September 4,2012
In last week's commentary, I mentioned having a conversation with some Christian brothers concerning the terrible condition of today's American church and the staggering estimate of how many may be lost because of it .... but also in that discussion, something else came up that bothered me nearly as much as the aforementioned ... and that is the upcoming national presidential election.
As with any thinking Christian that has at least some basic Bible knowledge, the decision is very difficult, at best. We 'wise' men batted this subject back and forth for a time with little gratifying results coming from the dialogue. No one in the room could support Obama for various ... and obvious reasons. Several are convinced that he is a 'closet muslim', ... and all agreed that if he is, in fact, a Christian, he would have to be considered an apostate one since he supports most all the gay agenda as well as abortion, and so on. ... And then the subject of Romney came on the table ... and most all agreed that his faith is a cult and totally contrary to the basic tenants of our Christianity, and therefore could not vote for him either.
So then I asked the 'brilliant', but obvious question, if you are a voting member of our society and a 'practicing' Christian, what do you do when you walk into the voting booth? .... and without too much hesitation, one of the guys said that we should write in Mike Huckabee. ........ Most everyone in the room agreed that he would be a better choice than the ones currently nominated by their respective political parties.
Moving on to two days ago, Mr. Huckabee was a guest on a political talk show and was asked if he would support Mitt Romney for president and that if his Mormon faith would be a hinderance to his decision. Without hesitation, Mr. Huckabee said that he would absolutely support him and that his faith would have no bearing on his decision .... and that Mr. Romney was clearly the best choice to run the country for the next four years. ..... Upon hearing this, I was surprised and disappointed. Once again, here is a good man that professes his faith without hesitation, but then will quickly disregard it for the sake of politics. ... He could at least have said that he disagrees with his Mormon faith, but not even a hint was mentioned.
...... And this is why I've totally stepped away from the political system. I truly believe that the 'nationalism' that has entered into the church today may be THE biggest distraction concerning the true purpose of the church and why we have lost sight of our first love. In many cases, it appears that America has replaced Christ as the centerpiece of our fellowships.
Let me share a real example of what I mean ............ Like most pastors who lead thriving evangelical churches, the Reverend Gregory Boyd was asked frequently to give his blessing ... and the church's ... to conservative political candidates and causes. The requests came from church members and visitors alike ... would he please announce a rally against gay marriage during services? ... Would he introduce a politician from the pulpit? ... Could members set up a table in the lobby promoting their anti-abortion work? ... Would the church distribute "voter's guides" that all but endorse their own candidates? ... And with the country at war, please couldn't the church hang an American flag in the sanctuary? ......... After refusing each time, Pastor Boyd finally became fed up, and then preached a series of six sermons called "The Cross and the Sword" in which he said the church should steer clear of politics, stop claiming the United States a Christian nation, and stop glorifying American military campaigns. ... He said, "When the church wins the culture wars, it inevitably loses ... When it conquers the world, it becomes the world. When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the Cross." ... Pastor Boyd went on to say that he first became alarmed while visiting another megachurch's worship service on a Fourth of July years ago. The service finished with the church singing "God Bless America" and a video of fighter jets flying over a hill silhouetted with The Cross. "I thought to myself, what just happened? Fighter jets mixed with the Cross?" ............ At the time of these sermons, the church had 5,000 members. ... When the series concluded, it was down to 4,000.
My hat is off to this guy. He has come to the same conclusion that I have concerning this 'church and state' thing. If you remember back to my July 3, 2012 commentary ... "Politics or Prayer" ... you will remember how I described how one would have to be ... being a Christian and holding a public office. I quote this one brief part ... " ... it won't be so bad ... I only have to leave the Lord at home each day to wait for me because He's not allowed at work ... but again, that's not so bad .... after all, I can spend time with Him some evenings and most always on Sunday mornings ... "
Once again, I want to say this as clearly as I can ... this is one of the main reasons our churches have lost their focus and why people like Billy Graham think that up to 90% of church goers in today's society may be lost! ... Separating God from anything is wrong ... we cannot have it both ways! You either are, or your not ... you're either in, or your out!
Sadly, many of these people involved in politics today are good people and have our best interests at heart. ... But let's be honest, besides the separation of church and state, they must compromise greatly in order to get anything done ... and some of those compromises certainly will go against one's faith ......
So what should we do? ... Simply, we need to get our focus back on what Christ wanted for us, and that is telling the world about Jesus Christ and winning souls! Jesus said in John 15:19, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." ..... Jesus never intended for us to compromise in any way concerning earthly matters. ... He knew that if we took His words and teachings seriously, we would be despised and rejected by most people. ... So, too, was He ... are we any greater than our Master?
I will be praying for each of you ... and for the difficult decisions we all face as we move ever closer to our Lord's triumphant return ...
Until next time,
Red