Should the Church Avoid Politics?
[Part 3: Excerpted from this sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF0N2VPhX3g&t=1788s]
The founders built this country on God's Word. God said, "I will be your judge, I will be your lawgiver, and I will be your king." Here we see the three distinct bodies of government—the executive, judicial, and legislative branches—because of the God's Word.
I truly do not understand people who think we should not talk about this. Before Fox News and CNN, the pulpit was where people acquired their information. Spurgeon preached against slavery. Martin Luther went against the political leaders of that day. John Calvin wanted to make the city of Geneva a religious city—a city on a hill.
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Men and women of God filled with the Spirit want to make a difference in all areas of life: civil government, the public schools, our homes, our communities. For example, local school districts should be ashamed for allowing the current sex-ed curriculum into the schools. Have we lost our moral compass? Yes we have. We shouldn't be surprised that sexual perversion, suicide, and depression are on the upswing when we are contributing to it.
If My People . . .
There comes a time when we must be a "voice crying in the wilderness." We fight this battle on our faces and on our knees before God, crying out, "God, save us! Have mercy on us! We are a prideful, arrogant people. God, we are repenting; we are turning back to You. Have mercy on us and fill us with your Spirit, and bring revival. Bring renewal." Prayer is our weapon.
You might say, "But I don't want to get involved." I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you are already involved. When you say nothing, you speak the loudest. We are involved, whether we like it or not. As much as we would love to live in utopia with peaceful days, we don't live in that world. We live in the real world, and God calls us to battle—on our knees. "If My people,"—not Washington, not Hollywood— "if My people humbled themselves . . ." (2 Chron. 7:14).
So here's the big question. Does God desire that we seek Him for our marriages? Does God desire that our families to seek Him? Of course, but does God desire that our governments seek Him? Yes. He instituted all three. All three have different functions, but He created all three institutions.
This is not about political parties; it's about God's love. When you love God, you want to honor His Word. When you see people mocking His Word, spitting on it, and blaspheming it—if something doesn't break in your heart, I want to challenge you: Where in the world is your heart?
John Hancock said, "Men, I but I beg you by all that is dear, by all that you hold honorable, not only that you pray, but that you act." Praying without action is not biblical either. How is that so? You pray, "Lord, make me a better husband," yet you still curse at your wife. "Make me a better leader," but you beat everybody up with your words. You see, prayer and action are married. But what is our action? Bended knee, broken before God. God can then say, "Oh, I can use that person. You see how they are broken and humbled before Me? How they are emptied of themselves? How they're not on arrogant political rants?"
There are right ways to do things and wrong ways. Nothing breaks my heart more than to see the immature behavior of Christians on Facebook going on political tirades with hate instead of loving them. They will know that you are Christians by your love for one another (see John 13:35). God changes a heart, not you. I'm concerned that a lot of us have passion for this area, but we don't have love. We desperately need both!
