People confuse morality with spirituality all the time — and that includes apparently Christian people who mistakenly think that godliness has to do with worldly politics (and supporting certain political characters who assume a moral posture or offer up “conservative” sounding messages). Think again. Yeshua’s kingdom is not of this world, and he was never politically active or involved in the politics of this world (see John 18:36; Luke 17:21). No, his mission was to transform individual hearts through the miracle of regeneration, to call out a people who would surrender their lives to God and to love one another. Judas Iscariot was a “social activist” who wanted to change the fallen world in the name of morality, but we know his end… Being obsessed with worldly politics, fawning over a particular political candidate, believing that a mere man could change the world for God’s sake — all this is sheer idolatry and folly. “Love not the world, neither the things of the world; if any one loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).
Ever since the time of the defunct “moral majority” of the 1970’s, the so-called “evangelical church” has conflated worldliness with spirituality, resulting in an adulterous blend of muddled pragmatic thinking. One negative consequence of “politicizing” Christianity is that if the preferred political candidate or movement does not succeed in changing society, then Christianity is regarded as a failure, and the message of Yeshua is considered ineffectual. On the contrary, a worthy theology understands that the LORD God is in the heavens and that categorically nothing is beyond His sovereign will and power (Isa. 40:28; Psalm 145:3; 147:5). We are not to be disappointed or “crushed” because a political candidate did not get reelected since we are citizens of heaven and our allegiance is to the King of all kings (Phil. 3:20-21; Col. 3:1-4). We are to “seek first” the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). Father Abraham “closed his eyes” to this world in order to behold the heavenly light. Looking to man and his schemes to solve the world’s problems is the essence of idolatry, since only the LORD our God is the Healer and Savior of people. Many people of the church would do well to weep over their misguided affections and ask the LORD for forgiveness for their worldliness and idolatries; many would do well to confess their lack of faith in the LORD and plead with heaven for the miracle of genuine regeneration. Dear friends, “God is the King over all the earth, sing his praise with understanding!” (Psalm 47:7).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 47:7 Hebrew reading:
Repentance begins with a broken human heart, not with political change… Maybe God doesn’t want your activism or political fervor as much as He wants you to humbly turn and seek Him with all your heart; maybe that is part of the message of Covid-19, after all. Maybe the Lord is tired of religious assemblies of the various apostate churches; maybe God is closing down the churches because He is no longer welcome there (Isa. 1:12-15). It is written that judgment will begin with the house of God (1 Peter 1:14).
The mandate of the gospel is not to go into all the world to reform the culture, but rather to go into all the world to make students of God’s truth in Messiah (Matt. 28:18-20). Genuine spiritual regeneration is not reformation of the lower nature but rather the creation of something amazingly new, the gift of eternal life from above. People may try to correct (or manipulate) human nature, but God’s way is to crucify the old nature by means of the miracle. The cross represents the instrumentality of the death of humanistic aspirations: it is the surrender of all human effort whatsoever. It is only after the cross that it may be said, “It is no longer ‘I’ who lives; now it is Messiah who lives His life in me” (Gal. 2:20). Our true identity, our spiritual life, our very reason for being is no longer found in this world and its vain philosophy. The cross brings these things to an end, as we “cross over” from the realm of the dead to the realm of life… “If then you have been raised with Messiah, seek the things that are above (τὰ ἄνω ζητεῖτε), where the Messiah is seated at the right hand of God; focus your thoughts on the things above – not on things here on earth – for you have died, and your life has been hidden with Messiah in God. Then when the Messiah, who is your life, appears, you too will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:1-4).
Die before you die; there is no chance after.” (C.S. Lewis)
But what about our moral duty to pursue justice and promote righteousness? And what about the threat of political tyranny and oppression, like we are seeing today? My answer is the same: We must trust God to engage the powers on our behalf: “Let God arise; let his enemies be scattered; let all that hate Him flee from before Him” (Psalm 68:1; Num. 10-35). First we submit ourselves to the Lord and then we resist the devil, in that order (James 4:7); first we seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then we trust that God’s will is done for our lives (Matt. 6:10-11; 6:33). We pray to God for deliverance from evil, but even if he allows us to be persecuted or oppressed, we will not bow down to the threats and devices of mere men (see Dan. 3:16-18).
I for one am exhausted by the contrived political dialectic – the prevarications, disinformation, and outright deception at work in the phony “left vs right” paradigm, the identity politics, the race-baiting, the fear-mongering, the “cancel culture,” verbal violence and disingenuous rhetoric coming from players on both sides of the artificial political divide… The so-called “choice” between the lesser of two evils is still evil, since in either case the truth about reality is denied and suppressed. I am tired of the “mass media” (that is, a very small and overly influential group that programs public opinion and creates “issues” of the day) playing both sides – left and right – off of one another while they secretly promote their own godless agenda. To understand how this works, simply back up and carefully examine the unspoken assumptions at work in the so-called “daily news” (i.e., scripted programming) on the mainstream news and its indoctrinating affiliates. When you do that and actively “test the spirits,” you will discern godless thinking and scheming at every turn. Enough, friends; we are not to be ignorant of Satan and his devices (2 Cor. 2:11).
Excuses are sometimes made that this evil “dialectic” is somehow “necessary” or “inevitable,” though saying so may be a veiled form of compromise to justify the choice of the lesser of two evils… We are called to be “pure of heart” and walk in the Spirit of truth, and therefore the lies served up by the “devil’s logic” are abhorrent to us. Indeed, since all of the “world news” is based on false assumptions, the entire system is unsound and therefore deceptive.
The advent of the Covid-19 virus – whatever its true cause – provides an opportunity to turn to God and seek the truth of his very near Presence. We must entertain, however, the possibility that it may also serve as a corrective scourge permitted by God directed to lukewarm and apostate churches as well. Indeed many churches today have forsaken the truth and are therefore confounded in their thinking along with the godless world at large. Yeshua came to set people free from slavery to the darkness of the lower nature by creating within the heart of faith an entirely new nature that transcends this world of unreality and despair.
It may not be possible to “opt out” of the realm of politics altogether, though “know that the Lord sets apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I cry out to him” (Psalm 4:3). Yeshua told us we would be “in” but not “of” the world, and prayed that we would be kept from the evil one: We are not “of” the world since we are sanctified by God’s truth (John 17:15-17). Our relationship with the political world is derived from a different realm and perspective than “social justice warriors” and those who justify doing evil that good may come. I sincerely believe in the power of prayer, asking God to intervene and bring good out of evil, though the prerogative always belongs to Him alone as to all outcomes. In all things we are to trust in the Lord and know Him in all our ways (Prov. 3:5-6).
Hebrew Lesson
Proverbs 3:5-6 Hebrew reading:
The Lord has his sovereign plans and purposes and we must trust in him even if the whole world turns away, and even if we don’t understand why things are the way they are. God does not give us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7). Yeshua gives the trusting heart peace (John 14:27), and there is no fear in God’s love! (1 John 4:18). At the end of the age Yeshua wondered if there would be any who would stay faithful to God (Luke 18:8). People tend to get focused on the wrong things, even (and perhaps especially) on things that seem good. The most important thing is for someone to come to know the Lord, to be regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit, and to walk in the sanctity of his love. Other things than this are a distraction.
Worldly politics is the devil’s game… Look the true LORD over all and find peace!