Recently I’ve had a couple posts that show the importance of Christians engaging the public square. If you know me, you are not surprised by these posts since I have consistently taught the importance of engaging the public square through my whole pastoral career.
What I want to do in this post is to clear up some misunderstandings that many Christians have regarding the public arena. In addition to clearing up the misunderstanding that Christians must stay in the middle and not be partisan (which I addressed in the last two posts), here are some other misunderstandings I will address.
We Must Either Serve The Gospel Or The Public Arena
Too many Christians think that one cancels out the other. Yet, the New Testament is clear that good works should flow from our embrace of the gospel since we are changed people (Eph. 2:8-10). In fact we should be zealous to carry out good works (Titus 2:14) and so should devote ourselves to them (Titus 3:14) so that God is glorified (Mt. 5:16).
Think about it this way: Do you believe that meeting the physical needs of people (feeding, clothing, housing, giving aid to those sick or hurt, etc.) opposes or snuffs out an emphasis upon the gospel? Most would say, as I have just argued, that these things flow out of a true embrace of the gospel and demonstrate that one’s faith profession is genuine. If all of this is the case, then to engage the public arena in a manner that would prevent hunger, homelessness, poverty, being hurt by lawlessness, etc., should also be an outworking of the gospel. This is especially the case in light of the fact that Scripture teaches the importance of work for our well-being and as part of our dignity (cf. Gen. 2:15; Prov. 6:6-11; 16:26; Eph. 4:28; 2 Thes. 3:10) and provision through work is the ultimate answer to all these issues (see Prov. 31:10-31). So, advocating policies that encourage work and created jobs is part of how we love others. Of course, we could also mention advocating pro-life legislation to save the lives of unborn children (see Ex. 20:13).
Remember that the New Testament calls us to live out our love for others in concrete ways to demonstrate its reality (James 1:27; 2:14-26; 1 John 3:11-4:12).
Involvement In The Public Square Signals a Wrong Focus For Salvation
Many times throughout the last forty plus years I have heard the argument made that involvement in the public arena necessarily signals a person is trusting in Washington, D.C., for example, for salvation. Though this argument is often made, I have known very few people for whom this is true—and I have known a lot of people who value engagement in the public square.
Again, the response is simply this: Such involvement is not what will save us. It is the outworking of our truly knowing Jesus Christ as Savior, and loving others because we love our Lord (cf. Mt. 22:37-40).
Because God Is Sovereign Over Who Is In Office, It Doesn’t Matter What We Do
It is true that God is absolutely sovereign over who is in office or not (cf. Dan. 2:20-21). Yet, it is equally true that God uses means to accomplish the outcomes he has decreed. In other words, he ordains both the means and the end. And so, the Apostle Paul can, at one and the same time, teach that God works all things after the counsel of his will (Eph. 1:11) and yet at the same time we reap what we sow (Gal. 6:7). The Bible teaches that we must believe both and that God’s sovereignty is never to negate the importance of our choices and actions.
One other point on this is that the same argument could be made for feeding the hungry or helping the homeless: Well, God will decide where they end up and how. So, we don’t need to do anything. Yet, we never make this argument. We somehow know we need to be involved in this. And yet, when it comes to the political arena, it just seems like we are looking for any excuse we can to justify our lack of involvement.
Involvement Inevitably Will Make Some People Think They Are Not Welcome In Our Church
It certainly is possible this can happen. But let’s be clear. I have experienced several times having gay or Lesbian people attend churches I have pastored for a time and leaving after a while (even though I never took up during that particular time the subject of homosexuality). It was simply the conviction of the Spirit through the Word of God that bothered them. Yet, at the same time, I could point to many more people who have come to churches I have pastored and who differed with all kinds of biblical teachings and yet have come to submit to them all due to the work of the Holy Spirit in them.
Since God changes people by His Spirit working through his Word, in response to prayer, and usually among his people, and since God calls us to be faithful to believe and to act upon his biblical truth, we dare not be disobedient.
In the long-run, God will bless our faithfulness to preach and stand for the whole counsel of his Word and it also is most likely the only way to see revival and reform in our culture.
Joyfully Engaging The Public Square With You For His Glory,
Tom Barnes
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