Issue One, Part Three of Three
This is my third and final blog on issue one that passed this week in Ohio, legalizing the murder of the unborn and enshrining it as a “right” in the state constitution. So far, we have reviewed that we are to be thankful, and that we should rightly see this as God’s sovereign judgment on our nation as we have continually thrown off the grace of His restraints and chosen to continue in a wicked spiral. I do believe, though, there is one more aspect that we ought to examine. I believe that God is always working to discipline and correct His church, the bride of Christ. He loves His church with an everlasting love, and God is always seeking her good, and the greatest good the church can do is bring glory to God and to His Son Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, and God brings this about through the sanctification of His church.
One of God’s means of sanctification in the church, as well as for individual Christians, is through discipline. We often think of discipline as punishment, but discipline is always for the benefit of the one being disciplined. When God disciplines His children or His church, it always has the purpose of causing her to be changed to bring more glory to Himself. If we were to take an honest look at the church in the United States, I think many of us would come to the conclusion that the church needs God’s discipline. In fact, I want to consider a couple of ways in which God may be disciplining His church through the passing of issue one as well as other disappointments we have seen.
To set this up, I think a bit of history might be in order. I grew up in church through the 80’s and 90’s, and during that time, many churches got very involved in the moral majority, which was a means of promoting morality in the culture through politics. Many evangelical and church leaders began to promote the Republican Party because, out of the two major parties, it was the only one who seemed to stand for moral issues that mattered to Christians such as opposition to abortion and gay marriage. Throughout the 21st century, however, slowly but surely, many candidates on the right began to show that they were not nearly as strong on these moral issues as Christians should desire. Morality began to slip, but the argument was always that they were better than the other option. More recently, many on the right support LGBTQ+ issues and numerous pundits are claiming that recent losses are the result of being too stern on stopping the murder of the unborn, yet many churches it seems continue to hold fast to the party and its candidates, still claiming that they are better than the alternative.
When God disciplines His children or His church, it always has the purpose of causing her to be changed to bring more glory to Himself.
In my mind, this has revealed a couple of major ways in which the church is in error when it comes to politics, and I believe what is going on currently as the society seems to be spiraling into immorality is that God is granting the church an opportunity to recognize her error and repent. The two errors I see are related, but I believe can still be divided into separate errors in my mind. The first error I see is that the church has begun to place her hope in politics, issues, and politicians when her only hope is the Lord. In God’s grace, this is revealed to us when things do not go our way. Some people lost a lot of sleep the other night when issue one did not go our way, yet the same God who watches over us and gives us rest was still on His throne Tuesday night as He was every night. If God is still on His throne, working for His glory, then nothing has effectively changed.
Now, I am not saying that issue one passing should not bother us at all, but the more it bothers us, the more we should recognize that we might have put hope in the people of Ohio to come out and vote against it. If we believe God is sovereign and good, then we can sleep well at night when it looks like the world is spinning out of control. We may not see the good God is doing, but we can hold fast to the God who does know what He is doing and is worthy of our trust. Disappointment is natural in this sinful world for the follower of Jesus, but when our hope is founded in God alone, we do not have to ride the roller coaster of that disappointment. I believe God is disciplining His church to review where her hope is, and make sure it is not found in politics, men, candidates, or government, and make sure it is found in God.
If we believe God is sovereign and good, then we can sleep well at night when it looks like the world is spinning out of control.
The second area I believe God is teaching His church is to learn what tools are effective in the spiritual battle. Many were hopeful signs, talking to neighbors, having their pastors announce to their congregations to go out and vote, would all do something to stop issue one. I believe doing those things is most certainly fine, however, the church must recognize that the only way to a revival, which is necessary for true morality to reign in our nation, is through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many may have been frustrated that their pastors did not say enough about issue one, and I say that as a pastor who did say something about issue one to our congregation, but how many have spent time sharing the gospel themselves with those they are in contact with over the past few years?
In other words, many have trusted in man’s schemes rather than God’s Word and His gospel. The apostle Pual said, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the tearing down of strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:3, 4, Legacy Standard Bible). What are divinely powerful weapons? Paul said again, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). It is the gospel that is the power of God, and when people experience God’s salvation, God makes them a new creation and transforms their hearts. Our nation needs the gospel more than she needs moral laws, and if the gospel were to be preached regularly in our nation by those who believe it, imagine what change could arise.
Our nation needs the gospel more than she needs moral laws, and if the gospel were to be preached regularly in our nation by those who believe it, imagine what change could arise.
The church should respond to what we see going on in the world to checking our hope, whether it is in God and in His means of working in the world. It does not mean we cannot still vote or advocate for candidates or issues in the future, but we must make sure that the majority of our efforts are using God’s divinely powerful weapons. We have to get away from pragmatism and lean on God’s Word to work in the lives of people in this nation. We are not promised ease or morality in the government, but we are promised joy and victory in the Lord when we hope in Him, and that hope will not disappoint.
