Dual Citizenship and Our Political Involvement

As Christians, we are citizens of heaven first and foremost. Yet, we are also citizens of whatever earthly location the Lord has sovereignly placed us. So, what does this mean for our political involvement?  Justin Taylor has some helpful thoughts at his blog here.  He says,

We are dual citizens, responsible and active members of both God’s spiritual kingdom and earthly kingdom. And if we seek to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and strength—and to love our neighbor as ourselves—then we should care to some degree about politics and elections and the role of government in our land.

He goes on to say that some of us care too much about politics. Taylor says, "We all are tempted to idolatry and we all need to be warned against it. 'Some trust in chariots and some in horses [and some in political candidates], but we trust in the name of the LORD our God' (Ps. 20:7)."

But some of us care too little. We should care about voting and the direction of our earthly nation because as Christians everything we do (including voting) is to be done to the glory of God. Also, we are to care about the good of our neighbor. "If you have to choose between evangelism and politics, choose evangelism. Saving an eternal soul is more important than fixing a temporal need. But most of the time, we don’t have to choose."

His summary is helpful. "There are more important things in life than politics. It’s easy to become an idolatry. But it’s also easy to be too apathetic."  

So, let's be praying for the upcoming election and let's be thinking about how our heavenly citizenship should impact the way we exercise our role as a citizen of our country.

Joyful Grief: Thoughts on Losing My Grandpa

This past week we made the ten hour drive to Lake Charles, LA for my grandpa's funeral. He is a Christian, and he made his calling and election clear by his life of faithful service to the Savior. Here a few thoughts about death and my grandpa.

1. We live in a fallen world. It sounds obvious, but unless we realize that fact we will be surprised by the trials and difficulties we face. Or, on the other hand, we will assume death is normal. It is an event that happens all around us, but it is not normal. It is a part of life in a fallen, sin-cursed world, but it is not how it was originally made nor is it how it will one day be. Death is an enemy.
2. The sting of death has been removed by Jesus Christ. In Jesus perfect life, substitutionary death, and glorious resurrection, death has been swallowed up in victory for those who are in Him. There is no second death, eternal death, for those in Christ. Only those who are in Jesus, by faith in his work on their behalf, have such hope. Only those who have been born again will not face death twice. My grandpa was a godly man, but what secured his eternal destiny, and in fact made him a godly man, was that he recognized he was a sinner and trusted in Jesus. I am thankful for his legacy of faith in Jesus Christ. I pray God will give me grace to finish the race well too.
3. My grandpa is with the Lord at this moment.  He trusted in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of his sins and the hope of eternal life. Now he sees that this hope was not in vain. He is absent from the body but present with the Lord. I am so happy for him even as I am sad to not have him here pretending to give me "wet-willies" (they were always dry-willies) and speaking with a Cajun accent.
4. Even though he is with the Lord, he awaits his glorified body. As wonderful as this intermediary state is for him, there is still a grand finale coming when the Lord will raise up our bodies. We will not live as disembodied spirits forever. We will be physically raised, and our resurrected bodies will not be subject to the decay and cancer that ravaged my grandpa.
5. To paraphrase Paul Tripp, "Christians should be the saddest and most joyful people on earth." We are the saddest because we not only experience the pain and destruction of living in a broken world but because we know how glorious it was originally made. The naturalist just assumes this "normal." We know it is not. Even though we have deep sorrow, we are also the most joyful people on earth because we know the Redeemer. We know the One who has come to remove sin and reverse the curse. We have a hope that cannot be shaken. Nothing will separate us from the love of Christ. Therefore, we do not grieve as those who have no hope. 

That is the nature of my grief. A sad, hope-filled, joyful grief.

A Wise Way to Stand up for Your Moral Convictions

Here are some good thoughts by Greg Koukl to keep in mind when standing up for your Christian convictions.

If you’re placed in a situation where you suspect your convictions will be labeled intolerant, bigoted, narrow-minded, and judgmental, turn the tables.  When someone asks for your personal views about a moral issue—homosexuality, for example—preface your remarks with a question.

You say:  “You know, this is actually a very personal question you’re asking, and I’d be glad to answer.  But before I do, I want to know if you consider yourself a tolerant person or an intolerant person.  Is it safe to give my opinion, or are you going to judge me for my point of view?  Do you respect diverse ideas, or do you condemn others for convictions that differ from yours?”  Let them answer.  If they say they’re tolerant (which they probably will), then when you give your point of view it’s going to be very difficult for them to call you intolerant or judgmental without looking guilty, too.

This response capitalizes on the fact that there’s no morally neutral ground.  Everybody has a point of view they think is right and everybody judges at some point or another.  The Christian gets pigeon-holed as the judgmental one, but everyone else is judging, too.  It’s an inescapable consequence of believing in any kind of morality.

"The Gospel of Jesus Wife:" What are we to think?

Perhaps you have heard in the news about this new "gospel" about Jesus having a wife. I put gospel in quotes because it is actually a fragment (about 13 partial lines of Coptic text). It is estimated that it (if genuine) was composed between the 4th and 7th Century AD. 

If you don't really know much about it, you can find a summary of what it is and says here. I found a comment by scholar Dr. Darrell L. Bock a helpful summary of what this "discovery" means:  

It is one speck of a fringe text in a sea of texts that say Jesus was single. It, if authentic, is the exception, to the rule of texts we have on Jesus. Thus, in the end, even if it says what people are suggesting, it tells us only about a fourth century group's views, not anything about Jesus.1

1. http://blogs.bible.org/bock/darrell_l._bock/quick_thoughts_on_the_new_jesus_wife_text

"Christian Values Cannot Save Anyone"

Here is a great article by Al Mohler on the all too common idea in our culture that Christian values are the most important thing. The whole thing is worth reading, but here is an excerpt:

Christian values are the problem. Hell will be filled with people who were avidly committed to Christian values. Christian values cannot save anyone and never will. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a Christian value, and a comfortability with Christian values can blind sinners to their need for the gospel.

He is not saying a person's values don't matter (read the article and you'll see that). The point is that Jesus didn't come to save those who thought they were good. In fact, those who think they are pretty good (ie. have Christian values) are the least likely to think they need a savior.

Parents who raise their children with nothing more than Christian values should not be surprised when their children abandon those values. If the child or young person does not have a firm commitment to Christ and to the truth of the Christian faith, values will have no binding authority, and we should not expect that they would. Most of our neighbors have some commitment to Christian values, but what they desperately need is salvation from their sins. This does not come by Christian values, no matter how fervently held. Salvation comes only by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

A good reminder for us all. Are we committed simply to our morals or are we committed to Christ (who does in fact transform our values)?

Why the Pro-Life Position Should be the Default Position

A good video with Peter Kreeft on why the pro-life position should be the default position for a person unless he or she knows for sure that what is being aborted isn't human life.

A Caution to Young, Culture-Embracing Evangelicals