What Does the Bible Say about Christians and Politics - Dutch Sheets - GiveHIM15 * 4/26/2022 - Government

[ronscarpa]

• • 6 min read          https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-26-2022

 

April 26, 2022

What Does the Bible Say about Christians and Politics

 

 

Satan is the master of deception. He is crafty, wily. This is actually the first thing spoken about him in scripture. “Now the serpent was more crafty (arowm) than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made” (Genesis 3:1.) Based on the Law of First Mention, that makes this truth the most important thing God wants us to know about satan. Arowm means “shrewd, wily, cunning, crafty, or sly,” usually in a bad sense. Its root word, aram, means to be “slick, bare, or smooth.” We still use the concept today when we say of one who is shrewdly deceitful, they are “slick,” or “a smooth operator.” Satan is much more dangerous to us as the wily serpent than he is as the roaring lion.

 

 

Satan is crafty, a master deceiver and distorter of truth. He is the father of lies. This is how he rules. Though not the subject of this teaching, the concept of ekklesia is a prime example. The devil’s strategy centuries ago was to influence King James to translate this word as “church” and define it as a building or worship service. King James did not like the true meaning of ekklesia due to its governmental concept. Because this demonic deception worked, for centuries the body of Christ was blinded to the fact that we are God’s legislative, governing body on earth, not just Christ’s bride. In this context, satan did not overpower us; he deceived us and thereby gained influence.

 

 

Another area where satan has used his crafty, deceptive abilities, and the subject I want to discuss in the next couple of posts, is in the area of government and politics. My desire is to instruct, enlighten, strengthen good information and understanding, correct some wrong paradigms, and arm you with truth as you speak to others.

 

 

The title, Lord, which certainly refers to God’s rule or government, is used 7946 times in Scripture. The first chapter of the Bible mentions the Lord delegating His governmental authority over the earth to human beings…right next to the family mandate, “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:26-28). That is placing it at a pretty high level of importance! When He gave Adam dominion, the word in Hebrew is mashal, which means government or management. God told Adam, “You will govern, manage, or rule the earth for me.” Actually, the entire Bible is about who is going to rule the earth. And yet, the subject is taboo to most Christian leaders. This is almost shocking.

 

 

One pastor I know, during the 2020 election controversy, told his congregation, “We are not going to get involved in this one way or the other.” And that included, by the way, praying regarding the election process.

 

 

While conversing several years ago with another influential pastor of a large, charismatic church, I asked him if he taught his congregation about the necessity of voting based on biblical ideals and principles. His response to me was, “Why would I defile what God is doing in our church by discussing something as evil as politics?”

 

 

Both of these sincere men are pro-life, pro-biblical marriage (between one man and one woman), and would vehemently oppose the movement to teach kindergartners that they can choose to be a gender other than what God made them. These, of course, are all biblical issues, critical to the moral fabric of individuals and nations. And to a great extent, they are determined through government legislation, yet these leaders felt the church was no place to discuss them, make a stand, or even pray regarding them.

 

 

By saying we will not discuss government and moral issues in a church service, is this not the equivalent of saying some parts of the Bible are off-limits in our services? By refusing to pray for elections, asking God to give us righteous leaders and refusing to speak about these issues, are we not separating ourselves from part of who God is? He IS government! (Isaiah 33:22) (I will talk more about this subject tomorrow.)

 

 

The following developments have taken place thus far under the Biden administration:

 

• They have created the worst border situation in our history. Millions of undocumented people are flowing into our nation; people are being trafficked by the hundreds, if not thousands; hundreds of children are coming into our nation without parents; terrorists are no doubt entering; and the drug problem is at an unprecedented level.

• Our reckless withdrawal from Afghanistan has resulted in one of the worst debacles in our history. We left hundreds, if not thousands, of people behind to be slaughtered by the Taliban, wasted 20 years of effort, gave $70-$80 billion worth of weapons to the Taliban, and allowed them to re-establish a stronghold for terrorism.

• We were energy independent, but now are dependent on our enemies for oil. Gas prices are skyrocketing and there is no end in sight. By buying their oil, we are arming our enemies with billions of dollars to use against us. None of this makes any sense whatsoever.

• The authoritarian COVID-19 mandates have been ridiculous beyond comprehension. They have destroyed lives, livelihoods, and people's health, including the cognitive development of our children.

• Crime has surged, and murder rates are off the charts. Our government’s politics against police agencies have compounded this significantly.

• We now have record inflation. Many experts are saying we have not come close to where this will ultimately end. Frankly, their spending is out of control by trillions of dollars, and our economy is hanging by a thread.

• They have declared war on parents, who do not want their children taught transgenderism, a new and revised history of America, and woke-ism. The Biden administration threatened these parents and called them terrorists. (1)

I point out these things not to attack President Biden. I point them out to emphasize the importance of government. It is not peripheral; it is not extra-biblical. It is critical, and it is spiritual. We, the church must shift in our thinking.

 

 

Here are some readily accepted concepts by many in the body of Christ regarding government, which I will address in tomorrow’s post, and perhaps subsequent posts, as well:

 

• Politics and government are the same thing.

• Politics and government are corrupt, even evil, therefore we should stay away from them as much as possible.

• Politics and government are divisive.

• Since they are evil and divisive, politics and government have no place in the church or our Christian gatherings/services.

• Even if a Christian does become involved in politics/government, she or he should leave this out of church settings.

• It is illegal to talk about politics or government in church. A church could lose its tax-exempt status by doing so.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that with these philosophies and beliefs, we will inevitably hand over control of much of the earth to unbelievers. At that point, our only hope for righteous laws and principles being legislated is that God will sovereignly overrule those who don’t agree with Him. We sit back, hoping and praying that He will overthrow evil and give us righteous laws, in spite of our lack of involvement.

 

 

He will not.

 

 

Let’s fix this. Let’s see what God says about government, and through the tools Holy Spirit has given us, turn this nation around!

 

 

Pray with me:

 

Father, You are doing much in this season of time to equip Your people. Obviously, this involves paradigm shifts in what we believe and in the way we approach portions of our lives. None of us are perfect in our theology and understanding of Your ways. We humbly acknowledge this and ask You to increase our knowledge and revelation.

 

Teach us Your ways regarding government. Show us how to involve You in our lives, families, cities, and nations through authority, through government. As we learn Your ways, the crafty serpent will not be able to take advantage of us. Many are so often destroyed through a lack of knowledge. Help us to correct this in the incredibly important area of government. We want righteous laws and statutes governing our lives and nation. We believe You can help us turn around this country and correct this horrible mess we have made. We ask You for this, and all of these things, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

 

Our decree:

 

We decree that revelation is coming to the body of Christ regarding her role in government.

 

 

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Click on the link below to watch the full video.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1. Adapted from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/02/28/7-major-failures-of-the-biden-presidency/