The “Great Commission” was given to all Christians to “Proclaim the Gospel to the world!” Proclaiming requires speaking and/or writing. The Gospel is an acknowledgment that Christ died for the sins of the world and that His death is efficacious only for His elect. In order for Him to accomplish this, He had to be perfect (without sin) and have His blood shed as the “perfect lamb of GOD”! As such, the work of the HOLY SPIRIT changes the hearts of men to love and want to obey GOD by His grace and to the best of their ability. (A phase of the commission complete)

So, with the above, we have the indicative covered in a nutshell, and then, there is the imperative. What are we to do once we are saved? Preaching in the church is great at covering the indicative, but the imperative part becomes much more vague and general if it is preached at all. Within that context, there are commands and there are precepts. A command would be “Do not steal”. A precept would be “the borrower is slave to the lender” which tells you that debt is bad, but it is not outlawed by GOD. But, what happens when debt becomes so oppressive that it functions as if it were stealing? Or what if the government just violates GOD’s laws blatantly?

Now, we get into the role of government. In Romans 13, Paul establishes that all government comes from GOD. He also tells us the purpose of government is to reward the good and punish the evil. What happens when the government fails to do GOD’s purpose, and instead they reward evil and punish good? For an example, the government in America rewards thieves, promotes perversion, murders babies in the womb, oppresses and lies to its people all of the time while attacking Christianity and Christians through mockery and other oppressive tactics. Is there no recourse for the victims of a corrupt government (state)?

To paraphrase another; without the help of preachers and teachers of the Christian faith, leaders of the state would be blind and deaf. And what does Jesus say about following the blind? He says that they will fall into a ditch, and if you follow them, so will you. The civil servant is a man who first hears the prophetic voice of universal truth (GOD’s word in the Bible), and who later enters the service of a secular authority to carry out his part in the Reform. The work of the state, which is a ministry of GOD’s doing, is for the purpose of establishing GOD’s law-order so that the Godly may thrive and prosper. And, by the way, those Godly along with the ungodly are all your NEIGHBORS! Remember, you’re supposed to love your neighbor – right?

Are You Loving Your Neighbor?

Pensiamento Peligroso