It doesn’t matter where you live today; governments and the general population seem to be turning against Christians. Any other religion is mainly tolerated, but not Christianity.
In the United States, Christianity is mocked by those in places of influence. This movement has gone worldwide in the last two decades.
What should we do as Christians when governments start making policies and laws against the Bible and God’s commands?
There is New Testament precedence for how Christians should respond to a government/world that is against the Kingdom of God:
Matt 5:10-12 (NASB)
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. 12 “Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Romans 13:1-14
13:1 Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil. 5 Wherefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.
11 And this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
This is one of the hardest lessons for today, especially for American Christians. Many voices today tell us that our Christian duty is to “take our country back in the name of Jesus Christ,” a movement known by at least one name known as “Christian nationalism.” It sounds like something we should be doing, but the Bible is clear in Romans 12:17-21:
17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. 20 “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS UPON HIS HEAD.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
The lesson I would like to explain today is that we are ambassadors, not warriors until Christ comes back to lead us in his army to victory. We will not save anyone on our own accord or on our own merits – we rely on the work of Christ to save us AND others. Ambassadors do everything they can to keep the peace and avoid upsetting their host country. Warriors go in and destroy nations and force peace upon them. That is NOT what we are currently called to do.
As Christian ambassadors, it is our duty to:
- Obey the laws and customs of the host country.
- Do NOT violate God’s laws and commandments as an ambassador. Please do not make a scene about not violating them, do it as quietly as possible.
- Pay taxes to all authorities requiring them.
- Love your neighbor as yourself!
- Participate in your government as allowed and required – in America, VOTE!
- If you can vote for your leaders, vote for the one that will fight for religious liberty, which benefits Christianity by allowing freedom to spread the Gospel.
- If a candidate is hostile or talks down about Christianity, look for other candidates that do not.
The world proclaims that things will improve. The Bible says that the world will drift away from God and be enticed by the Devil in the last days. We are IN the last days. The world will continue to deteriorate. Look through this blog site for discussions regarding what decay looks like and what that means for Christians. Romans 1 spells out what God will do in these last days, the order in which it happens, and his responses to man’s deepening depravity.
Do not fret about the things that are happening in the world. They must happen for Jesus to come back and liberate creation from sin for a time (1000 years to be exact), at which point he will completely rid creation of sin forever!
I pray, MARANATHA! (Come quickly, Lord Jesus!)
Go in peace and live your day for the Lord!
