Everlasting Life
By grace, through faith in Jesus
This is a great article (I hope this is the right place to post). I've posted some key quotes and summarized (in italics) the rest because the whole article is really good and I believe very wise. It starts out with Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler saying how we are in a "strange political time", “a constitutional crisis for the United States,” with the last thing needed is for Christians to move into a pattern of revenge through lawfare.
washingtonstand.com
......“This lawfare is going to be very tempting” for conservatives, Mohler admitted. Yet, he added, “I can’t think of many things that are actually more dangerous for our [country]. But the one thing that would add danger is conservatives gaining control and trying to do the same thing. This is the destruction of the rule of law. We have to be the people who uphold the rule of law.”
“This lawfare is going to be destructive of every administration,” Mohler continued. “It’s just going to be a matter of ruthless power [where] whoever gets elected tries to put the previous president in prison. That’s ridiculous!”
“When we do not have the framework that gives people confidence that justice will prevail in the end,” Perkins predicted, “business stops, the economy tanks, we begin to experience all of these other issues.” That’s why “we as Christians have to think through these issues and understand [that] we have an absolute interest in and commitment to the rule of law,” Mohler urged. “That means we call it out when it fails.”.......
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins agreed, citing 1 Samuel 24:3-7...... On the way he came to the sheepfolds where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the cave’s innermost recesses. David’s men said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will hand over your enemy to you, and you shall do to him as seems good to you.’” Then David arose [in the darkness] and stealthily cut off the hem (edge) of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the hem of Saul’s robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, since he is the anointed of the Lord.” So David strongly rebuked his men with these words and did not let them rise up against Saul. Saul got up, left the cave and went on his way. AMP
.....adding that David trusted God's faithfulness and honored God's law over political gain (reminds me of Jesus). Romans 12:19 was also referred to: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord".
Mohler goes on to say that while the political process is a mess, the answer is to help clean it up, not withdraw. Perkins in essence encourages purposefulness in moving along the path of Christ rather than in reactive 'eye for eye' or 'tooth for tooth'. Reading between the lines, what I'm 'hearing' is there's a choice of either escalating, utilizing the tools of our enemy or prayerfully redirecting in the right direction and trusting the Lord to show the paths.
Mohler encourages pastors to take the time to help their congregations understand what's right and wrong biblically in regards to cultural issues of the day and how that directly plays out in society. I like what he said here,
....This civic engagement should flow out of good preaching, Mohler declared. “The preaching of the gospel gives us not only the hope and the assurance of everlasting life and the forgiveness of sins,” he said. “It also gives us the right temporal understanding for why we’re left in this world right now and what our responsibility is.”....
And the final points of both Mohler and Perkins was to engage with the Lord's joy so as not to lose hope and peace Christians have in Jesus, Mohler said:
.....Mohler double-clicked on that point as an exhortation for pastors to “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (1 Timothy 4:16). “Many of us who contend for the family — we better make really clear that we find such great joy in our families. Those of us who contend for marriage as a union of a man and a woman, had better make clear we find such joy in God’s plan for marriage,” he said. “We’re the people who are not to lose our joy because it’s Christ’s command that we not lose our joy.” So the Christian’s motivation to engage in politics “is not just getting angry, but being fully active and doing so in the joy of Christ,” emphasized Mohler.
As I read Mohler's last comments here I was struck with the thought of how important it is as Christians to follow the Lord and then, before engaging with society, to first and foremost attend to our marriages, families, churches and then communities at large. Making sure that our marriages (or our lives, for those who are single), families and churches are spiritually healthy to build a strong foundation for reaching out to the community as well. We need to be able to show the way in the examples in our own lives and like David, joyfully trust the Lord for any needed changes within those structures God has set up. Our neighbors need to see happy marriages, our kid's friends need to see a healthy family our communities need to see a healthy church so that they too will desire these things for themselves. Just as one sees overhanging fruit of grapes and is drawn in to try some, so too will those investigate closer as Christians display the fruits of the Holy Spirit in abidence in the Lord Jesus Christ
Mohler: Christians Must Resist Urge for ‘Revenge by Lawfare’
The felony conviction of former President Donald Trump has created a "strange political time," even "a constitutional crisis for the United States," Southern Ba
......“This lawfare is going to be very tempting” for conservatives, Mohler admitted. Yet, he added, “I can’t think of many things that are actually more dangerous for our [country]. But the one thing that would add danger is conservatives gaining control and trying to do the same thing. This is the destruction of the rule of law. We have to be the people who uphold the rule of law.”
“This lawfare is going to be destructive of every administration,” Mohler continued. “It’s just going to be a matter of ruthless power [where] whoever gets elected tries to put the previous president in prison. That’s ridiculous!”
“When we do not have the framework that gives people confidence that justice will prevail in the end,” Perkins predicted, “business stops, the economy tanks, we begin to experience all of these other issues.” That’s why “we as Christians have to think through these issues and understand [that] we have an absolute interest in and commitment to the rule of law,” Mohler urged. “That means we call it out when it fails.”.......
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins agreed, citing 1 Samuel 24:3-7...... On the way he came to the sheepfolds where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the cave’s innermost recesses. David’s men said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will hand over your enemy to you, and you shall do to him as seems good to you.’” Then David arose [in the darkness] and stealthily cut off the hem (edge) of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the hem of Saul’s robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, since he is the anointed of the Lord.” So David strongly rebuked his men with these words and did not let them rise up against Saul. Saul got up, left the cave and went on his way. AMP
.....adding that David trusted God's faithfulness and honored God's law over political gain (reminds me of Jesus). Romans 12:19 was also referred to: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord".
Mohler goes on to say that while the political process is a mess, the answer is to help clean it up, not withdraw. Perkins in essence encourages purposefulness in moving along the path of Christ rather than in reactive 'eye for eye' or 'tooth for tooth'. Reading between the lines, what I'm 'hearing' is there's a choice of either escalating, utilizing the tools of our enemy or prayerfully redirecting in the right direction and trusting the Lord to show the paths.
Mohler encourages pastors to take the time to help their congregations understand what's right and wrong biblically in regards to cultural issues of the day and how that directly plays out in society. I like what he said here,
....This civic engagement should flow out of good preaching, Mohler declared. “The preaching of the gospel gives us not only the hope and the assurance of everlasting life and the forgiveness of sins,” he said. “It also gives us the right temporal understanding for why we’re left in this world right now and what our responsibility is.”....
And the final points of both Mohler and Perkins was to engage with the Lord's joy so as not to lose hope and peace Christians have in Jesus, Mohler said:
.....Mohler double-clicked on that point as an exhortation for pastors to “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (1 Timothy 4:16). “Many of us who contend for the family — we better make really clear that we find such great joy in our families. Those of us who contend for marriage as a union of a man and a woman, had better make clear we find such joy in God’s plan for marriage,” he said. “We’re the people who are not to lose our joy because it’s Christ’s command that we not lose our joy.” So the Christian’s motivation to engage in politics “is not just getting angry, but being fully active and doing so in the joy of Christ,” emphasized Mohler.
As I read Mohler's last comments here I was struck with the thought of how important it is as Christians to follow the Lord and then, before engaging with society, to first and foremost attend to our marriages, families, churches and then communities at large. Making sure that our marriages (or our lives, for those who are single), families and churches are spiritually healthy to build a strong foundation for reaching out to the community as well. We need to be able to show the way in the examples in our own lives and like David, joyfully trust the Lord for any needed changes within those structures God has set up. Our neighbors need to see happy marriages, our kid's friends need to see a healthy family our communities need to see a healthy church so that they too will desire these things for themselves. Just as one sees overhanging fruit of grapes and is drawn in to try some, so too will those investigate closer as Christians display the fruits of the Holy Spirit in abidence in the Lord Jesus Christ
