sort of government makes rules based on morals.

And what are morals? They are the ideals that determine what is right and what is wrong.

And morals are undoubtedly and fundamentally religious.

Let’s unpack this. We will cover three points in this subsection:

First, we will look at the real meanings of “politics” and “religion,” and doing so will show us that they are inseparable.

Second, we will look at the influence that godless ideologies, specifically Marxism, have had on our culture and how they have produced the current division between politics and religion.

And third, we will discover how to redeem this arena and engage with one another in a manner that reflects the biblical ideal of loving one’s neighbor as they love themselves.

First, let’s just look at these two words: politics and religion—what are they? How do the definitions of “politics” and “religion” require that they work together?

Politics

The word politics is derived from a Greek word that means of, for, or relating to citizens. That meaning is very broad and encompasses any and all activities. But specifically, the word includes an emphasis on the notions of influencing and organizing.

Politics is used to apply to all spheres of life. People say, “office politics or family politics.” And unfortunately, we’ve adopted a tendency to use the word “politics” when our interaction is negative, self-serving, and exploitative.

But the opportunity is for us to redeem “politics” because Jesus instructs us to engage with one another for the purposes of love and service. It’s far from what we usually think of as politics.

In fact, Galatians 5 says our basic choice as believers is how to engage with one another. We have the choice to engage destructively (bite and devour) or constructively in a manner where we love one another as we love ourselves. When we love one another, we fulfill the edicts of the law (Galatians 5:13–15).

We, as Christians, are called to love our fellow man. We are called to be a part of a healthy community with strong relationships, serving one another above ourselves.

The negative connotation that the word “politics” often carries is a bit like the word lust. Definitionally, the word lust means to have an intense, passionate desire for something.

That’s not so bad.

In fact, we are told in Galatians 5 that the Spirit “lusts” for us. The Spirit lusts and passionately desires that we follow God. This is because God earnestly desires our best interest (Galatians 5:16–18).

But the word has a negative connotation because we too often lust for the wrong things.

It is the same with the word “politics.” We tend to engage with one another in a negative manner. We tend to bite and devour rather than loving and serving. But as we just pointed out, there’s a better way—we can choose to engage in a positive manner: telling the truth, building one another up, and serving one another in love.

In other words, we can influence and organize in a positive manner. We can do politics the right way. The result of our mutual interactions can be creative and constructive.

We are called to be a light in the darkness. We are ordained to be the salt of the Earth. Both salt and light represent a small portion that has an outsized effect. When we engage in politics constructively, we influence the world for good as we walk in the spirit of God in our interactions with one another.

Religion

So, politics is about people engaging, influencing one another, and organizing.

Religion, on the other hand, is a system of beliefs, cultural systems, and worldviews that form the basis that determines HOW people engage with one another.

Because politics is people organizing and influencing one another, and religion is the beliefs and the worldviews upon which that organizing occurs, it is clear that the two will interact! And to be clear, Christianity provides the right way for us to treat one another. Jesus is clear about this. He commands that we love one another—even our enemies! And that we are to pray for one another and hold each other in higher esteem than ourselves.

Just like we pointed out in the word of God—in Galatians 5—there’s a right way to do this!

So, you see—religion and politics are, in fact, totally inseparable.
You cannot have one without the other!

So how is it that our culture has adopted the notion that the two are to be separate?

We have all heard many times that “religion and politics don’t mix.”

On reflection, purely from a historical perspective, we can see that this would have been an odd and even bizarre notion for most of history. Over the arc of human history, rulers have always sought to be involved in religion because the two are inseparable. Often, the rulers who abused their power used the relationship between politics and religion for their own advancement and to rule with tyranny. They took the good of God’s design and ruined it. But Jesus taught us a better way.

And, in the case when there has been a separation of power between the dominant religion and the state, there was generally an alliance of some sort between those powers.

So why the separation?

In the modern era, the notion that religion and politics don’t mix was perpetrated by an incredibly clever maneuver influenced by godless ideologies, including Marxism. By shifting the definitions of politics and religion, Marxism and other ideologies have effectively been defined as the only belief systems allowed within politics—a system with no God, only man as the final arbiter.

This brings us to our second point that Marxist influence has dominated this topic and reconfigured the definitions of “politics” and “religion” in order to give Marxism a monopoly as a foundation for values in politics.

2) The Influence of Marxism on Our Culture

Let’s look at how this influence has succeeded in perpetuating the idea that “religion and politics don’t mix.”

Marxism’s overriding modus operandi is in winning the framing of issues and revising definitions to suit its interests and long-term goals.

Recall that we said that religion is a system of beliefs.

Accordingly, for all intents and purposes—Marxism is a religion because it is a system of beliefs.

However, Marxism has cleverly redefined “religion” to mean “all systems of beliefs other than ours.” Marxism is a belief in “dialectical materialism.” The fundamental belief is that all that exists is material; there is no spiritual dimension. And all that is in existence was created by matter organizing itself.

At its core, it’s atheistic. Marxists claim that there is no God.

Ultimately the object of ‘worship’ in Marxism is oneself.

More ingenious is that Marxists have defined the word religion as consisting only of belief systems that include faith in anything non-material.

Then, when Marxists insist that “religion does not mix with politics,” that has (conveniently) left Marxism as the only allowable system of beliefs upon which government and policy are “allowed.”

As an aside, it is worth noting that modern scientific discoveries have rendered the theory of a Darwinian materialistic creation rationally infeasible.¹ This serves as the basis for Marxism as a whole. In other words, this godless philosophy has been debunked!

Three truths are worth noting. They are:

1. the universe has a beginning (Genesis 1:1),
2. the universe is exquisitely fine-tuned, so much so that it renders mathematically impossible the notion of creation from random processes, and
3. information is at the root of all cellular material (“In the beginning was the Word,” i.e., information).

The Darwinian idea was “simple evolving to complex.” But what science has discovered is a comprehensive “program” of complex information at the very core of all matter.

There is no rational means to explain the presence of such complex information behind all matter if we start with the Marxist belief that all things come from random, undirected material causes.

So, Marxism, with its debunked system of beliefs, has actively sought to separate religion from politics (the way we organize) because, in its flawed understanding of the world, God is irrelevant because He doesn’t exist. Adherents of this flawed reasoning have worked tirelessly to eliminate God from all aspects of society.

Marxism and Political Correctness

So where are we now?

Marxism began with “religion and politics don’t mix” and has now graduated to “You must do what we say.” Which translates to what we call today “political correctness.”

If you think about this term, it is quite ingenious. “Political” means all engagements between humans, as we have discussed. “Correct” means “true and right.” So, the term “political correctness” means “A system of morality that is decided by humans through political means.” There is no place for God because all spiritual explanations are disallowed in the Marxist system of belief.

The way Christians might think of this, in the model of the Ten Commandments, is to shift the first five commands from saying, essentially, “God makes the rules” to “humans get together and make the rules.” In other words, man is the end-all-be-all of all things—self-worship.

Which begs the question, “Who exactly gets to make the rules?”

Who gets to decide what is right and wrong?

Are the people voting on these decisions?

In fact, what is taking place right now in our world is that a group of elites is asserting they have a right to determine what is “right” for everyone else. Their decisions are then imposed through various campaigns to honor those who comply and shame those who resist.

Thus, we have a developing tyranny of faceless rulers who arbitrarily impose themselves upon us through a man-centered secular religion of an ill-founded belief in materialism.

Removing God From Society

Marxism is wholly based on a belief, a cultural system, and a worldview. As a result, it is a religion. In fact, the federal bureaucracy and even the Supreme Court have made decisions that helped move America closer to embracing Marxism as a state religion.

For example, the idea of “no prayer in schools” overturned two hundred years of unchallenged precedent. The Engel v. Vitale Supreme Court case taking prayer out of schools admitted this. It was a step toward eliminating biblical self-governance, based on the rule of law, and replacing it with a secular religion decreed by a group of elites who were accountable only to themselves.

Thus, history repeats itself. Marxism is a steady march toward a form of emperor worship. In this case, it is the elites who get to make rules to control others, but they themselves do not have to follow them.

We must note that this is also consistent with all things that originate with Satan and his schemes. He always turns the truth on its head. As Jesus said, he was a liar from the beginning.

We have now covered the first two points. First, that religion and politics are, definitionally, completely intertwined, with religion defining values upon which people engage with one another (politics). Second, atheistic, materialistic Marxist redefinitions are what caused “religion and politics don’t mix” to be accepted, with the result that the values perpetrated by elites are now the only values allowed as a foundation for politics.

That now brings us to the third point, that the Bible has a better way. And it is precisely because of the current state of affairs that we as Christians must take action.

3) God’s System of Politics

We must show the world a better way. We have to embody the teaching of Jesus and live out God’s desires by engaging with one another (politics) constructively, based on biblical values. Those biblical values can be summarized as “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

The Bible shows us the way to life and peace in all spheres of life, including how to organize ourselves and how to treat one another.

In a word, how to do politics effectively, to the benefit of all.

God’s system of organizing recognizes God as the ultimate authority in the world, meaning all creation. All of humanity is under the authority and accountable to God’s authority. We can see this throughout scripture. It is plainly set forth in Romans 13:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God (Romans 13:1).

In America, the governing authorities are “We the People.” The first words of our Constitution implemented God’s design for self-governance.

But what God created for good, the Devil turned to evil. We see it in the Garden of Eden when the serpent first challenges God’s design for self-governance when he said to Eve, “Did God really say…?”

In those very first words out of the mouth of the eternal liar, the Devil disrupted God’s design in the political order and convinced mankind to usurp the authority of God.

“…surely you will not die… you will become like God…” the serpent said.

And this is at the core of Marxism—there is no need for God because we are god.

As we read further in the story of Genesis, the result of mankind’s disobedience was an ousting from the Garden of Eden and away from fellowship with God which was His original design for a political structure based on self-governance.

So, there we have it, religion and politics do mix—it was God’s idea from the very beginning.

Conclusion

Going forward, we will examine how the Bible talks about government, how it’s organized, and how Christians are called to serve in government and in the political process. We will continually see that God never intended the two to be separate, but He intended His people to advance a structure of government that promotes human dignity, self-governance, and neighborly love.

In a time when Christians are told that their beliefs, faith, morals, and ethics are outdated and irrelevant, Christians must take a stand and begin to serve their communities through the political process. The more ground that Christians abdicate, the less effective they will be for the kingdom of God. The more we bring love and service to bear on behalf of others, the more benefit we bring to our communities.

God has called the Church to be a part of politics because the Church is called to be the salt of the Earth and the light to the world. Christians must advocate for biblical morals and ethics in the time that they are living in. The Church has historically been a catalyst for social change from the abolition movement to civil rights and even now in countering the issues of human trafficking and abortion. God has always called His followers to government from the Old Testament days to current days.

If Christianity does not inform politics in the current civic process, the Church is abdicating this ground to Marxism, which at its core, hates religion and God. The absence of God leaves the space open to demonic influence. Marxism is rooted in jealousy and covetousness that attacks God’s design of private property, being fruitful, and stewarding the creation of God.

The Bible talks about government extensively and stresses the importance of public service. Jesus said that He came to serve and not be served. He calls His Church to follow His example in resembling His message in all areas of life. The kingdom of Jesus does not end where the earthly government begins. One of the greatest examples of this is the story of Daniel, who is a righteous man serving in a corrupt and secular government.

We bring God’s kingdom to Earth by walking as a citizen of heaven and following Jesus’ serving platform instead of the world’s lording-over platform. This is how we do it. And this is how politics and religion mix from a godly standpoint verse how they mix from a worldly and secular standpoint.

America was designed to be a Christian Nation that is rooted in self-governance and has a unique role of stewardship. The Founders knew that the only perfect absolute king is sitting on the throne in heaven. Therefore, a government by the people and for the people with separation of power was the only option of governance that would keep absolutism and tyrannical elements in check. Self-governance is the model of American governance that puts limits on any one entity having power over the freedom individuals.

Three Pillars of Self-Governance. 1) The rule of law, 2) dispersed decision-making with the consent of the governed, and 3) private property ownership. These are essential elements of governance that God mandates for mankind in order to have a functioning society. Without these, the whole thing falls apart, and violence fills the Earth.

Let all of us be subject to the governing authorities because no authority comes except what God has appointed. Therefore, “We the People” are the governing authority of this land. We elect the leadership that represents America at all levels of governance, including to the global community. God has appointed “We the People” to the position of authority in America, and as such, “We the People” must represent His principles and mandates in government and the public square.

The Church is to be the influence of Jesus in the world. Again, as Christians, we are called to be the influence in the world, not to be influenced by the world.

SERMON 2: WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT FOR GOD’S PEOPLE

Highlights

• The Bible has a lot to say about government in both the old and new testaments. God has used people in government throughout the history of the world.
• Jesus’ ministry is about the kingdom of God. He came to establish the kingdom of heaven and lead people to it.
• Governance and politics go all the way back to the Garden of Eden. This was God’s design from the beginning.
• Daniel’s life and ministry are great examples of how God’s people can live and be an influence in government for God.
• Jesus is the source of true power. 
• We are ultimately citizens of heaven, and the calling of Christians is to be the representatives of Christ—the salt and light—on Earth and in all aspects of life on Earth.

Introduction

We’ve discussed that religion and politics are inseparable. Politics is about how people organize, and religion dictates the moral values upon which people interact with each other. The biblical emphasis is to place a top priority on loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.

In this part of the series, we are going to examine how prominent the idea of “government” is in the Bible. We will discover that the Bible speaks a lot about governance. And not only does God talk about government time after time, but God also gives us prominent examples of how He has used His people in government to bring about His good purposes for the world.

Even after mankind ruined God’s design for a healthy political structure, through the fall, God wanted his people to interact with one another constructively. In fact, Genesis 6:11 tells us that God destroyed the world with a flood and started over again because the Earth had filled with violence—the opposite of a society based on loving our neighbors.

We will cover three topics in this sermon:

1) We will talk about the frequency with which the Bible speaks of governing and politics and its importance; it is core to our witness.

2) We will speak of two examples: Jesus, the king, and Daniel, the bureaucrat.

3) We will speak of our true citizenship, which is in heaven, and how that is to interact with our citizenship here on Earth

1) The Bible Has a Great Deal to Say About Government

So, given that politics is about humans organizing and engaging with each other and that the second greatest command that God ever gave to man is for humans to love their neighbors as themselves, it is, therefore, reasonable to assert that the Bible is, in fact, largely about politics.

Let’s test this thesis with a bit of a word count.

If we count the biblical occurrences of the word hell, we get only 16 occurrences in the New Testament and 16 in the Old Testament.

The word govern or government shows up more often—about 60 times.

But the predominant way citizens engaged and organized in biblical times was in kingdoms, cities, tribes, and villages. If we just take one of these words: king, kingdom, or kings, and count them, we get a sum in the thousands.

In fact, it’s more than 2500 occurrences.

So, hell, 32. King(s) and kingdoms, more than 2500. This tells us that the Bible focuses a lot on how we choose to live and organize. This is because how we live in this life affects us now as well as eternally. Judgment is certain, and the time of our departure is imminent. But the only impact we can have on the future is through how we live today. So, the Bible, appropriately, teaches us lessons on what to do TODAY.

In fact, Hebrews declares, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7b). So, we are to listen to the voice of God and obey it because it matters so much to humanity in life and after we die.

The words death or life show up 850 times in the Bible. Humanity or mankind, 2000 times. So, the Bible obviously cares deeply about people.

So, if we just look at word count, the Bible talks a great deal about governance, politics, people, and mankind.

But the Bible also instructs us clearly how we are to interact with one another in the world and in a system of governance.

It says that we are to love one another, love our neighbor, and be salt and light. The Bible instructs us as followers of Jesus to live according to His spiritual kingdom and be light in this dark and fallen world (John 18:36).

The Bible shows us how to live abundantly. It shows people how to overcome death with life, even as Jesus gives us life through His death (Romans 5:17), which is the ultimate depiction of love for your neighbors. And this is the heart attitude that people should have as they organize themselves in a political community.

So, God has a lot to say about how we organize ourselves and on what basis we should do it. And He desires that we organize and engage with one another in a manner that is constructive and mutually beneficial, which means engaging with one another in the spirit of love and service.

2) Two Examples

First Example: Jesus’ Ministry is About His Kingdom

The greatest example of this is obviously Jesus. The words Jesus or Christ show up in the Bible 1300 times. Not only did He bring a new kingdom and new system of governance to the world, but He also showed us how to live in this world while being a part of His kingdom.

But He had to establish the kingdom of heaven.

One of the most profound scriptures about Jesus and His kingdom (this political structure) is Isaiah 9:6:

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.”

Jesus bears the title “King of kings and Lord of lords.” The Earth is destined to become His kingdom. And of that kingdom, there will be no end (Isaiah 9:7; Luke 1:33).

Jesus came to establish the perfect kingdom. That is still our blessed hope, although the full realization of this kingdom is still to come, where Jesus will reign, and the world will be free from sin. He came to serve and carry this mission for mankind.

And how exactly did Jesus conduct His campaign while here on Earth?

He started a campaign for the redemption of the world. It was a new political campaign, but not in the earthly sense—it was divine. A divine campaign.

We see in Matthew 4 that Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist. Then He is led by the Spirit to the wilderness to be tempted, where He fasts for 40 days. Afterward, in verse 12, Jesus hears that John the Baptist has been put in prison. So, He departs for the region of Galilee.

So now Jesus has inaugurated His mission. He has been baptized. He has been tempted. And this is how His mission is described in Matthew 4:17:

From that time, Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus actions from that point forward are about a campaign for the kingdom of God.

His campaign is about influencing people to organize themselves according to a set of spiritual principles relating to His kingdom and His kingdom platform. And who’s the king of His kingdom? He is. He’s the king of all kings.

Jesus told the Roman governor Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), but His kingdom will come to this world. In the meanwhile, it is up to us to live the principles of His kingdom by faith, bringing a spiritual kingdom into a fallen world.

So, we see the kingdom and principles of the perfect government and good political action throughout the Bible and in the ministry of Jesus. It’s about people. It is all about service. It is about loving our neighbors. It is also about standing for what is true.

But God was interested in governance way before Jesus descended from heaven to Earth. In fact, it goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

Politics, God’s Organization, Goes All the Way Back to the Garden.

When God created man and woman in Genesis, He gave them the charge to be fruitful and multiply. Subdue the Earth. Take care of it. Keep it in service to God and in harmony with one another. That charge is described in Psalm 8 when the Psalmist says man was crowned with the glory and honor of having all creation underneath him, even though the angels were available and were superior beings.

Because of the fall, of course, that is not happening the way God designed it. Hebrews 2 quotes Psalm 8 and says humans are supposed to be crowned with the glory and honor of reigning over the Earth in service and harmony, but that is not what we see right now. What we do see is Jesus, the central figure of history, crowned with the glory and honor of being granted all authority over the Earth because of His suffering. Jesus suffered as a servant and was granted authority as a result.

From the very beginning, God ordained a system of governance and longed for people to be a part of it. Adam and Eve were in charge of God’s creation. And they were given the mandate to organize and be a part of the administration of order in the world.

And even though man sinned and compromised God’s design, Jesus came to serve and gave His life to ransom humanity from sin. By doing so, Jesus restored the original intent for humanity to reign not through asserting force but by asserting service to God in harmony with one another.

We see this clearly in Jesus’ Great Commission to the disciples, which is often missed. It is not just “Go and make.” The Great Commission begins with the assertion by Jesus that “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on Earth.” Because He served, because He loved, Jesus, as the God-man, restored “all authority” to reign over the Earth (Matthew 28:18).

His disciples, understandably, asked, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Because Jesus had all authority, it would make sense to them for Him to kick out Rome and restore the Davidic kingdom. But Jesus left the Earth and delegated to His disciples to go and make more disciples. A “disciple” is one who is baptized (having believed) and obeys Jesus’ commands. Jesus’ primary command is to love and serve one another. When we engage in any sort of governance, whether it is at home, at work, in our community, an association, a team, or the nation, in all cases, we have the opportunity to “make disciples” through our witness.

Jesus went where the sinners were. He said that physicians ought to minister to those who are sick (Mark 2:17). Jesus taught by word and by deed. No matter where believers find themselves, they are called to make disciples by living out His commands. When we walk in truth, service, and love, we are doing our job as “salt’ and “light” in the world.

And why is this important in the context of governments and politics?

Because we, as the people of God, have to live out this mission in all of life, including in “nasty endeavors” like politics—any sort of politics. We are to be salt and light and love and serve as Jesus did—God’s influence on Earth.

The word “politics” has a negative connotation. This is because of sin. When we engage with others and something is at stake, envy, hate, and greed often manifest themselves. Our great opportunity is to go into these dark places and respond with truth, deal in facts and love, and seek the best for others, instead of responding in kind when facing these situations.

God has always been interested in this, even before the Great Commission and after the fall of man. We see this in the life and ministry of Moses, Joseph, and so many others like Daniel.

So, let’s look at Daniel.

Second Example: Daniel’s Ministry in Government

Daniel is one of the godliest, most influential, amazing men in all of the Bible, and he was a bureaucrat in a worldly, secular government. God equates Daniel as being as righteous as both Noah and Job, which is an amazing compliment (Ezekiel 14:14). (It is worth noting that Job was an ancient billionaire, and Noah a ship-builder).

Daniel was an advisor to both the kings of the Persian Empire and the Babylonian Empire. The Persian king Darius was considering appointing Daniel over all the Satraps of Persia because Daniel was a good steward of financial resources for the king. This did not make the Satraps happy. They were used to over-collecting taxes and keeping it to themselves. That is when they hatched the plot to convince Darius to pass a law that made Daniel’s daily prayers to God illegal, with a penalty of being thrown to the lions.

Darius was furious with himself when he realized he had been manipulated by the Satraps, but, because of a Persian law that prohibited kings from unwinding laws they had made, Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den. Of course, God delivered Daniel. But it is important to note that this great witness took place because Daniel governed honestly and with integrity when all around him were corrupt. He demonstrated light in a dark place and faithfulness in adversity.

In this respect, Daniel is an example for us of how we should engage constructively in government.

God is ultimately about building His kingdom and establishing His political process when He returns and fills the Earth with righteousness. But, in the meanwhile, He desires that we are a righteous influence on Earth.

The kingdom of God will consume the kingdom of men. As believers, we have great hope that the kingdoms of this world will inevitably give way to a kingdom ruled by God, with Jesus on the throne.

In fact, this future history was shown to Daniel while he served in the administration of the Babylonian Empire. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. Daniel was shown by God both the dream and its interpretation. He saw a statue with a head of gold that represented the Babylonian Empire. The statue had a chest of silver that represented the Medo-Persian Empire and a torso of bronze that represented the Greek dominance of the world. Finally, it had two legs made of iron and clay that represent the Roman Empire and its vestiges.

According to this way of dividing history, we still live in the Roman era. The Roman Empire in the West keeps breaking into pieces but has always been fierce and dominant (Daniel 2:31–43).

These four kingdoms set up and ruled by men are authorized by God. As Romans tells us, all authorities are authorized by God (Romans 13:1). In the U.S., God has appointed “We the People” as the authority. It is, therefore, our responsibility to reign wisely, exhibiting the principles of love, service, and truth.

We hold the blessed hope of looking forward to a better time when we do not have to fight evil. As was shown to Daniel:

And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever (Daniel 2:44).

God’s Kingdom and Our Response

In the dream, there was a rock not made by man. And the rock came down and shattered the statue. Then the rock grew into a mountain that filled all the Earth. This represents God’s kingdom coming and supplanting the kingdoms of men. That is our future hope. But we are not to sit in the bleachers and watch. We are to be on the field playing the game.

While we wait for this future event, we are to be like Daniel. We are to be light in the darkness. We are to work honestly and with integrity wherever we are, whether in government like Daniel, in business like Job, or in shipbuilding like Noah.

Noah built his boat, and his obedience in doing so is a metaphor: Just keep doing what God tells you to no matter what people say. No matter how much rejection is heaped on you, just keep building.

Job was told by everyone that God had forsaken him, but Job never lost faith, even though he did not understand God for a time. He is a great example to us to continue to believe, no matter the circumstances. And Daniel did not avoid dark places; he lit them up with his exemplary life.

Each of these men breathed the life of God’s spiritual kingdom principles into the fallen and dead kingdoms of men. In some mysterious way, the faithfulness of these men, and of any believer who walks in the obedience of faith, sets the stage for the blessed time when the spiritual kingdom of Jesus will become the physical kingdom of Earth.

3) Our Citizenship is in Heaven

We are citizens of heaven, but we are living in exile in a fallen world. God told Judah they would be exiled to Babylon. Even though He promised they would return in seventy years, He told them to build houses, have families, and “seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive.” (Jeremiah 29:5–7). This is what Daniel did. He served as an honest bureaucrat for a pagan king.

We are to do likewise. Our citizenship is in heaven, but we are to live here with the same mindset that Jesus had when He was exiled from heaven to come to Earth.

Let’s look at Philippians 3. We’ll start in verse 20. In the next sermon, we will rewind back to chapter 2 and look at the mindset Jesus chose when He exiled from heaven to Earth.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20).

This is speaking of citizenship now. We are already citizens of heaven. That is our true home. Meanwhile, we are to live those principles faithfully as we live as citizens of this world.

We saw that the definition of politics is “of or relating to citizens and how they influence and interact with one another.” All believers in Jesus are citizens of the heavenly realm. And we are to engage and organize with one another using spiritual principles from our true home in heaven. This gives us a foundation to love and serve.

It gives us the foundation to be able to engage in earthly politics in a heavenly manner. Being involved in earthly politics, in any realm, provides ample reason to follow Paul’s admonition to put on our “spiritual centurion uniform” each morning before we leave the house. Among other things, in Ephesians 6, Paul tells believers to put on the helmet of salvation. He tells us to carry the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit, the truth of God’s word (Ephesians 6:10–18).

The reason we are to put on these spiritual instruments of war is in order to engage in spiritual battle. We are to run to the sound of the trumpets. That means we should run into, rather than away from, “politics” (in any sphere). Not to engage as the world engages but to the spiritual principles of our true country, heaven. Further, we have no human enemies, so no matter how nasty others get, there is no basis to take anything personally or make anything personal. The forces of evil are our true enemy:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).

We long for our king to come to Earth and bring His kingdom. But He left us here in exile with a Great Commission, which is to be lived out in all the world and in all spheres of life.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus told Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world. But it will be.

The kingdom of Jesus is a kingdom of love and service to others. It is a kingdom where the strong (Jesus) serve the weak (humanity). We are to live these principles now.

In general, the kingdom of men tends toward the strong exploiting the weak.

As Marxism provides a moral justification in our era, Roman pride, and pagan religion justified exploitation in its era. Just as the Persian Satraps opposed Daniel’s integrity in serving the king, and the secular and religious leaders opposed Jesus’ integrity in speaking the truth and serving the downtrodden, so the world will reject and persecute those who walk in integrity in our age. But it is our calling to do so anyway.

In Revelation 19, Jesus comes back to Earth victorious and triumphant. This assures us that we are on the winning side when we walk in integrity, serving and seeking the best for others, even when we are rejected. We are foreshadowing the ultimate destiny for the Earth when we walk as lights in dark places as we are bringing the kingdom of light to the kingdom of darkness.

Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders” (John 18:36). The way Pilate would have understood that statement would be that Jesus’ followers would grab a sword and go into battle. We can observe that until the very night before His crucifixion, His disciples expected to do just that. That’s why when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter grabbed his sword and attacked them by himself.

Peter had told Jesus, “I’m willing to die for you.” And he demonstrated that he was! But only so long as he understood Jesus to be on the cusp of setting up an earthly kingdom. Once he saw that Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world, he turned and ran. He did not understand.

We are all like Peter. We are living in the physical world. We want to fight for what is right, but we are prone to use the tools of this world and attempt to gain what cannot be gained by the tools of this world. We have a much greater calling to a much greater fight. We are called to bring the spiritual kingdom of God into the kingdom of men by how we live. And we are called to go and live as faithful witnesses to every sphere on Earth. That includes our civic affairs.

Believers Should Recognize that Jesus is the True Source of Power

The Marxists say, ultimately, that all power comes at the point of a gun. Their perspective is woefully limited by their materialist beliefs. Their religion does not allow the possibility of the truth, which is the real and ultimate power: Jesus. Marxists assert that they are accountable to no one, given their materialist faith, so they claim a moral high ground to grab political power for themselves. It is necessary, they say, to ultimately bring utopia to the Earth. When everyone does as they say, there will be harmony. By eliminating freedom, they bring about coerced uniformity.

Jesus will do the opposite. By giving us freedom, He allows for love. Love cannot be coerced; it must be freely chosen. When we choose to love others, loving our neighbor as ourselves, we bring true life into the world. Eliminating freedom suppresses people’s humanity. Serving, speaking the truth, and seeking the best for others elevates freedom and allows it to blossom and flourish into life-giving communities.

We are called as believers to be leaders—servant leaders. Just as Jesus came to serve, so we are called to serve.

In Matthew 20, Jesus told the disciples:

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant (Matthew 20:25–28).

We know the 12 apostles desired to become great. They continually contended with one another as to who was the greatest among them. Jesus wanted them to be great not by grabbing power but by serving those who could not pay them back.

Interestingly, Jesus wants them to be great. Truly great. But in His kingdom, which is not of this world, to be truly great is to serve others and to seek their best in love.

After He rose and ascended, Jesus’ disciples did this very thing. They were witnesses to kings and rulers. They witnessed to Caesar as well as beggars. As the Apostle Paul says, he was all things to all men in order to win them over (1 Corinthians 9:22). Paul made tents and earned his own way, in part so he could engage with people in the marketplace.

Conclusion

We have spoken of the frequency with which the Bible speaks of governing and politics and its importance. It is clearly a major theme of the Bible. 

We have covered the example of Jesus, who came from heaven to Earth, and served and loved us even though we rejected Him. We covered the example of Daniel, the bureaucrat, who was in exile and yet served with integrity even when it could have cost him his life.

We have covered that our true citizenship is in heaven, but we are to live as exiles from heaven like Jesus did and like exiles from our true home in the way Daniel did.

As Christians, we’re called to be salt and light in the world no matter where we are. God has always used His people to carry out His will through participation in the government and politics, and nothing has changed—He’s still using His people. As Christians, we are called to serve and make a difference in our society. And in the next sermon, we’ll discover how America has unique stewardship in this regard.

SERMON 3: AMERICANS HAVE INHERITED A SPECIAL STEWARDSHIP, ONE THAT IS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE

Highlights

• America was founded as a self-governing nation on biblical principles. The Ten Commandments and Christian teachings have been the foundation that created the American legal system.
• Self-governance is a biblical concept that has three main components: the rule of law, consent of the governed, and private property.
• Christians have a calling from God for a mission of stewardship to serve God’s purposes in government.
• Good governance is God’s idea. It was instituted by Him to serve His purposes.
  

We have been in a series where we’ve discussed how politics, government, and public discourse have always been God’s ideas. God’s people have been engaged in politics throughout history, and it’s always been God’s will for His Church to be involved in government. Ultimately, God’s people have their citizenship in heaven, meaning we live as exiles in this world. But while we live as exiles on this Earth, we are to serve one another in love and be God’s ambassadors in every area of life, including in government and government service.

In this sermon, we will cover three topics:

1) We will pick up where we left off and cover being citizens of heaven. We will look at the mindset we are to have while living here—the same mindset Jesus chose.

2) We are best served when we function in a manner that is self-governing.

3) America was founded as a self-governing nation, and it is our turn to perpetuate self-governance in America.

1) We are Citizens of Heaven, Living as Exiles on Earth

While we are citizens in heaven, our job is to live with industry while in exile on this Earth, bringing the principles of heaven to Earth. While the Earth seeks the power to exploit, we are to take responsibility for others and to serve in love.

In America, we have a special calling because God appointed “We the People” as the sovereign over our country. That means each one of us has a responsibility to reign. But our calling is not to grab for power; it is to assume a mantle of responsibility and stewardship to serve. As Romans 13:1 tells us, all authorities are appointed by God. So, this is an awesome responsibility.

Jesus spent His time on Earth preaching and influencing people to follow the principles of His kingdom and to be a part of His spiritual kingdom. But this was to be lived in this world.

We see this described in Philippians 2:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5).

This passage begins with, “Let this mind be in you.” This speaks of the perspective Jesus chose. Each of us is endowed with the responsibility to choose our perspective. We only control three things: who or what we trust, our perspective, and the actions we take. All other circumstances are outside of our control. Arguably, the perspective we choose is of paramount importance. It will affect not only who or what we trust but also what we do.

What this verse commands us to do is to understand the perspective Jesus chose and to follow His example. What was His example? His example was to choose a perspective that what His Father asked Him to do was in His best interest, so He gave up a place that was comfortable and chose to follow a path filled with trouble.

Jesus was in heaven before coming to Earth to be born in a manger. He is the Creator of the universe. Through Him, all things were made. For Him, all things were made. And His response to His Father implied, ‘I am willing to leave here and go serve people who have rebelled against Us because they need Me to and because You asked Me to.’

The Father asked Him to. He willingly made Himself an exile from His true home. He did it because He chose a perspective that His Father knows best. But He did not spend His time waiting to return. He made use of every moment in service to His Father’s will.

Philippians says Jesus took on the form of a bondservant, a mere human—chapter 2, verse 8—And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself. It is an astonishing thing. The Creator of the universe came to Earth to become a part of His creation. He humbled Himself by becoming a human.

The verse continues—and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. God the Father asked Jesus to die for the sins of the world in order to save humanity. Jesus did this out of obedience. He chose a perspective that His Father’s will was more important than His own comfort. And because He lived an obedient life, fully dependent on God, He did in all things what His Father asked him to do.

And just as you would expect, He was greatly rewarded as a result.

Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9).

We can all agree that politics of any sort tends to be a nasty business. It is much more comfortable to remain aloof. But if we are going to adopt the same mindset as Jesus, we have to leave our place of comfort and engage in dealing with other people—particularly in the darkest of places. This is the true path to greatness.

God implanted us with the desire to be great. All of us. And He’s also given us a path to do so. And that path is through sacrificial service to other people. Setting ourselves aside. Dying daily and walking in the newness of life serving others. This requires leaving our places of comfort and living as Jesus lived and as Daniel lived (we spoke of this in the last sermon). Living lives of integrity while engaging to make a difference.

Jesus and Daniel both disrupted the status quo. They did so because it was evil. And they stood for what is true. They paid the price. This is the mindset we are called to as citizens of heaven living in exile.

Just as God exalted Jesus, He also promises this to all who serve Him faithfully, with the humility of being willing to serve in love:

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time (1 Peter 5:6).

When we engage in politics following the principles of God’s kingdom, we have no need to worry about who gets credit or who gets promoted. If we serve in truth, integrity, and service, seeking the best for others, we can trust that God will honor His promise to exalt us in due time. We can choose the same mindset Jesus chose and trust our Father to give us our true and greatest reward. This is the true path to greatness.

It is this principle of service that was a part of the inspiration behind the founding of the United States of America.

2) We are Best Served When We Function in a Manner That is Self-governing

Self-governance is a system of governance whereby people interact with one another voluntarily and constructively. It operates like a “Freedom V” where there are boundaries for our actions, but within those boundaries we are expected to treat one another with dignity and respect. We are, in short, to love our neighbors as ourselves.

The core principle of self-governance is this: you decide. God made humans in His image, and a part of that image is the power to choose. We arguably are most like our Creator when we are making choices.

God instituted self-governance as the principle by which He wanted the Earth to run. He started it in the Garden of Eden when He empowered Adam to choose but gave him clear consequences for His choice.

When God founded Israel, He set it up as a self-governing nation.

And He instituted the same principles when He founded the Church.

Let’s look at the underlying principles of self-governance.

Three Pillars of Self-Governance

1. There are three pillars of self-governance:
2. The rule of law.
3. Consent of the governed.
4. Private property.

In the Garden of Eden, God initiated the rule of law. He just made one rule and provided very clear consequences for breaking the rule—that was death. If Adam and Eve kept the rule, their reward was life.

God left Adam to decide whether to submit, which is the consent of the governed. God sufficiently masked His presence to allow this. Sadly, Adam broke the law, and we have all suffered the consequences. But thankfully, Jesus brought redemption.

Once humanity started following their own way, abandoning God’s ways, the Earth filled with violence (Genesis 6:11). That is why God destroyed the Earth with a flood.

However, if we follow God’s rule of law by loving our neighbors, this brings life back to Earth. The other alternative is to seek to gain from others through exploitation. This brings death.

After the flood, God instituted human government. In Genesis 9:5, God says:

Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast, I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother, I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man. And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply in it (Genesis 9:5–7).

God granted moral authority to mankind to take life for life. This was to prevent the Earth from filling with violence.

The Apostle Paul cites this same principle in his letter to the Romans. Speaking of human governors, he says:

For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil (Romans 13:4).

But all authority we have is only given because God authorized it (Romans 13:1).

In America, God has appointed “We the People” as the ultimate sovereigns. That means we all have the responsibility and opportunity to serve and to love. Governing well is our stewardship—our responsibility.

When God set up Israel, He gave them the law at Mount Sinai, the Ten Commandments. The first five laws essentially say, “God makes the rules.” The last five essentially say, “God’s main rule is that He wants you to love others as you love yourselves.” This is at the core of God’s rules for us.

When Israel entered the Promised Land, God said, “Appoint from among yourselves judges.” He gave Israel criteria for the judges—honest, impartial, etc. But God left it up to Israel to appoint their own judges. That is the consent of the governed. God also made the boundaries and consequences clear and then left it to the people to decide. That is also the consent of the governed.

Consent of the governed allows for maximum choice. The more choices we have, the more opportunity we have to love, for true love, agape love, is a love of choice. Agape love is choosing to seek the best for another. It is setting aside self to serve others. And, paradoxically, this is how we find the most fulfillment for ourselves.

When Israel had taken the high ground, God apportioned the land to the families within the tribes. He instituted private property. Ownership of their land was considered sacred. Private property is really the simplest form of recognizing human dignity. You can’t treat someone with dignity if you don’t respect their material goods—respect their property, their person, and their family. That’s private property.

God made clear that if Israel followed these principles, they would be greatly blessed. Much of that blessing would be a natural consequence of making good choices. If everyone in a society is trustworthy, commerce and collaboration thrive. If private property is regarded, we are encouraged to invest. If everyone in a community supports each individual, it gives them encouragement to attempt to excel.

On the other hand, if a society turns to exploitation, it will fall. If our goal is to extract pleasure from others or extract productivity from others, the Earth will fill with violence. Violence leads to poverty and death. It is God’s cause and effect. Moral cause and effect are as certain as physical cause and effect principles, like gravity. You can disbelieve gravity, but it will operate on you anyway. The same is true in the moral universe.

America has been blessed to the extent we have followed these principles of self-governance. We have been cursed when we have abandoned these principles.

3) America was Founded as a Self-Governing Nation, and it is Our Turn to Perpetuate Self-Governance in America

America was founded on biblical principles. We have not always held to them perfectly; we have not treated everyone as our neighbor—slavery based on race would be a prime example. Indeed, the Bible says in Acts 17:26 “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth…”

But our basic framework is based on biblical self-governance. The Ten Commandments and the Old Testament law founded the basis of English common law. English common law is the legal system that was brought to America and formed the basis of our legal structure.

There is a fascinating Supreme Court case from the 1890s called the Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States. It cites a number of documents that demonstrate the Christian underpinning of America’s founding. This includes a quote from the Mayflower Compact, which reads:

Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honor of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid.²

It also includes a quote from a number of state constitutions, and this quote from the charter of privileges granted by William Penn to the province of Pennsylvania in 1701:

Because no People can be truly happy, though under the greatest Enjoyment of Civil Liberties, if abridged of the Freedom of their Consciences, as to their Religious Profession and Worship; And Almighty God being the only Lord of Conscience, Father of Lights and Spirits, and the Author as well as Object of all divine Knowledge, Faith, and Worship, who only doth enlighten the Minds, and persuade and convince the Understandings of People, I do hereby grant and declare…³

It further cites the Declaration of Independence, quoting the following sections:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness…We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare…⁴

And the Supreme Court case makes this conclusion: “…this is a Christian nation.” It finds that you cannot apply a law to a Church that might impede the spread of the gospel because we are a Christian Nation.

A Christian nation is one founded on biblical principles. And the primary organizing principle for governance in the Bible is the principle of self-governance.

This is the system recommended for Churches, families, and civil government.

Christians Have a Stewardship to Serve

Romans 13:1 says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities.”

Why?

For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves (Romans 13:1–2).

This is particularly important for us as Americans because, unlike most other countries and other organizations of people in all human history, our country is constitutional. And what are the first words in our Constitution?

We the People.

The constitutional authority God has appointed in our system of government is us—each one of us.

So, when, under Romans 13, our government does evil instead of good—because God gave government for good—it is our responsibility to do something about it.

We the People. Me. You. All of us. Not “somebody.” It is our stewardship to do what we can where we are.

We can only do what we can do. But God makes a promise in 2 Chronicles that still exists today:

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

The Church Needs to Return to This Calling in America

In many ways, the Church has abdicated the field.

In America, the idea of hospitals and organized healthcare came out of Christian charity. That is why so many hospitals have Christian names. Government is now the dominant actor in this space. We founded American universities. The first university in America was Harvard. It was founded in 1636. The Pilgrims came over in 1620. Half of them died the first year. And a mere 16 years later, they formed a university out of their poverty.

And why? They tell us why.

It was because they were deeply committed to raising a generation of Christian leaders so that their children wouldn’t go astray and veer away from the gospel.

So, they started a university, and they used John Harvard’s library to start it.⁵ Atheistic Marxism now dominates academia.

We are called to be the resistance. If we are not resisting evil, we are not fulfilling our calling, contending for heavenly principles in this earthly world.

Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).

It matters not whether we are elected or not. What does matter is whether we take these kingdom principles and live them every day, including in the area of citizenship. And this is where we can be effective for God.

We have citizenship in two places:

Most importantly, our citizenship is in heaven. We are to have the same mind as Christ, who learned obedience and took on the form of a servant.

Second, we are in exile as citizens of this world. When we walk in obedience to God, we are to walk in obedience in all areas of life. It is not just in our devotional time or just internally that matters. What we know inside is to be lived on the outside. And it is to be put into practice in business, family, Church, government, politics, and every facet of life.

Jesus took His spiritual command from God and put shoe leather on it. He walked out His obedience and influenced people everywhere He went. He was rejected and died for walking in the truth. We are called to follow in His footsteps and suffer rejection from the world as He suffered.

We have the great privilege of doing this in all areas of our life, society, community, and, of course, our government.

So, we are to live as citizens in this world using kingdom principles and put them into practice.

The Bible never calls us to be a majority. It never calls us to be in power. It does call us to be salt. And what does salt do? It preserves. A little bit preserves the whole. What salt does is make something edible, so it pleases the eater. We’re called to be a sacrifice that is pleasing. And that sacrifice must have salt. We’re to be that salt.

When we do what we’re supposed to do, even if we’re rejected by the world, which will often be the case because the world lords it over, we can actually preserve a whole society by bringing our biblical practices onto the playing field.

Conclusion

1) We have covered being citizens of heaven living as exiles. We want to live as exiles having the same mindset Jesus chose. That was a mindset that obeying the Father, no matter how uncomfortable, is always in our best interest.

2) We have covered that God has directed us to be self-governing. We are best served when we function in a manner that is self-governing. This is true personally, as self-control is a fruit of the Spirit that is necessary for all others. And it is true corporately, as self-governance leads to human flourishing.

3) We have covered that America was founded with a self-governing structure, and to the extent we have been blessed, it is because we have stayed true to the three principles of self-governance—the rule of law, consent of the governed, and private property.

In 1 Samuel 8, we read the sad story of Israel’s rejection of self-governance. They chose a king. God told Samuel, “…they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:7b).

When we live in a self-governing manner, we are choosing God to reign over us. Today America is deciding who will be its sovereign. God told Israel He would judge them for rejecting Him the way He usually judges—by giving them what they asked for. He warned them that it would lead to a loss of freedom and, ultimately, living under tyranny. They said they did not care. They wanted a king to make life easier for them.

What will America do? It is up to us to pray for our country according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. It is also up to us to engage, to be salt and light. We must participate in a way that shows our light unto the world—by engaging in service, truth, and love.

Sermon Series Takeaways

God has called the Church to be a part of politics because the Church is called to be the salt of the Earth and the light to the world. Christians must advocate for biblical morals and ethics in the time that they are living in. The Church has historically been a catalyst for social change from the abolition movement to civil rights and even now in countering the issues of human trafficking and abortion. God has always called His followers to government from the Old Testament days to current days.

If Christianity does not inform politics in the current civic process, the Church is abdicating this ground to Marxism, which at its core, hates religion and God. The absence of God leaves the space open to demonic influence. Marxism is rooted in jealousy and covetousness that attacks God’s design of private property, being fruitful, and stewarding the creation of God.

The Bible talks about government extensively and stresses the importance of public service. Jesus said that He came to serve and not be served. He calls His Church to follow His example in resembling His message in all areas of life. The kingdom of Jesus does not end where the earthly government begins. One of the greatest examples of this is the story of Daniel, who is a righteous man serving in a corrupt and secular government.

We bring God’s kingdom to Earth by walking as a citizen of heaven and following Jesus’ serving platform instead of the world’s lording-over platform. This is how we do it. And this is how politics and religion mix from a godly standpoint verse how they mix from a worldly and secular standpoint.

America was designed to be a Christian Nation that is rooted in self-governance and has a unique role of stewardship. The Founders knew that the only perfect absolute king is sitting on the throne in heaven. Therefore, a government by the people and for the people with separation of power was the only option of governance that would keep absolutism and tyrannical elements in check. Self-governance is the model of American governance that puts limits on any one entity having power over the freedom individuals.

Three Pillars of Self-Governance. 1) The rule of law, 2) dispersed decision-making with the consent of the governed, and 3) private property ownership. These are essential elements of governance that God mandates for mankind in order to have a functioning society. Without these, the whole thing falls apart, and violence fills the Earth.

Let all of us be subject to the governing authorities because no authority comes except what God has appointed. Therefore, “We the People” are the governing authority of this land. We elect the leadership that represents America at all levels of governance, including to the global community. God has appointed “We the People” to the position of authority in America, and as such, “We the People” must represent His principles and mandates in government and the public square.

The Church is to be the influence of Jesus in the world. Again, as Christians, we are called to be the influence in the world, not to be influenced by the world.