It's been a while since my last blog. I no longer do it that often; however, I felt the need to write down a couple of thoughts.
Our country is consumed again with news stories and tragedies of death; ICE agents have recently killed two individuals, and a 3rd person was critically injured in Arizona today. The government is being threatened to be shut down again, opinions are flying back and forth over whether these were justified killings or murders. For many people ICE agents are either doing their job honorably or are basically Nazi storm-troopers.
This blog is not about who is right as it pertains to the above. This blog is about what we as Christians should be focused on first and foremost. Hear me now - I am NOT saying that the above is unimportant. I am not saying that at all. What I am saying is that as a Christian, it is NOT of primary importance.
Before people get angry; hear me out. When Jesus walked the earth the Roman Government militarily occupied the homeland of our Lord. They placed Jewish puppet rulers above the people [think the line of Herod] and there were unjust oppression, taxes, and murder [remember everyone 2 years old and younger were slaughtered by Herod (Matthew 2:16-18); also remember Jesus refers to Pontus Pilate slaughtering Galileans in the Temple - thus defiling religion and committing mass murder (Luke 13:1)]
In addition, Jesus lived in a time of tremendous racial animus: remember that Jews had no dealings with Samaritans - and that was due to the perceived racial makeup of the Samaritans. The Samaritans had mixed their genetics with the Assyrians and they were seen as, "half-breeds." It was so bad that Jews simply would not talk with Samaritans and Samaritans would not talk with Jews. And hey, they both hated the Gentiles.
It was in a world like this that Jesus walked the earth. And do you want to know what is so amazing? There are almost no recorded words of Jesus that addresses any of these situations. None. That was not his focus. His focus was on saving Romans, Samaritans, Jews, and Gentiles. That was His focus. He spoke to the Samaritan woman and revealed that He is the Messiah, He raised and healed the Centurion's son, and He healed numerous Jews. He was on a mission - and that mission was not to make this sinful place perfect - it was to forgive the sins of people so they would be made perfect in the sight of His Father through the Son. He was interested in healing the souls of those that were lost and to bring them to repent of their sin and believe in Him.
He ate with tax collectors and sinners - not to excuse their sin but to assure them that there is hope in turning from their sin and believing in Him.
He was exceptionally harsh with the religious leaders of the day - so as to turn them to repentance and faith in Him.
He never told one soldier to stop soldiering. He never told one politician to stop being the leader. Search the Scriptures - He didn't do it.
Jesus' goal was NOT to make this place politically better. If that was His goal, He failed; cause...things did not get politically better...I mean, His people were persecuted, the Temple was destroyed, those who were racially his kin were dispersed in a great persecution. If the goal of Jesus was to make this place politically more palatable...He is an abject failure.
This is why some aspects of today's Christianity [those that turn the Gospel into political activism] anger me so; because that was NOT the primary mission of Jesus. It simply wasn't. He died to save the world from sin. People are going to hell because they do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; and He came to save the world.
Now, on THAT score, Jesus has been successful - for the good news of Jesus Christ has spread to the whole world; so much so that North Korean's in prison camps are coming to faith in Jesus and are being saved; the Chinese underground church is thriving amidst persecution, the Muslim world continues to be infiltrated with the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that people are being saved.
Christ came to save sinners; of which we all are one.
Beloved, if you find yourself more passionate about the news than you are about the lost, there is a problem.
If you find yourself more passionate about politics than you do for the spreading of the Gospel, there is a problem.
If you find yourself talking more about the politics of the day than you do about your Lord, there is an issue.
If you find yourself cutting off friendships over who people voted for, just ask yourself a question - is that what our Lord did? Beloved, He was interested in everyone - and if you have lost interest in people you disagree with, shame on you.
Just read the book of Acts; and in reading, ask yourself a question, "what were the followers of Jesus interested in doing in this book? Were they focused on the political situation of the day or were they focused somewhere else? If they were focused somewhere else, where were they focused?"
I am a political science major and I have lots of political ideas and thoughts; this blog is written to me first and foremost so that I can keep my focus where it needs to be.
I also give thanks to God that I live in a country that is a Constitutional Republic and I pray we are able to keep it. I give thanks to God for the faith of our founders who wrote the principals of our Republic down [even if they did not always live up to the ideals written].
But even saying that, if our republic dies, my faith doesn't and Christ is still alive; for my true purpose is not found in this place, for my citizenship is in heaven [Philippians 3].
Here is the deal Christians; the mission of God is stated perfectly by our Lord, and we ought not change it. It is His first spoken words in the book of Mark, - they are the words of Mark 1:14-15, "Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
And what is the Gospel? The Gospel is this: we have morally failed. We have sinned against God and deserve only His wrath. We are destined for hell but God loves us so: so much so that He sent Jesus, His only begotten Son, to live a life of perfect obedience and love that we could not live, die a death we all deserve to pay for the sins of the world, and to rise from the dead so that we might enjoy everlasting life at Christ's right hand. That is what the Christian is passionate about - and the Christian is passionate about everyone knowing that salvation.
I will end with Galatians 3:26-28, " for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
God bless,
Pastor Chris
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