Imagine that you are on a large boat that was tied to a dock. You have been on it for days, enjoying the company of family and friends. Yet, what you are unaware of is the fact that the boat came untethered two days ago and slowly but surely you have floated out to sea. To make matters worse a storm is gathering that will put everyone on the boat at risk.
This is a good picture of where we are at in the United States. We are acting like it is still the 1960’s or 70’s and we are in a place in which the Church can still say, “We must not take sides in political issues. There are good debates to be had between two parties, we don’t want to make it look like we side with one or the other, lest we make it seem like a person is not welcome just because they are part of a certain political party, and besides there is virtually no difference between the two parties.”
Yet, the reality is that the boat of our culture has come untethered, has drifted out to sea, and though many of us might feel like we are still in a place at the dock that allows us to say those kinds of things, the reality is that due primarily to one party in our country we have drifted out to sea and face destruction if something doesn’t change.
It was true at one time that members of that party (think John F. Kennedy and Patrick Moynihan) were such that both parties could have legitimate and good debates on issues. Those days are gone. Consider that party now stands for:
1. As many abortions (aka murders of unborn children) in our nation as they can make happen. No longer do they stand just for legal, safe, rare abortions.
2. Judging people in the opposite way that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. argued for. He longed for the day that people can be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. This party now stands for the opposite!
3. Rewarding people with bad credit to purchase a house through an FHA loan by having those with good credit scores pay more for their loans.
4. Rewarding college students for not paying their loans and rewarding people for entering our country illegally.
5. Lawlessness in our cities.
6. Human trafficking that has taken place due to this administration inviting people by word and action to travel weeks to the border of the United States and to enter illegally.
7. Sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as a massive increase of Fentanyl deaths also due to their open border policy.
8. That males can become females and vice versa, and that children and youth can make such changes without informing their parents.
9. That the mutilation of perfectly healthy bodies, along with the amputation of perfectly healthy organs, is fine and something to be pursued as people “transition”.
10. Truth is unimportant. All that matters is “spinning the truth” for the purpose of political gain.
11. Energy and economic policies that have blatantly disregarded not only the wisdom of biblical law, but that of natural law and, as a result, have hurt the most vulnerable among us and have stressed the majority of families financially throughout the country.
What the Democrat party in general and this administration in particular stand for are stances that are no longer viable options for debate, or at least they should not be—at least in the eyes of Christians who believe in the authority and truthfulness of the Bible, or even those who believe in the validity of natural law.
It is because of these realities that I will no longer be quiet about the church’s silence. I will no longer stand by as Christian after Christian argues they cannot be involved or take sides for the sake of the gospel.
Let me be clear. A person does not have to be part of a particular party to be a Christian. There are genuine Christians who still vote as Democrats. All people are welcome at our church no matter what your political affiliation is. Be all that as it may, I can no longer, through silence, act as if Christians ought to be in the middle, act like both political parties are equally bad or equally good, nor can I act like the loving thing to do is to be quiet and just “preach Jesus” while we act as if nothing else matter!
The current Democrat party in general and this administration in particular are morally bankrupt and make it impossible to stand for either one as a true Christian who desires to stand consistenly with the Bible in any way.
Church, we must stop trying to act as if we are “woke” and we must truly be awakened, through a spiritual awakening. We must return to believing in and teaching truth. We must stop just trying to get along with everyone and must begin speaking truth no matter the cost. The time is past and has drifted out to sea when we can act as if we can have nice discussions about benign differences. The differences do matter, Christians! They matter for our mission. They matter for the gospel, they matter when it comes to loving other people.
In my next post I will share more specifically why I am encouraging the church to be partisan, to be unified in Christ with one another, but not to be unified with a morally bankrupt political party and administration.
Concerned About The Health Of The Church And the Country,
Tom Barnes
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