LATEST NEWS – This is another in our series of articles which include the end times and personal testimonies as we continue to build our blog page. Please feel free to visit us by clicking on the image at the bottom of this article. We’d love to hear from you. Pastor Steven Birnie…

Our Political Views as Christians

QUESTIONS ANSWERED SERIES

Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians who were under the rule of the Roman Empire…

(Rom 13:1-5) “… Let every soul be subject to the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever, therefore, resists the power, resists the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Will you then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and you will have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid; for he bears not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that does evil. Wherefore, you must needs be subject, not only for wrath but also for conscience sake…” 

Paul’s letter to the Apostle Timothy in Ephesus with instructions for the people…

(1Ti 2:1-4) “…I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men. For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour. Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth…”

The Works which God considers to be unholy mindsets, attitudes, and actions…

(Gal 5:19)  “…Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies. Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings…”

The word seditions is becoming a rare term to use in the English language, however, in the Word of God, we find it as being part of the major teachings of changing our mind from fleshly words and actions, to that of the Spirit of God. Its basic meaning is ‘unlawful speech or actions toward the authority of a state, government or monarch.’ Therefore, this explanation of what God means by seditions, as well as the above combination of verses, can draw up a series of very serious considerations, for those who agree with the teachings of Jesus.

The most difficult aspect of this particular subject arises from when God says – “…there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God…”  But the simple answer is, that we have close to absolutely no idea, of what it is God sees and the kind of decisions He has to make to stop mankind destroying itself. Again, this can still be a little difficult to take on board, with the state of the world today, but when you examine what the tribulation period world will look like, this age is pale in comparison. The contrast between the two is astounding and when we understand this, we can see that God is actually containing situations and movements, rather than controlling, because this would come against His decision, of man’s free will.

So what of seditions? How can we speak or act toward governments, when God’s says that you speak against Him and His decisions? The answer again is fairly simple; as Christians, we’re called to pray for all who are in authority and those Christians working in the corridors of power. We‘re to submit to the law, as long as this doesn’t conflict with God’s requirement because when we submit, we don’t really submit to that authority, we submit ourselves to God knowing He sees the global picture. We can only comment on what we can see, and that picture tends to be incomplete with many conflicting opinions and actions. But, God sees not only the intentions of these public figures, but the covert works of darkness, working in the background and this is the key to the above verses.

There was a fact that during the unrest in Northern Ireland, that the Uk’s armed forces were foiling 14 bombing attempts, for every 1 which succeeded. Because of the death and destruction, this fact was understandably forgotten. This illustrates God’s position, of having to contain mankind’s evil and keep His promise of free will. How many Hitlers did God actually stop in their tracks over the centuries? How many genocides, invasions and foreign rule has the Lord prevented over the course of history? It boggles the mind, God has upon His shoulders, decisions which would crush the human mind, with so many factors involved, both seen and unseen, to keep us from the absolute destruction of sin.

With this mindset in place, we’d do well to hold our tongue at times, however, holding our opinions completely, would not fall within the meaning of seditions. The works of the flesh show us, that unlawful speech and actions should be avoided, but the other side of that coin is, lawful speech and actions toward governments are a good thing. The basis of our lives in the eyes of God is a democracy, we know this because of God’s desire that men and women, be free within the law of the land. This means, that when governments do make irrational and sometimes downright unwise policies, it’s up to the people to lawfully, have their voices heard and the governments to take notice. In a perfect world, of course! One last thought to consider….

(Matt 24:6) “…And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet…”

What Should our Political Views be as Christians? ******** What Should our Political Views be as Christians? ******* What Should our Political Views be as Christians? ********* What Should our Political Views be as Christians? ******** What Should our Political Views be as Christians? ******** What Should our Political Views be as Christians? ********