There is a popular teaching floating around in Evangelical circles.
It says that Christians are actually Exiles in America; as well as Exiles in the world.
But this is not yet true for Americans. We actually still have a voice.
We still have a right to make our voices heard.
And we still have a duty to make our voices heard.
However, do we still have the backbone to stand upon truth?
OR
Will we just go along with the political and spiritual flow of the age?
Our Place in This World
There is a case to be made for Christians being “strangers“, “foreigners“, and “pilgrims” in this world.
The Bible says all these things.
We are also told to be “ambassadors for Christ“. Which is, again, a biblical teaching.
We Don’t Live in a Vacuum
But, it is curious to me how Evangelicals today want to avoid any identification with the Republican party. And supposedly to avoid affiliation with any political party.
So that people will not be offended by their political stand. So that they can give people the gospel without putting any “stumbling block” in front of them.
And that, in theory, sounds good. It sounds like a reasonable position.
But, in actual practice, it’s a disaster. Because we do not live in a vacuum. There is no Neutral ground in our world. We either line up with Satan or with Christ.
Even though the lines of distinction have become very fuzzy these days. It is often difficult in the physical world to discern good from evil.
But to think we can ride the fence or find a safe, neutral position is a fantasy.
The Pied-Pipers of Shame
And yet, the very leaders whom we quote so regularly in our services, such as Tim Keller, are not as UN-affiliated as they would have the rest of us to be.
Mr. Keller and other Evangelical leaders are very deeply active in political causes. Working aggressively to move Evangelicals away from a solid Conservative stand toward a more Leftist position.
But their seemingly-noble cause is really just a ruse.
They seek to make Christians, who have strong Conservative leanings, feel ashamed of their affiliations and identification with Republicans. Or, at least, with their agreement on most of the Republican positions.
They do this by changing the rules.
They are changing the priorities of life. Urging us to abandon our disgust with Abortion (as a primary reason to support the Conservative side). And to embrace the moral tolerance and religious Liberalism of the Left.
This tactic is designed to shame Christians. It is being employed by Christian leaders who are using us to advance their own political and religious agenda. While twisting the scriptures to accomplish their purposes.
A Spiritual Shell Game
They speak with “great swelling words” about taking care of the poor, of curing social ills, and of doing the real work of the gospel; even while they undermine the biblical moral positions of Christians. Distracting them with ideas based more on Marxism and Communism than on any caring, biblical truth.
Seeking to replace Conservatism with their special form of Leftism. And moving social causes around, like a shell game, to confuse believers.
And to replace the gospel of truth with a new form of the Social Gospel.
It is interesting how Tim Keller, who is committed to this New Evangelical social engagement, claims that he does Not push the Social Gospel.
Even while he Does push the Social Gospel.
You Can Make A Difference
The results of this election could very well turn us toward a very Leftist, Progressive society. Very quickly and very dramatically.
And Evangelicals could very well be the deciding factor in that turn.
We are in a very serious battle here. And right now, we still have a voice. We can still fight for what we believe in a civil and legal way.
We are not yet truly in Exile as Israel and Judah were in Babylon; who lived within a brutal and totalitarian state. With no political choice but to stand up and die; or to shut up, bow the knee, and live.
Is the bowing-of-the-knee a sign of things to come for Christians in America?
In one week, we will see if Christians have the backbone to do what is right.
If we actually have the spiritual courage to stand upon the Truth of God’s words in this wonderful land of liberty which the Lord has given to us?
Image by Sarah Richter from Pixabay
Eternal Approach 
October 30, 2020 at 1:23 am
I’ve noticed this as well. Many evangelicals think avoiding labels will make the message more persuasive. If your politics lines up with the secular world, you should, at minimum, pause.
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October 30, 2020 at 12:10 pm
Thanks, Sooner, for your response.
This whole thing is like an octopus with a thousand tentacles. The more deeply I research all this Social Gospel and call to Social Engagement that Tim Keller and others are pushing, the more amazed I am at how deeply entrenched they are in mainstream Evangelical circles with their very aggressive political agenda. Evangelical leaders just seem to be oblivious to what is going on.
This is simply because the &Campaign, The Gospel Coalition, and other groups are trying to create this illusion of No Bias. It’s like someone reaching out his hand to be a friend while he holds a knife behind his back with the other. Our church leaders are just unwilling to look below the surface on much of anything anymore. As long as they put a nice label on their activities, and quote a few scriptures about love and justice, Evangelicals will sign on and join in.
Doug
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October 30, 2020 at 12:12 pm
Doug,
And if you accuse them of pushing a certain point of view, they claim that Jesus is on their side because Jesus wants us to help the poor. Jesus does want us all to help each other, but calling everything racist and raising taxes into high heaven isn’t the way to do it.
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October 30, 2020 at 1:19 pm
Sooner,
Yes. You are absolutely right. There are so many things here that need to be explored more deeply in future posts. But, one thing that really hit me the other day was when reading Luke 12:13-21. This is about where a man wants Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance with him. Jesus said no. You can read that to see more of what the Lord actually said. But, it occurred to me that all this talk of the redistribution of wealth that Liberals and Socialists want to do, has nothing to do with us as believers. We are not called to steal one man’s stuff and give it to another. We are compiling sins together in doing that.
This combines covetousness with theft. People covet someone else’s stuff. Then they get the government to steal it to give it to them. What a sweet deal!
What in the world are Christians getting involved in that kind of stuff for?
If someone who is in our lives, in our sphere of experience, needs help. Then we help them. We don’t need to get everyone else involved. It’s about individual kindnesses. Individual actions. Individual accountability. Private, personal actions.
Doug
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