Grace and Politics
Grace and Politics
Friday March 16, 2018
Each day, more and more, the trajectory of the world is moving to a new normal; violence, wars, terrorism, political hostility, and total breakdown in morals is the new normal. Shootings like the ones in Las Vegas and Parkland Florida are quickly becoming the norm. Terrorist attacks that were once on the other side of the world have now reached our communities. Politicians, rather than solving issues, seek to polarize society for the sake of gaining power. In Delaware, the proposed regulation, #225, grants children as young as five years old the option to select their own gender and race in their schools without parental notification. Many of the ruling class have concluded that masculinity is toxic and are aggressively seeking the elimination of manhood in society. Their agenda is to eliminate the alpha male and replace him with a new female version of the beta male. This is an alarming trajectory, but what is most alarming is the steady decline of Christianity and it’s positive influence in this generation.
“… the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” – Acts 20:24 NIV
As Christians, you and I have been charged with the task of testifying to the Good News of God’s grace. But sadly, many Christians believe that our task is to pursue the application of God’s laws and moral standards in our societies. Every time we do this we alienate large portions of people in our society from the Good News of God’s grace. Often times because our political discourse divides people, we alienate about half of the non-believing population from receiving the Good News. God’s laws and moral standards were never intended for those who walk far from him. When God gave the people of Israel the law, the Ten Commandments, they were given as a covenant between God and his people and not between God and the rest of the world. This does not mean that Christians should try to influence the political process. What I am saying is that God is more interested in us influencing the world through acts of grace not acts of political discourse. What I am saying is that we become far more influential in the political process when we see our task to spread grace above our inclination to spread our ideological Biblical beliefs. Which, by the way most Christian denominations cannot even agree on.
One of the biggest dilemmas Jesus had in dealing with his disciples was that they saw Jesus as the solution to their political situation. They saw Jesus as their liberator from the oppressive Roman Empire. But Jesus never launched a single political attack on Rome. On the contrary, the Romans would seek him and instead of condemning them or politically correcting them, Jesus out of pure grace blessed them. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, his disciples began to understand the enormous power of grace. A short time after they took it upon themselves to share the Gospel of grace and years later the once anti-God nation of Rome became the launching pad for Christianity worldwide. Our task is to share the Good News of God’s grace; the grace that has the power to transform our societies and even entire nations.
Questions
- How do you see the trajectory of our present-day society?
- Is Christianity partly responsible for what is happening now? How so?
- What do you believe our task in society is supposed to be?
- Are we Christians fulfilling the task of testifying to the Good News of God’s grace? Explain.
- Throughout the history of the church, has Christianity and It’s mission benefitted more from political discourse or through the preaching of grace in words and deeds? Why?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I want to be a positive impact in my community. I do not want to contribute to the present-day, new normal, I want to impact the world the same way Jesus did, by sharing the Good News with grace and by doing good deeds that reflect your love and goodness. Help me to be that change in the world, help me to reflect Jesus, help me to be a positive impact in a hurting society. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
