American Christians Seem to be Missing the Point, Part 1

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

We’ll get back to our other series – GABA, GABA, Doo – soon, but I wanted to discuss something else that has been of concern to me lately. I touched on this when I wrote the series about Dominionism, but we had a missionary gentleman at our church yesterday who summed things up nicely about how Christians in America tend to see themselves relative to the world around them and especially across the pond into Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He presented some slides that highlighted facts that most Christians are very likely unaware of today.

First, as noted on the slide called “The Extent of Persecution,” he told us that at least half of the world’s Christian population lives under persecution, with an average of 1,200 Christians being martyred every year. He also noted that there have been more martyrs in the 20th century than in all previous centuries combined.

Stop and consider these facts for a moment. This is not the first century where history tells us that the treatment of Christians was brutal and often abysmal with many Christians losing their lives for their faith. We are some 20 centuries removed from that first century and yet, martyrdom is higher now than it was then.

Here in America, we are too often kept safe from the type of persecution that visits many Christians throughout the world. It’s simply a fact of life in America that we do not experience the constant threat of brutality or death by those who are directly opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Certainly, there are criminals to be wary of, but generally, people are not assaulted, attacked, or murdered for their faith in Jesus. The exact opposite is true in many countries throughout the world. This, of course, is especially true in Islam-dominated countries where it is common for roving bands of Muslims (Taliban, ISIS, etc.), to kidnap, rape, torture, and kill Christians solely because they are Christians and for no other reasons.

The reason we do not experience this type of thing here in America is because it is America where the Bill of Rights and the Constitution itself reigns supreme, not Sharia law as in Islamic countries. Though many rights and privileges guaranteed within these documents are being constantly eroded, we Christians still benefit from the fact that they exist at least in some form. Because of this, we tend to see our “rights” as being sacrosanct and something that is even on par with God’s Word. For many Christians, whether they realize it or not, our rights here in America are often recognized as superseding the truth and authority of God’s Word, though they would never admit that.

In short, Christians in America have become exceedingly content with their lives. We love our lives so much that we see anyone as an enemy who attempts to change it through legislation or executive orders. There is a delicate balance that needs to be reached and maintained in a country like America because of the rights and privileges we have here. There is always the temptation to see those rights and privileges as something that is part of Christianity when in reality, they are not. We enjoy them because we are in America, many of us born and raised here. However, those rights are really secondary to Christianity, or should be, solely because our true citizenship is in heaven, not here on the earth (cf. Philippians 3:20). Too many Christians are zealous for their patriotism, but not their desire to fulfill the Great Commission of Matthew 28.

We love America so much that we see anyone who wants to destroy it as a personal enemy. When we do that, we fail to see that Jesus is the Master of our fate. Is He or is He not? It can’t be both or sometimes.

I was involved in a thread on a social network the other day where a number of Christians discussed how they would not submit to the government. One individual even quoted Romans 13 and then reasoned (inappropriately in my view), that God would not expect us to submit to an evil government so that person said he would not. Others in the thread agreed.

The problem with this mentality is that he misinterpreted the content of Romans 13, in my opinion. Certainly, he disagreed with me and kept to his position, but Romans 13 (as well as in other areas of Scripture), point out the importance of submitting to the authorities that God has set up. Many Christians are thoroughly upset that President Obama is the president. I disagree with many of Obama’s policies myself, yet ultimately, is it not God who allowed or even designed it so that Obama would become president? We don’t like to admit that, do we? We point to voter fraud, corruption in government, and other things (as I myself have done in the past), but we don’t credit God with ultimately creating a situation in which He chose/allowed the individual who is now president to be in that position. How is it possible with all the Christians praying day and night for God not to have overseen that situation? Whether voter fraud, corruption elsewhere, or something else entirely was the immediate vehicle that got Mr. Obama elected, isn’t it true that God Himself oversaw that entire situation?

So many Christians in America today have their eyes firmly set on themselves, not Jesus. Doesn’t it all go back to this one question: why did God leave us here after we became Christians? He could simply take each new Christian to heaven after they receive salvation, but He doesn’t do that. He leaves us here so there must be a reason for it, right?

Ask the Dominionist and he/she will tell you that we are here to change society. Go to Matthew 28 to hear Jesus tell us we are here to preach the gospel and introduce the lost to Jesus and salvation, making disciples of people from all nations. Yet, Christians in America are so concerned with the potential loss of rights that we have lost sight of our true purpose for being here in the first place. We have gotten lazy, self-indulgent, and self-absorbed.

When we focus on changing society, we pick and choose our “enemies” in that society. We see people who oppose us as enemies and begin treating them as such. We are incapable of seeing them as people loved by God and whom He does not want to perish. In fact, because we see them as enemies, we cannot see them as people who need salvation. It’s impossible to do both! Because we live in America, anyone who attempts to deprive us of our rights under the Constitution is considered our enemy. Politics first! Society must change all for God’s glory! That’s not what the Bible says. He will change society when He returns with His righteous judgment. We cannot do that, yet we persist in trying.

Historically speaking, every time persecution of Christians has increased, growth of the Church has also increased. Why is that? It is because Christians are forced to give up what they hold onto and cling to God. At that point, they learn to accept whatever He sends their way because they do understand then that He is Master and Lord. This is a tremendous witness and testimony to the people who see that attitude and demeanor because it turns their attention to God. Christians who are so busy fighting the political system are often seen as bigots, hate-mongers, racists, and the like. It destroys our testimony and hampers the spread of the gospel of Jesus. We must remove ourselves from that and God may allow or even send persecution our way to join us together in Him, make us stronger by removing all the things that appear to be propping up our lives, and bring us to the end of ourselves.

We’ll look at this a bit closer next time to determine what the truth is regarding Christians, persecution, and those who need the gospel throughout the world.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective