Today more than ever, we hear people insisting that their “rights” be given to them – even rights that they don’t really have.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we cannot help but wonder if we have the same or different rights as others, what our rights really are, and what we are supposed to do when our rights are denied us.  Do we have a right to safety, success, and wealth?  Do we have a right to expect respect and common decency from others?  Do we have a right to worship God in any way that we are convinced is appropriate?  How about a right to a good home, a loving family, and a good name?

The people of Jesus’ day were no different than us, and He was well aware of it.  We see Jesus teaching an entirely new view on centuries of traditions and suppositions.  Jesus Christ, God-in-the-flesh, has been stretching out the accurate and precise view of God on how true children of God are to think, feel, and act.  Generation has followed generation, and mankind has become ever more deeply entrenched in a flesh-view and a worldview of rights that collide with the view of heaven.

As we approach the delicate subject of Christians and political activity, it seems appropriate to take a look at what The Word of God has to say about Christians and Politics / Government. We are particularly concerned with the fact that all too many people, especially Christians, have just thrown up their hands and dropped out of the political process. They don’t bother to inform themselves, seek out the right candidates or even vote. The attitude seems to be…”They’re going to do what they want to do anyway”…whomever they are.

Two topics will help us gain a better comprehension of why Christians need to be involved in our political process.  We need to understand these things:
(1. What the Word describe as the biblical functions of government.
(2. What the Word says about the biblical responsibilities of godly government officials.

I. The History of Being Politically Correct

Political correctness is a term used to describe language, ideas, policies, or behavior seen as seeking to minimize offense to racial, cultural, or other identity groups. Conversely, the term “politically incorrect” is used to refer to language or ideas that may cause offense or that are unconstrained by orthodoxy (conforming to the usual beliefs or doctrines). Some have argued that this term “political correctness” was invented by conservatives to discredit progressive social change, especially with respect to issues such as race, religion, and gender. The term is not a new term and can be traced all the way back to the 1700s in the United States and possibly even earlier than that in Europe. The whole premise around being politically correct is to not offend others by the things we say, the policies we support, or the way we act.  It covers a wide range of ideas and actions that would govern what we should and should not be doing.  Here is the question that each of us should begin thinking about: “How much of our “Christianity in practice” are we willing to give up in order to be politically correct?"

What makes a person bold?

There are two well-known Biblical illustrations of boldness.
First: Jesus had just been arrested by the temple guards and Romans. In the courtyard, the disciples ran for their lives.  Peter was hiding in the shadows, recognized and accused of being one of Jesus’ followers. Three times, out of fear, Peter denies even knowing Jesus.

Second: Peter and John boldly teach Jesus rose from the dead. Arrested and brought before a council, they were commanded to stop teaching. In response, Peter and John said they could not stop teaching and preaching in the name of Jesus Christ.

If we could discover what happened to them, and have the same thing happen to us and every Christian today, the world would be turned right-side up.

1 Timothy 3:14-3:15

Considering the lax attitudes of many religious people today, it would be easy to conclude that church attendance is optional or perhaps only for those who are very religious and extremely dedicated to their faith. This is especially true in New England.  Membership rosters in most churches, compared to actual numbers in attendance, usually tell the story of people's attitude.  According to God's word, church attendance is not optional.  The Bible and common sense teach us that church attendance is not just a smart thing, it is a necessary thing.  It's the beginning of growing up in the Lord.

Not Forsaking
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near." (Heb. 10:23-25)

I was introduced to the "Featured Sermon Of The Week" by By Kevin DeYoung on the Pulpit Helps web site, entitled Thinking Twice About the Emergent Movement.  Below are some excerpts from that sermon which describes the embracing of the modernist movement by the evangelical church.

See if you recognize any of these characteristics:

I realized a number of years ago that it didn’t matter if I was against all the things I should be against, if I wasn’t for anything. 

Ephesus’ lovelessness manifested itself in another kind of sin: not just a lack of life-giving fellowship but a lack of life-giving witness.  The church was so busy battling and protecting and defending, that they had turned inward to self-protection and suspicion.  They were navel-gazers, with no vision or purpose outside themselves.  They were great at keeping the world out of the church, but they were terrible at taking the church out into the world.

Pastors serving on the Christian Civic League Board of Directors. Left to right are Rev. John Eckhart, Rev. Dan McNutt, Rev. Rick Carver and Rev. Dallas Henry. All attended the Pastors Briefing in Washington D.C.

Nine League Board members and wives attended the Pastor’s Briefing sponsored by The Family Research Council, which was held May 7th through May 9th.  We were all blessed and challenged by the nationally-known public servants of God who reported on various situations concerning the spiritual condition of our nation. 

In addition to this informative seminar we were treated to a guided tour of our nation’s capitol building, narrated by David Barton.

We heard reports on what we all knew was so true; our nation’s only hope is if it repents and turns back to God.  We learned how dismal the Christian voter turnout was in the 2006 election; the voter turnout by homosexuals, on the other hand, was over 95%.

Some have said that a nation has the leaders it deserves, while others have said that the leadership of a nation reflects the spiritual condition of that nation.  Both comments reflect negatively on the Church.

The iron chains and sturdy hawsers our Yankee forebears used to steady their sailing vessels were massive and strong, strong enough to launch a six-masted schooner at Bath or to hold the Battleship Maine at anchor in Havana harbor. Yet even these chains seem small compared to the Great Chain once laid across the Hudson River to blockade an invading British navy. A marvel of Yankee industry and ingenuity, the Great Chain spanned six hundred yards, weighed forty-five tons, and was made from hundreds of links, each more than two feet in length.

There is a chain that is mightier yet, one spun from something as light and as hard to see as a spider's thread. This subtlest of threads is made from suggestion, deceit, and insinuation. One thread is spun out, laid onto another, and woven together until it becomes strong enough to pull down entire nations. 

The first link in the chain was forged by Wilhelm Reich, a psychoanalyst and radical activist. In 1929 Reich published a book entitled "The Sexual Revolution, or Sex in the Culture War." The ultimate goal of Reich's proposed sexual revolution, oddly enough, had nothing to do with sexual morality. Its goal was to bring about a real revolution by undermining the institution of the family.    

Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”  [NIV]

People who normally scoff at the Bible, reject its teachings, and ridicule its content love to quote this verse at just the right time to shut the mouths of those who promote Godly values in the public square. 

Some familiar statements they try to silence are: “Homosexuality is a sin!”  “There is no such thing as a Christian homosexual!”  “All pre-marital sex is wrong.”  “A man and a woman living together who are not married are committing adultery.”  “Abortion is murder.”  ‘It is the killing of a human being and those doctors who perform abortions, except for very rare exceptions, are guilty of taking innocent human life.”

Now when those statements are made the world immediately trots out their favorite verse in the Bible: "Judge not, that ye be not judged."  This raises a question, "Should a Christian judge?"  The answer of Jesus was not an outright “no”, as some people think.   The answer of Jesus was "It all depends."

In the rest of the passage Jesus tells us to be watchful of three things - logs, dogs, and hogs.   You’ve got to use some type of judgment to identify any and all of them.  Jesus gives us three principles to help us answer the question: "Should you judge?"

The Bible is a collection of 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament or Old Covenant, and 27 in the New Testament or New Covenant. 

All the books of the Bible, written over a timeline of around 1600 years, give a consistent picture of who God is, who we are, what God wants, and what we can expect depending on our choices in this life.  The Bible reveals the story of how God has dealt with mankind, His chosen nation of Israel and His New Covenant people, the Church.  The Bible speaks with the same authority and relevance today regarding who He is and what He is doing in our times.  It speaks to us regarding what will happen in the future and how God will change everything.

The Bible is not just a book of rules and ancient history.  It contains thousands of wonderful promises which are constantly applicable to all who believe in Him.  The challenge that mankind faces today is to know, understand and experience the wonderful things that God promises to do for those who believe.  God's promises in the Bible guarantee us more than enough for all our needs in every area.  The only condition is to trust and obey God, and expect Him to do what He says He will do.  If we don't we are the losers.