My Political Views

1)      God is bigger than any nation or ruler

a.       “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.  (Prov. 21:1)

b.      “For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations. (Ps. 22:28)

c.       “God reigns over the nations.” (Ps. 47:8)

d.      “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.  This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (I Tim. 2:1-4)

e.       For not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert comes exaltation;  But God is the Judge; He puts down one, and exalts another. (Ps. 75:6-7)

2)      God’s love transcends politics and government

a.       “Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.  For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil.  Do you want to have no fear of authority?  Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. (Rom. 13:1-3)  Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.  Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.  For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. (Rom. 13:7-10)

b.      “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22)

c.       Where there is little love, there is much law.  Where there is much love, there is little law. (Dr. E.L. Cole)

d.      “My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” (Jn. 18:36)

3)      More money will not solve a nation’s problems

a.       “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.  And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.  But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.” (I Tim. 6:7-10)

4)      More governmental control will not solve a nation’s problems

a.       “I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself; nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.” (Jer. 10:23)

b.      “Many seek the ruler’s favor, but justice for man comes from the Lord.” (Prov. 29:26)

c.       “Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.  His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” (Ps. 146:3-4)

d.      “The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.” (29:25)

e.       “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

5)      Capitalism without morality will ultimately fail

a.       “Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor, but it is swept away by injustice.” (Prov. 13:23)

b.      “O Lord, who may abide in Thy tent?  Who may dwell on Thy holy hill?  He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart…He does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.” (Ps. 15:1-2,5)

6)      Democracy without self-governance will ultimately fail

a.       “Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” (George Washington)

b.      “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” (George Washington)

c.       “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.  And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (Js. 3:16-18)

7)      It is impossible to legislate morality

(In other words, people are going to find a way to do what they want to do regardless of what laws exist)

a.       “These matters (of the Jewish law) which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” (Col. 2:23)

b.      “Do we then nullify the Law through faith?  May it never be!  On the contrary, we establish the Law. (Rom. 3:31)

c.       “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit…for the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.”  (Rom. 8:3-4,6-7)

Conclusion:

The main problem with governmental rule is that it is intrinsically woven with the human condition, which is subject to failure.  The root cause of people’s unlawful behavior is a lack of peace and inner contentment due to a deep-seated sense of guilt and awareness of imperfection.  The only solution to this dilemma is absolute forgiveness, which can only come from a supernatural God.

The source of all war and civic disturbance is a lack of peace in the individuals of a community, state or nation.  Governmental rule attempts to ‘keep the peace’ through external force: rule of law and militaristic strength.  Those, however, who live in peace with themselves live above the Law, fulfilling the Law’s requirements, and even surpassing those requirements.

"Realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God." (I Tim. 1:9-10)

The forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ, when accepted by an individual, causing one to be at peace with himself and all those he comes in contact with, is ultimately the foundation of societal peace, contentment and harmony.

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God; Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” (Is. 9:6-7)

His Kingdom is an everlasting one, not made with human wisdom or ingenuity, not a kingdom of this world.  Fighting political battles, ultimately, will not produce the results of societal peace, harmony and contentment.  These benefits can only be won through the supernatural influence of God’s love and forgiveness in each individual’s life.

The highest possible societal functioning is one without government, where individuals are self-governing.  “Four things are small on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise…the locusts have no king, yet all of them go out in ranks.” (Prov. 30:24,27)  God’s original design for Israel was that they not have a king.  He gave them one only because of their insistence to be like the other nations.  Though it will never happen in our current world, God’s original plan was that individuals be self-governing, living to serve and bless others.  Selfishness, however, invokes the Law.

It is the Christian’s responsibility to: 1) Live by God’s Spirit of love, 2) Submit to and pray for his governing authorities, 3) Extend God’s love and forgiveness to his surrounding world.  In doing these things, he can be involved in the most productive political activity that there is: the expansion of God’s Kingdom, which is evidenced by grace, love and forgiveness.

Grace and Giving

I Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

The word ‘gift’ is the word Charisma (SEC 5486), which is an extension of Charis, or grace.  (The word special, before it, was added by the translators.)

Psalm 110:3 “Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power.”

The word/phrase ‘volunteer freely’ is the word Nadab (SEC 5071), which means: a freewill offering, denoting an uncompelled and free movement of the will unto divine service or sacrifice.  Among other places, it occurs in the building and rebuilding of the Temple (I Chron. 29:5, II Chron. 35:8, Ezra 1:6)  It shows abundant and voluntary giving and sacrifice from God’s people.

Putting these two passages together (I Peter 4:10 and Ps. 110:3), it is evident that Psalm 110 is a prophetic utterance regarding the age of grace, as grace is an exhibition of God’s power: “…in the day of Your power”.  It is referring to the Church age, as God’s Spirit has been poured out upon all flesh. (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17)  In the building of His Church, as the building and rebuilding the Old Testament Temple foreshadowed, His Spirit moves through His children in various manifestations of His power.  His grace is given as a free gift to each person, flowing through each person, to the building up of His Church.

This exhibition of God’s power is seen through the free and uncompelled choice of His people to voluntarily give and serve.

The grace of God is the power of God, which has been released now in the age of the Church.  As God’s people respond to His gift of grace, being motivated by His Spirit, they will give and sacrifice towards the building up of His Kingdom.  The process is simple: God gives (grace, Charis) to people, then people give (Charisma) to others.

Conclusion: When people volunteer their time, money and abilities at church, they are fulfilling and validating the prophetic utterance made in Psalm 110, making it evident that we truly are living in the ‘day of His power’.  Through the responsive giving of His children, God’s grace and power now flows into the earth.



Emotionalism In Worship- Part 2

In the previous blog, I wrote about the dangers of emotional worship which is unfounded upon a solid understanding of God’s Word.  This kind of worship is empowered only by human sentiments and therefore can only produce natural results, tending towards failure.

There is, however, an emotionalism in worship that is profound and rich with meaning, one that emanates from a deep well-spring of revelation that “God loves me and has forgiven me.”

When Jesus went to visit Simon the Pharisee, there was a prostitute who brought an alabaster vial of perfume to pour on Jesus’ feet, kissing and wiping them with her tears.  Simon was critical in his heart of Jesus, thinking that He didn’t know what kind of woman she was.  But Jesus responded to him through a story of two people that were in debt, one who owed a little money and the other a lot.  In the story, they both had their debt cancelled.  Then Jesus asked Simon which of the two people would appreciate the man who had cancelled their debt more, the one who owed little or the one who owed much.

Simon responded, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”  Jesus said, “You have judged correctly.”  Then he enumerated to Simon all of the ways the woman had blessed Him since the time He had walked through the doors versus Simon’s negligence to show hospitality and care, finishing up by this comment, “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Lk. 7:47-48)

David wrote, “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!” (Ps. 32:1)

“Who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin’?” (Prov. 20:9)

The greatest message (and perhaps the most foundational) of Christianity is that of Forgiveness.  When we realize God’s love and forgiveness for our very own life, it produces a well-spring of joy and happiness, an emotion not coming from our own humanity, but one that is empowered by God Himself.

The Apostle Paul echoes again in the New Testament, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered.  Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” (Rom. 4:7-8)

The word ‘blessed’ means: happiness, bliss.  The word ‘bliss’ means lightness of heart, supreme happiness or delight.

There is a depth of emotion that can be released through a believer’s life, which flows like a mighty river from the inside of his being, when he is connected to the spiritual realities of God’s forgiveness and grace.

This emotion is authentic, founded upon reality.  It’s a kind of emotion that brings fullness and benefit to our lives.  It doesn’t have to be ‘ginned up’, it’s not a show or ‘put on’, but rather it is something that no circumstance, situation, individual or community can take away.  “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (Jn. 16:33)  “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (Jn. 15:11)  “but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy away from you.” (Jn. 16:22)

God validated His forgiveness in our lives through Jesus’ resurrection.  "As those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification." (Rom. 4:24-25)  Because of God’s power to raise Him from the dead, we now have the assurance that our lives have been cleansed, purified and made whole.

So when we see emotional worship, we must be careful not to be critical, as Simon the Pharisee was, because in our ‘objectivity’, we might be missing out on an opportunity to love God deeply, based upon His love for us.

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (I Jn. 4:10)

Worship that stems from an attitude that “I love God” is a worship that is emanating from Natural Man, tending towards self-centeredness and even ‘worshiping worship’.  However, worship which comes from an attitude of: “I love God because He first loved me” is a deep river of blessing, which will produce true happiness and contentment.

Whoever drinks from the water of human emotionalism shall indeed thirst again,

“but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” (Jn. 4:14)

My prayer for the worshiping community is that we always know from which source we are drinking.