How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age by Jonathan Leeman

Author:Jonathan Leeman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christianity, Personal Growth, Politics & Government, Religion & Spirituality, Social Issues, Spiritual Growth
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2018-04-03T03:00:00+00:00

CONCLUSION

Don’t put too much hope in government. But don’t give up on it either. Churches need good governments.

A culture and its political institutions might turn against Christianity, but Christians should strive to make an impact as long as they have opportunity. It can get worse. Just ask the Christians in China or Iran.

Here’s what I told my Sunday school class on Capitol Hill in the series I did on Christians and government:

For those of you who work in government, let me embolden you with this charge. We need you to make America safe for Christianity. And I’m using the word “need” not to override divine sovereignty, but in the same way you might say a child needs her parents to protect and feed her. To those of you who work in politics, thank you for what you do. It might feel like an exercise in futility. But it is critical. Work and pray hard at it.

All of us, likewise, should do three more things.

Pray. Paul urged us to pray for kings and all in high positions so that we may lead peaceful and quiet lives. “This is good,” he continued, and “pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:3–4). We pray for our government so that the saints might live peaceful lives and people will get saved.

Engage. We render to Caesar what is Caesar’s by paying taxes, yes, but in a democratic context we also do this by voting, lobbying, lawyering, writing editorials, or running for office. Even in an empire, Paul, for the sake of the gospel, pulled the political levers he had. He invoked his citizenship and appealed to Caesar. Steward opportunities while you have them. You may not have them forever.

Trust. Jesus will win. That is our only source of strength for today and hope for tomorrow.

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