Politics and the Christian

 Politics and the Christian

When you do a search on the word politics or political in the Bible (ESV) you get zero matches. The Bible doesn’t use those words, but the Bible does, however, have some things to say about government and a Christian’s behavior.

There are many verses on government and the life of a believer, but the passage that keeps jumping out at me is Romans 13:1-7 (ESV).

Verse 1 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

Isn’t that powerful? God has instituted the governments that exist and we are to obey them (provided, of course, that the government is not issuing orders that are in direct violation of God’s Word).

Think about it, God is telling us (through Paul, the inspired writer of Romans) that we are to obey and respect (verse 7) every position of authority in our lives. This involves the government over its citizens, the Church over its members, parents over their children, and even bosses over their workers.

Governments are here to reward or promote good and restrain and discipline evil. The question is: what is good and what is evil. Christians should be able to answer that with ease.

God expects us to speak out against the evils of society, but we need to do it in a godly and law abiding manner. Two great examples of this life are Daniel and Paul.

As Christians, we are to proclaim the Gospel to the world. We are given that commission in Matthew. Many Christians are politically active and there if nothing wrong with that in itself. The problem arises when a Christian is more concerned with politics than with the Gospel.

We know there are problems with our government and our leaders. They are not perfect. However, we are to hate the sin, not the sinner. Too often, Christians turn people away from the Gospel rather than turn them to it.

Instead of focusing our time and attention on changing or influencing laws, let’s spend our time on changing lives with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We need to remember to consistently pray for our leaders so that they may have the will of God revealed in their life. Does your life show the transforming power of the Gospel?

Our Relationship With Strangers

Scripture Reading/Gospel Lesson – Romans 12:14-21

Last week, we looked at how Scripture describes our relationships with other believers. This morning, our Scripture gives us some practical insight into our dealings with strangers. When we reach out and minister to a stranger we don’t know if they are a Christian or not.

First, Paul tells us to bless those who persecute you.

This command goes against our human nature, our worldly feelings. How can this be? How can you bless someone who is attacking you? This makes no sense to us. Yet, this is what Paul, by the Holy Spirit, is urging his readers to do.

And not just Paul, but Christ said the same thing Himself. In Luke chapter 6 He tells us to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us pray for those who mistreat us.

He even gives us some practical examples. Turn the other cheek when someone hits you. If someone takes your coat, give them your shirt as well. Give to who ever asks and do not ask for anything back.

We are to treat those who persecute us as our friends. Don’t get me wrong, we are not to be doormats or abused for the sake of being a pacifist. We are indeed to stand up for what is right according to God’s Word.

We should bless those who persecute us. Jesus did. Remember what He did while hanging on the cross? He prayed for those who were killing Him. He said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Stephen did the same thing in Acts at the end of chapter 7 as he was being stoned. He cried out, Lord, Do not hold this sin against them. Oddly enough, the next verse which is Chapter 8 verse 1 is Saul, Paul approving of Stephen’s execution.

The next time someone is attacking you, don’t attack back. Be nice, love them, bless them, pray for them.

Second, Paul tells us to sympathize and empathize with strangers.

We should try to identify with those we come in contact with and do whatever it is we can do to help them. We should put ourselves in their shoes if you will. Everyone has bad days at time. It is possible for those bad days to turn into better days when someone is there to help.

One of the simplest things we can do is to simply be available when others need us. Sometimes there is nothing we can do or say to help a person, but just being there with them makes all the difference in the world to them.
Of course, we can give them physical help if we are able. And we should always be praying for them.

Our Scripture gives us two specific ways to identify with people in verse 15, “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.”

They sound so simple, yet we find ways to mess them up. Sometimes when we hear of someone’s good news, do we maybe get a little jealous? What if their happiness is at our expense?

For example, if you and another person were applying for the same job and only one person was going to get it. And that person wasn’t you! Would you rejoice with the other person who got “your” job?

But that is what we are called to do. We are to rejoice with those who are rejoicing. No matter what is happening in our life we are to show our joy when things are going well for someone else.

Sometimes others aren’t rejoicing, instead, they are weeping. We too are commanded to weep with them. Compassion is a necessary characteristic of a Christian. We must be prepared to feel the pain that others are feeling.

Third, in our dealings with strangers, we must be impartial. We are to treat everyone the same, no matter their race, gender, socioeconomic status, or whatever. We are to treat them the same.

This leads into the fourth way in which we deal with strangers: avoiding elitism. Paul instructs us to guard against any temptation to put ourselves above others. We are no better than anyone else.

We are to associate with the rich and the poor, the weak and the strong, the influential people and the needy people of this world. There is no place for elitism in the family of God.

Unfortunately, this attitude does prevail in some churches. When elitism exists among Christians the entire integrity of the ministry suffers. We are to help all people, not just those that can help us out later on.

Last, when dealing with strangers, we need to avoid conceit. We cannot be so conceited in ourselves that we trust only in our own wisdom. We must remember where we get our wisdom from.

We do these things not for our own ego. We do them to faithfully serve God. We live our lives with integrity and submit to His will for our lives. Our confidence is not in our abilities, rather our confidence should be in Him.

Of course, throughout our lives we will come into contact with people who hate us, they are our personal enemies.
As I mentioned blessing those you persecute you is challenging, so Paul concludes with a few more tips about dealing with those personal enemies in your life.

First, we do not return evil for evil. We are not to retaliate by revenge. We do not take the law into our own hands.

Instead we are to respect what is right. We should respond to evil with good. When we act graciously to our enemies then all will see the testimony of Jesus in our life.

Paul tells us to live at peace with everyone as far as possible. Remember it takes two to make peace. We are to desire peace and act appropriately. This means we do not hold a grudge or inward bitterness toward them. We must forgive our enemies to pursue peace with them.

We must overcome evil with good. We should rely on God’s power to gets us through any situation that we are in. If we are focused on God and serving Him, then we won’t need to worry about being overwhelmed by the evil of this world.

As we obey God we can actually see a transformation not only in our life, but also in the lives of those around us as well. Try it and see for yourself.

Closing Prayer

Lord we thank you again for our time in your Word this morning. We thank You for giving us the opportunity to come here and worship you.

There are so many strangers out there in this world and we don’t know which ones are your faithful servants, so help us to treat them all with love, respect, and kindness. Not because we want to look good, but because we want to serve You.

AMEN

Our Relationship With Other Believers

Scripture Reading/Gospel Lesson – Romans 12:10-13

Our Scripture this morning gives us some practical insight into our dealings with other Christians. This is not an exhaustive list, but it gives us the main theme of our behavior toward other Christians.

First, displaying Brotherly Love

Brotherly Love is the key indicator by which the church proves to the world that it is genuine and belongs to Christ. John 13:35 says, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This type of love is not just a mandatory rule, rather it is an inescapable part of being a Christian. “Whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him” (1 John 5:1). The most basic demonstration of brotherly love is when we love and care for a fellow Christian more than we care for ourselves.

This takes time to develop, but eventually to the spiritually mature Christian it will be a natural response. This is not just a sentimental affection toward another person. This is a deep down concern for their overall physical, mental, and especially spiritual well being.

A Christian loves fellow Christians.

Second, a Christian should give honor to one another.

Humility is a crucial aspect of brotherly love. This is not a fake praise of someone. It simply means to show genuine thankfulness and respect for other members of God’s family.

Empty compliments only show a person’s selfishness and lack of integrity. God wants us to be considerate of our fellow Christian brothers and sisters. We should be quick to acknowledge their accomplishments with genuine honor.

Christians honor God by honoring each other.

Third, Christians do not lag behind in diligence

We need to make the most of whatever time the Lord has given us on earth. Many opportunities for Christian service only come our way once, and we must take advantage of them.

There is no room for laziness in God’s kingdom. Not only does it waste our time and opportunities to serve the Lord, but it also allows evil the chance to encroach in your life.

Think about it, kids usually get into trouble when they have nothing to do right? Anybody here ever serve in the military? I’ll bet your commanding officer always gave you a bunch of stupid, pointless things to do, right? He did this so you didn’t get into trouble.

There is a common expression today of Carpe diem, meaning seize the day. That is the way Jesus lived His life and that too is the way we should live our lives for Christ. Seize the opportunity to serve Christ each and every day.

Christians are not lazy, especially when it comes to doing the work God has given us to do.

Fourth, Christians are fervent in spirit

This simply means we need to maintain our commitment to the Lord’s work. We should be diligent in our efforts for God. We need to do the right things and do the things we do right. That is efficiency and effectiveness.

Christians do what God wants them to do and they do it with passion.

Fifth, Christians serving the Lord

Serving the Lord calls us to examine our priorities. This should be the focus of our lives. The things we do must be consistent with Scripture. Not only that, but they should bring honor to God.

We are to serve God with a sense of priority and integrity. We don’t have to rely on our own strength, rather we can draw on the power of God to do what He wants us to do.

Christians serve the Lord throughout their lives.

Sixth, Christians rejoice in hope

The Christian life will by no means be easy. We will still experience temptations from worldly desires and we will be persecuted and ridiculed for our beliefs. Without hope we would never be able to triumph over them.

The scriptural concept of hope is one in which we can have full confidence. Hope is not based on wishful thinking rather it is an integral part of our salvation. It is certain. God gives us hope each day, the hope of knowing that He is there caring for us and watching over us.

Christians rejoice in the hope that God provides for them.

Seventh, Christian persevere during times of tribulation

The hope we have in God allows us to persevere through whatever situation we may be in.

Eighth, Christians are devoted to prayer

One of the main reasons God allows “bad” things to happen to us is to build our trust in Him rather than relying on ourselves. Our reliance upon Him is built through prayer. Prayer needs to be a part of our daily life. Thanking God for what He has done, what He is currently doing, and what He will do.

Ninth, Christians contribute to the needs of other believers

As we look around and think about our lives we believe we own stuff. We own cars, houses, and other things. They are ours. In reality, God owns it all and He lets us use it. We are to be good stewards of the things He has given to us.

One of the most important ways that we can be a good steward of the things God has given to us is to use them for His glory and honor. We do this by giving to those follow Christians in need.

Lastly, Christian practice hospitality

Paul finishes his list of our duties to fellow believers by saying that we have a responsibility of practicing hospitality toward others, especially Christians. We are to pursue the love of others.

We are to care for them, not just during emergency situations or times of obvious need, rather we are to simply look for things we can do anytime.

Hospitality is a Biblical standard. Our homes and lives should be open to help those in need. All believers should be known by their love and hospitality.

When we are hospitable to others we may never fully realize the ramifications of our kindness. We don’t do this just to feel good about ourselves, we do it because it is the right thing to do and God wants us to do it. We do it for Him.

Jesus tells us that when we are hospitable and ministering to others we are doing the same to Him. Likewise, if we turn our backs on others, then we are turning our backs to Him as well.

If you get a change later on this afternoon or this week, read back through our scripture this morning and think and pray about ways in which you can improve your life as a Christian.

Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for our time in your Word this morning. Help us to be better Christians so that others may truly see Christ in us. AMEN