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I am going to talk about the common view that Christians, churches, and pastors should stay silent about political matters.
In 2016, a group of about 1,100 churches in Oklahoma rallied together to end abortion in our state. Their strategy was clever.
They realized that doctors are licensed by the state, not the federal government. So, if you want to practice medicine in Oklahoma, you have to have an Oklahoma license to practice.
Combine this with doctors taking an oath to do no harm to their patients. And abortion is willingly ending the life of one of the patients they are treating.
So, they worked to create a law where the state of Oklahoma could remove the license of any doctor who performed an abortion. If passed, it would end abortion in our state.
They wrote the law. They met with governor Fallin, and she agreed to sign it if they could get it to her desk.
And get this. They got it passed by the house. They got it passed by the Senate. So there it went to the governor’s desk. Then, it sat there until the end of the session.
Governor Fallin vetoed it right before the session ended, so there was no time to overturn her veto.
Why does this matter?
I tell you this for two reasons. First, look at what’s possible when churches get involved in the political system. They came very close to ending abortion in our state.
Secondly, it reveals the state of our current politicians. They do a lot of lip service. They tell you they will take a stand for Biblical matters. But when it comes down to it, they wimp out.
There’s a reason it’s like this. And it’s not just politicians who act this way. Actually, most Christians in America act this way.
Reminds me of a successful businessman who was very involved in his church. But when asked how he shared his faith during the rest of the week, here’s what he said:
“I am a businessman who happens to be a Christian, but I am not a Christian businessman.”
Um, is that even possible? No, it’s not. Either Jesus is Lord over your life, or He’s not. For this guy, he let Jesus in for an hour on Sundays, but he wasn’t about to let Jesus get involved in the rest of the week.
As ridiculous as this businessman sounds, it’s the reality for most American Christians. And this explains why America is freefalling into perversion and ungodliness.
It’s how our governor can lead the National Day of Prayer and veto a bill ending abortion. Jesus is Lord of her public prayer time but not Lord of how she administrates.
This is how conservative, family-loving Christian candidates become champions of gambling and liquor once they get voted in.
Secular Worldview and the Bible
How did we get here? It’s because we try to impose a secular worldview on the Bible when it can only be understood through a godly worldview.
100% of the Bible was written by Jewish authors. Every word written was inspired by God and then written by someone with a godly worldview.
Over time, the church has grown exponentially. On the day of Pentecost, it was 100% Jewish. But it didn’t take long for it to expand into the pagan gentile world.
As it expanded, the Greek line of thought invaded the church’s thinking. We call it Gnosticism.
What is Gnosticism?
The Greeks believed that the spiritual is good, but the physical is evil. Only the soul can be redeemed. The body is sinful and earthly.
This led to the conclusion that you could sin in your body all you want to as long as your heart is pure. They believed sin was just a “flesh thing”. It wasn’t the “real you” who was sinning.
Well, if you’ve spent much time in the Bible, you know that is nonsense.
1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT – So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
In other words, you only need to consult God if you are doing something. Other than that, you don’t need to worry about it.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 NLT – Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
Even though the Bible is clear that Jesus is involved in every part of your life, this Greek way of thought has caused us to compartmentalize our Christianity.
Christianity is something we do on Sunday morning, but we don’t let it interfere with the rest of our lives. We have our “spiritual life” over here and the rest of our life over there.
We keep everything Christian in its own box. And notice how much smaller it is than the box that contains the rest of our life. So let me ask you a question:
What part of your life is Jesus NOT Lord of?
It’s only those things that we should not be talking about in church.
True Christianity Explained
Christianity is not something we do, or something we attend on Sunday mornings. It is who we are because we declare Jesus as Lord over our lives.
At youth group this past Wednesday, we were answering the question, “How do I know if I am going to heaven or hell?”
Well, I can tell you this. It has nothing to do with how many times you went to church, or how many people you prayed for, or how much you gave to your favorite charity.
The only way to heaven is Jesus Christ. You must believe that God raised Him from the dead. And you must confess Him as Lord of your life.
Some people get all messed up on this. They say, “I’m saved by grace, so it doesn’t matter how I live.”
Well, God’s grace is not what saves you. God’s grace is what makes salvation available to you.
You didn’t deserve it. You didn’t earn it. But God loved you so much that He sent His only Son as a sacrifice for your sins. This grace, this unearned favor, makes salvation available to you.
But you still have to receive salvation. Just because it’s available doesn’t mean you are automatically saved.
It’s like if I bought you a new car and parked it in your driveway with a beautiful red bow on the top. The car is now available to you. But it doesn’t become yours until you take the keys and get in the car.
God’s grace makes salvation available to you. But salvation doesn’t become yours until you receive it. And here’s how you receive it:
Romans 10:9 NKJV – If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
You must truly believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead AND declare Him openly as Lord over your life. That’s how you receive the gift of salvation.
The results of belief
The result of believing in Jesus is declaring Him as Lord. You can’t separate the two. Here’s another way to say it:
I Corinthians 6:20 NKJV – For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
And for even more clarity:
Romans 12:2 NLT – Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
We are not saved because of a transformed life. But a transformed life is a result of our salvation. If you are not being transformed, are you truly saved?
Don’t hear what I am not saying. I am not saying that you will live a perfect life from the moment of salvation. I am saying that a transformation begins when you get saved. And it continues all the way until you see Jesus face-to-face.
Declaring Jesus as Lord means you are on a journey with Him being transformed as you allow Him to change the way you think.
Saving Faith
Don’t tell me you are saved when there is no result of your salvation. Because salvation is the power of God coming into your life not just to forgive sin, but to free you from sin.
True salvation is obvious to everyone because it transforms you into a new person. Here’s how James explains it:
James 2:14,19-20 NLT – What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
In America, we have redefined what it means to live by faith. We live our lives as we want to, justifying our behavior along the way. Then, when we end up in a big mess, we get on our knees and ask God to fix it.
This is not living by faith! Living by faith means we trust what the Lord tells us in His Word, obey it, and apply it to our lives.
You know, Jesus told us to make disciples. Not church members, not people who repeat the sinner’s prayer, but disciples.
What is a disciple?
To be considered a disciple of Jesus Christ, you must follow Him, do what He does, and think what He thinks.
One way the Jews measure the maturity of a disciple is by the amount of dust accumulated on your clothing from following your rabbi so closely, watching, imitating, and applying his teachings.
True disciples of Jesus walk with Him daily, study His teaching, and apply it to their life. Why? Because they are declaring Jesus as the Lord of their life.
So, let me ask again. What part of your life is Jesus not Lord of?
That’s why no area of life is excluded here at NoLimits. We proclaim Jesus as the Lord of our lives, not just our Sunday mornings.
So am I going to preach on spiritual matters? Yes. How about physical matters? Yes. Relational? Yes. Governmental? Yes. I will preach on all of it because Jesus is the Lord of all of it.
Yet, most pastors say, “I only preach the gospel.” It sounds really holy until you examine all the areas the Apostle Paul covered in his letters:
- Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah
- Righteous government
- Taxes
- Sexual purity
- Marriage
- Circumcision
- Work ethic
- Integrity in business
- Gossip
- Care for widows and orphans
- Escatology
- Cultural issues (hair, clothes, food)
So for all those who say, “I stand with the Apostle Paul. I only preach the gospel.” Well, there you go. Looks like you are going to have to take the gospel into all areas of life.
Christians with Biblical Worldview
In 2003, George Barna completed a survey testing self-proclaimed Christians’ overall view of life. At the end of the study, he found that only 9% of Christians had a Biblical worldview.
He did the study again in 2021 and found that only 6% of self-proclaimed Christians have a Biblical worldview.
Then, this year he studied pastors and found that only one-third of pastors have a Biblical worldview.
How did this happen? Because we compartmentalized Christianity. I’ll keep my Christianity over here and my work over there, I’ll keep my Christianity over here and my voting over there.
I’ll only listen to a pastor who preaches the gospel. I don’t want them talking about the government, or abortions, or about the media lying to me. Just the gospel.
And here we are. This strategy has worked out great for our nation, huh?
So, what part of your life is Jesus not Lord of?
Because here at NoLimits Church, Jesus is Lord over it all. That’s why I am going to preach on it all. Because the Bible has something to say about it all.
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