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Matthew 24:21-22
The Bible is full of stories of kings, some good but most evil, which again speaks to the need for a divine Kingdom not corrupted by the human heart's sickness. Yet God's Word also shows that, even under the worst leaders, the righteous wait on God because they know those leaders could not be in their positions without His permission. He said as much when He humbled Nebuchadnezzar. And because the righteous trust in God's sovereignty, they understand that trying to change the leader is tantamount to attempting to overrule God. This does not preclude evaluating the leader's actions. Indeed, we must assess them to recognize when we must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29). But Proverbs 24:21 warns against associating with those who agitate against the established order God has seen fit to allow at least, if not directly install. Nobody steals elections from Him. It is doubtful that any of us will take to the streets, yet we can give the appearance of associating with “those given to change” through what we post, like, tweet or re-tweet, and share. It is easy to give the impression online that we are among those given to a change in government. However, we are called as ambassadors—representatives—for Jesus Christ, the King who will end all factions when the Father says it is time. When we believe the gospel of the Kingdom, we endure the politics of physical nations but do not get caught up in them because they are not where our hope or confidence lies. So, we may cry for the beloved country, and rightfully so, even as Jesus lamented over Jerusalem. But He mourned because of her moral state and rejection of God, not because the Pharisees had more power than the Sadducees or vice versa. He was and is above factions. Similarly, the crisis in this nation is moral, developed over generations of turning from God. The spirit of this world has infected all politicians. Some may offer better Band Aids™ than others, but any real solution must come from above. That is what the gospel of the Kingdom teaches. We know this intellectually, but sometimes we forget that the “R” after somebody's name does not stand for “Righteous.” Instead, it means that he or she has identified with a political faction. However, Galatians 5:20 calls factions and party spirit “works of the flesh.” Similarly, American conservatism is not the same as biblical morality. There may be an overlap, and we can be grateful that some are trying to conserve what this nation has stood for. Yet American conservatism, as preferable as it may be to the alternatives in various areas, cannot save us. Only the words and way of God lead to life. An ideology of sound principles mixed with humanism will ultimately fail. Spiritual strength comes from meditating on the genuine truth of God rather than a human derivative that may well ensnare us in the world's party spirit. In dealing with the spiritually immature church members in Corinth, Paul highlights their practice of identifying with and rallying behind spiritual leaders. He writes: . . . for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? (I Corinthians 3:3-4) If Paul identifies this as carnality when it is done regarding godly men—apostles in the church—how much more carnal is it to side with one carnal leader (or candidate) against another? Our identity comes from belonging to and following Jesus Christ, not picking sides among the factions of the day. During the recent election, many commentators opined that it was the most important election of our generation. Others said the same thing about the previous election. And the one before that. They will surely make the same pronouncement about the next one. Every few years, the country is roiled by elections corrupted by deception, selfish ambition, and pragmatism on all sides because that is what carnal human nature does. This is precisely why God must intervene and establish His Kingdom on earth.
David C. Grabbe
Implications of the Gospel of the Kingdom
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