I Peter 2:11-17
It is often said that if you want to keep friends that you should never talk about religion or politics. One of my neighbors just recently told me that this was the rule in his house, that the only way to keep the peace is simply to avoid those two topics. The truth is it’s not a bad rule. Religion and politics are polarizing; they are both opinion driven and usually highly competitive stirring incredible emotions. This is never more apparent than in the midst of election season. Opinions abound, facts are hard to decipher and divisions seem to be more apparent than ever. What we see most in the realm of religion and politics is that personal plans and agendas get exposed while beliefs and policies get thoroughly examined. We find things that are disturbing and get disturbed by the things we seem to find. So how do we proceed in this climate, in this realm and specifically in this election? I believe we have to proceed by not pursuing religion and politics but rather pursing government and the gospel. The reason that many don’t trust the government is because of the politics and the reason many don’t trust God is religion. If we erase those two things, what we are left with is government and the gospel and both are clearly defined in the Scripture. What do I mean by erasing politics and religion? I believe that politics is the science of attempting to not merely give each person a voice but a demand, an opinion and a right to see things work in the way that benefits them the most. I believe that religion is the act of man attempting to define and confine God into terms and actions that leaves him in control of God and each other rather than being surrendered to God and servants of one another. If we remove politics and religion as I have defined them what we are left with is a Scriptural basis to see that the concept of government and the reality of the gospel were both created by God for men. Government so we can walk and live in the authority and dominion of the earth as God commanded and the gospel so that we can be reconciled to God and redeemed from sin as God has always desired. It’s probably a good thing that we talked about conflict resolution last week, we might disagree on some things, but I pray that we will choose to be unoffended and that we will search the Scriptures and hear from God. Today we are going to simply discuss “government and the gospel”, why did God establish government and how do we, as the Body of Christ, respond to it. Next week we will talk much more about voting. I won’t be telling you who to vote for, but we will discuss some of the issues and I pray that we will choose to be moved by the issues that move the heart of God and that we would set aside all the others. If we are moved by what moves God, we will always be moving in and by His direction. For today, let’s see God’s role in government and our response according to the gospel.