Christians: Repent of Unholy Alliances

I think that this may be one of my most controversial posts.  Today I plan to share with you why I see no clear way for me to follow the Lord in the next presidential election.

Politics is like a house built on a foundation of ideas.  These ideas can be philosophy, feelings, or religion.  Most of them are ethics.  It has become apparent to me that if my political foundation is Christianity, I cannot vote for any of the possible candidates without feeling at least somewhat uneasy.

In my last post, I gave many Bible verses that speak about how God would like us to interact with and support each other.  Here is my summary of those principles, as I see them:

• Do not take advantage of the poor.
• Plead the cause of the poor.
• Do not oppress immigrants.
• Give some of what you have to the poor and others who can’t care for themselves.
• Take care of people who can’t take care of themselves.
• Protect the weak.
• Defend the defenseless.
• Do not shed innocent blood.
• Do not cause children to sin.
• Maintain your holiness–do not be corrupted by the world.
• Honor marriage.

In looking at these principles, I can easily see that neither party platform supports them all.  I view that fact as a very bad sign for all of us, because it means that no matter which party wins, we will continue to institute more sinful practices as the law of the land.

The Current Administration

It seems to me that one party, the Democrats, wants to plead the cause of the poor and protect and support the needy and the immigrants, which I believe we should do.  Though I certainly don’t think that we should encourage our countrymen to be unambitious, I don’t think that an economic depression is the time to tell our neighbors and friends to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.”  I know that social programs cannot solve all our problems, but I think that they will always be needed, especially in times like the present.

Before I go on and say what I can’t accept about the Democratic platform, I just want to make it clear how I feel about our President.  I love this man.  I love his whole family; I can’t help it.  In fact, as a person, I can’t think of another President that I would more want to have as a personal friend other than Jimmy Carter, who I dearly loved throughout my childhood.  It is clear to me that our President tries to do the right thing.  It pains me to see how critical people are of him, seeing how hard he tries.  Even people who voted for him are more critical of him than I.  I even predicted long ago, on another blog that nobody could live up to the build-up that preceded his election, because only our Lord Jesus can change things that broadly and easily.  Over the years, I have watched the lines in his face deepen with care from all the burden that he carries for all of us.  In fact, I can’t think of one bad thing to say about him, and I would love to be able to tell my grandchildren that I voted for the first African-American president that our nation ever had–that is an awesome thing.  There is one major thing holding me back from simply deciding to cast my vote for Obama, and that is his NARAL rating.

Our president has been rated with 100% approval by NARAL.  That means that he approves abortion under basically any circumstances, with no restrictions.  It also means that in the event that a baby somehow survives an abortion, he condones the murder of the baby, after it is born.  Let me just repeat that.  He has repeatedly voted against a law that would make it illegal to kill babies who survive abortions.

This troubles me because of how much I dearly love an abortion survivor named Gianna Jessen.  If you have never heard of her, I strongly urge you, my brother or sister, to watch these two videos of her speaking on the evening of a debate about the legalization of abortion at Queen’s Hall, Parliament House, Victoria, Australia in 2008.  I want you to see and feel in your heart that this woman has a passion given by the Holy Spirit to wake us Christians from our sleep about the abortion issue–we have accepted the argument that all abortions are acts of mercy, which I intend to question in this blog.

I challenge you to listen to her words and not feel God’s glory and hope burning through your soul.  She truly knows what it means to live her life in God’s arms.

Gianna Jessen speaks about her survival of abortion

Giana Jessen speaks about ethics and who we are in Christ

Oh, how I love this woman, this beautiful Christian sister.  I know that she knows and loves my Jesus as well as I know that I love Jesus.  I thank God that he sent her to tell us all “the other side” of the abortion debate.  I was pleased to notice that some filmmakers have chosen her life as the subject of a film called October Baby, which encourages me.  It encourages me because I feel like Christianity has been left out of the “Great Conversation” of culture for far too long, but I’ll discuss my thoughts about Christian art in another post.

I have to face the fact that our president voted against laws that would allow other people like her to live.

All that to say:  If I am to protect the weak and prevent corruption as the Bible says, I cannot, in good conscience, vote for a platform that does not oppose abortions that could be prevented.  Understand, brothers and sisters, that our lives are not about liberty.  No, my love.  Our lives are about submission to Christ, and he showed us that we are to love all weak and helpless people, because that is what he did.  “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.”  Matt 18:5

In another post, I will discuss how the Democrats seem not to be supportive of religious freedom for Christians, but right now, I want to finish discussing the possible presidential candidates.

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney seems to me to be lacking in compassion.  He wants to oust the immigrants and doesn’t think that it is a problem if only a few people have most of the money in this country.  If he were to win, I fear that there would be many riots among the youth and other disgruntled people of our nation.  If you recall, that was the response to the election of George Bush, and the animosity has not decreased much over the past eight years.  Bottom line:  I don’t feel that a vote for Mitt Romney protects the poor or the immigrant, as the Bible verses I have cited say we must.

Rick Santorum

I understand that he is no longer in the race, but since he was billed as the “compassionate conservative” candidate, I want to talk about why I didn’t think I could vote for him.  Though I certainly agree with most of this brother’s beliefs, I can’t agree with his interpretation of how we should apply the Bible to our lives.  He claimed that we could end poverty, but Jesus said, “The poor you have always with you,” and “In this life you will have trouble.”  To me, that means that we can’t possibly end poverty on the earth until Jesus returns.

Santorum also claimed that if someone had some health problem, it was probably their fault, when the book of Job clearly shows through story that even the very righteous can have terrible suffering and sorrow.  In fact, Christian mystical books such as Hind’s Feet on High Places and The Dark Night of the Soul claim that suffering and sorrow are God’s way of bringing us closer to him.

Finally, right before he dropped out of the race, one of his aides claimed that God would not be happy if a woman were to be the leader of our country, seemingly forgetting that the Bible says that God is actually in charge of what leaders a nation has.  Bottom line:  Rick Santorum also does not appear to be as compassionate as the Bible says we should be, as Christians.

Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich seems to have one major ethic:  Newt Gingrich.  It is well-known that he was convicted of political corruption in the past, so I was quite surprised that he would even be considered for the presidency.  I was not at all surprised, however, to hear that a man who is unethical in his public life is also unethical in his private life.  Those things are signs of bad character.  To elect Newt Gingrich would be to reward and encourage corruption in our society.

Finally, he does not seem to have solid views on the major issues and has been known to vacillate.  That, alone would be enough to keep me from voting for him, because if he does not “toe the party line” then he may go awry on the key issues I care most about.  Bottom line:  Newt Gingrich does not even claim to be following the Bible, Biblical principles, or Christian ethics.  His ethic appears to be himself.

Ron Paul

Though I hear that Ron Paul is a very respectable man, which I do not dispute, I want to caution all my brothers and sisters reading this:  We must ally ourselves with Christ, and not Ron Paul.  I couldn’t agree more with Ron Paul’s pro-life position.  I absolutely love that he supports homeschooling, which could certainly be beneficial to me in many ways if he were to become president.  But there is one very important thing that I think Christians need to notice about the “Libertarian” philosophy…

Decreasing regulation and allowing corruption to spread is not being “salt” or “light.”

Sorry, but I really need to say that.  Christians, please do not think that if we all allow the government to deregulate everything that we are held blameless if sin runs amok in our society.  God holds all of us accountable for what we allow to occur around us!  If you doubt me, then I ask, “Do you judge our predecessors for allowing slavery?  Do you judge the German people for looking the other way during the Holocaust during World War II?”  If so, then we can all agree that to allow something to occur is to tacitly approve of it.  We cannot wash our hands and say, “Oh, well, it was the government, and I cannot do our Heavenly Father’s job.”

My brothers and sisters, we are the body of Christ!  We are to do what he would do.  He was never seen to approve of sin.  He told people not so sin many times.  He saved the adulterous woman from being punished according to the law, but then he said, “Go and sin no more.”

If we allow the government to decrease the amount of help people are receiving during a depression, then that is actually a form of societal corruption, if I’m reading my Bible correctly.  Also, if we oppress the immigrants and are not loving to them, that is also against the Bible.  If we do not protect the fatherless with laws, then in what way are we protecting the unborn fatherless?

Well, now that I’ve most likely offended everyone who has had the patience to read all this, I guess it’s time for me to repent.

I repent of calling myself “Republican” and “conservative” when really I should just say I’m a Christian, and leave it at that.  I don’t want to follow some earthly leader with clay feet, anymore.  I’m very saddened that so many people, both Christians and non-believers have chosen to treat politics as if it were a religion.  If it is a religion, it seems to me to be a very impure, illogical, and prejudiced one.  It’s divisive and causes Christians to judge each other, when we are supposed to love each other.

I want to tell you that I have been researching the conditions under which God judges a nation.  Here is a partial list (supporting scripture is at the end of this post):

• Cheating people as a habit
• Having hearts that rebel against God
• Worshiping idols, which is to say not putting God first
• Growing rich dishonestly and mercilessly
• Not defending the poor
• Not defending the fatherless
• Not defending the widow
• Having corrupt rulers
• Having corrupt clergy

I have seen evidence of all of these things in very recent days, as God has shown me the depth of our corruption.  Yesterday, I wept about it.  We are kicking single mothers out of their homes into the street with their children.  Companies are firing people and forcing them to sign a false resignation letter so that they won’t be able to receive unemployment.  Even in small matters, business is not conducted honestly, and companies try to cheat their customers out of what they are owed.  This, in addition to all our other sins, grieve my spirit greatly.

Please pray and ask God to convict you if you’ve committed this sin of making alliances with earthly powers and leaders above our Lord Jesus.  Don’t trust me, go straight to the Lord.  “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.”  Psalm 118:8

Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way with my words.  I am only speaking what God has put in my heart to say to you, my brother, my sister.  I leave you with scripture that I hope will bring to light some of the corruption that is grieving me so much.

“These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.” (Proverbs 6:16-19)  Looks like that we are guilty of all of these things, if we are all taken together.

²³ But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; 
   they have turned aside and gone away. 
²⁴ They do not say to themselves, 
   ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, 
who gives autumn and spring rains in season, 
   who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’ 
²⁵ Your wrongdoings have kept these away; 
   your sins have deprived you of good.

 ²⁶ “Among my people are wicked men 
   who lie in wait like men who snare birds 
   and like those who set traps to catch men. 
²⁷ Like cages full of birds, 
   their houses are full of deceit; 
they have become rich and powerful 
 ²⁸ and have grown fat and sleek. 
Their evil deeds have no limit; 
   they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, 
   they do not defend the rights of the poor. 
²⁹ Should I not punish them for this?” 
   declares the LORD. 
“Should I not avenge myself 
   on such a nation as this?

 ³⁰ “A horrible and shocking thing 
   has happened in the land: 
³¹ The prophets prophesy lies, 
   the priests rule by their own authority, 
and my people love it this way.

Jeremiah 5:23-31

²³ Your rulers are rebels, 
   companions of thieves; 
they all love bribes 
   and chase after gifts. 
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; 
   the widow’s case does not come before them. 

Isaiah 1:23

Christians: Repent of Seeking Worldly Power Through Politics

‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.  Zechariah 4:6

 

I want to repent before all of you and God.  Christians are to be salt, it’s true.  We must resist corruption, or we become irrelevant and useless, like mundane soil.  However, Jesus was not a political leader.  Everyone wanted him to be political.  The prophesied Messiah was supposed to save his people.  The Jewish people naturally assumed that their Messiah would free them from their political and social oppressors, the Romans.

Instead, Jesus allowed the Romans to kill him.*

I don’t think we can underestimate the importance of that fact:  Jesus didn’t “resist him who is evil.”  I seem to have forgotten that, somewhere along the way.  I think a lot of us have.  

Think of it:  How did Christianity spread, in the Middle East, after Jesus’ death?  It spread as a grassroots movement that was greatly misunderstood.  At one point, Christians were so misunderstood that communion was believed to be actual cannibalism, which led to Christians being persecuted in Rome in many terrible ways.  What happened then?  Well, to shorten a long story, you may have heard of “Vatican City.”  Christians went from being crucified and eaten by lions in Rome to owning a big chunk of it.

“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.”

It wasn’t a community uprising that spread Christianity.  It was the way the Christians allowed themselves to be persecuted.  Jesus died.  Jesus was resurrected.  Christians died.  The church was resurrected.

Many of us Christians have followed our emotions instead of God’s Spirit.  We have gone astray.  For the purpose of gaining more political power, we have “gotten into bed” with various people who have interests that we cannot righteously support:  greed, humanism, lust, hate, and many other pagan (that is to say essentially human) values.

I feel convicted of having done this, myself.  I confess:  I was wrong.  I thought that I could somehow protect my children’s future and their future children using my own strength, and by relying on other people in power.  No more.  I no longer want to be compromised.  That is why I have officially renounced any political ties to any party or faction.  I do believe that I can support good causes.  I see nothing wrong with that, as long as the motives and ideals of the cause are Godly.  

However, if I were to have a political philosophy, I think it would have to take into account what the Bible says about how we should treat our countrymen and how we should live our lives.  I cannot protect my children through worldly power.  I have to rely on God’s spirit for that, because there is no place on earth that is “safe” from sin.  This principle has been expressed in art in the film “The Village” by M. Knight Shyamalan:  The reason we cannot completely escape evil is that it comes from within us.  I know this is true, because Jesus said it:

“Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’”  Matt 15:17-20

Every political party must deal with the competing interests of wicked human beings like us (notice I include myself), which leads to compromise, which leads to corruption.  Accordingly, I seriously doubt that any political party will ever be able to champion a truly righteous platform.  I may never donate to a political cause or identify with a political faction, again.  I wish, from now on, to be identified only with Christ, because “for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  Being a Christian is not about me or what I want.  It is about God and what he wants.  

So, from now on, I will decide who to vote for by reading, listening, evaluating, and then praying about what I have learned.  I will no longer vote for a party out of mere loyalty.  I urge you, my beloved brother or sister, to do the same.  I feel sure God is calling us to repent of any unrighteous attitudes about worldly power.  Please know that, however you decide to vote, I do not judge you, because I fully understand now that no political party has “a lock” on the Biblical worldview.  I love and respect you just as much, no matter how you vote, and I pray God will forgive all of us for our past sins in making unholy alliances.

Here are some verses I believe are applicable to Christian political ethics:

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, 
   for the rights of all who are destitute. 
Speak up and judge fairly; 
   defend the rights of the poor and needy.  Prov 31:8-9

“How long will you defend the unjust

and show partiality to the wicked?       Selah

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;

maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Rescue the weak and needy;

deliver them from the hand of the wicked.  Psalm 82:2-4

“Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.”
            Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” Deut 27:19

 ¹² When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. ¹³ Then say to the LORD your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them.  Deut 26:12-13

¹⁶ Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. ¹⁷ For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. ¹⁸ He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. ¹⁹ And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.  Deut 10:16-19

 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.

 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. Ex 22:21-24

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  James 1:27

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.  Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!  If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.  Matthew 18:6-10

“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”  Heb. 13:4

As far as I can see, there is no political party or movement that will allow us to support all these scriptures with our political voices and actions.  God help us.

 

* That is how Jesus saved us from our sins: by allowing himself to be killed, and then being resurrected, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.  Romans 8:11

What Is This Blog About?

My heart is broken within me; 
   all my bones tremble. 
I am like a drunken man, 
   like a man overcome by wine, 
because of the LORD 
   and his holy words. 
The land is full of adulterers; 
   because of the curse the land lies parched
   and the pastures in the desert are withered. 
The prophets follow an evil course 
   and use their power unjustly.

“Both prophet and priest are godless; 
   even in my temple I find their wickedness,” 
            declares the LORD. 

Jeremiah 23:9-11

I come to you, my Christian brothers and sisters, to plead with you.  I am in the process of repentance, and I want you to join me.  I’m sickened to death by how corrupt our society has become.  I feel as Jeremiah did in the passage above–weakened, drunk, overcome by wickedness.  It is not only politicians who are corrupt in our time.  Even in the church, there is corruption, materialism, and lack of love.  If society is corrupt, it can only be our fault as Christians for not preserving society.  Jesus said that we are the “salt of the earth.”  If corruption has spread, we must take responsibility for our part in allowing it to spread, both directly and indirectly.

Christians–We have not been salty enough.  Jesus said “if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”  Isn’t that what is happening?  Aren’t our Christian beliefs being “trampled by men?”  I understand if you don’t agree, but I know many Christians will agree that our beliefs are attacked far more frequently and vehemently than they have been in previous decades.

A few years ago, our church started a new Bible study, called “Seeking Him:  Experiencing the Joy of Personal Revival” by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  I learned a very important idea from this study, which follows:

Revival starts with widespread repentance.

Perhaps you would like to shout at me, now, “We all want people to repent!  They won’t listen!”  My dear brother or sister, please listen to this passage from 2 Chronicles about who can start a revival and widespread repentance:

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.”  2 Chronicles 7:13-16

Repentance starts in the house of the Lord.  It has to.  It must start with you and me and every Christian that we know, because we have God’s Spirit, so we are the ones who can hear him calling us to repent.

This passage gives a clear path to repentance and the renewal that God promises if we turn from our wicked ways:

1. Humble ourselves
2. Pray
3. Seek the Lord
4. Turn from our wicked ways

Is this an easy process?  Yes and no.  It doesn’t cost anything but time and energy, and yet, it’s so hard to admit it when we’ve done wrong.  That’s just one more sin we’ve all committed:  having pride, for too long.

If you’re not a believer, you’re certainly welcome to come on my journey of trying to point out to Christians all of our sins, but please do not think that this blog is directed at you.  I’m speaking to Christians, because it’s my opinion that only through our repentance will the Holy Spirit intervene and change people’s hearts for Christ.  You are welcome here, whoever you are.

Christians are “salt.”  Salt in a wound hurts.  The truth hurts.  Many people will be offended by some of the things I say, and other people will be offended by different things I say.  I’m prepared for that.  I’m not starting this blog to cause controversy, but after having dreams and visions, and praying and fasting, all of it leading to this blog.  I seek peace with God, who tugs at my heart.  Unfortunately, “Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God,”(Jas. 4:4) and the converse is also true.  My choice to speak the truth is going to cause many people to regard me as an enemy.  I apologize in advance to anyone who may be offended by my words, but Jesus said that we must love God the most, and other human beings next.  Though I do love you, I must listen to God, who says that “my people perish for a lack of knowledge.”  If I know the truth, but keep silent, then I am partially guilty for my neighbor’s sin:  ”Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.”  Lev. 19:17

I have no idea where this blog will lead, because I hope to be following the Lord as I write it.  However, I have made a partial list of sins that I think many Christians need to repent of, all of which I plan to write about.  Something on this list may surprise or upset, well, almost everyone.  Since I have no more alliances with political parties, I’m free to shed light on the sin of absolutely everyone, including myself.  As I discuss each one of those sins, I will confess which ones I’ve committed and try to earnestly repent.

Sins for Which Christians and the Church Need to Repent

1. Seeking worldly power through politics
2. Making political alliances instead of allying ourselves only with Christ and other believers
3. Allowing Christian doctrine to become corrupted with humanistic ideas
4. Failing to love the poor and the widow enough
5. Failing to love the alien enough
6. Failing to protect the fatherless
7. Failing to plead the case of the poor
8. Failing to love people who call themselves “homosexuals” enough
9. Allowing ourselves to become corrupted by pagan urges
10. Tolerating pedophiles in church leadership positions where they come into contact with minors
11. Being too tolerant of sin and not loving sinners enough
12. Allowing the family structure to be compromised by adultery
13. Not loving our children enough
14. Not disciplining our children properly
15. Failing to be salt
16. Failing to be light
17. Doubting God’s goodness
18. Lacking faith
19. Having the form of Godliness, but denying its power
20. Forgetting our first love

I’ve tried to order this list starting with more mundane things and leading to more spiritual things.  There is a feeling in my heart that I can’t describe, except to say that I feel that if Christians don’t repent of these sins and any others we have committed, then God may judge all of us, soon.  What does that mean?  I’m not sure.  I’m just communicating a feeling.  I have sighed, wept, prayed, fasted, studied, and thought about this for quite some time.  I pray God will be gracious and allow me to speak the truth in love.  I am at least somewhat more at peace right now, because I’m not longer silent.

I am ridiculed all day long; 
   everyone mocks me. 
Whenever I speak, I cry out 
   proclaiming violence and destruction. 
So the word of the LORD has brought me 
   insult and reproach all day long. 
But if I say, “I will not mention his word 
   or speak anymore in his name,” 
his word is in my heart like a fire, 
   a fire shut up in my bones. 
I am weary of holding it in; 
   indeed, I cannot. 

Jeremiah 20:7-9